"For every young kid that makes a mistake, they can look at Don Scott and say, 'I'll never give up. I can still be what I want to be in America.'" That was former Republican governor Bob McDonnell of Virginia speaking about our guest this week, the state's newly elected Democratic speaker of the House of Delegates. Don Scott talks about the hurdles he overcame, including spending almost eight years in prison, to become Virginia's first Black speaker in 405 years. Learn more about your ad choices...
Dec 30, 2024•1 hr 3 min
Since its founding in 1992, the Innocence Project has been responsible for getting hundreds of wrongfully convicted people in the United States out of prison. Attorney and Innocence Project executive director Christina Swarns joins us to talk about the history of the organization, the root causes of wrongful convictions, and some of the clients the Innocence Project has successfully represented over the years, including the two men convicted of killing of Malcolm X in 1965. Learn more about your...
Dec 23, 2024•1 hr
New York City real estate developer Larry Silverstein, author of "The Rising," shares stories about the rebuilding of the World Trade Center complex following the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. Mr. Silverstein - who acquired a 99-year lease on the World Trade Center just weeks before the attacks - talks about his memories from that day and discusses the business, political, and engineering challenges he faced during his 20-year rebuilding effort. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megap...
Dec 16, 2024•1 hr 11 min
Twenty-five years ago, author Malcolm Gladwell published "The Tipping Point," about how ideas and behavior spread in a society to create positive change. The book was an international bestseller, having since sold over 2 million copies in the U.S. alone. In his follow-up, "Revenge of the Tipping Point," Mr. Gladwell looks at the downside of social epidemics, including the rise of opioid abuse and Medicare fraud. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices...
Dec 09, 2024•1 hr 3 min
Half Jewish and a member of the Hitler Youth who saw Adolf Hitler in person, Jochen "Jack" Wurfl, author of "My Two Lives," talks about surviving in Nazi Germany and his later life and success in the United States. To hide their identities after the Nazis took over in 1933, Mr. Wurfl and his brother were baptized Catholic and later joined the Hitler Youth. His Catholic father, deemed a political enemy by the state, was sent to a concentration camp in Austria, while his Jewish mother was arrested...
Nov 26, 2024•1 hr
Peggy Noonan, Pulitzer Prize-winning columnist for the Wall Street Journal and former speechwriter for President Reagan, discusses her book "A Certain Idea of America," a collection of her columns from over the past quarter century. She also talks about her time working in the White House and her career in radio after graduating from college. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Nov 25, 2024•1 hr 5 min
Investigative journalist Maureen Callahan talks about the physical and psychological abuse, and worse, that she says was experienced by women and girls connected to the Kennedy family going back to Joe Kennedy, Sr. In her book, "Ask Not," Callahan tells the stories of Carolyn Bessette-Kennedy, Kathleen "Kick" Kennedy, Martha Moxley, Mary Richardson Kennedy, Jacqueline Kennedy, and others. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices...
Nov 18, 2024•1 hr 4 min
Stuart Eizenstat, former Domestic Policy Adviser to President Carter and U.S. Ambassador to the European Union under President Clinton, talks about his political career and his new book, "The Art Of Diplomacy," in which he discusses the work done to achieve agreements like the Camp David Accords, the Kyoto Protocols, and the Iran nuclear agreement. Mr. Eizenstat also talks about growing up in the South during the Civil Rights Era and how that experience changed him. Learn more about your ad choi...
Nov 11, 2024•1 hr 6 min
Since its founding in 1992, the Innocence Project has been responsible for getting hundreds of wrongfully convicted people in the United States out of prison. Attorney and Innocence Project executive director Christina Swarns joins us to talk about the history of the organization, the root causes of wrongful convictions, and some of the clients the Innocence Project has successfully represented over the years, including the two men convicted of killing of Malcolm X in 1965. Learn more about your...
Nov 04, 2024•1 hr 4 min
Historian Pamela Toler talks about the life and career of journalist Sigrid Schultz, Berlin bureau chief for the Chicago Tribune from 1925-1941. Schultz provided first-hand accounts of the rise of Adolf Hitler in Germany and was one of the earliest reporters to warn Americans about the dangers of Nazism. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Oct 28, 2024•1 hr 6 min
This week on Q&A, Whole Foods co-founder John Mackey and Harvard University psychology professor Steven Pinker discuss their books. John Mackey, author of "The Whole Story," talks about the rise of Whole Foods, the organic foods grocery store chain, and his political and intellectual development. Professor Steven Pinker talks about the role that rationality plays in a functioning society and the growth of irrationality in the United States. These interviews were recorded in Las Vegas at Free...
Oct 21, 2024•1 hr 9 min•Ep. 1
Historian Heath Hardage Lee, author of "The Mysterious Mrs. Nixon," talks about the life and times of the former First Lady (1969-74). She says that Pat Nixon, who was voted "Most Admired Woman in the World" in 1972, was largely mis-portrayed by the press, who characterized her as being elusive and "plastic." Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Oct 14, 2024•1 hr 8 min
Former National Institutes of Health director Dr. Francis Collins, author of "The Road to Wisdom," talks about the milestones in his career, including his work on the Human Genome Project and the COVID-19 vaccine. He also talks about his Christian faith, the importance of engaging with those we disagree with, and the current distrust of science and government in the United States. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices...
Oct 07, 2024•1 hr 6 min
Julius and Ethel Rosenberg were executed in 1953 after being convicted of conspiracy to commit espionage for the Soviet Union. Their sons Michael and Robert Meeropol, nee Rosenberg, were 10 and 6 at the time. They are our guests this week. The sons talk about their parents' executions, their lives before and after, the anti-communist climate in the U.S. during the 1950s, the government's case against the Rosenbergs, and their efforts to clear their mother Ethel's record posthumously. Learn more ...
Sep 30, 2024•1 hr 5 min
James Allen, Jr., murdered Tony Sylvester in Las Vegas during a 1980 home burglary, a crime for which he was found guilty and sentenced to death. Mr. Allen, who was a teenager at the time, spent 26 years in prison, including almost 4 years on death row, before being paroled by the state of Nevada in 2008. Since being released, he has spent his time mentoring at-risk youth and working with the Nevada Coalition Against the Death Penalty. He co-wrote a book about his life titled "Not My Chair: Jour...
Sep 23, 2024•56 min
Author and publisher Peter Osnos talks about "LBJ and McNamara," a book-length Substack serial and soon to be book about President Johnson and Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara's handling of the Vietnam War. Mr. Osnos, Saigon correspondent for the Washington Post during the war, also talks about publishing Robert McNamara's memoir "In Retrospect" and the meetings he had with McNamara in preparation for that book, which Mr. Osnos recorded. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/a...
Sep 16, 2024•1 hr 6 min
Fifty years ago, on August 8, 1974, President Nixon, who was under threat of impeachment, announced that he would resign from office. The following day, Vice President Gerald Ford was sworn in as the 38th president of the United States. Gerald and Betty Ford's son, Steven Ford, provides a behind-the-scenes look at that tumultuous period in American history and President Ford's term in office, including his decision to pardon Richard Nixon on September 8, 1974. Learn more about your ad choices. V...
Sep 09, 2024•1 hr 4 min
Former congressman Patrick Kennedy (D-RI) talks about Americans who have struggled with mental illness and the stigma and silence that he says still surrounds it. He shares the stories of the people profiled in his book, "Profiles in Mental Health Courage," including himself and members of his own family. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Sep 02, 2024•1 hr 7 min
We sat down with Ben's Chili Bowl owner Virginia Ali and Ben's Chili Bowl official historian Bernard Demczuk to talk about the history of the Washington, DC, landmark. Opened in 1958 by Ben and Virginia Ali, Ben's Chili Bowl has been a hangout for civil rights activists, politicians, and celebrities for over 65 years. Recently, Bernard Demczuk published a book about Mrs. Ali and Ben's titled "Breaking Barriers with Chili." Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices...
Aug 25, 2024•1 hr 6 min
Author and actor George Takei talks about growing up in internment camps in the U.S. during World War II, following the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941. Mr. Takei and his family were four of the 120,000 Japanese Americans to be forcibly removed from their homes and relocated to military-run camps during the war on the orders of President Franklin Roosevelt. Mr. Takei has recently published a children's book about his experiences titled "My Lost Freedom." Learn more about your...
Aug 19, 2024•58 min
We sat down with two World War II veterans – former U.S. Navy gunnery officer Steven Ellis and former U.S. Army Air Force B-24 navigator Rolf Slen – to talk about their experiences during the war. Mr. Ellis, age 99, and Mr. Slen, age 100, both served in the Pacific Theater. Of the 16.4 million Americans who served in uniform in World War II, 119,550 were still alive as of 2023. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices...
Aug 12, 2024•1 hr 4 min
In "The Lies of the Land," Miami University (Oxford, Ohio) history professor Steven Conn argues that the reality of rural America today is vastly different from the way it is often portrayed by politicians and the media. He says rural Americans have not been left behind or been overlooked and are just as connected to the forces of American modernity – militarization, industrialization, corporatization, and suburbanization – as people living in the rest of the country. Learn more about your ad ch...
Aug 05, 2024•1 hr 5 min
Columnist and Fox News contributor Tammy Bruce, author of "Fear Itself," argues that progressive Democrats have weaponized fear to increase government control over American citizens. She also argues that the mainstream media helps stoke fear through its biased coverage of topics like COVID-19, climate change, and racism. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Jul 29, 2024•1 hr 5 min
Prior to becoming Donald Trump's VP pick or a U.S. Senator representing Ohio, J.D. Vance was a bestselling author. Over 1.6. million copies of his book "Hillbilly Elegy," a memoir about growing up in a poor, white family that has its roots in Appalachia, have sold to date. After the VP announcement, the book once again shot to the top of the Amazon bestsellers list. This week on Q&A, our 2016 interview with Mr. Vance about his book. He talks about his childhood, his family, his military serv...
Jul 22, 2024•1 hr 6 min
In 2022, collegiate swimmer Riley Gaines tied for 5th place in the 200m freestyle final at the NCAA Women's Championships. The swimmer she tied with was transgender athlete Lia Thomas. Since then, Riley Gaines has become an outspoken critic of transgender women competing in women's sports and has even testified on the issue before Congress. In this week's Q&A, she talks about her swimming career, her stance on transgender athletes, and the backlash she has received after going public with he...
Jul 15, 2024•1 hr 5 min
The Times of London U.S. editor David Charter, author of "Royal Audience," discusses the special relationship that Queen Elizabeth II had with the United States and U.S. presidents over her 70-year reign as Britain's Head of State. Queen Elizabeth, who became queen in 1952 and passed away in 2022, had met and had varying degrees of personal relationships with 13 of the 14 U.S. presidents during her reign going back to Harry Truman. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices...
Jul 08, 2024•1 hr 3 min
New York Times opinion columnist Frank Bruni, author of "The Age of Grievance," argues that we are living in a cultural and political era defined by victimhood and perceived injustice. He discusses the causes of this development and offers ways to move past it. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Jul 01, 2024•1 hr 4 min
We sat down with Ben's Chili Bowl owner Virginia Ali and Ben's Chili Bowl official historian Bernard Demczuk to talk about the history of the Washington, DC, landmark. Opened in 1958 by Ben and Virginia Ali, Ben's Chili Bowl has been a hangout for civil rights activists, politicians, and celebrities for over 65 years. Recently, Bernard Demczuk published a book about Mrs. Ali and Ben's titled "Breaking Barriers with Chili." Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices...
Jun 24, 2024•1 hr 4 min
Since its founding in 1992, the Innocence Project has been responsible for getting hundreds of wrongfully convicted people in the United States out of prison. Attorney and Innocence Project executive director Christina Swarns joins us to talk about the history of the organization, the root causes of wrongful convictions, and some of the clients the Innocence Project has successfully represented over the years, including the two men convicted of killing of Malcolm X in 1965. Learn more about your...
Jun 17, 2024•1 hr 2 min
Author and actor George Takei talks about growing up in internment camps in the U.S. during World War II, following the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941. Mr. Takei and his family were four of the 120,000 Japanese Americans to be forcibly removed from their homes and relocated to military-run camps during the war on the orders of President Franklin Roosevelt. Mr. Takei has recently published a children's book about his experiences titled "My Lost Freedom." Learn more about your...
Jun 10, 2024•56 min
