That Said With Michael Zeldin

Join Michael in his conversation with Jane Ferguson about her recent memoir No Ordinary Assignment, which chronicles her journey from childhood in Northern Ireland in the midst of sectarian violence to becoming one of the most decorated war correspondents in a generation. With an open-hearted humanity we rarely see in conflict stories, No Ordinary Assignment shows what it means to build an authentic career against the odds.Jane Ferguson is a special correspondent for PBS NewsHour specializing in coverage of the Middle East, Africa, and South Asia. Jane also writes for The New Yorker. Jane has won numerous awards for her war reporting including the Alfred I. du Pont Columbia Award, the George Polk Award for Foreign Television Reporting, an Emmy Award for Outstanding Hard News Feature in a Newscast among others. This is her first book.Jane Ferguson has covered nearly every war front and humanitarian crisis of our time. She reported from Yemen as protests grew into the Arab Spring; she secured rare access to rebel-held Syria, where foreign journalists were banned, to cover its civil war. When the Taliban claimed Kabul in 2021, she was one of the last Western journalists to remain at the airport as thousands of Afghans, including some of her colleagues, struggled to evacuate.Living with sectarian violence was nothing new to Ferguson. As a child in Northern Ireland in the 1980s and ‘90s, The Troubles meant bomb threats and military checkpoints on the way to school were commonplace. Books by travel writer Dervla Murphy and war correspondent Martha Gellhorn offered solace from her turbulent family. An opportunity to study Arabic in Yemen opened the door to the life in journalism for which she seemed destined.Without family wealth or connections, she began as a scrappy one-woman reporting team, a borrowed camera often her only equipment. Networks told her she had the wrong accent, the wrong appearance, not enough "bang-bang shoot-‘em-up." Still, Ferguson threw herself into harm's way time and again, determined to give voice to civilian experiences of war. In the face of grave violence and suffering, this seemed a small act of justice, no matter the risks.Jane Fergusonhttps://x.com/janeferguson5No Ordinary Assignment: A Memoirhttps://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/no-ordinary-assignment-jane-ferguson/1142468502?ean=9780063272262Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

Join Michael in his conversation with Professor author Derek Black about their new memoir, The Klansman’s Son, My Journey from White Nationalism to Antiracism which tells their journey from the heir apparent leader of the White Nationalist movement in the United States to one of the country’s leading antiracist spokespersons.Derek Black was raised to take over the white nationalist movement in the United States. Their father, Don Black, was a former Grand Wizard in the Ku Klux Klan and started Stormfront, the internet’s first white supremacist website on which Derek built the kids’ page. David Duke, was also their close family friend and mentor. Racist hatred, often wrapped up in language of respectability, was all Derek knew.In 2013, while studying medieval history at New College in Sarasota, FL Derek publicly renounced white nationalism and apologized for their actions and the suffering that they had caused. The majority of their family stopped speaking to them, and they disappeared into academia, convinced that they had done so much harm that there was no place for them in public life.But in 2016, as they watched the rise of Donald Trump, they immediately recognized what they were hearing—the spread and mainstreaming of the hate they had helped cultivate—and they knew that they couldn’t stay silent.Derek, who uses the pronouns “they and them”, is a doctoral student in history at the University of Chicago. Derek has been honored with the first Elie Wiesel Award given by the Wiesel family after the passing of the Nobel Peace Laureate in 2016. Derek also has received the Anti-Defamation League’s Humanitarian award.This is Derek’s first book.Derek Blackhttps://x.com/rderekblackThe Klansman’s Son: My Journey from White Nationalism to Antiracism: A Memoirhttps://www.abramsbooks.com/product/klansmans-son_9781419764783/Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

Join Michael and former senior speechwriter for President Joe Biden as they discuss his fascinating new book, Undelivered: The Never-heard Speeches That Would Have Rewritten History. Undelivered presents some of the most notable, never delivered speeches from Richard Nixon’s refusal to resign to Hillary Clinton’s acceptance speech; from Dwight Eisenhower’s apology for the failure of the D-Day invasion to Japanese Emperor Hirohito’s apology for his role in World War II.Guest Jeff NussbaumJeff Nussbaum is an adjunct professor of Public Communication. Nussbaum is a partner in the speechwriting and strategy firm West Wing Writers. He has previously served as a speechwriter for Vice President Joe Biden, Vice President Al Gore, and Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle. Most recently Nussbaum oversaw all speechwriting operations for the 2012 Democratic National Convention. In addition to his speechwriting experience, Jeff was the co-author and collaborator with James Carville on the 2003 bestseller, Had Enough? Jeff also collaborated with Senator Bob Graham on his book Intelligence Matters, which was published to critical acclaim in September 2004 and updated and re-released in 2008. As a co-founder of The Humor Cabinet, Nussbaum has also worked on humor speeches for dozens of elected officials and corporate executives and has served as a creative consultant for the Kennedy Center Mark Twain Prize for American Humor.Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

Join Michael in his conversation with Jim Sciutto about his new book, The Return of Great Powers, Russia, China, and The Next World War which details the realities of this new post–post–Cold War era, the threats posed by an increasingly aligned Russian and Chinese governments, and the flashpoint of a new, global nuclear arms race. It poses a question: As we consider uncertain, even terrifying, outcomes, will it be possible for the West and Russia and China to prevent a new World War?Jim Sciuttohttps://twitter.com/jimsciuttoThe Return of Great Powers: Russia, China, and The Next World Warhttps://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/authors/80608/jim-sciutto/Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

Jefferson Cowie, the James G. Stallman Professor of History at Vanderbilt University and author of Freedom's Dominion, shares profound insights into white resistance to federal authority through the lens of Barbour County, Alabama. He reveals how freedom has been weaponized historically to oppose federal power and highlights its complex meanings in American politics. The conversation dives into themes of states' rights, racial dynamics post-Civil War, and even suggests mandatory voting to enhance democracy, making the past resonate with contemporary struggles.

Join Michael in his conversation with Timothy Ryback about his new book Takeover: Hitler’s Final Rise to Power which chronicles Hitler’s rise to power in 1932 all within the democratic structures of Germany’s constitutional democracy.Tim has written on history and politics for more than three decades. He is the author of Hitler’s Private Library, a Washington Post Best Book of the Year, and The Last Survivor, a New York Times Notable Book. His work has appeared in The New Yorker, The New York Times Magazine, The Wall Street Journal, The Atlantic, and the Financial Times. He is co-founder and director of the Institute for Historical Justice and Reconciliation, in The Hague.Timothy RybackTakeover: Hitler’s Final Rise to Powerhttps://www.amazon.com/Takeover-Hitlers-Final-Rise-Power/dp/0593537424Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

Join Michael in his conversation with Jennet Conant about her new book Fierce Ambition, The Life and Legend of War Correspondent Maggie Higgins which tells the remarkable story of Maggie Higgens, the first Pulitzer Prize-winning war correspondent. Jennet started her career as a journalist at Newsweek covering business, technology, and cultural affairs. She later wrote for GQ, Esquire, Vanity Fair, and the New York Times before turning to writing non-fiction full-time. She has written seven books about World War II. An interesting footnote is that Jennet is the granddaughter of James Bryant Conant, one of the leaders of the Manhattan Project and President of Harvard University.Fierce Ambition: The Life and Legend of War Correspondent Maggie Higginshttps://www.amazon.com/Fierce-Ambition-Legend-Correspondent-Higgins/dp/0393882128https://jennetconant.com/Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

Join Michael in his conversation with Fareed Zakaria about his new book Age of Revolutions: Progress and Backlash from 1600 to the Present which masterfully investigates the eras and movements that have shaped the modern world with a clear-eyed view of the lessons to be learned for our times. Fareed is the Peabody Award-winning host of Fareed Zakaria GPS on CNN. An Emmy award winner, Fareed was named a “Top 10 Global Thinker of the Last 10 Years” by Foreign Policy magazine in 2019, and Esquire called him “the most influential foreign policy adviser of his generation”. This is his fifth book. Fareed earned a bachelor’s degree from Yale University and a doctorate in political science from Harvard University.Age of Revolutions: Progress and Backlash from 1600 to the Present By Fareed Zakariahttps://www.amazon.com/Age-Revolutions-Progress-Backlash-Present/dp/0393239233Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

Join Michael in his conversation with Saket Soni about his inspiring new book The Great Escape, A True Story of Forced Labor and Immigrant Dreams in America which tells the story of twenty-first century forced labor/human trafficking conspiracy in the Gulf Coast in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina.Saket is a labor organizer and human rights strategist working at the intersection of racial justice, migrant rights, and climate change. He is the founder and director of Resilience Force, the voice of the rising workforce rebuilding America after climate disasters. He was a 2022-23 Aspen Institute Fellow and was named one of Fast Company’s Most Creative People in Business for 2022The Great Escape by Saket Sonihttps://www.amazon.com/Great-Escape-Forced-Immigrant-America/dp/1643750089Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

Join Michael in his conversation with Rachel Slade about her new book Making it in America: The Almost Impossible Quest to Manufacture in the U.S.A. (and How It Got That Way) which offers a compelling history of American textile manufacturing as told through the story of American Roots, a vibrant Maine company founded by Ben and Whitney Waxman, which sells truly 100% American-made apparel. Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy