Booknotes+

Erik Larson is the author six nationally bestselling nonfiction books, including "The Devil in the White City," which was on bestseller lists for years and "The Splendid and the Vile," published in 2020. His latest, available only as an audiobook, is a work of fiction, a ghost story based in 1905 called "No One Goes Alone." Mr. Larson joined us to talk about the new audiobook, his previous books, being critiqued by his wife, teaching, and more.   Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In 2019, through FOIA requests and lawsuits, the Washington Post obtained hundreds of interviews conducted by the Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction (SIGAR) for its Lessons Learned Program. The interviews showed that behind the scenes, U.S. military and government officials in Afghanistan presented a far gloomier picture of the war and reconstruction efforts than was presented to the American public by officials in Washington. Washington Post investigative reporter Craig Whitlock, author of "The Afghanistan Papers," joins us to talk about the Post's efforts to obtain the SIGAR interviews, the war in Afghanistan, his reporting on the U.S. Navy's "Fat Leonard" scandal, and more.    Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On February 25, 1956, Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev delivered a secret speech to the 20th Congress of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union in which he denounced the crimes, bad decisions, and cult of personality of his predecessor, Joseph Stalin, who had died three years earlier. Georgetown University professor Kathleen Smith, author of "Moscow 1956," joined us to talk about the speech, what Khrushchev hoped to achieve with it, and what it eventually led to.   Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Joseph P. Kennedy, the patriarch of the Kennedy dynasty, served as U.S. ambassador to the United Kingdom from 1938-1940. By the end of his tenure, he was despised by both governments. Historian Susan Ronald, author of "The Ambassador," describes Joseph Kennedy as a Fascist sympathizer and anti-Semite whose desire for power eclipsed his allegiance to his country. She joined us to talk about all of that and more.      Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Twenty years ago on September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks in the U.S. took the lives of nearly 3,000 people, over 2,600 of which were in New York City at the World Trade Center. On September 12th, the day after, eyewitnesses to the attacks in New York City called into C-SPAN to share their stories.     Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Theodore Bilbo (1877-1947) served twice as governor of Mississippi and was elected to the U.S. Senate three times. He was a liberal, a strong supporter of FDR's New Deal, and a member of the Ku Klux Klan. We talked with University of Southern Mississippi history professor emeritus Chester "Bo" Morgan, author of "Redneck Liberal," to find out more about Theodore Bilbo and his controversial political career.    Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

George Washington University professor David Shambaugh has written nearly 30 books on the subject of Asia, a great majority of which focus on China. He talked with us about his latest, "China's Leaders," in which he profiles the five leaders of the People's Republic of China since 1949 and provides an analysis of their policies.   Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

If you research the origins of critical race theory, one of the names you'll find is Derrick Bell (1930-2011). Prof. Bell, Harvard Law School's first black tenured professor, appeared on Booknotes in 1992 to talk about his book "Faces at the Bottom of the Well: The Permanence of Racism." In this excerpt from that program, he talks about the status of blacks in America and his personal experiences with racism.     Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

British author Charles Dickens is credited with creating some of the world's best-known fictional characters. To find out more about Charles Dickens, his work, and his two visits to the United States, we spoke to Jenny Hartley, emeritus professor of English at the University of Roehampton in London. She has written three books about Dickens, including "Charles Dickens: A Very Short Introduction," published in 2019.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Veteran Canadian journalist Ken Cuthbertson talks about the life and work of American writer John Gunther (1901-1970), author of the popular "Inside" book series that provided an in-depth look at countries around the world. The series included the 1947 bestseller "Inside U.S.A.," in which Gunther provided observations, sometimes highly critical, from his visits to every state in the country.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices