America’s Book Club
C-SPAN
America's Book Club is a podcast hosted by author and philanthropist David Rubenstein featuring conversations with leading authors, policymakers, business innovators, and cultural figures exploring the ideas that shaped America’s past, challenge the nation's present, and inspire our future.
Episodes
Mentioned books
Jan 11, 2026 • 1h 2min
Cal Ripken Jr.: Baseball Iron Man on 2,632 Consecutive Games and His Hall of Fame Career
Baseball hall of famer Cal Ripken Jr. joins David M. Rubenstein to discussed his legendary career and his work as a bestselling author, and gave viewers a tour of memorabilia from his decades in baseball. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Dec 21, 2025 • 1h 2min
Pulitzer Prize Winner Rita Dove on Poetry and American History
Pulitzer Prize winner and former U.S. Poet Laureate Rita Dove joins David M. Rubenstein to discuss her upbringing and writing process and reads from her poem "Lady Freedom Among Us." Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
11 snips
Dec 14, 2025 • 1h 2min
Harvard Professor Arthur Brooks Explains What Makes Us Happy
Arthur Brooks, a Harvard professor and expert on happiness, dives into what truly makes us joyful. He shares his unique journey from a musical career to academia, emphasizing the importance of love and relationships. Brooks discusses the role of money in happiness, suggesting that experiences and meaningful work outweigh material wealth. He also highlights the four macronutrients of happiness and how cultivating strong friendships can lead to lasting joy. Throughout, he underscores that happiness is achievable through intention and habit.
Dec 7, 2025 • 1h 1min
Jodi Picoult on Storytelling, Ethics, and the Power of Fiction
Bestselling writer Jodi Picoult, author of 29 novels, discusses her writing process, adapting her books for Hollywood and why one of her books has been banned across the country. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Nov 23, 2025 • 1h 2min
Chef José Andrés on Food, Humanity, and Global Relief Efforts
Jose Andres joins David M. Rubenstein to discuss his career, his global relief efforts with World Central Kitchen, his books, and his love of food. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Nov 16, 2025 • 1h 2min
Walter Isaacson on the Minds That Shape Our Modern World
Walter Isaacson is a Professor of History at Tulane. He has been the editor of Time Magazine, the CEO and Chairman of CNN, and the CEO of the Aspen Institute. He is the author of Elon Musk (2023), Leonardo da Vinci (2017), Steve Jobs (2011), Einstein: His Life and Universe (2007), Benjamin Franklin: An American Life (2003), and Kissinger: A Biography (1992). Isaacson is a graduate of Harvard College and Pembroke College of Oxford University, where he was a Rhodes Scholar. He began his career at The Sunday Times in London and then New Orleans’ Times-Picayune. He joined TIME in 1978 and served as a political correspondent, national editor, and editor of digital media before becoming the magazine’s 14th editor in 1996. He became chairman and CEO of CNN in 2001, and then president and CEO of the Aspen Institute in 2003. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Nov 9, 2025 • 1h 2min
David Grann on Killers of the Flower Moon and America’s Hidden History
Author David Grann joins David M. Rubenstein to discuss his books including "Killers of the Flower Moon" and "The Wager" and visits the vault of the Folger Shakespeare Library. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Nov 2, 2025 • 1h 1min
Pulitzer Prize Author Stacy Schiff on Writing History That Feels Alive
Pulitzer Prize winner Stacy Schiff joins David M. Rubenstein to discuss her biographies of Cleopatra, Benjamin Franklin and Samuel Adams before visiting the vault of the National Archives to view the Treaty of Paris and other priceless documents. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Oct 26, 2025 • 1h 2min
Justice Amy Coney Barrett on "Listening to the Law: Reflections on the Court and Constitution"
Supreme Court Associate Justice Amy Coney Barrett joins host David M. Rubenstein to discuss her new book, her early life and her view of the Constitution. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Oct 19, 2025 • 1h 2min
From the Library of Congress: John Grisham on Storytelling and Justice
From the Great Hall of the Library of Congress, master of the legal thriller John Grisham joins host David M. Rubenstein to discuss his early life, writing process, latest novel and his work with wrongfully convicted prisoners. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
