
Bookstack
Biweekly conversations between Richard Aldous, Bard College professor and distinguished historian, and authors on their newest books. www.persuasion.community
Latest episodes

Jun 22, 2025 • 27min
Episode 166: Bryan Burrough on How Texas Gunfighters Made the West Wild
In today’s episode of Bookstack, host Richard Aldous sits down with Bryan Burrough, acclaimed journalist, podcaster, and author of The Gunfighters: How Texas Made the West Wild (Penguin Random House).Bookstack is now a production of American Purpose at Persuasion.Host: Richard AldousProducer: Laura SilvermanFollow Persuasion on X (Twitter), LinkedIn, and YouTube to keep up with our latest articles, podcasts, and events, as well as updates from excellent writers across our network.And, to receive pieces like this in your inbox and support our work, subscribe below. Bookstack listeners can take advantage of a 20% offer for paid Persuasion membership, with access to special columns and bonus Good Fight with Yascha Mounk podcast content. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.persuasion.community/subscribe

Jun 8, 2025 • 36min
Episode 165: Marc Fasteau and Ian Fletcher on U.S. Industrial Policy
In today’s episode of Bookstack, host Richard Aldous sits down with Marc Fasteau and Ian Fletcher — board members of the Coalition for a Prosperous America and co-authors of Industrial Policy for the United States: Winning the Competition for Good Jobs and High-Value Industries (Cambridge University Press).Bookstack is now a production of American Purpose at Persuasion.Host: Richard AldousProducer: Laura SilvermanFollow Persuasion on X (Twitter), LinkedIn, and YouTube to keep up with our latest articles, podcasts, and events, as well as updates from excellent writers across our network.And, to receive pieces like this in your inbox and support our work, subscribe below. Bookstack listeners can take advantage of a 20% offer for paid Persuasion membership, with access to special columns and bonus Good Fight with Yascha Mounk podcast content. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.persuasion.community/subscribe

May 18, 2025 • 41min
Episode 164: Edward Luce on the Life of Zbig, America's Great Power Prophet
In today’s episode of Bookstack, host Richard Aldous sits down with Edward Luce, U.S. National Editor at the Financial Times and author Zbig: The Life of Zbigniew Brzezinski, America’s Great Power Prophet (Avid Reader Press / Simon & Schuster).Bookstack is now a production of American Purpose at Persuasion.Host: Richard AldousProducer: Laura SilvermanFollow Persuasion on X (Twitter), LinkedIn, and YouTube to keep up with our latest articles, podcasts, and events, as well as updates from excellent writers across our network.And, to receive pieces like this in your inbox and support our work, subscribe below. Bookstack listeners can take advantage of a 20% offer for paid Persuasion membership, with access to special columns and bonus Good Fight with Yascha Mounk podcast content. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.persuasion.community/subscribe

May 4, 2025 • 33min
Episode 163: Matthew C. Klein on Why Trade Wars are Class Wars
In today’s episode of Bookstack, host Richard Aldous sits down with Matthew C. Klein, economist, writer behind The Overshoot on Substack, and co-author. with Michael Pettis, of Trade Wars Are Class Wars: How Rising Inequality Distorts the Global Economy and Threatens International Peace (Yale University Press).Bookstack is now a production of American Purpose at Persuasion.Follow Persuasion on X (Twitter), LinkedIn, and YouTube to keep up with our latest articles, podcasts, and events, as well as updates from excellent writers across our network.And, to receive pieces like this in your inbox and support our work, subscribe below. Bookstack listeners can take advantage of a 20% offer for paid Persuasion membership, with access to special columns and bonus Good Fight with Yascha Mounk podcast content. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.persuasion.community/subscribe

Apr 20, 2025 • 34min
Episode 162: Jonathan Rauch on Christianity's Broken Bargain with Democracy
In this episode of Bookstack, host Richard Aldous sits down with Jonathan Rauch, journalist and author of Cross Purposes: Christianity's Broken Bargain with Democracy (Yale University Press).Bookstack is now a production of American Purpose at Persuasion.Follow Persuasion on X (Twitter), LinkedIn, and YouTube to keep up with our latest articles, podcasts, and events, as well as updates from excellent writers across our network.And, to receive pieces like this in your inbox and support our work, subscribe below. Bookstack listeners can take advantage of a 20% offer for paid Persuasion membership, with access to special columns and bonus Good Fight with Yascha Mounk podcast content. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.persuasion.community/subscribe

Apr 6, 2025 • 29min
Episode 161: Nicole Karlis Explores Your Brain on Altruism
In this episode of Bookstack, host Richard Aldous sits down with Nicole Karlis, award-winning journalist and author of Your Brain on Altruism: The Power of Connection and Community During Times of Crisis (University of California Press). Bookstack is now a production of American Purpose at Persuasion.Follow Persuasion on X (Twitter), LinkedIn, and YouTube to keep up with our latest articles, podcasts, and events, as well as updates from excellent writers across our network.And, to receive pieces like this in your inbox and support our work, subscribe below. Bookstack listeners can take advantage of a 20% offer for paid Persuasion membership, with access to special columns and bonus Good Fight with Yascha Mounk podcast content. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.persuasion.community/subscribe

Mar 23, 2025 • 30min
Episode 160: Nir Arielli on 10,000 Years of Dead Sea History
In this episode of Bookstack, host Richard Aldous sits down with Nir Arielli, international historian and author, to discuss his new book, The Dead Sea: A 10,000 Year History (Yale University Press).Bookstack is now a production of American Purpose at Persuasion.Follow Persuasion on X (Twitter), LinkedIn, and YouTube to keep up with our latest articles, podcasts, and events, as well as updates from excellent writers across our network.And, to receive pieces like this in your inbox and support our work, subscribe below. Bookstack listeners can take advantage of a 20% offer for paid Persuasion membership, with access to special columns and bonus Good Fight with Yascha Mounk podcast content. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.persuasion.community/subscribe

Mar 9, 2025 • 39min
Episode 159: Wolfgang Münchau on Germany Going Kaput
Wolfgang Münchau, an economist and financial journalist known for his incisive views, discusses his book, Kaput: The End of the German Miracle. He highlights Germany's struggles to adapt economically, with outdated models stifling growth. The conversation dives into the digital divide, noting cultural barriers in embracing technology and AI. Münchau critiques the country's complex interdependencies on banks and foreign powers, the challenges of political leadership amid rising right-wing sentiment, and the worrying future for Germany and the EU.

Feb 23, 2025 • 32min
Episode 158: Tevi Troy on the Epic Clashes between Commanders in Chief and Titans of Industry
In this week’s episode of Bookstack, host Richard Aldous sits down with Tevi Troy, presidential historian, former U.S. Deputy Secretary of Heath and Human Services, and prolific author to discuss Troy’s new book, The Power and the Money: The Epic Clashes Between Commanders in Chief and Titans of Industry (Skyhorse Publishing). Bookstack is now a production of American Purpose at Persuasion.Follow Persuasion on X (Twitter), LinkedIn, and YouTube to keep up with our latest articles, podcasts, and events, as well as updates from excellent writers across our network.And, to receive pieces like this in your inbox and support our work, subscribe below. Bookstack listeners can take advantage of a 20% offer for paid Persuasion membership, with access to special columns and bonus Good Fight with Yascha Mounk podcast content. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.persuasion.community/subscribe

Feb 9, 2025 • 35min
Episode 157: Katherine C. Epstein on How Theft of 20th Century Tech Built the National Security State
In this week’s episode of Bookstack, host Richard Aldous sits down with Katherine C. Epstein, associate professor of history at Rutgers University-Camden and author of the new book, Analog Superpowers: How Twentieth-Century Technology Theft Built the National Security State (The University of Chicago Press).Bookstack is now a production of American Purpose at Persuasion.Follow Persuasion on X (Twitter), LinkedIn, and YouTube to keep up with our latest articles, podcasts, and events, as well as updates from excellent writers across our network.And, to receive pieces like this in your inbox and support our work, subscribe below. Bookstack listeners can take advantage of a 20% offer for paid Persuasion membership, with access to special columns and bonus Good Fight with Yascha Mounk podcast content. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.persuasion.community/subscribe