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

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

Jan 22, 2025 • 31min
Episode 156: Lindsay Chervinsky on John Adams' Republic-Forging Precedents
In this week’s episode of Bookstack, host Richard Aldous talks to presidential historian Lindsay M. Chervinsky, author of the new book, Making the Presidency: John Adams and the Precedents That Forged the Republic (Oxford University Press).Note: this episode was recorded in early January 2025.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

Dec 13, 2024 • 31min
Episode 155: Michael Mandelbaum on the Titans of the Twentieth Century
In this week's episode of Bookstack, host Richard Aldous talks to Michael Mandelbaum, author of the new book, The Titans of the Twentieth Century: How They Made History and the History They Made (Oxford 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

Dec 2, 2024 • 33min
Episode 154: Caitlin Rivers on the Hidden Science of Fighting Outbreaks
In this week's episode of Bookstack, host Richard Aldous talks to Johns Hopkins epidemiologist Caitlin Rivers, PhD, about her new book, Crisis Averted: The Hidden Science of Fighting Outbreaks (Viking). 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