Bookstack

Larger-than-life figures like Edward Said often become prisoners of their own legacy. Author Timothy Brennan, a student of Said’s, joins host Richard Aldous to discuss his fascinating new biography, Places of Mind: A Life of Edward Said, a book that tries to tease out the contradictions and complications that shaped one of the most influential public intellectuals of the 20th century. 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

With news getting comparatively less bizarre as 2021 rolls on, presidential historian and former White House aide Tevi Troy joins host Richard Aldous to talk about the history of White House intrigue as described in his recent book, Fight House: Rivalries in the White House from Truman to Trump. 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

Richard Nixon, an almost Shakespearean character, loomed over 20th century American history in ways that prefigure Trump. Author Michael Dobbs joins host Richard Aldous to discuss this deeply flawed individual, and his new book King Richard: Nixon and Watergate, an American Tragedy. 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

President Dwight D. Eisenhower was an exemplary strategic thinker. Author and policy strategist Susan Eisenhower, who happens to be one of Ike’s four grandchildren, joins host Richard Aldous to talk about her new book How Ike Led: The Principles Behind Eisenhower’s Biggest Decisions. 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

Was the Second World War really the “good war”? And are we blinded to properly assessing it by unduly focusing on the German side of the conflict? Historian Sean McMeekin joins host Richard Aldous to discuss all this, as well as his new book, Stalin’s War. 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

The rich history of Africans in Europe, from the third century onwards, is understudied and under-appreciated in modern society. Olivette Otele, Professor of History of Slavery and Memory of enslavement at the University of Bristol, joins host Richard Aldous to talk about her new book, African Europeans: An Untold History. 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

Is Britain a part of Europe or not? And why didn’t a reluctant membership in the Common Market, the European Community, and ultimately the European Union ultimately lead it to accept a full European orientation?Our guest Vernon Bogdanor, professor of government at Kings College, joins host Richard Aldous to talk about his new book, Britain and Europe in a Troubled World. 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

As the space race heats up once again, author Stephen Walker joins our host Richard Aldous to discuss his remarkable new book Beyond: The Astonishing Story of the First Human to Leave Our Planet and Journey Into Space. 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

From an early age, Jack, Bobby, and Ted Kennedy developed a deep understanding of the different peoples, cultures, and ideologies around the world, a keen appreciation for the challenges that such differences created for the United States, and a strong desire to reshape America’s response to them.Lawrence J. Haas joins host Richard Aldous to talk about his new book, The Kennedys in the World: How Jack, Bobby, and Ted Remade America’s Empire. 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

For generations, Americans have looked to education as the solution to economic disadvantage. Nevertheless, today the gap between rich and poor is widening. This week, Cristina Groeger joins Richard Aldous to talk about her new book, The Education Trap: Schools and the Remaking of Inequality in Boston, and discusses how education came to be seen as a panacea even as it paved the way for deepening inequality. 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