The Preamble

In today’s episode, Sharon’s guest is Dylan Penningroth, whose new book, Before the Movement: The Hidden History of Black Civil Rights, brings to light a new narrative of Black life in America. It’s a fascinating history of how African American communities used law, talked about law, and thought about law for almost two centuries, in ways that enabled the Civil Rights Movement before it even began...

Joining Sharon today is Jennifer Ackerman who has written a new book titled, What an Owl Knows, to discuss some new, rich scientific discoveries about these captivating and intriguing birds. Owls have often been a symbol of knowledge and wisdom, but what does an owl truly know? In a conversation both kids and adults can enjoy, Jennifer shines a light on the 260+ species of owls, to understand the...

Sharon is joined today by cultural historian and author Colin Dickey, to discuss America’s fascination with conspiracies, and fear of secret societies. In his new book, Under the Eye of Power, Colin walks through the history of how paranoia is woven into the very fabric of The United States from its inception, and how conspiratorial thinking and even the most irrational beliefs reach the mainstrea...

On today’s episode of Here’s Where It Gets Interesting, Sharon sits down with Dr. Devorah Heitner, author of Growing Up in Public: Coming of Age in a Digital World and Screenwise: Helping Kids Thrive (and Survive) in Their Digital World. At a time where every minor detail, fleeting thought, and potential misstep can be publicly documented and scrutinized online, how are parents, teenagers, and men...

On today’s episode, Sharon is joined by author and professor Laurence Jurdem to discuss his book, The Rough Rider and the Professor, about the unusual thirty-five-year political friendship between President Theodore Roosevelt and Senator Henry Cabot Lodge. While Roosevelt famously “rose like a rocket,” in the political spotlight with his larger-than-life personality, it was arguably his machiavell...

Sharon’s guest today is Kai Bird, Pulitzer Prize-winning historian and author of American Prometheus, which is the biography of J. Robert Oppenheimer that the blockbuster Christopher Nolan film was based on. Join us while Kai shares his experience of what it was like to have his work turned into a historically accurate major motion picture, and how he conducted the research required to capture the...

American Democracy has faced some challenging times, living through a modern day political crisis. Today, Sharon is joined by Harvard professors of government, Steven Levitsky and Daniel Ziblatt to dig into all things Democracy. In their new book, Tyranny of the Minority, they explore how democracies break down throughout history and find the striking pattern that political minorities often govern...

On today’s episode of Here’s Where It Gets Interesting, we’re discussing all things public schools: The good, the bad, and the controversial. Joining Sharon is Dr. Bettina Love, Professor at Teachers College, Columbia University who has a new book out: Punished for Dreaming. Between chronic school underfunding, pressure placed on standardized testing, the devaluing of educators, teacher burnout, a...

We’re joined today by returning guest, Jasmine Holmes, to dive into the state of Black history education in America, and to discuss her new book, Crowned with Glory: How Proclaiming the Truth of Black Dignity Has Shaped American History. Jasmine shares about Black abolitionists who fought for the dignity of their fellow mankind based on the principle that because people are created in God’s image,...

In today’s episode, Sharon is joined by Esau McCaulley for a powerful conversation about his new book, How Far to the Promised Land. In his memoir, he took the story of his family and showed the struggles of Black people in America intergenerationally.  Esau shares how it’s vital to understand how the stories of our ancestors – though they might seem insignificant – impact and shape generations to...

On today’s episode, Sharon welcomes back Danielle Coke Balfour, who you may know as founder and illustrator of “Oh Happy Dani.” Sharon chats with Dani about her new book, “A Heart on Fire: 100 Meditations on Loving Your Neighbors Well.” At a time when it’s easy to become overwhelmed with the 24-hour news cycle and information overload, Danielle pauses and shares that it’s important to, “let each d...

Today, Sharon welcomes back comedian and writer Taylor Wolfe to discuss her heartwarming memoir, Birdie & Harlow - Life, Loss, and Loving My Dog So Much I Didn't Want Kids (Until I Did). You might know Taylor from following her online at The Daily Tay, where she’s known for her entertaining videos and impressions of influencers, along with characters we’re all too familiar with from everyday l...

In this episode of Here’s Where It Gets Interesting, Sharon sits down with Suzanne Nossel, CEO of PEN America, to talk about some of the issues related to free expression and book banning. With more than 4,000 book bans at last count, this is an issue that has swept across the nation. Suzanne discusses what kind of book bans they see the most, and how veiled language about “protecting children” is...

Sharon is joined by North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum to hear directly from the Republican Presidential candidate ahead of the presidential debate. In a time of cold wars, culture wars, and economic unknowns, Burgum makes the argument that it’s time for the federal government to refocus its priorities. Burgum also took the position that it’s time to “get away from the celebrity President and get back...

Today, on Here’s Where It Gets Interesting, Sharon connects with journalist and celebrity biographer, J. Randy Taraborrelli, to chat about his new book “Jackie: Public, Private, Secret.” In his book, he paints a portrait of the lesser known parts of the iconic life of Jackie Kennedy Onassis. We all know public details of her time as First Lady in the White House, and recall the historic imagery of...

Today, Sharon sits down with author, journalist, and educator, Samuel Freedman, to discuss a man who has arguably gotten too little credit in the Civil Rights Movement: former VP Hubert Humphrey. There would be no Civil Rights movement in the 1950s and 60s without the groundwork that was laid in the 1940s. The battles Humphrey faced overlap with many of the same battles being fought now: Against w...

Today on Here’s Where It Gets Interesting, Sharon is joined by Matthew Desmond, Professor of Sociology at Princeton University and the founding director of the Eviction Lab. Together, they discuss his best-selling book, “Poverty, By America,” and take a hard look at poverty in one of the richest countries in the world, while reimagining the debate on poverty. We all know that poverty is an existin...

Have you ever played alternative history and wondered how you’d survive being in steerage on the Titanic, or how you would have fared during The Black Death? Today, Sharon sits down with Cody Cassidy, author of “How to Survive History" to take a look at some of the most catastrophic events in world history. They discuss how past events might inform how to respond to future ones and how escape plan...

Presidential Candidate Will Hurd joins Sharon to chat about engaging voters in primary elections to ensure stronger candidates in November. The country is ready to have thoughtful conversations about what issues matter to them in a way that unites, rather than divides. Whether the district was ruby red or a deep blue town, people share the same frustrations and goals. Everyone wants systems that o...

Sharon is joined by Hadley Vlahos, RN, who has written a bestselling book about her experiences working as a hospice nurse. Hadley walks us through the discomfort of death with great compassion and empathy while considering what it means to live well, and to die well. She explores commonalities in death spanning across a variety of faith backgrounds, many of which have no definitive scientific exp...

On today’s episode, Sharon is joined by CIA military analyst, WWII expert, and debut author, Lena Andrews, to unveil the scale and scope of what women in uniform contributed during WWII. Over 350,000 American women served in uniform during the war, in every service branch, in every combat theater, and in nearly two-thirds of the available military occupations at the time. This ranged from critical...

Sharon is joined by Olivia Campbell, author and journalist who marries the history of medicine in the Victorian era with stories of three audacious women who overcame profound sexism, societal stigmas, and a sea of obstacles to receive higher education. When diving into her book, “Women in White Coats: How the First Women Doctors Changed the World of Medicine,” we are reminded that medicine has no...

Sharon sits down with author and historical researcher, Bill Shaffer, to learn untold stories of a Hamilton descendant in his gripping book, “The Scandalous Hamiltons: A Gilded Age Grifter, a Founding Father's Disgraced Descendant, and a Trial at the Dawn of Tabloid Journalism. Today, if an author pitched a book proposal with as many twists and turns as this true story holds, it would likely be co...

On today’s episode of Here’s Where It Gets Interesting, Sharon welcomes law professor Stephen Vladeck to nerd out about all things The Supreme Court. Stephen dives into the elusive behind-the-scenes “shadow docket,” and how 99% of what the court does is in the shadows – without public hearings, and without explanation. With approval ratings of the The Supreme Court at a historic low, what can Cong...

Today on Here’s Where It Gets Interesting, Sharon welcomes back author and friend, Natalie Franke. Natalie’s new book, “Gutsy” is all about how we develop the courage in our own lives to do what we need to do. When we treat failure as the scapegoat, we often ignore the fact that fear is truly the culprit for why we get stuck, or postpone handling even simple tasks. Learn what it means to live with...