Book Club with Michael Smerconish

The Grateful Dead is one of Michael's favorite bands - listen to his conversation with legendary bass player Phil Lesh, on his book "Searching for the Sound: My Life with the Grateful Dead." Original air date April 2006. The book was published on 25 April 2006. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See https://pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for ad...

Liz Cheney served as a member of Congress from 2017 to 2023, rising to chair the House Republican Conference until her stand against the January 6th insurrection caused her party to strip away that role, and led to her defeat in the 2022 primary election. An attorney and national security specialist, Cheney previously worked in Eastern Europe, Russia, Ukraine and the Middle East while serving in t...

Michael is joined by American anthropologist and author Chip Colwell to discuss his new book "Stuff: Humanity's Epic Journey from Naked Ape to Nonstop Shopper." Original air date 11 December 2023. The book was published on 16 November 2023. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See https://pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Comedian Joan Rivers passed away in 2014. In 2018, her daughter published this great book "Joan Rivers Confidential: The Unseen Scrapbooks, Joke Cards, Personal Files, and Photos of a Very Funny Woman Who Kept Everything." Listen to Michael's conversation with Melissa Rivers, right as the MeToo movement was underway, and what would her mom have said about it? Original air date 11 January 2018. The...

An incredible homage to the creative and entrepreneurial spirit of the book business in the 20th century. Book publisher Buz Teacher, co-founder of Running Press, joins Michael to discuss his new book "Among Friends: An Illustrated Oral History of American Book Publishing and Bookselling in the 20th Century." Original Air Date 06 December 2023. The book was published on 23 September 2023. Hosted b...

How the American financial system lost its way, and how it can right its course...from deep in Michael's archives, a conversation with the founder and former CEO of Vanguard Jack C. Bogle, on his book "The Battle for the Soul of Capitalism." Mr. Bogle passed away in 2019. Original air date 8 November 2005. The book was published on 1 November 2005. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See htt...

Legendary Philadelphia sports talk radio host Angelo Cataldi, now retired, is out with a great new book and joins Michael to talk about "Angelo Cataldi: LOUD: How a Shy Nerd Came to Philadelphia and Turned up the Volume in the Most Passionate Sports City in America." Original air date 30 November 2023. The book was published on 28 November 2023. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See https:...

From his days on local radio in Philadelphia, Michael spoke with former California Governor and Actor Arnold Schwarzenegger about the news of the day (2012 election, remember Mitt Romney's campaign?), and his book "Total Recall: My Unbelievably True Life Story." Also in the conversation are TC, and Michael's former producer at WPHT Greg Stocker. Original air date 8 October 2012. The book was publi...

Michael has to physically touch the New York Times every day. The newsprint in his hands - its the only paper he has a copy of. It's a newspaper that has seen massive changes over the past four decades. Listen to Adam Nagourney, National Political Reporter for the Times, talk about his book "The Times: How the Newspaper of Record Survived Scandal, Scorn, and the Transformation of Journalism." Orig...

Michael's conversation with former President Jimmy Carter on his book "Palestine: Peace Not Apartheid." The conversation is followed up by reaction from Harvard Professor Alan Dershowitz, who has differing opinions than President Carter - an interesting listen nearly 20 years later. Original air date 30 November 2006. The book was published on 16 November 2006. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz com...

Quite the conversation here from the archives: In October 2013 just before the 50th anniversary of the Kennedy Assassination, Michael hosted former MN Governor Jesse Ventura in front of a live studio audience in New York, on his new book "They Killed Our President: 63 Reasons to Believe There Was a Conspiracy to Assassinate JFK." Original air date 1 October 2013. The book was published on 1 Januar...

Michael is joined by journalist and author, Brian Stelter to discuss his new book "Network of Lies: The Epic Saga of Fox News, Donald Trump, and the Battle for American Democracy." It tells the story of how Fox News paid almost a billion dollars in legal settlements to bury the contents of this explosive account of the network’s attempts to manipulate the truth. Original air date: 16 November 2023...

Michael welcomes New York Times bestselling author and Pulitzer Prize finalist Garrett M. Graff with his new book, "UFO: The Inside Story of the US Government's Search for Alien Life Here―and Out There." Listen to this interview about the first comprehensive and eye-opening exploration of our government’s decades-long quest to solve one of humanity’s greatest mysteries: Are we alone in the univers...

Bestselling author and New York Times Columnist David Brooks joins the podcast to discuss his new book "How to Know a Person: The Art of Seeing Others Deeply and Being Deeply Seen," which pulls from his own observations and research and dives into the topic of human connection and its importance in today's society. Original Air Date 14 November 2023. The book was published on 24 October 2023. Host...

Former New Jersey Governor James E. McGreevey, who in 2004 came out as gay and resigned from office, is back in the news, now announcing (in November 2023) that he is running for Mayor of Jersey City, NJ. In 2006, Michael spoke with him about his candid memoir, "The Confession." The book was published on 19 September 2006. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See https://pcm.adswizz.com for i...

Michael talks with New York Times bestselling author Nelson DeMille on his new novel "Blood Lines." The story features the return of Army CID Special Agents Brodie and Taylor who are on the hunt for the cold-blooded murderer of one of their fellow agents. Original air date 10 November 2023. The book was published on 10 October 2023. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See https://pcm.adswizz...

Michael talks with Robert Rubin, former secretary of the Treasury and co-chairman of Goldman Sachs, on his book "The Yellow Pad: Making Better Decisions in an Uncertain World." Original air date 7 November 2023. The book was published on 16 May 2023. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See https://pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Michael talks to former presidential candidate Ralph Nader about his book "Unstoppable: The Emerging Left-Right Alliance to Dismantle the Corporate State," wherein he argues of the dangers that a politically divided America can bring. Original air date 23 March 2014. The book was published on 29 April 2014. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See https://pcm.adswizz.com for information about...

Michael Smerconish talks with Jeffery Rosen, President& CEO of the National Constitution Center. His book about the life and career of Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg is "Conversations with RBG: Ruth Bader Ginsburg on Life, Love, Liberty, and Law." This conversation happened almost a hear before Justice Ginsburg passed away, she died in September 2020. Original air date 6 November 2019....

A remarkably illuminating biography of one of America’s most fascinating political figures—including news-making revelations from Mitt Romney himself about dissension within today’s Republican Party—written with his full cooperation by an award-winning writer at The Atlantic. Michael welcomes McKay Coppins for a conversation on "Romney: A Reckoning." Original air date 27 October 2023. The book was...

Michael's conversation with the Facebook Whistleblower, Frances Haugen, on her book "The Power of One: How I Found the Strength to Tell the Truth and Why I Blew the Whistle on Facebook." Original air date 26 October 2023. The book was published on 13 June 2023. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See https://pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for ad...

Former Governor Mike Huckabee (R-AR) asks, "Have I been taken to a different planet than the one on which I grew up?" The New York Times bestselling author explores today's fractious American culture, where divisions of class, race, politics, religion, gender, age, and other fault lines make polite conversation dicey, if not downright dangerous. Listen to Michael's conversation with him on his boo...

One of our great behavioral scientists, the bestselling author of "Behave", plumbs the depths of the science and philosophy of decision-making to mount a devastating case against free will, an argument with profound consequences. Listen to Michael's conversation with Stanford University Professor of biology and neurolgy Dr. Robert M. Sapolsky, author of "Determined: A Science of Life without Free...

One of the most powerful women in New York State government history shares her gripping and candid story for the first time - Melissa DeRosa became a household name as an aide to then-New York Governor Andrew Cuomo when he was thrust onto the national stage during COVID. She joins Michael with her memoir "What's Left Unsaid: My Life at the Center of Power, Politics & Crisis." Original air date 20...

He was a captivating speaker at the 2016 Democratic National Convention - and he wrote a captivating book. Hear Michael speak with Khizr Khan, on "An American Family: A Memoir of Hope and Sacrifice." Original air date 27 October 2017. The book was published on 24 October 2017. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See https://pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of pers...