Book Club with Michael Smerconish

Watch the "Book Club" special event at Citizen's Bank Park in Philadelphia, PA on June 12, 2012 where Michael and Jim Abbott talk in front of 1,000 people in the stadium here! On Sunday, July 13th, 2025, Jim Abbott is the subject of a new ESPN E60 Documentary, Southpaw: The Life and Legacy of Jim Abbott . Michael spoke with Abbott about this new feature about his incredible story on The Smerconish...

In this episode, Michael Smerconish talks with journalist and author Salena Zito about her new book "Butler: The Untold Story of the Near Assassination of Donald Trump and the Fight for America’s Heartland." Salena shares her firsthand account of being just feet away during the shooting of Donald Trump in Butler, Pennsylvania, explores the significance of this pivotal moment, and reveals the profo...

Kevin Hines attempted suicide in 2000 in San Francisco and fortunately lived to tell about it, and wrote a powerful memoir in 2013. In 2016, there was a string of suicides on the University of Pennsylvania campus. In that context, Michael had this conversation with Kevin about "Cracked, Not Broken: Surviving and Thriving After a Suicide Attempt." Kevin shares his story of surviving a suicide attem...

Surfing, politics, and...finding common ground! Michael is joined by former Obama speechwriter and author David Litt to discuss his new book "It's Only Drowning: A True Story of Learning to Surf and the Pursuit of Common Ground." They explore Litt’s unexpected friendship with his apolitical, Joe Rogan–loving brother-in-law, the lessons of surfing, and what it all says about bridging America’s poli...

Michael Smerconish is joined by Atlantic staff writer Sophie Gilbert to discuss her new book, "Girl on Girl: How Pop Culture Turned a Generation of Women Against Themselves." Together, they explore the powerful influence of media, the evolution of pornography, and how pop culture has shaped modern views on sex, identity, and connection—for both women and men. A candid, thought-provoking conversati...

From the Pulitzer Prize-winning, best-selling author and preeminent investigative journalist of our time—a heartfelt, hugely revealing memoir of a decades-long career breaking some of the most impactful stories of the last half-century, from Washington to Vietnam to the Middle East. Seymour Hersh's fearless reporting has earned him fame, front-page bylines in virtually every major newspaper in the...

There is one reason why planes crash. Michael asks the question to David Soucie in this conversation about his book "Why Planes Crash: An Accident Investigator's Fight for Safe Skies." This interview happened just a few months after the disappearance of Malaysian Airlines Flight 370, which through today remains one of the world's greatest aviation mysteries. Soucie is a longtime aviation accident...

Follow along a Navy SEAL's firsthand account of American heroism during a secret military operation in Afghanistan in this true story of survival and difficult choices. On a clear night in late June 2005, four U.S. Navy SEALs left their base in northern Afghanistan for the mountainous Pakistani border. Their mission was to capture or kill a notorious al Qaeda leader known to be ensconced in a Tali...

In 2007, Michael welcomed bestselling author Walter Isaacson to talk about "Einstein: His Life and Universe." Listen to the author of the acclaimed bestseller "Benjamin Franklin" discuss the first full biography of Albert Einstein since all of his papers have become available. How did his mind work? What made him a genius? Isaacson's biography shows how the imagination that distinguished his scien...

An inspiring conversation between Michael and Dawn Staley about her book "Uncommon Favor: Basketball, North Philly, My Mother, and the Life Lessons I Learned from All Three." A three-time Olympic gold medalist, six-time WNBA All-Star, and the first person to win the Naismith College Player of the Year award as both a player and coach, Staley has shattered expectations at every level of the game. W...

The Lamoureux twins—Olympic gold medalists on the historic 2018 US women’s ice hockey team—tell their story of grit and determination, from youth hockey dominated by boys to the big business of elite international sports, fighting for gender equity in hockey, sports, and beyond. Michael welcomes Jocelyne Lamoureux-Davidson and Monique Lamoureux-Morando, authors of "Dare to Make History: Chasing a...

America has a powerful new president... And her husband's on trial for murder. Former President Bill Clinton and bestselling author James Patterson are back with another thriller: The First Gentlemen. Yes, it IS a work of fiction, but as you'll hear in Michael's conversation with them, there are very real-life, real-world points the book makes, particularly on the debt situation in the US. Listen...

Richard A. Clarke is one of the world's leading experts on security, cyberspace, and terrorism. He served in the U.S. government for thirty years, including as White House counterterrorism coordinator under Presidents Bill Clinton and George W. Bush, and became the first White House official placed in charge of U.S. cybersecurity policy. He is the author of eight books (four works of nonfiction an...

Michael sits down with CNN anchor and author Jake Tapper to discuss "Original Sin: President Biden’s Decline, Its Cover-Up, and His Disastrous Choice to Run Again" co-authored with Alex Thompson. Tapper opens up about what hasn't been fully covered in the media, including behind-the-scenes moments during the 2024 debate, concerns from top Democratic senators, and internal White House dynamics. The...

With the news of Pete Rose, Major League Baseball's career hits leader, being posthumously removed from the league's permanent ineligibility list, Michael speaks with Keith O'Brien, author of "Charlie Hustle: The Rise and Fall of Pete Rose, and the Last Glory Days of Baseball." Charlie Hustle tells the full story of one of America’s most epic tragedies—the rise and fall of Pete Rose. Drawing on fi...

Michael sits down with Suzy Welch—NYU Stern professor, journalist, and best-selling author—to discuss her transformative new book :Becoming You: The Proven Method for Crafting Your Authentic Life and Career." The conversation blends personal reflection with practical insight as Suzy introduces her evidence-based methodology for helping people align their values, aptitudes, and interests in pursuit...

This conversation was recorded the morning of the start of the Conclave to replace Pope Francis.  Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

In this episode of The Book Club with Michael Smerconish, Michael sits down with Graydon Carter, legendary former editor of Vanity Fair, to discuss his captivating new memoir, "When The Going Was Good: An Editor’s Adventures During the Last Golden Age of Magazines." The conversation is filled with sharp wit, rich anecdotes, and reflections on a media era defined by luxury, talent, and cultural inf...

Michael welcomes Admiral William McRaven with his book "Conquering Crisis: Ten Lessons to Learn Before You Need Them." The retired Naval officer and bestselling author tells stories from his life and career that illustrate the principles of effective leadership during times of crisis. Throughout his 40-year career, Admiral McRaven has experienced every manner of calamity imaginable. From managing...

From September 2007, Michael's conversation with John Mearsheimer, co-author of "The Israel Lobby and U.S. Foreign Policy." "The Israel Lobby," by John J. Mearsheimer of the University of Chicago and Stephen M. Walt of Harvard's John F. Kennedy School of Government, was one of the most controversial articles in recent memory. Originally published in the London Review of Books in March 2006, it pro...

Michael speaks with Jeffrey Selingo, author of "Who Gets In and Why: A Year Inside College Admissions." The award-winning higher education journalist and New York Times bestselling author's book offers a revealing look from inside the admissions office—one that identifies surprising strategies that will aid in the college search. Getting into a top-ranked college has never seemed more impossible,...

Michael welcomes former Ohio Governor John Kasich, author of "Heaven Help Us: How Faith Communities Inspire Hope, Strengthen Neighborhoods, and Build the Future". In a time of division and cynicism, Kasich shares uplifting stories of faith communities making real change—from churches supporting immigrants to mosques building interfaith bridges. It's a powerful reminder of the hope and strength fou...

Ben Sherwood's "The Survivors Club: The Secrets and Science that Could Save Your Life" was so fascinating to Michael that he had him back on for this interview, 11 years after the book was written. Each second of the day, someone in America faces a crisis, whether it's a car accident, violent crime, serious illness, or financial trouble. Given the inevitability of adversity, we all wonder: Who bea...

Let’s begin an implausible story with a seemingly simple yet complex question: If you were single, never married with no children or dependents, would you, if you had the opportunity, have lived “on the down low” in a secret apartment in Veterans Stadium in Philadelphia? Tom Garvey did just that - yes he LIVED there - and tells the tale in this incredible story. Original air date 19 March 2021. Th...

Michael talks to Amie Parnes & Jonathan Allen about "Fight: Inside the Wildest Battle for the White House." The authors of the #1 New York Times bestseller 'Shattered' provide a revelatory, inside look at the Biden, Harris, and Trump camps during the 2024 battle for the White House, arguably the most consequential contest in American history. The ride was so wild that it forced a sitting president...