Book Club with Michael Smerconish

In a divided America, the biggest solvable problem fueling political extremism and dysfunction is hiding in plain sight: party primaries. The Primary Solution shows how to fix them. Michael talks to Nick Troiano, Executive Director of Unite America, on his book "The Primary Solution: Rescuing Our Democracy from the Fringes." Original air date 28 February 2024. The book was published on 27 February...

Peter Singer is often described as the world's most influential philosopher. He is also one of its most controversial. Listen to Michael's conversation with the Professor of Bioethics at Princeton University, on the book, "Ethics In The Real World: 82 Brief Essays On Things That Matter." Original air date: 13 September 2016. The book was published 13 September 2016. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWiz...

A remarkably poignant writer for our troubled times, Patti Davis writes about love, loss, and the power of redemption in this poetic letter to her long-gone parents. The daughter of Ronald and Nancy Reagan talks to Michael about her book "Dear Mom and Dad: A Letter About Family, Memory, and the America We Once Knew." Original air date 22 February 2024. The book was published on 6 February 2024. Ho...

A fascinating examination of what “the pursuit of happiness” meant to our nation’s Founders and how that famous phrase defined their lives and became the foundation of our democracy. Listen to Michael's conversation with National Constitution Center President Jeffrey Rosen about "The Pursuit of Happiness: How Classical Writers on Virtue Inspired the Lives of the Founders and Defined America." Orig...

What determines your race? Is it your DNA? The community in which you were raised? The way others see you or the way you see yourself? With "In Full Color: Finding My Place in a Black and White World", Rachel Doležal describes the path that led her from being a child of white evangelical parents to an NAACP chapter president and respected educator and activist who identifies as Black. Original air...

Michael speaks with Peter Wehner about his book "The Death of Politics: How to Heal Our Frayed Republic After Trump." The New York Times opinion writer, media commentator, outspoken Republican and Christian critic of the Trump presidency offers a spirited defense of politics and its virtuous and critical role in maintaining our democracy and what he believes we must do to save it before it is too...

New York Times Bestselling author Lisa Scottoline joins Michael with her 2008 hit novel "Lady Killer." Mary DiNunzio is a trademark Lisa Scottoline heroine—she's strong, she's smart, and she's got plenty of attitude. She's become a big-time business-getter, and the last person she expects to walk into her office one morning—in mile-high stilettos—is super sexy Trish Gambone, her high school rival....

Free Range Kids has become a national movement, sparked by the incredible response to Lenore Skenazy's piece about allowing her 9-year-old ride the subway alone in NYC. Parent groups argued about it, bloggers, blogged, spouses became uncivil with each other, and the media jumped all over it. Michael and Lenore revisit her book "Free-Range Kids, Giving Our Children the Freedom We Had Without Going...

On February 4, 1974, Patty Hearst, a sophomore in college and heiress to the Hearst Family fortune, was kidnapped by a ragtag group of self-styled revolutionaries calling itself the Symbonese Liberation Army. The weird turns that followed in this already sensational take are truly astonishing--listen to bestselling author Jeffrey Toobin talking to Michael about "American Heiress: The Wild Saga of...

From one of the world's foremost experts on the subject, a powerful argument that the greatest damage from drugs flows from their being illegal, and a hopeful reckoning with the possibility of their use as part of a responsible and happy life. Michael talks with Dr. Carl Hart, Professor at Columbia University, about his book "Drug Use for Grown-Ups: Chasing Liberty in the Land of Fear." Hosted by...

Our kids are being raised disconnected from natural outdoor environments, for a variety of reasons like technology addictions, fears and dangers of being alone outside and many more. Michael welcomes Richard Louv, author of "Last Child in the Woods: Saving Our Children From Nature-Deficit Disorder." As children’s connections to nature diminish and the social, psychological, and spiritual implicati...

Kate Andersen Brower, New York Times bestselling author, gives us an an intimate, news-making look at the true modern power brokers at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue: the First Ladies, from Jackie Kennedy to Michelle Obama and Melania Trump. Listen to Michael's conversation with her on "First Women: The Grace and Power of America's Modern First Ladies." Original air date 21 April 2016. The book was publ...

From the archives, Michael's conversation with journalist Bob Woodward on his #1 New York Times Bestselling book "State of Denial: Bush At War", which examines how the George W. Bush administration avoided telling the truth about Iraq to the public, to Congress, and often to themselves. This conversation is from 2006, around when the book was published. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. Se...

Michael attended a talk at the Union League of Philadelphia called "James Bond Beyond The Cold War" and so enjoyed what he heard that he welcomed Dr. Ronald Granieri in for a conversation on the book he has co-authored, "The Bondian Cold War (Routledge Studies in Espionage and Culture)." Original air date 26 January 2024. The book was published on 1 September 2023. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz...

A fascinating, first-of-its-kind journey through the making of America's most complex, intriguing, and popular game. Michael's conversation with ESPN’s Sal Paolantonio, who explores just how crucial football is to understanding the American psyche. Original air date 16 September 2008. The book was published on 1 September 2008. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See https://pcm.adswizz.com...

Longtime journalist and satirist P.J. O'Rourke with Michael on his book "The Baby Boom: How It Got That Way...And It Wasn't My Fault...And I'll Never Do It Again..." Mr. O'Rourke passed away in February 2022. Original air date 28 January 2014. The book was published on 07 January 2014. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See https://pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and us...

Height? Skill? Wealth? What is the most useful trait when looking to become an NBA player. Seth Stephens-Davidowitz joins Michael to discuss this question in his new book: "Who Makes the NBA?: Data-Driven Answers to Basketball's Biggest Questions." Original air date 19 January 2024. The book was published December 8 2023. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See https://pcm.adswizz.com for in...

It was just before he decided to run for President in the 2012 cycle: Listen to Michael's conversation with former Governor & Senator Mitt Romney, on his book "No Apology: The Case for American Greatness." Original air date 6 April 2010. The book was published on 2 March 2010. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See https://pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of pers...

Veteran Jack Lucas, who served in the Marines during World War 2 joins Michael to discuss his book "Indestructible: The Unforgettable Story of a Marine Hero at the Battle of Iwo Jima." Original air date 21 May 2007. The book was published 1 May 2006. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See https://pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Bestselling author Brad Meltzer joins Michael to discuss his new book "I Am Ruth Bader Ginsburg" which is part of his award-winning 'Ordinary People Change The World' series. Original air date 8 January 2024. The book was published on 9 January 2024. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See https://pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Decision strategist, professional poker champion and author Annie Duke joins Michael to discuss her life, career, and book "Thinking In Bets: Making Smarter Decisions When You Don't Have All the Facts." Original air date: 09 February 2018. The book was published on 6 February 2018. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See https://pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of...

Journalist and bestselling author Ted Gup writes on a broad range of American institutions, exposing how and why they keep secrets from the very people they are supposed to serve. Drawing on original reporting and startling analysis, Gup argues that a preoccupation with secrets has undermined the very values—security, patriotism, privacy, the national interest—in whose name secrecy is so often inv...

Winding back the clock, today's book club podcast Michael is joined by Maya Angelou an American memoirist, poet, and civil rights activist. She discusses her book "Letter To My Daughter." Original Air Date: September 2008. The book was published on 23 September 2008. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See https://pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data...

From the acclaimed, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Make Your Bed—a short, inspirational book about the qualities of true, everyday heroes. Listen to Michael talk to Admiral William McRaven about "The Hero Code: Lessons Learned from Lives Well Lived." Original air date 15 April 2021. The book was published on 13 April 2021. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See https://pcm.adswizz....

Listen to Michael's conversation with Jane Leavy, the award-winning, New York Times bestselling author of The Last Boy and Sandy Koufax, author of "The Big Fella: Babe Ruth and the World He Created" - the definitive biography of Babe Ruth—the man Roger Angell dubbed "the model for modern celebrity." Original air date 14 December 2018. The book was published on 16 October 2018. Hosted by Simplecast...