Q&A

U.S. District Court judge Frederic Block (Eastern District of New York) talks about the application of the 2018 First Step Act, under which federal prisoners who have served decades in prison can petition the court for reductions in their sentences. The bi-partisan act, signed into law by President Trump during his first term, was created to address the excesses in federal sentencing during the 19...

Military historian and presidential biographer Nigel Hamilton talks about the military face-off between two American presidents – Abraham Lincoln and Jefferson Davis – during the Civil War. He discusses the early months of the war, the decision to move the Confederate capitol to Virginia, Lincoln's Emancipation Proclamation, and more. This is part two of a two-part interview with Mr. Hamilton abou...

Military historian and presidential biographer Nigel Hamilton talks about the military face-off between two American presidents – Abraham Lincoln and Jefferson Davis – during the Civil War. He discusses the background of both men, their rise to the presidencies of the Union and the Confederacy, respectively, and the events that led up to attack on Fort Sumter by Confederate forces on April 12, 186...

Former high school government teacher and host of the "Here's Where It Gets Interesting" podcast, Sharon McMahon, author of "The Small and the Mighty," profiles lesser-known Americans who have changed the course of American history. During the interview, Ms. McMahon talks about the contributions of retail pioneers Richard Sears and Alvah Roebuck, former slave and philanthropist Clara Brown, Japane...

Stuart Eizenstat, former Domestic Policy Adviser to President Carter and U.S. Ambassador to the European Union under President Clinton, talks about his political career and his new book, "The Art Of Diplomacy," in which he discusses the work done to achieve agreements like the Camp David Accords, the Kyoto Protocols, and the Iran nuclear agreement. Mr. Eizenstat also talks about growing up in the...

 "For every young kid that makes a mistake, they can look at Don Scott and say, 'I'll never give up. I can still be what I want to be in America.'" That was former Republican governor Bob McDonnell of Virginia speaking about our guest this week, the state's newly elected Democratic speaker of the House of Delegates. Don Scott talks about the hurdles he overcame, including spending almost eight yea...

Since its founding in 1992, the Innocence Project has been responsible for getting hundreds of wrongfully convicted people in the United States out of prison. Attorney and Innocence Project executive director Christina Swarns joins us to talk about the history of the organization, the root causes of wrongful convictions, and some of the clients the Innocence Project has successfully represented ov...

New York City real estate developer Larry Silverstein, author of "The Rising," shares stories about the rebuilding of the World Trade Center complex following the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. Mr. Silverstein - who acquired a 99-year lease on the World Trade Center just weeks before the attacks - talks about his memories from that day and discusses the business, political, and engineering cha...

Twenty-five years ago, author Malcolm Gladwell published "The Tipping Point," about how ideas and behavior spread in a society to create positive change. The book was an international bestseller, having since sold over 2 million copies in the U.S. alone. In his follow-up, "Revenge of the Tipping Point," Mr. Gladwell looks at the downside of social epidemics, including the rise of opioid abuse and...

Half Jewish and a member of the Hitler Youth who saw Adolf Hitler in person, Jochen "Jack" Wurfl, author of "My Two Lives," talks about surviving in Nazi Germany and his later life and success in the United States. To hide their identities after the Nazis took over in 1933, Mr. Wurfl and his brother were baptized Catholic and later joined the Hitler Youth. His Catholic father, deemed a political e...

Peggy Noonan, Pulitzer Prize-winning columnist for the Wall Street Journal and former speechwriter for President Reagan, discusses her book "A Certain Idea of America," a collection of her columns from over the past quarter century. She also talks about her time working in the White House and her career in radio after graduating from college.     Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.f...

Investigative journalist Maureen Callahan talks about the physical and psychological abuse, and worse, that she says was experienced by women and girls connected to the Kennedy family going back to Joe Kennedy, Sr. In her book, "Ask Not," Callahan tells the stories of Carolyn Bessette-Kennedy, Kathleen "Kick" Kennedy, Martha Moxley, Mary Richardson Kennedy, Jacqueline Kennedy, and others. Learn mo...

Stuart Eizenstat, former Domestic Policy Adviser to President Carter and U.S. Ambassador to the European Union under President Clinton, talks about his political career and his new book, "The Art Of Diplomacy," in which he discusses the work done to achieve agreements like the Camp David Accords, the Kyoto Protocols, and the Iran nuclear agreement. Mr. Eizenstat also talks about growing up in the...

Since its founding in 1992, the Innocence Project has been responsible for getting hundreds of wrongfully convicted people in the United States out of prison. Attorney and Innocence Project executive director Christina Swarns joins us to talk about the history of the organization, the root causes of wrongful convictions, and some of the clients the Innocence Project has successfully represented ov...

Historian Pamela Toler talks about the life and career of journalist Sigrid Schultz, Berlin bureau chief for the Chicago Tribune from 1925-1941. Schultz provided first-hand accounts of the rise of Adolf Hitler in Germany and was one of the earliest reporters to warn Americans about the dangers of Nazism. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week on Q&A, Whole Foods co-founder John Mackey and Harvard University psychology professor Steven Pinker discuss their books. John Mackey, author of "The Whole Story," talks about the rise of Whole Foods, the organic foods grocery store chain, and his political and intellectual development. Professor Steven Pinker talks about the role that rationality plays in a functioning society and the g...

Historian Heath Hardage Lee, author of "The Mysterious Mrs. Nixon," talks about the life and times of the former First Lady (1969-74). She says that Pat Nixon, who was voted "Most Admired Woman in the World" in 1972, was largely mis-portrayed by the press, who characterized her as being elusive and "plastic." Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Former National Institutes of Health director Dr. Francis Collins, author of "The Road to Wisdom," talks about the milestones in his career, including his work on the Human Genome Project and the COVID-19 vaccine. He also talks about his Christian faith, the importance of engaging with those we disagree with, and the current distrust of science and government in the United States. Learn more about...

Julius and Ethel Rosenberg were executed in 1953 after being convicted of conspiracy to commit espionage for the Soviet Union. Their sons Michael and Robert Meeropol, nee Rosenberg, were 10 and 6 at the time. They are our guests this week. The sons talk about their parents' executions, their lives before and after, the anti-communist climate in the U.S. during the 1950s, the government's case agai...

James Allen, Jr., murdered Tony Sylvester in Las Vegas during a 1980 home burglary, a crime for which he was found guilty and sentenced to death. Mr. Allen, who was a teenager at the time, spent 26 years in prison, including almost 4 years on death row, before being paroled by the state of Nevada in 2008. Since being released, he has spent his time mentoring at-risk youth and working with the Neva...

Author and publisher Peter Osnos talks about "LBJ and McNamara," a book-length Substack serial and soon to be book about President Johnson and Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara's handling of the Vietnam War. Mr. Osnos, Saigon correspondent for the Washington Post during the war, also talks about publishing Robert McNamara's memoir "In Retrospect" and the meetings he had with McNamara in prepara...

Fifty years ago, on August 8, 1974, President Nixon, who was under threat of impeachment, announced that he would resign from office. The following day, Vice President Gerald Ford was sworn in as the 38th president of the United States. Gerald and Betty Ford's son, Steven Ford, provides a behind-the-scenes look at that tumultuous period in American history and President Ford's term in office, incl...

Former congressman Patrick Kennedy (D-RI) talks about Americans who have struggled with mental illness and the stigma and silence that he says still surrounds it. He shares the stories of the people profiled in his book, "Profiles in Mental Health Courage," including himself and members of his own family. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We sat down with Ben's Chili Bowl owner Virginia Ali and Ben's Chili Bowl official historian Bernard Demczuk to talk about the history of the Washington, DC, landmark. Opened in 1958 by Ben and Virginia Ali, Ben's Chili Bowl has been a hangout for civil rights activists, politicians, and celebrities for over 65 years. Recently, Bernard Demczuk published a book about Mrs. Ali and Ben's titled "Brea...

Author and actor George Takei talks about growing up in internment camps in the U.S. during World War II, following the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941. Mr. Takei and his family were four of the 120,000 Japanese Americans to be forcibly removed from their homes and relocated to military-run camps during the war on the orders of President Franklin Roosevelt. Mr. Takei has recent...