Reader's Corner

An interview with Hansen Shi, author of the thrilling new novel, The Expat. The book follows a young businessman who travels to China for a job offer, only to find himself thrust into a world of corporate espionage.

An interview with Adam Higginbotham, author of Challenger. The book is a thrilling minute-by-minute account of the 1986 Challenger shuttle disaster, based on new archival research.

Producer's Note: This is an encore edition of Reader's Corner. The episode originally aired in October 2022. An interview with Toya Wolfe, debut author of the novel, Last Summer on State Street. The book is a striking coming-of-age debut about friendship, community, and resilience, set in the housing projects of Chicago.

An interview with Marcel Dirsus, author of How Tyrants Fall. The book is a deeply-researched examination of how dictators are overthrown, and what happens to nations in the aftermath.

An interview with Brian Rosenwald, author of the book, Talk Radio's America. The book takes a close look at the infotainment format pioneered by Rush Limbaugh on AM radio, and the effect it had on the Republican party.

Note: This is an encore edition of Reader's Corner. The episode originally aired in September 2022. An interview with Mark Follman, author of Trigger Points: Inside the Mission to Stop Mass Shootings in America. The book casts new light on the behind-the-scenes work being done to predict and prevent mass shootings.

An interview with Rob Hart, author of the new novel, Assassins Anonymous. The book is a thrilling story of suspense, murder, and redemption, as a reformed hitman tries to stay on the straight and narrow while running for his life.

An interview with Arlie Russell Hochschild, author of Stolen Pride. Set in Appalachia, the book takes a hard look at the “pride paradox” that has given the Right Wing’s appeals such resonance.

Note: This is an encore presentation of Reader's Corner. The episode originally aired in September 2022.An interview with Edward H. Miller, author of A Conspiratorial Life: Robert Welch, the John Birch Society, and the Revolution of American Conservatism. In the book, Miller argues that Welch’s paranoid right-wing nativism, dismissed by thinkers like William F. Buckley, gradually moved from the fr...

An interview with Melissa B. Jacoby, author of the new book, Unjust Debts. The book offers an incisive look at the hidden role of bankruptcy in perpetuating inequality in America.

An interview with Amor Towles, bestselling author of the new book, Table for Two. The book is a collection of short fiction based in New York, along with a novella set in the Golden Age of Hollywood.

Note: This is an encore episode of Reader's Corner. The episode originally aired in June 2022. An interview with David Gelles, author of The Man Who Broke Capitalism: How Jack Welch Gutted the Heartland and Crushed the Soul of Corporate America―and How to Undo His Legacy. In the book, Gelles profiles the man who ushered in a new, cutthroat era of American capitalism that continues to this day

An interview with Timothy Snyder, author of the new book, On Freedom. The book is an exploration of the American ideal of freedom—what it is, how it’s been misunderstood, and why it may be our only chance for survival.

An interview with Sergey Radchenko, author of the new book, To Run the World. The book offers a detailed portrait of Russian leadership during the Cold War, helming a sprawling nation with irreconcilable ambitions as a self-proclaimed superpower and the leader of global revolution.

An interview with Illia Ponomarenko, author of the new book, I Will Show You How It Was. The book is powerful and personal chronicle of the war in Ukraine from the front lines.

Note: This is an encore edition of Reader's Corner. The episode originally aired in August 2022. An interview with Scott Weidensaul, author of A World on the Wing: The Global Odyssey of Migratory Birds. The book is exhilarating exploration of the science and wonder of global bird migration.

An interview with Jonathan Blitzer, author of Everyone Who Is Gone Is Here. The book is a vivid portrait of the people whose lives ebb and flow across the U.S. border, and how the immigration crisis shapes American politics and culture.

An interview with Minxin Pei, author of The Sentinel State. The book argues that the endurance of dictatorship in China owes less to advanced technology than it does to the human resources of the Leninist surveillance state.

Note: This is an encore edition of Reader's Corner. The episode originally aired in August 2022. An interview with Tom Lin, author of the novel, The Thousand Crimes of Ming Tsu. A twist on the classic western, it’s a story of one man's quest for redemption in the face of a distinctly American brutality.

An interview with Paul Hendrickson, author of the new book, Fighting the Night. The book is a moving story of his father’s wartime service as a night fighter pilot, and the prices he and his fellow soldiers paid for their selfless acts of service.

An interview with Nicholas Shakespeare, author of the new book, Ian Fleming: The Complete Man. The book offers an eye-opening portrait of the mysterious and fascinating man behind James Bond, and his enduring impact.

Note: This is an encore edition of Reader's Corner. The episode originally aired in July 2022.An interview with Gary Gerstle, author of The Rise and Fall of the Neoliberal Order: America and the World in the Free Market Era. The book illuminates how the ideology of neoliberalism became so infused in the daily life of an era.

An interview with David L. Roll, author of the new book, Ascent to Power. The book focuses on the fascinating story behind the most consequential presidential transition in US history, from Roosevelt to Truman.

An interview with David Ignatius, author of the new novel, Phantom Orbit. The book is a thrilling story of espionage against the backdrop of our nation’s renewed interest in space exploration amid geopolitical tumult.

Note: This is an encore edition of Reader's Corner. The episode originally aired in July 2022. An interview with Peter S. Goodman, author of Davos Man: How the Billionaires Devoured the World. The book is must read for anyone concerned about economic justice and the sanctity of representative government.