American Purpose's Bookstack
The books and ideas podcast from American Purpose.
About the show
Weekly conversations with authors of new and recent books.
Host Richard Aldous is a historian and professor at Bard College, New York, and the author of several books, including Schlesinger: The Imperial Historian; Reagan and Thatcher: The Difficult Relationship; The Lion and the Unicorn: Gladstone vs. Disraeli.
For more about American Purpose, visit www.americanpurpose.com.
Episodes
-
Episode 27: Sean McMeekin's New Take on World War II
May 21st, 2021 | 33 mins 29 secs
america, books, europe, history, politics, russia, stalin
Historian Sean McMeekin joins host Richard Aldous to discuss all this, as well as his new book, Stalin’s War.
-
Episode 26: Olivette Otele on the history of African Europeans
May 16th, 2021 | 30 mins 7 secs
africa, books, europe, history, politics
Olivette Otele, Professor of History of Slavery and Memory of enslavement at the University of Bristol, joins host Richard Aldous to talk about her new book, African Europeans: An Untold History.
-
Episode 25: Vernon Bogdanor on Britain's wavering connections to Europe
May 7th, 2021 | 38 mins 49 secs
books, britian, eu, europe, history, politics
Our guest Vernon Bogdanor, professor of government at Kings College, joins host Richard Aldous to talk about his new book, Britain and Europe in a Troubled World.
-
Episode 24: Stephen Walker on the First Journey Into Space
April 30th, 2021 | 39 mins 22 secs
books, history, politics, russia, space, ussr
As the space race heats up once again, author Stephen Walker joins our host Richard Aldous to discuss his remarkable new book Beyond: The Astonishing Story of the First Human to Leave Our Planet and Journey Into Space.
-
Episode 23: Lawrence J. Haas on the Kennedys' Approach to the World
April 16th, 2021 | 34 mins 8 secs
america, books, history, politics
Lawrence J. Haas joins host Richard Aldous to talk about his new book, The Kennedys in the World: How Jack, Bobby, and Ted Remade America’s Empire.
-
Episode 22: Cristina Groeger on Education and Economic Disparity
April 9th, 2021 | 37 mins 3 secs
books, boston, education, history, politics
This week, Cristina Groeger joins Richard Aldous to talk about her new book, The Education Trap: Schools and the Remaking of Inequality in Boston, and discusses how education came to be seen as a panacea even as it paved the way for deepening inequality.
-
Episode 21: Paula Marantz Cohen on Shakespeare and Empathy
April 2nd, 2021 | 30 mins 5 secs
books, history, politics
In a time of division, difference, and cancel culture, what can we learn from Shakespeare (who himself has been caught in the crossfire of today’s culture wars)?
-
Episode 20: Roya Hakakian's Immigrant Guide to America
March 26th, 2021 | 38 mins 16 secs
america, books, congress, politics, us
Roya Hakakian joins host Richard Aldous to talk about her new book A Beginner’s Guide to America.
-
Episode 19: Ritchie Robertson on the Enlightenment, 1680-1790
March 19th, 2021 | 33 mins 33 secs
Ritchie Robertson joins host Richard Aldous to discuss his new book, The Enlightenment: The Pursuit of Happiness 1680-1790
-
Episode 18: Richard Thompson Ford on Fashion, Law, and Social Change
March 5th, 2021 | 27 mins 42 secs
books, fashion, history, law, politics
Richard Thompson Ford joins host Richard Aldous to discuss all this, along with his new book, Dress Codes: How the Laws of Fashion Made History.
-
Episode 17: R. James Breiding on Small-Nation Success
February 26th, 2021 | 36 mins 17 secs
books, europe, history, politics
R. James Breiding joins host Richard Aldous to discuss his new book Too Small To Fail: Why Some Small Nations Outperform Larger Ones and How They Are Reshaping the World.
-
Episode 16: Emma Rothschild’s Generational Portrait of France
February 19th, 2021 | 29 mins 4 secs
biography, books, history, politics
"History from below” is usually an effort at social history seen through statistics and figures. Our guest this week, Emma Rothschild, takes a different approach in her new book, An Infinite History: The Story of a Family in France Over Three Centuries, by recounting a vast narrative at times resembling a period novel.
-
Episode 15: Robert D. Kaplan on Humanitarian Bob Gersony
February 12th, 2021 | 33 mins 10 secs
biography, books, espionage, history, politics
Bestselling author Robert D. Kaplan joins Richard Aldous to discuss human rights, activism, realism, and his new book, The Good American: The Epic Life of Bob Gersony, the U.S. Government’s Greatest Humanitarian.
-
Episode 14: Dominique Kirchner Reill on Interwar Fascism in Fiume
February 5th, 2021 | 31 mins 34 secs
books, europe, history, politics
This week, Dominique Kirchner Reill joins host Richard Aldous to discuss fascism, resilience, the indeterminacy of history, and her new book, The Fiume Crisis: Life in the Wake of the Habsburg Empire.
-
Episode 13: Kevin Kosar on Congressional Dysfunction
January 29th, 2021 | 34 mins 30 secs
america, books, congress, politics, us
Congress is in a bad way. Why is this the case, when all the instruments for its revival are literally within its grasp? What can we do to encourage change? And will the Biden era move the needle?
-
Episode 12: Larry Diamond on Saving Democracy
January 22nd, 2021 | 33 mins 50 secs
america, books, democracy, politics, us
With the transfer of power to President Joe Biden complete, American Purpose Editorial Board member Larry Diamond joins host Richard Aldous to take the temperature of American democracy. While there was plenty to lose sleep over, is there cause for optimism about American democracy? What kind of reforms are still necessary? And how is the next generation of young Americans thinking about the challenges?