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BN+: Investigative Journalist Seth Harp Explores The Fort Bragg Cartel Mar 17, 2026

Show notes

Seth Harp is a lawyer and an Iraq war veteran and an investigative writer and journalist. His first book, "The Fort Bragg Cartel," is about drug trafficking and murder in the Special Forces. Near the end of his book, Harp writes: "Between January 2017 and September 2022, a total of 15,293 active duty service members suffered drug overdoses, and 322 of those were fatal. The Defense Department data showed that Fort Bragg had far more overdoses than any other military base in both absolute and per capita terms." Fort Bragg is located in Fayetteville, North Carolina, and is the largest populated army base with close to 50,000 soldiers. It is the headquarters of the secret Delta Force.

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Q&A: Lee Bollinger Discusses University: A Reckoning and Academic Freedom in America Mar 16, 2026

Show notes

Former longtime Columbia University president Lee Bollinger discusses his book "University: A Reckoning," about the purpose and future of universities in the United States. He also talks about protests and free speech on college campuses and the targeting of Columbia, Harvard, and other institutions of higher learning by the Trump administration.

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AW: A Former US Marine's Journey from Russian Prison to the Ukrainian War Mar 15, 2026

Show notes

Former U.S. Marine Trevor Reed discussed his 2019 arrest and imprisonment in Russia and his decision to volunteer in war against the Russians in Ukraine after his release. This event was hosted by Georgetown University in Washington, D.C.

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BN+: Josh Ireland, "The Death of Trotsky" Mar 10, 2026

Show notes

London-based writer Josh Ireland is the author of three books and ghostwriter of five others. His latest is titled "The Death of Trotsky: The True Story of the Plot to Kill Stalin's Greatest Enemy." According to Josh Ireland, Trotsky led two revolutions and a civil war in Russia in the first half of the 20th century. Leon Trotsky died on August the 21, 1940. The day before, in Trotsky's house near Mexico City, a man named Ramon Mercator sunk an ice axe into Trotsky's skull. He lived for 26 hours. Mercator, who had several names, was a Soviet agent and had befriended Trotsky. This was all the work of Stalin, Trotsky's archenemy. Josh Ireland's first sentence of chapter one asked this question: "When did Joseph Stalin decide to crush or destroy or kill Leon Trotsky?" His book tells the complicated story.

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Q&A: Gov. Gavin Newsom (D-CA), "Young Man in a Hurry" Mar 09, 2026

Show notes

California governor Gavin Newsom (D) discusses his memoir, "Young Man in a Hurry," in which he chronicles moments in his life that influenced his political career. He was mayor of San Francisco from 2004 to 2011 and then served as lieutenant governor before becoming governor in 2019. Gov. Newsom also talks about his personal life, including living with dyslexia, and his relationship with billionaire Gordon Getty, a longtime political benefactor.

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ABC: Journalists Peter Baker & Susan Glasser Discuss Profiling Putin, Trump, and Other Leaders Mar 08, 2026

Show notes

Married journalists Peter Baker and Susan Glasser join David M. Rubenstein to discuss collaborating to write books profiling key newsmakers including Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump.

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AW: How AI is Transforming Healthcare Mar 08, 2026

Show notes

Dr. Robert Wachter examined the future of artificial intelligence being used in health care. The Commonwealth Club of California in San Francisco hosted this event.

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BN+: Richard John Neuhaus, "As I Lay Dying" Mar 03, 2026

Show notes

On May 26, 2002, our guest on the Booknotes television program was Richard John Neuhaus . His book, "As I Lay Dying: Meditations Upon Returning." The Neuhaus interview received one of the biggest responses of any during the history of the 16-year program. Neuhaus was 66 at the time and told us that several years earlier, he had a ruptured tumor that almost killed him. During a series of complicated operations, weeks in critical condition, and months in slow recovery, he was brought face to face with his own mortality. As he lay dying, he found that despite his faith, he had been quite unprepared for the experience. In 1990, Richard John Neuhaus, a writer and Lutheran minister, became a Catholic priest. He died of cancer in 2009 at age 72.

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Q&A: Steve Israel Explores Espionage and Science in The Einstein Conspiracy Mar 02, 2026

Show notes

Former U.S. Congressman Steve Israel (D-NY) discusses his book, "The Einstein Conspiracy," a novel based on an actual plot by the Nazis to silence physicist Albert Einstein during the 1930s. Einstein, a prominent critic of Hitler, moved to the United States with his wife in 1933 and became a citizen in 1940. This interview was recorded at Theodore's Book in Oyster Bay, New York, an independent bookstore opened by Mr. Israel in 2021.

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ABC: Pulitzer Winner Rick Atkinson on Revolutionary War and WWII Trilogies with David Rubenstein Mar 01, 2026

Show notes

Three-time Pulitzer Prize winner Rick Atkinson joins David M. Rubenstein at the National Archives to discuss his trilogies examining the Revolutionary War and World War II and view artifacts in the Archives' vault.

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