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Q&A: Enes Kanter Freedom Discusses His Memoir and Global Human Rights Advocacy Dec 29, 2025

Show notes

Former NBA player Enes Kanter Freedom, chosen third in the NBA draft in 2011, is the author of "In the Name of Freedom." In his book, he talks about advocating for human rights as a professional athlete. The Turkish American basketball player has been critical of the NBA and Nike for doing business with China and has called out LeBron James for staying silent on China's human rights abuses. He has also testified in front of Congress about the authoritarian rule of Turkey's president, Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

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AW: Bill McKibben on Climate Change: Why Solar and Wind Power Are the Best Path Forward Dec 27, 2025

Show notes

Environmentalist Bill McKibben argued that solar and wind power offer the best path for addressing climate change. Politics and Prose bookstore in Washington, D.C., hosted this event.

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BN+: Peter Gomes, "The Good Book" Dec 23, 2025

Show notes

This week's encore interview is from September 21, 1997. Twenty-eight years ago. Our guest was Peter J. Gomes, former minister of the Memorial Church at Harvard. His father was from Cape Verde, and his mother was African-American. In 1991, he identified himself as gay but says he remained celibate. Professor Gomes passed away in 2011 at age 69. During his lifetime, he received over 40 honorary degrees. Professor Gomes was a registered Republican for most of his life and offered prayer at the inaugurations of Presidents Reagan and George H.W. Bush. However, in August of 2006, he changed his registration to the Democratic Party. His book is titled "The Good Book: Reading the Bible with Mind and Heart."

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Q&A: Charles Murray, "Taking Religion Seriously" Dec 22, 2025

Show notes

Taped on 12/15/25

Political scientist Charles Murray, author of "Taking Religion Seriously," discusses his decades-long evolution from "happy agnostic" to believing Christian. Mr. Murray, co-author of the controversial 1994 bestseller "The Bell Curve: Intelligence and Class Structure in American Life," also talks about the foundations of human morality, the Big Bang, the authorship of the Gospels, and the writings of C.S. Lewis.

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ABC: Pulitzer Prize Winner Rita Dove on Poetry and American History Dec 21, 2025

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Pulitzer Prize winner and former U.S. Poet Laureate Rita Dove joins David M. Rubenstein to discuss her upbringing and writing process and reads from her poem "Lady Freedom Among Us."

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AW: Piers Morgan "Woke Is Dead: How Common Sense triumphed in an age of total madness" Dec 21, 2025

Show notes

British journalist Piers Morgan argued that there has been a global rejection of "wokeism" and discussed what he thinks a post-woke world will be like. He spoke at the Richard Nixon Presidential Library & Museum in Yorba Linda, California.

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BN+: Alexandra Churchill, "Ring of Fire" Dec 16, 2025

Show notes

British historian Alexandra Churchill is no relation to the former prime minister. However, her new book is the history of the world at war in 1914, titled "Ring of Fire." Alex Churchill is quick to tell you she is not an academic but has a research master's degree in the Battle of the Somme. She's a self-starter who writes three times a week for Substack, co-hosts a podcast titled "History Hack," appears in many documentaries, and is a participant in a history touring company in Great Britain. Her book is the story of ordinary people, she says, not those stalking the corridors of power.

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Q&A: Charles Ferguson, "Presidential Seclusion" Dec 15, 2025

Show notes

Former Camp David Historian and Presidential Chaplain Charles Ferguson, author of "Presidential Seclusion: The Power of Camp David," talks about the history of the U.S. presidential retreat and its recreational and diplomatic uses. Located in Catoctin Mountain Park in Maryland, roughly 60 miles outside of Washington, DC, the 180-acre facility, with a dozen cabins and a Naval base, has, since 1942, hosted presidents from FDR to Trump, their families, and numerous foreign dignitaries.

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ABC: Harvard Professor Arthur Brooks Explains What Makes Us Happy Dec 14, 2025

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Author and Harvard Professor Arthur Brooks joins David M. Rubenstein to discuss the science of happiness, his path to becoming an expert on happiness and how people can lead happier lives.

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AW: The Art Spy: Michelle Young Chronicles Rose Valland’s WWII Mission Dec 13, 2025

Show notes

Journalist Michelle Young discussed the history of Rose Valland, a female spy working for the French Resistance at the Jeu de Paume museum in Paris during World War II. This event was part of the 2025 History Book Festival in Lewes, Delaware.

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