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AW: Defending Taiwan: A Strategy to Prevent War with China Jun 21, 2026

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The Hoover Institution's Eyck Freymann argues that the United States can deter a war with China by strengthening its defense of Taiwan. He spoke at the Hoover Institution in Washington, DC.

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David Garrow on Martin Luther King, Jr. & Barack Obama Jun 16, 2026

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David J. Garrow is a prize-winning historian. Since graduating from Wesleyan University in 1975 and completing his law degree at Duke in 1981, he has spent most of his time writing about civil rights. His best selling and most praised book is titled "Bearing the Cross: Martin Luther King, Jr., and the Southern Christian Leadership Conference," published in 1986. We last talked to David Garrow in May of 2017 about his book "Rising Star" – 1,472 pages about President Barack Obama. The book was limited to President Obama's life before his presidency.

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Q&A: Sarah Isgur, "Last Branch Standing" Jun 15, 2026

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As the Supreme Court's term comes to an end, with decisions on birthright citizenship, transgender athletes, and gun rights still to be rendered, we take a behind the scenes look at the Supreme Court and how it operates with SCOTUSblog editor Sarah Isgur. Her new book on the topic is titled "Last Branch Standing." In part one of our discussion, we talk to Sarah Isgur about the current court, the cases it takes up, and the divisions she sees among the justices, based on their ideology and institutional outlook.

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ABC: Lois Romano on Mary Todd Lincoln's Life, Legacy and Mental Health Jun 14, 2026

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Bestselling Mary Todd Lincoln biographer Lois Romano joins David M. Rubenstein at Ford's Theatre to discuss Lincoln's early life, time in the White House and mental health.

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AW: The Future is Peace with Palestinian Aziz Abu Sarah and Israeli Maoz Inon Jun 14, 2026

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Aziz Abu Sarah, a Palestinian whose brother was killed by the IDF, and Maoz Inon, an Israeli whose parents were killed by Hamas on October 7, 2023, talked about their friendship and efforts to figand I Historic Synagogue in Washington, D.C.

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BN+: Lerone Bennett Jr., "Forced Into Glory" Jun 09, 2026

Show notes

Dr. Lerone Bennett Jr. was born in Clarksdale, Mississippi, on October 17, 1928. He spent over 50 years with Johnson Publishing, ultimately became executive editor of its Ebony magazine. Bennett died at age 89 on February 14, 2018, in Chicago, his home base of many years.

Dr. Bennett's mother worked as a maid, his father a chauffeur. Their son graduated from Morehouse College in Atlanta. His Booknotes television appearance was on July 21, 2000. The book is titled "Forced Into Glory: Abraham Lincoln's White Dream." Bennett provided a different view of what is normally written about Mr. Lincoln. Lerone Bennett Jr. claimed that Lincoln was a racist at heart and had little interest in abolition.

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Jonathan Wilson, "The Power and the Glory" Jun 08, 2026

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From June 11th to July 19th, the United States, Mexico, and Canada will be hosting the FIFA World Cup, the most popular sporting event in the world, with billions of viewers expected worldwide. To provide an overview and history of the World Cup we talk to Guardian (UK) soccer columnist Jonathan Wilson, author of "The Power and the Glory," which tells the history, politics, and corruption behind the tournament since its origins in 1930.

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David Baldacci on Writing Thrillers and Becoming a Bestselling Author Jun 07, 2026

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Bestselling author David Baldacci joins David M. Rubenstein for a wide-ranging conversation about his journey from practicing law in Washington to becoming one of the world's most successful thriller writers. He discusses his approach to crafting suspenseful stories, seeing his novel Absolute Power adapted into a film by Clint Eastwood, and the evolving relationship between technology and publishing. Baldacci also explains his involvement in a lawsuit against major AI companies and shares his views on protecting authors' work in the age of artificial intelligence.

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AW: Suing the NSA and Fighting Digital Surveillance Jun 07, 2026

Show notes

Electronic Frontier Foundation Executive Director Cindy Cohn recalled her career fighting for digital privacy. Harvard Book Store hosted this event.

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Lois Romano, "An Inconvenient Widow" Jun 02, 2026

Show notes

Lois Romano, formerly of the Washington Post, re-examines the legacy of Mary Todd Lincoln. In the promotion of the book, Simon & Schuster, the publisher, claims that Mrs. Lincoln "was failed at nearly every turn in her widowhood by her family, by her government, by medical professionals ill-equipped to diagnose her mental illness, and finally failed by history." In her prologue, Lois Romano writes: "After Lincoln died in 1865, there was no one to protect Mary. Since leaving the White House, she had been adrift and virtually homeless, restlessly moving from hotel to hotel, from city to city."

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