Ill Literacy: Books with Benson

Latest Episodes:

Music and Mystique in Muscle Shoals (Guest: Christopher M. Reali) Nov 22, 2022

Show notes

Heartland’s Tim Benson is joined by Christopher M. Reali, assistant professor of music at Ramapo College, to discuss his new book, Music and Mystique in Muscle Shoals. They chat about the Muscle Shoals music scene in the 1960’s and 1970’s, what exactly is the “Muscle Shoals Sound,” and how that sound became such a potent cultural power that still means something even up to the present day. They also talk about the overlooked history of Muscle Shoals' impact on country music and describes the region's recent transformation into a tourism destination and something of a pilgrimage stop for musicians from all over the world.

Get the book here: https://www.press.uillinois.edu/books/?id=45zfd3qs9780252044519

Blues Blast Magazine: Mark Thompson – “Christopher M Reali – Music And Mystique In Muscle Shoals | Book Review”|
https://www.bluesblastmagazine.com/christopher-m-reali-music-and-mystique-in-muscle-shoals-book-review/

Deep South Magazine: Erin Z. Bass – “Music and Mystique in Muscle Shoals”
https://deepsouthmag.com/2022/07/19/music-and-mystique-in-muscle-shoals/

Southern Review of Books: Lacey Lyons – “Music and Mystique in Muscle Shoals” Chronicles a Legendary Music Scene
https://southernreviewofbooks.com/2022/08/08/music-and-mystique-in-muscle-shoals-christopher-reali-interview/

The Surfer and the Sage: A Guide to Survive and Ride Life's Waves (Guest: Shaun Tomson) Nov 15, 2022

Show notes

Heartland’s Tim Benson is joined by all-time surf god Shaun Tomson to discuss his new book with Noah benShea, “The Surfer and the Sage: A Guide to Survive and Ride Life's Waves.” They chat about purpose, loss, hope, faith, the importance of doing nothing, what lessons surfing has to give about living a fulfilling life, and the power of “I Will.” Tim also tries to not geek out and ask too many surf fanboy questions about Pipeline.

Get the book here: https://www.familius.com/book/the-surfer-and-the-sage/

To Address You as My Friend: African Americans' Letters to Abraham Lincoln (Guest: Jonathan W. White) Nov 02, 2022

Show notes

Heartland’s Tim Benson is joined by Jonathan W. White, professor of American Studies at Christopher Newport University, to discuss his new book, To Address You as My Friend: African Americans' Letters to Abraham Lincoln. They chat about the personal connection many blacks felt to Abraham Lincoln and how that gave them confidence to write to the president and to seek redress of their grievances. They also talk about how the act of writing to Lincoln for blacks was, in a small way, an act of civic participation and allowed them to claim the rights of American citizenship in a wide range of circumstances.

Get the book here: https://uncpress.org/book/9781469665078/to-address-you-as-my-friend/

America's Book: The Rise and Decline of a Bible Civilization (Guest: Mark A. Noll) Oct 31, 2022

Show notes

Heartland’s Tim Benson is joined by Mark A. Noll, Professor of History Emeritus at the University of Notre Dame, to discuss his new book, America's Book: The Rise and Decline of a Bible Civilization, 1794-1911. They chat about how the Bible decisively shaped American national history even as that history influenced the use of Scripture, and how a strongly Protestant Bible civilization was fractured by debates over slavery, contested by growing numbers of non-Protestants, and torn apart by the Civil War. They also talk about how the more religiously plural period from Reconstruction to the early 20th Century saw Scripture become a much more fragmented, though still significant, force in American culture.

Get the book here: https://global.oup.com/academic/product/americas-book-9780197623466?q=america%27s%20book&lang=en&cc=us

Show Notes:

Wall Street Journal: D.G. Hart – “‘America’s Book’ Review: The Word Out of Season”
https://www.wsj.com/articles/americas-book-review-the-word-out-of-season-11651009649

Distrust of Institutions in Early Modern Britain and America (Guest: Brian P. Levack) Oct 27, 2022

Show notes

Heartland’s Tim Benson is joined by Brian P. Levack, John E. Green Regents Professor Emeritus in History at the University of Texas at Austin, to discuss his new book, Distrust of Institutions in Early Modern Britain and America. They chat about how distrust in institutions was an important theme of public discourse in Britain and colonial America during the early modern period, why trust in these institutions is more tenuous and difficult to restore once it has been betrayed than trust in one's family, friends, and neighbors, and how this distrust shaped the political, legal, economic, and religious of Britain and its American colonies.

Get the book here: https://global.oup.com/academic/product/distrust-of-institutions-in-early-modern-britain-and-america-9780192847409?q=distrust%20in%20institutions&lang=en&cc=us

Tearing Us Apart (Guest: Ryan T. Anderson) Oct 17, 2022

Show notes

Heartland’s Tim Benson is joined by Ryan T. Anderson, president of the Ethics and Public Policy Center, to discuss his new book, co-authored with Alexandra DeSanctis, “Tearing Us Apart: How Abortion Harms Everything and Solves Nothing.” They discuss how the post-Roe experiment with unlimited abortion has harmed everyone and corrupted our political system, medicine, and the media, while undermining the rule of law. They also chat about what abortion in the United States will look like post-Dobbs, and what abortion opponents can do to help foster a culture of life.

Get the book here: https://www.regnery.com/9781684513505/tearing-us-apart/

Show Notes:

The American Conservative: Emile Doak – “Abortion and the Clash of Moral Visions”
https://www.theamericanconservative.com/abortion-and-the-clash-of-moral-visions/

The Heritage Foundation: Tearing Us Apart: How Abortion Harms Everything and Solves Nothing (VIDEO)
https://www.heritage.org/life/event/tearing-us-apart-how-abortion-harms-everything-and-solves-nothing

National Review: Ryan T. Anderson & Alexandra DeSanctis – “We Must Acknowledge That Abortion Harms Women”
https://www.nationalreview.com/2022/06/we-must-acknowledge-that-abortion-harms-women/

The Public Discourse: Charles C. Camosy – “A Clarion Call for the Pro-Life Movement’s Heavy Lift”
https://www.thepublicdiscourse.com/2022/07/83558/

Washington Free Beacon: Nicholas Tomaino – “A Post-Roe Playbook”
https://freebeacon.com/culture/a-post-roe-playbook/

The State of Black America: Progress, Pitfalls, and the Promise of the Republic (Guest: William B. Allen) Sep 27, 2022

Show notes

Heartland’s Tim Benson is joined by William B. Allen, resident scholar and the former chief operating officer of the Center for Urban Renewal and Education (CURE) and emeritus dean of James Madison College at Michigan State University, to discuss CURE’s new book, “The State of Black America: Progress, Pitfalls, and the Promise of the Republic.” They discuss the character, shape, and tendencies of life for black Americans, their astounding success in integrating into mainstream American culture, and why black patriotism is the key to overcoming what problems remain.

Get the book here: https://www.encounterbooks.com/books/state-black-america/

Secret City: The Hidden History of Gay Washington (Guest: James Kirchick) Sep 19, 2022

Show notes

Heartland’s Tim Benson is joined by James Kirchick, nonresident senior fellow at the Atlantic Council and columnist for Tablet, to discuss his new book, “Secret City: The Hidden History of Gay Washington.” Benson and Kirchick discuss how homosexuality came to be seen as potential national security threat, the Lavender Scare, the irresponsible homophobia of Oliver Stone’s film JFK, the tragedy of the closet, and how gay Washingtonians fought a multi-decade fight for civil rights.

Get the book here: https://us.macmillan.com/books/9781627792332/secretcity

Show Notes:

Commentary: Bruce Bawer – “A Capital History”
https://www.commentary.org/articles/bruce-bawer/gay-washington-james-kirchick/

New York Times: Alexandra Jacobs – “‘Secret City,’ an Epic Narrative History of the Closet in the Capital”
https://www.nytimes.com/2022/05/22/books/review-secret-city-history-gay-washington-james-kirchick.html

The New Yorker: Michael Waters – “What Made Washington, D.C., the ‘Gayest and Most Antigay City in America’”
https://www.newyorker.com/books/under-review/what-made-washington-dc-the-gayest-and-most-antigay-city-in-america

Reason: Walter Olson – “Secret City Recounts the Gay History of D.C.”
https://reason.com/2022/06/01/gay-history-in-the-city-of-secrets/

The Spectator World: David J. Garrow – “The rise of gay Washington”
https://spectatorworld.com/book-and-art/queer-streets-secret-city-gay-washington-james-kirchick/

Washington Examiner: River Page – “James Kirchick's history of gay power”
https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/opinion/james-kirchicks-history-of-gay-power

Washington Free Beacon: Douglas Murray – “Life in a Closeted Capital”
https://freebeacon.com/culture/life-in-a-closeted-capital/

The Invention of International Order: Remaking Europe after Napoleon (Guest: Glenda Sluga) Sep 07, 2022

Show notes

Heartland’s Tim Benson is joined by Glenda Sluga to discuss her new book, “The Invention of International Order: Remaking Europe after Napoleon.” Sluga is the professor of international history and capitalism at the European University Institute as well as a Kathleen Fitzpatrick Laureate Fellow and professor of international history at the University of Sydney. They discuss how the Congress of Vienna planted the seeds for today's international order, how new conceptions of the politics between states were the work not only of European statesmen but also of politically ambitious aristocrats and bourgeoisie, and how the leading statesmen of the age operated in the context of social networks often presided over by influential women who had their ear.

Get the book here: https://press.princeton.edu/books/hardcover/9780691208213/the-invention-of-international-order

Show Notes:

Lapham’s Quarterly: Glenda Sluga – “Only That I Were an Official Person!”
https://www.laphamsquarterly.org/roundtable/only-i-were-official-person

London School of Economics: Glenda Sluga – “The invention of an international order: Lessons from 1814”
https://blogs.lse.ac.uk/europpblog/2022/02/01/the-invention-of-an-international-order-lessons-from-1814/

Times Literary Supplement: Biancamaria Fontana – “A Europe of free peoples”
https://www.the-tls.co.uk/articles/the-invention-of-international-order-glenda-sluga-book-review-biancamaria-fontana/

Danger Zone: The Coming Conflict with China (Guest: Michael Beckley) Aug 29, 2022

Show notes

Heartland’s Tim Benson is joined by Michael Beckley of Tufts University and the American Enterprise Institute to discuss his new book, co-authored with Hal Brands, “Danger Zone: The Coming Conflict with China.” They discuss how China’s rise in global power is over, its leadership is insecure about its future, and how that insecurity about China’s coming decline could lead to a violent challenge to the existing global order. They also chat about how the United States can maintain a smart, sustainable approach to make sure it comes out ahead in this protracted global crisis.

Get the book here: https://wwnorton.com/books/9781324021308

Show Notes:

American Enterprise Institute: Hal Brands – Getting Ready for a Long War with China: Dynamics of Protracted Conflict in the Western Pacific

https://www.aei.org/research-products/report/getting-ready-for-a-long-war-with-china-dynamics-of-protracted-conflict-in-the-western-pacific/

The Atlantic: Hal Brands and Michael Beckley – “What Will Drive China to War?”

https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2021/11/us-china-war/620571/

Bloomberg: Hal Brands – “Economic Chaos of a Taiwan War Would Go Well Past Semiconductors”

https://www.bloomberg.com/opinion/articles/2022-06-23/economic-chaos-of-a-taiwan-war-would-go-well-past-semiconductors

Foreign Affairs: Hal Brands and Michael Beckley – “The Return of Pax Americana?”

https://www.foreignaffairs.com/articles/russia-fsu/2022-03-14/return-pax-americana

Foreign Policy: Hal Brands and Michael Beckley – “What Does China Want?”

https://foreignpolicy.com/2022/08/13/what-china-wants-us-conflict/

Journal of Applied Corporate Finance: Michael Beckley – “China’s Economy Is Not Overtaking America’s”

https://www.aei.org/research-products/journal-publication/chinas-economy-is-not-overtaking-americas/

National Public Radio: “'Danger Zone' author warns of growing tension between China and the U.S.”

https://www.npr.org/2022/08/24/1119214761/danger-zone-author-warns-of-growing-tension-between-china-and-the-u-s

Wall Street Journal: Hal Brands and Michael Beckley – “The Coming War Over Taiwan”

https://www.wsj.com/articles/the-coming-war-over-taiwan-11659614417

Woodrow Wilson International Center: Michael Beckley – Desperate Times, Desperate Measures: Slowing Growth Is Making China More Dangerous

https://www.aei.org/articles/desperate-times-desperate-measures-slowing-growth-is-making-china-more-dangerous/

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