Reader's Corner

For three decades following World War II, the Great Lakes overtook Europe as the epicenter of global economic strength. The region was the beating heart of the world economy, possessing all the power and prestige Silicon Valley does today. And no ship represented the apex of the American Century better than the 729-foot-long Edmund Fitzgerald―the biggest, best, and most profitable ship on the Lakes. But on November 10, 1975, as the “storm of the century” threw 100 mile-per-hour winds and 50-foot waves on Lake Superior, the Mighty Fitz found itself at the worst possible place, at the worst possible time. When she sank, she took all 29 men onboard down with her, leaving the tragedy shrouded in mystery for a half century. In The Gales of November, award-winning journalist John U. Bacon presents the definitive account of the disaster, drawing on more than 100 interviews with the families, friends, and former crewmates of those lost. Focused on those directly affected by the tragedy, The Gales of November is both…

Quinn Slobodian and Ben Tarnoff cut through the hype and the hate to reveal what Musk really represents: a new political economy, where to be “free” means to serve a Technoking. Muskism isn’t about the man. It’s about the machine that made him—and the world he’s making next.

A powerful and startling account of the unsparing connection between a convent of cloistered nuns and the condemned women on Texas’s death row, exploring questions around crime and punishment, faith, and retribution in America as only Lawrence Wright can. “Redemption gripped me like the best crime novel and left me fundamentally changed. The relationship between two groups of isolated women teaches us the most elusive of values: true empathy.” —Belle Burden, author of Strangers

We learn about an about an order of cloistered nuns who befriend a group of women on death row in a Texas prison from Lawrence Wright, the author of Redemption. Lawrence shares the details of one of the inmates, Melissa Lucio, whose appeal of her death penalty conviction is still awaiting a decision. We also learned more about the Sisters of Mary Morning Star and their spiritual alliance with the 7 women on death row in a Texas prison.

From the revered bestselling author, a compulsive, page-turning thriller inspired by her real life work exonerating innocents, a novel that asks how far we'll go in our pursuit of the truth--an emotionally rich, luminously written book about evil and people trying to do good in the world. Ruby Spencer is known as "the exonerator." Her job as an investigator is to free innocent men from death row, and she's good at what she does. What many people don't know is that she spends her time finding missing women, too. The orphaned daughter of an orphaned mother, Ruby feels a natural affinity for those who have been mistreated by the world at large. Her newest case takes her to Georgia, and involves a man set to be executed in two weeks. What begins as a routine exoneration unexpectedly sends Ruby down a winding path. Pursuing the truth, she begins to uncover crimes that lead to startling revelations about her own life. With time running out, will Ruby's search for answers ultimately lead her to danger?

What is the relationship between the decline of democratic practices we took for granted over the years and the growth of Big Tech in what Mordecai Kurz calls the Second Gilded Age. That is what we will discuss this week on Readers Corner with some specific recommendations for how to help democracy and our market economy work in tandem for Americans.

The first full-scale biography of Robert Welch, who founded the John Birch Society and planted some of modern conservatism’s most insidious seeds. Though you may not know his name, Robert Welch (1899-1985)—founder of the John Birch Society—is easily one of the most significant architects of our current political moment. In A Conspiratorial Life, the first full-scale biography of Welch, Edward H. Miller delves deep into the life of an overlooked figure whose ideas nevertheless reshaped the American right.

"Escape from Kabul: The Afghan Women Judges Who Fled the Taliban and Those They Left Behind" by Karen Bartlett

The Return of the Oystercatcher by Scott Weidensau explores the recovery efforts that are not only preventing declines in bird population, but helping birds to thrive.

New York Times reporter and "Corner Office" columnist David Gelles reveals legendary GE CEO Jack Welch to be the root of all that's wrong with capitalism today and offers advice on how we might right those wrongs. In 1981, Jack Welch took over General Electric and quickly rose to fame as the first celebrity CEO. He golfed with presidents, mingled with movie stars, and was idolized for growing GE into the most valuable company in the world. But Welch's achievements didn't stem from some greater intelligence or business prowess. Rather, they were the result of a sustained effort to push GE's stock price ever higher, often at the expense of workers, consumers, and innovation. In this captivating, revelatory book, David Gelles argues that Welch single-handedly ushered in a new, cutthroat era of American capitalism that continues to this day.

Our Dear Friends in Moscow follows a group of young Russians, part of an idealistic generation who came of age in Moscow at the end of the 20th century – the communist era had just imploded and an exciting and uncertain future lay ahead of them. Initially, the group enjoyed the freedoms of the new era, but the notion that Russia was destined to join the West, and Europe, in a new partnership began to fade.

For nearly eight decades, North Korea has marched defiantly to its own beat, shaking off its Soviet and Chinese sponsors to emerge as the world’s most enigmatic nation—a nuclear-armed state ruled by a dictatorial dynasty. Underpinning the state is a personality cult more soaked in religiosity than those constructed by Stalin or Mao—one that traces its roots back to the Christian fervor of post–Civil War America.

Master Slave Husband Wife: An Epic Journey from Slavery to Freedom is a 2023 non-fiction book by Ilyon Woo that examines the history of the escape of Ellen and William Craft, two 19th-century American abolitionists, from slavery.

The diversity principle – the idea that people with different backgrounds, identities, and viewpoints produce better work – was a core tenet of the first modern research university and the inspiration for John Stuart Mill’s classic treatise, On Liberty. But as a war on diversity upends government, corporate, and education policies, the history of the idea of diversity has never been more important.

A priceless mask, a beautiful woman, a deadly secret, and a curse if it doesn’t fit Philip Chandler, a small-town Idaho newspaper reporter and owner of the Fremont Herald, thought he landed a front-page scoop interviewing reclusive gun collector Ernest Hardy. Days later, Hardy is brutally murdered, and Chandler is pulled into a dangerous hunt.

"Dust Child" by Nguyễn Phan Quế Mai

"The Taiwan Tinderbox: The Island-Nation at the Center of the New Cold War" by J. Michael Cole

"Family of Spies" by Christine Kuehn

"The Triumph of Doubt: Dark Money and the Science of Deception" by David Michaels

An interview with Beth Macy, author of the new book, Paper Girl. The book examines the forces eroding America’s social fabric, through the lens of changes that rocked her own beloved small Ohio hometown.

An interview with Sasha Vasilyuk, author of the novel, Your Presence is Mandatory. Based on real events, the book follows a World War II veteran with a dangerous secret and his family, forced to confront the legacy of the man they thought they knew.

An interview with Martha C. Nussbaum, author of Justice for Animals. The book offers a revolutionary new theory and call to action on animal rights, ethics, and law.

An interview with Kevin Hazzard, author of No One’s Coming. The book is a real-life thriller about the most daring rescue in air-medical history.

An interview with Tim Wu, author of the new book, The Age of Extraction. The book explores the rise of tech platforms and details the risks and rewards of working within such systems.

An interview with Susan Elia MacNeal, author of the novel, Mother Daughter Traitor Spy. The book is inspired by a real-life mother and daughter to go undercover after stumbling upon a Nazi cell in Los Angeles during the early days of World War II. Note: This is an encore edition of Reader’s Corner. The episode originally aired in May 2023.

An interview with John U. Bacon, author of The Gales of November. The book gives the authoritative account of the sinking of the Edmund Fitzgerald, a disaster shrouded in mystery for the last half-century. Note: This is the second of a two-part interview.

An interview with John U. Bacon, author of The Gales of November. The book gives the authoritative account of the sinking of the Edmund Fitzgerald, a disaster shrouded in mystery for the last half-century. Note: This is the first of a two-part interview.

An interview with Andrei Soldatov, co-author of the book, Our Dear Friends in Moscow. The book tells the story of how the hopes of a generation of optimistic Russians in the 1990’s was replaced by autocracy, fear, and betrayal.

An interview with Philippe Sands, author of 38 Londres Street. The book traces two of the 20th century’s most infamous war criminals, testing the limits of immunity and impunity after Nuremberg.

An interview with Walt Bogdanich, co-author of the new book, When McKinsey Comes to Town. The book offers a portrait of a company whose work has often made the world more unequal, more corrupt, and more dangerous.

An interview with Ernest Scheyder, author of The War Below. The book offers an illuminating look at the stakes in the new fight surrounding the extraction of lithium and copper to power digital and energy technologies.

An interview with Howard Bryant, author of the new book, Kings and Pawns. The book offers an untold story of sports and fame, Black America and the promise of integration through the Cold War lens of two transformative events.

An interview with Danny Funt, author of Everybody Loses. The book is a stunning exposé on the massive and perilous world of American sports gambling.

An interview with Oren Harman, author of the new book, Metamorphosis. The book is a modern classic of natural history, offering an inspiring look at why so many of Earth’s creatures undergo transformations.

An interview with Julia Cooke, author of the new book, Starry and Restless. The book shares the gripping story of three women reporters and the way they altered the landscape of journalism and the world itself.

An interview with David Philipps about his book, Wild Horse Country.

An interview with Bruce Borgos, author of the new book, The Blue Horse. In the book, a controversial wild horse round-up in the high desert of Nevada results in two murders and a fresh mystery for Sheriff Porter Beck.

An interview with Scott D. Anthony, author of Epic Disruptions. The book offers both innovators and curious listeners alike a fascinating exploration of how radical change reshapes industries and shifts power dynamics.

Note: This is an encore edition of Reader’s Corner. The episode originally aired in April 2024. An interview with Nathan Thrall, author of the new book, A Day in the Life of Abed Salama. The book tells the story of a deadly accident outside Jerusalem that unravels a tangle of lives, loves, and histories over the course of a single day.

An interview with Danny Funt, author of Everybody Loses. The book is a stunning exposé on the massive and perilous world of American sports gambling.

An interview with David Gelles, author of Dirtbag Billionaire. The book reveals how Patagonia became a global leader via its unorthodox and socially-responsible business practices and how other companies are adopting its principles.

An interview with Dr. Seth Berkley, author of Fair Doses. The book gives the history of how vaccines became the world's most powerful health intervention, and the story of the race to deliver COVID-19 vaccines globally.

An interview with Paul Hendrickson, author of the book, Fighting the Night. The book is a moving story of his father’s wartime service as a night fighter pilot, and the prices he and his fellow soldiers paid for their selfless acts of service.

An interview with William Boyd, author of the thrilling new novel, The Predicament. The book is Boyd’s second installment in the bestselling espionage trilogy starring Gabriel Dax.

An interview with Jess Walter, author of the new novel, So Far Gone. The book follows a man reemerging from seclusion only to find himself thrust into small-town intrigue, against the backdrop of a fractured nation.

An interview with Samantha Silva about her novel, “Mr. Dickens and His Carol.” The book re-imagines the twists and turns that led Charles Dickens to write what has been described as “the second most famous Christmas story.”

An interview with Kaye Courington, author of Scrim: A New Orleans Story of Resilience and Rescue. The illustrated book tells the true story of a scrappy terrier-mix rescue who defied the odds and became an instant hero.

An interview with Tim Weiner, acclaimed journalist and author of the new book, The Mission. The book is comprehensive look at the CIA in the 21st century, based on interviews with six former CIA directors and scores of spies and station chiefs.

An interview with Alexander Vindman, author of The Folly of Realism. The book offers a chilling analysis of how Western indecision made possible the return of brutal Russian expansionism with terrifying consequences.

An interview with Amber Murrey, author of A Certain Amount of Madness. Published on the 30th anniversary of his assassination, the book illustrates how Thomas Sankara’s legacy continues to provide lessons and hope for decolonisation struggles today.