Episodios

  • Ep. 224 William Geroux, "The Fifteen"

    Ep. 224 William Geroux, "The Fifteen"
    Jun 24 2025
    One October morning in 2018, journalist William Geroux says he was returning some books to his local Virginia Beach Library when he noticed a new state historical marker planted in the ground near the front entrance. It said the library was built on the site of a World War II prisoner of war camp. In Mr. Giroux's author's note in his latest book called "The Fifteen," he writes that he "was surprised and a little embarrassed" not to know that, during World War II, the U S had 700 POW camps spread throughout the United States in 46 different states, housing 371,683 German soldiers and 49,784 Italians. His book is subtitled "Murder, Retribution, and the Forgotten Story of Nazi POWs in America." Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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    1 h y 16 m
  • Ep. 223 Claire Hoffman, "Sister, Sinner"

    Ep. 223 Claire Hoffman, "Sister, Sinner"
    Jun 17 2025
    It's a story from the 1920s, 30s, and 40s. The book by Claire Hoffman is called "Sister, Sinner: The Miraculous Life and Mysterious Disappearance of Aimee Semple MacPherson." FSG, the publisher, further emphasizes that the story is "the dramatic rise, disappearance, and near fall of a woman called Sister Amy who changed the world." Author Claire Hoffman, who has a master's in religion from the University of Chicago, says Aimee Semple MacPherson may not be known to many today, but she was a global star at the inception of global media. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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    1 h y 14 m
  • Ep. 222 Kathryn Olmsted, "Red Spy Queen"

    Ep. 222 Kathryn Olmsted, "Red Spy Queen"
    Jun 10 2025
    In several recent episodes of the podcast, we have featured books about the World War II era. An important figure from that time has been mentioned but not discussed during any of those interviews. Her name is Elizabeth Bentley. She was the first person to reveal, to the FBI and the Congress, the names of people living in the United States and spying for the Soviets, both Americans and foreign-born operatives. To better understand this former communist spy turned informant, we asked Kathryn Olmsted, author of "Red Spy Queen," a biography of Elizabeth Bentley, to tell us the late spy's story. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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    1 h y 11 m
  • Ep. 221 Kenneth Rogoff, "Our Dollar, Your Problem"

    Ep. 221 Kenneth Rogoff, "Our Dollar, Your Problem"
    Jun 3 2025
    Kenneth Rogoff is professor of economics at Harvard University and former International Monetary Fund (IMF) chief economist. In his most recent book, "Our Dollar, Your Problem," he argues that America's currency might have reached today's lofty pinnacle without a certain amount of good luck. However, as Professor Rogoff nears the end of his 345-page book, he writes, quote: "If rapidly rising debt is left unchecked, and there seems to be little political appetite to rein in massive deficits, the United States and the entire world is in for a substantial period of global financial volatility marked by higher average real interest rates and inflation." Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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    1 h y 14 m
  • Ep. 220 Rick Atkinson, "The Fate of the Day"

    Ep. 220 Rick Atkinson, "The Fate of the Day"
    May 27 2025
    Rick Atkinson has just published the second volume of his American Revolution trilogy. The book is called "The Fate of the Day" and covers years 1777 to 1780. His initial 800-page volume, titled "The British Are Coming," was published in 2019 and focused on years 1775 to 1777. Mr. Atkinson won the George Washington prize for this beginning look at the revolution. His second book in the trilogy covers the middle years. Stationed in Paris, Benjamin Franklin was wooing the French. In Pennsylvania, George Washington was pleading with Congress to deliver the money, men, and material he needed to continue the fight. This volume is timed to coincide with the 250th anniversary of the beginning of the American Revolution. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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    1 h y 21 m
  • Ep. 219 Rick Atkinson, "An Army at Dawn"

    Ep. 219 Rick Atkinson, "An Army at Dawn"
    May 20 2025
    On November 17th, 2002, 23 years ago, Rick Atkinson appeared on the Booknotes television program to discuss his book, "Army at Dawn." This was the first of three books Atkinson called the "Liberation Trilogy," a full history of the European theater of World War II, which is a total of 2,512 pages, including notes and indexes. Beginning in 2019, Rick Atkinson switched trilogies. This time, it's the history of the American Revolution. In this episode of Booknotes+, we are repeating the 2002 interview, which has substantial background on Rick Atkinson's life and writing experience. During next week's episode, we will talk with him about his second book on the Revolution, "The Fate of the Day." Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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    1 h y 8 m
  • Ep. 218 Thomas Maier, "The Invisible Spy"

    Ep. 218 Thomas Maier, "The Invisible Spy"
    May 13 2025
    "Ernest Cuneo played Ivy League football at Columbia University and was in the old Brooklyn Dodgers NFL franchise before becoming a City Hall lawyer and 'Brain Trust' aide to President Franklin Roosevelt." While on the payroll of national radio columnist Walter Winchell, Cuneo "mingled with the famous and powerful. But his status as a spy remained a secret, hiding in plain sight." All of this is the way Hanover Square Press introduces readers to Thomas Maier's book, "The Invisible Spy." Maier, a graduate of Fordham and Columbia, is an author and a television producer. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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    1 h y 9 m
  • Ep. 217 Clay Risen, "Red Scare"

    Ep. 217 Clay Risen, "Red Scare"
    May 6 2025
    McCarthyism, Whitaker Chambers, Alger Hiss, Julius and Ethel Rosenberg, Paul Robeson, House Un-American Activities Committee, the Smith Act, the Hollywood 10, the Joint Anti-Fascist Committee, the Truman Loyalty Program, the Blacklist, book burning, and communism – all subjects of controversy during the 1930s, 40s, and 50s here in the United States. Clay Risen, a reporter and editor at the New York Times, has a fresh look at all this in his book, "Red Scare." Mr. Risen writes in his preface that his grandfather was a career FBI agent who joined the Bureau during World War II, and he recounted stories of implementing loyalty tests for the federal government in the late 1940s. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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    1 h y 11 m