Q&A

As the nation celebrates the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence, former U.S. ambassador David McKean and former State Department historian M. Todd Bennett, co-authors of "The Flag Was Still There," look back at the 1776 founding and the four previous semi-centennial celebrations of America in 1826, 1876, 1926, and 1976. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

New York Times White House Correspondents Maggie Haberman and Jonathan Swan discuss their just-published bestseller about the first year of the second Trump administration. They discuss his inner circle, the decision-making process on some of the major issues, and what they found inside the Oval Office and the Situation Room. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Mollie Hemingway, editor-in-chief of The Federalist and author of "Alito," discusses the life, career, and legal opinions of Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito, who joined the Court in 2006. She talks about Justice Alito's role in overturning Roe v. Wade, the flag controversy involving his wife Martha-Ann, and the backlash that he and other justices on the Court have received in response to their legal decisions. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

As the Supreme Court's term winds down, with some notable cases still to be decided, 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 two of our discussion, we talk to Sarah Isgur about the power of Chief Justice John Roberts, the personalities and influence of the other justices, and her relationship with Justice Elena Kagan, who was dean of Harvard Law School when Isgur was a student and chapter president of the Federalist Society there.   Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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.          Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Every week in the 1950s and 60s, 30 million Americans watched the congenial Bennett Cerf on Sunday nights on "What's My Line?" But he was much more than a game show panelist. In 1927, he co-founded the publishing giant Random House and brought to the public authors such as James Joyce, Ayn Rand, Truman Capote, Dr. Suess, and William Faulkner. Author Gayle Feldman spent 30 years researching and writing her book "Nothing Random." Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Former Republican Senator and Governor of Tennessee Lamar Alexander, author of "The Education of a Senator," talks about his personal life and nearly six-decade career in politics. As a public servant Sen. Alexander worked with ten presidents, from JFK to Trump. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Adam Szetela, author of "That Book Is Dangerous!," discusses his investigation into the rise of self-censorship in the publishing industry, which he argues is being negatively transformed by social media and the culture wars in the United States. Mr. Szetela talks about the role played by the Big Five publishers, literary agents, sensitivity readers, and online pressure groups in the process. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

From the Supreme Court of the United States, Justice Neil Gorsuch discusses his children's book, "Heroes of 1776," about the signers of the Declaration of Independence and other, lesser known, revolutionaries who put their life, liberty, and property on the line to gain independence from the British. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week on Q&A, it's a rare interview with one of America's leading historians. We tour the New York City office and home library of Pulitzer Prize-winning bestselling biographer Robert Caro, who is currently working on the final volume of his 5-volume biography of Lyndon Johnson. During the tour, Mr. Caro talks about his research and writing process on the LBJ series, and the impact of "The Power Broker," his bestselling 1974 biography of NYC Parks Commissioner Robert Moses. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Jean Becker and Tom Collamore, former staffers to President George H.W. Bush, discuss the work done by advance teams for presidential events, including foreign trips, state visits, and campaign rallies. They share behind-the-scenes stories of success, near disaster, and failure, told by the professionals who prepared for these events over the past 60 years. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This year's White House Correspondents' Association dinner will take place on Saturday, April 25th, at the Washington Hilton. In preparation, we look back at memorable performances by presidents and comedians at the annual fundraiser going back to the Reagan administration. Joining us for the discussion is C-SPAN's Director of Communications Howard Mortman, who for years has been chronicling the happenings at WHCA dinners on his "Extreme Mortman" podcast. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Muckraking journalist Jessica Mitford and her 5 sisters – two of whom were intimate friends with Hitler – were global celebrities during the early and mid-20th century, known for their colorful personal lives and political differences. Born a British aristocrat like her sisters, Jessica Mitford rejected her upbringing at an early age, eventually moving to America, where she became a communist, civil rights activist, and bestselling author. Northeastern University literature professor Carla Kaplan, our guest this week, tells Jessica Mitford's story in her book, "Troublemaker." Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Smithsonian Institution National Air & Space Museum's Jennifer Levasseur discusses the history of the 135-mission Space Shuttle program (1981-2011), its accomplishments, and two tragic failures that led to the deaths of 14 shuttle astronauts. Ms. Levasseur, the curator in charge of the Space Shuttle Discovery at the Air & Space Museum's Udvar-Hazy Center in Virginia, where this interview took place, also takes us on a tour of the shuttle orbiter. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Former Goldman Sachs CEO Lloyd Blankfein, author of the memoir "Streetwise," discusses his upbringing in public housing in Brooklyn, being educated at Harvard, and rising through the ranks of one of the world's largest investment banks. He also talks about the 2008 financial crisis, which happened during his tenure as CEO, and the power and influence of Goldman Sachs executives within the U.S. government going back decades. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

New York Times staff photographer Doug Mills has won 3 Pulitzer Prizes for his work covering the White House & Washington, Super Bowls, Olympics, and many other major events. He tells us that he's taken over one million photographs of President Trump alone. In our conversation, he talks about some of the events he's covered going back to the Reagan administration. He talks about being in the Oval Office and on Air Force One, photographing the Clinton/Gore campaign in 1992, accompanying President George W. Bush on September 11, 2001, and taking the photograph of the attempted assassination of President Trump in 2024, which won him his third Pulitzer Prize. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Former longtime Columbia University president Lee Bollinger discusses his book "University: A Reckoning," about the purpose and future of universities in the United States. He also talks about protests and free speech on college campuses and the targeting of Columbia, Harvard, and other institutions of higher learning by the Trump administration. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

California governor Gavin Newsom (D) discusses his memoir, "Young Man in a Hurry," in which he chronicles moments in his life that influenced his political career. He was mayor of San Francisco from 2004 to 2011 and then served as lieutenant governor before becoming governor in 2019. Gov. Newsom also talks about his personal life, including living with dyslexia, and his relationship with billionaire Gordon Getty, a longtime political benefactor. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Former U.S. Congressman Steve Israel (D-NY) discusses his book, "The Einstein Conspiracy," a novel based on an actual plot by the Nazis to silence physicist Albert Einstein during the 1930s. Einstein, a prominent critic of Hitler, moved to the United States with his wife in 1933 and became a citizen in 1940. This interview was recorded at Theodore's Book in Oyster Bay, New York, an independent bookstore opened by Mr. Israel in 2021. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Former Washington Post correspondent Wil Haygood, author of "The War Within a War," discusses the experience of Black American soldiers in Vietnam and the struggle for racial equality, happening at the same time, back home in the United States. He also talks about growing up in Columbus, Ohio, during this period, where, as a child, he witnessed this dichotomy firsthand. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

White House Historical Association president Stewart McLaurin, author of "The People's House Miscellany," talks about the history of the White House and White House-related trivia. He also discusses the changes that presidents and first ladies have made to the White House's interior and exterior going back to President Thomas Jefferson. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Smithsonian Air and Space Museum's Teasel Muir-Harmony discusses the history of the U.S. space program, from the creation of NASA in 1958 through the Gemini early flights to Neil Armstrong taking his historic first steps on the lunar surface in July 1969. She also talks about the missions that followed and NASA's current efforts to return astronauts to the moon. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Nicholas Boggs discusses the personal life and activism of American writer James Baldwin (1924-1987). Mr. Boggs, who spent over 20 years working on "James Baldwin: A Love Story," also talks about Baldwin's many books, his life outside the United States, and his involvement in the civil rights movement. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

ABC News chief Washington correspondent Jonathan Karl discusses his book, "Retribution," a behind-the-scenes look at Donald Trump's winning 2024 presidential campaign. Mr. Karl, who started covering Trump in the mid-1990s for the New York Post, also talks about his longtime relationship with the 47th president and the contrast between President Trump's public and private sides. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

University of Texas at Austin history professor Peniel Joseph, author of "Freedom Season," talks about the pivotal events of 1963 that impacted the Civil Rights Movement in America. That year, which marked the centenary of Lincoln's Emancipation Proclamation, also saw the assassinations of President Kennedy and Mississippi civil rights activist Medgar Evers, the publication of James Baldwin's bestseller "The Fire Next Time," and the bombing of the 16th Street Baptist Church in Birmingham, Alabama, which killed 4 little girls. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Gary Walters has served seven U.S. presidents and their families at the White House from 1970-2007, first as a member of the Secret Service and later as an usher. He served as White House Chief Usher from 1986-2007, the longest in U.S. history. Mr. Walters shares stories from his time in the Executive Residence and discusses the role that he played in managing the day-to-day operations, presidential transitions, and major events at the White House. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

America250 Commission Chair Rosie Rios talked about the events occurring over the next year to celebrate the upcoming 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence on July 4, 2026. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Political scientist Charles Murray discusses his decades-long evolution from "happy agnostic" to believing Christian. He also talks about the foundations of human morality, the Big Bang, the authorship of the Gospels, and the writings of C.S. Lewis. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Former NASA flight director Eugene "Gene" Kranz, author of "Tough and Competent," shares stories from his 34 years at NASA's Mission Control, beginning in 1960 with his work on Project Mercury, the first American human spaceflight program. He was later flight director for NASA's Gemini and Apollo programs, including the 1969 Apollo 11 mission that landed Americans on the moon and the 1970 Apollo 13 mission that almost ended in tragedy ("Houston, we've had a problem…" reported Commander Jim Lovell in route to the moon). Mr. Kranz, who turned 92 this year, also talks about his work on Skylab and the Space Shuttle Program, and weighs in on NASA's current plans to send humans back to the moon. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

White House trade adviser Peter Navarro went to prison in 2024 after being found guilty of two counts of criminal contempt of Congress for refusing to comply with a subpoena from the House January 6th Committee. In his book, "I Went to Prison So You Won’t Have To," Mr. Navarro describes the Justice Department's case against him, his arrest and trial, and what it was like for him prison. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Rep. James Clyburn (D-SC) talks about eight Black representatives from South Carolina who served in Congress during the Reconstruction Era. The eight included Joseph Rainey, the first Black politician elected to the U.S. House of Representatives, and Robert Smalls, a Civil War hero who fled the Confederacy to fight for the Union Army. Both were former slaves. Rep. Clyburn became the ninth Black congressman from South Carolina nearly a century later. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

White House Historical Association president Stewart McLaurin, author of "The People's House Miscellany," talks about the history of the White House and White House-related trivia. He also discusses the changes that presidents and first ladies have made to the White House's interior and exterior going back to President Thomas Jefferson. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Journalist Boyce Upholt talks about the history and geography of the Mississippi River and human attempts to control it going back to the Founding Era. He discusses how government-built levees, dikes, and dams have transformed the landscape and ecosystem along the 2,340-mile-long Mississippi and the impact that commerce, floods, and pollution have had on the population along its banks. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In his memoir, "Who Knew," media mogul Barry Diller talks about his career in television and Hollywood, and about his personal life and longtime relationship with fashion designer Diane von Furstenberg. Mr. Diller has been an executive at ABC and head of Paramount Pictures and 20th Century Fox (where he created the Fox television network). While at ABC in the mid-1970s, Mr. Diller was responsible for creating the Movie of the Week and the television miniseries, including "Roots." Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Former CNN Moscow Bureau Chief Jill Dougherty discusses her life-long interest in Russia, which she first visited in 1969 as an exchange student. A fluent Russian speaker, she spent 10 years covering Russia for Voice of America and CNN. Besides serving as Moscow Bureau Chief, Jill Dougherty was White House correspondent during the H.W. Bush and Clinton administrations. While in Moscow, she covered the presidencies of Mikhail Gorbachev, Boris Yeltsin, and Vladimir Putin. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Sir Richard J. Evans has been writing about Germany and Adolf Hitler for his entire professional life. He was knighted in Britain in 2012 for his service to scholarship. From 2003-2008, Professor Evans published a trilogy of the Third Reich with a total of over 2,500 pages. His latest book is titled "Hitler's People: The Faces of the Third Reich." In his preface, Sir Richard, a former professor at Cambridge University writes: "The individuals who stand at the center of this book range from the top to the bottom, from Hitler all the way down to the lowest of the Nazi party." There are 22 chapters. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Critic and opinion writer Christopher Scalia, son of the late Justice Antonin Scalia, recommends 13 novels with conservative themes that, he says, aren’t widely known by conservatives. In his book "13 Novels Conservatives Will Love (but Probably Haven't Read," the former English professor discusses books by Walter Scott, George Eliot, P.D. James, Zora Neale Hurston, and others. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Last week, President Trump announced that a deal had been reached between the U.S. government and China regarding the control of the widely popular social media platform, TikTok. In April 2024, Congress passed, and President Biden signed, a law that required TikTok's Chinese parent company, ByteDance, to sell TikTok within a year or face a ban in the United States. Forbes technology reporter Emily Baker-White, author of "Every Screen on the Planet," talks about the meteoric rise of TikTok, used by an estimated 150 million Americans, and the U.S. government's concerns over its influence and ownership. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

White House trade adviser Peter Navarro went to prison in 2024 after being found guilty of two counts of criminal contempt of Congress for refusing to comply with a subpoena from the House January 6th Committee. In his book, "I Went to Prison So You Won’t Have To," Mr. Navarro describes the Justice Department's case against him, his arrest and trial, and what it was like for him prison. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Ann Butler was a CIA spy for 25+ years. She donned disguises, used false names, and learned how to evade surveillance. She did this clandestine work while simultaneously raising five children. As she says, "No one suspected a pregnant woman was a spy." Ann Butler talks about her work with the Agency, what it took to become an overseas operative in the mid-1980s, and some of the methods she used to extract information from targets. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Liberty Media chairman and cable TV pioneer John Malone, author of "Born to Be Wired," discusses his life and entrepreneurship. Mr. Malone's many business ventures include the Discovery Channel, QVC, SiriusXM, Formula One, and Ticketmaster. He also talks about competing with Ted Turner and Rupert Murdoch, the value of philanthropy, Republican leadership in Congress, and living life as a high-functioning autistic. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Wall Street Journal columnist Jason Riley, author of "The Affirmative Action Myth," argues that the racial preference policies of the 1960s and 70s have had an overall negative impact on the success of Black Americans. He says that Black incomes, homeownership, and educational attainment were all on an upward trajectory prior to these policies being implemented. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Author and writer George Will, whose nationally syndicated column has been running since 1974, discusses his life and career in the opinion business. Mr. Will talks about the impact of his work on U.S. politics over the past 50 years, conservatism in the age of Donald Trump, his love of baseball, and other topics. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Sports journalist and academic Jane McManus, author of "The Fast Track," discusses the rise in popularity of women's sports since the early 1970s and the challenges female athletes have faced since then, including unequal pay and lack of media coverage. Prof. McManus talks about the experiences of Billie Jean King, Venus and Serena Williams, Caitlin Clark, Riley Gaines, and other female competitors. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Journalist and musician Lee Hawkins, author of "I Am Nobody's Slave," talks about the impact that slavery and Jim Crow have had on his family through multiple generations. Mr. Hawkins examines the relationship between the past violence experienced by family members, often at the hands of white people, and the way his parents raised and severely discipline. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Technology reporter Nicole Kobie, author of "The Long History of the Future," talks about how technology evolves and discusses why many predicted technologies – including driverless and flying cars, smart cities, hyperloops, and autonomous robots – haven’t become a reality. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices