How Politics Destroyed American Universities - Neil Gross
Neil Gross joins me for a conversation about what happened to the American college experience, how politics, polarization, and fear of speaking your mind have damaged one of the greatest institutions ...
25 Aug 34min
Chicago Is at a Breaking Point (But She Says She Can Fix It) - Susana A. Mendoza
Today on Open Book, we're not joined by an author, but by a woman fighting to become the next mayor of Chicago. Susana Mendoza grew up in Chicago learning how to stand up to bullies, fight for what sh...
14 Aug 28min
The Secretive Family Behind a $13 Trillion Financial Empire
Fidelity is one of the most powerful financial institutions in America, but the story of the family behind it has largely remained hidden. Justin Baer joins me to reveal how the Johnson dynasty built ...
11 Aug 35min
Ex-CIA Officer: America Has a 20% Chance of Splitting Apart - James Telfer
A former CIA officer sat down to write a "fun airport novel" and ended up putting a 20% probability on America actually splitting apart. James Telfer joins me to talk about what he saw from the inside...
6 Aug 29min
America is Deeply Broken (Here's How We Can Fix It) - Rye Barcott
What does real courage look like when the cameras stop rolling, and the tribe wants you to fall in line? On this episode of Open Book, I sit down with Rye Barcott, Marine, author, and founder of With ...
4 Aug 34min
He Repaired My Marriage And Then We Lost Him Forever - Mike Maimone
I got fired from the White House, my marriage was falling apart, and the guy who talked me off the ledge was my publicist, Howard Bragman, a man so full of life he'd call you 'numbnuts' one minute and...
30 Jul 30min
July 2026 Q&A: Will I Run For Office? How I Read So Much? How To Fix The American Education System?
You send me the questions, I give you the answers, no filter, no spin, straight from the gut. This month: would I actually run for office, how I manage to read a book a week, why Independence Hall is ...
28 Jul 31min
The Heartbreaking Atrocity of The Ukraine War (And Why You Should Care) - James Verini
After reading his book on the war in Ukraine, you will understand the significance of this conflict as you never have before. Putin thought he could topple Kyiv in days and convinced himself Ukraine w...
23 Jul 31min
