Corey Robin, "The Enigma of Clarence Thomas" (Metropolitan Books, 2019)
Most people can tell you two things about Clarence Thomas: Anita Hill accused him of sexual harassment, and he almost never speaks from the bench. Here are some things they don't know: Until Thomas we...
4 Aug 202257min
Leah Kardos, "Blackstar Theory: The Last Works of David Bowie" (Bloomsbury, 2022)
Blackstar Theory: The Last Works of David Bowie (Bloomsbury, 2022) takes a close look at David Bowie's ambitious last works: his surprise 'comeback' project The Next Day (2013), the off-Broadway music...
1 Aug 202256min
Will Jawando, "My Seven Black Fathers: A Young Activist's Memoir of Race, Family, and the Mentors Who Made Him Whole" (FSG, 2022)
Will Jawando tells a deeply affirmative story of hope and respect for men of color at a time when Black men are routinely stigmatized. As a boy growing up outside DC, Will, who went by his Nigerian na...
1 Aug 202248min
Richard Middleton, "Cornwallis: Soldier and Statesman in a Revolutionary World" (Yale UP, 2022)
Charles, First Marquis of Cornwallis (1738-1805), was a leading figure in late eighteenth-century Britain. His career spanned the American War of Independence, Irish Union, the French Revolutionary Wa...
29 Juli 20221h 10min
Skye Cleary, "How to Be Authentic: Simone de Beauvoir and the Quest for Fulfillment" (St. Martin's Press, 2022)
Skye C. Cleary is a philosopher, writer and university teacher. In her new book How to Be Authentic: Simone de Beauvoir and the Quest for Fulfillment (St. Martin’s Press, 2022) offers an introduction ...
27 Juli 202248min
Ali Mirsepassi, "The Discovery of Iran: Taghi Arani, a Radical Cosmopolitan" (Stanford UP, 2021)
The Discovery of Iran: Taghi Arani, a Radical Cosmopolitan (Stanford UP, 2021), opens with a fascinating passage about the 1934 decree whereby foreign delegates were instructed to refer to the country...
27 Juli 20221h 9min
Thomas S. Kidd, "Benjamin Franklin: The Religious Life of a Founding Father" (Yale UP, 2017)
Renowned as a printer, scientist, and diplomat, Benjamin Franklin also published more works on religious topics than any other eighteenth-century American layperson. Born to Boston Puritans, by his te...
27 Juli 202259min
Hanan Hammad, "Unknown Past: Layla Murad, the Jewish-Muslim Star of Egypt" (Stanford UP, 2022)
Layla Murad (1918-1995) was once the highest-paid star in Egypt, and her movies were among the top-grossing in the box office. She starred in 28 films, nearly all now classics in Arab musical cinema. ...
27 Juli 20221h 23min
