Richard Aldous is Eugene Meyer Professor of British History and Literature at Bard College, and host of the “Bookstack” podcast at American Purpose.
He is the author of eleven books, including Schlesinger: The Imperial Historian (2017); Reagan and Thatcher: The Difficult Relationship (2012); Macmillan, Eisenhower and the Cold War (2005); The Lion and the Unicorn: Gladstone vs. Disraeli (2007); and biographies of Malcolm Sargent and Tony Ryan.
Lawrence J. Haas on the Kennedys' Approach to the World
From an early age, Jack, Bobby, and Ted Kennedy developed a deep understanding of the different peoples, cultures, and ideologies around the world, a keen appreciation for the challenges that such differences created for the United States, and a strong desire to reshape America’s response to them. Lawrence J.
Cristina Groeger on Education and Economic Disparity
For generations, Americans have looked to education as the solution to economic disadvantage. Nevertheless, today the gap between rich and poor is widening. This week, Cristina Groeger joins Richard Aldous to talk about her new book, The Education Trap: Schools and the Remaking of Inequality in Boston, and discusses how
Paula Marantz Cohen on Shakespeare and Empathy
In a time of division, difference, and cancel culture, what can we learn from Shakespeare (who himself has been caught in the crossfire of today’s culture wars)? On today’s episode, author Paula Marantz Cohen joins host Richard Aldous to discuss all this, as well as her new book
Roya Hakakian's Immigrant Guide to America
Roya Hakakian joins host Richard Aldous to talk about her new book A Beginner’s Guide to America. Moved to write the book amid the uproar over immigration kicked off during the Trump presidency, she talks about her own experiences as a new immigrant from Iran, the challenges and rewards
Ritchie Robertson on the Enlightenment, 1680-1790
Enlightenment thinking across Europe addressed the full breadth of human experience. From the nature of beauty to practical improvements in administering prisons, the array of viewpoints and subjects stretches well beyond today’s shorthands for the era. Ritchie Robertson joins host Richard Aldous to discuss his new book, The Enlightenment:
Richard Thompson Ford on Fashion, Law, and Social Change
Fashion matters. Clothes both tell a story about power, prestige, and privilege, and can serve as important means of critiquing and subverting these very same things. Richard Thompson Ford joins host Richard Aldous to discuss all this, along with his new book, Dress Codes: How the Laws of Fashion Made
R. James Breiding on Small-Nation Success
Why is it that some small countries do so well at tackling large, difficult problems that trip up their larger competitors? R. James Breiding joins host Richard Aldous to discuss his new book Too Small To Fail: Why Some Small Nations Outperform Larger Ones and How They Are Reshaping the
Emma Rothschild’s Generational Portrait of France
"History from below” is usually an effort at social history seen through statistics and figures. Our guest this week, Emma Rothschild, takes a different approach in her new book, An Infinite History: The Story of a Family in France Over Three Centuries, by recounting a vast narrative at times resembling
