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.
Satia on Progress and Colonialism
How does writing history influence the future? How did Enlightenment thinkers help prepare the ground for Empire? And how can we rescue the Enlightenment project to build a better future? This week, Priya Satia of Stanford University joins our host Richard Aldous to discuss all this, as well as her
Ikenberry on Liberal Internationalism
Is liberal democracy the foundation of a lasting world order, or should we be constructing a world order to help fragile democracies thrive? And after a rough few years for liberal democracy around the globe, what are the chances that such an order can be built? G. John Ikenberry joins
’Neath the Christmas Tree
Get out the wrapping paper—“Bookstack” host Richard Aldous tours the 2020 book landscape.
Teasel Muir-Harmony on the Magic of the Moon Landing
Project Apollo captured the world’s imagination, and as a feat of “soft power” public diplomacy, it has few peers in the history of mankind, and has not been matched since. With hopes expressed that President Biden’s election can start to bring the world together after several years of
Thomas E. Ricks on What America’s Founders Learned from the Greeks and Romans
Is the America we have today, the America that elected Donald Trump and is still struggling to move on from his term in office, the country our Founding Fathers envisioned? And just what is it that this illustrious group really thought they were building? Pulitzer Prize winning author Thomas E.
Susan Glasser and Peter Baker on James A. Baker III
To paraphrase Henry Kissinger, "Who the heck is James Baker?” For a quarter-century, from the end of Watergate to the aftermath of the Cold War, no Republican won the presidency without his help or ran the White House without his advice. Susan Glasser and Peter Baker join our host Richard
Ian Buruma on America's Special Relationship with the UK
What’s so special about the special relationship? Was it built on anything more than Winston Churchill’s charisma and cunning? What can we learn about the history of the European project by studying its contours? And is it doomed after Brexit? Ian Buruma, author, historian, and a professor at
Edmund Fawcett on his book Conservatism
Conservatism. It arose out of the ashes of the French Revolution. Margaret Thatcher famously denied she was an adherent. And today, it is taking yet another new shape as the world changes at a breathtaking pace. Edmund Fawcett, a correspondent for The Economist for more than three decades, joins host
