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.
Roosevelt Montas on the Great Books' enduring value
Why study the Great Books? The question is not only out of favor these days, it is rarely even asked any more. Roosevelt Montas joins host Richard Aldous for our fiftieth episode to offer a spirited defense of the tradition, and to talk about his new book, Rescuing Socrates: How
Joseph Horowitz on Black classical music
Happy New Year! Why did classical music in America become and stay white? And what could be done to change that? Joseph Horowitz joins host Richard Aldous to discuss his new book, Dvorak’s Prophecy and the Vexed Fate of Black Classical Music.
Jason Riley on Thomas Sowell
Is intellectual integrity in today’s academia possible? Jason L. Riley joins host Richard Aldous to talk about his new book on Thomas Sowell, one of America's most influential conservative thinkers.
Brendan Borrell on the race to the vaccine
As another COVID winter looms, Brendan Borrell joins host Richard Aldous to discuss his new book The First Shots, about the epic, and inspiring scientific and bureaucratic race to find a vaccine and save the world.
Olivia Williams on the Savoy's glamorous tales
The origins of the luxury hotel and of modern theater, the start of Gilbert and Sullivan’s career, the roots of Oscar Wilde celebrity—Olivia Williams joins host Richard Aldous to discuss her new book, The Secret Life of the Savoy: Glamour and Intrigue at the World’s Most Famous
Bruce Jones on naval supremacy and today’s geopolitics
Alfred Thayer Mahan would feel right at home in today’s geopolitical landscape: all of the great struggles of our time are playing out atop, within, and below the world’s oceans. Bruce Jones joins host Richard Aldous this week to discuss what the struggle for global supremacy might look
Fiona Hill on political dysfunction
What’s it really like working for Donald Trump? Fiona Hill joins host Richard Aldous to talk about her new book, There Is Nothing For You Here: Finding Opportunity in the 21st Century, her harrowing time at the White House, growing up poor in England, and the roots of our
Sarotte on the post-Cold War stalemate
Just because no history is completely determined by one decision does not mean that NATO expansion in the 1990s could not have been handled better. Mary Sarotte, the Marie-Josée and Henry R. Kravis Distinguished Professor of Historical Studies at Johns Hopkins SAIS joins host Richard Aldous to discuss her new
