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.
Toby Harnden on the CIA's mission in Afghanistan
Welcome back, dear listeners, to Season Two of Bookstack! With the twentieth anniversary of the Al Qaeda terror attacks on New York and Washington approaching this weekend, our host Richard Aldous sat down with author Toby Harnden to discuss his new book First Casualty: The Untold Story of the CIA
Peter Hartcher on Australia's China Challenge
Australia is the world’s test case for how a democratic country’s dependence on China can be turned against it. The Sydney Morning Herald’s Peter Hartcher joins Richard Aldous to discuss exactly how this has happened in his new book, Red Zone: China’s Challenge and Australia’s
Firmin DeBrabander on the Internet's Threat to Privacy
Is there any hope for safeguarding privacy in the age of the internet?
Shawna Kay Rodenberg on Growing Up in Kentucky
This week, author Shawna Kay Rodenberg joins host Richard Aldous to discuss her moving new book, Kin: A Memoir, about family, forgiveness, and growing up in Eastern Kentucky.
Gillian Tett's Anthropological Lens
In times of change at breakneck speeds, we need a different lens for understanding the world. Financial journalist and anthropology PhD Gillian Tett joins host Richard Aldous to discuss how we can use an anthropological lens to cope with an increasingly kaleidoscopic reality.
Timothy Brennan on Edward Said
Larger-than-life figures like Edward Said often become prisoners of their own legacy. Author Timothy Brennan, a student of Said’s, joins host Richard Aldous to discuss his fascinating new biography, Places of Mind: A Life of Edward Said, a book that tries to tease out the contradictions and complications that
Tevi Troy Looks at 70 Years of White House Intrigue
With news getting comparatively less bizarre as 2021 rolls on, presidential historian and former White House aide Tevi Troy joins host Richard Aldous to talk about the history of White House intrigue as described in his recent book, Fight House: Rivalries in the White House from Truman to Trump.
Michael Dobbs on Nixon's Fatal Flaws
Richard Nixon, an almost Shakespearean character, loomed over 20th century American history in ways that prefigure Trump. Author Michael Dobbs joins host Richard Aldous to discuss this deeply flawed individual, and his new book King Richard: Nixon and Watergate, an American Tragedy.
