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.
Walter Russell Mead on the American-Israeli Relationship
Why has Israel played such a foundational role not only in American foreign policy, but in how America sees the world? Walter Russell Mead joins host Richard Aldous to talk about his new book The Arc of a Covenant: The United States, Israel, and the Fate of the Jewish People.
Eleanor Herman and the Demonization of Women in Power
Misogyny in politics is as old as politics itself. But is there hope for progress? Eleanor Herman, author of Off With Her Head: Three Thousand Years of Demonizing Women in Power, joins host Richard Aldous to talk about her new book.
Francesca Tripodi on Right-Wing Narratives and their Internet Success
Why do rightwing narratives do so well on the internet? Francesca Bolla Tripodi, assistant professor at the School of Information and Library Science at University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill joins host Richard Aldous to discuss her new book, The Propagandists’ Playbook: How Conservative Elites Manipulate Search and Threaten Democracy.
Michael Mandelbaum on American Foreign Policy
What’s the future of American power look like? To answer the question, Richard Aldous asked Michael Mandelbaum, author of the new book The Four Ages of American Foreign Policy, to look at how America came to be the power it is today.
Mary Ziegler on the Anti-Abortion Movement
What’s the relationship between the fight over abortion, campaign finance reform, and the rise of Trump? Historian Mary Ziegler joins host Richard Aldous to talk about her new book Dollars for Life: The Anti-Abortion Movement and the Fall of the Republican Establishment.
Jonathan Pelson on China's dangerous domination of 5G
How big is the threat from China really in the telecommunications space? Jonathan Pelson warns host Richard Aldous that we should not underestimate it. Read his new book Wireless Wars: China’s Dangerous Domination of 5G and How We’re Fighting Back.
Ezrachi and Stucke on Big Tech’s threat to innovation
Is all innovation the same? Is there such a thing as toxic disruption? And is there any cause for optimism even as tech has failed to deliver us a utopia? Ariel Ezrachi and Maurice E. Stucke join host Richard Aldous to talk about their new book, How Big Tech Barons
James Kirchick on the hidden history of gay Washington
National security, secrecy, paranoia, suicide, and the rise of modern civil rights—James Kirchick joins host Richard Aldous to talk about the untold story of the nation’s capital, and his new book Secret City: The Hidden History of Gay Washington.
