Book Club with Michael Smerconish

Alexander Vindman: "The Folly of Realism"

07 Mar 2025

Contributed by Lukas

After the collapse of the Soviet Union, six US presidential administrations of both parties pursued policies for Russia, Ukraine, and Eurasia that emb...

Vivek Wadhwa: "Your Happiness Was Hacked"

03 Mar 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Technology: your master, or your friend? Do you feel ruled by your smartphone and enslaved by your email or social-network activities? Digital technol...

Sherrod Brown: "Desk 88"

12 Feb 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Since his election to the U.S. Senate in 2006, Ohio’s Sherrod Brown has sat on the Senate floor at a mahogany desk with a proud history. In "Desk 88...

Yoni Appelbaum: "Stuck"

11 Feb 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Yoni Appelbaum is a deputy executive editor of The Atlantic and a social and cultural historian of the United States. Before joining The Atlantic, he ...

Edward Fishman: "Chokepoints"

05 Feb 2025

Contributed by Lukas

The epic story of how America turned the world economy into a weapon, upending decades of globalization to take on a new authoritarian axis—Russia, ...

Craig Fehrman: "Author in Chief"

03 Feb 2025

Contributed by Lukas

In Craig Fehrman’s groundbreaking work of history, "Author in Chief: The Untold Story of Our Presidents and the Books They Wrote" opens a rich new w...

Nicholas Carr: "Superbloom"

31 Jan 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Michael welcomes Nicholas Carr, author of "Superbloom: How Technologies of Connection Tear Us Apart," a bracing exploration of how social media has wa...

Fredrik Nystrom: "Lighten the load on your shoulders"

29 Jan 2025

Contributed by Lukas

He doesn't believe in diets, and says we should exercise less. Meet Dr. Fredrik Nystrom, professor of medicine at Linkoping University in Sweden. He j...

Tim Harford: "The Data Detective"

27 Jan 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Michael talks with Tim Harford, author of "The Data Detective: Ten Easy Rules to Make Sense of Statistics." Today we think statistics are the enemy, n...

Brad Meltzer: "The JFK Conspiracy"

24 Jan 2025

Contributed by Lukas

From the New York Times bestselling authors of "The Nazi Conspiracy" and "The Lincoln Conspiracy" comes a true, little-known story about the first ass...

Adam Grant: "Think Again"

23 Jan 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Organizational psychologist Adam Grant is an expert on opening other people's minds--and our own. Listen to him discuss "Think Again: The Power of Kno...

Jesse Ventura: "Don't Start the Revolution Without Me!"

06 Jan 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Jesse Ventura has had many lives as a Navy SEAL, a star of pro wrestling, an actor, and as governor of Minnesota. Listen to Michael's 2008 conversatio...

William Cohan: "The Price of Silence"

16 Dec 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Michael talks to William Cohan, author of "The Price of Silence: The Duke Lacrosse Scandal, the Power of the Elite, and the Corruption of Our Great Un...

Ralph Cipriano: "Courtroom Cowboy"

11 Dec 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Before he became a full-time talk radio host, Michael worked for a Philadelphia-based trial lawyer, James E. Beasley, who passed away in 2004. Listen ...

Stan Middleman: "Seeing Around Corners"

05 Dec 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Through Stan's life lessons, you'll discover how perseverance, anticipating change, and creating a shared vision for your team can help you build an e...

Louis J. Freeh: "My FBI"

03 Dec 2024

Contributed by Lukas

From the archives, Michael's conversation with Louis J. Freeh, author of "My FBI: Bringing Down the Mafia, Investigating Bill Clinton, and Fighting th...

Peggy Noonan: "A Certain Idea of America"

25 Nov 2024

Contributed by Lukas

For a quarter century, Peggy Noonan has been thinking aloud about America in her much-loved Wall Street Journal column. In this new collection of her ...

Douglas Brinkley: "American Moonshot: John F. Kennedy and the Great Space Race"

18 Nov 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Michael spoke to historian Douglas Brinkley about the book he wrote the year of the 50th anniversary of the first lunar landing. In the bestselling "A...

Richard Dawkins: "The Greatest Show on Earth"

15 Nov 2024

Contributed by Lukas

From deep in the archives, Michael's conversation with Richard Dawkins, author of "The Greatest Show on Earth: The Evidence for Evolution (A Brief His...

John Grogan: "Marley & Me"

12 Nov 2024

Contributed by Lukas

The heartwarming and unforgettable story of a family and the wondrously neurotic dog who taught them what really matters in life. Is it possible for h...

Chris Wallace: "Countdown 1960"

01 Nov 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Michael talks to Chris Wallace about his book "Countdown 1960: The Behind-the-Scenes Story of the 312 Days that Changed America's Politics Forever." T...

Bob Woodward: "War"

28 Oct 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Two-time Pulitzer Prize winner Bob Woodward tells the revelatory, behind-the-scenes story of three wars—Ukraine, the Middle East and the struggle fo...

Michael Barone: "How America’s Political Parties Change"

25 Oct 2024

Contributed by Lukas

We have the oldest and third oldest political parties in the world―the Democratic Party founded in 1832 to reelect Andrew Jackson, the Republican Pa...

James B. Stewart: "Deep State"

21 Oct 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Michael's conversation with James B. Stewart, the bestselling author of "Deep State: Trump, the FBI, and the Rule of Law." There are questions that th...

Larry Sabato: "The Kennedy Half Century"

15 Oct 2024

Contributed by Lukas

UVA Professor Dr. Larry Sabato, author of "The Kennedy Half-Century: The Presidency, Assassination, and Lasting Legacy of John F. Kennedy." Because of...

Julie Hirschfeld Davis: "Border Wars"

11 Oct 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Michael's conversation with Julie Hirschfeld Davis, co-author (with Michael D. Shear) of "Border Wars: Inside Trump's Assault on Immigration." Two New...

Admiral James Stavridis: "The Restless Wave"

09 Oct 2024

Contributed by Lukas

From the New York Times bestselling former NATO commander comes a riveting historical novel that charts the coming-of-age of a gifted but immature you...

Vince Papale: "Invincible"

08 Oct 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Michael's conversation with Vince Papale on his autobiography, "Invincible: My Journey from Fan to NFL Team Captain." The true story of the NFL’s ol...

Michael Scheuer: "Imperial Hubris"

01 Oct 2024

Contributed by Lukas

From Michael's archives, his conversation with former CIA official Michael Scheuer, author of "Imperial Hubris: Why the West Is Losing the War on Terr...

Dr. Marty Makary: "Blind Spots: When Medicine Gets It Wrong"

27 Sep 2024

Contributed by Lukas

From Johns Hopkins medical expert Dr. Marty Makary, the New York Times-bestselling author of 'The Price We Pay'-an eye-opening look at the medical gro...

David Litt: "Democracy in One Book or Less"

23 Sep 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Michael welcomes David Litt with his book "Democracy in One Book or Less: How It Works, Why It Doesn't, and Why Fixing It Is Easier Than You Think." T...

Melissa Fitzgerald & Mary McCormack: "What's Next"

19 Sep 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Michael welcomes Melissa Fitzgerald & Mary McCormack, alumni of NBC's hit series "The West Wing," with their new book "What's Next: A Backstage Pass t...

Bradley Tusk: "Vote With Your Phone"

16 Sep 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Democracy is broken because the way we vote is broken. But there is a solution: Mobile Voting. Listen to Michael speak with Bradley Tusk, author of "V...

Joe Navarro: "What Every BODY Is Saying"

13 Sep 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Everyone is talking about the body language at the ABC News presidential debate between Kamala Harris and Donald Trump. Michael gets some expertise fr...

Max Boot: "Reagan"

09 Sep 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Son of the Midwest, movie star, and mesmerizing politician―America’s fortieth president comes to three-dimensional life in this gripping and profo...

Dr. Laura Katz Olson: "Wrinkled Rebels"

06 Sep 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Michael is an alum of Lehigh University, so he was thrilled to have this conversation with Dr. Laura Katz Olson, who has Distinguished Professor of Po...

David Sanger: "New Cold Wars"

30 Aug 2024

Contributed by Lukas

New Cold Wars: China's Rise, Russia's Invasion, and America's Struggle to Defend the West —the latest from the Pulitzer Prize–winning journalist a...

Michael Lewis: "Going Infinite"

26 Aug 2024

Contributed by Lukas

From the best-selling author of The Big Short and Flash Boys, the story of FTX’s spectacular collapse and the enigmatic founder at its center. When ...

Charlotte Shane: "An Honest Woman"

23 Aug 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Through the lens of her years spent as a sex worker, Charlotte Shane offers a provocative and tender reckoning of what it means to be a heterosexual w...

Valerie Bauerlein: "The Devil at His Elbow"

21 Aug 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Power, privilege, and blood—this is the definitive and thrilling true story of Alex Murdaugh’s violent downfall, from a veteran Wall Street Journa...

Chris Matthews: "Tip and the Gipper"

19 Aug 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Listen to Michael's conversation with Chris Matthews about "Tip and the Gipper: When Politics Worked".... a magnificent personal history of a time whe...

Jonathan Turley: The Indispensable Right"

13 Aug 2024

Contributed by Lukas

A timely, revelatory look at freedom of speech—our most basic right and the one that protects all the others. Listen to Michael's conversation with ...

Mark Halperin: "How To Beat Trump"

07 Aug 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Looking back at the 2020 presidential campaign, listen to his conversation Michael had with political analyst Mark Halperin, author of "How To Beat Tr...

Annie Jacobsen: "Nuclear War"

02 Aug 2024

Contributed by Lukas

There is only one scenario other than an asteroid strike that could end the world as we know it in a matter of hours: nuclear war. And one of the trig...

David Maraniss: "Rome 1960: The Olympics That Changed the World"

29 Jul 2024

Contributed by Lukas

An account of the 1960 Summer Olympics in Rome reveals the competition's unexpected influence on the modern world, in a narrative synopsis that pays t...

William J. Kole: "The Big 100"

26 Jul 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Journalist William J. Kole, reluctant but newly minted member of AARP, explores the looming era of super-aging—incredibly longer lifespans overall, ...

Nelson DeMille: "Wild Fire"

19 Jul 2024

Contributed by Lukas

From #1 New York Times bestselling author Nelson DeMille comes a suspenseful new novel featuring Detective John Corey and an all-too-plausible conspir...

Amy Chozik: "Chasing Hillary"

18 Jul 2024

Contributed by Lukas

The dishy, rollicking, and deeply personal story of what really happened in the 2016 election, as seen through the eyes of the New York Times reporter...

Joan Williams: "White Working Class: Overcoming Class Cluelessness in America"

12 Jul 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Michael is joined by Joan Williams, Distinguished Professor of Law and Hastings Foundation Chair at University of California, in a chat about her book...

Amy Chua: "Political Tribes: Group Instinct and the Fate of Nations"

10 Jul 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Michael invites lawyer and writer Amy Chua to join him in a conversation about Chua's thought-provoking book "Political Tribes: Group Instinct and the...

Adam Buckman: "Jerk: How I Wasted My Life Watching Television"

08 Jul 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Listen to Michael chat with author Adam Buckman in a conversation about his book "Jerk: How I Wasted My Life Watching Television." Original air date 2...

Yair Zivan: "The Centre Must Hold"

02 Jul 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Division in society. The spread of misinformation. The rise of extremism. Centrism holds the answers. Listen to Michael's conversation with Yair Zivan...

Howard Blum: "When the Night Comes Falling"

01 Jul 2024

Contributed by Lukas

The definitive, inside story of the Idaho murders from bestselling author Howard Blum, whose groundbreaking coverage of the story was nominated for a ...

Lanny Davis: "The Unmaking of the President 2016"

26 Jun 2024

Contributed by Lukas

A longtime Washington insider argues that former FBI Director James Comey’s letter to Congress, sent just before the presidential election in 2016 w...

Dr. Anthony Fauci: "On Call"

21 Jun 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Doctor Anthony Stephen Fauci is an American physician-scientist and immunologist who served as the director of the National Institute of Allergy and I...

Bakari Sellers: "My Vanishing Country"

19 Jun 2024

Contributed by Lukas

What J. D. Vance did for Appalachia with Hillbilly Elegy, CNN analyst and one of the youngest state representatives in South Carolina history Bakari ...

Courtney Valenti on Jack Valenti's "This Time, This Place"

12 Jun 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Jack Valenti, former special assistant to President Lyndon B. Johnson and former President of the Motion Picture Association of America, penned a memo...

Joseph Rodota: "The Watergate"

10 Jun 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Since its opening in 1965, the Watergate complex has been one of Washington's chicest addresses, a home to power brokers from both political parties a...

Garrett Graff: "When the Sea Came Alive"

05 Jun 2024

Contributed by Lukas

From New York Times bestselling author and Pulitzer Prize finalist Garrett Graff comes the most up-to-date and complete account of D-Day—the largest...

Kenneth F. McKenzie Jr: "The Melting Point"

03 Jun 2024

Contributed by Lukas

As the Commander of U.S. Central Command, General Frank McKenzie oversaw some of the most important — and controversial operations in modern U.S. mi...

Tom Steyer: "Cheaper, Faster, Better"

29 May 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Michael welcomes climate investor and activist Tom Steyer, author of "Cheaper, Faster, Better: How We’ll Win the Climate War." The climate is changi...

Ken Langone: "I Love Capitalism!"

22 May 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Entrepreneur and New York legend Ken Langone tells the compelling story of how a poor boy from Long Island became one of America's most successful bus...

Bernie Kerik: "From Jailer to Jailed"

20 May 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Michael's conversation with Bernard Kerik about his book "From Jailer to Jailed: My Journey from Correction and Police Commissioner to Inmate #84888-0...

William McRaven: "Sea Stories"

17 May 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Following the success of his #1 New York Times bestseller 'Make Your Bed', Admiral William H. McRaven is back with amazing stories of bravery and hero...

Jeff Greenfield: "If Kennedy Lived"

15 May 2024

Contributed by Lukas

From one of the country’s most brilliant political commentators, the bestselling author of Then Everything Changed, an extraordinary, thought-provok...

Mark Bowden: "Hue 1968"

13 May 2024

Contributed by Lukas

The first battle book from Mark Bowden since his #1 New York Times bestseller Black Hawk Down, "Hue 1968: A Turning Point of the American War in Vietn...

Greg Kaplan: "The Journey"

10 May 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Rooted in humorous stories distilled with bits of sagely honest advice, The Journey goes beyond the well-chronicled college admissions madness and cut...

James Traub: "True Believer"

08 May 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Is there "another 1968" full of protests coming our way this year, with Democrats convening in Chicago this summer to nominate their candidate for pre...

Michael Smerconish: "Talk"

06 May 2024

Contributed by Lukas

This is a special conversation we like to call a "Reverse Book Club." It is political commentator Mike Barnicle interviewing Michael about his own boo...

Michael Hayden: "The Assault on Intelligence"

03 May 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Michael Hayden is a retired United States Air Force four-star general and former Director of the National Security Agency, Principal Deputy Director o...

Adam Grant: "Give and Take"

01 May 2024

Contributed by Lukas

For generations, we have focused on the individual drivers of success: passion, hard work, talent, and luck. But today, success is increasingly depend...

Scott Galloway: "The Algebra of Wealth"

29 Apr 2024

Contributed by Lukas

A must-have guide to optimizing your life for wealth and success. Today's workers have more opportunities and mobility than any generation before. The...

Bill Giles: "Pouring Six Beers At A Time"

24 Apr 2024

Contributed by Lukas

A hilarious, fascinating, and revealing view of the national pastime from the 1930's to the present, "Pouring Six Beers at a Time: And Other Stories f...

Dr. Debby Herbenick: "Yes, Your Kid"

22 Apr 2024

Contributed by Lukas

There is a troubling trend happening in teenage sex. Michael talks to Indiana University Professor Dr. Debby Herbenick, Ph.D, co-author of "Yes, Your ...

Charles Murray: "The Curmudgeon's Guide to Getting Ahead"

17 Apr 2024

Contributed by Lukas

For those starting out in their careers—and those who wish to advance more quickly—this is a delightfully fussy guide to the hidden rules of the r...

Brad Wilcox: "Get Married"

15 Apr 2024

Contributed by Lukas

What's the recipe for happiness? If you listen to liberal elites or red pill influencers, you'd say it's making money, living for yourself, and stayin...

Jeffrey Zaslow: "The Last Lecture"

10 Apr 2024

Contributed by Lukas

This is a special extended edition of Book Club. In 2008, Michael had the opportunity to speak with Wall Street Journal reporter Jeffrey Zaslow, co-au...

Arianna Huffington: "Thrive"

08 Apr 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Michael talks to "Huffington Post" co-founder Arianna Huffington about her book "Thrive: The Third Metric to Redefining Success and Creating a Life of...

Julian Zelizer: "The Presidency of Barack Obama"

06 Apr 2024

Contributed by Lukas

An original and engaging account of the Obama years from a group of leading political historians: Barack Obama's election as the first African America...

Pete Dexter: "Paper Trails"

03 Apr 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Former Philadelphia Daily News columnist and National Book Award Winner Pete Dexter ("Paris Trout") speaks with Michael about his book "Paper Trails: ...

Cass Sunstein: "Conspiracy Theories and Other Dangerous Ideas"

01 Apr 2024

Contributed by Lukas

The most controversial essays from the bestselling author once called the most dangerous man in America—collected for the first time. The nation’s...

Jennifer Weiner: "In Her Shoes"

27 Mar 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Looking back at Jennifer Weiner who joined Michael to discuss her book "In Her Shoes." The book tells the story of two women with nothing in common bu...

Jonathan Haidt: "The Anxious Generation"

25 Mar 2024

Contributed by Lukas

After more than a decade of stability or improvement, the mental health of adolescents plunged in the early 2010s. Rates of depression, anxiety, self-...

Al Gore: "Inconvenient Truth"

22 Mar 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Michael had the opportunity to speak with Former Vice President Al Gore on his WPHT radio program in 2006. The interview did not quite go as planned -...

Gabriel Sherman: "The Loudest Voice In The Room"

20 Mar 2024

Contributed by Lukas

So much has happened in the world surrounding FOX News, Donald Trump, and Roger Ailes since the paperback version of this book by Gabriel Sherman came...

Nathan Raab: "The Hunt For History"

18 Mar 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Nathan Raab, America’s preeminent rare documents dealer, describes his years as the Sherlock Holmes of historical artifacts—questing after preciou...

Nicholas F. Jacobs & Dan Shea: "The Rural Voter"

15 Mar 2024

Contributed by Lukas

The widening gulf between rural and urban America is becoming the most serious political divide of our day. Support for Democrats, up and down the bal...

Admiral James Stavridis: "2054"

13 Mar 2024

Contributed by Lukas

From the acclaimed authors of the runaway New York Times bestseller "2034" comes another explosive work of speculative fiction set twenty years furthe...

David Charter: "Royal Audience"

11 Mar 2024

Contributed by Lukas

From the moment she first appeared as a young princess, Queen Elizabeth II fascinated the world. And, the late Queen had a special relationship with t...

Richard Clarke: "Warnings"

06 Mar 2024

Contributed by Lukas

"Warnings: Finding Cassandras to Stop Catastrophes" is the story of the future of national security, threatening technologies, the U.S. economy, and p...

Joe Nocera: "Indentured"

04 Mar 2024

Contributed by Lukas

“How can the NCAA blithely wreck careers without regard to due process or common fairness? How can it act so ruthlessly to enforce rules that are s...

Nick Troiano: "The Primary Solution"

28 Feb 2024

Contributed by Lukas

In a divided America, the biggest solvable problem fueling political extremism and dysfunction is hiding in plain sight: party primaries. The Primary ...

Peter Singer: "Ethics In The Real World"

26 Feb 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Peter Singer is often described as the world's most influential philosopher. He is also one of its most controversial. Listen to Michael's conversatio...

Patti Davis: "Dear Mom and Dad"

23 Feb 2024

Contributed by Lukas

A remarkably poignant writer for our troubled times, Patti Davis writes about love, loss, and the power of redemption in this poetic letter to her lon...

Jeffrey Rosen: "The Pursuit of Happiness"

21 Feb 2024

Contributed by Lukas

A fascinating examination of what “the pursuit of happiness” meant to our nation’s Founders and how that famous phrase defined their lives and b...

Rachel Dolezal: "In Full Color"

16 Feb 2024

Contributed by Lukas

What determines your race? Is it your DNA? The community in which you were raised? The way others see you or the way you see yourself? With "In Full C...

Peter Wehner: "The Death of Politics"

14 Feb 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Michael speaks with Peter Wehner about his book "The Death of Politics: How to Heal Our Frayed Republic After Trump." The New York Times opinion write...

Lisa Scottoline: "Lady Killer"

13 Feb 2024

Contributed by Lukas

New York Times Bestselling author Lisa Scottoline joins Michael with her 2008 hit novel "Lady Killer." Mary DiNunzio is a trademark Lisa Scottoline he...

Lenore Skenazy: "Free-Range Kids"

09 Feb 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Free Range Kids has become a national movement, sparked by the incredible response to Lenore Skenazy's piece about allowing her 9-year-old ride the su...

Jeffrey Toobin: "American Heiress"

07 Feb 2024

Contributed by Lukas

On February 4, 1974, Patty Hearst, a sophomore in college and heiress to the Hearst Family fortune, was kidnapped by a ragtag group of self-styled rev...