C-SPAN Bookshelf

In July of this year, 2026, the new, multi-million-dollar Theodore Roosevelt Presidential Library opens to the public in Medora (muh-"DOOR"-uh), North Dakota, population 121. The senior historian for the T.R. Library is a man named Michael Patrick Cullinane, a professor of history at Dickinson State University in North Dakota, 36 miles from Medora. To coincide with the opening of T.R.'s Library, Professor Cullinane has written a book titled "Theodore Roosevelt and the Tennis Cabinet." He credits Mrs. Roosevelt with building a tennis court right outside the president's West Wing office. Cullinane says: "The convenient location robbed Roosevelt of any excuse to skip his daily exercise." In the book, Cullinane introduces readers to over 30 of T.R.'s tennis partners. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

As the Supreme Court's term winds down, with some notable cases still to be decided, we take a behind the scenes look at the Supreme Court and how it operates with SCOTUSblog editor Sarah Isgur (IHS-ger). Her new book on the topic is titled "Last Branch Standing." In part two of our discussion, we talk to Sarah Isgur about the power of Chief Justice John Roberts, the personalities and influence of the other justices, and her relationship with Justice Elena Kagan, who was dean of Harvard Law School when Isgur was a student and chapter president of the Federalist Society there.   Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Journalist Kara Swisher joins David M. Rubenstein to discuss the future of artificial intelligence and technology, human longevity, and her interviewing style. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Hoover Institution's Eyck Freymann argues that the United States can deter a war with China by strengthening its defense of Taiwan. He spoke at the Hoover Institution in Washington, DC. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

David J. Garrow is a prize-winning historian. Since graduating from Wesleyan University in 1975 and completing his law degree at Duke in 1981, he has spent most of his time writing about civil rights. His best selling and most praised book is titled "Bearing the Cross: Martin Luther King, Jr., and the Southern Christian Leadership Conference," published in 1986. We last talked to David Garrow in May of 2017 about his book "Rising Star" – 1,472 pages about President Barack Obama. The book was limited to President Obama's life before his presidency. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

As the Supreme Court's term comes to an end, with decisions on birthright citizenship, transgender athletes, and gun rights still to be rendered, we take a behind the scenes look at the Supreme Court and how it operates with SCOTUSblog editor Sarah Isgur. Her new book on the topic is titled "Last Branch Standing." In part one of our discussion, we talk to Sarah Isgur about the current court, the cases it takes up, and the divisions she sees among the justices, based on their ideology and institutional outlook.        Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Bestselling Mary Todd Lincoln biographer Lois Romano joins David M. Rubenstein at Ford's Theatre to discuss Lincoln's early life, time in the White House and mental health. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Aziz Abu Sarah, a Palestinian whose brother was killed by the IDF, and Maoz Inon, an Israeli whose parents were killed by Hamas on October 7, 2023, talked about their friendship and efforts to figand I Historic Synagogue in Washington, D.C. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Dr. Lerone Bennett Jr. was born in Clarksdale, Mississippi, on October 17, 1928. He spent over 50 years with Johnson Publishing, ultimately became executive editor of its Ebony magazine. Bennett died at age 89 on February 14, 2018, in Chicago, his home base of many years. Dr. Bennett's mother worked as a maid, his father a chauffeur. Their son graduated from Morehouse College in Atlanta. His Booknotes television appearance was on July 21, 2000. The book is titled "Forced Into Glory: Abraham Lincoln's White Dream." Bennett provided a different view of what is normally written about Mr. Lincoln. Lerone Bennett Jr. claimed that Lincoln was a racist at heart and had little interest in abolition. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

From June 11th to July 19th, the United States, Mexico, and Canada will be hosting the FIFA World Cup, the most popular sporting event in the world, with billions of viewers expected worldwide. To provide an overview and history of the World Cup we talk to Guardian (UK) soccer columnist Jonathan Wilson, author of "The Power and the Glory," which tells the history, politics, and corruption behind the tournament since its origins in 1930. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Bestselling author David Baldacci joins David M. Rubenstein for a wide-ranging conversation about his journey from practicing law in Washington to becoming one of the world's most successful thriller writers. He discusses his approach to crafting suspenseful stories, seeing his novel Absolute Power adapted into a film by Clint Eastwood, and the evolving relationship between technology and publishing. Baldacci also explains his involvement in a lawsuit against major AI companies and shares his views on protecting authors' work in the age of artificial intelligence. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Electronic Frontier Foundation Executive Director Cindy Cohn recalled her career fighting for digital privacy. Harvard Book Store hosted this event. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Lois Romano, formerly of the Washington Post, re-examines the legacy of Mary Todd Lincoln. In the promotion of the book, Simon & Schuster, the publisher, claims that Mrs. Lincoln "was failed at nearly every turn in her widowhood by her family, by her government, by medical professionals ill-equipped to diagnose her mental illness, and finally failed by history." In her prologue, Lois Romano writes: "After Lincoln died in 1865, there was no one to protect Mary. Since leaving the White House, she had been adrift and virtually homeless, restlessly moving from hotel to hotel, from city to city." Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Every week in the 1950s and 60s, 30 million Americans watched the congenial Bennett Cerf on Sunday nights on "What's My Line?" But he was much more than a game show panelist. In 1927, he co-founded the publishing giant Random House and brought to the public authors such as James Joyce, Ayn Rand, Truman Capote, Dr. Suess, and William Faulkner. Author Gayle Feldman spent 30 years researching and writing her book "Nothing Random." Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Bestselling author Ann Patchett joins David M. Rubenstein to discuss her novels, children's books, nonfiction work, and what it's like to own her own bookstore. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-NY) argued that elite universities in America have embraced a culture of antisemitism, leftist groupthink, and censorship. She spoke at the Richard Nixon Presidential Library & Museum in Yorba Linda, California. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Danny Funt is the author of the book "Everybody Loses: The Tumultuous Rise of American Sports Gambling." In May 2018, the U.S. Supreme Court struck down the 1992 Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act in a 6-3 decision that legalized sports betting nationally by declaring the federal prohibition unconstitutional. According to Danny Funt, sports leagues oversight went from the position that "gambling carries a serious risk of addiction and a long history of corrupting athletes and referees, to gambling is a relatively harmless wholesale form of entertainment." Mr. Funt points out that in eight short years, sports gambling is now legal in close to 40 states. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Former Republican Senator and Governor of Tennessee Lamar Alexander, author of "The Education of a Senator," talks about his personal life and nearly six-decade career in politics. As a public servant Sen. Alexander worked with ten presidents, from JFK to Trump. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Journalist Kevin Hazzard talked about Phoenix Air, a private, air ambulance service that transports patients with highly infectious diseases when governments refuse to get involved. This event was hosted by Politics and Prose Bookstore in Washington, DC. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Theo Baker will graduate from Stanford University on June 14th, 2026. About one month prior, his first book, "How to Rule the World: An Education in Power at Stanford University," is being published by Penguin Press. Praise for his book, gathered by Penguin Press, is plentiful. Author William D. Cohen writes: "[Theo Baker's] astounding reporting as a Stanford freshman led to the downfall of the university's president." Mr. Baker's parents are Susan Glasser of the New Yorker Magazine and Peter Baker of the New York Times. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Adam Szetela, author of "That Book Is Dangerous!," discusses his investigation into the rise of self-censorship in the publishing industry, which he argues is being negatively transformed by social media and the culture wars in the United States. Mr. Szetela talks about the role played by the Big Five publishers, literary agents, sensitivity readers, and online pressure groups in the process. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Bestselling Historian Candice Millard joins David M. Rubenstein at the U.S. Capitol to discuss her books about Theodore Roosevelt, James Garfield, and Winston Churchill. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

A journalist looked at modern Russia through the eyes and experiences of its women. The 2026 San Antonio Book Festival hosted this program. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Harvey Mansfield arrived as an undergrad at Harvard in 1949, 77 years ago. He hardly left the university until he retired as research professor in 2023. Professor Mansfield, at age 94, is still writing. Encounter Books has just published a 136-page book by him titled "Where Harvard Went Wrong." Prof. Mansfield says he's one of the conservative faculty members of his university, one of three. His book contains speeches and essays, covering over 50 years, aimed at his students and colleagues. Mansfield's plea has always been that Harvard abandon, in his words, its "partisanship with the left and adopt instead a bipartisanship that welcomes conservatives as well as liberals." Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

From the Supreme Court of the United States, Justice Neil Gorsuch discusses his children's book, "Heroes of 1776," about the signers of the Declaration of Independence and other, lesser known, revolutionaries who put their life, liberty, and property on the line to gain independence from the British. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Bestselling historian, podcaster, and newsletter author Heather Cox Richardson joins David M. Rubenstein to discuss democracy and her books on the Revolutionary War and Civil War. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Physician and anthropologist Khameer Kidia argues that Western mental health care treats the symptoms instead of the causes of mental illness. Politics & Prose in Washington, D.C., hosts this event. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

During his almost 40-year career in publishing, Bruce Nichols served as publisher of both Houghton Mifflin Harcourt and Little Brown & Company. His book is titled "The Emerson Circle: The Concord Radicals Who Reinvented the World." The focus of the book is on famous names, including Ralph Waldo Emerson, Nathaniel Hawthorne, Margaret Fuller, Louisa May Alcott and Henry David Thoreau. Author Nichols says "The Emerson Circle" is the story of this small group and the movements it inspired. He says it's not a comprehensive group biography. He suggests there are wonderful books about each member that go into far more detail. Bruce Nichols suggests their collective work represents a crucial cultural moment in American history. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week on Q&A, it's a rare interview with one of America's leading historians. We tour the New York City office and home library of Pulitzer Prize-winning bestselling biographer Robert Caro, who is currently working on the final volume of his 5-volume biography of Lyndon Johnson. During the tour, Mr. Caro talks about his research and writing process on the LBJ series, and the impact of "The Power Broker," his bestselling 1974 biography of NYC Parks Commissioner Robert Moses. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Bestselling author and historian Douglas Brinkley joins David M. Rubenstein in the Capitol's Kennedy Caucus Room to discuss America's 250th anniversary and his books about Walter Cronkite, the space race, Hurricane Katrina and D-Day. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

PBS Newshour co-anchor Geoff Bennett talks about the history of Black comedy in America and its impact on culture and politics. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Author Craig Fehrman has written a new history of the expedition of Lewis and Clark. It's called "This Vast Enterprise." In the prologue to his 515-page book, Fehrman writes: "After departing from near St. Louis on May 14, 1804, the Corps of Discovery traveled 8,000 miles to find 'the most direct and practicable water communication across the continent for the purpose of commerce.'" The Corps was Jefferson's idea. Craig Fairman continues: "When Lewis and Clark returned more than two years later, they did not have a Northwest Passage, but they did have an incredible tale…" This is Mr. Fehrman's third book. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Jean Becker and Tom Collamore, former staffers to President George H.W. Bush, discuss the work done by advance teams for presidential events, including foreign trips, state visits, and campaign rallies. They share behind-the-scenes stories of success, near disaster, and failure, told by the professionals who prepared for these events over the past 60 years. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Bestselling author and CNBC journalist Andrew Ross Sorkin joins David M. Rubenstein at the New Orleans Book Festival to discuss his book examining the 1929 stock market crash. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Palantir Chief Technology Officer Shyam Sankar talked about how the U.S. can revive its industrial base and win the defense technology race against America's adversaries. This event was hosted by the Hudson Institute in Washington, D.C. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Sir Antony Beevor, an historian based in London, has authored 13 books which have sold at least 8.5 million copies and been translated into 35 different languages. In his latest book, he focuses on Rasputin and the downfall of the Romanovs. The country is Russia and the timeframe is the early 1900s. Sir Antony Beevor, on his official website, sums up his findings this way: "Grigori Rasputin, a barely literate peasant from Siberia, is one of the most enigmatic and influential figures in modern history. In a bizarre reversal of the Great Man Theory of History he had no official position and no mass following…" His book details Rasputin's relationship with the czar and czarina of Russia before their downfall. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This year's White House Correspondents' Association dinner will take place on Saturday, April 25th, at the Washington Hilton. In preparation, we look back at memorable performances by presidents and comedians at the annual fundraiser going back to the Reagan administration. Joining us for the discussion is C-SPAN's Director of Communications Howard Mortman, who for years has been chronicling the happenings at WHCA dinners on his "Extreme Mortman" podcast. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Three-time Pulitzer Prize finalist Alice McDermott joins David M. Rubenstein to discuss her novels, writing process, and work as a creative writing professor. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Author Michael Pollan ("A World Appears") discussed the science of consciousness and the human experience with bestselling author Michael Lewis. This event took place at the New Orleans Book Festival at Tulane University. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Bob Crawford plays upright bass, bass guitar, and violin with the Grammy nominated Americana band, the Avett Brothers. He's been with the band for 25 years. Since 2016, Mr. Crawford has had his own podcast called The Road to Now, along with Ben Sawyer. Their focus is about history. Six years ago, during his band's tour, Mr. Crawford received his master's degree online from Arizona State University. The focus again was history. Now comes his first serious book titled "America's Founding Son: John Quincy Adams, from President to Political Maverick." Bob Crawford spends a significant amount of time discussing the 17 years Adams spent in the House of Representatives, after he was president, trying to stop the spread of slavery in the United States. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Muckraking journalist Jessica Mitford and her 5 sisters – two of whom were intimate friends with Hitler – were global celebrities during the early and mid-20th century, known for their colorful personal lives and political differences. Born a British aristocrat like her sisters, Jessica Mitford rejected her upbringing at an early age, eventually moving to America, where she became a communist, civil rights activist, and bestselling author. Northeastern University literature professor Carla Kaplan, our guest this week, tells Jessica Mitford's story in her book, "Troublemaker." Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Journalist Evan Smith interviews America's Book Club Host David M. Rubenstein about the presidency, Congress, and the state of the economy in a special episode from The New Orleans Book Festival at Tulane University. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices