Podcasts about gangster nation

A new 'Craftwork' episode, all about anti-heroes. My guest is Tod Goldberg, author of the novel Gangsters Don't Die, available from Counterpoint Press. Goldberg is the author of more than a dozen books, including Gangsterland, a finalist for the Hammett Prize; Gangster Nation; and The Low Desert: Gangster Stories, named a Southwest Book of the Year and a finalist for several literary prizes. He lives in Indio, California, where he directs the low-residency MFA in creative writing and writing for the performing arts at the University of California, Riverside. *** Otherppl with Brad Listi is a weekly literary podcast featuring in-depth interviews with today's leading writers. Available where podcasts are available: Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, iHeart Radio, etc. Subscribe to Brad Listi's email newsletter. Support the show on Patreon Merch @otherppl Instagram  YouTube TikTok Email the show: letters [at] otherppl [dot] com The podcast is a proud affiliate partner of Bookshop, working to support local, independent bookstores. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In March of 1860, sailors found a bloody ghost ship floating in New York's East River. The discovery sparked a manhunt for a serial killer who had robbed and killed his way around the globe. This episode is the story of the last pirate and the original gangster, Albert Hicks.Sources:Asbury, Herbert. The Gangs of New York: An Informal History of the Underworld. (New York: Alfred A Knopf, 1927).Cohen, Rich. The Last Pirate of New York: A Ghost Ship, A Killer, and the Birth of a Gangster Nation. (New York: Spiegel & Grau, 2019).“The Original Gangster Style Guy.” The New York Times. June 10, 2019. https://www.nytimes.com/2019/06/10/fashion/the-original-gangster-style-guy.html“A Walking Tour of New York, Circa 1860, Accompanied by the Cities' Last Pirate.” Vulture. June 11, 2019. https://www.vulture.com/2019/06/touring-the-new-york-of-albert-hicks-new-yorks-last-pirate.html“Meet the 19th-Century Pirate Who Taught New York's Tough Guys How to Flex.” Vanity Fair. June 4, 2019. https://www.vanityfair.com/style/2019/06/meet-the-19th-century-pirate-who-taught-new-yorks-tough-guys-how-to-flexHicks, Albert W. The Life, Trial, Confession and Execution of Albert W. Hicks, the Pirate and Murderer… (New York: Robert M. De Witt, 1860).Articles from the New York Times, March to July 1860Music: Credits to David Fesilyan and Luke HoliznaFor more information, visit www.oldbloodpodcast.com

With gimlet-eyed cool and razor-sharp wit, these spare, stylish stories from a master of modern crime fiction assemble a world of gangsters and con men, of do-gooders breaking bad and those caught in the crossfire. The uncle of an FBI agent spends his life as sheriff in different cities, living too close to the violent acts of men; a cocktail waitress moves through several desert towns trying to escape the unexplainable loss of an adopted daughter; a drug dealer with a penchant for karaoke meets a talkative lawyer and a silent clown in a Palm Springs bar.Witty, brutal, and fast-paced, these stories expand upon the saga of Chicago hitman-turned-Vegas-rabbi Sal Cupertine--first introduced in Gangsterland and continued in Gangster Nation--while revealing how the line between good and bad is often a mirage.Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/houseofmysteryradio. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Well look at that, it's Halloween again. Remember when they said on the news or whatever how Halloween was finished, because this was no time for a holiday that, uh, remembers the dead? Tonight we're joined by New York Times-bestselling author Tod Goldberg, who has written such acclaimed desert crime thrillers as The Low Desert, Gangsterland, Gangster Nation, and Living Dead Girl. New spooky soundscapes by RedBlueBlackSilver. Support the show: https://www.patreon.com/user?u=26080998 See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Tod Goldberg is the New York Times bestselling author of over a dozen books, including The Low Desert, Gangsterland, a finalist for the Hammett Prize, Gangster Nation, The House of Secrets, which he co-authored with Brad Meltzer, and Living Dead Girl, a finalist for the Los Angeles Times Book Prize. He is also the co-host of the wildly popular podcast Literary Disco, named a top literary podcast by the Washington Post. He is a Professor of Creative Writing at the University of California, Riverside where he founded and directs the Low Residency MFA in Creative Writing & Writing for the Performing Arts. With gimlet-eyed cool and razor-sharp wit, the spare, stylish stories in The Low Desert assemble a world of gangsters and con men, of do-gooders breaking bad and those caught in the crossfire. The uncle of an FBI agent spends his life as sheriff in different cities, living too close to the violent acts of men; a cocktail waitress moves through several desert towns trying to escape the unexplainable loss of an adopted daughter; a drug dealer with a penchant for karaoke meets a talkative lawyer and a silent clown in a Palm Springs bar. Raymond Carver meets Elmore Leonard in this extraordinary collection of contemporary crime writing set in the critically acclaimed Gangsterland universe, a series called "gloriously original" by The New York Times Book Review.

Tod Goldberg is the guest. His critically acclaimed new story collection, The Low Desert, is available from Counterpoint. This is Tod's third time on the program. He first appeared in Episode 320 on October 12, 2014, and again in Episode 488, on October 18, 2017. Goldberg is the author of more than a dozen books, including Gangsterland, a finalist for the Hammett Prize; Gangster Nation; The House of Secrets, which he coauthored with Brad Meltzer; and the crime-tinged novels Living Dead Girl, a finalist for the Los Angeles Times Book Prize, and Fake Liar Cheat, plus five novels in the popular Burn Notice series. He is also the author of the story collection Simplify, a 2006 finalist for the SCIBA Award for Fiction and winner of the Other Voices Short Story Collection Prize, and Other Resort Cities. His essays, journalism, and criticism have appeared in many publications, including the Los Angeles Times, The Wall Street Journal, Los Angeles Review of Books, Las Vegas Weekly, and Best American Essays, among many others, and have won five Nevada Press Association Awards. He lives in Indio, California, where he directs the Low Residency MFA in Creative Writing & Writing for the Performing Arts at the University of California, Riverside. *** Otherppl with Brad Listi is a weekly literary podcast featuring in-depth interviews with today's leading writers. Launched in 2011. Books. Literature. Writing. Publishing. Authors. Screenwriters. Life. Death. Etc. Support the show on Patreon Merch www.otherppl.com @otherppl Instagram  YouTube Email the show: letters [at] otherppl [dot] com The podcast is a proud affiliate partner of Bookshop, working to support local, independent bookstores. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

With gimlet-eyed cool and razor-sharp wit, these spare, stylish stories from master of modern crime fiction Tod Goldberg assemble a world of gangsters and con men, of do-gooders breaking bad and those caught in the crossfire. The uncle of an FBI agent spends his life as sheriff in different cities, living too close to the violent acts of men; a cocktail waitress moves through several desert towns trying to escape the unexplainable loss of an adopted daughter; a drug dealer with a penchant for karaoke meets a talkative lawyer and a silent clown in a Palm Springs bar. Witty, brutal, and fast-paced, these stories expand upon the saga of Chicago hitman-turned-Vegas-rabbi Sal Cupertine–first introduced in Gangsterland and continued in Gangster Nation–while revealing how the line between good and bad is often a mirage. Goldberg discusses The Low Desert with Mark Haskell Smith. This episode was recorded on February 24, 2021 during a live Crowdcast event hosted by Skylight Books. Visit us at www.crowdcast.io/skylightbooks to RSVP for future events.   _______________________________________________   Produced by Maddie Gobbo & Michael Kowaleski Theme: "I Love All My Friends," an unreleased demo by Fragile Gang. Visit https://www.skylightbooks.com/event for future offerings from the Skylight Books Events team.

Tod Goldberg is an American author and journalist best known for his novels Gangster Nation, Gangsterland and Living Dead Girl, the popular "Burn Notice" series and the short story collection The Low Desert: Gangster Stories.

Tod Goldberg is the author of The Low Desert. His other books include Gangsterland and Gangster Nation and he runs the Low Residency Creative Writing MFA program at UC Riverside. […]

Tod Goldberg is the New York Times bestselling author of over a dozen books, including The Low Desert, Gangsterland (a finalist for the Hammett Prize), Gangster Nation, The House of Secrets (which he co-authored with Brad Meltzer), Living Dead Girl (a finalist for the Los Angeles Times Book Prize), and the popular Burn Notice series. His books have been published in a dozen languages and around the world and were twice named a finalist for the VN international Thriller of the Year Award. His short fiction has been collected in three volumes — Simplify, which won the Other Voices Book Prize and was a finalist for the SCBA Award, Other Resort Cities, and his latest book, The Low Desert: Gangster Stories — and has been widely anthologized. His essays, journalism, and criticism have appeared in numerous publications, including the Los Angeles Times, USA Today, and the Wall Street Journal, among countless other publications and anthologies, and have earned five Nevada Press Association Awards for excellence, while his essay “When They Let Them Bleed” was selected for Best American Essays. For his body of work, Tod was honored with the Silver Pen Award from the Nevada Writers Hall of Fame. In addition to his work on the page, Tod is also the cohost of the podcast Literary Disco, along with Julia Pistell & Rider Strong, which has been named a top podcast by the Washington Post, The Guardian, Mashable, and even Good Housekeeping (among many others). He is also the co-host, along with essayist Maggie Downs, of Open Book on KCOD Coachella FM, the leading public radio station in the Coachella Valley. Tod Goldberg holds an MFA in Creative Writing & Literature from Bennington College and is a Professor of creative writing at the University of California, Riverside where he directs the Low Residency MFA Program in Creative Writing and Writing for the Performing Arts. He lives in Indio, CA with his wife, the beauty writer Wendy Duren. --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/burl-barer/support

Getting the New Year underway in fine fashion, as Judd enjoys a visit with desert-based, New York Times best-selling author, Tod Goldberg; join in to hear about Tod's new book, "The Low Desert: Gangster Stories."And to honor the onset of the desert's golf peak-season, Judd provides his "Ten Courses I Want You to Play."

IMPROVED AUDIO REMIX CRIMINAL BECOMES RABBI : Tod Goldberg wrote it as fiction in Gangsterland and Gangster Nation, and Mark Borovitz lived it for real in Holy Thief Fiction meets real life--Mark Borovitz was a mobster, gangster, con man, gambler, thief, and a drunk. He is now the rabbi at Beit T'Shuvah in Los Angeles, the House of Return, a rehabilitation facility for addicts of all kinds. Tod Goldberg wrote Gangsterland and Gangster Nation about a mobster who hides out as a Rabbi in Las Vegas. Now a real mobster turned Rabbi and Tod Goldberg come together to compare fiction with reality. “GANGSTER NATION punches even harder than the excellent GANGSTERLAND did: against the backdrop of 9/11, everybody’s roughed-up and bleeding, and nobody’s hiding it well. Tod Goldberg’s weird world is getting THE SOPRANOS-good, and THE SOPRANOS-funny: he can hit you high, low, or straight in the gut. Meshugener wiseguys. It’ll make you a better killer – and a better rabbi.” — Bill Beverly, award-winning author of Dodgers. “Tod Goldberg’s brilliant Gangster Nation is hilarious, complex, and a total page-turner. It’s also a little insane, in the best possible way.” —Lisa Lutz, New York Times bestselling author of The Passenger --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/burl-barer/support

Just before dawn, on the outskirts of New York harbour, a small Sloop sailed listlessly into the bay. The ship had no crew, no lights and a deck covered in blood. It presented a mystery to the local police, who set their detectives on the case which led to a manhunt up the East Coast of the United States in pursuit of a phantom. The police may have had a description, a name, but they had no idea of the monster they would find at the end of the trail. More than a phantom, they were chasing a legend, a man who would later become whispered about in taverns as the last pirate of New York.   SOURCES   Cohen, R (2019) The Last Pirate of New York: A Ghost Ship, a Killer, and the Birth of a Gangster Nation. Random House, New York, USA.   De Angelis, L (1860) The Life, Trial, Confession and Execution of Albert W Hicks, The Pirate and Murderer. DeWitt, New York City, USA   Hays, B. (1860) Execution of Hicks, The Pirate: Twelve Thousand People at Beldoe’s Island. Scenes at the Tombs, in the Bay, and at the Place of Execution. His Confession. New York Times, July 14, 1860. New York, USA.   Mysterious and Bloody Tragedy. New York Daily Herald, March 22, 1860. New York, USA.   Probable Murder At Sea. New York Times, March 22, 1860, New York, USA.   The Murders on the Oyster Sloop. New York Times, March 24, 1860. New York, USA.   The Sloop Murders: Albert W Hicks Sentenced to Death. New York Times, June 2, 1860. New York, USA.   The recording of "The ROse Tree" was made by two guys over on Youtube who go under the channel The Good Tune: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCyDZRIjnkzssNPZWZgIO1lw   ------ For extended show notes, including maps, links and scripts, head over to darkhistories.com Support the show by using our link when you sign up to Audible: http://audibletrial.com/darkhistories or visit our Patreon for bonus episodes and Early Access: https://www.patreon.com/darkhistories Connect with us on Facebook: http://facebook.com/darkhistoriespodcast Or find us on Twitter: http://twitter.com/darkhistories & Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dark_histories/ Or you can contact us directly via email at contact@darkhistories.com or via voicemail on: (415) 286-5072 or join our Discord community: https://discord.gg/6f7e2pt Music was recorded by me © Ben Cutmore 2017 Other Outro music was Paul Whiteman & his orchestra with Mildred Bailey - All of me (1931). It's out of copyright now, but if you're interested, that was that.    

Author Rich Cohen joins Tim to talk about his latest book called The Last Pirate of New York. As the title would suggest, it's about the end of the days of pirates in New York, and the birth of the celebrity gangster, all in the story of one man, Albert Hicks and the grisly case in 1860 that changed the way Americans saw crime. https://traffic.libsyn.com/shapingopinion/Last_Pirate_of_New_York_auphonic.mp3   In the 1990s John Gotti was the face of organized crime in New York, following a long tradition of gangsters in the Big Apple. Long before him, there was Lucky Luciano and Tammany Hall. But where did it all get started? And who started it all? These are the kinds of questions that were on the mind of Rich Cohen as he dug deeper and deeper into New York's organized crime history. The end result was his book, “The Last Pirate of New York: A Ghost Ship, A Killer, and the Birth of a Gangster Nation.” The Scene on March 21, 1860 A boat adrift. The crew of the J.R. Mather saw it when the boats crashed into each other. Saw a darkened, lifeless boat but had to get back to port to fix their own damage quickly. Another boat came upon it less than an hour later. That boat was the Telegraph. They boarded the boat. The EA Johnson (an oyster sloop) was found on March 21st 1860. It was floating in New York's Lower Bay off Brooklyn. Its foresails were torn off during a predawn collision with the J.R. Mather. The scene was grisly. The crew had vanished, but down in the cabin, the crew found ax marks in the ceiling and the floor, a sailor's shirt with slash marks from a knife, and drawers and closets ransacked. Pools of blood ran from beam to beam as the ship swayed in the waves. Blood was everywhere. The Police detectives would find four amputated fingers and a thumb still clinging to the starboard rail. Newspapers and Public Reaction Word of mouth was extremely powerful and fast at that time. Word would spread through the ship crews and in the taverns and tenements. The shipyards and maritime life was centered in what is now the Financial District. The major newspapers that covered the crime were the New York Herald, New York Sun, Brooklyn Daily Eagle and the New York Times. The police followed the perpetrator's trail to him. Albert Hicks was described as stalky and strong and handsome. He was also described as having an unsettling look in his eyes. He was an alcoholic. Known as aloof and a mean drunk. He had a wife and a son who did not know of his alternate life. He was a career criminal known as a “pirate.” He would admit to committing crimes from New Orleans to Hawaii, always coming back to New York. He used an alias which was “William Johnson.” The Trial He was held in a large prison building called the Halls of Justice, but they were better known as the Tombs because they resembled the tombs of the ancient Egyptians. Corruption was rampant. Some prisoners had it pretty good thanks to bribes to the warden and jail guards. Hicks didn't have it that good. The trial at U.S. Circuit Court on Chambers Street drew standing room only crowds. Hicks became a prototype of an American archetype – the celebrity gangster. The U.S. marshal detaining Hicks at The Tombs prison was a corrupt politician and gambling kingpin who also ran the toughest gang in Five Points. Hicks confessed to stealing $150 in gold and silver coins; $26 in money; a watch from the captain and some clothes. After being found guilty and sentenced, Hicks was executed on Bedloe's Island. That island is better known as Liberty Island today, where the Statue of Liberty now stands. Links The Last Pirate of New York, by Rich Cohen (Amazon) A Walking Tour of New York, Circa 1860, Accompanied by the Last Pirate, Vulture "The Last Pirate of New York" Review, Wall Street Journal About this Episode's Guest Rich Cohen Photo Credit: Pascal Perich

Author Rich Cohen joins Tim to talk about his latest book called The Last Pirate of New York. As the title would suggest, it’s about the end of the days of pirates in New York, and the birth of the celebrity gangster, all in the story of one man, Albert Hicks and the grisly case in 1860 that changed the way Americans saw crime. https://traffic.libsyn.com/shapingopinion/Last_Pirate_of_New_York_auphonic.mp3   In the 1990s John Gotti was the face of organized crime in New York, following a long tradition of gangsters in the Big Apple. Long before him, there was Lucky Luciano and Tammany Hall. But where did it all get started? And who started it all? These are the kinds of questions that were on the mind of Rich Cohen as he dug deeper and deeper into New York’s organized crime history. The end result was his book, “The Last Pirate of New York: A Ghost Ship, A Killer, and the Birth of a Gangster Nation.” The Scene on March 21, 1860 A boat adrift. The crew of the J.R. Mather saw it when the boats crashed into each other. Saw a darkened, lifeless boat but had to get back to port to fix their own damage quickly. Another boat came upon it less than an hour later. That boat was the Telegraph. They boarded the boat. The EA Johnson (an oyster sloop) was found on March 21st 1860. It was floating in New York’s Lower Bay off Brooklyn. Its foresails were torn off during a predawn collision with the J.R. Mather. The scene was grisly. The crew had vanished, but down in the cabin, the crew found ax marks in the ceiling and the floor, a sailor’s shirt with slash marks from a knife, and drawers and closets ransacked. Pools of blood ran from beam to beam as the ship swayed in the waves. Blood was everywhere. The Police detectives would find four amputated fingers and a thumb still clinging to the starboard rail. Newspapers and Public Reaction Word of mouth was extremely powerful and fast at that time. Word would spread through the ship crews and in the taverns and tenements. The shipyards and maritime life was centered in what is now the Financial District. The major newspapers that covered the crime were the New York Herald, New York Sun, Brooklyn Daily Eagle and the New York Times. The police followed the perpetrator’s trail to him. Albert Hicks was described as stalky and strong and handsome. He was also described as having an unsettling look in his eyes. He was an alcoholic. Known as aloof and a mean drunk. He had a wife and a son who did not know of his alternate life. He was a career criminal known as a “pirate.” He would admit to committing crimes from New Orleans to Hawaii, always coming back to New York. He used an alias which was “William Johnson.” The Trial He was held in a large prison building called the Halls of Justice, but they were better known as the Tombs because they resembled the tombs of the ancient Egyptians. Corruption was rampant. Some prisoners had it pretty good thanks to bribes to the warden and jail guards. Hicks didn’t have it that good. The trial at U.S. Circuit Court on Chambers Street drew standing room only crowds. Hicks became a prototype of an American archetype – the celebrity gangster. The U.S. marshal detaining Hicks at The Tombs prison was a corrupt politician and gambling kingpin who also ran the toughest gang in Five Points. Hicks confessed to stealing $150 in gold and silver coins; $26 in money; a watch from the captain and some clothes. After being found guilty and sentenced, Hicks was executed on Bedloe’s Island. That island is better known as Liberty Island today, where the Statue of Liberty now stands. Links The Last Pirate of New York, by Rich Cohen (Amazon) A Walking Tour of New York, Circa 1860, Accompanied by the Last Pirate, Vulture "The Last Pirate of New York" Review, Wall Street Journal About this Episode’s Guest Rich Cohen Photo Credit: Pascal Perich

Rich Cohen is the author of the New York Times bestsellers Tough Jews, The Avengers, Monsters, and (with Jerry Weintraub) When I Stop Talking, You’ll Know I’m Dead. He is a co-creator of the HBO series Vinyl and a contributing editor at Vanity Fair and Rolling Stone and has written for The New Yorker, The Atlantic, and Harper’s Magazine, among others. Cohen has won the Great Lakes Book Award, the Chicago Public Library’s 21st Century Award, and the ASCAP Deems Taylor Award for outstanding coverage of music. His stories have been included in The Best American Essays and The Best American Travel Writing. He lives in Connecticut. The Last Pirate of New York: A Ghost Ship, A Killer, and the Birth of a Gangster Nation is his latest. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Welcome back to Lucky Episode 7! This week Jess has read The Last Pirate of New York: A Ghost Ship, A Killer and the Birth of a Gangster Nation by Rich Cohen, the true story of the bloodthirsty underworld legend who conquered Manhattan, dock by dock...Mere discusses the Watts family homicides that occurred on the morning of August 13, 2018 **(WARNING:This story contains details of murder that some listeners may find disturbing.)

Long before Dutch Schultz, "Lucky" Luciano or even Monk Eastman ran rackets in New York City, a man named Albert Hicks terrorized lower Manhattan. He'd made his living as a murderous pirate, and became one of the worst criminals to ever wander the notorious Five Points, a wretched slum made famous in Asbury's (and Scorsese's) "Gangs of New York".  Rich Cohen, bestselling author of "The Last Pirate of New York: A Ghost Ship, A Killer, and the Birth of a Gangster Nation" is my guest this week. He tells the story of a mysterious, empty ship found floating in the New York Harbor in 1860, and evidence left behind of three violent murders that would eventually lead police to the handsome and ruthless Albert Hicks.  Go to www.mostnotorious.com and hit the Amazon link for all of your online shopping needs!  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week Alice and Kim talk about witches, Jehovah’s Witnesses, fungus-inspired crime, and what nonfiction to read for Pride Month. This episode is sponsored by All the Books, The Collected Schizophreniasby Esmé Weijun Wang, and Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, publishers of Reckoning: The Epic Battle Against Sexual Abuse and Harassment by Linda Hirshman. Subscribe to For Real using RSS, Apple Podcasts, or Stitcher. For more nonfiction recommendations, sign up for our True Story newsletter, edited by Kim Ukura. Follow Up KIM: Slow Burn podcast is doing a series on The Queen by Josh Levin (one of the editor’s behind Slow Burn) New Books Leaving the Witness: Exiting a Religion and Finding a Life by Amber Scorah Waking the Witch: Reflections on Women, Magic, and Power by Pam Grossman This Land Is Our Land: An Immigrant’s Manifesto by Suketu Mehta The Truffle Underground: A Tale of Mystery, Mayhem, and Manipulation in the Shadowy Market of the World’s Most Expensive Fungus by Ryan Jacobs Naturally Tan: A Memoir by Tan France Formation: A Woman’s Memoir of Stepping Out of Line by Ryan Leigh Dostie Grace Will Lead Us Home: The Charleston Church Massacre and the Hard, Inspiring Journey to Forgiveness by Jennifer Berry Hawes The Last Pirate of New York: A Ghost Ship, a Killer, and the Birth of a Gangster Nation by Rich Cohen Blonde Rattlesnake: Burmah Adams, Tom White, and the 1933 Crime Spree That Terrorized Los Angeles by Julia Bricklin Mamaskatch: A Cree Coming of Age by Darrel J. McLeod Bottle of Lies: The Inside Story of the Generic Drug Boom by Katherine Eban Pride Month Real Queer America: LGBT Stories from Red States by Samantha Allen Native Country of the Heart: A Memoir by Cherrie Moraga Prairie Silence: A Memoir by Melanie Hoffert The Pink Triangle: The Nazi War Against Homosexuals by Richard Plant We Have Always Been Here: A Queer Muslim Memoir by Samra Habib Indecent Advances: A Hidden History of True Crime and Prejudice Before Stonewall by James Polchin The Stonewall Riots: Coming Out in the Streets by Gayle E Pitman Reading Now KIM: Small Fry by Lisa Brennan-Jobs ALICE: The Disappearing Spoon by Sam Kean CONCLUSION You can find us on SOCIAL MEDIA – @itsalicetime and @kimthedork RATE AND REVIEW on ITUNES so people can find us more easily, and subscribe so you can get our new episodes the minute they come out.

This week, Liberty and Rebecca discuss Ayesha at Last, Leaving the Witness, On Earth We're Briefly Gorgeous, and more great books. This episode was sponsored by Libro.fm,  The Guest Book by Sarah Blake from Flatiron Books, and The Plus One from HarperCollins 360. Pick up an All the Books! 200th episode commemorative item here. Subscribe to All the Books! using RSS or iTunes and never miss a beat book. Sign up for the weekly New Books! newsletter for even more new book news. Books discussed on the show: On Earth We're Briefly Gorgeous: A Novel by Ocean Vuong  Naturally Tan: A Memoir by Tan France Patsy: A Novel by Nicole Dennis-Benn  Leaving the Witness: Exiting a Religion and Finding a Life by Amber Scorah Ayesha At Last: A Novel by Uzma Jalaluddin  On Being Human: A Memoir of Waking Up, Living Real, and Listening Hard by Jennifer Pastiloff The Truffle Underground: A Tale of Mystery, Mayhem, and Manipulation in the Shadowy Market of the World's Most Expensive Fungus by Ryan Jacobs  The River by Peter Heller What we're reading: Me and Mr. Cigar by Gibby Haynes All This Could Be Yours by Jami Attenberg More books out this week: Mostly Dead Things by Kristen Arnett  Wild and Crooked by Leah Thomas The Unbreakables by Lisa Barr The Milk Hours: Poems by John James Beyond All Reasonable Doubt: A Novel by Malin Persson Giolito That Night by Cyn Balog Assassin of Shadows: A Novel by Lawrence Goldstone This Might Hurt a Bit by Doogie Horner Girls of July by Alex Flinn No Friend But the Mountains: Writing from Manus Prison by Behrouz Boochani and Omid Tofighian Dual Citizens: A novel by Alix Ohlin We Have Always Been Here: A Queer Muslim Memoir by Samra Habib The Reaping (Paperbacks from Hell) by Bernard Taylor The Ten Loves of Nishino by Hiromi Kawakami and Allison Markin Powell Like a Love Story by Abdi Nazemian The Beholder by Anna Bright The Right Sort of Man by Allison Montclair The Last Unknowns: Deep, Elegant, Profound Unanswered Questions About the Universe, the Mind, the Future of Civilization, and the Meaning of Life by John Brockman Magic for Liars by Sarah Gailey  The Cat in the Box by Chris Ferrie The Friends We Keep by Jane Green Exposed by Jean-Philippe Blondel, Alison Anderson (translator) Awards for Good Boys: Tales of Dating, Double Standards, and Doom by Shelby Lorman Murder in Bel-Air (An Aimée Leduc Investigation) by Cara Black The Chosen (Contender) by Taran Matharu This Land Is Our Land by Suketu Mehta The Favorite Daughter by Patti Callahan Henry Indecent Advances: A Hidden History of True Crime and Prejudice Before Stonewall by James Polchin Out of the Shadows: Reimagining Gay Men's Lives by Walt Odets  The Love Factory by Elaine Proctor Banshee by Rachel DeWoskin The Rest of the Story by Sarah Dessen More News Tomorrow: A Novel by Susan Richards Shreve The Lost Letters of William Woolf by Helen Cullen The Electric Hotel: A Novel by Dominic Smith Underland: A Deep Time Journey by Robert Macfarlane The Summer We Lost Her by Tish Cohen The Great Eastern by Howard Rodman A Small Zombie Problem (Zombie Problems) by K.G. Campbell Trace: Who killed Maria James? by Rachael Brown Unraveling by Karen Lord  I Wanna Be Where You Are by Kristina Forest Donna Has Left the Building by Susan Jane Gilman Fire in the Sky: Cosmic Collisions, Killer Asteroids, and the Race to Defend Earth by Gordon L. Dillow Conscious: A Brief Guide to the Fundamental Mystery of the Mind by Annaka Harris In at the Deep End by Kate Davies Waking the Witch: Reflections on Women, Magic, and Power by Pam Grossman The Summer Demands by Deborah Shapiro Among the Lost by Emiliano Monge, Frank Wynne (translator) In West Mills by De'Shawn Charles Winslow  Aug 9 - Fog by Kathryn Scanlan Chasing the Moon: The People, the Politics, and the Promise That Launched America into the Space Age by Robert L. Stone and Alan Andres The Haunted by Danielle Vega Oval: A Novel by Elvia Wilk  Cruising: An Intimate History of a Radical Pastime by Alex Espinoza All the Greys on Greene Street by Laura Tucker The Summer Country: A Novel by Lauren Willig Up Jumped the Devil: The Real Life of Robert Johnson by Bruce Conforth and Gayle Dean Wardlow 1919 by Eve L. Ewing Time Is the Thing a Body Moves Through by T Fleischmann  Midsummer's Mayhem by Rajani LaRocca This Storm by James Ellroy Ordinary Girls by Blair Thornburgh  Not Your Backup by C.B. Lee When the Ground Is Hard by Malla Nunn The Moon: A History for the Future by Oliver Morton All That You Leave Behind: A Memoir by Erin Lee Carr Dissenter on the Bench: Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s Life and Work by Victoria Ortiz Out of Place by Jennifer Blecher, Merrillee Liddiard (Illustrator) If It Makes You Happy by Claire Kann Virtually Yours by Sarvenaz Tash Are You Afraid of the Dark Rum?: and Other Cocktails for ’90s Kids by Sam Slaughter Sorcery of Thorns by Margaret Rogerson  The Fire Opal Mechanism by Fran Wilde Fall; or, Dodge in Hell: A Novel by Neal Stephenson City of Girls by Elizabeth Gilbert  The Shallows (Nils Shapiro) by Matt Goldman The Last Pirate of New York: A Ghost Ship, a Killer, and the Birth of a Gangster Nation by Rich Cohen Why My Cat Is More Impressive Than Your Baby by Matthew Inman and The Oatmeal Spider-Man: Far From Home: Peter and Ned's Ultimate Travel Journal by Preeti Chhibber (YAY, PREETI!) Searching for Sylvie Lee: A Novel by Jean Kwok  This Time Will Be Different by Misa Sugiura We Were Killers Once: A Thriller (Brigid Quinn Series) by Becky Masterman Just One Bite by Jack Heath Five Midnights by Ann Dávila Cardinal Happy Money: The Japanese Art of Making Peace with Your Money by Ken Honda Out Stealing Horses: A Novel by Per Petterson, Anne Born (translator)  

It’s been two years since the events of Gangsterland, when legendary Chicago hitman Sal Cupertine disappeared into the guise of Las Vegas Rabbi David Cohen. Now, in September of 2001, everything’s coming up gold for David—but Sal wants out. He only needs to make it through the High Holidays, and he’ll have enough money to slip away, grab his wife and kid, and start fresh. Across the country, former FBI agent Matthew Drew is now running security for an Indian Casino outside of Milwaukee, spending his off-time stalking members of The Family, looking for vengeance for the murder of his former partner. So when Sal’s cousin stumbles into the casino one night, Matthew takes the law into his own hands— again—touching off a series of events that will have Rabbi Cohen running for his life, trapped in Las Vegas, with the law, society, and the post-9/11 world closing in around him. With the wit and gritty glamour that defines his writing, Tod Goldberg traces how the things we most value in our lives—home, health, even our spiritual lives—have been built on the enterprises of criminals. Mr. Goldberg is joined by David L. Ulin, author of Ear to the Ground.

Brad Listi talks with Tod Goldberg, New York Times bestselling novelist and author of GANGSTER NATION, available now from Counterpoint Press. Goldberg's other books include Gangsterland (Counterpoint), a finalist for the Hammett Prize, and Living Dead Girl (Soho Press), a finalist for the Los Angeles Times Book Prize. He is the director of the Low Residency MFA Program in Creative Writing and Writing for the Performing Arts at the University of California, Riverside.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Katie and Rincey use the news about the upcoming Tana French BBC adaptation to fawn over her books. This episode is sponsored by Gangster Nation by Tod Goldberg and Lit Chat.