Book Club with Michael Smerconish

Mar 07 2025 442 ep. 19 mins 167

Book Club with Michael Smerconish Podcast artwork

Reading for Independent Minds. Unlike many author interviews, if Michael didn't actually read the book, you won't hear about it. If he read it, you'll hear it and you'll love it. Insights into a wide range of topics, including many titles you've probably never heard of. The perfect book is just one listen away.

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Alexander Vindman: "The Folly of Realism"

Mar 07 2025 24 mins

The timing for Lieutenant Colonel Alexander Vindman's (Ret.) new book, "The Folly of Realism: How the West Deceived Itself About Russia and Betrayed Ukraine" could not be more perfect, with what's happening currently in the Russia-Ukraine war, and the U.S. involvement in it. The book was released on February 25th, 2025 and is already a New York Times Bestseller. Listen to Michael's

Vivek Wadhwa: "Your Happiness Was Hacked"

Mar 03 2025 14 mins

Technology: your master, or your friend? Do you feel ruled by your smartphone and enslaved by your email or social-network activities? Digital technology is making us miserable, say bestselling authors and former tech executives Vivek Wadhwa and Alex Salkever. We’ve become a tribe of tech addicts—and it’s not entirely our fault. Michael talks with Vivek Wadhwa, co-author of "

Sherrod Brown: "Desk 88"

Feb 12 2025 16 mins

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: Eight Progressive Senators Who Changed America", he tells the story of eight of the Senators who were there before him. Listen to his conversation with Michael from 26 November 2019. The book was published on 5 November 2019.

Yoni Appelbaum: "Stuck"

Feb 11 2025 23 mins

How did the wealthy destroy the American Dream? Yoni Appelbaum explains in his new book "Stuck: How the Privileged and the Propertied Broke the Engine of American Opportunity." Listen to his conversation with Michael to hear how Appelbaum thinks the U.S. is no longer the land of opportunity, and so much of it has to do with where you move and live. We take it for granted that goo

Edward Fishman: "Chokepoints"

Feb 05 2025 26 mins

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, China, and Iran. It used to be that ravaging another country’s economy required blockading its ports and laying siege to its cities. Now all it takes is a statement posted online by the U.S. government. In Chokepoints, Edward Fishma

Craig Fehrman: "Author in Chief"

Feb 03 2025 16 mins

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 window into presidential biography. Listen to his conversation with Michael here to experience a different side of Presidents past and present. From volumes lost to history—Calvin Coolidge’s Autobiography, which was one of the most

Nicholas Carr: "Superbloom"

Jan 31 2025 20 mins

Michael welcomes Nicholas Carr, author of "Superbloom: How Technologies of Connection Tear Us Apart," a bracing exploration of how social media has warped our sense of self and society. From the telegraph and telephone in the 1800s to the internet and social media in our own day, the public has welcomed new communication systems. Whenever people gain more power to share information

Fredrik Nystrom: "Lighten the load on your shoulders"

Jan 29 2025 18 mins

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 joins Michael with his book "Lighten the load on your shoulders!" Dr. Nystrom is professor and senior consultant in internal medicine in the Department of Health, Medicine and Caring Sciences. Original air date 28 January 2025. The boo

Tim Harford: "The Data Detective"

Jan 27 2025 15 mins

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, numbers used to mislead and confuse us. That’s a mistake, Tim Harford says in The Data Detective. We shouldn’t be suspicious of statistics—we need to understand what they mean and how they can improve our lives: they are, at hear

Brad Meltzer: "The JFK Conspiracy"

Jan 24 2025 19 mins

From the New York Times bestselling authors of "The Nazi Conspiracy" and "The Lincoln Conspiracy" comes a true, little-known story about the first assassination attempt on John F. Kennedy, right before his inauguration. What most Americans don’t know is that JFK’s historic presidency almost ended before it began―at the hands of a disgruntled sociopathic loner armed with dynam