United States - Social life and customs - 1971- - Anecdotes, facetiae, satire, etc.
Martin Mull and Allen Rucker discuss their book, “The History of White People in America.” They begin by explaining that the book is a satire on white culture in America, and how some Caucasian customs can differ from other racial groups’. ...
Social isolation;
Single people - United States;
Loneliness - United States
Louise Bernikow discusses her book, “Alone in America: The Search for Companionship.” She begins by explaining that her book is about the loneliness and social isolation many people feel living in America. She talks about what to do when...
Simon - Religion; Simon - Correspondence; Alexy, Trudi - Correspondence; Alexy, Trudi - Religion; Marranos - Latin America - Religious life; Marranos - Latin America - Social life and customs; Priests - Latin America; Jews - identity; Jews -...
Trudi Alexy discusses her book, “The Marrano Legacy.” She begins by discussing how the book chronicles the personal correspondence between two strangers from different countries who shared the experience of discovering in their adolescence that...
Agricultural colonies - United States - History; Jewish farmers - United States - History; Jews - United States - History
Rabbi Uri Herscher discusses his books, “The East European Jewish Experience in America,” and “Jewish Agricultural Utopias in America, 1880-1910.” He begins by talking about his position as the executive Vice President of Hebrew Union...
Gooch, Brad, 1952-; Spirituality - United States; United States - Religion
Brad Gooch discusses his book, “Godtalk.” He begins by explaining the new religious phenomenon of Urbantia, a book that was supposedly sent down to a farmer in Chicago by aliens in the 1920s. He talks about traveling around America and how he...
Social isolation; Single people - United States; Loneliness - United States
Louise Bernikow discusses her book, “Alone in America.” She begins by explaining that she traveled around America asking people what loneliness meant to them. She talks about how work often takes over a person’s romantic life. She talks...
Iris Chang discusses her book, “The Chinese in America.” She begins by explaining that she has written other Chinese history books on the leaders of China and the silk trade. She talks about how the Chinese came to California during the gold...
Gangs - United States;
Gangs - United States - Prevention
Dr. Lewis Yablonsky discusses his book, “Gangsters.” He begins by explaining that he worked to rehabilitate former gang members in New York City. He talks about the most popular gangs in America and how they got started. He describes the...
Authors, American - 20th century - Interviews; Books and reading; Authorship
Brian Lamb discusses his book, “Booknotes: America’s Finest Authors on Reading, Writing, and the Power of Ideas.” He talks about C-Span and the emphasis on viewing events and interviewees. Lamb says the United States has the best checks and...
United States - Politics and government - 1963-1969; United States - Politics and government - 1961-1963; Goodwin, Richard N.; Johnson, Lyndon B. (Lyndon Baines), 1908-1973; Kennedy, John F. (John Fitzgerald), 1917-1963
Richard Goodwin discusses his book, “Remembering America.” Goodwin served as a speechwriter for both President John F. Kennedy and Lyndon B. Johnson. He begins this interview by discussing the changing role of speechwriters from the Roosevelt...
United States - Politics and government - 2001-; Fanaticism - United States; Right-wing extremists - United States; Political corruption - United States; Bush, George W. (George Walker), 1946- - Ethics; Bush, George W. (George Walker), 1946-
Arianna Huffington discusses her book, “Fanatics and Fools.” She begins by explaining how she tried to use humor and satire in her book in an effort to engage readers and to try to avoid being “preachy.” She stresses the power of words and...
Soviet Union; Publishers and publishing; Emigration and immigration; Prostitution
Michael Viner discusses his book, “Shattered Dreams, Broken Promises.” He begins by explaining that the book reveals the stories of several women in the Soviet Union who have gone to desperate lengths to immigrate to the United States of...
Spain - Civilization; Spain - Colonies - America; Spain - Latin America
Carlos Fuentes discusses his book, "The Buried Mirror: Reflections on Spain and the New World." The book is about Spain's colonization of Mexico and the Western Hemisphere. He discusses Spanish culture and how it was influenced by the Moors,...
King, Martin Luther, Jr., 1929-1968; African Americans - Civil rights; Civil rights movements - United States - History - 20th century; United States - History - 1953-1961
Taylor Branch discusses his book, “Parting the Waters: America in the King Years, 1954-63.” Branch and Martinson begin by talking about King’s name change from Michael to Martin Luther after his father’s visit to Europe. Branch then goes...
Legislators’ spouses - United States - Biography; African American legislators - Biography; Legislators - United States - Biography; United States. Congress. Senate - Biography; Bruce family; Bruce, Blanche Kelso, 1841-1898 - Family; Bruce,...
Lawrence Graham discusses his book, “The Senator and the Socialite.” He begins by explaining that the book is a biography of the first African American to serve a full term in the U.S. Senate, Blanche Kelso Bruce. Graham tells the story of...
Moaveni, Azadeh, 1976-; Iranian American women - Biography; Iranian Americans -Biography; Iran - Social conditions - 1979-1997; Iran - Social conditions - 1997-
Azdaeh Moaveni discusses her book, “Lipstick Jihad.” She begins by sharing her experiences and memories of growing up as an Iranian in Palo Alto, California during the shadow of the Iranian hostage crisis. She then discusses her experiences...
Inventors - United States - History; Inventions - United States - History
Harold Evans discusses his book, “They Made America.” He begins by explaining that he is making the book into a PBS special. The book explores two centuries of innovators that span the inventors of the steam engine to the search engine. He...
Medicine - United States; Medical care - United States; Pharmaceutical industry - United States
John Abramson discusses his book, “Overdo$ed America.” He begins by explaining that doctors have been taught to trust in medical journals, but now the industry has been taken over by commercial interests and doctors do not know where to turn....
Victims of terrorism - New Jersey - Middletown; Terrorism victims' families - New Jersey - Middletown; Middletown (N.J.) - Social conditions; September 11 Terrorist Attacks, 2001
Gail Sheehy discusses her book, “Middletown America.” She begins by describing how the town of Middletown, New Jersey coped after many members of their community were killed in the World Trade Center terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001. ...
Social classes - United States; African Americans - Interviews; African Americans - Social conditions - 1975-
Henry Louis Gates discusses his book, “America Behind the Color Line.” Professor Gates explains how he traveled across the United States interviewing African Americans in an attempt to discover why and how black America split into what he...
