Book Club with Michael Smerconish

Book Club with Michael Smerconish

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.

Episodes

Stephen Starring Grant: "Mailman"

September 5, 2025 • 23 mins
When the pandemic hit, Stephen Grant — a married father of two recently diagnosed with cancer — lost his corporate job and urgently needed health insurance. So he became a rural mail carrier in Appalachia. In this episode, Michael Smerconish talks with Stephen about his book "Mailman: My Wild Ride Delivering the Mail in Appalachia and Finally Finding Home." They explore the surprising intimacy between mail carriers and their commun...
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Dr. Jean Twenge: "10 Rules for Raising Kids in a High-Tech World"

September 3, 2025 • 27 mins

Listen here to Episode #27: Michael's 2017 conversation with Dr. Jean Twenge about "iGen: Why Today's Super-Connected Kids Are Growing Up Less Rebellious, More Tolerant, Less Happy--and Completely Unprepared for Adulthood--and What That Means for the Rest of Us" 

Listen here to Episode #240: Michael's 2023 conversation with Dr. Jean Twenge about ""Generations: The Real Differences Between Gen Z, Millennials, Gen X, Boomers, and Sile...

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Barton Gellman: "Dark Mirror: Edward Snowden and the American Surveillance State"

August 26, 2025 • 16 mins
From the archives, Michael’s conversation with Pulitzer Prize-winning author Barton Gellman, on his book “Dark Mirror: Edward Snowden and the American Surveillance State.” In 2013, Edward Snowden’s massive leak of classified files sparked a global reckoning over government surveillance. Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Barton Gellman was one of the reporters Snowden trusted with those secrets. In Dark Mirror, Gellman goes beyond t...
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Michael Bamberger: "The Man Who Heard Voices"

August 20, 2025 • 18 mins
Michael's conversation with longtime sportswriter and bestselling author Michael Bamberger, author of "The Man Who Heard Voices: Or, How M. Night Shyamalan Risked His Career on a Fairy Tale." In his relatively young career, M. Night Shyamalan achieved phenomenal commercial and critical success. His films 'The Sixth Sense,' 'Unbreakable,' 'Signs,' and 'The Village' grossed over $1.5 billion (at the time of this 2006 interview) and r...
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Gerry Spence: "Bloodthirsty Bitches and Pious Pimps of Power"

August 18, 2025 • 11 mins
Upon hearing of Gerry Spence's passing away at 96 years old this week, we remembered this conversation from deep in the archives, with the trial attorney and bestselling author on his book "Bloodthirsty Bitches and Pious Pimps of Power: The Rise and Risks of the New Conservative Hate Culture." Gerry Spence takes dead aim at the media demagogues who wield their power with virulent effect: The likes of Ann Coulter, Laura Ingraham, Bi...
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Ray Didinger: "Finished Business"

August 15, 2025 • 21 mins
Michael spoke with longtime Philadelphia sports journalist Ray Didinger in a Free Library of Philadelphia event about Didinger's memoir, “Finished Business: My Fifty Years of Headlines, Heroes, and Heartaches,” in May 2021. In his book, the legendary sportswriter shares a heartfelt story that begins with the Eagles' epic Super Bowl LII win. From growing up a diehard fan to becoming a Hall of Fame journalist, Didinger reflects on fi...
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Terry McAuliffe: "Beyond Charlottesville"

August 11, 2025 • 16 mins
Michael's conversation from five years ago this month with Former Virginia Governor Terry McAuliffe’s, about his instant bestseller "Beyond Charlottesville: Taking a Stand Against White Nationalism." It is McAuliffe's behind-the-scenes account of the deadly 2017 “Unite the Right” rally. He examines the events that led to the violence, and reflects on Virginia’s troubled racial history and how President Trump reacted to what happene...
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Garrett Graff: "The Devil Reached Toward the Sky"

August 6, 2025 • 21 mins
Michael Smerconish is joined by journalist and bestselling author Garrett Graff to discuss his powerful new oral history, "The Devil Reached Toward the Sky: An Oral History of the Making and Unleashing of the Atomic Bomb." On the 80th anniversary of Hiroshima, they explore the bomb’s development, the people behind it, the decision to use it, and its enduring legacy. With over 500 voices included, Graff’s work captures the triumph a...
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Julia Hotz: "The Connection Cure"

August 1, 2025 • 18 mins
Michael Smerconish talks with journalist Julia Hotz about her debut book, The Connection Cure, which explores the emerging field of social prescribing—using community, creativity, and connection as powerful tools to boost health and well-being. Hotz shares compelling science and personal stories behind five key wellness drivers: movement, nature, art, service, and belonging. A fresh look at how non-medical care can make a real diff...
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M.W. Craven: "Nobody's Hero"

July 30, 2025 • 25 mins
Author M.W. Craven joins Michael Smerconish in a discussion about Craven's captivating novel titled "Nobody's Hero." The duo chat about a variety of topics including the thrilling yet mysterious tone of the book, the Ben Koenig series in which "Nobody's Hero" belongs to, and the familiar names found within Craven's stories. Original air date 29 July 2025. The book was published on 03 December 2024.
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Barry Levine: "The Spider: Inside the Criminal Web of Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell"

July 25, 2025 • 27 mins
Michael Smerconish sits down with Barry Levine, author of "The Spider: Inside the Criminal Web of Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell." They discuss the disturbing details of Epstein’s abuse network, Ghislaine Maxwell’s role, and the lingering questions surrounding powerful individuals, including Donald Trump. A compelling conversation rooted in years of investigative reporting, conducted in the contexts of this week's news aroun...
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Steve Lopez: "The Soloist"

July 24, 2025 • 26 mins
Michael's conversation from deep in the archives with with Steve Lopez, author of "The Soloist: A Lost Dream, an Unlikely Friendship, and the Redemptive Power of Music." An intimate portrait of gifted violinist Nathaniel Ayers traces his promising education at Juilliard, his struggles with schizophrenia, and the factors that led to his homelessness in Los Angeles, circumstances that prompted their friendship and the author's effort...
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Michael Moss: "Hooked"

July 22, 2025 • 17 mins
Pulitzer Prize–winning journalist Michael Moss joins Michael to unpack his explosive book "Hooked: Food, Free Will, and How the Food Giants Exploit Our Addictions," which explores how processed food companies have engineered their products—and our eating habits. In this candid and eye-opening conversation, Moss reveals how food giants manipulate our biology, emotions, and even memories to keep us coming back for more, using tactics...
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James Fishkin: "Can Deliberation Cure the Ills of Democracy?"

July 18, 2025 • 21 mins
Michael Smerconish speaks with Stanford political scientist Dr. James Fishkin about his groundbreaking book "Can Deliberation Cure the Ills of Democracy?" They explore how bringing diverse Americans together for civil, informed discussion—through experiments like America in One Room—can reduce polarization and lead to surprising consensus. A hopeful look at democratic reform in a divided age. Original air date 15 July 2025. The boo...
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Tyler Pager: "2024"

July 16, 2025 • 24 mins
Michael welcomes New York Times White House Correspondent Tyler Pager, co-author (with Josh Dawsey and Isaac Arnsdorf) of "2024: How Trump Retook the White House and the Democrats Lost America." Hear the behind-the-scenes drama, exclusive scoops, and pivotal moments that defined the 2024 election — from Kamala Harris’s rocky campaign to Trump’s post-assassination rise and Biden’s fateful debate decision. Original air date 15 July 2...
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Carter Sherman: "The Second Coming"

July 14, 2025 • 22 mins
Carter Sherman, reproductive health reporter at The Guardian joins Michael with her book "The Second Coming: Sex and the Next Generation’s Fight Over Its Future." They explore how politics, technology, and social norms are reshaping the way young Americans think about and experience sex. From "hookup culture" to the "sex recession," and from Roe v. Wade to TikTok, this conversation dives deep into the evolving sexual landscape—and ...
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Jim Abbott: "Imperfect"

July 11, 2025 • 17 mins

Watch the "Book Club" special event at Citizen's Bank Park in Philadelphia, PA on June 12, 2012 where Michael and Jim Abbott talk in front of 1,000 people in the stadium here!

On Sunday, July 13th, 2025, Jim Abbott is the subject of a new ESPN E60 Documentary, Southpaw: The Life and Legacy of Jim Abbott. Michael spoke with Abbott about this new feature about his incredible story on The Smerconish Daily Podcast this week (Wednesday, ...

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Salena Zito: "Butler"

July 9, 2025 • 20 mins
In this episode, Michael Smerconish talks with journalist and author Salena Zito about her new book "Butler: The Untold Story of the Near Assassination of Donald Trump and the Fight for America’s Heartland." Salena shares her firsthand account of being just feet away during the shooting of Donald Trump in Butler, Pennsylvania, explores the significance of this pivotal moment, and reveals the profound impact on Trump, the crowd, and...
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Kevin Hines: "Cracked, Not Broken"

July 7, 2025 • 14 mins
Kevin Hines attempted suicide in 2000 in San Francisco and fortunately lived to tell about it, and wrote a powerful memoir in 2013. In 2016, there was a string of suicides on the University of Pennsylvania campus. In that context, Michael had this conversation with Kevin about "Cracked, Not Broken: Surviving and Thriving After a Suicide Attempt." Kevin shares his story of surviving a suicide attempt from the Golden Gate Bridge and ...
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David Litt: "It's Only Drowning"

June 30, 2025 • 21 mins
Surfing, politics, and...finding common ground! Michael is joined by former Obama speechwriter and author David Litt to discuss his new book "It's Only Drowning: A True Story of Learning to Surf and the Pursuit of Common Ground." They explore Litt’s unexpected friendship with his apolitical, Joe Rogan–loving brother-in-law, the lessons of surfing, and what it all says about bridging America’s political divide. Original air date 27 ...
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