Journalist and award-winning author Sonia Shah discusses her book “The Next Great Migration: The Beauty and Terror of Life on the Move” with journalist Caitlin Dickerson. Sonia Shah is a science journalist and author of critically acclaimed books on science, politics and human rights. She was a finalist for the 2021 PEN/E.O Wilson Literary Science Writing Award, and won a Publishers Weekly best nonfiction book of 2020, a best science book of 2020 by Amazon, and a best science and technology...

Former commander of NATO, Admiral James Stavridis discusses his geopolitical thriller 2034: A Novel of the Next World War, with New York Times Journalist and George Washington University National Security Professor Thom Shanker. Admiral James Stavridis spent more than thirty years in the U.S. Navy, rising to the rank of four-star Admiral. He holds a Ph.D. from The Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University, where he recently served five years as dean. He has published nine...

Best-selling author and diplomat Richard Haass speaks with Stanford professor and author Francis Fukuyama about Haass’ book, “The World: A Brief Introduction”, and other timely topics. Dr. Richard Haass is president of the Council on Foreign Relations. He served as the senior Middle East adviser to President George H. W. Bush, as director of the Policy Planning Staff under Secretary of State Colin Powell, and as the U.S. envoy to both the Cyprus and Northern Ireland peace talks. “The World: A...

Writer Matthew Barzun speaks with Harvard Professor and author Amy Edmondson about Barzun’s book, “The Power of Giving Away Power: How the Best Leaders Learn to Let Go”. Matthew Barzun has served as U.S. ambassador to the United Kingdom and Sweden. He served as National Finance Chair for former President Barack Obama's re-election campaign. He joined CNET Networks in 1993 as its fourth employee and held various management positions during his 11 years with the company, including Chief...

Anne Applebaum is a staff writer at The Atlantic, and a Senior Fellow of the Agora Institute at Johns Hopkins University. She is the author of three critically acclaimed and award-winning histories of the Soviet Union: “Red Famine, Iron Curtain, and Gulag” - winner of the Pulitzer Prize. Applebaum’s “Twilight of Democracy: The Seductive Lure of Authoritarianism” raises an alarm about antidemocratic trends in the West and explains the lure of nationalism and autocracy. Jason Stanley is a...

Investigative journalist and author Barton Gellman speaks with The Washington Post national security reporter Ellen Nakashima about Mr. Gellman’s bestseller, “Dark Mirror: Edward Snowden and the American Surveillance State.” Barton Gellman is a Pulitzer Prize and Emmy Award-winning journalist. Since 2013 he has been a senior fellow at The Century Foundation. During 21 years at The Washington Post he served tours as legal, military, diplomatic, and foreign correspondent. He has taught courses...

Physician, sociologist and author Nicholas Christakis speaks with NPR journalist Rob Stein about Dr. Christakis’s bestseller, "Apollo’s Arrow: The Profound and Enduring Impact of Coronavirus on the Way We Live." Nicholas Christakis directs the Human Nature Lab at Yale University, where he is also the Co-Director of the Yale Institute for Network Science. Dr. Christakis is an elected fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. In 2009, Christakis was named to the Time 100, Time...

The twenty-first episode of GREAT PODVERSATIONS features best-selling writer Elizabeth Kolbert speaking with journalist Kate Aronoff about Ms. Kolbert's book, “Under a White Sky: The Nature of the Future,” and other timely topics. Elizabeth Kolbert is a staff writer for The New Yorker. Her most recent book, “Under a White Sky: The Nature of the Future,” was published in February. In it, Kolbert explores whether we can change nature to save it, in Earth's new geological epoch: the...

Best-selling writer Nicole Krauss speaks with NPR journalist Elizabeth Blair about Krauss’ book of short stories, "To Be A Man." Nicole Krauss is best known for her novels "Forest Dark," and "Great House," and a finalist for the National Book Award and the Orange Prize. Her fiction has been published in the New Yorker, the Atlantic, Harper’s Magazine, Esquire, and The Best American Short Stories, and her books have been translated into thirty-seven languages. She is currently the first...

Grammy award-winning cellist Yo-Yo Ma speaks with conductor, composer, and musician Teddy Abrams about the power of music, healing cultural differences, and other timely topics. Yo-Yo Ma has recorded more than 100 albums, is the winner of 18 Grammy Awards, and has performed for nine American presidents, most recently on the occasion of President Biden’s inauguration. He has received numerous awards, including the National Medal of the Arts, the Presidential Medal of Freedom, and the Kennedy...

Pulitzer-winning writer Philip Rucker speaks with NPR journalist Mara Liasson about Mr. Rucker’s number one New York Times bestseller, “A Very Stable Genius: Donald J Trump’s Testing of America.” The book is an unvarnished exploration of Trump’s presidency and administration. Philip Rucker is the Washington Bureau chief at the Washington Post and has covered Congress, the Obama White House and the 2012 and 2016 presidential campaigns. He serves as an on-air political analyst for NBC News and...

Today, Pulitzer-winning author Jane Smiley speaks with NPR journalist Eleanor Beardsley about Ms. Smiley’s latest book, "Perestroika in Paris." Jane Smiley is the author of many novels, short stories, nonfiction books and young adult novels. In addition to the Pulitzer prize for fiction, Smiley has been awarded the Fitzgerald Award for Achievement in American Literature. She teaches creative writing at the University of California, Riverside. Eleanor Beardsley began reporting from France for...

Award-winning writer, conservationist and activist Terry Tempest Williams speaks with novelist and journalist Nathaniel Rich. Both Williams and Rich are avid supporters of the environment and proponents of ecological issues. Nathaniel Rich is the author of several books and a journalist at The New York Times Magazine. Mr. Rich’s 2019 book "Losing Earth: A Recent History" received awards from the Society of Environmental Journalists and the American Institute of Physicists and was a finalist...

Award-winning author Heather Clark speaks with literary critic and novelist Daphne Merkin about Clark’s latest book, "Red Comet: The Short Life and Blazing Art of Sylvia Plath." Heather Clark is the author of several books and a professor of contemporary poetry. She has been awarded several scholarly fellowships, including a National Endowment for the Humanities fellowship. Daphne Merkin has written as a book critic for The New Republic, The New Yorker, and The New York Times Magazine. She is...

Best -selling author and journalist Thomas Ricks speaks with author, political scientist and Professor Danielle Allen about Mr. Ricks latest book, "First Principles." Thomas Ricks has written for the Washington Post and The Wall Street Journal about American military operations around the world. He is the author of several books, including the number-one New York Times bestseller "Fiasco," which was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize. Danielle Allen is a classicist, political scientist, and...

Journalist and best-selling author Wright Thompson and Emmy-award winning television host Andrew Zimmern discuss Mr. Thompson’s book, "Pappyland," and other timely topics. Wright Thompson is a senior writer at ESPN, and author of two books. His writing covers a wide range of topics from sports to history, to his latest book about Bourbon and the history of the Van Winkle family. Andrew Zimmern is a four-time James Beard Award-winning TV personality, chef, writer and teacher, and is regarded...

Journalist and professor Amanda Little and NPR’s Alison Aubrey discuss Ms. Little’s book, The Fate of Food, and other timely topics. Amanda Little is the author of two books, and her articles have been published in the New York Times Magazine, Vanity Fair, Rolling Stone, Wired, and The Washington Post. Little is a professor of investigative journalism and science writing at Vanderbilt University. She has received a number of awards for excellence in environmental journalism. Alison Aubrey...

Former CIA officer and author Amaryllis Fox discusses her book Life Undercover: Coming of Age in the CIA with NPR’s special correspondent Melissa Block. Amaryllis Fox is a writer, television host, public speaker, and former CIA officer. Fox’s memoir, Life Undercover: Coming of Age in the CIA, examines her ten years hunting the world’s terrorists in sixteen countries while marrying and giving birth to a daughter. Fox has covered current events and offered analysis for CNN, National...

Best-selling author Mary Beth Keane and literary critic Maureen Corrigan discuss Ms. Keane’s book, Ask Again, Yes, and other timely topics. Ms. Keane was awarded a Guggenheim fellowship for fiction, and has published two other books. Most recently, Ask Again, Yes, was an instant New York Times bestseller, and has been translated in twenty-one languages. Maureen Corrigan is the book critic for NPR’s Fresh Air and writes the ‘Book World’ column for the Washington Post. She is a professor of...

Timothy Egan is a Pulitzer Prize-winning reporter and best selling author. He writes a bi-weekly Op-Ed column for the New York Times. Elaine Pagels is a historian of religion and professor at Princeton University. She is a best-selling author and received the National Medal in the Arts from President Obama. In this episode of Great Podversations, Egan and Pagels discuss Mr. Egan’s book Pilgrimage to Eternity, history, belief and other timely topics.

Dr. Jerome Groopman and Timothy Snyder discuss Snyder’s recent book "Our Malady: Lessons in Liberty from a Hospital Diary," healthcare in the U.S., and other timely topics. Groopman holds an endowed Chair of Medicine and Chief of Experimental Medicine at Harvard Medical School. Snyder is the Levin Professor of History at Yale University and a permanent fellow at The Institute for Human Sciences in Vienna.

Clarissa Ward is CNN’s Chief International Correspondent. She discusses her new book On All Fronts with Peter Bergen, a journalist, documentary producer and security analyst. On All Fronts is an account of Ward’s riveting career in journalism in this age of extremism.

Best-selling authors Isabel Allende and Madeline Miller in conversation. They discuss literature, gender issues, humanitarianism, and other timely topics.

Pulitzer prize-winning playwright Michael R. Jackson and NPR’s Ari Shapiro, host of All Things Considered, discuss American theater, music, racial issues, and other timely topics.

Best-selling authors Erik Larson and Amor Towles discuss history, research, and the craft of writing.