Q&A

The Times of London U.S. editor David Charter, author of "Royal Audience," discusses the special relationship that Queen Elizabeth II had with the United States and U.S. presidents over her 70-year reign as Britain's Head of State. Queen Elizabeth, who became queen in 1952 and passed away in 2022, had met and had varying degrees of personal relationships with 13 of the 14 U.S. presidents during her reign going back to Harry Truman. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

New York Times opinion columnist Frank Bruni, author of "The Age of Grievance," argues that we are living in a cultural and political era defined by victimhood and perceived injustice. He discusses the causes of this development and offers ways to move past it. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We sat down with Ben's Chili Bowl owner Virginia Ali and Ben's Chili Bowl official historian Bernard Demczuk to talk about the history of the Washington, DC, landmark. Opened in 1958 by Ben and Virginia Ali, Ben's Chili Bowl has been a hangout for civil rights activists, politicians, and celebrities for over 65 years. Recently, Bernard Demczuk published a book about Mrs. Ali and Ben's titled "Breaking Barriers with Chili." Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Since its founding in 1992, the Innocence Project has been responsible for getting hundreds of wrongfully convicted people in the United States out of prison. Attorney and Innocence Project executive director Christina Swarns joins us to talk about the history of the organization, the root causes of wrongful convictions, and some of the clients the Innocence Project has successfully represented over the years, including the two men convicted of killing of Malcolm X in 1965. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Author and actor George Takei talks about growing up in internment camps in the U.S. during World War II, following the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941. Mr. Takei and his family were four of the 120,000 Japanese Americans to be forcibly removed from their homes and relocated to military-run camps during the war on the orders of President Franklin Roosevelt. Mr. Takei has recently published a children's book about his experiences titled "My Lost Freedom." Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We sat down with two World War II veterans – former U.S. Navy gunnery officer Steve Ellis and former U.S. Army Air Force B-24 navigator Rolf Slen – to talk about their experiences during the war. Mr. Ellis, age 99, and Mr. Slen, age 100, both served in the Pacific Theater. Of the 16.4 million Americans who served in uniform in World War II, 119,550 were still alive as of 2023. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This Memorial Day weekend, retired U.S. Senate Historian Betty Koed shares stories from her book "Scenes: People, Places and Events That Shaped the United States Senate." It's a collection of brief chronicles of Senate history that she presented to Senators during their Tuesday caucus lunches between 2009 and 2023. Some of the stories told include the influence and power of Senate Majority Leader Lyndon Johnson, the story of the first female senator, and when Mark Twain worked as a Senate staffer. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Author and president emeritus of the University of Maryland, Baltimore County Freeman Hrabowski talks about the role of college presidents, the handling of campus protests over the war in Gaza, and political involvement in higher education. His new book "The Resilient University" looks at how UMBC dealt with the COVID-19 pandemic and the racial unrest that followed the killing of George Floyd by police in the summer of 2020. Freeman Hrabowski served as president of UMBC from 1992-2022. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Ilyon Woo, our guest this week, was recently awarded the 2024 Pulitzer Prize for Biography for her book "Master Slave Husband Wife." The book recounts the harrowing journey of self-emancipation made by married slaves William and Ellen Craft in 1848. Disguised as a wealthy disabled white man with his servant, the Crafts left Georgia, avoiding slave traders, law enforcement, and even friends to gain their freedom. This program originally aired in February 2023. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Former congressman Patrick Kennedy (D-RI) talks about Americans who have struggled with mental illness and the stigma and silence that he says still surrounds it. He shares the stories of the people profiled in his book, "Profiles in Mental Health Courage," including himself and members of his own family. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Half Jewish and a member of the Hitler Youth who saw Adolf Hitler in person, Jochen "Jack" Wurfl, author of "My Two Lives," talks about surviving in Nazi Germany and his later life and success in the United States. To hide their identities after the Nazis took over in 1933, Mr. Wurfl and his brother were baptized Catholic and later joined the Hitler Youth. His Catholic father, deemed a political enemy by the state, was sent to a concentration camp in Austria, while his Jewish mother was arrested by the Gestapo and sent to Auschwitz, where she perished. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Filmmakers Zachary Treitz and Christian Hansen discuss their 4-part Netflix docuseries "American Conspiracy: The Octopus Murders," about the events surrounding the death of freelance journalist Danny Casolaro (cas-uh-LARE-oh) in 1991. At the time of his death, officially ruled a suicide, Mr. Casolaro was working on a story about a series of crimes – including drug running, money laundering, and murder – that he argued were connected to a cabal of ex-government officials associated with the Reagan administration and the CIA. He referred to this group as "the Octopus." Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In "The Lies of the Land," Miami University (Oxford, Ohio) history professor Steven Conn argues that the reality of rural America today is vastly different from the way it is often portrayed by politicians and the media. He says rural Americans have not been left behind or been overlooked and are just as connected to the forces of American modernity – militarization, industrialization, corporatization, and suburbanization – as people living in the rest of the country. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Times of London U.S. editor David Charter, author of "Royal Audience," discusses the special relationship that Queen Elizabeth II had with the United States and U.S. presidents over her 70-year reign as Britain's Head of State. Queen Elizabeth, who became queen in 1952 and passed away in 2022, had met and had varying degrees of personal relationships with 13 of the 14 U.S. presidents during her reign going back to Harry Truman. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Our guest this week is Dr. Uché Blackstock. She and her twin sister, Oni, are graduates of Harvard Medical School, as was their mother, Dr. Dale Gloria Blackstock. In fact, they were the first Black mother-daughter graduates of Harvard Medical School. Dr Blackstock's book, "Legacy: A Black Physician Reckons With Racism in Medicine," looks at some of the issues she sees facing Black doctors and patients today. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Pulitzer Prize-winning book critic and New York Times columnist Carlos Lozada, author of "The Washington Book," talks about the insights he gleaned from reading the memoirs, political biographies, and official reports written by politicians and government officials in Washington, DC. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Columnist Rob Henderson talks about growing up as a troubled child in the U.S. foster care system, the hurdles he overcame to become successful, and what he learned about class divisions in America as a result. By age 8, after 5 years in the system, Mr. Henderson had lived in 9 different foster homes and attended 6 different schools. He eventually went on to join the military and obtain higher degrees in psychology from Yale and Cambridge universities. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Hollywood biographer Scott Eyman discusses his book "Charlie Chaplin vs. America," about the silent film star's fallout with the U.S. government during the Red Scare. Once a beloved actor and filmmaker, Charlie Chaplin became a target of right-wing politicians and the FBI after World War II because of his liberal political views and sexual interests. He was exiled from the U.S. in 1952 and didn't return until 1972. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

New York Times White House correspondent Katie Rogers discusses her book "American Woman," about the modern evolution of First Ladies of the United States. She talks about the impact and contributions of First Ladies of both parties going back to Hillary Clinton and their changing roles in the 21st century. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Patti Davis discusses her book "Dear Mom and Dad," a memoir written as a letter to her late parents, Ronald and Nancy Reagan. She talks about being in the spotlight after her father entered politics in the 1960s, her complicated relationship with her mother, her views on the Reagan administration's handling of illegal drugs and the AIDS epidemic, and more. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices