Wall Street Journal columnist Jason Riley, author of "The Affirmative Action Myth," argues that the racial preference policies of the 1960s and 70s have had an overall negative impact on the success of Black Americans. He says that Black incomes, homeownership, and educational attainment were all on an upward trajectory prior to these policies being implemented.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Education Design Lab founder Kathleen deLaski examined whether the U.S. higher education system can meet the needs of future generations of students. She discusses alternatives to the four-year college degree, including educational bootcamps, skills-based learning, and apprenticeships. This event took place at Porter Square Books in Cambridge, Massachusetts

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Historian Jay Winik first appeared on the Booknotes television program 24 years ago to discuss his book, "April 1865." It became a #1 New York Times bestseller, reportedly read by Bill Clinton, Barack Obama, George W. Bush, and many others. It's the narrative story of the Civil War. For his latest book, Winik stepped back four years in history to look at how the Civil War began. This time the book is titled "1861: The Lost Peace." "Northerners had little regard for the strength or determination of the South," writes Winik. Lincoln friend John Hay said the Southern Army was nothing more than a vast mob. The New York Tribune said it differently: "Jeff Davis and company will be swinging from the battlements at Washington by the 4th of July."

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Author and writer George Will, whose nationally syndicated column has been running since 1974, discusses his life and career in the opinion business. Mr. Will talks about the impact of his work on U.S. politics over the past 50 years, conservatism in the age of Donald Trump, his love of baseball, and other topics.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This was an inside look at the glamorous Condé Nast publishing empire, the people who crafted its publications, and the standards they set for American culture. Politics and Prose bookstore in Washington, D.C., hosted this event.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Sir Richard J. Evans has been writing about Germany and Adolf Hitler for his entire professional life. He was knighted in Britain in 2012 for his service to scholarship. From 2003-2008, Professor Evans published a trilogy of the Third Reich with a total of over 2,500 pages. His latest book is titled "Hitler's People: The Faces of the Third Reich." In his preface, Sir Richard, a former professor at Cambridge University writes: "The individuals who stand at the center of this book range from the top to the bottom, from Hitler all the way down to the lowest of the Nazi party." There are 22 chapters.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Sports journalist and academic Jane McManus, author of "The Fast Track," discusses the rise in popularity of women's sports since the early 1970s and the challenges female athletes have faced since then, including unequal pay and lack of media coverage. Prof. McManus talks about the experiences of Billie Jean King, Venus and Serena Williams, Caitlin Clark, Riley Gaines, and other female competitors.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Isabel Allende spoke about identity & resilience in her historical novel set in the 19th century against a backdrop of civil war breaking out in Chile. The Sixth and I Synagogue in Washington, D.C., hosted this event.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In our earlier discussion with Zaakir Tameez about his biography of Senator Charles Sumner of Massachusetts, he discussed his differences with Professor David Herbert Donald on the same subject. On December the 24th, 1995, Professor Donald talked about his book called "Lincoln" on the Booknotes television program. David Donald died in 2009 at age 88. During his teaching career, which he finished as a professor of history at Harvard, Professor Donald was praised for his "Lincoln" book by historian Eric Foner. "It is often considered the best single volume of Lincoln ever. It's the most balanced of the biographies out there," said Foner.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Journalist and musician Lee Hawkins, author of "I Am Nobody's Slave," talks about the impact that slavery and Jim Crow have had on his family through multiple generations. Mr. Hawkins examines the relationship between the past violence experienced by family members, often at the hands of white people, and the way his parents raised and severely disciplined him.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices