On the occasion of the paperback release of The Demon of Unrest: A Saga of Hubris, Heartbreak, and Heroism at the Dawn of the Civil War, the #1 New York Times bestselling author speaks about his chronicle of the pivotal five months between the election of Abraham Lincoln and the start of the Civil War. In conversation with Clint Smith, a staff writer at The Atlantic and the author of the #1 New York Times bestseller, How the Word Is Passed, and the poetry collections, Counting Descent and Above Ground.

This program was held on March 19, 2026 in partnership with Politics and Prose. Watch on YouTube.