Free Library Podcast

In conversation with Tamala Edwards, anchor, 6ABC Action News morning edition

Rebecca Traister is the author of All the Single Ladies, The New York Times bestselling book about the intersection of sex, economics, and emotions related to the growing number of single women in 21st-century America; and Big Girls Don't Cry, an investigation of the 2008 American presidential election's effects on women and cultural feminism. A contributing editor at Elle and writer-at-large for New York magazine, Traister has contributed to many other periodicals, including The Nation, Vogue, The Washington Post, and Glamour. Good and Mad is an urgent and timely exploration of the power of women's anger to affect contemporary political change and its historical precedents in changing policies and minds.

Watch the video here.

(recorded 10/4/2018)

In conversation with Michael Smerconish

John Kerry is a decorated combat veteran thrice wounded in the line of duty, a five-term United States senator from Massachusetts, the 2004 Democratic presidential nominee, and four-year Secretary of State. He is currently the Distinguished Fellow for Global Affairs at Yale and the inaugural Visiting Distinguished Statesman for the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. His books include A Call to Service: My Vision for a Better America, The New War, and This Moment on Earth. His new book is a revealing memoir that follows his journey from son of a diplomat to disillusioned Vietnam vet, longtime legislator, and world leader.

Michael A. Smerconish is the host of The Michael Smerconish Program on SiriusXM POTUS Channel 124, the host of CNN's Smerconish on Saturday mornings, a Sunday Philadelphia Inquirer columnist, and a New York Times bestselling author.

Watch the video here.

Horace W. Goldsmith Foundation Endowed Lecture

(recorded 10/5/2018)

In conversation with Michael Smerconish

John Kerry is a decorated combat veteran thrice wounded in the line of duty, a five-term United States senator from Massachusetts, the 2004 Democratic presidential nominee, and four-year Secretary of State. He is currently the Distinguished Fellow for Global Affairs at Yale and the inaugural Visiting Distinguished Statesman for the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. His books include A Call to Service: My Vision for a Better America, The New War, and This Moment on Earth. His new book is a revealing memoir that follows his journey from son of a diplomat to disillusioned Vietnam vet, longtime legislator, and world leader.

Michael A. Smerconish is the host of The Michael Smerconish Program on SiriusXM POTUS Channel 124, the host of CNN's Smerconish on Saturday mornings, a Sunday Philadelphia Inquirer columnist, and a New York Times bestselling author.

Watch the video here.

Horace W. Goldsmith Foundation Endowed Lecture

(recorded 10/5/2018)

Fly Eagles fly! Five-time Pennsylvania Sportswriter of the Year Ray Didinger updated his and late co-writer Robert S. Lyons's bestselling The Eagles Encyclopedia-''the definitive book for any Eagles fan'' (Philadelphia Daily News)-to reflect the quintessential underdog season  that led to the Birds' Super Bowl LII victory. Didinger covered the NFL for The Philadelphia Bulletin and the Philadelphia Daily News for more than 25 years, has authored or coauthored ten books about sports and writing, and currently appears on Comcast SportsNet Philadelphia.

Mark Leibovich's books include number-one bestselling This Town, a ''vastly entertaining and deeply troubling'' (The New York Times Book Review) exploration of the political culture in Washington, D.C. Chief National Correspondent for The New York Times Magazine and a former correspondent for The Washington Post, he won the National Magazine Award for profile writing. Venturing beyond the playing field into locker rooms, owners' meetings, draft days, culture wars, and the existential fears about the future of the game, Big Game is an in-depth analysis of professional football at its economic and social peak.

Watch the video here.

(recorded 10/13/2018)

Fly Eagles fly! Five-time Pennsylvania Sportswriter of the Year Ray Didinger updated his and late co-writer Robert S. Lyons's bestselling The Eagles Encyclopedia-''the definitive book for any Eagles fan'' (Philadelphia Daily News)-to reflect the quintessential underdog season  that led to the Birds' Super Bowl LII victory. Didinger covered the NFL for The Philadelphia Bulletin and the Philadelphia Daily News for more than 25 years, has authored or coauthored ten books about sports and writing, and currently appears on Comcast SportsNet Philadelphia.

Mark Leibovich's books include number-one bestselling This Town, a ''vastly entertaining and deeply troubling'' (The New York Times Book Review) exploration of the political culture in Washington, D.C. Chief National Correspondent for The New York Times Magazine and a former correspondent for The Washington Post, he won the National Magazine Award for profile writing. Venturing beyond the playing field into locker rooms, owners' meetings, draft days, culture wars, and the existential fears about the future of the game, Big Game is an in-depth analysis of professional football at its economic and social peak.

Watch the video here.

(recorded 10/13/2018)

In conversation with Dick Polman, "Writer in Residence" at the University of Pennsylvania, national political columnist at WHYY News and contributor to The Atlantic

Ben Fountain is the author of The New York Times bestseller Billy Lynn's Long Halftime Walk, ''a bracing, fearless and uproarious satire of how contemporary war is waged and sold to the American public'' (San Francisco Chronicle). It won the National Book Critics Circle Award, was a finalist for the National Book Award, and was adapted by Ang Lee into a popular film. He is also the author of the PEN/Hemingway Award-winning Brief Encounters with Che Guevera. Exploring America's current existential crisis through wide-reaching reportage, Fountain's new essay collection Beautiful Country Burn Again narrates the shocking and polarizing events of the 2016 American presidential election. 

Watch the video here.

(recorded 10/15/2018)

In conversation with Dick Polman, "Writer in Residence" at the University of Pennsylvania, national political columnist at WHYY News and contributor to The Atlantic

Ben Fountain is the author of The New York Times bestseller Billy Lynn's Long Halftime Walk, ''a bracing, fearless and uproarious satire of how contemporary war is waged and sold to the American public'' (San Francisco Chronicle). It won the National Book Critics Circle Award, was a finalist for the National Book Award, and was adapted by Ang Lee into a popular film. He is also the author of the PEN/Hemingway Award-winning Brief Encounters with Che Guevera. Exploring America's current existential crisis through wide-reaching reportage, Fountain's new essay collection Beautiful Country Burn Again narrates the shocking and polarizing events of the 2016 American presidential election. 

Watch the video here.

(recorded 10/15/2018)

In conversation with Jason Freeman, author events producer and editor

A ''sure-handed and entertaining guide through the thickets of argument, personality and ideology out of which the American nation emerged'' (The Economist), historian Joseph Ellis won the Pulitzer Prize for Founding Brothers, a thoughtful exploration of the gifted but flawed men who conjured America; and the National Book Award for American Sphinx, a portrait of Thomas Jefferson. His body of work also includes His Excellency: George Washington, First Family: Abigail and John Adams, and Revolutionary Summer: The Birth of American Independence. His new book examines the profoundly relevant views of the Founding Fathers as they pertain to the current American landscape of turmoil and division.

Watch the video here.

Pine Tree Foundation Endowed Lecture

(recorded 10/16/2018)

In conversation with Jason Freeman, author events producer and editor

A ''sure-handed and entertaining guide through the thickets of argument, personality and ideology out of which the American nation emerged'' (The Economist), historian Joseph Ellis won the Pulitzer Prize for Founding Brothers, a thoughtful exploration of the gifted but flawed men who conjured America; and the National Book Award for American Sphinx, a portrait of Thomas Jefferson. His body of work also includes His Excellency: George Washington, First Family: Abigail and John Adams, and Revolutionary Summer: The Birth of American Independence. His new book examines the profoundly relevant views of the Founding Fathers as they pertain to the current American landscape of turmoil and division.

Watch the video here.

Pine Tree Foundation Endowed Lecture

(recorded 10/16/2018)

In conversation with Hannah Gadsby

The Emmy and Golden Globe-winning creator of the Amazon series Transparent, Jill Soloway is the director of the feature film Afternoon Delight, creator of the series I Love Dick, and was a writer and executive producer for Six Feet Under, How to Make It in America, and United States of Tara. They are also the author of Tiny Ladies in Shiny Pants and founder of the activism groups 5050by2020 and East Side Jews. Pondering the #MeToo movement, gender dynamics, and the nature of inclusion, She Wants It draws on Soloway's own unique truth, including their experience in the entertainment industry and their metamorphosis from a married mother of two to identifying as queer and nonbinary.

Watch the video here.

(recorded 10/17/2018)