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Let's catch a super terrorist! Joby Warrick joins me to talk The Jackal: The Rise and Fall of Carlos, the World's First Super-Terrorist.

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Let's survive! Loubna Mrie joins me to talk Defiance: A Memoir of Awakening, Rebellion, and Survival in Syria.

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He's back! James M. Scott joins me to talk Empire of Ashes: Truman, Hirohito, and the Descent into Total War.

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Another month, another list of books I don’t want you to miss just because they didn’t get to come on the pod!

How to Rule the World by Theo Baker – or as I like to call it, how to make college more difficult than it needed to be. Baker tells the story of going to Stanford University where he expects to become another tech billionaire but somehow ends up on a collision course with the president of the university. Oops! 

Stolen Revolution by Yeganeh Torbati and Bozorgmehr Sharafedin This book follows a few people in the aftermath of the Iranian Revolution. It puts so much in perspective and is one of those books which feels like so much is jammed into the book, but it never gets overwhelming.

They Stole a City by Lauren Collins – speaking of overwhelming, in 1898 the legitimately elected and appointed government of Wilmington, North Carolina was overthrown by a bunch of White supremacists who proceeded to terrorize the Black community. Everyone collectively shrugged like it was somehow okay for that to happen. Collins follows the lives of many affected through the generations. 

Kingdom of Devils by Katherine Grandjean – post- American Revolution serial killers! You probably never heard of the Harps (and neither had I), but in 1797 they went on a killing spree in the Kentucky and Tennessee countryside. This one was mind-blowing and proves there is still plenty of true crime left to discover. 

The Gospel According Hobby Lobby by Michael Blanding – I think we have all at least driven by a Hobby Lobby or two. However, the founding of the stores is more fascinating than I ever expected, and Blanding writes a book that is balanced but will also probably cause some tense conversations around the house. The Greens are not just founders of a billion dollar store chain, but also the money behind a national movement. 

Catherine the Great by Robert Massie – Massie was the master of Russian history as far as I am concerned, and Catherine the Great was one of my favorites. Love her or hate her, Catherine was powerful, intelligent, and unafraid to take a big swing. You know, like killing your spouse (allegedly!) for instance. 

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Let's not say it! Elizabeth Stordeur Pryor joins me to talk Something We Said: Richard Pryor, a Notorious Word, and Me.

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Let's go on the run! Zayd Ayers Dohrn joins me to talk Dangerous, Dirty, Violent, and Young: A Fugitive Family in the Revolutionary Underground.

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Let's set him free! Pamela Colloff joins me to talk Catch the Devil: A True Story of Murder, Deception, and Injustice on the Gulf Coast.

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Let's get lit! Jonathan Vigliotti joins me to talk Torched: How a City Was Left to Burn, and the Olympic Rush to Rebuild L.A.

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Let's compromise! Lawrence Goldstone joins me to talk Imperfect Union: How Errors of Omission Threaten Constitutional Democracy.

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Let's celebrate 250! The legendary Rick Atkinson joins me to talk The Fate of the Day: The War for America, Fort Ticonderoga to Charleston, 1777-1780.

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