Daniel Elkind and Morten Høi Jensen discuss Elkind's new book, Dr Chizhevsky's Chandelier: The Decline of the USSR and other Heresies of the Twentieth Century.

Oliver Moody and Morten Høi Jensen discuss Moody's new book and explain how the history of the Baltic sea and the countries that surround it reveal a hopeful vision for a European future.

Luka Ivan Jukić and Morten Høi Jensen discuss Luka's recent book and ask and answer whether "Central Europe" even exists.

Alissa Wilkinson and Morten Høi Jensen discuss Wilkinson's most recent book We Tell Ourselves Stories: Joan Didion and the American Dream Machine. The book is about Didion, but it's also about America in her lifetime. This episode includes talk about the Dustbowl, Hays Code, Bonnie and Clyde and the human addiction to delusion.

Ben Libman and Morten Høi Jensen discuss Ben's new book The Third Solitude, religion, tradition, and a modern Jew's relationship with and responsibility to his inheritance.

Guy Stagg joins Required Reading's new host Morten Høi Jensen to discuss his new book The World Within.

On writing the book: "All my life I have dreamed of retreat. Of letting go each responsibility and cutting every tie. And I know I’m not the only one. But, when I learnt about the creative figures who left their lives behind, I began to ask myself: what is gained and what is lost when we withdraw from the world?"

Carlos Fraenkel and Agnes Callard discuss Carllard's new book Open Socrates and make the case for a life of philosophical inquiry.

Scott Spillman on his recent book Making Sense of Slavery which illustrates how the study of slavery has been at the heart of American intellectual and political life for the past two centuries. 

Rob Rubsam and Celeste Marcus discuss the movie Red Rooms and the case it makes for the inescapable depravity of contemporary human life.

Ryan Ruby discusses his new book Context Collapse with Christopher McCaffery and Celeste Marcus.