Join Jeffrey Tucker for an edifying conversation with acclaimed author and essayist Ann Bauer. Ann is one of today’s rare masters of prose who turns everyday truths into unforgettable art. In this episode Jeffrey and Ann dive deep into the craft of writing that doesn’t just inform but transforms. Evoking gasps, revelations, and that rare “aha” moment where words hit like a physical force.

Ann Bauer isn’t afraid to wield her pen as a scalpel. From her explosive early essay drawing chilling parallels between the COVID hysteria and the mid-20th-century “refrigerator mother” myth that tore families apart, to her fearless exposés on Minnesota’s welfare fraud scandals and the quiet tyrannies of power, Ann embodies the writer’s ultimate duty: to illuminate lies with unflinching elegance. “If you’re not getting to truth, then why do it?” she declares. But as Jeffrey probes, it’s not just courage—it’s an innate compulsion to peel back the curtain on the absurdities we all endure.

Ann unveils her new venture: a reading app launching in Northern Kentucky to combat America’s child literacy crisis. Imagine the classics delivered in bite-sized, Netflix-style episodes with cliffhangers that hook tweens like a binge-watch: The Wizard of Oz, Little Women, Treasure Island, Frankenstein.. Built for homeschoolers, libraries, and rec centers, it weaves in discussion prompts (think: “What do the green spectacles in Oz really signify?”) to spark critical thinking and turn reading into a lifelong habit.

Catch Ann Bauer live this Wednesday, Feb. 18, 2026 at the Brownstone Supper Club in West Hartford, CT! Tickets: https://brownstone.org/event/brownstone-supper-club-west-hartford-february-18-ann-bauer/Explore more from Brownstone Institute: https://brownstone.org

Follow Ann Bauer: https://twitter.com/annbauerwriterFollow Jeffrey Tucker: https://twitter.com/jeffreytucker

Get full access to Brownstone Insights at substack.brownstone.org/subscribe