The Roundtable

James Lasdun's latest is 'The Family Man: Blood and Betrayal in the House of Murdaugh,' turns to the real-life Southern saga that captivated the country. Lasdun digs beneath the headlines surrounding disgraced attorney Alex Murdaugh, tracing generations of privilege, power, corruption, and violence in South Carolina’s Lowcountry.The result is part true-crime page-turner, part portrait of a family dynasty collapsing in public. His novels, memoir, poetry, and short story collections have won many awards, and his essays have appeared in the New York Times, the London Review of Books, and The New Yorker, among other publications.

The Roundtable Panel: a daily open discussion of issues in the news and beyond. Today's panelists are Executive Director of Communities for Local Power and former White House Advance Lead Anna Markowitz, The Empire Report’s JP Miller, Senior Fellow at the American Enterprise Institute Robert Pondiscio, and Former Mayor of the City of Albany Kathy Sheehan.

Dr. Jessica B. Harris is a renowned culinary historian, James Beard Cookbook Hall of Fame winner, and star of the Netflix docuseries ‘High on the Hog.’ Her latest book is ‘Braided Heritage: Recipes and Stories on the Origin of American Cuisine.’ Joe Donahue spoke with her in a WAMC on the Road and CulinaryArts@SPAC event in Saratoga Springs, New York in March.

In 'Dispatches from Grief: A Mother's Journey Through the Unthinkable,' author and journalist Danielle Crittenden chronicles the devastating loss of her daughter and the difficult path that followed.The memoir blends personal reflection with broader questions about mourning, resilience, and how people survive unimaginable heartbreak.Rather than offering easy answers, Crittenden explores grief in all its unpredictability — the shock, isolation, memory, and moments of grace that can emerge even in profound sorrow.

The Roundtable Panel: a daily open discussion of issues in the news and beyond. Today's panelists are Lecturer of Cognitive Sciences at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and former Fulbright US Scholar to Egypt Jackie Berry, Senior Fellow, Bard Center for Civic Engagement Jim Ketterer, and Political Consultant and lobbyist Libby Post.

Each weekday morning, The Roundtable's Joe Donahue is joined by various experts, journalists, educators, and commentators to discuss current events. On Roundtable Panel: The Week in Review, we feature your favorite panelists discussing news items from the previous week.

Mark Frost has long moved between worlds television, film, and fiction co-creating the landmark series ‘Twin Peaks’ and writing acclaimed novels that blend history with imagination. Now he turns to one of the most enigmatic figures of the 20th century in his new work of historical fiction ‘The Yankee Sphinx.’ Mark Frost will appear at the Franklin D. Roosevelt Presidential Library and Museum in Hyde Park, New York, on Wednesday, May 13. He will discuss and sign his new historical novel, ‘The Yankee Sphinx: An FDR Novel.’

In 2018, Gemma Correll had a panic attack that lasted for weeks. She began navigating anxiety -- her new book is a graphic memoir called ‘Anxietyland.'Gemma Correll is an award-winning cartoonist, writer, and illustrator. Her work has been featured in The New York Times, Los Angeles Times, NPR, Elle, and Forbes, among many others.

The Roundtable Panel: a daily open discussion of issues in the news and beyond. Today's panelists are Professor Emeritus of Russian at Hofstra University, and the author of ‘Illiberal Vanguard: Populist Elitism in the United States and Russia’ (University of Wisconsin Press), Alexandar Mihailovic, Co-founder and Executive Director of Seeing Rainbows (a trans-led arts and mutual aid organization) maayan nuri hed, and Siena University Professor of Economics Aaron Pacitti.

In the new book ‘Won’t Back Down: Heartland Rock and the Fight for America,’ music journalist Erin Osmon takes a closer look at the genre often seen as quintessentially American. Popularized by artists like Bruce Springsteen and Ton Petty, Heartland Rock has long told stories of labor, longing, and life on the margins. But Osmon argues that beneath those familiar themes lies a more complicated history one in which these songs had been used to express both solidarity and division.