The WBT Podcast

Claudia Hinz on her debut novel "Safekeeping" by The WBT

A conversation with USMC veteran Dewaine Farria, whose novel, Revolutions of All Colors, spans different countries and colors to explore how minority groups navigate their identities. Farria, along with host Adrian Bonenberger, discuss (among other things) the culture of Ukraine, where both spent a great deal of time.

Wrath-Bearing Tree editors Mike Carson, Adrian Bonenberger, and David James sit down to discuss Chekhov's Ward No. 6, a short story about a doctor who encounters a life-changing experience when visiting a mental ward in his hospital.

Chat with Pulitzer Prize-winner Tom Ricks about his recent book "First Principles," written in order to consider the curricula and intellectual schemas on which the first four U.S. presidents based their views, and to better understand the quandary in which the U.S. finds itself today.

Conversation between WBT co-host Adrian Bonenberger and New York Times Staff Writer David Philipps about Philipps' new book, "Alpha: Eddie Gallagher and the War for the Soul of the Navy SEALS." Philipps discusses researching the book, his thoughts about what led to the crisis of morality within SEAL teams, and why he believes the SEALS who reported Gallagher were the ones who ultimately won in a process that tested their integrity.

Adrian Bonenberger talks with Bret Charles Devereaux, PhD, lecturer in UNC-Chapel Hill's department of history, about his blog, A Collection of Unmitigated Pedantries (or "ACOUP"), and some of the more extraordinary and engaging claims he's made on it. Discussion topics include neorealism in Europa Universalis IV and Hearts of Iron IV, Victoria II, and reflections of history present in Game of Thrones and Lord of the Rings.

Brian Castner, Adrian Bonenberger, and poet Brian Turner read and discuss Don DeLillo's "Falling Man" on the 20th anniversary of the tragedy. While the trio starts off somewhat critical of the book, through conversation they decide that the book has greater depth and they've profited from reading it — though Castner prefers DeLillo's "White Noise," with good reason.

The WBT podcast co-hosts Adrian Bonenberger and Michael Carson talk with podcaster, writer, and historian Patrick Wyman about his debut history book, "The Verge." The group also discusses the fall of Kabul and Afghanistan to the Taliban, which occurred on the day of the recording.

Adrian Bonenberger is joined by Brian Castner and Andrea Pitzer to talk about their newest books. Castner's Stampede: Gold Fever and Disaster in The Klondike" looks at the gold rush in Alaska and Canada that unfolded at the end of the 19th century, while Pitzer's "Icebound: Shipwrecked at The Edge of The World" returns to the 16th century to examine a trade expedition that sought a shortcut to China via a legendary temperate north sea. Both journalists and writers decided to explore the land they were describing, in the process of writing their books.

Wrath-Bearing Tree co-editors David James and Adrian Bonenberger sit down with British author and former professor Garry Craig Powell to talk about Leo Tolstoy's powerful and nearly perfect story "Hadji Murat"—how the author accomplishes his goal, and how the audience interacts with the story.