Fox News' Chris Wallace provided a history of the lead-up to the bombing of Hiroshima in August 1945. This was a virtual event hosted by the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in Simi Valley, California.
Sonia Shah looked at the science and history of migration in plants, animals, and humans and argued that it is a biological imperative that should be embraced around the world today.
Brown University economics professor Mark Blyth discussed why improvements in our economy are accompanied by increases in stress, anxiety, and anger among the population.
Matthew Continetti talked about the media reaction to Sarah Palin and his book, The Persecution of Sarah Palin: How the Elite Media Tried to Bring Down a Rising Star (Sentinel; November 12, 2009). In his book he contends that Sarah Palin was excessively attacked by the media. He argues that her personal life was unfairly targeted and that her words were 'spun' to distort her message. Video clips of 2008 presidential campaign events were shown in the background. He responded to telephone calls and electronic communications.
Book TV followed up with Mitchell Kaplan, owner of Books & Books Bookstores in Coral Gables, Florida, about how COVID-19 continued to impact his bookstore's operations.
Author and DePaul University professor Miles Harvey recounts 19th century lawyer turned Mormon evangelist James Strang, who claimed to be the successor to Joseph Smith. The author reports that Mr. Strand convinced hundreds to follow him to an island in Lake Michigan, where he named himself king and ran a pirate colony prior to his assassination.
Authors Elizabeth Hinton, Robin Kelley, Keeanga-Yamahtta Taylor, and Cornell West discussed the Black Lives Matter movement and next steps for the movement.
Authors Michael Pillsbury ("The Hundred-Year Marathon"), Robert Spalding ("Stealth War"), and Bill Gertz ("Deceiving the Sky") talked about China and U.S.-China relations.
Professor Toni Morrison won a Pulitzer Prize and was the first black American woman to win a Nobel Prize in Literature. She is a professor of humanities at Princeton University. She discussed her writings, her life, and the craft of writing. She responded to audience telephone calls and electronic mail. Her books include: Sula, Song of Solomon, Beloved, The Bluest Eye, Paradise, Tar Baby, Jazz, and Playing in the Dark: Whiteness and the Literary Imagination.
Ms. Morrison talked about her book, "Remember: The Journey to School Integration," published by Houghton Mifflin Company. In the book, which is intended primarily for young readers, the author supplements a collection of archival photographs depicting school desegregation with fictional dialogue, thoughts, and emotions for the children in the pictures. The book was published on May 17, 2004, the fiftieth anniversary of the Brown v. Board of Education decision.
Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass Angela Davis presented a critical edition of Frederick Douglass' memoir, Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass - An American Slave Written by Himself. Ms. Davis explored the abolitionist's intellectual life and recalled the several other editions of Douglass' memoir. Angela Davis was joined in conversation by Nobel and Pulitzer Prize-winning author Toni Morrison. This "LIVE from the NYPL" event, "Frederick Douglass: Literacy, Libraries and Liberation," was held at Celeste Bartos Forum of the New York Public Research Library of Humanities and Social Sciences.
Book TV presented coverage of the 2015 National Book Critics Circle Awards from the New School in New York City. This year's winners included David Brion Davis for The Problem of Slavery in the Age of Emancipation, John Lahr for Tennessee Williams: Mad Pilgrimage of the Flesh, Roz Chast for Can't We Talk About Something More Pleasant?, Ellen Willis for The Essential Ellen Willis, Marilynne Robinson for Lila and Claudia Rankine for Citizen: An American Lyric. The National Book Critics Circle also presented a lifetime achievement award to author Toni Morrison.
Former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich offered his thoughts on why President Trump should be re-elected in 2020. This virtual program was sponsored by the Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation and Institute.
CNN political commentator and Democratic strategist Paul Begala weighed in on how Democrats can win the 2020 presidential election. This virtual event was hosted by Politics and Prose Bookstore in Washington, D.C
Book TV followed up with Janet Webster Jones and Alyson Jones Turner, mother and daughter owners of Source Booksellers in Detroit, about how COVID-19 continued to impact their bookstore's operations.
Hoover Institution fellow Michael Auslin talked about the geopolitical rivalry between countries in the Indo-Pacific region of the world (China, Japan, India, North Korea).
Political analyst Tiffany Cross offered her thoughts on the power of the black vote. This was a virtual event hosted by the Commonwealth Club in San Franciscio.
Journalist Jack Fairweather recounted the efforts of Witold Pilecki, a member of the Polish resistance during World War II, who volunteered to be deliberately captured and sent to Auschwitz in order to sabotage the Nazis' operations and report back on the atrocities within the camp. This was a virtual event hosted by the Museum of Jewish Heritage in New York City.
