Podcast

The Free Library Podcast is an easy way to participate in the author events and lectures that take place at the Central Library. Visit Author Events to find upcoming events.

Recent Episodes

  • Joseph Ellis | American Dialogue: The Founders and Us

    • Recorded Oct 16, 2018

    In conversation with Jason Freeman, author events producer and editor A “sure-handed and entertaining guide through the thickets of argument, personality and ideology out of which the American nation emerged” ( The Economist ), historian Joseph… more

    Author Events  Biography & Autobiography   Philadelphia History  Politics  General Research  History 

  • Ben Fountain | Beautiful Country Burn Again: Democracy, Rebellion, and Revolution

    • Recorded Oct 15, 2018

    In conversation with Dick Polman, "Writer in Residence" at the University of Pennsylvania, national political columnist at WHYY News and contributor to The Atlantic Ben Fountain is the author of The New York Times bestseller Billy Lynn’s Long… more

    Author Events  Politics  History 

  • Ray Didinger | The Eagles Encyclopedia: Champions Edition with Mark Leibovich | Big Game: The NFL in Dangerous Times

    • Recorded Oct 13, 2018

    Fly Eagles fly! Five-time Pennsylvania Sportswriter of the Year Ray Didinger updated his and late co-writer Robert S. Lyons’s bestselling The Eagles Encyclopedia —“the definitive book for any Eagles fan” ( Philadelphia Daily News )—to reflect the… more

    Author Events  Philadelphia History  Sports & Recreation 

  • Nelson Díaz | Not from Here, Not from There/No Soy de Aquí ni de Allá: The Autobiography of Nelson Díaz

    • Recorded Oct 9, 2018

    In conversation with Sabrina Vourvoulias, journalist, short story author and novelist Introduced by Henry Cisneros A 1972 Temple University Law School graduate, Nelson Díaz was the first Puerto Rican lawyer admitted to the Pennsylvania Bar… more

    Author Events  Biography & Autobiography   Government Information  Philadelphia  Philadelphia History  Politics  History 

  • John Kerry | Every Day Is Extra

    • Recorded Oct 5, 2018

    In conversation with Michael Smerconish John Kerry is a decorated combat veteran thrice wounded in the line of duty, a five-term United States senator from Massachusetts, the 2004 Democratic presidential nominee, and four-year Secretary of State.… more

    Author Events  Biography & Autobiography   Politics  History 

  • Rebecca Traister | Good and Mad: The Revolutionary Power of Women’s Anger

    • Recorded Oct 4, 2018

    In conversation with Tamala Edwards, anchor, 6ABC Action News morning edition Rebecca Traister is the author of All the Single Ladies , The New York Times bestselling book about the intersection of sex, economics, and emotions related to the… more

    Author Events  Politics 

  • Sandeep Jauhar | Heart: A History

    • Recorded Oct 2, 2018

    Exploring little-known, behind-the-scenes work in hospitals and the all-too-human lives of doctors, Dr. Sandeep Jauhar is a practicing cardiologist and author of two bestselling medical memoirs, Intern: A Doctor’s Initiation and the… more

    Author Events  Biography & Autobiography   Body, Mind & Spirit  Health & Fitness  Psychology  Science  History 

  • Deborah Harkness | Time's Convert

    • Recorded Oct 1, 2018

    Working “her own form of literary alchemy by deftly blending fantasy, romance, history, and horror” (Chicago Tribune), Deborah Harkness is the no. 1 New York Times bestselling author of the witches-meet-vampires All Souls book trilogy. Acclaim… more

    Author Events  Fiction  Literature  History 

  • Chris Hedges | America: The Farewell Tour

    • Recorded Sep 27, 2018

    Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Chris Hedges is the author of a dozen books, including the bestsellers  War Is a Force That Gives Us Meaning ,  Empire of Illusion , Wages of Rebellion , and  Days of Destruction, Days of Revolt . For nearly two… more

    Author Events  Government Information  Politics  History 

  • David Levering Lewis | The Improbable Wendell Willkie: The Businessman Who Saved the Republican Party and His Country, and Conceived a New World Order

    • Recorded Sep 26, 2018

    Professor emeritus of history at New York University, David Levering Lewis won the Pulitzer Prize in 1994 and 2001 for his “superb” ( The Nation ) two-volume biography of W.E.B. Du Bois, the polymath founder of the NAACP and a principal shaper of… more

    Author Events  Biography & Autobiography   Law  Philadelphia History  Politics  History 

Find More Episodes

20th & Vine - Backstage with Jill Lepore

This month we're featuring award-winning historian Jill Lepore who recently visited the Free Library of Philadelphia to discuss her new book These Truths: A History of the United States. Professor Lepore spoke to Laura Kovacs backstage about the importance of including the topics of political consulting, polling and the evolution of polling in her new book. 20th & Vine is behind-the-scenes conversations from the Free Library of Philadelphia's award-winning Author Events series. Subscribe now for more videos with your favorite authors.

Top 10 Podcast Episodes September 2018

  1. Jill Lepore Jill Lepore
  2. Gary Shteyngart Gary Shteyngart
  3. Maxwell King Maxwell King
  4. David Levering Lewis David Levering Lewis
  5. Chris Hedges Chris Hedges
  6. Trevor Noah Trevor Noah
  7. Camille Paglia Camille Paglia
  8. Andrew Shaffer Andrew Shaffer
  9. Yann Martel Yann Martel
  10. Jon Meacham Jon Meacham

Top 10 Livestream Videos September 2018

  1. Jill Lepore
  2. Eliza Griswold
  3. Richard Powers
  4. Simone Biles
  5. Imani Perry
  6. Gary Shteyngart
  7. Ta-Nehisi Coates
  8. Dr. Nadine Burke Harris
  9. Michael A. Smerconish
  10. Maxwell King

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