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Journalism

Adventure, Biography, History, Journalism, Non Fiction, Writers on Writing

May 27: Triumph, Tragedy, and History’s Greatest Arctic Rescue with Buddy Levy

May 27, 2026

“Gripping account of a fatal polar adventure.” ~ Kirkus Reviews

Realm of Ice and Sky with author Buddy Levy

National Outdoor Book Award winner Buddy Levy returns to Conversations Live with Vicki St. Clair, and takes us somewhere few people have survived to describe.

Realm of Ice and Sky: Triumph, Tragedy, History’s Greatest Arctic Rescue isn’t just a polar adventure. As Buddy explains, this is the history of an idea. The audacious, dangerous dream of reaching the North Pole by airship. If it worked, it would mark a seismic shift in exploration – out with dog sleds and frostbitten toes, and in with airborne travel.

Spoiler alert: The Arctic had other plans.

We explore a nearly forgotten chapter of history: A dramatic 19th-century rescue mission that pushed three extraordinary explorers to the edge of human endurance. We follow their journeys, hubris, heartbreak, and barely-believable heroism. And Buddy shares how he stitched these lost stories together into narrative that reads like a thriller.

P.S. Hear our previous conversation on Buddy’s earlier book, Empire of Ice and Stone here.

Meet Buddy Levy

Buddy Levy is the author of nine books. His work has appeared in The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, The Washington Post, NPR, and USA Today. TV audiences may know him from 25 episodes of HISTORY Channel’s Brad Meltzer’s DECODED, or as an on-camera expert in The Frontiersmen: The Men Who Built America, the four-part HISTORY series executive produced by Leonardo DiCaprio.

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Environment, History, Journalism, Non Fiction, Science

May 20: How Millions of Americans Were Duped by a Strategic Anti-Science Campaign

May 20, 2026

This is not a doom & gloom story. It’s a detective story. With heroes, villains, & a cast of very memorable characters.

The Parrot and the Igloo: Climate and the Science of Denial with NYT Bestselling author David Lipsky

In The Parrot and the Igloo: Climate and the Science of Denial, author David Lipsky reveals one of the greatest deceptions in American history – the deliberate, funded, and strategically cast campaign to make millions of people doubt what scientists already knew.

It was planned. Programmed. And paid for.

The story begins with three inventors named Edison, Westinghouse, and Tesla, who built our technological world without knowing what they’d set into motion. From there, Lipsky follows scientists who identified the danger and sounded the alarm of what was to come, including the moment everything changed.

We discuss who won the talent audition to become America’s 1st Celebrity Doubter. How the playbook developed to cast doubt on products such as aspirin and cigarettes was repurposed to target climate science. How a nation that once celebrated scientific discoveries became a country split between believers, and a well-organized army of disinformation hucksters and propagandists.

Meet Bestselling Author David Lipsky

David Lipsky’s work has appeared in The New Yorker, Harper’s, NPR’s All Things Considered, and The New York Times. He is the author of the New York Times bestsellers Absolutely American and Although Of Course You End Up Becoming Yourself, the basis for the movie The End of the Tour. The Parrot And The Igloo is possibly David Lipsky’s most important work to date: It’s a New York Times Editors’ Choice, a New Yorker and Publishers Weekly Best Book of 2023, and a USA Today Must Read.

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Creativity, Journalism, Non Fiction, Personal Development, Science, Writers on Writing

May 13: Pulitzer Prize-winning New York Times Journalist Unpacks the Myths & Mysteries of Creativity

May 13, 2026

Author Matt Richtel says most of us are creative … even if you think you’re not!

Inspired: Understanding Creativity – A Journey Through Art, Science and the Soul with Matt Richtel

Creativity sparks innovation in art, science, technology, business, sports, and life in general. But the origins of inspiration have long remained a mystery. Until now.

A talented narrative storyteller, Matt Richtel explores elements that ignite creativity in his book Inspired: Understanding Creativity – A Journey Through Art, Science, and the Soul.

Matt shares the authentic nature of creativity, its biological and evolutionary origins, its deep connection to spirituality, and the way it bubbles in each of us waiting to be released.

Today, we discuss: Matt’s challenges with the great muse, and how he managed them. Traits of successful creators. Conditions where creativity thrives. How we can get out of our own way, and move past creative blocks. And more.

Meet Matt Richtel

Matt Richtel is a Pulitzer Prize-winning New York Times journalist, bestselling author, and novelist based in San Francisco, known for exploring the impact of technology on human behavior and health. He won the 2010 Pulitzer Prize for National Reporting for a series on distracted driving. Richtel combines technical expertise and science reporting, with narrative storytelling in both his non-fiction and thriller novels.

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Historical, Journalism, Memoir, Non Fiction, Writers on Writing

Feb 04: Money, Ambition, Succession, Power, & Dark Family Secrets

February 4, 2026

John Seabrook reveals the true story behind The Spinach King

The Spinach King – The Rise and Fall of an American Dynasty with author John Seabrook

You might wonder why John Seabrook, a successful author and New Yorker staff writer “felt an obligation” to turn his investigative reporting skills towards his own family and its American legacy.

But when you hear the true story – with the fiction-like twists and betrayals behind the legacy facade – the question then becomes, how did John Seabrook manage to stay objective while writing THE SPINACH KING: The Rise and Fall of an American Dynasty.

We dive into that question with John, as we expose some of the greed, corruption, and dark family secrets behind The Spinach King. To John he was just Grandfather. To Japanese Americans who worked at Seabrook Farms, following internment, he was God-sent. But to most, he was Charles Franklin Seabrook, a man you did not cross. A man so powerful, he was named the Henry Ford of Agriculture.

Meet John Seabrook

John Seabrook is a prominent American journalist. He’s written for The New Yorker for more than three decades and is known for exploring the intersection of pop culture, technology, and commerce. John Seabrook has also authored several notable books, including The Song Machine (2015) and Nobrow. And has contributed to publications such as Vanity Fair, Harper’s, and The Village Voice. Today, John Seabrook joins us to discuss his 2025 family memoir, The Spinach King: The Rise and Fall of an American Dynasty.

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Adventure, Biography, Journalism, Non Fiction

Dec 17: Behind Every Successful Man (Or Pirate) There’s A Woman

December 17, 2025

The Pirate’s Wife – The Remarkable True Story of Sarah Kidd

When Captain William Kidd was arrested for piracy and murder, his wife, Sarah, fought tirelessly to save him and reclaim their confiscated fortune. Left destitute after his execution, Sarah navigated the treacherous waters of colonial New York society, reinventing herself and ultimately building a new life from the ruins of scandal and tragedy.

Today we learn how author Daphne Palmer Geanacopoulos approached this forgotten story with meticulous historical research, piecing together Sarah’s life from scattered court documents, property records, and colonial archives. Daphne’s intimate storytelling shines a light on a remarkable woman who deserves recognition in her own right—not merely as the wife of a famous pirate, but as a survivor and a force to be reckoned with in early American history.

About Daphne Palmer Geanacopoulos

The Pirate’s Wife – The Remarkable True Story of Sarah Kidd is Daphne Palmer Geanacopoulos’ second book (narrative nonfiction). A recognized historian, Daphne is also a journalist and author who has spent over 15 years pursuing her passion for pirates, researching not just them and their lives, but also their wives.  Dr. Geanacopoulos writes on history, business, science, health, fitness, education, museums, parenting, philanthropy, and lifestyles and has been featured in many major outlets, including The New York Times, the Washington Post, and Southern Living.

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History, Journalism, Non Fiction

Jul 16: Russell Shorto’s Taking Manhattan

July 16, 2025

The Astonishing Events that Created New York and Shaped America’s Future

Taking Manhattan with author Russell Shorto

What could $24 worth of beads and trinkets get you in 1626? How about the entire island of Manhattan. It’s no secret the Dutch brokered that deal with the Indigenous inhabitants, but often overlooked is the history behind the English seizure of the island, turning New Amsterdam into New York and changing the course of American history.

Tackling the challenge of researching this little known but pivotal moment in our history is author, investigative journalist, and historian Russell Shorto. Today we explore the fascinating details and meet some of the key characters integral to the transition. Russell paints a picture that’s maybe less about seizure, and more about collaboration between two parties who once pointed cannons at each other.

Meet Russell Shorto

Russell Shorto is the best-selling author of eight books, including Smalltime, Revolution Song, Amsterdam, and The Island at the Center of the World. He is the director of the New Amsterdam Project at the New York Historical and senior scholar at the New Netherland Institute.

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History, Journalism, Memoir, Non Fiction, Writers on Writing

Jul 02: John Seabrook with The Spinach King

July 2, 2025

The Rise and Fall of an American Dynasty

The Spinach King with author John Seabrook

As heir to the complicated C. F. Seabrook legacy, longtime New Yorker staff writer John Seabrook confronts his family’s extraordinary story in THE SPINACH KING: The Rise and Fall of an American Dynasty.

In a spellbinding tale of money, ambition, succession, and immense power, Seabrook breaks through his family’s carefully cultivated façade, revealing long-held secrets of greed, corruption, and exploitation.

We discuss why John Seabrook felt an obligation to turn his meticulous investigative reporting skills inward, upending the narrative he grew up with. How he stayed objective after discovering the level of deceit within his ancestry. And how he balanced reporting as a journalist, with great storytelling.

Meet John Seabrook

John Seabrook has been a staff writer at The New Yorker for more than three decades. He is the author of The Song Machine, Flash of Genius, Nobrowand other books. The film ​“Flash of Genius” was based on one of his stories. He and his family live in Brooklyn.

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History, Journalism, Non Fiction

Apr 02: Taking Manhattan with Russell Shorto

April 2, 2025

The Extraordinary Events that Created New York and Shaped America

Taking Manhattan with author Russell Shorto

It’s well known that in 1626, Indigenous inhabitants sold the entire island of Manhattan to the Dutch for just $24 worth of beads and trinkets. What’s not so well known is the history behind the English seizure of the island and its transformation from New Amsterdam to New York.

Author, investigative journalist, historian Russell Shorto took on the challenge of researching the fascinating details behind this. Today we explore some of the highlights around that, and meet some of the key characters integral to the transition. Russell also presents a picture that’s maybe, less about seizure, and more about collaboration between the parties who once pointed cannons at each other.

Meet Russell Shorto

Russell Shorto is the best-selling author of eight books, including Smalltime, Revolution Song, Amsterdam, and The Island at the Center of the World. He is the director of the New Amsterdam Project at the New York Historical and senior scholar at the New Netherland Institute.

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Environment, Journalism, Non Fiction, Social Issues

Mar 26: David Lipsky and How America’s Anti-Science Movement was Set Up

March 27, 2025

The Parrot and the Igloo: Climate and the Science of Denial

The Parrot and the Igloo with author David Lipsky

“Lipsky spins top-flight climate literature into cliffhanger entertainment.” ~ The New York Times

David Lipsky is a writer’s writer as well as a reader’s writer. In The Parrot And The Igloo: Climate And The Science Of Denial, Lipsky explores how the virulent “anti-science” movement in America was set up by design.

In other words, it was planned, programmed, and paid for.

Today, we learn when, how, and why planned “denial” movements began, and who won the casting call to become the first Celebrity Doubter and “paid voice” behind the massive Climate Denial Campaign.

We look at scientists who sounded warning bells. And how we went from being a country that supported science, to a population divided into science supporters versus science deniers, hucksters, and propagandists.

Meet Bestselling Author David Lipsky

David Lipsky is the author of the New York Times bestsellers Absolutely American and Although Of Course You End Up Becoming Yourself, the basis for the movie The End of the Tour. He’s written for The New York Times, The New Yorker, Rolling Stone, Harper’s Magazine, and is a recipient of the National Magazine Award and the GLAAD Media Award. His work has appeared in The Best American Short Stories and The Best American Magazine Writing anthologies. Lipsky teaches writing and literature at NYU and lives in New York City. The Parrot And The Igloo is a NYT Editors’ Choice, a New Yorker and Publishers Weekly Best Book of 2023, and a USA Today Must Read.

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Historical, Journalism, Non Fiction, Writers on Writing

Jan 29: Michael Cannell Discusses Blood and The Badge

January 29, 2025

The Mafia, Two Killer Cops, and a Scandal That Shocked The Nation

Blood and the Badge with author Michael Cannell

Michael Cannell‘s BLOOD AND THE BADGE reads like a novel – except it’s not. This true tale features Louis Eppolito and Stephen Caracapp, two decorated NYPD detectives, who double-dipped as Mafia informants and paid assassins.

Considered the most corrupt chapter in NYPD history, Cannell sheds new light on Eppolito and Caracapp, who the Mafia cap called his “Crystal Ball”.

We discuss: Why the FBI couldn’t indict them. What motivated both cops to betray their own, frame innocent people, set up assassinations. And, what drove the detective who finally broke the cold case, putting them where they belong – behind bars.

Meet Michael Cannell

Michael Cannell is the author of five non-fiction books, most recently Blood and the Badge: The Mafia, Two Killer Cops, and a Scandal That Shocked the Nation. His previous books include A Brotherhood Betrayed: The Man Behind the Rise and Fall of Murder, Inc., and Incendiary: The Psychiatrist, the Mad Bomber and the Invention of Criminal Profiling. Cannell has worked as a reporter for Time and an editor for The New York Times. His writing has appeared in The New Yorker, Sports Illustrated and many other publications.

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