On with Kara Swisher
Book Recommendations

On with Kara Swisher

It's on. Twice a week, award-winning journalist Kara Swisher gets to the heart of the story through no-holds-barred interviews with power players across business, tech, media, politics and beyond. So why do her guests show up? “Smart people,” says Kara, “like difficult questions.” Mondays and Thursd...

Episodes 328
Books 127

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Latest Recommendations

Think Like a Voter: A Kid's Guide to Shaping Our Country's Future (Adventures in Thinking Book 3) cover

Think Like a Voter

David Pakman

Mentioned 5 months ago

Inside the MAGA Blueprint for Breaking the Midterms

Natalie Adona was mentioned as the co-author of this book.

Local Election Administrators in the United States: The Frontline of Democracy (Elections, Voting, Technology) cover

Local Election Administrators in the United States

Paul Gronke

Mentioned 5 months ago

Inside the MAGA Blueprint for Breaking the Midterms

Natalie Adona was a contributing author to this recently published book.

She's a contributing author for the recently published book, "Local Election Administrators in the United States."

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The Law of Democracy, Legal Structure of the Political Process (University Casebook Series) cover

The Law of Democracy, Legal Structure of the Political Process (University Casebook Series)

Samuel Issacharoff

Mentioned 5 months ago

Inside the MAGA Blueprint for Breaking the Midterms

Nate Persily was mentioned as the co-author of this leading election law casebook.

And Nate Persily is the James B. McClatchy Professor of Law at Stanford Law School and the co-director of the Stanford Law AI Initiative. He is an expert on election law and redistricting, and he's the co-author of the leading election law casebook, "The Law of Democracy."

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Burn Book: A Tech Love Story cover

Burn Book

Kara Swisher

Mentioned 7 months ago

Comedian Tig Notaro on Laughing Through Grief

The speaker mentioned that there was a TV show being made of their book, and the only requirement they had for the production company was to have a believable lesbian play them.

They're making the TV show of my book, Burn Book. Wow. And they said, what do you need for this? The production company. And I said, all I want is a believable lesbian playing me. That's all I have to do. Just a believable lesbian.

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Memorial Days: A Memoir cover

Memorial Days

Geraldine Brooks

Mentioned 7 months ago

Comedian Tig Notaro on Laughing Through Grief

This memoir discussed the sudden death of the author's husband and was described as being very uplifting despite the dark subject matter.

Our expert question comes from Pulitzer Prize-winning writer Geraldine Brooks, whom I interviewed earlier this year about her memoir, Memorial Days, which is about the sudden death of our husband.

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How to Avoid a Climate Disaster: The Solutions We Have and the Breakthroughs We Need cover

How to Avoid a Climate Disaster

Bill Gates

Mentioned 1 year ago

Bill Gates on How to Tax the Rich, AI, Misinformation, & the Election

This book was mentioned in the context of Bill Gates's previous interview on climate change, and the speaker noted that much of what Gates discussed in the book was coming true at the time of the interview.

The last interview we did was about climate change which is a book that he wrote and it's actually coming true today. A lot of the stuff he was talking about.

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Broken Money: Why Our Financial System is Failing Us and How We Can Make it Better cover

Broken Money

Lyn Alden

Mentioned 1 year ago

Pete Buttigieg Thinks Trumpism is in Its Last Season

The author, Lynn Alden, discussed her book, "Broken Money," during an interview on the Profit G Markets podcast. Her three-pillar portfolio approach, focusing on stocks, short-duration bonds, and inflation-hedging assets, was mentioned.

Where Tyranny Begins: The Justice Department, the FBI, and the War on Democracy cover

Where Tyranny Begins

David Rohde

Mentioned 1 year ago

From “Witch Hunt” to “Weaponization”: The Impact of Trump’s War on the DOJ with David Rohde

The book investigates the impact of Donald Trump's attacks on law enforcement agencies and civil servants. It highlights the growing fear among DOJ and FBI officials to speak out and pursue politically charged cases.

The tyranny is sort of, it comes from John Locke. He said famously, where law ends, tyranny begins.

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In Deep: The Collected Surf Writings cover

In Deep

Matt George

Mentioned 1 year ago

From “Witch Hunt” to “Weaponization”: The Impact of Trump’s War on the DOJ with David Rohde

This book discusses the FBI, the CIA, and the truth about America's deep state. The podcast references its discussion of the "deep state" concept and its evolution.

The System: The Glory and Scandal of Big-Time College Football cover

The System

Jeff Benedict

Mentioned 1 year ago

Robert Reich on Trump, Harris, Musk and More

It was discussed as the title of Robert Reich's latest book, wherein he detailed how the system is rigged and how it can be fixed, alluding to a perception of unfairness across the political spectrum.

Your last book is titled The System, Who Rigged It and How We Fix It.

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The Unseen Truth: When Race Changed Sight in America cover

The Unseen Truth

Sarah Lewis

Mentioned 1 year ago

Hillary Rodham Clinton Drops Truth Bombs

The podcast host mentioned having a conversation with Sarah Lewis about her new book, "The Unseen Truths."

Sarah Lewis and I are talking about her stunning new book, The Unseen Truths,

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Something Lost, Something Gained: Reflections on Life, Love, and Liberty cover

Something Lost, Something Gained

Hillary Rodham Clinton

Mentioned 1 year ago

Hillary Rodham Clinton Drops Truth Bombs

Hillary Rodham Clinton's latest memoir, which was described as a love letter to life, family, friendship, and country. It details her reflections on life and career, and serves as a warning about what's at risk if the upcoming election is not handled correctly.

It's a defining moment for our country and the world and I have a very acute sense of history, my own role in it but more importantly the choices we're making now and I want to lift up other people, particularly other women as I write about in the book who at both come before our act of now and those who will come later.

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Most Recommended

The Year of Magical Thinking Cover

Joan Didion

The Year of Magical Thinking

Joan Didion said that this book was the book she needed to read, and Griffin Dunne believed that his grief and the family's grief was similar to hers.

"

I believe she said that her book, The Year of Magical Thinking, was the book she needed to read.

— Episode: Storytelling, Family & Tragedy with Grif...

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Episode: Storytelling, Family & Tragedy with Griffin Dunne

Joan Didion said that this book was the book she needed to read, and Griffin Dunne believed that his grief and the family's grief was similar to hers.

"

I believe she said that her book, The Year of Magical Thinking, was the book she needed to read.

Together: The Healing Power of Human Connection in a Sometimes Lonely World Cover

Vivek H Murthy M.D.

Together

The Healing Power of Human Connection in a Sometimes Lonely World

Dr. Murthy wrote this book in 2021, focusing on the epidemic of loneliness he sees in the United States. He argues that loneliness is a major public health issue affecting mental and physical health, productivity, learning, and polarization.

"

I wrote a book about it last year.

— Episode: Guns, Social Media & Loneliness with Sur...

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Episode: Guns, Social Media & Loneliness with Surgeon Gener...

Dr. Murthy wrote this book in 2021, focusing on the epidemic of loneliness he sees in the United States. He argues that loneliness is a major public health issue affecting mental and physical health, productivity, learning, and polarization.

"

I wrote a book about it last year.

you said loneliness is an epidemic.

A Day in the Life of a Poo, a Gnu, and You Cover

Mike Barfield

A Day in the Life of a Poo, a Gnu, and You

Rick Smolin, the creator of the best-selling 'Day in the Life' book series, expressed concern about the impact of AI on the value of photographers' work. He compared the situation to a marriage where one partner is having an affair with a younger person, suggesting that AI could eventually replace photographers.

"

Like many of my peers my photographs are sold around the globe by Getty Images and we've always considered our relationship with Getty as you know symbiotic. You know we photographers risk life and li...

— Episode: On Creepy Fingers, Deep Fakes, and Fair...

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Episode: On Creepy Fingers, Deep Fakes, and Fair Use with G...

Rick Smolin, the creator of the best-selling 'Day in the Life' book series, expressed concern about the impact of AI on the value of photographers' work. He compared the situation to a marriage where one partner is having an affair with a younger person, suggesting that AI could eventually replace photographers.

"

Like many of my peers my photographs are sold around the globe by Getty Images and we've always considered our relationship with Getty as you know symbiotic. You know we photographers risk life and limb to provide Getty with our images and in return Getty markets our photographs to buyers. But with the advent of AI it's sort of starting to feel a little bit like a marriage where one partner in the relationship is caught having an affair with a much younger more attractive person while assuring their spouse this is nothing more than a dalliance.

You know we assume that our images are being sampled to generate the synthetic images that Getty is now selling. And many of us are very concerned that our work has become a commodity like coal being shoveled into Getty's LLM engine.

And also sort of like the cheated upon older spouse many of us believe it's only a matter of time before we're cast aside for this much younger and much sexier young thing called AI.

So my question to Craig Peters is whether this marriage is over but you just haven't admitted to us yet and you haven't told us or if it's not over how does Getty Images envision its relationship with actual photographers versus prompt jockeys and how is Getty going to compensate us your long-term partners fairly for our images in the future?

The Latino Century: How America's Largest Minority Is Transforming Democracy Cover

Mike Madrid

The Latino Century

How America's Largest Minority Is Transforming Democracy

The book discusses Latino voters and their impact on democracy.

"

He is the author also of a new book about Latino voters titled The Latino Century

— Episode: Trump vs. Biden 2.1 with Stephanie Ruhle...

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Episode: Trump vs. Biden 2.1 with Stephanie Ruhle, Eliana J...

The book discusses Latino voters and their impact on democracy.

"

He is the author also of a new book about Latino voters titled The Latino Century

Mike, your book, The Latino Century, it came out last week. You talk about even though you did your best to ring the alarm, Trump ended up winning a third of the Latino vote in 2020 despite being pretty openly racist towards Latinos.

Vision: A Memoir of Blindness and Justice Cover

David S. Tatel

Vision

A Memoir of Blindness and Justice

The book was described as a wonderful memoir, talking about the author's long career in law and on the bench, and covering the Internet and FCC net neutrality cases in which he presided. It was mentioned that the author differentiated between what he would do as a policymaker versus what he had to do as a judge.

"

It's called Vision, A Memoir of Blindness and Justice.

— Episode: Flags, Free Trips & Secret Recordings: T...

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Episode: Flags, Free Trips & Secret Recordings: The Cases,...

The book was described as a wonderful memoir, talking about the author's long career in law and on the bench, and covering the Internet and FCC net neutrality cases in which he presided. It was mentioned that the author differentiated between what he would do as a policymaker versus what he had to do as a judge.

"

It's called Vision, A Memoir of Blindness and Justice.

I say in my book, and I've always thought this is true, and I suspect Judge Gertner would say exactly the same thing.

One of the hardest things to do as a judge, and I think the sign of a judge, is to be able to produce an opinion that produces a result that's different than you would have if you were a member of Congress.

I say in my book that, you know, no one knows. And the only thing I can think of in the long run to resolve this problem is for everybody to vote.

I say in my book that, you know, no one knows.

The Center Cannot Hold: My Journey Through Madness Cover

Elyn R. Saks

The Center Cannot Hold

My Journey Through Madness

Griffin Dunne directed this documentary about his aunt, Joan Didion, based on the Yeats poem she used in her book "Slouching Towards Bethlehem". He felt that no one else could have done it.

"

It was called The Center Will Not Hold, which is of course based on the Yeats poem that she used in her book Slouching Towards Bethlehem.

— Episode: Storytelling, Family & Tragedy with Grif...

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Episode: Storytelling, Family & Tragedy with Griffin Dunne

Griffin Dunne directed this documentary about his aunt, Joan Didion, based on the Yeats poem she used in her book "Slouching Towards Bethlehem". He felt that no one else could have done it.

"

It was called The Center Will Not Hold, which is of course based on the Yeats poem that she used in her book Slouching Towards Bethlehem.

No, this was, this is like my, this is what I'm supposed to be doing.

One Hundred Years of Solitude Cover

Gabriel Garcia Marquez

One Hundred Years of Solitude

The movie 'Tuesday' has a surreal quality that reminded Kara Swisher of the feeling she got while watching a John Malkovich film and reminded her of 'One Hundred Years of Solitude' by Gabriel Garca Mrquez.

"

It feels like a Garcia Marquez book or something like that.

— Episode: Julia Louis-Dreyfus on Doing Death, Trut...

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Episode: Julia Louis-Dreyfus on Doing Death, Truth-Telling...

The movie 'Tuesday' has a surreal quality that reminded Kara Swisher of the feeling she got while watching a John Malkovich film and reminded her of 'One Hundred Years of Solitude' by Gabriel Garca Mrquez.

"

It feels like a Garcia Marquez book or something like that.

Tools and Weapons: The Promise and the Peril of the Digital Age Cover

Brad Smith

Tools and Weapons

The Promise and the Peril of the Digital Age

The book discusses how technology can be used as a tool or a weapon, comparing it to a knife.

"

They've got Brad Smith, who was president of Microsoft, wrote a book called Tools and Weapons. Right.

— Episode: “Possible” by Reid Hoffman and Aria Fing...

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Episode: “Possible” by Reid Hoffman and Aria Finger featuri...

The book discusses how technology can be used as a tool or a weapon, comparing it to a knife.

"

They've got Brad Smith, who was president of Microsoft, wrote a book called Tools and Weapons. Right.

So is a knife a tool or a weapon? It's both. Right.

Powerplay: What Really Happened at Bendix Cover

Mary Cunningham

Powerplay

What Really Happened at Bendix

The author, Tim Higgins, wrote the book "PowerPlay, Tesla, Elon Musk, and the Bet of the Century". He also writes a weekly column at The Wall Street Journal about Elon Musk. Higgins's book was mentioned as he has written a lot about Elon Musk, the company Tesla, and Elon's activities.

"

Tim Higgins is the author of Powerplay, Tesla, Elon Musk, and the Bet of the Century and a columnist at The Wall Street Journal.

— Episode: Are Elon’s Best Days Behind Him? with Ki...

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Episode: Are Elon’s Best Days Behind Him? with Kirsten Grin...

The author, Tim Higgins, wrote the book "PowerPlay, Tesla, Elon Musk, and the Bet of the Century". He also writes a weekly column at The Wall Street Journal about Elon Musk. Higgins's book was mentioned as he has written a lot about Elon Musk, the company Tesla, and Elon's activities.

"

Tim Higgins is the author of Powerplay, Tesla, Elon Musk, and the Bet of the Century and a columnist at The Wall Street Journal.

And his weekly column is quote mostly but not entirely about Elon Musk.

Agents of Innocence Cover

David Ignatius

Agents of Innocence

This is a novel that David wrote in 1987. It is a fictionalized account of a true story about the CIA recruiting the chief of intelligence for the PLO as an American asset and running him for 10 years before he was assassinated by the Israelis. The story was based on David's reporting on the Middle East for the Wall Street Journal and was almost like a text book for CIA operations.

"

Dozens of CIA officers have said to me, well when I went to training at the farm which is where they do their training, they gave me a copy of your book Agents of Innocence. They said...

— Episode: War in Gaza, Ukraine & Space, plus Biden...

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Episode: War in Gaza, Ukraine & Space, plus Biden vs. Trump...

This is a novel that David wrote in 1987. It is a fictionalized account of a true story about the CIA recruiting the chief of intelligence for the PLO as an American asset and running him for 10 years before he was assassinated by the Israelis. The story was based on David's reporting on the Middle East for the Wall Street Journal and was almost like a text book for CIA operations.

"

Dozens of CIA officers have said to me, well when I went to training at the farm which is where they do their training, they gave me a copy of your book Agents of Innocence. They said well this is what operations is about.

Somehow: Thoughts on Love Cover

Anne Lamott

Somehow

Thoughts on Love

Anne Lamott's 20th book was published recently, and Kara Swisher describes it as fantastic.

"

She has just published her 20th book, Somehow, Thoughts on Love. It is fantastic. I love it. Made me laugh and it's pure Anne Lamott and for fans you'll know what that means.

— Episode: Radical Self-Acceptance, Cancel Culture,...

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Episode: Radical Self-Acceptance, Cancel Culture, and Forgi...

Anne Lamott's 20th book was published recently, and Kara Swisher describes it as fantastic.

"

She has just published her 20th book, Somehow, Thoughts on Love. It is fantastic. I love it. Made me laugh and it's pure Anne Lamott and for fans you'll know what that means.

Hallelujah Anyway: Rediscovering Mercy Cover

Anne Lamott

Hallelujah Anyway

Rediscovering Mercy

Anne Lamott's book about mercy, where she wrote about finding mercy for herself.

"

It was called Hallelujah Anyway.

— Episode: Radical Self-Acceptance, Cancel Culture,...

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Episode: Radical Self-Acceptance, Cancel Culture, and Forgi...

Anne Lamott's book about mercy, where she wrote about finding mercy for herself.

"

It was called Hallelujah Anyway.

A Thousand Acres Cover

Jane Smiley

A Thousand Acres

Kara Swisher mentioned this book as an example of a work that was criticized by the New York Times in a degrading way.

"

Jane Smiley, A Thousand Acres.

— Episode: Radical Self-Acceptance, Cancel Culture,...

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Episode: Radical Self-Acceptance, Cancel Culture, and Forgi...

Kara Swisher mentioned this book as an example of a work that was criticized by the New York Times in a degrading way.

"

Jane Smiley, A Thousand Acres.

Getting Mother's Body: A Novel Cover

Suzan-Lori Parks

Getting Mother's Body

A Novel

The book is about moving around a body, and it was described as very funny and an easy read. The narrator describes how she unearthed her dad and moved him to West Virginia so her grandmother could have him next to her when she died, and how the book made her think about what life is about, especially the stops between when we are born and when we die.

"

I did a very quick and easy read of your funny novel again, Getting Mother's Body, which is very funny.

— Episode: Wrestling with America’s (Racist) Histor...

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Episode: Wrestling with America’s (Racist) History with Pla...

The book is about moving around a body, and it was described as very funny and an easy read. The narrator describes how she unearthed her dad and moved him to West Virginia so her grandmother could have him next to her when she died, and how the book made her think about what life is about, especially the stops between when we are born and when we die.

"

I did a very quick and easy read of your funny novel again, Getting Mother's Body, which is very funny.

I'm sorry, it just is.

It's about moving around a body.

Oddly enough, I actually unearthed my dad and moved him to West Virginia so my grandmother could have him next to her when she died.

When I seen Her Bones, I knew what we all knew. We're all going to end up in a grave someday, but there's stops between then and now, which I thought was a perfect way to talk about what life is.

The Twenty-Six Words That Created the Internet Cover

Jeff Kosseff

The Twenty-Six Words That Created the Internet

Jeff Kossoff, the question asker for this episode, mentioned his book about the history of section 230, titled "The 26 Words That Created the Internet".

"

Five years ago I published the 26 words that created the Internet a history of section 230.

— Episode: Time for a Data Privacy Bill + the TikTo...

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Episode: Time for a Data Privacy Bill + the TikTok Crackdow...

Jeff Kossoff, the question asker for this episode, mentioned his book about the history of section 230, titled "The 26 Words That Created the Internet".

"

Five years ago I published the 26 words that created the Internet a history of section 230.

Note: The book recommendations on this page are discovered automatically from podcast transcripts, and may be incorrect or incomplete.