Occasionally i write books so said, oh, good to see. What kind of books do you write about . Economics. Oh, we need. Its important. Maybe if you put your new book about oh, its called the money confuse my argument. Thats about inflation and money is probably that theory. I think theres a big difference between high prices and inflation. Okay. Make that argument. Well, i dont understand that at all. So im the prime candidate for your book. Im the one who shouldnt read that, because all i know is i go to the Grocery Store and it doesnt cost like, twice as much as it did the week before. So can see my friend robert. Oh. Each other from. Not just a friend. This is your kinsman. Totally. Thats my cousin. Whos your wife here . Shes not now. Shes on the side. Shes a social connection between you two. And she. You. You look great. Im sorry to you. You know each other . Yeah. Hey, robert draper. Hey. I think ive seen her before. Yes, you have. Likewise. I dont know. Ive seen each other in, like, 40 years. 30 years . Nearly havent working together until, like, 92 or Something Like that. And. Yeah. And i wasnt aware of it. Karl knew you before. I did. I thought. Surely i going to have to go on story. You know, were friends, but were older friends, right . Right. I just want to thank you for writing about someone, explaining someone to me who really should be from texas. Shes not. Thats Marjorie Taylor greene. Oh, my. I mean, she really if anybody epitomize is like a whacked out texan. Thats thats her. And ironically, i will be seeing her in texas this weekend. But going out to grapevine and shes in some charming conference and so she and usually its we there and shes just me whos here. Oh, my god. Yes, thats that is that is a testament your ability to charmer. Well, i mean, i think i was fair. You know, i think i was really that was a great piece. Thank you. Thanks. Yeah, it is. And i dont know if you read it, but her staff did and i told her the good parts and. The bad parts. And thats a good stuff. Yeah so i. So now where are you now . I live just north of the city in new york. Okay. Youve been there quite a long time. Ive been in new york. I moved back from london about 22 years ago, and ive been there ever since. What whats the trajectory that got you from texas to london. To london . Like death, royal mail is one of the weird death of murder. Okay. L. A. Murder i love. So i love it. Year is tacos that that is actually the perfect contribution to texas related yeah whatever you know what i didnt even make the connection so yeah yeah. Planned trips to texas making sure i read of rattlesnake to of my death row meal is can these large cheese that is tasty and you know campisi first thing off the egyptian i try to do that also because i prefer to like travel for my death or a meal and im not sure that, you know we just got to be i just back from sardinia about six days ago so so is this your honeymoon . Its our of our honeymoon because we did a honeymoon to portugal and got subsumed into this six story during other times. You worked on your honeymoon the entire time. Its not good. Yeah. She couldnt stay in portugal, so she was really glad you talking about did how did how did you guys even romance contact such as the hours he came we went in style yes you know smart people to keep track of each other like think is that she does this she does this. She came to my attention when i would have known i would have come across anyway because this one female i think of speeches so i was doing this day to day in the life of American History of me. So i come across her style. Thats great. And so then we ended up partying together and we did a whole series together for four years ago. I was i was in when the pandemic started was in march 2020. She did pieces politics one day during the month of march, which was when session on speaking and then we stayed and every day of the month was a day that a woman gave a speech. So and then for a while i was going to do a book on that a whole year of speeches every day of the year. But then we had an italian dinner time in alexandria and i said to karl, you know, its crazy, but no one knows. The women have been sleeping in history and i wish i could do something even about it. And karl said and looked at me and he said, donna, you to do that . Do you remember that . Yes. Yes. You dont need a history like case, but here you have to texans. Your past. Say hello. Skip hollingsworth and greg. Oh, yeah. I just think skip, not long ago. Yeah, im seeing him day after tomorrow were the circumstances under which his arm. You were. I was a dallas. I spent a of time in dallas. I just got back from a month there because my mom is there and shes 94 actually. I think i saw him in an event for dan rather, which was a few years ago. Yeah. Because i used to work for dan levitt. Yeah, i didnt know that either. When was that was after you have cbs and he was he had his own program and i was producing shows for him for a while. Yeah. Yeah. Because when you and i were at the month ago, i think the third feature straight. Yeah. Was on the United States in touch to in fact, i was supposed to be in the tribeca Film Festival this weekend moderating a q a with you and his documentary. How are you there . Thank you for coming out. And i said so where is he . And i was telling how much i admire you were reaching for what youre doing with your announcement and all of that. And you do you know about her narrative about her just because my it just the block for me really although its down the pass the croton aqueduct passed is the house of your great great grandmother. Madam c. J. And you know whats really lovely is sometimes im driving down main street, and i see black women. Its young black women in their twenties, and theyre standing there taking selfie in front of madam c. J. Walkers. And that makes me feel so great. They come there and see that as place of empowerment. Its really lovely when they hear that we know we. I was just in the irvington city meeting on scene. The other and there are a couple of residents are really just giving us a hard time. What what . Well, we want to you know to commit to do this and with their Small Business with was this huge fashion show that was a little noisy a of years ago and so theyre using that as a basis for really to be small are you familiar with the house it is a grand stately house and in when madam c. J. Walker built it its a in irvington on the main street on route nine, and its going north on route nine, on the left. Really . I just want to know house and really stately, magnificent house. But heres the interesting thing, is that in her day madam c. J. Walker, she was a black woman in the when and she thought that house 19, 18, 1918, she moved in and she entertained all of the hoi polloi that the black. What would you say the black aristocracy, the writers. It was really her. She died in there a year, so she had a big party with a lot of civil rights leaders and all that. Her daughter lived there another decade and that was harlem renaissance, which was the writers and artists and anybody who was anybody in harlem came to madam c. J. Walkers house. And it was important, but it was a place of black accomplishment and black pride. And that house that was so beautiful and so stately, a symbol of that. Right. Thats really beautiful. Built it near, you know, near road so you could see it versus the rockefellers and the wall. So you can see houses because theyre looking at the river. So hoping that you and i can collaborate on the future and i have a few ideas that were going to talk. Theyre going to talk about that. I love want to do a book about that area and i want to have some kind of discussion because you did one. Alison gilbert right. Was such a success about writing and talking about womens history what it means to research womens history and, bring back the voices of these women who who have been unappreciated so, so and so you read the prolog did you saw the prolog the book or just a little closer to new what so the i im sorry i thought coming up this summer i saw theres a lot about the house parties in the house in 1920s but i look forward to our essay and hope to hear because im so thank you. So go enjoy rest of your guests. Thank you. Come in and have a drink. I said hi. You know, you look familiar. I am gonna jamie. Im ben. How are you . Hi, ben. Hello again. And thank you. This is so weird thank you so much and thank you for coming. So thank you. And did you join us because youre interested . The history of womens voice. Youre connected to someone now that an absolutely and i know julie okay im sure it becomes over time. Oh good im very near and dear okay well shes so much for the Book Community and the literary support these issues. So i really and books need all the help we can get in publishing really in a crisis now. So its so important that we buy books and authors so are you an author . I know we are good. Yeah, you have. Yeah, no doubt. I know what . Just buy books. Oh, yeah. Youre like me. You have an addiction. See it . I just love crazy all the. Well, nice to meet you. Got to continue talking. Thank you. Sorry. Can i say hi . Hi. I am Donna Charlie mccann. Good race. You look familiar. Do we know each other . I dont think so. No, right now. What brings you here tonight . I it is very sad to hear about the book thats. The best reason. Yeah, yeah, yeah. And are you writers . Youre the ghost journalist who are to be in front of us, to hear for. For economist. Hey. Well, im a big fan of the yeah in i love the fact that you cant just read an article in 5 minutes you have to devote more time to it generally. And thats good because most issues cannot be absorbed in 5 minutes. I resent the fact that when you look the new york times, it says five minute read. Yeah, i want to know in advance how long its going to take i dont want to make my decision about whether to read the article based on how long it takes to read it. Rowling intervention and. What do you write about . I have a roving national correspondent. I write slightly longer pieces. Good. About what . Whats the last piece i might have read is about drag queens. In tennessee. Is it a is that a Rural Community and home to just gay bar which is shuttering because of the kind of Political Climate center its to which so are the drag queens in moving somewhere else are they what are they talking about. Yeah, theyre hoping to kind of carry on and the law that was passed recently is placing restrictions, their ability to form an injunction on that. So they might able to carry on. But yeah, a lot of people are about regulating. You know, its a hard time to be openly gay and to be flamboyant and its just not its unfortunate the countrys politics shifting so dramatically and all kinds of groups are feeling the consequences. Know and do you write as well . Well, im in politics. So youre colleagues. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. We came over together. So what do you write about wedding you got recently . Recently debt ceiling, republican primary. A lot the news thats anybody else from the economist come with you tonight. No it is no but its like you know 20 of the house and of course with the economist circulation is growing these days are staying flat or what because i read economists i dont know many people in my circle only read i think its stable. We have more a million subscribers in the same day. Look at thats well i lived in london for a long time so, you know, i appreciate that the british for six years i mean i talked yeah yeah yeah. And i wrote for the independent on sunday. All right. Okay. Yeah, thats great we both to time in london and you have to sort of have to in a way because you have to sort of pick up the voice of the publication right. So kind distinctively it is distinctive. Maybe thats why i like it so much. Yeah, well, nice to meet you. Ill just see you. Yeah, i will stay for a while. So what can i say with. Hi olivia. Hi. Nice to meet you too. Revisiting mars for you. Hello. Are you two related . We are. Yes, you do. And what brings you here today. Absolutely. My brother. A man like this looks like a really excited to read it. Yeah. So what was the when you brought that up . You know how they say that anger is great motivator . Yes, it is i got really angry. I started to notice there werent any speeches by women. So i said, we have to do something about that, right . Yeah. Yeah. Mean, theres so many parts of history that we know nothing about because women didnt make history. I mean, we didnt creating history we made history, but we didnt create the chronicle about history, whether specific event in history by women that really inspired you to write these women have been involved in so many of the pivotal points in American History, everything from slavery to the civil war, suffrage to, you know, the first one, every single moment in American History that has historical weight and moment, every pivot point. Women were women were speaking on that. Yeah, but we dont learn that in the history. So strong Great American say thats right. I love hearing thank you and i think specific certain things that you referenced you found a lot of literature data that you were able to contribute here and well, i will say that there are some around the country that care history and preserve the documents but for the most part people dont even know that documents exist. If you go to like if you go to antique and aquarian fairs or if you go to fairs, you see a lot of material. But when i say history, its not really considered collectible. But i would like to help change that. I would like to be part of changing that so that these are wonderful, valuable to pick up the price for. And its famous more Important Documents to have. And so i think that would be important in our culture. Anything that has a higher price tag is regarded as more. And so we argue that, well, nice to meet you and i hope well talk again later. I, i love that. Nice to meet you. Congratulations. Thank you. To see you ask you, how are you doing . Okay. Didnt respond directly what you told me about all the life changes. So i thought about leaving that out which normally its tmi but it seems like the any interaction we have personal and lovely and so to give you an explanation that im not having so many changing at once, i understood all that i had said all that. So how tell me, how has it been so far . Well, today is day and issue the official launch and yesterday the politics and prose. Well, last night was politics and prose. And im so that your voice is in the book because know i think we discussed a little bit about this america has become the face of what is the face of america is an american look like who is an american. I love the fact that you have an indian heritage, that you bring that dimension to, the book, because thats the really cspan, vivid, diverse city the range of different kind of voices is really one of the main points of the that no one kind of person reflects america. So i really value that its really important beautiful that you cared about that and about that. And also i just felt incredibly honored mean the span of speeches im only through because im taking im taking the time to read them really sit with each one and let it sink in and take in the inspiration. But its just its a complete honor to me and i know its honor for me. And the other thing the other reason is when i read the line that you wrote, i think i told you this and when you said that all of our heroes have a place and someone can be a brilliant physicist to have supported eugenics. And i thought you talked about Margaret Sanger in the and so many people would like to see cancer her so many people would say include her in the book because she held views we now regard as often you know as and discussable i dont think thats fair its not fair to the of ideas its not fair for the unfolding of history and how ideas change through history, just not intellectually honest. Right. You cant erase them entirely. I think for someone who made such a profound contribution to American Life and to lives, i think that to and it was nice that you picked up on that line. I know theres a lot more thinking i did, which is about the challenges. Not that we admire. We should admire people, the great actions they do watching. Right. And whatever it might be here, you know, the suffragettes but we problem comes when we idealize lionize them and treat them as if theyre supposed to be perfect. And those expectations. To be sort of an ideal hero or not expectations that real human beings and nobody meets those standards. Exactly. And so then we feel we need to turn them down because they havent met some. Perfect ideal. And yet seeing them as and yet human beings need heroes. We need people to look up to have to be more sophisticated about how look more nuanced in telling the history of womens fiction america without including Margaret Sanger. That would be intellectually dishonest. Yeah, she made such a profound impact on womens lives. Top of acknowledging the complicated history right. And acknowledging that we can acknowledge homelessness. But also say, okay, these things we now from our values today do you know how many times i rewrote the section on Margaret Sanger and Margaret Elizabeth cady stanton and Susan B Anthony the hardest for me to write because theyre all whove been considered, you know, because their views, i think theyve been considered non grata in a lot of womens history. Just tear them down. And i think we should have a more complicated way of understanding their girlfriends and their balance. Its nice to talk about the history now. I trying to those are kinds of things people can you i learned wanted to use my notes are going to change of course theyre going to change but we cant expect something everything right next generation. Its interesting that you would use the word fallible. Its also because you have an indian heritage. I always think of saying someday in the future, people might say and they eat meat right . Course. Right. They actually agree. Yeah. I mean that nina doesnt mean inherently nice business speeches. The final speech in the collection yeah. But the newest. Yeah. The contemporary with everyone. Yes. Its amazing. Yeah. And are you fan of dana. Yes, we all change. But naren is the publisher. Oh, okay. Well acquire publishers and amplify publishing book. I. Why do any of the people ive talked to who bought it . People know me, but all them were enjoying reading the parts that are not like. Theyre there. Im hearing good things. So were just t