That i grew up around and those that are being honored tonight and to concentrate on the substance not a capacious place and then to have a series of conversations and then when we are done we will take questions in chat to wrap up in an hour using the best practice not keeping you in front of your computer screen for too long especially this time of day. New to the awards and the legac legacy, we have a short video. Talk about the process of writing at the keyboard. Its not the most important par part. [inaudible] this work was detailed. And with a set of ideas and what he hoped for is the elevation of nonfiction programs. He cared so much about the craft and then said to do something and carry forward. And David Marinus and robert caro, on and on with this silly group of americans. And none of this would be possible. And talk about narrative nonfiction. And it would allow me to take more time of the debt for the first time author. It gave me confidence. Because this type of work that is narrative nonfiction is exactly what i wanted to do when i grew up. And it is the storytelling of the social conscience and if you look a few decades now you can say it is a family of excellence. Welcome back after columbia we are excited to be stewards of the prices because then then to renew that commitment to the kind of work that tony left us and also to think the past winners for being with us tonight and was mentioned we owe a great debt to the family for this institution now let me introduce our winners we are honoring together first the lucas prizewinner for an american summer, life and death in chicago you may thank you for having me. The lucas prize we are celebrating tonight, and National Bestseller and several other books that has a relationship by family tree with no children here and working the new yorker and New York Times magazine and the this American Life and writer in residence at northwestern university. Carry and she is being honored for William Monroe trotter. She has been felt by glitches but if she is here we welcome her. Are you here . We can see you but we cannot hear you. We hope you can hear us. Teaching at columbia director of program of american studies and codirector of the and joining us from massachusetts. We will try to fix her microphone. Now to the two works in progress it is a distinctive is that with those two works in progress and with those islamic terror attacks, thank you. And then university in virginia previously worked as a reporter to Christian Science moment monitor and a fulbright scholar. Then the second worth on works in progress for the forthcoming book seed money. Its a pleasure to be here. And environmental history and the class of 2017. His first book and then cocacola and to examine the Environmental Impact of worldwide operations. I will hold myself to ten minutes or less starting with works in progress but we will ask. So let me start with you. Your book is one of the big subjects of environmental debate and discourse of genetically modified foods. How impactful they are. I was struck how easy it was that you will find monsanto hasnt delivered on their promise that genetically engineered seed advanced productivity to the degree forecasted are promised. Can you say more . Steve putting changes around the world. And, this kind of recycling system so i got hooked on that. I ended up going to want you in finding that washington university. In dew point, i didnt know what was going to be the most interesting find. But being at state which is also tremendous institution with top lead scientist here, i really became fascinated with these questions but what do we actually know that we are now 20 years or more more than 20 years now, the first introduction around up ready herbicide tolerant genetically engineered seeds. Routine point, what really stood out, was the data on yield that 20 years ago the argument was that we need these things that the yield of these genetically engineered will be so much more than what we had before and i had to accept these all other costs. Such costs. But that is just business. Getting the interviewing the top scientists at that national county. And i asked if i was reading this the old data seems to be the same as we look in conventional bread. And he said yep. That is kind of what we are saying. So for me, thats a really important thing to be discussing. To think about future food. I think now historians, we can weigh in on this. Now we have 20 plus years of data. I think the real questions about whether this promise of productivity is really true. Steve so impressive result but a very dramatic upset nonetheless. He wrote that that seed are radically reshaping the ecosystems pretty sent telus how that is happened of the 20 years from your perspective environmental history and you have a net assessment as they say in washington, is this radical altering and demonstrably damaging are beneficial or suggest change that you would say it would be difficult to describe in those terms. Bartow i think one of the interesting journeys, went to vietnam because there what is fascinating is of the same company that produced agent orange, window dow chemical that is well. But if you look at volume production, they actually produce more agent orange and was interesting there was heres a company that is now coming into vietnam selling the scenes of life and food and interesting court of all things, but you know the location was really, how would somebody overcome that task. To literally down the street from the headquarters walked in unannounced, is a museum talks about mount santos agent orange on the impact on that environment. But it really point to brazil. Twenty think about the global impact, one of the big issues right now is that herbicide will die kimba which just emerged as a way to deal with weeds. We spend so much round up we became really resistant to it. So to deal with this monsanto, now a German Company selling these stacked genetically engineered pizza have both resistance to round up and resistant to this other chemical. The problem is it is very volatile particular in hot climates. In one of the things we have seen in the United States is that like about husband drift and so when you spread the service i, its actually volatile and jumps up in the air and will spread onto other farms. If you do not have the resistant genetically engineered feet, your forms get hit in their court cases that i have sent on our farmers are livid about this but the farms have been infected by this and when i went to brazil dew point, it scared the heck out of the people there. The farmers that i talked to, but wed scientists at top in brazil because they were just approving this system there if you think about hot climates is tropical environments, this document spread in the way that that was forced to be compliant. Some farmers do not want to get genetically engineered feet. Ands really concerning problem for the future. Were talking a lot about ran up right now but i really think that dicamba is the next big story. Steve thank you and so much more here. But i have an eye on the clock now i will move over here. I think your excerpts and your book proposal was a reminder of what a decade in 1974 starting with penn state and ending with in the 70s, events like stage one bombing after another but this was an enormous prices that as you point out, and remember if it was in your proposal but when you explained to people with this book was about, they would often say why has notebook of been written about this before. I think please remind us what it was exactly. As simply as possible. When and where and what happened. Bartow in three days, in march 1, 9779 through 11, about 40 hours in total where three locations in washington dc, were taken over by three groups of armed men. And all from the same group. It took about 100 and are 1250 hostages. These three locations were on rhode island avenue and another center on massachusetts avenue and in the district building which is now john wasnt building pretty kind of right across the street from the white house. They all came from the socalled muslim who was headquartered in washington dc and the leadership of the man. And it was for three days straight. Three nights, completely dominating Network Evening news and is on the front pages of newspapers across every small town newspaper in bigcity newspaper and across the world. It was in line for at least three days. It ended after three days when after these three ambassadors decided to enter with the hostage leader wasnt tried to negotiate the settlement. If that event were to happen today, i would imagine we would forget about this considering the elements. But theres a lot happening at the time and this is not something them so its more about perhaps something about what amended that time. And women to americans. Steve how did the hostage taking end. Bartow yes, spoiler alert. The tent it was a deadly event. There were casualties but in the end, the muslim ambassadors had a facetoface meeting with an Armed Police Officers when they were able to be convinced to let all of the hostages go. And on the condition that the hostages leader also walk out and he slept in his bed that let that night. Steve thinking about the honors there, here you have a very tight resident event is right for narration with detail and character but, some distant in the past how did you discover materials for the survivors who could really bring this story beyond yellow newspaper clippings to a different level of reader experience. Im very lucky that i did the story at the moment i did because silver 40 years old and but a lot of the people are around. Every kind of moment of the story before the hour there were moments in the negotiating room and the Police Command center and there were the hostages and places where people are being kept hostage. Shahan every location ive been able to find people with firsthand knowledge. So i am lucky and those people were in their 30s and 40s another in their 70s and 80s now some in the 90s to can there was an investor that survived. There were three. And in switzerland, i was able to meet one. Ive been very lucky to be able to find people and a lot of the hostages. But relying on memory that old would not have been enough. Seven really lucky help missus wendt as well. And he has been very satisfying as a reporter. To be able to get the evidence and fbi was keeping track of my main character for over 25 years. Ive been able to get those files but it took a while. In an extensive court cases after it all ended. Its just been really this satisfying narrative perspective of somebody creating a narrative and being able to use most of these things in the interview with sources. But also average archival material and print material to rely on. I could go on but i want to welcome terry into the conversation. Are you with us terry. Can you hear me. Steve i can. You have a phone, thats a solution. It looks ingenious. Yes it is. I apologize. The historian technology, its really not my strong suit. Although ive been speaking on some for the past couple of weeks. Thank you for having me. Steve we got dozens of folks students and others listening and i was grateful for the opportunity to read about the life of william. I must contest to my shame that i really didnt know very much about. I just knew about the times he lived in. The centrality of his role in the kind of trajectory that he had on the spectrum of thought and action and response and jim crow was absolutely fascinating and distinctive. It partly because he boston also because of the ideologies that he wrestled wrote with an expressed. So if it is not too difficult, introduce us to a were drawn to him as a biographical subject and what about his trajectory to that first 20 years of the last century that you thought needed to be illuminated and dislike and scale. And it was neglected in our kind of received history. Terry i approach the life from the perspective that boston, new england and areas outside of the post reconstruction south, are often ignored when we have conversations about political history. And particularly this notion that a place like boston is often due to time periods and the time before the civil war, this abolitionist time. And through history. And then, the civil war and then theres not a lot between the civil war and the 70s. Like this cut of the idea that we have. So i really want to get into what was happening in a place like new england that we often miss number one and the racial footprint in spite of abolition in the 20th century civil rights into what is a look like when you have somebody who is arguing for pretty radical emotions of rights and justice at a time of his historically, that came later. So i grew up hearing about women in the south from the grandparents who were activists. I wanted to do research on him the black press and i was often frustrated outside of my advisor that theres this notion that you cannot do history of black people outside of the stuff between 1855 in 1930. Because, they didnt have a lot of rights. The northern particular as opposed to the place that had complicated racial history. I believe that one of the people who rights and to activism and also problematic due to the events of justice in american particulate gender. Really gives us a window into the rights and also the complicated the future of africanamericans. In the political process. We had this notion the black people cannot vote. In the black people magically became democrats after roosevelt and then the gop, trajectory and trust are involvement in rebel politics. And radical black politics and challenging that notion. Steve you mentioned black press and of course one of the principal vehicles across his time was the guardian. Can you tell us about that newspaper in the place in the discourse and the arguments among black political leaders and ended intellectuals of that. Because there were the arguments, with booker t and others of his contemporaries but he had a megaphone that he is in the guardian powerfully. Terry trotters newspaper, a time. When an particular black folks were dominated by these interests. Particulate conservatives advocate between the north and the south in this notion that the press should be a way to only highlight africanamericans achievement and highlight the political and Economic Issues in africanamericans in deconstruction. So the newspaper as the press, it would be a vehicle for trotter but also a vehicle for africanamerican people who most of whom i can do my involved with washington. Why it is an academic debate but most people are the average person in 1905, a black person living in new york or chicago was not really involved in it so what people are actually talking in the newspaper is a great way to look at how it is that this black culture is being used in a format that for the most part except for the guardian in about 1910 was dominated by the interest within the newspaper that was black discontentment. Newspaper i think i said something about in the introduction about how the newspaper really illustrates the power of the press and of newspapers. Independent newspapers in particular and particle consciousness and people whom and were considered demobilize of the reconstruction of the press became the vehicle to which this socalled exercise their activism. Steve this last question, naturally and you will do, places like conservative and radical, in the context of boston and new york on the guardian in that period, how would you describe his ideology in context. Terry the reason that trotter was in this deciding for themselves how they were going to see themselves as laborers and i argued that within that tradition, that trotter is someone who fundamentally believes africanamericans should decide based on their own speech and desires and that it should not be dictated by people who called themselves race men for race women. And it should be not decided by others. From that sense he was radical. And he was also somebody who do not believe that either Political Party were serving the africanamerican people. He was all critical of the gop but also he believed that black people need to vote in terms of greatest interest in the majority of africanamerican people economically and socially. Five thank you so much for that and for the book. Regulations on the price. And sure we will circle back to when we get to our audience questions in a few minutes. Terry okay, thank you so much. Steve living introduce and the context of gun violence in chicago. You wrote there are no children here. Freud you justly celebrated even almost 30 years after it was published. As really dedicated himself across the long. Time to the setting into these issues. I was struck alex in the way that you find the book. And i dont want to mischaracterize this money and setting up the narrative, in several you do this great emergent reporting and narrative, it was there to guide the reader by saying what the book is not. Its not a book about solutions, not a book about Public Policy and even allow yourself to comment, and i have no idea what woodworker what would change the environment and i dont want to pretend that i am guiding you towards these sites about public action. Hunting is the bread that two ways. One was signal signaling that this will be a narrative. What happened and who was there. So please abandoned your aspirations for something of that narrative but also a little bit of a i have been with the subject for so long, and i am now at a loss pretty can you talk about both of those. Alex personal i want to say that this award is such a profound honor. And i remember reading common ground. In thinking that this was what i wanted to do. To be able to somehow create literature. I was inspired to create literature so this honor it means a lot. I didnt have this kind of confession in the front of the book. That this was not a book about public honesty. It is not going to present solutions. And part of it is i feel very strongly when we just stories not necessarily to answer questions but to ask them really. So my hope is that by going out and listening and ultimately becoming the stories of individuals, you begin to ask what you begin to see things that you have not seen before. It may begin to ask questions that you have not thought to ask before. Then it also is kind of this to the corporate not so much with the gun violence really think about poverty and equity in our cities and push the violence of think is much a symptom of. And ideally, i feel so strongly in the power of narrative that i think its a small story to me till these small intimate stories, the speaker something larger. Something more universal. That was what i was hoping to get towns in this book. And really to begin to ask questions that have not been asked. Steve all our winners tonight are teachers as well is writers. You are a writer resident and i am sure many master classes about methodologies that you have developed over all these years. This project, is bound by his number. As you enter can describe, theres only so much you can control when you decide to immerse an particular timeframe. How did you shape this as character, as reporting and hundred and run away from you and force you to catch up. Alex one way for me. It was a moment. Ive been in this so every termite sort of somehow much more efficient in the reporting and as you know, reporting is so messy. So inevitably, he put the weight into the water and realized i dont know what i have got myself into. I know if not that i know i needed boundary so i chose this boundary for this one arbitrary summer and as you said, it was limited. Maybe it was clear as it came across but couldnt find a way that i could kind of plug into the summer there were other stories that have an earlier the confined way. Talking about the aftermath of certain events pretty and so what i felt like was going to be propelling them eyesight to close to her year just talking to people looking for stories rated i know i wasnt entirely sure of what a new but i knew it when i heard it. It knocked me off balance when i had in my challenge of course was a large test of character. How to help leaders keep track of them and not let it be this collection of short stories and some of the stories, find their way through the type entire summer. Himself contained pretty but there was a moment when i was really kind of thing i was or had this experience of trauma from carrying all of the stories and also really dressing with the structure i was at a loss. Our member having dinner and we have dinner every with my friend. And i remember, i was told to sit down until the stories. So thats what i did. And i sorta piece them together like a puzzle. My hope is in holds together as a whole. In fact, my presence is sort of that i sort of in the summer, im away from story to story and from individual to individual. Steve is certainly does hold together. And you are the holder. And just to continue the kind of instruction portion of the conversation for graduate students, when you are selecting characters in stories they are to try to weave into that, evaluating for their intrinsic power as you say, enough you backwards but also i presume youre thinking about the landscape. You want something of the whole to be represented. Beyond the individual experiences so what was the whole event in your head. What was landscape that you hoped would be stopped upon. Alex what drove me to the book was this notion that i do think that well two things, one, people get accustomed or parted or known to the violence. I think it has a profound impact on people. Shapes their lives. Many people work really hard from keeping to defining them. And the other part of it of course is sort of make that connection between the violence and the profound poverty and of course the profound isolation that these communities have to do it has to be with everything to do with the history of this country. The stories in some ways, that touched on all of those. And of course the other part of that speech is to that you become a part of that great story and i think that you are asking the people. Its asking a lot. Rusty not only but to say this in a very public way. There were stories that he came across were people were for reasons of their own, very good reason, did not want to share their stories in a public manner. So finding people who part self reflective and willing to share their stories read that is not easy. Steve thank you. Some questions arising in chats. I am just going to start cruising here and sharing some of them with you. There is one specific one for shau. What were the demands of te hostage takers during this time. Basically shattering our whatever suspense might have brought to this. Shahan there were three demands. Very desperate demands. The motive is one of them was the straw that broke the camels back with the trigger was the release of a hollywood biotech of these of mohammed. 1977 movie called mohammed that was released on march 9t march 9th. This was the afternoon that libby might be prepared in new york and los angeles. And they believed it to be sacrilegious, the scripted pretty we can maybe see the mortal prevalence of the recent events as well. That was a major demand we wanted that will be pulled off. At the mohammed, that they were being pretrade on film. Which it was not. The movie was made by a muslim man as well. An immigrant from syria. There are other demands as well. This is where kind of the story, is not about where it was framed by this 40 hours but of course, im kinda tracing the long history of the people in civil characters and where they are coming into this 40 hours from. Theres also things that happen before this event. Theres also this person of the hostage taker, on families that had been murdered. Brutal crime from four years earlier in 1973. So is demand of delivering the murders to him. Where he would presumably head it publicly or he city did. He said he would. And so, the third demand was kind of also just a reinforcement of some money that had been spent. So the demand of us were expanding from a whole range of very personal to these profound ideas of what is justice in the largest sense. And what is the demand in it since where the injustice has been done. And it was the thread really that tie them together. Steve and prefigures politically informed by slater as well. I havabout five minutes ago whei was listening to alex, i this little reflection about how wonderful it was to be in a room with such great to writers consent and and an audience, and not talk about the pandemic. And yes,. [laughter]. Knows the quietude reasonable question here. And to end this rivalry. The question is, that we would like to hear each of the authors talk, the journalist and carry out our kind of turn to you with a kind of a different version about how the pandemic is playing out. Will me ask bart first, and agriculture and alex about chicago. And it goes with the two with the question is the most relevant. Bartow why would say would have it mediate effect on me. Because i would be in germany right now the stockholders meeting. I had thought at one share actually. [laughter]. I should mention, i was trained by some really amazing historians, at the university of virginia. In a bunch of other people. We can learn journalism. We didnt really know how to kind of learn that pretty buying a share. That sounds great. I will tell you, the zoom version, but six hours straight. No breaks. None. Literally just watching zoom from 4 00 oclock in the morning in germany, and so i dont know what time it was want to give up but, it was really interesting because heres the interesting conflicts with this company. Its both a company that is on the cutting edge of healthcare and it dealing, will they are talking a great deal about the pandemic but the egg the exact moment at the stockholders meeting, the main tether bite what is happening with the lawsuit. Whats happening with this roundup lawsuit. Since really this very interesting merger and also monsanto, was this big pharma and big farms. Right. Some would argue, theres this roundup story and the teamsters all of this being caused. The discussions are ongoing right now course. An interesting medication that helps you deal with cancer. So theres this kind of interesting story here. You could see it in the pandemic moment and that shareholders moment they were playing at this adult look here the spread of an litigation were people were talking about their health, look at all of the greats of the something you do with the pandemic right now. As really think kind of a almost magic trick. I have to say after six hours and so, i crashed pretty hard. I would say is not fun to go to a stockholders meeting on zoom. Steve how serious is that liability for monsoon. Bartow huge. They have shareholders who are suing the company. Even last year, there was a moment where the leadership, they had it voted noconfidence because we are talking about billions of dollars. In a zillion discussions about settling all of these roundup lawsuits. Some figures are 10 billion, 11 million. She got back to 2008 and you look at their figures, you can go do this on the computers look at august and 2018 with read the case was decided. Two or 95 million, one person. It just dropped off. And the other cases came the big verdict and i can but was in january, i was in that trial pretty and you can see it again drop because i, was a solution that surrounds us. And yet people are saying about problematic. So huge. I think they will move to settle as fast as they can. Steve alex, how has covid19 passed through the lives you have chronicled in the communities that they belong to in chicago. Alex you know chicago was the first any where we began to notice the disparity of the pandemic. In the minority communities, first the black community and other hispanic communities. A lot of it has to do with the underlying conditions of people in those communities. The lack of access to healthcare over the years but also consequences of stress and trauma on the health of individuals. So not only in chicago, but around the country. As for me, you can have some sense of hope nurses have shared distress at the moment. Maybe his way of building of building communities. The families are so isolated from the rest of the cities but deep geographically and spiritually, maybe this is a way that will in some manners connect us. In ways that we have not managed to do before. Steve this whole subject about after the pandemic will really be a rich one. Ive a question from alice and i will try to separate the second their name is elkind run to get a pretty when yours africanamericans vote in the best interest but was both critical of the democrats and republicans. So are they encouraged to vote for those years. What was his electoral strategy if he had one. Is pretty sophisticated and that he argued although africanamericans at a national level, i did not sleep or sway an election until we get to 1912 of Woodrow Wilson but African Americans on the state level particularly outside of the south in which the 90 percent of africanamericans were disenfranchised. But also the south, in the north and the west, even though there were small portions of the population, they could actually do a swing vote to elect people to office. In bostons for instance, some africanamericans could vote to vote for republicans but every single level locally, governor, mayor, whichever candidate was appealing to the black community. This was actually very successful in boston. And in the elections, he was able to get africanamericans to swing local offices to the democrats was massachusetts at the time the pretty large stronghold for the republicans. To answer your question i would say that in the electoral politics and happen because the country had had to go through the 13th 14th and 15th amendment. But that electoral, had to be done whichever person or whatever party, whatever policy was going to immediately go through the africanamerican people. So 1912, africanamericans to vote for Woodrow Wilson. There is pretty strong evidence that that led to wilson winning inputs republican stronghold in massachusetts and ohio. When it happened of course Woodrow Wilson promises that he would go for the rights. A part of that was black people had no choice in the election. Different americans would active and not protecting. I think in essence it was and i would argue that he was radical. In the sense that he was then voting should be done based on the needs of the demands that africanamericans are living, but that usually shouldnt africanamericans should not put as he said your eggs in one basket and pardons that have yet to show us the goods. 1912. But the question for today in terms of that he was a definitely a person who was at heart, really believed that you should not vote for party and you have to force the elected officials to make the direct needs of the people. Steve obviously very resident resident today. Its exciting to see the major prize is catching up with the scholarship of your generation of those historians. Missing across the boards. Big biographies and with frederick douglass, big figures and others like elaine locke. This obviously africanamerican and varied of us history but talking about the political and intellectual leadership in different eras, one of the heirs of africanAmerican History do you think your generation of scholars, as opportunity the way that you did with charter really have not been researched and written with the originality and the kind of revisionism that is required to understand our own heritage. I think im very humbled to be a part of the generation of historians and evaluating friend since the historian and blacks of the 60s and 70s. And sexual sexuality that had been overlooked. And pharma, and others who do that work. I think that the era that i concentrate on is in between the civil war and the progressive moment in the 20s and 30s, is a moment that i mentioned in my book which was done looking at what is going on in the area. In the era but confining it really to infrastructure and those looking an african americn people that they will control the race information. But i really a hopeful evita historian but many of the moments in American History that we take for granted as historians weather that the 19th 70s or 80s or whether that be revolutionary era but there is a whole crop of people who are evaluating what that looks like braided definitely public is our notion of what africanAmerican History is pretty and what impact africanamerican people have had in the political and cultural consciousness of the country. Even when we dont think that africanamerican people were members large enough to have an effect. Steve thats great. I think weve got one last round of free speech for each of our winners. Then i will take inspiration from Vanessa Rodriguez who asks, have a question which is that each of you, i will go with alex because he is probably the most experience of being asked questions like this. And you just like resurrect some moment of joy that you had while underwriting researching this book of the moment of discovery or satisfaction. Alex i can think about recent moment about one of the characters in the book. A young man named marcello. All giveaway history but marcello was, when i met him he was 17 years old. It was looking kind of a tight rope rape is a member of the gang get he was a straight a student. His trying to figure out his place in the world. And try to figure out himself. Without giving away too much, he graduated from depaul university. I used his last name of the book. And i decided that this would allow him to move on in life. Couple months before the pandemic, we had small Panel Discussion with seven marcello and the mayor. Marcello told me two days before the animal, he said want you to make sure that you use my building. Taking ownership of history. Which is unremarkable to hear. It is now working at a bank and doing, i am so proud of what he has become. Hes fun to finally make sense of who he is. Steve is lovely. Thank you. Bart, gets up at 4 00 oclock in the morning to zoom in. [laughter]. Loving monsanto and getting up at 4 00 oclock in the morning. You were pretty wouldve the moments of discovery and research trailer composition trail interest you. Bartow we are so lucky to meet people on these journeys that change our lives. Someone who was on this call traveled with me shot photos watch me doing more than try to get into headquarters in all of that. We have had, and abundant than friendship when you go through that. Probably the biggest moment is related to this, was a student in my class, which is teaching on and what i was doing related and i told him i was going to the trial. In missouri on saturday. Were going to travel. The student came up to me after the class and said, i am coming with you. I said will, you have two days to book a plane ticket. [laughter]. Is going to be really expensive. Dont i dont care but he wanted to comfort it actually turned out to be amazing because we just had our notes and we couldnt bring any electronics. The student was able to write down things that i wasnt able to guess braided is just amazing express to walk out of that trial which was in rush limbaughs courthouse by the way. As a writer, you know when you have arrived this would be great. It was his relative met him. But just that moment, this student, really embraced the importance of this moment. I would say the time you get to spend with the people on these journeys. I am so lucky to have them in my life for and if. Steve i am going to have trouble sitting of those words rush limbaugh. Bartow south Eastern District of missouri. Southeast of st. Louis. And then his cousin, distant cousin Stephen Limbaugh was the judge. Emily can say is, Stephen Limbaugh is a very nice guy. Very different character for sure. Steve okay siobhan, you have had plenty of time. A. Shahan i dont know if ive arrived of pure joy but i have said a lot of time spent a lot of time with out library and but i have also, apathetic real challenge with the hostage takers and many of them are now free. And one of the hostage takers and addendum of spending with in colorado. He was one of the more, in constructing, i knew that it was one of the most interesting of the 12 million. I went in, love never met the hostage taker, 40 years after the fact that this monday with him and now, he does amazing work. Is working on kind of getting human are getting out of prison and reintroduced to society. And is supportive of the Colorado State now. Foot state funding and expand programs building halfway houses. I spent a lot of time with his character. In an important character in my book. And we were obviously just mostly interviewing him about what was happening but when it was a reminder i have been so drawn to this historian in the first place. Very complex. Everything that was happening. Theres no easy way to paint these characters. As a special moment to see what somebody has done. After spending a lifetime in prison. How he is come back. I would say that would be my one very special moment. Steve inspiring. Actually many moments of joy. I think the biggest one that sticks out is in the book in earnest, was very difficult to find records from the 1920s. They were sources that i felt that they were stories that could include in my book. On hearsay so i was like, lets do all of the records that i can find in the 20s. It was very daunting to find those records. In some archives, in massachusetts, i found his fbi records the bureaus investigation monitoring in 1919. The joy i had was that it was documented, is radicalism and is how he was feared by the power structure rooted in a way that i was told that as a historian i would not be able to find pretty so that was a moment where i felt the book would come together. As more significant store than me just following trotter. It sort of putting his life into this long history of africanamerican activists to sell radical and monitored by the government. Steve will thank you for that question because i think anytime, we should all talk about something joyful. Maybe twice. Now we check that off. Thanks to our speakers. Congratulations to all four of you. It so fully deserved and what a pleasure to spend some time with you. And to understand for these terrific works came from or are coming from in a couple of cases. Please, all of the above join us think about clicking on those legs in the chat to actually own these books. Normally we have a chance to connect you with an opportunity on the table or bookstore but these are wonderful ways to passable remains of his miserable pandemic. So please add them to your stack. Again, congratulations to everyone. Thank you abby and lisa and steve for putting this together under difficult circumstances. In everyone, be well and take care and we will see the oldfashioned way and she i trust. Good night everybody. According to the New York Times, topping the list is linda doyles memoir untamed pretty followed by the splendid and the bio pretty eric larson study of current Prime MinisterWinston Churchill leadership. During the london blitz. After that is a supers account of growing up in the idaho mountains. In her introduction to formal education to age 17. Her memoir educated has been a bestseller list for over two years. Then the best selling book of 2018, former first lady shall obama, becoming. In wrapping up some of the best nonfiction books according to the New York Times the house of kennedy. Bestselling author. The look of political lives of the kennedy family. These authors have appeared on book tv. And you can watch them online, apple tv. Org. The president from public affairs, available now in paperback and ebooks. Presents biographies of every president. Organized by the ranking by noted historians from best to worst. Anna features perspectives into the lives of nations chief executives and leadership style. Visit our website, cspan. Org the president s pretty tumor about each present, and historians features pretty or your copy today. However books and ebooks are sold. During virtual other program hosted by townhall seattle, prizewinning journalist david rose look at the idea of the big state. Here he talks about the strength of the executive branch versus the other branches of the government. In a kind of a broader question of the book is how do you control the cia and the fbi. And also prevent them from covering up abuses and how do you print that the president s from doing that. He said there was a very thought that is part of there is a belief among other conservatives with a strong conservative and then you have donald trump and to say to get into the coronavirus response. And that ultimate authority as president to decide but these are central questions how should the democracy function should all branches be equally powerful so we lived there an amazing moment in American History. Host i am so happy to be here with you today