Poured Over: Kai Bird on American Scoundrel

Kai Bird follows his Pulitzer Prize-winning biography of J. Robert Oppenheimer with a timely and meticulously researched true story of Roy Cohn — a friend of the famous, the right-hand man to Joseph McCarthy, mentor to a US President and a lawyer who showed no respect for the law. Kai joins us to talk about American Scoundrel, the McCarthy era, the politics of celebrity, and the cycles of American history with host Miwa Messer.

This episode of Poured Over was hosted by Miwa Messer and mixed by Harry Liang.

New episodes land Tuesdays and Thursdays (with occasional Saturdays) here and on your favorite podcast app.

Featured Books:

American Scoundrel: Roy Cohn's Dark Journey from Joe McCarthy to Donald Trump by Kai Bird

American Prometheus: The Triumph and Tragedy of J. Robert Oppenheimer by Kai Bird

The Outlier: The Unfinished Presidency of Jimmy Carter by Kai Bird

The Good Spy: The Life and Death of Robert Ames by Kai Bird

The Color of Truth: McGeorge Bundy and William Bundy: Brothers in Arms by Kai Bird

Crossing Mandelbaum Gate by Kai Bird

The Chairman: John J McCloy & The Making of the American Establishment by Kai Bird

G-Man: J. Edgar Hoover and the Making of the American Century by Beverly Gage

Mailer: His Life and Times by Peter Manso

Ptown: Art, Sex, and Money on the Outer Cape by Peter Manso

Angels in America by Tony Kushner