A quick missive this week, because between the saga of my sewer line repairs (big holes, gross, very expensive) and my partner/co-parent being out of town, I’m exhausted. As we head into the weekend, though, I wanted to send a note about my latest episode (below).

Before that, a quick reminder that tomorrow, April 25, is independent bookstore day. Stop by your favorite indie to check out everything they have going on, and pick up a history book so that our favorite bookstores will keep stocking books by our favorite historians.

Episode 96: Daniel Neep and the Power of Immersion

As I said at the top of this week’s episode, one of the best things about hosting this show is getting to read books on subjects I know little about. Of course, the flip side of that is how often I have to admit my ignorance! Such was the case for this week’s episode, in which I interviewed Dr. Daniel Neep about his new book Syria: A Modern History. I knew very little about Syria’s history before picking up this book, but Daniel has been steeped in this history and the sources that make it up for decades. It was a great pleasure to talk to him about turning that accumulated knowledge into an expansive narrative. It was fascinated to hear how he works to bridge scholarship and policy through his work at a think take. I also loved what he had to say near the end of the episode about the joys of being well-edited.

I hope your weekend is full of independent bookstores and absolutely no plumbing emergencies.