15: Mary Trump

15: Mary Trump

Author: Jennifer Taub & Politicon LLC March 5, 2023 Duration: 1:11:26
You may think that Mary Trump needs no introduction, because you believe you know who she is in relation to a certain distasteful someone who shares her surname. Or you have read her first bestselling book:  Too much and Never Enough: How My Family Created the World's Most Dangerous Man. Or her equally stellar second, The Reckoning: Our Nation’s Trauma and Finding a Way to Heal.

But what an author produces or shares with the public, as well as the degrees they collect (in Mary’s case a BA and MA in English literature as well as a doctorate PhD in clinical psychology) is only a part of who they are. And, it should go without saying that our family of origin is a piece, but not all of us.

In today’s episode, Mary and Jen get lost in a conversation about books. They start with Mary’s childhood favorite, Sylvester and the Magic Pebble, a children's picture book written and illustrated by William Steig that won a Caldecott Medal in 1970. And the conversation continued into weightier tomes like the more than 1,534 page epistolary novel Clarissa, by Samuel Richardson. The 1748 work’s rather lengthly alternative title reveals a bit about the story, but hardly as much as Mary does: The History of a Young Lady: Comprehending the Most Important Concerns of Private Life. And Particularly Shewing, the Distresses that May Attend the Misconduct Both of Parents and Children, In Relation to Marriage


Contact Booked Up:

You can email Jen & the Booked Up team at: BOOKEDUP@POLITICON.COM or by writing to: 

BOOKED UP 
P.O. BOX 147
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Get More from Mary Trump
Twitter | The Good in Us Substack | Author of TOO MUCH AND NEVER ENOUGH and THE RECKONING

Get More from Jen Taub:
Twitter | Follow the Money Substack | Author of BIG DIRTY MONEY 



For anyone who’s ever finished a great book and immediately wanted to dissect it with a smart friend, Booked Up with Jen Taub is that conversation. Hosted by author and legal commentator Jennifer Taub, this podcast digs into the ideas, arguments, and narratives shaping our world, all through the lens of what we’re reading. It’s less a formal book review and more a lively, critical exploration. Episodes weave together themes from politics, culture, and current events, treating books as vital source material for understanding the bigger picture. You’ll hear Taub’s insightful commentary and analysis, often drawing connections between an author’s work and the real-world issues it illuminates. The discussion feels urgent and relevant, whether tackling a new release or a classic with renewed significance. Listening to this podcast is like joining a book club where the conversation is always sharp, informed, and unafraid to challenge conventional wisdom. It’s for readers, thinkers, and anyone curious about the power of stories to explain our complicated present.
Author: Language: English Episodes: 59

Booked Up with Jen Taub
Podcast Episodes
8: Lauren Hough [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:05:35
Lauren Hough is the author of the New York Times bestseller, LEAVING ISN’T THE HARDEST THING, a collection of essays about growing up in the abusive Children of God cult, coming out in the military, and piecing a life to…
7: INVASION by Luke Harding [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:00:16
Nearly a year into Russia’s Febuary 2022 invasion of Ukraine, journalist and author Luke Harding reflects on the people he met in the war zone while researching for his new book INVASION: THE INSIDE STORY OF RUSSIA’S BLO…
6: The Unfolding by A. M. Homes [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:02:46
A.M Homes is an award-winning nonfiction author, novelist, short-storry writer, playwright, and librettist. This is the first time she and Jen speak together, having been introduced virtually by a mutual friend. In this…
5: Book Club: The Light We Carry by Michelle Obama [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 55:11
We kvetched, we laughed, we cried. Never-Trumper George Conway and advice columnist E. Jean Carroll puzzled over Jen’s selection for this month’s book, but were quickly won over by THE LIGHT WE CARRY after just a few pag…
4: The Shrink Next Door with Joe Nocera [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 56:14
Journalist and author of several books including indentured and All the Devils are Here, Joe Nocera talks with Jen about the crooked psychiatrist Isaac (“Ike”) Herschkopf and his guileless patients behind the Wondery Pod…
3: Michael Cohen [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:16:47
Michael Cohen was the personal lawyer and fixer for Donald J. Trump for more than a decade. He is now a top-selling author and host of the popular Mea Culpa podcast which, as of our Booked Up interview, had 65 million do…
2: Dahlia Lithwick [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:08:05
Dahlia Lithwick –– senior editor at Slate and author of the instant New York Times bestseller, LADY JUSTICE –– joined Jen for the inaugural episode of Booked Up. Fresh off her book tour, Dahlia shared her writing secrets…
1: Booked Up with Jen Taub - Trailer [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 6:02
Jen’s guests include writers of current bestsellers and beloved backlist books. Conversations cover love, money, politics, early dreams, writing habits, reading tastes, procrastination techniques, self-doubt, and news of…