18: Book Club: SPARE

18: Book Club: SPARE

Author: Jennifer Taub & Politicon LLC March 26, 2023 Duration: 1:09:19
This family has more money than God. Why in the world can’t they get some therapy? A Grandmother who never hugs her grandchildren? A father who does not hug his son after telling him his mother was killed? 

No, our book is not a soap opera, it’s SPARE by Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex is our Booked Up book club selection this month. Jen’s three special guests in alphabetical order are Christopher Bouzy, Linda Charnes, and Melissa Murray. 

You know Christopher from his big splash of a social media site called Spoutible. Before that he started the site botsentinel which helped social media users spot and report trollbots. When he’s not busy spouting, Christopher finds time to appear in the occasional Netflix documentary, including the recent one on Harry and Meghan. His effort to expose anti-Meghan hate accounts made him the target of plenty of ire himself.

Linda’s name should be familiar as she was my guest here on Booked Up in late January discussing Hamlet, Talionic Law (aka retributive eye-for-an-eye justice), and America’s revenge fantasies. The author of several brilliant books about Shakespeare, contemporary politics, and political psychology, Linda is a beloved Professor of English, European Studies and Gender Studies at Indiana University, Bloomington.

And, you probably feel like you know Melissa given her frequent appearances on cable news including as a guest host on several prime time shows on MSNBC. Not just a gifted communicator, Melissa is also the Frederick I. and Grace Stokes Professor of Law
Faculty Director, Birnbaum Women’s Leadership Network at NYU. Her award-winning research focuses on the legal regulation of intimate life.

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
NORTHAMPTON, MA 01061



Get More from Christopher Bouzy, Linda Charnes, and Melissa Murray

Chris Bouzy:
Spoutible| Twitter | Botsentinel


Linda Charnes:
WebsiteAuthor of HAMLET’S HEIRS and NOTORIOUS IDENTITY

Melissa Murray:
Twitter | Website | Strict Scrutiny Podcast

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
49: ENOUGH by Cassidy Hutchinson [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 54:51
Today for the October book club, Jen Taub’s friends, authors Jennifer Rubin and Brian Karem discuss Cassidy Hutchinson’s new best-selling memoir, ENOUGH. Is Cassidy Hutchinson a heroic champion of the truth or just anoth…
48: TRAE CROWDER & COREY RYAN FORRESTER on Round Here And Over Yonder [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:07:48
The hilarious self-named “progressive hillbilly” comedians Trae Crowder and Corey Ryan Forrester are Jen’s guests today. They co-authored the super-funny book Round Here and Over Yonder. I’m just going to steal their bio…
47:  ZEKE FAUX on NUMBER GO UP [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:05:14
Zeke Faux, author of the new bestseller, Number Go Up: Inside Crypto's Wild Rise and Staggering Fall is Jen’s guest today. Of all the books, and scholarly articles, and news stories, and blog posts, and legal complaints…
46: MICHAEL LEWIS on Going Infinite [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:03:19
Author Michael Lewis joins Jen Taub today to talk about Going Infinite: The Rise and Fall of a New Tycoon, his new book that focuses on Sam Bankman-Fried, the crypto-wunderkind who is now on trial on federal criminal cha…
45: WOMEN IN INTELLIGENCE with Helen Fry [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 50:42
We are extraordinarily grateful that historian and biographer Dr. Helen Fry made time for us right as her latest book Women in Intelligence: The Hidden History of Two World Wars was released in the UK and is poised to la…
44: TUCKER with Rick Wilson and Martin Pengelly [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:05:10
Believe or not, this month’s Booked Up Book Club is TUCKER, the book, the man, the walking grievance machine. It’s true, Jen read Chadwick Moore’s authorized biography of Tucker Carlson. And joining her are Rick Wilson a…
43: ALI VELSHI: Banned Book Club [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:02:25
Ali Velshi is Jen’s guest today. You know him as an anchor and business correspondent for NBC News and MSNBC. His show Velshi appears every Saturday and Sunday from 10 - noon. Ali is also the host of the podcast Velshi B…
42: Hadley Vlahos, THE IN-BETWEEN [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:00:31
Hadley Vlahos is the author of the bestelling new book The In-Between: Unforgettable Encounters During Life’s Final Moments. She is a hospice registered nurse, mother, and wife. Hadley’s husband Chris also works in the m…
41:  LAWYER, JAILER, ALLY, FOE with Eric Muller [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:19:41
In this haunting new book, LAWYER, JAILER, ALLY, FOE, Eric L. Muller brings into vivid color a world that is largely forgotten paper records. It’s no wonder that his book caught the attention of novelist John Grisham who…
40: Trump Booked Up Club with Jill Wine-Banks and Morgan Cloud [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:14:21
Donald Trump is the subject of our book club today. Trump is not known to be a big reader or even an author – his most popular book Art of the Deal, was ghost written by Tony Schwarz, as you probably know. Nevertheless,…