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
29: ACCEPTANCE  by David L. Marcus [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:08:03
Today Jen’s guest is her long-time friend and Pulitzer-Prize winning journalist David L. Marcus. They talk about Dave’s latest book Acceptance: A Legendary Guidance Counselor Helps Seven Kids Find the Right Colleges –– a…
28: NAZI BILLIONAIRES by David de Jong [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:04:07
Jen’s guest is David de Jong, the author of a mindblowing new narrative nonfiction book called Nazi Billionaires: The Dark History of Germany’s Wealthiest Dynasties. Before he began researching for this book, David cover…
27: Maggie Smith, You Could Make This Place Beautiful: A Memoir [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:06:53
This week for the book club, we have poet Maggie Smith talking about her tell-most own new bestselling memoir You Could Make This Place Beautiful. You know Maggie from a poem she wrote in an Ohio coffee shop in 2015. Tha…
26: Steve Vladeck on THE SHADOW DOCKET [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:14:48
This week Jen’s guest is Professor Steve Vladeck, author of the sensational new book: The Shadow Docket: How the Supreme Court Uses Stealth Rulings to Amass Power and Undermine the Republic. The Shadow Docket is a must-r…
25: Ben Smith on TRAFFIC [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:05:30
This week, Jen’s guest is Ben Smith, author of Traffic: Genius, Rivalry, and Delusion in the Billion-Dollar Race to Go Viral. This hot new book takes a close look at the people and the patterns behind the click-bait-jour…
24: Anastasia Curwood on her new biography of Shirley Chisholm [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:16:09
This week, Jen’s guest on Booked Up is Anastasia Curwood. They discuss her insightful new biography Shirley Chisholm: Champion of Black Feminist Power Politics. As you likely know, in 1968, Shirley Chisholm became the fi…
23: Book Club: YOUR BOOK! [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:06:09
Booked Up with Jen Taub has a special episode for April’s book club. The topic is your book.” You’re the author, it’s you. Today we are talking about how books get proposed, sold, written, edited, published and promoted.…
22: Wajahat Ali Go Back to Where You Came From [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:14:14
In his written work and public persona, Wajahat Ali is known for his quick wit. Humor seems to come naturally to him, and yet, he has turned his gift into a craft deployed deliberately. In Go Back to Where You Came From,…
21: Carissa Byrne Hessick [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:12:37
Jen speaks with Professor Carissa Byrne Hessick about her remarkable book, Punishment without Trial: Why Plea Bargaining is a Bad Deal. Her book goes beyond just showing why plea bargaining is a bad deal. She also shines…
20: Elie Honig asks –– is Donald Trump Untouchable? [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:05:55
This week, Jen’s guest is her good friend Elie Honig. Elie is a former prosecutor and currently a Senior Legal Analyst at CNN. At the Southern District of New York Elie prosecuted federal cases involving organized crime,…