Politics and Prose Presents

Stephen O'Connor — We Want So Much to Be Ourselves - with David Ebenbach

54 min · 9. juli 2026
episode Stephen O'Connor — We Want So Much to Be Ourselves - with David Ebenbach cover

Beskrivelse

A German psychoanalyst, his Jewish wife, and their young daughter are swept up in the rising tide of fascism Günter Zeitz, psychoanalyst-in-training and the son of a Catholic country doctor, and Josine Rosen, Sigmund Freud's patient and the daughter of a Jewish shipping magnate, first meet in 1924, in Freud's Viennese waiting room. As their intense affair develops, Freud arranges for Günter's appointment to the newly created Berlin Psychoanalytic Institute. Shortly after the move, their daughter Hannah is born. But less than a decade later, all their hopes and ideals are profoundly challenged by political realities so horrific that they are, initially, beyond comprehension. A heartrending story of love in a time of hatred, an absorbing investigation into the Nazis' exploitation of psychoanalysis, and a cautionary tale about self-deception and the failures of a people to recognize the lies of their charismatic leader, We Want So Much to Be Ourselves [https://politics-prose.com/book/9781954276581] examines the ways science can be corrupted and one's very identity transformed by historical circumstance. Stephen O'Connor is the author of seven books including two novels, Thomas Jefferson Dreams of Sally Hemings and We Want So Much to Be Ourselves, and the short story collection Here Comes Another Lesson. His fiction has appeared in the New Yorker, Harper's Magazine, and Best American Short Stories, among other publications, and his nonfiction has been published in the New York Times, Nation, Boston Globe, and elsewhere. He teaches fiction and nonfiction writing at Sarah Lawrence College and lives in Manhattan. O'Connor is in conversation with David Ebenbach, the author of ten books of fiction, and non-fiction, winner of such awards as the Drue Heinz Literature Prize, the Juniper Prize, and the Orison Books' Fiction Prize. He lives in Washington, DC, where he teaches creative w and literature in Georgetown University's Center for Jewish Civilization and where he researches and promotes whole student and inclusive education through Georgetown's Center for New Designs in Learning and Scholarship. You can find out more at https://www.davidebenbach.com/ [https://www.davidebenbach.com/].  PURCHASE: https://politics-prose.com/stephen-oconnor-062926

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episode Stephen O'Connor — We Want So Much to Be Ourselves - with David Ebenbach cover

Stephen O'Connor — We Want So Much to Be Ourselves - with David Ebenbach

A German psychoanalyst, his Jewish wife, and their young daughter are swept up in the rising tide of fascism Günter Zeitz, psychoanalyst-in-training and the son of a Catholic country doctor, and Josine Rosen, Sigmund Freud's patient and the daughter of a Jewish shipping magnate, first meet in 1924, in Freud's Viennese waiting room. As their intense affair develops, Freud arranges for Günter's appointment to the newly created Berlin Psychoanalytic Institute. Shortly after the move, their daughter Hannah is born. But less than a decade later, all their hopes and ideals are profoundly challenged by political realities so horrific that they are, initially, beyond comprehension. A heartrending story of love in a time of hatred, an absorbing investigation into the Nazis' exploitation of psychoanalysis, and a cautionary tale about self-deception and the failures of a people to recognize the lies of their charismatic leader, We Want So Much to Be Ourselves [https://politics-prose.com/book/9781954276581] examines the ways science can be corrupted and one's very identity transformed by historical circumstance. Stephen O'Connor is the author of seven books including two novels, Thomas Jefferson Dreams of Sally Hemings and We Want So Much to Be Ourselves, and the short story collection Here Comes Another Lesson. His fiction has appeared in the New Yorker, Harper's Magazine, and Best American Short Stories, among other publications, and his nonfiction has been published in the New York Times, Nation, Boston Globe, and elsewhere. He teaches fiction and nonfiction writing at Sarah Lawrence College and lives in Manhattan. O'Connor is in conversation with David Ebenbach, the author of ten books of fiction, and non-fiction, winner of such awards as the Drue Heinz Literature Prize, the Juniper Prize, and the Orison Books' Fiction Prize. He lives in Washington, DC, where he teaches creative w and literature in Georgetown University's Center for Jewish Civilization and where he researches and promotes whole student and inclusive education through Georgetown's Center for New Designs in Learning and Scholarship. You can find out more at https://www.davidebenbach.com/ [https://www.davidebenbach.com/].  PURCHASE: https://politics-prose.com/stephen-oconnor-062926

9. juli 202654 min
episode Luke Burgis — The One and the Ninety-Nine: Forging Identity in the Age of Social Contagion - with Anne Snyder cover

Luke Burgis — The One and the Ninety-Nine: Forging Identity in the Age of Social Contagion - with Anne Snyder

How to become yourself without losing everyone else. We’re living in a time when it’s harder than ever to become a whole person—and to stay in authentic community. Some people dissolve into their group identities and lose themselves entirely. Others withdraw into ephemeral, online collectives they can float into and out of without consequence. Both are symptoms of the same problem: a fragmented sense of self in an age of social contagion. This fragmentation is more than a personal crisis—it’s the soil in which hollow and often dangerous mass movements take root, offering counterfeit belonging to those desperate for meaning. The One and the Ninety-Nine [https://politics-prose.com/book/9781250373038?ic_referral=TZHrRlQmDUZTCxWWX0lkCQFGnG2fJD47FqSl8luITn8wM-5m8D4EpRfldbbA7x_0ns3Rs7MXflqOoz4vQfZwKt-wSkFeoUSKxCm4Zlvh2XLNcgGNDv0H-QrBfUNM2EPDchaqg0k] is a timely and inspiring exploration of what it means to forge a stable identity in the face of coercion, conformity, and the contagious desires of the crowd. Through compelling and original insights drawn from philosophy, psychology, and personal experience, author Luke Burgis examines how our lives are shaped by the groups we belong to—and how we, in turn, shape those groups. He offers a roadmap for engaging with modern society without losing our unique sense of personhood, and reveals the essential rites of passage and personal challenges that differentiate a life of meaning from one dictated by societal expectations. People who are able to find their solid self and thrive in the space between the one and the many—who can act with integrity while being part of a community—live freer and more comfortable lives and become models for others. The One and the Ninety-Nine is a call to reject passive conformity, rediscover the depth of personality, and choose a life that is both truly personal and deeply connected. Luke Burgis is the director of The Cluny Institute and a professor at The Catholic University of America, where he studies the invisible forces that shape human behavior. He is the author of Wanting: The Power of Mimetic Desire in Everyday Life. He lives in Washington, D.C., and Michigan with his wife, Claire, and their children. Burgis is in conversation with Anne Snyder, the editor-in-chief of Comment, a magazine of public theology for the common good that is becoming a vibrant ecosystem of conversation and community. Rooted in the Christian humanist tradition, Comment now encompasses a growing podcast network, gatherings that span grassroots to institutional settings across North America and the U.K., and a three-day festival at the Washington National Cathedral. Anne also hosts The Whole Person Revolution podcast and co-edited Breaking Ground: Charting Our Future in a Pandemic Year (2022). The author of The Fabric of Character (2019), she writes widely and delights in weaving worlds together—in print, around the table, and across different sectors and ways of knowing. PURCHASE: https://politics-prose.com/book/9781250373038?ic_referral=4HQZcoItn8ZonVX8DFUVFYTRW9i1uwPdkJni0gOx6uQwM-rhSzje2tfUZOIaXearSkudWydtklZpYnHozShxhAtpdXZmNZGLXSV87MY0UhBW80iWoKX0bMUhpbtIgZGY7PW3xuA

I går53 min
episode Dara Levan — Shaken to the Core - with Abby Maslin cover

Dara Levan — Shaken to the Core - with Abby Maslin

When life is cut short, what do we do with the time we have left? Joy Stern, a free-spirited photographer, thought she had it all together. She built a traveler’s life with her husband, Andre, an architect who designed their days like the buildings he created. Children weren’t part of the plan. When Joy’s mom dies suddenly, everything changes. Being behind the lens, capturing photos of families, doesn’t feel like enough anymore—until Joy discovers a hidden key to her mother’s diary. One entry inspires a choice that could transform the trajectory of her life. Then the unthinkable happens: Andre receives devastating news, which upends their carefully constructed world. As Joy struggles to pursue her own dreams while supporting the man she loves, Joy wonders: Can she do it all? An uplifting story of hope amid heartbreak, Shaken to the Core [https://politics-prose.com/book/9798895652534] explores motherhood, chosen family, and love that transcends life’s greatest hardships. Dara Levan is an author, speaker, and the founder of Every Soul Has a Story, an inspiring podcast in which she interviews guests from around the globe. Dara is the author of the award-winning novel, It Could Be Worse, and a contributor to the USA Today bestselling anthology, On Being Jewish Now. She is a graduate of Indiana University with a bachelor’s degree in English and certificate in journalism. Dara earned her master’s degree in communication sciences and Disorders at Nova Southeastern University. Actively involved in her community, Dara is a board member of Joe DiMaggio Children’s Hospital Foundation/Memorial Foundation, board trustee of Interlochen Center for the Arts, and involved in several other organizations. She is a founding member of the Circle of Friends for the Alvin Sherman Library at Nova Southeastern University and a member of the Authors Guild and the Women’s Fiction Writers Association. When she’s not writing in South Florida, you’ll find Dara with her family and fur babies, traveling, capturing moments through photos, and talking to strangers who become friends. Levan is in conversation with Abby Maslin, is the Washington Post bestselling author of Love You Hard and a contributing essayist in Moms Don’t Have Time to Have Kids. A writer and national speaker on caregiving and resilience, her work has appeared in The Washington Post, The Sunday Paper, and other outlets. She also serves as COO of Amore Learning, where she supports young writers and learners.  PURCHASE: https://politics-prose.com/book/9798895652534?ic_referral=keCWYB18VWf6c7WEqDBLC20qmP4P0QbaVr3_E0G8RF8wMx2nZUxPNqQT826FSnExTQeMAD43xT2hNjkGhISejALwGB-LpiBTCKuHUwyYF2nauZE-LqoSM0HCyVBOx0IVq3KWBkw

7. juli 202654 min
episode Tad Stoermer — A Resistance History of the United States - with Karen Attiah cover

Tad Stoermer — A Resistance History of the United States - with Karen Attiah

Revisit the Salem Witch Trials, the Underground Railroad, and other resistance movements of American history to get a bold new understanding of how resistance shaped our past—and how its principles can change our future. The United States was shaped by resistance—but not in the way we’ve been taught. The Revolution did not secure liberty; it opened the door to either liberty or oppression, where only white men enjoyed all of the benefits and protections of citizenship. In A Resistance History of the United States [https://politics-prose.com/book/9781586424367], public historian Tad Stoermer shows how from the very beginning, that tension—between the ideals of resistance and the realities of power—has defined America more than the Enlightenment ideals enshrined in the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution. Utililizing powerful storytelling to focus on key—and often lesser-known—moments in American history, this book reveals the truth of how resistance movements from Colonial times have opposed the powers that be. Stoermer covers an impressive roster of pivotal movements, with each chapter identifying a key resistance movement and principle meant to inspire contemporary readers, including:   * Bacon’s Rebellion/Metacomet’s War (1676) * Salem Witch Trials (1692) * The Black Loyalists (1783) * The Underground Railroad (1850) Through these and many more examples, Stoermer dismantles the mythologies that pass for American history—exposing the curated nostalgia, moral evasions, and institutional silences that have long protected abusive power. What emerges is an essential look at how we can take lessons from the past to understand, and effectively respond to, the injustices we face today. Tad Stoermer is a public historian who trained at the University of Virginia, Johns Hopkins, and Harvard, with a particular focus on Colonial and Revolutionary America. He is also a former congressional staffer and speechwriter, and he served in the US Army and Reserves as a reconnaissance scout. He lives in Denmark. Stoermer is in conversation with Karen Attiah, an award-winning journalist, editor, and global thought leader whose work explores the intersections of race, culture, gender, media, and international affairs. A graduate of Columbia University’s School of International and Public Affairs and Northwestern University, Attiah is a former adjunct lecturer at Columbia, where she brought global expertise and academic rigor to her teaching. A former Fulbright Scholar to Ghana, she has reported from across the world, including Nigeria, Germany, and Curaçao. Her commentary and reporting have appeared in major international outlets such as the Associated Press, Al Jazeera, and Voice of America. She also holds an Honorary Doctorate of Journalism from Dickinson College. Attiah was formerly a columnist and the founding Global Opinion Editor for The Washington Post. She founded the Resistance Summer School in 2025, a learning community of over 1,000 students focused on subjects currently being banned or cancelled in the current political climate. She writes on Substack at The Golden Hour. She can be found on X, Instagram at @KarenAttiah. PURCHASE: https://politics-prose.com/book/9781586424367?ic_referral=eGa1HIaXnwTcMkyr2NiK45xyagoZjoBwr_Vcf3Zuo6swMy00LNsjV-8xmSdW9yd2wluPDfDf0AzQQKahsO7jmGBFLl0bxXcB9DWH5yLNBqw2cn_v5fbNmatvEajo1fL8ElH1Teo

6. juli 20261 h 18 min
episode Jessica M. Goldstein — Retro - with Alexandra Petri cover

Jessica M. Goldstein — Retro - with Alexandra Petri

An out-of-work actress gets a job as a tour guide for an ultra-luxury time travel company—only to discover her trips to the past could upend her present—in this sharp, speculative debut novel. When Ash spots an ad for Retro during a depressing Instagram scroll—she’s in debt and unemployed; everyone else is, evidently, thriving—she’s surprised the algorithm sent it her way. She’s heard of recreational time travel, but it’s way out of her budget. Then she sees the caption: Come away with us! We’re hiring. So begins Ash’s life as a Time Travel Agent, leading wealthy tourists on vacations to historical hotspots. She takes bachelorette parties to live out their cowboy-romance fantasies in the Old West and throws “'20s for your twenties” birthday bashes at speakeasies; she smiles politely as rich Wall Street guys give prospecting a shot in the Gold Rush. It's all thrilling, outrageous, and totally surreal. Bygone America is just a Retro Metro ride away.  Despite Ash’s tendency toward cynicism, she finds herself swept up in her dazzling new job. Sure, Ash isn’t the actress she always dreamed she’d be. But isn’t this so much better? It’s like Ash’s life is a movie, complete with an impossible love triangle. How is she supposed to choose between her mysterious office crush and the handsome private eye pursuing her in 1937?  For the first time in years, Ash’s life feels enviable—so she’d really rather not pay attention to the strange things happening to her memory and relationships outside Retro. But as her trips threaten to unravel her real life, she confronts an unsettling truth: “escaping” into the past was never really an escape at all. Jessica M. Goldstein is a journalist and humorist whose work has appeared in the New York Times, the Washington Post, Vulture, Marie Claire, McSweeney's Internet Tendency, and more. A graduate of the University of Pennsylvania, she was born and raised in New Jersey and currently lives in Washington, D.C. Retro is her first novel. Goldstein is in conversation with Alexandra Petri, a staff writer at The Atlantic. Before joining The Atlantic in 2025, she wrote a humor column for the Washington Post. She won the 2025 Thurber Prize for American Humor for her book AP’s US History: Important American Documents (I Made Up) [https://bookshop.org/a/12476/9781324074762]. She is the author of two other books, Nothing Is Wrong and Here Is Why: Essays [https://bookshop.org/a/12476/9780393867374], and A Field Guide to Awkward Silences [https://bookshop.org/a/12476/9780451469618]. Her writing has also appeared in McSweeney’s, the New Yorker’s Daily Shouts and Murmurs, and elsewhere. PURCHASE: https://politics-prose.com/book/9798217091362?ic_referral=gIo2q7eg6rnloeW_hfozvl2XozOstHFg0ozKRfY2G1UwM4LUDodb2fmPtPujDBfLOlUCubM0w7-os-rnApazZXf7zHZR_lsrYOconQ0vD7u0B3KulcJ9ljZkC3NTJ7iBOATiWQk

5. juli 20261 h 1 min