Black Friday Best-Of: Jill Lepore; AJ Jacobs; Bill McKibben; A Better You
The Brian Lehrer Show | Nov 28, 2025
- For this 'Black Friday' holiday:
- Looking ahead to the 250th anniversary of the U.S., Jill Lepore, professor of American History at Harvard University, staff writer at The New Yorker, and the author of several books, including We the People: A History of the U.S. Constitution (Liveright, 2025), digs into the history of the country's founding document and what it means for the country that it so difficult, but still possible, to change.
- A. J. Jacobs, host of the "Hello Puzzlers" podcast, essayist, and the author of The Year of Living Biblically, The Know-It-All, It's All Relative and his latest, The Year of Living Constitutionally: One Man's Humble Quest to Follow the Constitution's Original Meaning (Crown, 2024), reports back on how AI is already woven into daily life with another take on being a "human guinea pig," going 48 hours without using AI.
- Bill McKibben, environmental activist, founder of Third Act and author of many books, most recently: Here Comes the Sun: A Last Chance for the Climate and a Fresh Chance for Civilization (W. W. Norton & Company, 2025), discusses his new book and reflects on his life's work, both as a climate activist and journalist.
- Olga Khazan, staff writer at The Atlantic and the author of Me, But Better: The Science and Promise of Personality Change (S&S/Simon Element, 2025), talks about her new book and what she found on her year-long quest to become a "better" person.
These interviews were lightly edited for time and clarity; the original web versions are available here:
Jill Lepore on the American Constitution (Sep 16, 2025)
A.J. Jacobs Tries Life Without AI (Nov 3, 2025)
A Lifetime of Work on Climate Change (Sep 25, 2025)
Can We Change Our Personalities? (Mar 12, 2025)
