Today's episode features #1 Robert Caro superfan, Conan O'Brien.
The Power Broker by Robert Caro is a biography of Robert Moses, who is said to have built more structures and moved more earth than anyone in human history. And he did it without ever holding elected office. Outside of New York City, Robert Moses wasn't exceptionally well known. Inside of New York, he was mostly accepted by the media as simply the man who built all those nice parks. But The Power Broker, which is subtitled Robert Moses and The Fall of New York, changed all that. It is a tour de force of journalism, history, and biography. Roman also argues it's really fun to read and is strongly in contention for the best book ever written.
But there is something of a catch, which can hang readers up: the book is a daunting 1200 pages long. As influential and amazing as this bestseller is, many people own an unopened copy gathering dust on their bookshelf. But that is a crime because this book needs to be read or at least discussed at length on a podcast.
Roman Mars and Elliott Kalan (Flop House, Daily Show) are starting The Power Broker book club that will run through all of 2024 as bonus episodes and in this introductory episode, Conan O'Brien joins us to talk all things Robert Caro.
Breaking Down The Power Broker
In The Unlikely Event
You've Got Enron Mail!
The Lost Cities of Geo
Take a Walk
99pi Presents The Next Billion Users
Sign Stealing
For the Love of Peat
Exploring The 99% Invisible City
Goodnight Nobody
The Address Book
Highways 101
Where Do We Go From Here?
Podcast Episode
The Revolutionary Post (Repeat)
Policing the Open Road
California Love Scared Straight
Valley of the Fallen
The Dolphin that Roared
A Side of Franchise
Freedom House Ambulance Service
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It is Free
This is Love
Planet Money
Radiolab
Anne of Green Gables
The Federalist Papers
Today, Explained
Stuff You Should Know