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
328- Devolutionary Redesign
556- You Ain’t Nothin But a Postmark
555- The Big Dig
554- Devil in the Details
553- Cautionary Tales of the Sydney Opera House
552- Blood in the Machine
389- Whomst Among Us Let the Dogs Out AGAIN
551- Office Space
550- Melanie Speaks
549- Trail Mix: Track Two
548- Trail Mix
547- Cooking with Gas
The Country of the Blind
545- Shade Redux
544- Chick Tracts
543- In Proximity: Ryan Coogler and Roman Mars
542- Player Piano
541- The Frankfurt Kitchen
540- The Siren of Scrap Metal
539- Courtroom Sketch
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