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
What Roman Mars Can Learn About Con Law- The Longest Week
503- Re:peat
502- 99% Vernacular: Volume 3
501- 99% Vernacular: Volume 2
500- 99% Vernacular: Volume 1
499- Say Aloe to My Little Frond
498- The Octagon House
497- Hometown Village
496- The Rights of Rice and Future of Nature
495- Meet Us by the Fountain
494- Flag Days: Unfolding a Moment
493- Divining Provenance
492- Inheriting Froebel's Gifts
491- The Missing Middle
490- Train Set
Roman Mars on Blank Check with Griffin and David
489- Pandemic Tracking and the Future of Data
488- It’s a Small Aisle After All
487- Atlas Obscura
486- Rumble Strip
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