Page Turners Episodes

The central argument of The Guns of August is both simple and terrifying: the First World War was not inevitable. supporting links 1. Barbara W. Tuchman [Wikipedia] 2. Schlieffen Plan [World History Encyclopedia] 3. World War 1 [History Net] 4. The Guns of August [Amazon] Contact That's Life, I Swear Visit my website: https://www.thatslifeiswear.com Twitter at @RedPhantom Bluesky at @rickbarron.bsky.social Email us at https://www.thatslifeiswear.com/contact/ Episode Review Sub...

Learn how the book, First Principles, by Thomas E. Ricks, teaches that the intellectual foundations of American democracy are as consequential as the political events that accompanied them—and that understanding those foundations is critical for addressing the challenges of our own time. supporting links 1. First Principles[Amazon] 2. Thomas E. Ricks [Wikipedia] 3. History of the United States [Wikipedia] 4. Founding Fathers of the United States [Wikipedia] Contact That's Life, I...

Learn how In The Greatest Sentence Ever Written, Walter Isaacson dissects the famous line from the Declaration of Independence—“We hold these truths to be self-evident…”—and asks us to see it not as a relic, but as a living idea. supporting links 1. The Greatest Sentence Ever Written[Amazon] 2. Walter Isaacson [Wikipedia] 3. American Enlightenment [Wikipedia] Contact That's Life, I Swear Visit my website: https://www.thatslifeiswear.com Twitter at @RedPhantom Bluesky at @rickbarron...

Learn how Coming Clean is a powerful reminder that recovery is relational. It’s not just about the person with the substance use issue but about everyone whose life becomes entangled with it. supporting links 1. Liz Fraser || writer, broadcaster [Website] 2. lizfraser1 [Instagram] 3. Liz Fraser [Twitter] 4. Coming Clean [Amazon] 5. What Doesn’t Kill You [podcast] Contact That's Life, I Swear Visit my website: https://www.thatslifeiswear.com Twitter at @RedPhantom Bluesky at @...

Learn how life is cumulative, and correspondence—whether via letter or through care, presence, and reflection—helps us make sense of it. supporting links 1. Virginia Evans [Website] 2. Virginia Evans [Instagram] 3. Bookreporter Talks To... Virginia Evans [YouTube] Contact That's Life, I Swear Visit my website: https://www.thatslifeiswear.com Twitter at @RedPhantom Bluesky at @rickbarron.bsky.social Email us at https://www.thatslifeiswear.com/contact/ Episode Review Submit on Apple P...

Learn how Dianes’ story is not merely about sports or even about cancer—it's about the human capacity to find meaning, purpose, and even joy in the face of devastating circumstances. supporting links 1. Diane Geppi-Aikens [Wikipedia] 2. Loyola University Maryland [Wikipedia] 3. NCAA Division I women's lacrosse tournament [Wikipedia] 4. Chip Silverman [Wikipedia] Contact That's Life, I Swear Visit my w...

No Ordinary Assignment offers lessons that extend far beyond journalism, though it is indispensable reading for anyone who practices or admires the craft. supporting links 1. Jane Ferguson details career reporting in war zones [YouTube] 2. Life on the Frontlines of War Reporting | Jane Ferguson [TED] 3. Jan Ferguson [Wikipedia] 4. Jane Ferguson [PBS News] 5. Jan Ferguzon [LinkedIn] 6. Jane Ferguson [Instagram] Contact That's Life, I Swear Visit my website: https://www.thatsli...

Learn about the most devastating financial collapse in history—the Great Crash of 1929—through the lens of Andrew Ross Sorkin’s electrifying new book, 1929: Inside the Greatest Crash in Wall Street History—and How It Shattered a Nation. supporting links 1. Wall Street crash of 1929 [Wikipedia] 2. Andrew Ross Sorkin [Wikipedia] 3. Applying lessons from the Wall Street crash of 1929 to today's market [60 Minutes] 4. Sorkinsays [Instagram] Contact That's Life, I Swear Visit my website...

Send us Fan Mail The central lesson of Apple: The First 50 Years by David Pogue’s book, reminds us that the future isn’t something that happens to us, it’s something that gets built, one idea at a time. supporting links 1. Apple: The First 50 Years [Amazon] 2. Macintosh [Apple website] 3. Mac [Wikipedia] 4. Make Something Beautiful [Steve Jobs Archive] 1984 (commercial) {Wikipedia] Contact That's Life...

Send us Fan Mail Learn about how Selma van de Perre joined the resistance during World War II. How she survived the unsurvivable, and what her life teaches us about courage, memory, and the fight against hatred that continues in our own time. supporting links 1. My Name Is Selma [Amazon] 2. Ravensbrücke [Holocaust Encyclopedia] 3. Nazi concentration camps [Wikipedia] 4. Dutch resistance [Wikipedia] Contact That's...

The Secret of Secrets reinforces why Dan Brown remains a master of the modern thriller. His mix of historical intrigue, philosophical inquiry, and page-turning suspense keeps readers riveted from start to finish. supporting links 1. Dan Brown [Official Website] 2. Dan Brown [Wikipedia] 3. Dan Brown on the mysteries and mayhem in his new thriller [PBS News] 4. Robert Langdon Series [Goodreads] Contact That's Life, I Swear Visit my website: https://www.thatslifeiswear.com Twitt...

Learn how reinvention is a practice, not a moment. Wings was not just a band—it was a way of running toward the future, refusing to let the past define the possibilities ahead. supporting links 1. Paul McCartney [Website] 2. Paul McCartney [Wikipedia] 3. Paul McCartney [Instagram] 4. Wings [Paul McCartney website] 5. Linda McCartney [Website] Contact That's Life, I Swear Visit my website: https://www.thatslifeiswear.com Twitter at @RedPhantom Bluesky at @rickbarron.bsky.socia...

"My Beloved Monster" by Caleb Carr is more than a cat memoir—it’s a moving exploration of trauma, resilience, and the healing power of the human-animal bond. Charting Carr’s 17-year journey with Masha, a half-wild rescued kitten, the book blends personal memoir, psychological insight, and animal behavior research. A story of companionship, survival, and emotional transformation, it challenges readers to rethink animal consciousness and the role of pets in human healing. supp...

Learn from one of the world’s foremost experts on habit formation and personal growth. James Clear is a writer and keynote speaker focused on habits, decision-making, and continuous improvement. supporting links 1. James Clear [Website] 2. James Clear [Wikipedia] 3. Atomic Habits in REAL LIFE : Systems vs. Goals [YouTube] 4. Atomic Habits [The Book] Contact That's Life, I Swear Visit my website: https://www.thatslifeiswear.com Twitter at @RedPhantom Bluesky at @rickbarron.bsky.s...

Learn how the book, We Did OK, Kid, by Anthony Hopkins, is a classic “rags-to-riches” story and an introspective meditation on one man’s life — its triumphs, its regrets, its unanswered questions. supporting links 1. Anthony Hopkins [Wikipedia] 2. Anthony Hopkins Movies [IMDb] 3. Anthonyhopkins [Instagram] 4. We Did OK, Kid: A Memoir [Amazon] Contact That's Life, I Swear Visit my website: https://www.thatslifeiswear.com Twitter at @RedPhantom Bluesky at @rickbarron.bsky.social E...

Learn how American humanitarians risked everything to save Jewish refugees and political dissidents from the tightening grip of the Nazis during WW II. supporting links 1. Deborah Dwork [Wikipedia] 2. Robert Jan van Pelt [Wikipedia] 3. Auschwitz [MEMORIAL AND MUSEUM AUSCHWITZ-BIRKENAU] Contact That's Life, I Swear Visit my website: https://www.thatslifeiswear.com Twitter at @RedPhantom Bluesky at @rickbarron.bsky.social Email us at https://www.thatslifeiswear.com/contact/ Episode ...

If you’re a fan of the WTF podcast, this book by Marc Maron, is a rich distillation of its most powerful themes: love, addiction, failure, mental illness, creativity, recovery, and redemption. supporting links 1. Marc Maron [Wikipedia] 2. WTF with Marc Maron [Podcast] 3. Marcmaron [Instagram] 4. America is Morally Bankrupt [YouTube] 5. President Barack Obama [WTF] Contact That's Life, I Swear Visit my website: https://www.thatslifeiswear.com Twitter at @RedPhantom Bluesky at ...

Anne Berest's "The Postcard" isn't just a novel; it's an emotional rollercoaster that will make you laugh and at moments where your emotions will be tested. supporting links 1. Anne Berest [Advance Reading Copy blog] 2. Anne Berest’s Best Story Came From Deep in Her Family’s Past [Lit Hub] 3. Anne Berest on Diving Into Her History for The Postcard podcast [Lit Hub] 4. Introduction to the Holocaust [Holocaust Encyclope...

Overall, Nuclear War, A Scenario serves as a wake-up call to the continuing threat of nuclear weapons and the need for global cooperation to mitigate these dangers. supporting links 1. How would a nuclear war between Russia and the US affect you personally? [YouTube] 2. Author Annie Jacobsen Describes What Nuclear War Would Look Like [YouTube] 3. Countdown: The Blinding Future of Nuclear Weapons [Amazon] 4. Now, I Am Become Death, The Destroyer Of Worlds [That’s Life, I Swear podcast...

Find out what Rick Steve's learned in 1978, at the age of 23, when he embarked on the famed Hippie Trail, traversing countries like Turkey, Iran, Afghanistan, Pakistan, India, and Nepal. supporting links 1. Travel Guru Rick Steves Say His Prostate Cancer Is a 'Thrilling' Journey [PEOPLE] 2. Rick Steves on the "Hippie Trail" Trip That Changed Him [Conde Nast Traveler] 3. Rick Steve's Europe [Website] 4.&nbsp...

Alexei Navalny's Patriot: A Memoir chronicles his evolution from an ordinary Russian citizen to a global symbol of resistance against Vladimir Putin's regime. supporting links 1. Alexei Navalny [Wikipedia] 2. Yulia Navalnaya [Wikipedia] 3. The faith that sustained Russian dissident Alexei Navalny [America] 4. Putin's Opulence: A Deep Dive into the Russian President's Wealth [YouTube] 5. ...

Frozen Obsession: Henry Worsley’s Last Expedition, chasing Ernest Shackleton’s polar dream. supporting links 1. Henry Worsley (explorer) [Wikipedia] 2. Ernest Shackleton [Wikipedia] 3. The White Darkness [Amazon Books] 4. David Grann [Facebook] Contact That's Life, I Swear Visit my website: https://www.thatslifeiswear.com Twitter at @RedPhantom Bluesky at @rickbarron.bsky.social Email us at https://www.thatslife...

Locked down in the English countryside during the COVID pandemic, writer Chloe Dalton found herself in an unlikely companionship—with a wild hare. supporting links 1. Raising Hare: A Memoir [Amazon] 2. Chloe Dalton [Blog site] 3. Hare [Wikipedia] Contact That's Life, I Swear Visit my website: https://www.thatslifeiswear.com Twitter at @RedPhantom Bluesky at @rickbarron.bsky.social Email us at https://www.thatslifeiswear.com/contact/ Episode Review Submit on Apple Podcast Submit o...

Text us your thoughts on the podcast Generations by Dr. Jean Twenge explores how the six generations living in the United States today, connect, conflict, and compete. supporting links 1. Gen Z Refuses to Grow Up | With Dr. Jean Twenge [YouTube] 2. Jean Twenge, "Generations" [YouTube] 3. iGen: The Smartphone Generation | Jean Twenge [YouTube] 4. Jean Twenge on Rising Anxiety, Depression, Isolation and Smartphones in Gen Z [YouTube] 5. Defining generations: Where Millennials end an...