Return to Transcripts main page

Smerconish

Book Club With Michael Smerconish. Book Club With Michael Smerconish. Aired 9-10a

Aired December 28, 2024 - 09:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

VICTOR BLACKWELL, CNN ANCHOR: See you and their hit "Where My Bus At?" I look forward to seeing what you do in 2025.

Now to keep up with what we've got coming in the New Year, follow me on Instagram and TikTok and X and Blue Sky. If you missed a conversation or story that we've done, check out CNN.com/Victor- Blackwell-First-Of-All to watch anytime. And you can listen to our show as a podcast wherever you get your podcast.

Thank you for joining me today. I'll see you back here in 2025. Saturdays at 8:00 a.m. starting January 11th. Enjoy the New Year.

[09:00:46]

MICHAEL SMERCONISH, CNN ANCHOR: Book Club is back. I'm Michael Smerconish in New York City.

My Saturday program celebrated its 10th anniversary this year. Thank you so much for watching. Hosting this program every weekend, it's a real privilege for me.

Before I had my own show, I was often a CNN guest, usually providing legal and political analysis. The network back then asked whether I had aspirations and ideas for a regular show. They seemed surprised when I said, well, yes, a book club. Still, they agreed to shoot a pilot. I remember that as a personal favor to me, my favorite writer of fiction, Nelson DeMille, came into the studio to appear on a program that he knew was just a rehearsal.

Sadly, this year we lost DeMille at age 81. He was the author of 23 books, 17 of them "New York Times" bestsellers. Fifty-eight million DeMille's were sold. I miss his writing and I miss his wit.

Book Club with Michael Smerconish never made it to air, but I often interview authors both here on CNN and for my Sirius XM radio program. As a matter of fact, a collection of several hundred of my radio author interviews are accessible as a book club podcast. And in the podcast you can hear me chat with everyone from DeMille to Michael Lewis, from Hillary Clinton to J.D. Vance, from Malcolm Gladwell to Admiral James Stavridis. 2024 was a banner year for my personal reading, so I'd like to revisit some of the interviews that I did here on CNN with 11 authors of books that I found impactful. Jonathan Haidt explores the influence of technology on children's mental health. Secretary Hillary Clinton reflects on what she's lost and what she's gained. Professor Scott Galloway teaches us the best way to reach financial security. Malcolm Gladwell writes about the strength in diversity.

Charlamagne tha God tells us why kids need to get off their phones and go outside. Annie Jacobsen warns about the threat of nuclear war. Retired Admiral James Stavridis dives into the dangers of AI. Max Boot chronicles the life and legacy of President Ronald Reagan. Peggy Noonan writes about the early days of Donald Trump's political career.

Bradley Tusk explains why mobile voting will save our democracy. And Valerie Bauerlein revisits missing pieces from the notorious Alex Murdaugh murder trial.

They'd make a hell of a carpool, right? So, for just one day, welcome back to Book Club.

Jonathan Haidt had a "New York Times" bestseller with the Anxious Generation.

I loved his prior collaboration with Greg Lukianoff, "The Coddling of the American Mind." And this book exceeded that high bar. In fact, Goodreads, the world's largest website for readers and book recommendations, named the Anxious Mind, the best nonfiction book of the year.

I see Haidt's book as the culmination of a series of great books that collectively describe our societal disconnect. In fact, this body of work so moved me that this year I spoke in 14 different states to public and private audiences in an address that I call the Mingle Project.

I draw on the work of Robert Putnam, who wrote "Bowling Alone" about the loss of social capital that comes when we're no longer a community of joiners like our parents. And Bill Bishop, he then followed with the big sort, talking about how post-Vietnam we disconnected from one another, and when we came back together in the Internet era, it was along narrowly cast lines. Jean Twenge, explored the contribution of this fraying of our fabric and its impact on adolescent mental health in her book iGen. They all set the table for Haidt, who, with regard to social media and our kids, says more unsupervised play is needed. No smartphones before high school, no social media before 16, and phone free schools.

And here's why.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JONATHAN HAIDT, AUTHOR, "THE ANXIOUS GENERATION": Imagine this claim. Suppose we invented a toy. Let's call it the furby or whatever one of those things in the 80s. Suppose you learn that this furby is going to take up about nine hours a day of your child's time. They don't -- they won't go outside much, they won't get as much sleep, they won't spend much time with friends, they won't play, they won't have hobbies, they won't read books.

[09:05:15]

And then somebody proposes, maybe the Furbies will be bad for kids. Are you going to say what a fantastical claim? Oh my God, how could that be? So you know, when you look at the massive rewiring of childhood into activities that are not particularly healthy, I mean, of course it has an effect. And my book shows is that there's all kinds of evidence supporting that claim.

SMERCONISH: Jonathan, tell me one thing parents can do.

HAIDT: The most important thing that parents can do is delay the age at which their child gets immersed internet culture. We have to protect early puberty, especially that's middle school, ages 10 to 14. In that range, we must protect kids brains in that age. That's when the maximum damage is done, especially for girls. So the most important thing you can do is delay the age at which you give your child a smartphone until high school and delay social media until 16.

And while these sound hard, if you're listening at home, these sound hard to do because your child's going to say, but then I'm the only one. Well, team up with others.

SMERCONISH: Right.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SMERCONISH: Jonathan Haidt and Gene Twenge, they're clearly onto something. The connection between online activity and teen mental health, it received overdue attention this year. As indicated by Australia in November becoming the first nation to ban social media for those under 16. The law is scheduled to take effect next year. It's going to impose significant fines on platforms for systemic fails to police the age of their users.

Now, like Jonathan Haidt, I really enjoyed my conversation with Secretary Hillary Clinton regarding her latest memoir, "Something Lost, Something Gained, Reflections on Life, Love and Liberty." The part of her book that most impacted me had nothing to do with foreign policy or her run for the presidency. Instead, it was her reflection on her own upbringing in comparison to the challenges faced by our youth today.

And I'll bet it seemed odd to some who watched the interview. But what I most wanted to explore with the former first lady U.S. Senator and Democratic presidential nominee was the title that she selected for the book.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SMERCONISH: I have one note, as they say in Hollywood or the literary world, I've got one note on the book. It does not involve a matter of substance. It has to do with the book title. Are you ready? HILLARY CLINTON, FORMER SECRETARY OF STATE: Yes.

SMERCONISH: I, too, love Joni Mitchell, and I love that song.

(SINGING)

SMERCONISH: Something lost, something gained makes perfect sense. But wouldn't it have been better if you'd gone with from "Both Sides Now?" I've looked at life from both sides now. It's a serious question, and I want to know if you considered it.

CLINTON: Well, I did. And as you know, because you have nicely read the book, which I appreciate. In the first chapter, I talk about what "Both Sides Now" has meant to me and why that song has been like in the soundtrack of my life from my early 20s until today, and how when I saw Joni Mitchell singing it at the Grammys last year, I was so touched.

And the "Both Sides Now" is indeed the song that sums up the kind of different stages of my life. I've looked at life, I've looked at love from both sides now and in my sort of reflections something's been lost something's been gained. It's kind of the overview of a long life.

SMERCONISH: I keep watching on a loop. I think it's at Newport, where she's singing it in 2022 and just brings the whole house down with emotion. It's hard for me to watch her sing it. I'm not quite sure why without feeling emotional about it.

(SINGING)

CLINTON: Well, first of all, the song itself is so meaningful for those of us who love it, like you and me.

SMERCONISH: Yes.

CLINTON: But also after her cerebral aneurysm and her withdrawal from doing anything because of her health, the fact that she came back on the stage first at Newport, then memorably at the Grammys about a year or so later, and she was encouraged to do that by another singer, a young singer, Brandi Carlile, who also loved her music and what those songs meant to her. And so she sought her out. She got to know her and I think encouraged her to get back on the stage, which really meant a lot to me.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

[09:10:26]

SMERCONISH: I really enjoy rewatching these interviews. I hope you do. And I have to say this, it's the second time that I've interviewed Secretary Clinton about her written work. And each of those conversations revealed a warm, a soft side of her, not always evident when the conversation is strictly politics. I can't help but wonder if more of that had come forth in 2016, maybe she'd be ending her second term right now. One of my most frequent and favorite guests is Professor G. Professor Scott Galloway, the NYU Stern professor, business school professor, host of hit podcasts. He's that rare combination of academic and street brilliance.

Speaking of which, last spring with my wife, I met Scott for a drink at an outdoor London cafe. And at the time, theft of cell phones was rampant. So we're sitting there engrossed in conversation. A guy creates a distraction at the next table so as to provide cover for a buddy who stole somebody's cell phone at a neighboring table. The first person to intervene, Professor G.

No wonder why the subject he and I often discuss then is masculinity. He's got lots of thoughts about the plight of young men. And as my sons can attest, he's their champion, always careful to diminish toxic masculinity while espousing what he calls aspirational masculinity. I love this guy.

He gets more into this topic and offers great insight into how to launch your career and manage your money. In his latest book, it's called "The Algebra of Wealth, A Simple Formula for Financial Security."

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SMERCONISH: In the new book, you have a lot of advice for Americans of all ages, but particularly the youth. And among the things that you advise, you turn on its head the time honored advice of follow your passion. Give me the short version of that.

SCOTT GALLOWAY, PROFESSOR,NYU STERN SCHOLL OF BUSINESS: Anyone who tells you to follow your passion is already rich and made their billions in iron ore smelting. Your job is to find your talent, something you could become. A ninja like master of. Mastery will give you economic security, camaraderie, relevance, a larger selection set of mates than you deserve. And whatever enables you to do these things, you will become passionate about that thing.

No tax lawyer dreams -- no child dreams of becoming a tax lawyer. But the best Tax lawyers fly private and have really nice lives. So your job is to find your talent. And ideally, in an industry that has a 90 plus percent employment rate, a lot of young people mistake hobbies for their passion. And if you want to be an actor, an athlete, a model, just recognize.

Open a restaurant, a nightclub, just recognize. If you don't get strong green signals that you're in the 0.1 percent, then find something else. There are 180,000 actors in SAG-AFTRA union, 87 percent of them last year didn't qualify for health insurance because they didn't make $23,000. So your job is to find your talent in an industry with a 90 plus percent employment rate, which by the way, is about 98 percent of industries. And what I can promise you is that you will become very passionate about the ability to take care of your kids with an absence of stress to take care of your parents, to do wonderful, fun things that a capitalist society provides.

Be passionate about economic security.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SMERCONISH: Makes sense, right? The way that Professor G explains it, he turns on its head the conventional wisdom of following your passion. How many times have we said that, just follow your passion? Instead, he says, identify your talent and the passion will follow. Which to me sounds worthy of a book of its own.

He has certainly changed the way I offer advice to questions when asked such things by interns.

Who among us has not read "The Tipping Point?" Can you believe it just turned 25 years old? The book made Malcolm Gladwell a household name. He's brilliant, he's curious. Previously named one of Time magazine's 100 most influential people.

By the way, do you see a theme here so far of the books that most interested me in 2024? Like Jonathan Haidt, Secretary Clinton and Scott Galloway, Gladwell has keen insight into our kids and how to keep them safe. Until I read his latest book, which is called "Revenge of the Tipping Point Over Stories, Superspreaders and the Rise of Social Engineering," I never thought there was such virtue in some of the clicks of school life back in the day.

[09:05:03]

But Gladwell convinced me that they can sometimes create buffers and keep us from the sameness that sometimes fosters dangerous social trends.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SMERCONISH: So, you made me appreciate my high school lunchroom and also the Greek fraternity system in which I spent my undergraduate years, because in each there were clicks. There were, I'm going to date myself, but there were jocks and there were nerds and there were pod heads and there were, you know, techies, votechis or greasers, et cetera, et cetera, et cetera. And what you argue in the book is there was a level of protection that actually came from that sort of differentiation that is missing today.

MALCOLM GLADWELL, AUTHOR OF 7 "NEW YORK TIMES" BESTSELLERS: Yes. Yes. So the basic idea here is that epidemics, like a monoculture, where you have a culture where there aren't -- Where there's one set of values and one dominant group, it's very easy for a contagious idea, contagious behavior, to race unchecked through the entire population, where you have what your high school, mine had lots of different cliques and groups that are separated, it's very difficult for one idea to dominate the whole culture. And I think what's happened is that in certain parts of America, we've fallen in love with the idea that every kid ought to be -- ought to share the same values and be focused on the same goals. So in this town I talk about, it's a town of upper middle class professionals.

Every parent wanted their kid to go to an elite school, to do really well in school, to be a sports star, to be happy and successful and dress really well and be attractive. And, you know, the pressure that put on the population was such that they became susceptible to this suicide outbreak. And I think it's, you know, sometimes when we talk about the benefits of diversity, we focus way too narrowly and we, you know, we talk exclusively in terms of ethnic diversity. And we forget there are broader benefits to all kinds of diversity and that creating a society that has a home for all kinds of people with very different perspectives is part of what makes a society safe. Diversity is safety.

It's not the opposite. I think sometimes people think of diversity as scary, and that's not what happens when you look at teenage life.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SMERCONISH: You heard what he said, right? Epidemics like a monoculture. Epidemics like a monoculture. It makes sense. Social contagion has no guardrails, but diversity provides safety.

Or as I like to say, we're all well served when we mingle with people who aren't like us. And when we insulate our kids, we're pretty much assuring that our kids are going to then do likewise.

What a year it's been for my author interviews, Jonathan Haidt, Hillary Clinton, Scott Galloway, Malcolm Gladwell, and God. Well, Charlamagne tha God that is. He's the host of the popular morning radio program "The Breakfast Club" and founder and CEO of iHeartRadio's "Black Effect Podcast Network." Charlamagne has landed so many high profile interviews, President Obama, President Biden, Vice President Harris, former U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations, Nikki Haley.

His latest book is called "Get Honest or Die Lying, Why Small Talk Sucks" and addresses why kids need to get off their phones and go outside. Once again, I was drawn to the lessons this author offered for the fraying of our national fabric. And in his case, it came from Charlamagne reminiscing about his upbringing and extolling the virtues of being disconnected from technology and one with nature.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SMERCONISH: Charlamagne, my favorite paragraph from the book, which I told you I read and really enjoyed. I wouldn't say it if I didn't mean it. Here it is. We'd meet at an appointed time and then just plot something to get into. Let's ride our bikes to the BP gas station in Conifer hall and get some honey buns, someone might say.

Or maybe my daddy told me there are some old tombstones in the woods over by Old Whitesville Road. You want kids to get outside? Speak to that in 30 seconds.

CHARLAMAGNE THA GOD, AUTHOR, "GET HONEST OR DIE LYIMG, WHY SMALL TALKS SUCKS": Yes, I'm talking to a time long, long, long ago, before social media and before cell phones, when you actually had to, you know, go outside, especially if you were in a rural area like I was in Moncks Corner, South Carolina. And you know, I believe we all have to get reconnected with nature. If you're a person like me who's an advocate of mental health and you know, emotional well-being, man, go outside and breathe some fresh air, take your shoes off, take your socks off, go do some grounding, you know, go put your hands on a tree. You know, go hug a tree, put your forehead against a tree. Say a pray to the sky, go in some water, look up to the sun, pray to God.

[09:20:04]

That's how you get reconnected and you stay grounded in this crazy ass society. And trust me, we all need it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SMERCONISH: I love hearing about his youth and the connection he still feels to his native South Carolina. And as further proof of his local passion, he just partnered with an Atlanta burger chain to open several eateries in South Carolina, including in Orangeburg, home of South Carolina State University, his mother's alma mater and a school from which he's earned an honorary degree and established a scholarship. Pretty cool, right?

Up ahead, what if I told you that mankind could be wiped off the planet from a nuclear war within an hour? That dark but realistic scenario outlined by Pulitzer Prize finalist "New York Times" bestselling author Annie Jacobsen. That's next.

And I want to know what you think. Go to my website. This is a fun poll question today at smerconish.com, amidst the digital media surge, did you discover and enjoy a good book in 2024? I hope so.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SMERCONISH: Welcome back to Book Club. I've always got my ear to the ground for good books. I pay attention to the advice of radio listeners, T.V. viewers and people in my personal orbit. A matter of fact, it was one of my sons who was first to tell me about Annie Jacobsen. She's a Pulitzer Prize finalist, a "New York Times" bestselling author.

[09:25:11]

She's also producer of the hit Amazon prime show, "Jack Ryan." Her "New York Times" best-selling book has called nuclear war a scenario and it gave me a much needed wake up call. In the words of U.N. Secretary General Antonio Guterres, humanity is just one misunderstanding, one miscalculation away from nuclear annihilation.

Before reading her book, I had no idea that the world literally could end in a little over an hour. And that when the most feared missiles are launched, there's no calling them back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SMERCONISH: Why the ticking clock scenario?

ANNIE JACOBSEN, AUTHOR, "NUCLEAR WAR: A SCENARIO": Michael, nuclear war is as dangerous to civilization, that means all of us as the incoming asteroid was to the dinosaurs 66 million years ago. We're talking about civilization ending event were a full scale nuclear exchange to happen. I explain it to readers in the book using that ticking clock scenario because you learn right away that nuclear war unfolds in seconds and minutes, not hours and days and weeks like you might think.

SMERCONISH: It could all end in 72 minutes. Right?

JACOBSEN: That's exactly right. That's the -- you know, I was doing an interview to report the book. I spoke to presidential advisors, nuclear commanders, nuclear weapons designers, and when I was speaking to General Kehler, who was the former commander of STRATCOM, those are -- they're the -- he's the steward of the nuclear weapons should nuclear war come. He is in direct communication with the president.

General Kehler said to me when I asked him how terrible it would be an exchange with Russia, he said, Annie, the world could end in the next couple of hours.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SMERCONISH: What also stands out about Annie's book is that she wrote it and was my guest long before Vladimir Putin dropped Russia's nuclear threshold in response to the Biden administration allowing Ukraine to use those attack of missiles on strikes into Russia. So sadly, her concern was ahead of its time.

Early in the 2024 presidential cycle when I would advocate for a third party choice, radio callers would say to me, OK, well give me a name. And I would say one of the two admirals, William McRaven, who created and oversaw operation Neptune Spear, which took out bin Laden in 2011. McRaven went on to write a New York Times bestseller called "Make Your Bed, Little Things that can Change Your Life and Maybe the World." His book was inspired by a commencement speech that he gave at the University of Texas where he shared 10 principles that he learned during his Navy SEAL training. That speech went viral with more than 10 million views.

And the other name that I would suggest is Admiral James Stavridis, the former Supreme Allied Commander of NATO. Stavridis is a frequent guest of the program and spent more than 30 years in the Navy. Admiral Stavridis, this is interesting, was fully vetted by Secretary Clinton as a potential running mate back in 2016. And after Donald Trump was elected for his first term, it was Trump who summoned Stavridis to Trump Tower to sound him out for a possible cabinet level appointment. Appealing to both in our divided climate, that really says something.

Stavridis is a man in full, and one of his talents is writing fiction, but he does it in a way that makes very real points. And in his novel "2054," which he co-authored with Elliot Ackerman, Stavridis warns about the dangers of artificial intelligence and gives keen insight into the warfare of the future.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SMERCONISH: Militarily, we worry, could these machines overtake us?

ADM. JAMES STAVRIDIS (RET.), FORMER NATO ALLIED SUPREME COMMANDER: I think that we would be foolish to simply X out the possibility going back to Stanley Kubrick's 2001 A Space Odyssey as HAL overtakes the astronaut. Is it possible? Perhaps.

But Michael, like you, I like to look at history to understand. There have been big inventions in the past. The printing press, electricity, the Internet, all of these have been decried for the possibility of nefarious activity associated with them. Same with artificial intelligence. So bottom line, I think we should be mindful of AI that's the point of the book.

It's kind of cautionary fiction. Look ahead to 2054. We ought to be concerned about it. On the other hand, artificial intelligence could turn out to be extremely beneficial to society broadly.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SMERCONISH: "2054" was one of two books Admiral Stavridis published this year, for which he appeared on this program. The other was a novel called "The Restless Wave," about a young naval officer set against the outbreak of World War II. That, too, is a good read, with a blend of fact and fiction that sort of makes you scratch your head while you're reading it and you say, wait a minute, did that really happen?

Up ahead, could voting in elections on your smartphone finally put an end to the country's political polarization? A former deputy governor of Illinois and political adviser for Uber makes his case on why mobile voting could save our democracy.

Remember, I want to know what you think. Go to my Web site at Smerconish.com, answer today's poll question which is this, amidst the digital media surge, did you discover and enjoy a good book in 2024?

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SMERCONISH: Welcome back to Book Club. I came of age politically in the era of Ronald Reagan, whose memory I still hold on a pedestal. I'm not the only one who reveres the memory of the Gipper.

[09:35:01]

And yet, until Max Boot wrote a biography of the nation's 40th president this year, there wasn't a definitive assessment of Reagan's life. Edmund Morris tried, but his approach was unconventional and not universally accepted.

Max Boot did a terrific job. In fact, a few months ago I met Patti Davis, the daughter of Nancy and Ronald Reagan. And I asked Patti Davis, what did you make of Max -- Max Boots' book? She said, he totally captured my dad. Well, that's high praise.

One thing I learned from Max Boot is that while Reagan's name today is associated with conservatism, his record of governance was much more nuanced. Max Boot is a historian, foreign policy analyst, senior fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations, and a columnist for "The Washington Post."

He spent more than a decade researching and writing this 700 plus page book, this Reagan biography, which is called "Reagan: His Life and Legend."

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SMERCONISH: His name is synonymous with conservatism. But your portrait of Reagan is much more nuanced and much more pragmatic.

MAX BOOT, COLUMNIST, WASHINGTON POST: Well, that's one of the central paradoxes of Reagan, Michael, is that he could be very ideological. And, you know, he was often quite far to the right, especially in the 60s and 70s. And warning that, you know, social welfare programs like Medicare and Medicaid were going to lead to a socialist or even communist takeover of the United States.

But once he was in office, he pivoted to the center and turned out to be supremely pragmatic. I mean, in fact, the first big bill he signed as governor of California in 1967 was a large increase in spending and taxes to deal with a looming budget deficit. I mean, he signed one of the most liberal abortion laws in the country in both Sacramento and Washington. He cut deals with Democrats. And ultimately, his crowning achievement as president was working with Mikhail Gorbachev, the world's number one communist, to peacefully end the Cold War despite a long career as an anti-communist.

So, I think that shows you why he was ultimately successful as president. He was able to pivot to the center, compromise, and get things done.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SMERCONISH: Something else that I learned from Max Boot is that even among those who worked with him and knew him best, Ronald Reagan was hard to really get to know. And one person Boot uses as an example of that difficulty was the person who met with Ronald Reagan several times in writing and in preparation for his final presidential address, another guest of mine this year, Peggy Noonan.

I'm a reader and admirer of Peggy Noonan of "The Wall Street Journal," who, in another life, was a speechwriter for President Reagan. She writes and speaks with a level of dignity and grace.

She's smart. She's witty. She's grounded. This year, Peggy Noonan published a collection of her work called "A Certain Idea of America: Selected Writings."

Each chapter contains a dozen or so of her columns, except for one chapter that had only two columns. One that she had written about then Vice President Biden in 2019, and another that she wrote about Donald Trump when he was a candidate in 2016.

And neither was a victory lap. She got things wrong in each. But like a fine wine, her assessments and prognostications, they seem to be doing well with age.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SMERCONISH: So, in the Trump column, you say, my God, I'm paraphrasing, but if only he were sane. If only he were sane.

And now reading it, I say to myself, but if he were sane in the way you were wishing, he probably wouldn't have won. I mean, I've had to disabuse myself of the idea that he has won despite the things that he has said. And instead, Peggy, I come to the conclusion he has won, for better or worse, because of the things that he has said.

PEGGY NOONAN, PULITZER PRIZE WINNING COLUMNIST, THE WALL STREET JOURNAL: Yes. I understand what you're saying, and I think I've come to some similar conclusion myself. Once in 2017, I was asked by a bunch of Republican senators in the U.S. Capitol to come and talk to them about recent events. They do that with historians and writers.

So, I was one once, in the spring of 2017. And Michael, I said to them, the way I figure it now, three months into the Trump administration, I thought the only person who could have won the GOP primaries in 2016 was Donald Trump. And that man was the only one who could have beat Hillary Clinton. And that same man is the only one who does not have the tools for successful governance. So, I found it to be ironic, and we sort of had a little wrestling match about that.

[09:40:03]

There was a lot of pushback, as you can imagine. But he's a large historical figure, and we have decided to go back there a second time and see how it goes.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SMERCONISH: I have a footnote. Peggy Noonan has pulled no punches with her critical assessment of President-elect Donald Trump. She has written about him for eight years. And by her own admission, sometimes has clubbed him like a seal. She wrote that.

All the while, she avoided meeting him because she wanted to view him from a distance, in part, for fear that he'd be charming and funny which might sway her perspective. But as she revealed just last month, she did meet him recently at a "Wall Street Journal" editorial board sit down after Trump won the election. And after the encounter, she said that her instinct had been correct.

Bradley Tusk is another favorite radio and TV guest. He's having an interesting life. Tusk once ran campaigns for New York City mayor Michael Bloomberg, and then went out on his own as a political consultant.

A potential client was seeking to introduce its novel ride share concept into New York City, and sought out his professional services. But this company said, we might not be able to afford your fee. So, Bradley Tusk took payment in the form of stock options. That company was Uber, and Tusk is now a wealthy man. Having done well, he's now seeking to do good. His latest project, trying to sell America on the idea of voting by phone. His latest book, "Vote With Your Phone: Why Mobile Voting Is Our Final Shot at Saving Democracy." It makes sense when you think about the fact that we do everything on our smart devices, including our banking, and yet there's something that holds us back from the idea of casting our ballot by phone. For those who are skeptical, Bradley Tusk has an answer.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SMERCONISH: What's the explanation?

BRADLEY TUSK, AUTHOR, "VOTE WITH YOUR PHONE": Yes.

SMERCONISH: What's the answer to those who are concerned about ballot security?

TUSK: The answer is two-fold. One is, we have built a system that meets every recommendation that the U.S. Vote Foundation put out there for secure mobile voting. Our plan is to start small. Let's start in municipal elections, city council races, school board races, things like that to see what's working.

And also, we're submitting this both to NIST, National Institute for Standards Technology, for their review. And because the code is open source, that means any expert at any time can go into it and look for bugs or abnormalities or anything else. So, it's all philanthropic and it's all online and it's all available.

The second argument is more political, which is the status quo doesn't work. Our country is falling apart. It is controlled by the extremes. And most people, even if they want to, are just not going to vote in state and local primaries, and that's why things are the way they are. And yet, they all have cell phones, and we've got to meet them where they are.

SMERCONISH: I know from the conversations you and I have had on my Sirius XM radio program, and when I've raised this independently, that conceptually, people say they love the idea. But even some who move money on their phones and buy --

TUSK: Yes.

SMERCONISH: -- concert tickets and airline reservations and go to the TSA checkpoint, it's like when you get to voting there is still this hang up. Address that.

TUSK: Sure.

SMERCONISH: Why that concern, and what would you say to those people?

TUSK: Well, look, I don't blame them at all. Look, your listeners, your viewers are really smart, informed people. That's why they're watching you and listening to you. And so, of course, they have good ideas and questions and concerns. You know, I would have had them, too, if I hadn't been building this system for the last seven years.

And the answer is, it's a new thing. Obviously, we should start small. And so, like I said, school board elections, city council elections. Let's see what's working.

It may not be that we're voting for a president this way for 10 years. That's OK. We just have to start getting on the path of making voting easier, because if we don't, we're always going to be stuck in this paradigm where we either get completely dysfunctional government, like we have in Washington, D.C., or totally one-sided government, and that could be the city of San Francisco on the left, or the state of Texas on the right. In my view, none of that is good.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SMERCONISH: You know, it occurs to me that many of the same security concerns that people have about mobile voting today used to be much more widely held on the topic of voting by mail, until many of us started to vote by mail. In time, I hope that the same fears can be allayed about our phones. When more people vote, we water down the influences of the fringe.

The infamous Alex Murdaugh trial, about a father convicted of killing his wife and son, it captivated the nation. The next author I want to highlight received exclusive media access to the crime scene and points out many unanswered questions even now about the case.

And remember, I want to know what you think. Kind of a special poll question today. Go to Smerconish.com and answer this. Amidst the digital media surge, did you discover and enjoy a good book in 2024?

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[09:48:46]

SMERCONISH: Welcome back to Book Club. I confess to having been totally hooked on the trial of Alex Murdoch, who was convicted for the murder of his wife and son in South Carolina. My fascination began long before the trial, when Valerie Bauerlein wrote about the tragedy for "The Wall Street Journal." As events unspooled, she was both a Sirius XM and CNN guest of mine.

Valerie knew the player. She knew the terrain. She was ultimately a fixture in the Lowcountry courtroom. And when the jury visited the crime scene, she was a designated media representative reporting on that tour.

I thought I knew the story, but found the revelations in her book, "The Devil at His Elbow," to be an eye opener. Valerie Bauerlein is a national affairs reporter for the "Wall Street Journal." She spoke to more than 200 people for her instant "New York Times" bestseller.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SMERCONISH: Valerie, the murder weapons never found which caused me to ask you, did he have help? VALERIE BAUERLEIN, REPORTER, WALL STREET JOURNAL: You know, I think there are a number of unanswered questions where are the guns is a big one. And also, where is the money. There's -- millions of dollars that Alex stole from his poor personal injury clients that is still missing. You know, prosecutors said if he had help, we want to find out.

[09:50:04]

But I spoke at some length to David Owen for this book. He was the lead SLED agent, and really had not talked about the case before. And, you know, that's a question that they would really like to know.

The scene was sanitized. The scene was cleaned up. And to think that Alex Murdaugh could have done all that cleanup work in a matter of minutes by himself, you know, kind of beggar's belief.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SMERCONISH: Valerie's book about the Murdaugh dynasty, it reads like fiction. Sadly, it's not. One other thing about the Alex Murdaugh case, I'm so glad it was televised. I only wish that there were cameras in all courtrooms, all state, federal, including the Supreme Court.

My view is that if you have a right as a citizen to be there as an observer, that a camera should be present, school board, township supervisor meeting, congressional hearing and Supreme Court.

Make sure you're voting on today's poll question at Smerconish.com. Amidst the digital media surge, did you discover and enjoy a good book in 2024?

And just in time for the holidays, I've got some exciting news about the grand total of money raised by "Smercomics 2024" for the Children's Crisis Treatment Center.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SMERCONISH: Hey, finally a thank you. Regular viewers know that I dispatch a free daily newsletter every day, which includes editorial cartoons from prize-winning illustrators.

[09:55:05]

I love political cartoons. Several months ago, we realized that this content would make a great coffee table book, recreating in chronological order the images that came to define the most unpredictable election of any of our lives. That was the idea behind what came to be known as "Smercomics 2024." It features the work of Jack Ohman, Rob Rogers, Steve Breen, and Scott Stantis.

The books are all sold out. But recently, my wife and I were being honored by a Philadelphia charity, the Children's Crisis Treatment Center, CCTC. They do God's work. And at this event, I was able to present a check to CCTC, representing 100 percent of the profits from the book, $185,251 which I rounded up.

So, if you bought one of the books, I wanted to say thank you. Together, we really did do some good.

Speaking of thank yous, thank you to Catherine Brousseau and my team here at CNN. What a great year it has been. I'm sitting here wondering, what if they call me at CNN next year and they say, hey, that book club idea of yours, you know, the pilot that you shot 15 years ago that we shelved, damn, it looked good as a holiday special for the second year in a row.

Happy New Year to everybody. I'll see you in the new year.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)