author, speaker and radio host eric ma taxis is our guest on booktv's "in depth." >> america is not defined by ethnicity. every ethnicity exists in america. it's not defined by religion. every religion exists in america. we're defined by an idea. we're the only country in the history of the world that was created and defined by an idea. and, therefore, in order to keep the republic as franklin enjoined us to do, we must know those ideas, we must understand those ideas, we must buy into those ideas and we must live them out. >> his books include biographies on dietrich bonhoeffer, and his latest, if you can keep it: the forgotten promise of american liberty. join our live, three-hour conversation with mr. metaxas live sunday at noon eastern on booktv's "in depth" on c-span2. >> does anyone else have an experience you'd want to share?

tyrone asks about his medication again, and cynthia deflects. the conversation turns to drugs and alcohol when tyrone instead begins talking about getting arrested for smoking a blunt. everyone except the wallflower patient has something to say about drugs. may i say something minor, asks manny, during a pause in the discussion. sure, cynthia nods. i don't mean to take up everyone's valuable time in the group. i know i don't deserve it. thank you so much for letting me speak. georgia mel sighs in frustration. you're fine, man, just talk. thank you, thank you. it's just that i struggled with alcohol for so long, almost 40 years now, and i've been sober since getting locked up. i hope so badly that i can stay clean when i get out. he seems to be a little more comfortable now and so continues talking. he tells us about being whipped against the wall as a 7-year-old when he didn't do a good enough job cleaning up the mess from his father's partying the the night before. one morning manny drank one of

the glasses of leftover orange juice, not realizing it was mixed with vodka. when his hungover father found out, he whipped manny until blood seeped through his shirt. but, manny said, it didn't hurt as much because he was tipsy from the alcohol, and so from then on, he drank as much as he could get his hands on. thank you for letting me share, says, manny. i know i'm not worth your time. i mean, i wrote these words, and i'm still getting a little tearful. manny, says jamle leaning forward in his chair, you are worth it, man. you've got mad courage. you just hang on and keep going one day at a time. that's all you've got to do. he looks like he's about to cry, as if no one has ever offered him kind words. antoine and tyrone look uncomfortable, but campbell nods in agreement. yeah, manny, you've just got to take it one day at a time. think about all those days you've survived already. i glance at cynthia to see if

she is appreciating what is going on in front of us. her eyes are wide and wet with amazement. we are witnessing a pivotal moment for manny, perhaps for the group itself, a collective responsibility to care for someone else, and no one wants it to end. >> you can watch this and other programs online at booktv.org. >> here's a look at some authors recently featured on booktv's "after words," our weekly author interview program. wall street journal writer and former editorial page editor george malone offered his thoughts on the publication's influence. former breitbart news editor miloy knop louse explored the limits on freedom of speech. and arizona senator jeff flake called for a return to the core principles of conservativism. in the coming weeks on "after words," harvard university professor danielle ellen will discuss how mass incarceration has impacted her family.

progressive policy institute senior fellow david osborn will examine the charter school movement and offer his outlook for the future of public education. and this weekend on "after words," radio host mark levin worns against federal -- warns against federal government expansion. >> this is something i struggle with all the time and i think you do and a lot of people do which is have we reached the point where we can't get back. are we now overwhelmed in the culture, in politics, in the media with this progressivismnotion of centralized government, phony egalitarianism, of the support perking of individualism? has it become so entrenched in our institutions that there's no way to rip it snout and i say -- to rip it out? and i say this, we have to do everything we can to confront it, to debate it, to explain to our fellow citizens what's

taking place. we simply have no choice. >> "after words" airs every saturday at 10 p.m. and sunday at 9 p.m. eastern. you can watch all previous "after words" programs on our web site, booktv.org. .. in american history for 226 years. we are an independent nonprofit organization that offers training for educators, public programs and a wealth of material for researchers, looking at h