please welcome to the texas book festival steve inskeep. c [applause] >> thank you. thank you. >> it is very nice to be sitting next to your voice. [laughter] i have the theme from morning edition playing in my head. i suspect you get that all the time. >> yes, yes. there are actually lyrics to that song. about not wanting to be up in the morning. s [laughter] >> let's start, i have a couple ways i want to start into this book, but where i want to begin is something that you write in terms of coming into the subject matter at hand which is very powerful, and it's critical not only to sort of the formation of the united states, but also something that remains a very controversial topic. you say writing this book required me to join a centuries-old argument. so tell us about that argument r and what you found yourself wandering into. at you found you wandering into. >> people have argued over andrew jackson and particularly the removal of the indians for a couple of centuries now. it was great to hear the brilliant historian h.w. brand, not talking about ronald reagan,

. >> steve inskeep, thank you. nd part of steve's interview airs with senator sanders airs on npr's morning edition. >> it's always great to talk with you, kate. >> you, too. >>> vladimir putin has topped "forbes" most powerful people list for the third year in a row despite international sanctions and a deepening recession, his numbers have soared to 89% according to "forbes." they cite his bombing campaign as a sign of global influence. angela merkel nabs the runner up spot. as for president obama, he slipped from second to third place. the magazine cites shrinking influence as he enters the final years of his presidency, their words, not ours. we'll be right back. dug this out for you. it's your grandpappy's hammer and he would have wanted you to have it. it meant a lot to him... yes, ge makes powerful machines. but i'll be writing the code that will allow those machines to share information with each other. i'll be changing the way the world works. (interrupting) you can't pick it up, can you? go ahead. he can't