for overheard with evan smith is provided, in part, by the alice kleberg reynolds foundation, hillco partners, a texas government affairs consultancy, and by claire and carl stuart. - i'm evan smith, he's a two-term united states senator from minnesota and the author of several best-selling books, including his latest memoir, al franken, giant of the senate. he's al franken, this is overheard. (bright music) (audience applauding) let's be honest, is this about the ability to learn or is this about the experience of not having been taught properly? how have you avoided what has befallen other nations in africa? you could say that he made his own bed but you caused him to sleep in it. no, you sought a problem and over time, took it on and let's start with the sizzle before we get to the steak: are you gonna run for president? i think i just got an f from you, actually. (audience laughing) this is overheard. (audience applauding) al franken, welcome. - thank you, evan. - thank you very much for being here, congratulations on the book. - thank you, thank you. - i have to say i was little surprise

- [female speaker] funding for overheard with evan smith is provided in part by hillco partners, a texas government affairs consultancy and by claire and carl stuart. and by claire and carl stuart. - i'm evan smith. he's a harvard educated attorney whose status as a gold star father was both celebrated and politicized in the 2016 presidential campaign. his new book is an american family: a memoir of hope and sacrifice. he is khizr khan. this is overheard. (upbeat music) - let's be honest. is this about the ability to learn or is this about the experience of not having been taught properly? (mumbled snippets of interviews) mr. khan, an honor to meet you. - thank you. - and thank you very much for being here, sir. - thank you. i am honored to be here. - i believe this book is extraordinary in many ways but maybe the most extraordinary way is it is the most patriotic book i've ever read. i walk away from reading this book with a sense of hope and optimism about america and a feeling of great patriotism. i don't know if that's what you intended. did you intend that? - this really is a story

- [announcer] funding for overheard with evan smith is provided in part by hillco partners, a texas government affairs consultancy, and by claire and carl stuart. - i'm evan smith, he's the co-founder of spy magazine, the host of the public radio program studio 360, and a best selling author whose most recent books are fantasyland: how america went haywire and the parody memoir you can't spell america without me, the really tremendous inside story of my fantastic first year as president donald j. trump. he's kurt andersen, this is overheard. (audience applauding) let's be honest, is this about the ability to learn or is this about the experience of not having been taught properly? how have you avoided what has befallen other nations in africa? hate to say that he'd made his own bed, but you caused him to sleep in it. you saw a problem and over time took it on. let's start with the sizzle before we get to the steak. are you gonna run for president? think i just got an f from you, actually. (audience applauding) kurt andersen, welcome. - happy to be here. - good to be with you, congratulations o

- [announcer] funding for overheard with evan smith is provided in part by hillco partners, a texas government affairs consultancy, and by claire and carl stuart. - i'm evan smith. he's a comedian, actor, podcaster and best-selling author who made facts up before making facts up was cool. his latest book, not made up, is vacationland: true stories from painful beaches. he's john hodgman, this is overheard. john hodgman, welcome. - thank you so much, it's wonderful to be here. - good to see you and welcome back, and congratulations on this. - thank you, this is my book, vacationland. - it's a lovely book. you know that, we're gonna talk almost exclusively about this - we can talk about whatever you like. - the cover is one of the great book covers of the year. it's a great design. i think the design is fantastic. - and may i credit the genius of aaron draplin of portland, oregon, an amazing designer who works in this kind of '70s, what he calls "thick line" style. he designs logos and corporate identities. he also created field notes, those little notebooks you can get at bookstores. so he's an

- [announcer] funding for overheard with evan smith is provided in part by hillco partners, a texas government affairs consultancy, and by claire and carl stuart. - i'm evan smith. she's a veteran magazine journalist whose first two books, just like us and soldier girls, were critical favorites. her third, the newcomers: finding refuge, friendship and hope in an american classroom has just been published. she's helen thorpe, this is overheard. helen thorpe, welcome. - thank you so much. - i'm gonna pretend that we don't know each other. stipulate, we've been friends for - a long time, decades. - 25 years, longer than that. and you know, the thing about this book, which made me cry, and i think is wonderful and is the best of your three books is, i'm overwhelmed with admiration for what you've accomplished here. - thank you so much. - it's a great book and it's a great book right now because of the world we're in and the issues that are before us. and i'm trying to understand, even having read the book and having thought about what you must have been thinking about, how did you know that we wou

funding for overheard with evan smith is provided in part by the alice kleberg reynolds foundation, hillco partners at texas government affairs consultancy, and by claire and carl stuart. - i'm evan smith, he's a four-time grammy winning singer and songwriter, and actor, a photographer, a horse-enthusiast, a style icon, and after all these years, still the most texan texan of the modern era. he's lyle lovett, this is overheard. let's be honest, is this about the ability learn or is this about the experience of not having been taught properly? how have you avoided what has befallen other nations in africa, you can say he made his own bed, but you caused him to sleep in it. you know, you saw a problem, and over time, took it on, and let's start with the sizzle before we get to the steak. are you gonna run for president? i think i just got an f from you, actually. this is overheard. lyle lovett, welcome. - evan, thanks for having me. - nice to be back with you. - congratulations on 16 years of the show! - well, thanks very much. can't believe it, time goes fast. - it was first season that we first spo

funding for overheard with evan smith is provided in part by the alice kleberg reynolds foundation, hillco partners, a texas government affairs consultancy, and by claire and carl stuart. - i'm evan smith. she covered donald trump's presidential campaign in 2016 for nbc and msnbc, and lived to tell about it. her memoir of her time on the trail, unbelievable, has just been published and it's already a new york times bestseller. she's katy tur, this is overheard. (easy listening music) let's be honest, is this about the ability to earn, or is this about the experience of not having been taught properly? how have you avoided what has befallen other nations in africa? and you could say that he'd made his own bed, but you caused him to sleep in it. you'd saw a problem and, over time, took it on. let's start with the sizzle before we get to the steak, are you gonna run for president? i think i just got an f from you, actually. (audience laughter) (applause) katy tur, welcome. - thanks for having me. - so good to see you, congratulations on the book, it's so great. - thank you! - i love this book, and the

- [narrator] funding for overheard with evan smith is provided in part by hillco partners, a texas government affairs consultancy, and by claire and carl stuart. - i'm evan smith, he's the publisher of the federalist, a conservative online magazine, and the host of its popular podcast, the federalist radio hour. he's ben domenech, this is overheard. [montage opener] let's be honest, is this about the ability to learn, or is this about the experience of not having been taught properly? how have you avoided what has befallen other nations in africa... you could say that he made his own bed, but you caused him to sleep in it. you know, you saw a problem, and over time, took it on... let's start with the sizzle before we get to the steak. are you going to run for president? i think i just got an f from you actually. [upbeat music] ben domenech, welcome. - good to be with you. - thank you for being here. - happy to be here. - we spend a lot of time, in the era of donald trump, asking the broad question, "is donald trump good for the media business?" let me be specific and ask you, if donald trump