it outlines the final years of viacom founder -- reign of a media giant.oint out that the story is more common than you think, writing this -- the drama that unfolded may have occurred at viacom and cbs, but the recent drumbeats of greed, backstabbing, plotting and betrayal at the upper levels of american business and society has hardly been confined to one or two companies, or one wealthy family and its hangers on. the coauthor james stewart joins me now. this story is unbelievable. for the average person out there they don't know who emmett redstone is but they know and see shows like suspicion succession. and they say, is this really how powerful empires and families were? and the truth is, based on this book, it is so much more twisted! >> it's even stranger. i love succession. this goes way beyond succession. and red stone -- in its heyday -- over 14 billion dollars and he was arguably the most powerful entertainment mogul in the world. and yet as he aged he physically deteriorated and mentally deteriorated. and even as a villain air billionaire -- ca

at one point, paramount and viacom, we're talking about brands everyone has heard of.paramount, it's cbs. it's the brands and companies that shape the shows that we watch, and the culture that we live in. this is a multi billion dollar empire, so the stakes, again, with his family drama were really high. >> my god. >> and -- downfall, james, talk to us about what brought that about, and also the ripple effects that the industry is still feeling. >> less mendez was proclaimed by the hollywood reporter as the most important person in the -- he brought cbs from the last place to first, he had the golden, touch everyone loved him. but he had these dark secrets in his past. really shocking examples of sexual impropriety and assault on women. and that he nonetheless what launched a civil war in the boardroom, attacking shari redstone and the redstone family, trying to strip them of their control. knowing that this was gonna come out, that was one of the big mysteries that we looked into. ultimately, his efforts failed on a spectacular level when women came forward. we have n

the authors write, quote, none of his major corporate decisions, such as wther cbs and viacom should merge, were made with an eagle eyed focus on the best choices for the companies and their shareholders. these decisions were made by hollow men seeking to curry the increasingly erratic favors of their patron, sumner redstone, and, quote, you'll see these books and authors featured in the near future. here on book tv. and finally, we want to know what you're reading. share with us your reading list or the books that you're looking forward to in 2023. simply record an audio file and email it to us at booktv at c-span dot org and we might use it on a future about books. well, thanks for joining us on about books. a program and a podcast produced by c-span booktv. we'll continue to bring you publishing news and author programs so you can get this podcast on our c-span now app and you can also watch online anytime at booktv dot org.

because his company is owned -- viacom paramount?oney their parent company has at stake in china? we are talking billions and billions of dollars. these parent companies, they censor their own content in china. you don't think they censor their own content in the united states, as well? of course they do, dana. >> greg: of course they do. >> dana: and that is me told. >> jesse: and i say that with a high level of confidence. >> greg: whe and i say that with a high level of confidence. >> dana: ahead, biden's border crisis has strike close to home. powerful testimony for my mother who lost twos sons to fentanyl crisisyour. i really tried sleeping with it, everybody. now i sleep with inspire. inspire? no mask? no hose? just sleep. learn more, and view important safety information at inspiresleep.com i was thinking, i should probably set up that 90 day refill. walgreens is all about making life easier. i can help set that up right now for you. i'll be honest, there are days i forget what she's supposed to be taking. hey, i get it... and

." >> it was probably just because viacom didn't want us to say that >> seth: okay, gotcha.unke christmas." >> that's right. >> seth: and these are --. i mean there's like an industrial complex of christmas movies >> this is right >> seth: and they have some really wonderful tropes that recur often. >> they're all the same movie. they're all a very uptight bitchy executive goes usually to a small town at christmas. and she wants to buy the inn and destroy it and turn it into a parking complex. and, i don't know, indoor water ski facility >> seth: yeah. >> and she's-- and she doesn't believe in christmas of course she hates christmas, and she hates love so she comes to the small town and then miraculously meets a non-january 6th participating lumberjack [ light laughter ] and it's amazing and she -- and she -- he takes her into his be-flanneled arms and also the other thing i love about these movies they have one date, and then she gives up her entire career usually like, you know, harvard law. she's like, screw it i'm staying at the inn [ light laughter ] >> seth: yeah, and

story is more common than you think, writing this -- the drama that unfolded may have occurred at viacomrayal at the upper levels of american business and society has hardly been confined to one or two companies, or one wealthy family and its hangers on. the coauthor james beastly joins me now. this story is unbelievable! and for the average person out there, they don't know who -- recognize, but they see shows like succession, and they say -- is this really how powerful empires and families worked? and the truth is, based on this book, it's so much more twisted than a tv show! >> it is even stranger! and i love succession. but this goes way beyond succession. and something that restaurant and his heyday, forbes estimated his fortune at over 14 billion dollars. he was arguably the most powerful medium entertainment mogul in america in the world. and yet, as he aged, he physically deteriorated, mentally deteriorated, and you see that even though he's a billionaire, with what the best lawyers, advisers, caregivers -- the grifters, the hangers on, they moved in and started to try to separat

of the extraordinary board room machinations that led sherry redstone to wrest control of cbs and viacomrcled him in his final years. the "new york times" calls it a chronicle of corporate greed, manipulation, misogyny on a spectacular scale that almost brought down paramount global. and the coauthors of "unscripted" join us now. wow. i don't even where to begin. rachel, what's the biggest take-away in terms of this family and the position that sherry redstone is in? >> ultimately this is a family drama at its heart. if you like succession, you'll love this book. this is about a woman succeeding against all odds in a very sexist environment where everyone was quick to believe the worst about her. >> it is a difficult position she's been in in the media world. it's gone through a lot of changes over the past few decades. she was in the middle of it. what do you think your biggest, most shocking revelation in this book? >> there were plenty of them. we'd call each other back and forth and say, can you believe this? the fact that the two women who moved into the house made off with over $15