Overheard with Evan Smith

S01E01 21 Okt 10

Jonathan Alter

Longtime Newsweek columnist Jonathan Alter joins us to discuss the latest in politics, the midterm elections and The Promise: President Obama, Year One, his new book about the beginning of Obama's presidency.

S01E02 28 Okt 10

P.J. O'Rourke

P. J. O'Rourke was a political satirist when Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert were still in short pants - and he was angry at the establishment when Sarah Palin was still reading sports scores on the local news.

S01E03 4 Nov 10

Amanda Hesser

Star food writer Amanda Hesser is a prolific food writer for The NY Times, former food editor of The NY Times Magazine, co-creator of the recipe lover's blog food52 and the author of the new, 1000-recipe The Essential NY Times Cookbook.

S01E04 11 Nov 10

Jim Leach

Jim Leach became head of the National Endowment for the Humanities in 2009, after 30 years in Congress. A Republican, Leach often strayed from the party line and advocates civility - attitudes he has vowed to bring to his NEH job.

S01E05 18 Nov 10

Howard Dean

The midterms are behind us and a new political landscape is taking shape. Howard Dean, former Vermont governor, 2004 contender for the Democratic presidential nomination and former DNC chair, joins us to discuss what's ahead.

S01E06 2 Des 10

Sam Tanenhaus

Sam Tanenhaus is editor of The New York Times Book Review, and his biography of Whittaker Chambers was a finalist for both the Pulitzer Prize and the National Book Award. His latest book is The Death Conservatism.

S01E07 9 Des 10

Ian Frazier

Frazier's varied mix of humorous essays, meticulously reported books of non-fiction, and wide-ranging magazine articles, tackle the history of the Great Plains, a humorous look at the life of Don Johnson and a trip through Siberia.

S01E08 16 Des 10

Bill Bradley

Billy Bradley has been a three-term US Senator, a candidate for the 2000 Democratic nomination, an NBA hall of famer, a Rhodes Scholar, the author of six books, the host of a radio show and a partner in a New York investment bank.

S01E09 23 Des 10

Michael Pollan

Author and activist Michael Pollan's work mixes journalism, environmentalism, animal rights, anthropology, and foodiness. He's become an educator, agitator, guide for the not-so-simple act of buying and consuming food.

S01E10 13 Jan 11

Ed Rendell

PA Governor Ed Rendell leaves public life this month after 8 years as Governor, a stint as the DNC's head and many years in public office before that. He talks about wussiness in America, infrastructure problems and learning to drive again.

S01E11 20 Jan 11

Douglas Brinkley

Douglas Brinkley's books explore U.S. history from old times to new, from one end of the country to the other, through profiles of events and people and institutions. His latest book is The Quiet World: Saving Alaska's Wilderness Kingdom.

S01E12 27 Jan 11

Lawrence Wright

Lawrence Wright's most recent book, The Looming Tower, won a Pulitzer and set the highest possible bar for reporting on our complicated post-9/11 world. His next big project - for The New Yorker and a book - examines Scientology.

S01E13 3 Feb 11

Chely Wright

Singer-songwriter Chely Wright has been named Best New Female Vocalist and one of People's 50 Most Beautiful People. She's also author of a memoir, the first openly gay country music star and founder of The LIKE ME Organization.

S01E14 17 Feb 11

Matthew Dowd

Matthew Dowd has worked at the heart of American politics for more than 25 years, shaping strategies and campaigns for both Democrats and Republicans. It's widely reported that his latest advice is for President Barack Obama.

S01E15 24 Feb 11

John Mackey

John Mackey is co-founder & CEO of Whole Foods Market, the largest U.S. natural foods grocer and a growing global presence, with more than 300 stores in North America and the U.K. Whole Foods marks it's 30th anniversary this year.

S01E16 10 Mar 11

Lawrence Lessig

Lawrence Lessig is a celebrated academic, an acclaimed author, and an energetic activist whose great cause is rights and freedoms in the digital sphere. He's also increasingly an advocate for accountability in institutions.

S01E17 17 Mar 11

Bill Paxton

Bill Paxton is a gifted actor whose credits include One False Move, Weird Science and Apollo 13, but legions of wannabe sister wives know him as polygamist Bill Henrickson on HBO's Big Love, soon ending a marvelous five-year run.

S01E18 24 Mar 11

Garrison Keillor

Garrison Keillor is an author, humorist, storyteller and icon of public broadcasting whose weekly radio show, A Prairie Home Companion, has been a part of our lives, in one form or another, since 1974.

S01E19 7 Apr 11

Wyatt Cenac

Wyatt Cenac's reports for The Daily Show with Jon Stewart have introduced his work to a wide audience. But his work reaches far beyond his role as a fake news writer and correspondent.

S01E20 14 Apr 11

Diane Wood

Diane Wood is a Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals judge respected across the political spectrum as an intellectual heavyweight. Twice, she's made Obama's short list for the Supreme Court. Maybe the third time will be the charm.

S01E21 21 Apr 11

Calvin Trillin

Calvin Trillin has been a staff writer at The New Yorker since 1963, and over those many years he's written enough pieces about Texas food and politics and life in general to fill an anthology. Trillin on Texas is in bookstores now.

S01E22

S01E22 28 Apr 11

Gail Collins

Gail Collins is a funny and fearless twice-weekly columnist for The New York Times, the first woman ever to serve as the paper's editorial page editor and the author of several books. Her new book will be about, yes, Texas.

S01E23

S01E23 5 Mei 11

Holland Taylor

Holland Taylor is an award-winning actress, acclaimed for her work on stage, in film and on television, whose one-woman play about the life of former Texas governor Ann Richards will be soon be coming to a theater near you.

S01E24

S01E24 12 Mei 11

Wendy Kopp

Wendy Kopp is founder and CEO of Teach for America, which has recruited the best and brightest college students to become teachers where they're needed most - in urban and rural public schools - for more than two decades.

S01E25

S01E25 19 Mei 11

Harry Shearer

Harry Shearer is an Emmy and Grammy-nominated actor and writer whose credits include Spinal Tap, A Mighty Wind, and The Simpsons. The Big Uneasy, his documentary about New Orleans before and after Katrina, has just been released.

S01E26

S01E26 26 Mei 11

Robert F. Kennedy, Jr.

Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. is a celebrated advocate and activist on behalf of the environment, conservation and responsible stewardship of the planet through two watchdog groups dedicated to protecting water in New York and worldwide.

S01E27

S01E27 2 Jun 11

Julian Bond

Julian Bond is an activist, academic, author and true icon of the civil rights movement. He helped found the SNCC and has led both the Southern Poverty Law Center and the NACCP. Bond also served 10 terms in Georgia's legislature.