Podcast / The Nation Podcast / Apr 21, 2025

John Ganz on the Books of Donald Trump

On this episode of The Nation Podcast, John Ganz on the president’s Trump’s ghostwritten canon.

The Nation Podcasts
The Nation Podcasts

Here's where to find podcasts from The Nation. Political talk without the boring parts, featuring the writers, activists and artists who shape the news, from a progressive perspective.

John Ganz on The Books of Donald Trump | The Nation Podcast
byThe Nation Magazine

On this episode of The Nation Podcast, D.D. Guttenplan and John Ganz discuss the hype, hustle, and collapse embedded in Trump’s ghostwritten canon. "Dog Eat Dog," Ganz's review of Trump's three books, is in the May issue of The Nation.

Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands

Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

Donald Trump, signing his book “The Art of the Deal”

(Rick Maiman / Sygma via Getty Images)

On this episode of The Nation Podcast, we’re joined by John Ganz to discuss the hype, hustle, and collapse embedded in Trump’s ghostwritten canon. “Dog Eat Dog,” Ganz’s review of Trump’s three books, is in the May issue of The Nation.

Subscribe to The Nation to support all of our podcasts: thenation.com/podcastsubscribe.

The Nation Podcasts
The Nation Podcasts

Here's where to find podcasts from The Nation. Political talk without the boring parts, featuring the writers, activists and artists who shape the news, from a progressive perspective.

The Transformation of the New York Waterfront w/ Karrie Jacobs | The Nation Podcast
byThe Nation Magazine

In its heyday, the Bush Terminal industrial complex spanned several city blocks along Brooklyn’s waterfront and employed more than 35,000 people. Built by Irving Bush in the late nineteenth century, it was an "early intermodal shipping hub." Goods arrived by water and left by rail. Bananas, coffee, and cotton came in through doors on one side of the warehouses and were loaded onto trains on the other.

But after World War II, as trucks replaced rail and shipping patterns changed, the Terminal’s purpose faded and the vast complex slipped into disuse.

Today, Bush Terminal is again at the center of New York’s vision for urban reinvention— and a debate around development, displacement, and the future of work in the city.

Joining us on a deep dive into Bush Terminal is veteran architecture critic and writer Karrie Jacobs. Her essayOn the Waterfront,” appears in our December issue of the Nation.

Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands

Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

Subscribe to The Nation to Support all of our podcasts

Your support makes stories like this possible

From illegal war on Iran to an inhumane fuel blockade of Cuba, from AI weapons to crypto corruption, this is a time of staggering chaos, cruelty, and violence. 

Unlike other publications that parrot the views of authoritarians, billionaires, and corporations, The Nation publishes stories that hold the powerful to account and center the communities too often denied a voice in the national media—stories like the one you’ve just read.

Each day, our journalism cuts through lies and distortions, contextualizes the developments reshaping politics around the globe, and advances progressive ideas that oxygenate our movements and instigate change in the halls of power. 

This independent journalism is only possible with the support of our readers. If you want to see more urgent coverage like this, please donate to The Nation today.

D.D. Guttenplan

D.D. Guttenplan is a special correspondent for The Nation and the former host of The Nation Podcast. He served as editor of the magazine from 2019 to 2025 and, prior to that, as an editor at large and London correspondent. His books include American Radical: The Life and Times of I.F. Stone, The Nation: A Biography, and The Next Republic: The Rise of a New Radical Majority.

John Ganz

Nation columnist John Ganz is the New York Times best-selling author of When the Clock Broke: Con Men, Conspiracists, and How America Cracked Up in the Early 1990s. He writes the Unpopular Front newsletter on Substack, and his work has appeared in The Washington Post, Harper's Magazine, Artforum, the New Statesman, and other publications.

More from The Nation

American President Harry S. Truman seated in White House library, with “The Buck Stops Here” on a placard in foreground, circa 1950.

Cold War Liberal Empire—With Michael Brenes Cold War Liberal Empire—With Michael Brenes

On American Prestige: Derek speaks with Danny and Mike Brenes about Cold War liberalism, its shaping of the American empire, and more from their new co-edited volume.

Daniel Bessner and Derek Davison

Demonstrators gather outside the Iraqi embassy in Tehran to thank Iraq for what they consider its support of Iran and the “Axis of Resistance” during the war with the US and Israel.

The End of American Global Power? The End of American Global Power?

Podcast / The Time of Monsters / Apr 21, 2025 John Ganz on the Books of Donald Trump Anusar Farooqui on the long-term consequences of the Iran War. Jeet Heer Share Copy Lin…

Podcast / The Time of Monsters

Elon Musk, chief executive officer of Tesla Inc., during the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos, Switzerland, on Thursday, January 22, 2026.

The Problem With “CEO Said a Thing” Journalism—With Karl Bode The Problem With “CEO Said a Thing” Journalism—With Karl Bode

Paris Marx and Karl Bode discuss how tech journalists and corporate interests are irresponsibly raising the profile of tech CEOs, damaging public trust in institutional journalism...

Paris Marx

Representative Ro Khanna (D-CA) (R) participates in a discussion during a National Press Club Headliners Newsmaker event on April 14, 2026, in Washington, DC.

Ro Khanna: AI for the People—Plus, Trump’s Downward Spiral Ro Khanna: AI for the People—Plus, Trump’s Downward Spiral

On this episode of Start Making Sense, the member of Congress from Silicon Valley presents an “AI Manifesto,” and Harold Meyerson reports on Trump’s continuing decline.

Jon Wiener

How Unionization Can Solve the Crisis in College Football 

How Unionization Can Solve the Crisis in College Football  How Unionization Can Solve the Crisis in College Football 

Jason Stahl joins Edge of Sports to talk about the campaign to unionize college football.

Dave Zirin

Peter Magyar (C), lead candidate of the Tisza party, speaks to supporters after polling stations closed during Hungarian parliamentary elections on April 12, 2026, in Budapest, Hungary.

How Hungary Fought Its Fascists—With Zack Beauchamp and Jennifer McCoy How Hungary Fought Its Fascists—With Zack Beauchamp and Jennifer McCoy

Podcast / Apr 21, 2025 John Ganz on the Books of Donald Trump We have, of course, always been experts on Hungary… but just in case we’re missing something, we brought on two ac…

x