Open Book with Anthony Scaramucci

Connect with top talent ready to help your business grow: https://www.upwork.com/ What does it take to overcome extraordinary odds and turn a fight for survival into a life dedicated to serving others? Today on Open Book, I'm joined by Domenic Ionta, author of "From Children's to the Capital", to discuss his remarkable journey from a life-threatening birth injury to the halls of Washington, and the powerful lessons he's learned about resilience, gratitude, and why kindness may be our greatest superpower. Domenic Ionta is a public servant and advocate whose career has been shaped by personal resilience and a commitment to making a meaningful impact. With a deep belief in service, he has worked across industries and governments, contributing to global policy, security, and human rights. His journey is a testament to the power of perseverance, and his insights offer hope to anyone who feels their beginning might define their end. Get a copy of his book, From Children’s To The Capital: A Journey of Resilience,…

Connect with top talent ready to help your business grow: https://www.upwork.com/ For more than a century, America and the West have dominated the global order, but as new powers emerge, are our leaders still trying to govern a world that no longer exists? Today on Open Book, I'm joined by Richard Shearer, founder of Tintra, to discuss the rise of the Global South, the shifting balance of power between America and China, and why the West may need to fundamentally rethink how it engages with the rest of the world. *Note: We had to cut this episode short due to a technical issue, but I thought the conversation was too good not to release. Hope you enjoy it! Dickie Shearer has spent much of his life moving through the Global South, studying how culture, belief, and lived experience shape the systems people build. Today he is building AI-native financial and cultural infrastructure through Tintra. His writing blurs disciplines, from ancient architecture and modern finance to myth and politics, and from classical…

Johnnie B. “Dusty” Baker Jr. is the former manager of the San Francisco Giants, Chicago Cubs, Cincinnati Reds, Washington Nationals, and Houston Astros. Baker was drafted by the Atlanta Braves after graduating high school in California in 1967 and went on to win the World Series in 1981 with the Los Angeles Dodgers. Baker retired as a player in 1987 and has since become one of the most celebrated managers in MLB history, winning another World Series in 2022 as manager of the Houston Astros. Get a copy of his brilliant memoir, Crossroads: A Memoir in Baseball and Life Anthony Scaramucci is the founder and managing partner of SkyBridge, a global alternative investment firm, and founder and chairman of SALT, a global thought leadership forum and venture studio. Order my next book, All the Wrong Moves: How Three Catastrophic Decisions Led to the Rise of Trump, out now: ⁠https://www.scaramucci.net/allthewrongmoves Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Connect with top talent ready to help your business grow: https://www.upwork.com/ What happens to democracy when the truth no longer matters, politicians are rewarded for lying, and the institutions meant to hold them accountable are losing their power? This week, I sit down with legendary BBC journalist Stephen Sackur to discuss the investigations that shook the world, why Donald Trump has survived scandals that would have destroyed other presidents, and whether investigative journalism can still hold the powerful accountable. Stephen Sackur joined the BBC as a graduate trainee and spent many years as a foreign correspondent, covering the 1989 revolutions, the fall of the Berlin Wall, and the First Gulf War. He was based in Cairo from 1992 to 1995, and in Jerusalem from 1995 to 1997. He then moved to Washington, where he covered the 2000 election. He presented HARDtalk from 2005 to the final episode in March 2025. In June 2025, Stephen joined Times Radio as a regular presenter of The Times at One. Pick up…

Hollywood thought China represented the biggest growth opportunity in the world, but somewhere along the way, we started changing our movies, compromising our values, and teaching them how to compete with us. Chris Fenton was in the room when those deals were being made, and today he’s sounding the alarm about what America got wrong and what we need to do before it’s too late. Chris Fenton served as president of DMG Entertainment Motion Picture Group and GM of DMG North America, internationally orchestrating the creative and business activities of DMG- a multi-billion-dollar global media company headquartered in Beijing. He has produced or supervised twenty-one films, grossing $2 billion at the worldwide box office. Get a copy of his book Feeding the Dragon: Inside the Trillion Dollar Dilemma Facing Hollywood, the NBA, & American Business here: https://amzn.to/4xYdPlt Anthony Scaramucci is the founder and managing partner of SkyBridge, a global alternative investment firm, and founder and chairman of SALT, a…

My guest today is Akbar Shahid Ahmed, an award-winning foreign affairs journalist whose new book Crossing the Red Line takes us inside the Biden administration’s handling of Israel and the war in Gaza. We get into what Washington knew before October 7th, the warnings that were missed, and how the decisions that followed reshaped America’s relationship with Israel and the Middle East. These are the conversations we have to have in the world today. Akbar Shahid Ahmed is the Senior Diplomatic Correspondent for HuffPost, based in Washington, D.C. A native Pakistani, Akbar has reported from around the globe. Akbar won the 2025 Writers Guild Award for Outstanding Writing and a 2025 New York Press Club Award. Read his wonderful new book, Crossing the Red Line: Biden, His Advisors, and Israel's War in Gaza Anthony Scaramucci is the founder and managing partner of SkyBridge, a global alternative investment firm, and founder and chairman of SALT, a global thought leadership forum and venture studio. Order my next…

I am honored to be joined by my friend and repeat guest on Open Book, David Rubenstein. He has built one of the most successful careers in private equity, but he’ll be the first to tell you that owning a baseball team may be even harder. We talk about what he’s learned inside the owner’s box, why the best leaders know when to get out of the way, and his mission to bring a World Series championship back to his hometown of Baltimore. David M. Rubenstein is the New York Times bestselling author of How to Invest, How to Lead, The American Experiment, The American Story, The Highest Calling, and Inside the Owner’s Box. He is Co-founder and Co-chairman of The Carlyle Group, one of the world’s largest and most successful private investment firms. An original signer of The Giving Pledge and a recipient of the Presidential Medal of Freedom, Mr. Rubenstein chairs the Boards of the Council on Foreign Relations, the National Gallery of Art, the Economic Club of Washington, and the University of Chicago. Rubenstein is…

The Middle East didn’t become a cauldron overnight, and to understand what’s happening there today, you have to understand the history that brought us here. Simon Sebag Montefiore joins me to unpack the revolutions, empires, wars, and extraordinary personalities that shaped the region, and why decisions made decades ago still reverberate around the world today. Simon Sebag Montefiore is a historian whose bestselling books have been published in forty-eight languages and have won numerous awards, including the Costa Biography Award and the Los Angeles Times Book Prize. His books include Catherine the Great and Potemkin; Stalin; Young Stalin; Jerusalem; The Romanovs; The World; the acclaimed Moscow Trilogy of novels; Written in History; and Voices of History. He received his Ph.D. from Cambridge and is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature. I love all of Simon's books, but this might just be my favorite: The Cauldron: The Making of the Modern Middle East Anthony Scaramucci is the founder and managing…

What happens when you accumulate so much money and power that the normal rules no longer seem to apply? William Cohan joins me to unpack the extraordinary rise of Leon Black and Apollo, and a story of ambition, rivalry, Jeffrey Epstein, and the hubris that can turn unimaginable success into a cautionary tale. William D. Cohan is the New York Times bestselling author of Power Failure, which was named Best Book of 2022 by The New Yorker, Financial Times, and The Economist. He has written seven nonfiction narratives, including Money and Power, House of Cards, and The Last Tycoons. He was a longtime special correspondent at Vanity Fair and is a founding partner of and Wall Street correspondent for Puck. He writes often for the opinion pages of The New York Times and Financial Times and appears regularly on CNN, MSNOW, and BBC. This book is Bill Cohan at his very best: Money to Burn: The Unvarnished Truth About Leon Black, Apollo, and the Rise of a New Wall Street. Get it today! Anthony Scaramucci is the founder…

He has sold more than 100 million books, but what I love most about Harlan Coben is that he’ll be the first to tell you he still wrestles with self-doubt, and that fear can either paralyze you or fuel you. We talk about why it’s never too late to start, why your first draft is supposed to be messy, and what one of the greatest storytellers of our time has learned about failure, creativity, and having the courage to just get started. Harlan Coben has over 80 million books in print worldwide. Harlan Coben is the #1 New York Times author of thirty-five novels, including WIN, THE BOY FROM THE WOODS, RUN AWAY, FOOL ME ONCE, TELL NO ONE, and the renowned Myron Bolitar series. His books are published in 46 languages around the globe. Get a copy of Harlan's brilliant new book (out today), Plot Twist: Life, Craft, and the Messy First Draft: A Memoir on Writing Anthony Scaramucci is the founder and managing partner of SkyBridge, a global alternative investment firm, and founder and chairman of SALT, a global thought…

This is an unbelievable true story of a KGB defector who helped MI5 blow apart the Soviet spy network in Britain, and why British intelligence decided it couldn’t trust the CIA with the secret. It’s a story about espionage, paranoia and betrayal during the Cold War, but as Richard explains, the lessons about Russia, China and the shadow war against the West couldn’t be more relevant today. Richard Kerbaj is an espionage historian, BAFTA-winning and twice Emmy-nominated filmmaker, known for specializing in research on intelligence agencies and national security. Get a copy of his brilliant new book, The Defector: The Untold Story of the KGB Agent Who Saved MI5 and Changed the Cold War Anthony Scaramucci is the founder and managing partner of SkyBridge, a global alternative investment firm, and founder and chairman of SALT, a global thought leadership forum and venture studio. Pre-order my next book, All the Wrong Moves: How Three Catastrophic Decisions Led to the Rise of Trump, out on the 17th of September in…

Neil Gross joins me for a conversation about what happened to the American college experience, how politics, polarization, and fear of speaking your mind have damaged one of the greatest institutions this country ever built. We get into where the left went too far, why the right’s attacks on higher education could make things even worse, and whether America is at risk of giving away one of its greatest competitive advantages. Neil Gross is the Charles A. Dana Professor of Sociology at Colby College. He is the author of "Why Are Professors Liberal?" and "Why Do Conservatives Care?", which was based on the most comprehensive study of faculty politics since the 1960s. He has taught at Harvard, Princeton, Williams, and the University of Southern California and written for The Atlantic and The New York Times. Pick up your copy of Neil's brilliant new book What Happened to College?: How Politics Broke Higher Education and What We Can Do to Fix It (out today). Anthony Scaramucci is the founder and managing partner…

Today on Open Book, we're not joined by an author, but by a woman fighting to become the next mayor of Chicago. Susana Mendoza grew up in Chicago learning how to stand up to bullies, fight for what she believes in, and never back down. We talk about what’s gone wrong in Chicago, why she says the city can’t afford another bad mayor, and why she’s willing to risk her political career because, as she puts it, “I’m afraid to lose my city.” Susana A. Mendoza is an American politician. She is the 10th and current Comptroller of Illinois, taking office on December 5, 2016. She previously served as the City Clerk of Chicago from 2011 to 2016. She is running for Mayor of Chicago. Learn more about her campaign here: https://susanamendoza.com/ Anthony Scaramucci is the founder and managing partner of SkyBridge, a global alternative investment firm, and founder and chairman of SALT, a global thought leadership forum and venture studio. Pre-order my next book, All the Wrong Moves: How Three Catastrophic Decisions Led to…

Fidelity is one of the most powerful financial institutions in America, but the story of the family behind it has largely remained hidden. Justin Baer joins me to reveal how the Johnson dynasty built a $13 trillion empire, and how Abigail Johnson had the courage to reinvent it before the old business model became a relic. Justin Baer is an award-winning journalist and an editor for The Wall Street Journal. In a career that includes stints at the Financial Times and Bloomberg News, he has covered almost every significant financial event over the past two decades, including the dot-com bubble, the 2008 financial crisis and the economic fallout from the pandemic. Along the way, Baer has chronicled the ups and downs of such major institutions as Goldman Sachs, J.P. Morgan Chase, Citigroup and Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway. Get a copy of his brilliant new book, House of Fidelity: The Rise of the Johnson Dynasty and the Company That Changed American Investing Anthony Scaramucci is the founder and managing…

A former CIA officer sat down to write a "fun airport novel" and ended up putting a 20% probability on America actually splitting apart. James Telfer joins me to talk about what he saw from the inside that made him think the unthinkable, and why he's not laughing at his own fiction anymore. James Telfer is a retired CIA officer. He received his Bachelor of Arts in Criminal Justice from the University of Florida, then his Master of Science in Criminology from Florida State University. He traveled the world in service to the country, retiring in December 2025. Get a copy of his book, The National Divorce: A Story of a Fractured Superpower Anthony Scaramucci is the founder and managing partner of SkyBridge, a global alternative investment firm, and founder and chairman of SALT, a global thought leadership forum and venture studio. Pre-order my next book, All the Wrong Moves: How Three Catastrophic Decisions Led to the Rise of Trump, out on the 17th of September in the UK and the 22nd of September in the US:…

What does real courage look like when the cameras stop rolling, and the tribe wants you to fall in line? On this episode of Open Book, I sit down with Rye Barcott, Marine, author, and founder of With Honor, to talk about his book "Courage to Save Us," and why the ten Americans he profiles just might be the antidote to everything that's broken in our politics right now. Rye Barcott is a Marine Corps veteran, social entrepreneur, investor, and New York Times-bestselling author. He is co-founder and CEO of With Honor, a cross-partisan organization that fights polarization by supporting principled veteran leadership in public office. His first book, It Happened on the Way to War: A Marine's Path to Peace, juxtaposes humanitarian and military service in Kenya and Iraq. Dartmouth College awarded him an honorary Doctorate of Humane Letters. Learn more about his incredible organization With Honor here: https://withhonor.org/ Get a copy of Rye's important new book, Courage Can Save US: Ten Extraordinary Americans and…

I got fired from the White House, my marriage was falling apart, and the guy who talked me off the ledge was my publicist, Howard Bragman, a man so full of life he'd call you 'numbnuts' one minute and heal your family the next. On this episode of Open Book, musician Mike Maimone tells me what it was like to love Howard, lose him, and turn that grief into the most honest book I've read all year. Mike Maimone is a singer-songwriter, pianist, and producer. He has written and published more than two hundred songs, many heard on TV, in movies, and on the radio. He has played festivals such as Lollapalooza, headlined legendary venues like the Metro and the Troubador, performed on keys with Stevie Wonder, and toured in support of OK Go, Plain White T's, Blues Traveler, and more. I loved his late husband, Howard Bragman, and I loved this book, Guess What? I Love You , which I recommend you pick up ASAP. Anthony Scaramucci is the founder and managing partner of SkyBridge, a global alternative investment firm, and…

You send me the questions, I give you the answers, no filter, no spin, straight from the gut. This month: would I actually run for office, how I manage to read a book a week, why Independence Hall is the one thing I'd save in a disaster, my brutally honest advice on stress, and so much more. 📚Books mentioned in this episode: 1. All The Wrong Moves by Anthony Scaramucci 2. From Wall Street to the White House and Back by Anthony Scaramucci 3. The Gods of New York by Jonathan Mahler 4. Ransom by Daniel Silva 5. Lessons in Chemistry by Bonnie Garmus 6. The Richest Man in Babylon by George Clason 7. How To Win Friends and Influence People by Dale Carnegie 8. Think and Grow Rich by Napoleon Hill 9. The Divine Comedy by Dante Alighieri Anthony Scaramucci is the founder and managing partner of SkyBridge, a global alternative investment firm, and founder and chairman of SALT, a global thought leadership forum and venture studio. Pre-order my next book, All the Wrong Moves: How Three Catastrophic Decisions Led to the…

After reading his book on the war in Ukraine, you will understand the significance of this conflict as you never have before. Putin thought he could topple Kyiv in days and convinced himself Ukraine wasn't even a real country, and he could not have made a dumber decision. This is an immensely important subject and a powerful conversation, and I hope everyone listens to it. James Verini writes for The New Yorker, The New York Times Magazine, and National Geographic, among other publications. His journalism has received a National Magazine Award and a George Polk Award. He is the author of They Will Have to Die Now, about the battle that brought down ISIS. I say it on the podcast and will say it here: this book is seminal, heartbreaking, and a beautiful work of reporting. Get your copy here: The Theater: Courage and Survival in the Defining Atrocity of the Ukraine War Anthony Scaramucci is the founder and managing partner of SkyBridge, a global alternative investment firm, and founder and chairman of SALT, a…

Three-time Pulitzer winner Mike McIntire joins me to talk about his new book Ricochet (out today), and this one hit me hard. We've got more guns than people in this country, and I wanted to know how we got here and why we can't fix it. Mike broke down the NRA's radicalization, the Second Amendment fight all the way to the Supreme Court, and why Bobby Kennedy's assassination still echoes through this debate today. Trust me, you don't want to miss this one. Mike McIntire is an investigative reporter, author, and editor. As a member of the investigations unit at The New York Times, he shared Pulitzer Prizes in 2022 for reporting on the hidden financial incentives behind police traffic stops, and in 2017 for reporting on covert Russian interference in the US presidential election. This brilliant book, Ricochet: Guns, Greed, and the American Way of Violence, is out today, July 21st, and is widely important. Anthony Scaramucci is the founder and managing partner of SkyBridge, a global alternative investment firm,…

We're all walking around convinced we're right and everyone else is the problem, and it's tearing apart our politics, our workplaces, our families. Stu Kliman and Susan McKenty Brady join me to break down the four hidden landmines killing our ability to disagree without destroying each other. Susan MacKenty Brady is a global leadership expert, speaker, and CEO of the Simmons University Institute for Inclusive Leadership. She advises organizations worldwide on cultivating high-performing, human-centered cultures and is the coauthor of the USA Today and Wall Street Journal bestseller Arrive and Thrive. Stuart D. Kliman is a founder and Partner Emeritus at Vantage Partners, a midsize consulting and training organization headquartered in Boston. He is an expert in behavioral change management and collaboration, an alumnus of the Harvard Negotiation Project, and the Head of Business Development at PrescriberPoint. Get a copy of their brilliant new book, All the Difference: Six Leadership Actions to Bridge…

Daniel Silva is back for the 4th appearance on Open Book, with a new must-read book, Ransom, and once again, he's writing tomorrow's headlines before they even happen, from Russia's shadow war on Europe to the drones nobody wants to admit are already changing everything. Gabriel Allon gets pulled out of retirement one more time, and honestly, so did I, from the first page. Daniel Silva is the award-winning #1 New York Times bestselling author of twenty-eight previous novels. His books are critically acclaimed bestsellers around the world and have been translated into more than thirty languages. No idea how he keeps doing this, but each book is better than the last. Get yourself a copy of this brilliant new book, Ransom: A Novel. Anthony Scaramucci is the founder and managing partner of SkyBridge, a global alternative investment firm, and founder and chairman of SALT, a global thought leadership forum and venture studio. Pre-order my next book, All the Wrong Moves: How Three Catastrophic Decisions Led to the…

Putin weaponized the justice system; he went after the media, the universities, and even pulled a comedy show off the air because it made fun of him. On this episode of Open Book, I sit down with Jamison Firestone, a guy who survived mobsters, bugged the Russian police, and watched his friend Sergei Magnitsky get tortured and killed for exposing the truth. We talk Yeltsin, Putin, Navalny, and yes, I ask him what Putin actually has on Trump. His answer might surprise you. Jamison Firestone established the first independent foreign law firm in Russia, where he lived for eighteen years. He was a member of the board of Directors of the American Chamber of Commerce in Russia for the last six of those. He is a co-founder, along with Sir William Browder, of the Global Magnitsky Justice Campaign, which created the Magnitsky human rights and anti-corruption sanctions regimes. He also ran the Navalny 35 campaign promoting the sanctioning of corrupt oligarchs and officials identified by Alexei Navalny. He currently…

He built a betting exchange three decades ahead of its time, got prosecuted for it while John Roberts almost took his case, and served time for something states are now making legal one by one. This week on Open Book, Jay Cohen, the man the pro sports leagues crushed, tells me what really happened and why the house always wins in the end. Jay Cohen is the co-Founder and former President of World Sports Exchange, the first fully online betting site. Prior to World Sports Exchange, Cohen worked as an options market-maker for Group One Trading on the floor of the Pacific Stock Exchange. Cohen and World Sports Exchange have been featured in The New York Times, San Francisco Chronicle, Wall Street Journal, Washington Post, and on CNBC, HBO Real Sports, 60 Minutes, and ESPN. Get his wonderful new book (out today), Odds Man Out: The Untold Story of How Professional Sports Crushed the Pioneers of Online Anthony Scaramucci is the founder and managing partner of SkyBridge, a global alternative investment firm, and…

They made a vow to survive together, no blame, no panic, just 28 hours of pure will against sharks, jellyfish, and the open ocean. My guest, Michael Tougias, lived inside this story for years to bring it to you, and I promise you'll never look at the water the same way again. This episode is special! Michael J. Tougias is a New York Times bestselling author and coauthor of over thirty books for adults and middle readers. His books include Fatal Forecast, The Finest Hours, Overboard!, A Storm Too Soon, So Close to Home, The Waters Between Us, Extreme Survival, and The Power of Positive Fishing. He offers slide presentations and an inspiration program titled “Survival Lessons: Decision Making Under Pressure.” Read his absolutely brilliant new book, which I could not put down: In Deep Water: A True Story of Sharks, Survival, and Courage Anthony Scaramucci is the founder and managing partner of SkyBridge, a global alternative investment firm, and founder and chairman of SALT, a global thought leadership forum…

It's the June Q&A on Open Book, and you came at me with everything this month: aliens, whether there's a reckoning coming when Trump's term ends, and the honest reason it took me so long to break from him. I'm dodging none of it, plus I'm handing you a summer's worth of book recommendations. Keep the questions coming in the comments. 📚Books mentioned in this episode: 1. One Up On Wall Street by Peter Lynch 2. The Essays of Warren Buffett by Lawrence Cunningham 3. The Lessons of History by Will & Ariel Durant 4. Power Failure by William D. Cohan 5. Money and Power by William Cohen 6. The Last Tycoons by William Cohen 7. Money to Burn by William Cohen 8. Lords of Finance by Liaquat Ahamed 9. 1873: The Rothschilds, the First Great Depression, and the Making of the Modern World by Liaquat Ahamed 10. Criminal Violence Criminal Justice by Charles Silberman 11. Tyrants and Rogues by Robert G. Parkinson 12. A Perfect Coincidence by Jim Rasenberger 13. Regime Change by Maggie Haberman and Jonathan Swan 14. 1942: Crux…

Pete Carroll was written off as a flake, a fraud, and a two-time NFL failure, but then he built one of the greatest dynasties in college football history. This week on Open Book, Monte Burke and I get into the Men of Troy: the wins, the wild LA nights, and the scandal that brought it all crashing down. Monte Burke, the New York Times bestselling author, has been chosen for Barnes and Noble's "Discover Great New Writers" program and has won an Axiom Award for biography. His books have been named to "best of the year" lists by Sports Illustrated, Field & Stream, Outdoor Life, the (London) Times, and Amazon. After a 14-year stint as a reporter, staff writer, and editor at Forbes, he is now a contributing editor at the magazine. Get a copy of his latest book, Men of Troy: The Epic Afternoons, Wild Nights, and Enduring Legacy of Pete Carroll’s USC Trojans Anthony Scaramucci is the founder and managing partner of SkyBridge, a global alternative investment firm, and founder and chairman of SALT, a global thought…

Does America face a defining crisis every 80 years? In this episode, I sit down with musician and author Bob Crawford to explore the remarkable life of John Quincy Adams, why history may be rhyming once again, and what one of our most overlooked founding leaders can teach us about democracy, public service, and the challenges facing America today. Bob Crawford is the bassist for The Avett Brothers, the host of American History Hotline on iHeartRadio, and cohost of The Road to Now on SiriusXM’s POTUS channel, where he engages public figures and scholars in conversations that connect the past to the present. Crawford also serves as co-managing partner of the Press On Fund, a nonprofit dedicated to advancing pediatric cancer research. Get a copy of his brilliant first book, America's Founding Son: John Quincy Adams, from President to Political Maverick Anthony Scaramucci is the founder and managing partner of SkyBridge, a global alternative investment firm, and founder and chairman of SALT, a global thought…

Kathleen Harriman was there at the center of it all, at Churchill's side in the Blitz, in Stalin's Moscow, at Yalta, and somehow history almost forgot her. My guest today, renowned historian Geoffrey Roberts, is fixing that, and I promise you, once you hear her story, you won't. Geoffrey Roberts is an emeritus professor of history at University College Cork. A leading Soviet history expert, he has written many books, including Stalin’s Library, an award-winning biography of Georgy Zhukov, Stalin’s General, and the acclaimed Stalin’s Wars. Get a copy of Geoffrey's book Wartime Letters: London and Moscow 1941-1945 Anthony Scaramucci is the founder and managing partner of SkyBridge, a global alternative investment firm, and founder and chairman of SALT, a global thought leadership forum and venture studio. Pre-order my next book, All the Wrong Moves: How Three Catastrophic Decisions Led to the Rise of Trump, out on the 17th of September in the UK and the 22nd of September in the US:…

What if the biggest thing standing between you and your best life isn't failure, it's what other people think of you? Today, I sit down with world-renowned high-performance psychologist Michael Gervais to break down the hidden fear holding back even the greatest athletes, executives, and leaders on the planet. Dr. Michael Gervais is one of the world’s top high-performance psychologists and a leading expert on the relationship between the mind and human performance. He is the founder and host of the Finding Mastery Podcast, the co-creator of the Performance Science Institute at USC, and his work has been featured by NBC, ABC, FOX, CNN, ESPN, NFL Network, Red Bull TV, The Wall Street Journal, New York Times, Outside Magazine, WIRED, ESPN Magazine, and more. Get a copy of his transformative book The First Rule of Mastery: Stop Worrying about What People Think of You Anthony Scaramucci is the founder and managing partner of SkyBridge, a global alternative investment firm, and founder and chairman of SALT, a…

Mike Lynch was a working-class kid from East London who built one of Britain's greatest tech companies, and then watched it all collapse in a fraud scandal that stretched across two continents, two courtrooms, and ultimately, cost him his life. Katie Prescott joins me on Open Book to tell the story of a man who was flawed, brilliant, damaged, and damaging — and what his rise and fall says about the way we worship billionaires and the culture we've built around them. Katie Prescott is the technology business editor at The Times and a weekly columnist for the newspaper’s award-winning business section. A regular on Times Radio and The Times’ daily podcast The Story, she is a familiar voice to millions of listeners after a decade reporting for the BBC and presenting the business news on Radio 4’s Today. She is the current host of The Times Tech Podcast, and was the winner of ‘Tech Commentator of the Year’ at the UK Tech Awards. Get a copy of her wonderful new book The Curious Case of Mike Lynch: The Improbable…

Before New York was New York, it was New Amsterdam, a Dutch colony built on pluralism, capitalism, and a radical idea that tolerance could be a competitive advantage. Russell Shorto joins me on Open Book to tell the story of how a bloodless standoff in 1664 didn't just transfer a city from one empire to another, it set the genetic code for everything New York, and really America, would become. Russell Shorto is the best-selling author of eight books, including Smalltime, Revolution Song, Amsterdam, and The Island at the Center of the World. He is the director of the New Amsterdam Project at the New York Historical Society and a senior scholar at the New Netherland Institute. Russell's latest book, Taking Manhattan: The Extraordinary Events That Created New York and Shaped America is a must-read. I love his book The Island at the Center of the World and believe it's a must-read. Anthony Scaramucci is the founder and managing partner of SkyBridge, a global alternative investment firm, and founder and chairman…

I've been saying it for years, AI is the most important conversation we're having right now. Josh Tyrangiel spent a year hunting for the people actually using it to save lives, and what he found will change the way you think about this technology forever. Josh Tyrangiel is a writer for The Atlantic. He was previously the editor of Bloomberg Businessweek and chief content officer for Bloomberg Media. A twelve-time Emmy and Peabody Award–winning producer, he created Vice News Tonight on HBO and has produced numerous feature-length documentaries for HBO, Netflix, and Apple TV. Get a copy of his thought-provoking new book AI for Good: How Real People Are Using Artificial Intelligence to Fix Things That Matter Anthony Scaramucci is the founder and managing partner of SkyBridge, a global alternative investment firm, and founder and chairman of SALT, a global thought leadership forum and venture studio. Pre-order my next book, All the Wrong Moves: How Three Catastrophic Decisions Led to the Rise of Trump, out on…

Most of us grew up believing FDR saved America — my grandparents certainly did. But historian David Beito just changed everything I thought I knew about one of the most celebrated presidents in American history by providing a compelling counter-narrative. David T. Beito is Professor Emeritus at the University of Alabama. He is the author of The New Deal’s War on the Bill of Rights: The Untold Story of FDR’s Concentration Camps, Censorship, and Mass Surveillance (2023), T.R.M. Howard (biography of the civil rights pioneer, 2018), and Taxpayers in Revolt (1989, on tax resistance in the 1930s), as well as numerous scholarly and popular articles. Get a copy of his fascinating latest book, FDR: A New Political Life Anthony Scaramucci is the founder and managing partner of SkyBridge, a global alternative investment firm, and founder and chairman of SALT, a global thought leadership forum and venture studio. Pre-order my next book, All the Wrong Moves: How Three Catastrophic Decisions Led to the Rise of Trump, out…

Back for a second time on Open Books is a living legend: Steven Pressfield!!! He's spent his entire career writing about warriors, and what he told me in this conversation stopped me cold: the only way out of the cycle is through the pain, not around it. This is one of the great writers of our generation, and trust me, you do not want to miss this one. Steven Pressfield is the author of the best-selling novels Gates of Fire and Tides of War, as well as The Legend of Bagger Vance. He is also the author of the classics on creativity, The War of Art and Turning Pro. Get a copy of his brilliant new book, The Arcadian: A Novel. Anthony Scaramucci is the founder and managing partner of SkyBridge, a global alternative investment firm, and founder and chairman of SALT, a global thought leadership forum and venture studio. Pre-order my next book, All the Wrong Moves: How Three Catastrophic Decisions Led to the Rise of Trump, out on the 17th of September in the UK and the 22nd of September in the US:…

Before the Soviet Union, before Stalin, before communism swallowed half the world — there was one man who almost stopped all of it, and history buried him on purpose. Douglas Brunt brings him back to life, and what he uncovered will change the way you see the entire 20th century. Douglas Brunt is the New York Times bestselling author of The Mysterious Case of Rudolf Diesel and The Lost Empire of Emanuel Nobel, and host of the top-rated SiriusXM author podcast Dedicated with Doug Brunt. This book truly reads like fiction. Make sure to get a copy of The Lost Empire of Emanuel Nobel: Romanovs, Revolutionaries, and the Forgotten Titan Who Fueled the World Anthony Scaramucci is the founder and managing partner of SkyBridge, a global alternative investment firm, and founder and chairman of SALT, a global thought leadership forum and venture studio. Pre-order my next book, All the Wrong Moves: How Three Catastrophic Decisions Led to the Rise of Trump, out on the 17th of September in the UK and the 22nd of September…

James Holland is one of the greatest WWII historians alive, and his new book should be on the desk of every world leader. We get into the three decisions that built the entire postwar order, and why dismantling them might be the biggest mistake of our lifetime. James Holland, one of WWII’s finest historians, is the co-author of Victory ’45, and author of Cassino ’44, The Savage Storm, Brothers in Arms, Sicily ’43, Normandy ’44, Big Week, The Rise of Germany, and The Allies Strike Back in The War in the West trilogy, Burma ’44, and Dam Busters. He has written and presented the BAFTA shortlisted documentaries Battle of Britain and Dam Busters for the BBC, and his WWII podcast, “We Have Ways of Making You Talk,” now has millions of listeners. He is the founder of the annual Chalke Valley History Festival, and I am proud to attend again this year. I love James Holland, and his new book (OUT TODAY), The Visionaries: Bretton Woods, the Marshall Plan, and the Making of the Post-World War II Order, does not…

Jenny Wallace has written the book for our moment, a masterclass on why so many of us feel empty, disconnected, and like nothing we do actually matters. This isn't just self-help; this is a diagnosis of our culture, and trust me, you need to hear it. Jennifer Breheny Wallace is an award-winning journalist and author of the New York Times bestselling book Never Enough: When Achievement Culture Becomes Toxic—and What We Can Do About It, which was named an Amazon Best Book of the Year. Wallace began her journalism career at CBS's 60 Minutes and is a contributor to The Wall Street Journal and The Washington Post. Jennifer's book Mattering: The Secret to a Life of Deep Connection and Purpose is critical in today's world. Anthony Scaramucci is the founder and managing partner of SkyBridge, a global alternative investment firm, and founder and chairman of SALT, a global thought leadership forum and venture studio. Pre-order my next book, All the Wrong Moves: How Three Catastrophic Decisions Led to the Rise of…

This month's Q&A, we're getting into everything: the three books that changed how I think about money, how I went from Goldman Sachs to sick in bed on day one of my own company, and why I still say my biggest do-over would be working for Donald Trump. No scripts, no filters, just me, your questions, and the truth right off the cuff. Please keep submitting your questions below. 📚 Books mentioned in this episode: The Richest Man in Babylon by George S. Clason One Up on Wall Street by Peter Lynch Buffett: The Making of the American Capitalist by Roger Lowenstein You Are the Message by Roger Ailes The Elements of Style by Strunk & White 11/22/63 by Stephen King Anthony Scaramucci is the founder and managing partner of SkyBridge, a global alternative investment firm, and founder and chairman of SALT, a global thought leadership forum and venture studio. Pre-order my next book, All the Wrong Moves: How Three Catastrophic Decisions Led to the Rise of Trump, out on the 17th of September in the UK and the 22nd of…

I've spent time in Hong Kong, I've watched this city transform firsthand, and I can tell you what Beijing has done there is the blueprint for everything that comes next. Today I'm sitting down with Simon Elegant, former China bureau chief for the Washington Post, to talk about what the West is still getting dangerously wrong about the CCP, and why the clock may finally be running out. Simon Elegant is the China bureau chief for The Washington Post, based in Taiwan. Previously, he held a variety of reporting and editing jobs in Asia, including Beijing bureau chief and Southeast Asia correspondent for Time magazine. Elegant was the founding partner and investor in Temple Restaurant Beijing, which won the 2019 readers’ choice award from TripAdvisor as the world’s best restaurant. Pick up a copy of his new book City on Fire: A Novel of Hong Kong here: https://amzn.to/4dsQZKH Anthony Scaramucci is the founder and managing partner of SkyBridge, a global alternative investment firm, and founder and chairman of…

George Washington didn't just win the American Revolution; he invented what it means to lead with honor, and my guest today, award-winning historian H.W. Brands, is going to tell you exactly why this man, who could have been king, chose to walk away. On this episode of Open Book, we're going back 250 years to find out what Washington got right, and what we owe it to him to protect. H.W Brands holds the Jack S. Blanton Sr. Chair in History at the University of Texas at Austin. He has written more than a dozen biographies and histories, including The General vs. the President, a New York Times bestseller. Two of his biographies, The First American and Traitor to His Class, were finalists for the Pulitzer Prize. I am a massive fan of Professor Brands and think you should all pick up a copy of his new book, American Patriarch: The Life of George Washington, today: https://amzn.to/4d5L6UQ Anthony Scaramucci is the founder and managing partner of SkyBridge, a global alternative investment firm, and founder and…

Peter Diamandis is one of the most extraordinary minds I've ever had the privilege of calling a friend, a man who doesn't just predict the future, he builds it. Today on Open Book, we're diving into his new book "We Are as Gods", and trust me, what he has to say about AI, aging, and the next decade of human history will change the way you see everything. Peter H. Diamandis is a New York Times bestselling author and founder of over twenty-five companies in the areas of AI, health-tech, space, venture capital, and education. He is the cofounder of Singularity University and curator of Abundance360. He has degrees in molecular genetics and aerospace engineering from MIT and an MD from Harvard Medical School. His Moonshots podcast focuses on AI and other exponential technologies and routinely exceeds 1 million listeners per episode. Get his brilliant new book We Are as Gods: A Survival Guide for the Age of Abundance here: https://amzn.to/4f1gjty Anthony Scaramucci is the founder and managing partner of…

I sat down with Jake Humphrey and Damian Hughes — the guys behind one of the biggest podcasts on the planet — and what they told me completely reframed how I think about success. Forget the big goals, forget the hustle porn — turns out the only thing separating the best in the world from everyone else is a handful of tiny, almost embarrassingly simple daily habits. Jake Humphrey is one of Britain's best-respected sports presenters. Formerly a Premier League presenter at BT Sport, Jake has covered events ranging from Formula 1 to the London Olympics and was the youngest-ever presenter of the BBC's Match of the Day. Damian Hughes is an expert on high-performing cultures. A trusted advisor to businesses and sportspeople around the world, he has been praised by the likes of Richard Branson, Muhammad Ali, Roger Banister, and Alex Ferguson. Get their brilliant new book Micro-Habits: Tiny Changes That Supercharge High Performance here:…

Imagine you're smart enough to go to Wall Street, but instead you move into a Vegas apartment with six other guys and spend the next decade quietly robbing casinos blind — that's the wild true story Kit Chellel lays out in Lucky Devils, and I promise you it reads like the HBO series nobody's made yet. Kit joins me on Open Book to break down how science, obsession, and a little bit of beautiful arrogance changed the game forever. Kit Chellel is a reporter at Bloomberg and Businessweek Magazine, covering sports gambling, financial scandals, state-sponsored espionage, and more. He has received a Gerald Loeb Award, an Overseas Press Club Award, and a feature reporting prize from the New York Press Club. He is coauthor, with Matthew Campbell, of Dead in the Water, which was shortlisted for the Financial Times Business Book of the Year Award. Read his brilliant new book Lucky Devils: The True Story of Three Rebel Gamblers Who Beat the Odds and Changed the Game here: https://amzn.to/4vWooFP Anthony Scaramucci is…

Today's guest has done something I didn't think was possible: she made me understand the world I grew up in better than I understood it when I was living it. Heather Ann Thompson is a Pulitzer Prize-winning historian, and her new book, Fear and Fury, traces everything we're living through right now back to a single subway shooting in 1984. Heather Ann Thompson is a historian and the Pulitzer Prize and Bancroft Prize-winning author of Blood in the Water: The Attica Prison Uprising of 1971 and Its Legacy. She writes regularly on the criminal justice system for myriad publications, including The New York Times, The Washington Post, TIME, The Atlantic, and The New Yorker. She also co-runs the Carceral State Research Project at the University of Michigan. Damn, this book was great! Fear and Fury: The Reagan Eighties, the Bernie Goetz Shootings, and the Rebirth of White Rage, get your copy today: https://amzn.to/4mZtQE8 Anthony Scaramucci is the founder and managing partner of SkyBridge, a global alternative…

Lloyd Blankfein is one of the most consequential figures in the history of American finance — a kid from the Brooklyn projects who climbed to the top of Goldman Sachs and steered the firm through the worst financial crisis of our lifetime. This is a conversation I've been looking forward to for a long time, so glad to share it with you all on Open Book. Lloyd Blankfein was Chairman and CEO of Goldman Sachs from 2006 to 2018. I spent the first seven years of my career at Goldman Sachs, and Lloyd was my boss and mentor. He was kind to me then, and he's been kind to me ever since. I greatly admire all he's done for me, and there aren't too many people I admire more than Lloyd. His book — in my opinion — should be considered the business book of the year. Go buy it, you will not regret it! Get a copy of Lloyd's book Streetwise: Getting to and Through Goldman Sachs here: https://amzn.to/4mVo3PJ Anthony Scaramucci is the founder and managing partner of SkyBridge, a global alternative investment firm, and founder…

Today's guest spent five years digging through archives to uncover the real story of Lewis and Clark — and what he found will completely change the way you think about America's origin. Craig Fehrman is a journalist, a historian, and the author of The Vast Enterprise, and I'm telling you right now, this is one of the most fascinating conversations we've had on Open Book. Craig Fehrman, a journalist and historian, spent five years writing and researching This Vast Enterprise. His first book, Author in Chief, was described by Thomas Mallon in The Wall Street Journal as “one of the best books on the American presidency to appear in recent years.” Congrats on the book launch, Craig. Go out and get this amazing new book, This Vast Enterprise: A New History of Lewis & Clark here: https://amzn.to/4cnR3Mw Anthony Scaramucci is the founder and managing partner of SkyBridge, a global alternative investment firm, and founder and chairman of SALT, a global thought leadership forum and venture studio. Pre-order my next…

We are back with another Open Book Q&A — the episode where you ask, I answer, and nobody's feelings are guaranteed to survive intact. From repealing Citizens United to what Trump is really like behind closed doors, we're getting into all of it today, so let's go. 📚Books mentioned in this episode: Fear and Fury by Heather Ann Thompson Running Down a Dream by Bill Gurley Nigel Hamilton's FDR trilogy Rick Atkinson's WWII trilogy The Visionaries by James Holland All the Wrong Moves by Anthony Scaramucci Anthony Scaramucci is the founder and managing partner of SkyBridge, a global alternative investment firm, and founder and chairman of SALT, a global thought leadership forum and venture studio. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

David Baldacci has sold 150 million books, and when I picked up his first novel — Absolute Power — I was a 32-year-old lawyer who thought he had life figured out. What I didn't expect was to walk away from a thriller feeling like a different person. That's what David does. He doesn't just write stories — he holds up a mirror to humanity, all the mess and the greatness of it, and he dares you to look. Today on Open Book, we're getting into the new book, the craft, and why one of the greatest storytellers alive thinks reading books might be the only thing that saves us from ourselves. David Baldacci is an award-winning global #1 bestselling author and one of the world’s favorite storytellers. His books are published in over forty-five languages and in more than eighty countries, with over 200 million copies sold worldwide. Support his brilliant charity, Wish You Well Foundation, a nonprofit organization dedicated to supporting literacy efforts across America: https://www.wishyouwellfoundation.org/ David has…

My guest today is Jitske Kramer — corporate anthropologist, bestselling author, and one of the most original thinkers I've had on this show. We're getting into tricksters, liminality, and why the messy middle of change is exactly where we need to be having the conversations most people are too scared to have. The book is Tricky Times, and trust me — you need to read it. Jitske Kramer is a corporate anthropologist, bestselling author, and founder of HumanDimensions who travels the world learning from healers, leaders, and innovators to bring those insights back to the world of leadership and collaboration. She is the author of Deep Democracy, Jam Cultures, and The Corporate Tribe (2016 Management Book of the Year), among others. Through keynotes and masterclasses, she challenges organizations to make the unfamiliar feel natural — and the familiar feel brand new. Get a copy of her wonderful and underrated book Tricky Times: Navigating The Messy Middle of Change here: https://amzn.to/48jdK1L Anthony Scaramucci…