Hi everybody, thanks for joining us. You know, since I started my book club back in 1996,

I've chosen 86 books and my latest selection, Number 86, is Cast, the Origins of our

Discontents by Isabel Wilkerson. It's one of the most profound and important books I've ever read,

and I've been reading since I was five years old. And I think it is an absolute must-read for all

of humanity. And by humanity, I mean people who care about our humanity. And I think this will

be a catalyst actually for a real awakening, for everyone who reads it. So when you read Cast,

you will never see our country, our culture, even our individual selves the same way again. But first,

let me tell you a little bit about Isabel Wilkerson. While writing for The New York Times,

she became the first black woman to win a Pulitzer Prize for journalism. She's the recipient

of the National Humanities Medal. She's been a professor at Princeton, at Emory, at Northwestern,

and Boston universities. And she won the National Book Critics Circle Award for her first

nonfiction work, The Warmth of Other Sons, which is another spectacular read. And it is just an

honor for me to welcome to Apple Books, Ms. Isabel Wilkerson. Hello. Hello. So happy to be here with you.

Well, I'm excited about being able to talk to you about the content of this book and also

about having this format to do it, reaching people around the world. You know, I read Dwight

Gawner's book review in The New York Times. And he describes Cast as an instant American classic,

and almost certainly the keynote nonfiction book of the American Century thus far. The keynote

nonfiction book of the American Century thus far. And he went on to say that I was reading one of

the most powerful nonfiction books I'd ever encountered. And, you know, I've been talking to

authors for years, and I know that to get a great review, and especially a great review

from The New York Times means a lot. But I want to know how you felt when you read Dwight Gawner's

review. I was overwhelmed. I was so thrilled to have this recognition and someone who really

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