Is America more driven by Cast than by Race?

Isabel Wilkerson will be here to talk about her new book Cast, The Origins of our Discontents.

And where is America's forgotten capital of Vice?

David Hill will be here to tell us about his book The Vapors.

Plus Dwight Garner will turn the tables and ask me a few questions.

This is the Book Review Podcast from the New York Times.

As August 7, I'm Pamela Paul.

Isabel Wilkerson joins us now.

She is a Pulitzer Prize winner and the author of The Warmth of Other Sons,

which she came on the podcast to talk about a little bit when she reviewed Michelle Obama's

Becoming.

She is back now to talk about her new book Cast, The Origins of our Discontents.

Isabel, thanks so much for being here.

Oh, thanks for having me.

So as I alluded to my intro, the last time you came on this podcast,

you did come ostensibly to talk about one book in particular, which was Michelle Obama's Becoming,

which I used as an excuse to talk about a book of your own, The Warmth of Other Sons.

And I don't have to have that excuse to talk about a book of your own this time,

because you have a new book.

Let's talk about how you got from The Warmth of Other Sons to this new book Cast,

because you wrote in your book something, you know, sort of intriguing,

which is that you didn't seek to write this book, but you felt like you had to write it.

...