Today on The Stacks, we’re joined by Pulitzer Prize-winning biographer, journalist, and author Kai Bird to discuss his new book, American Scoundrel: Roy Cohn's Dark Journey from Joe McCarthy to Donald Trump. This book explores the life of high-powered lawyer and fixer, Roy Cohn, and how his controversial four-decade career directly influenced modern politics. In this episode, we talk about why he chose to cover Roy Cohn’s life now, how biographers shape stories, and the most surprising source for the book. Our book club pick for September is Brother, I’m Dying by Edwidge Danticat. We will be discussing the book with Natalie Green on Wednesday, September 30th.You can find everything we discuss on today's show on The Stacks website: https://www.thestackspodcast.com/2026/9/23/ep-443-kai-birdConnect with Kai: Website | X/TwitterConnect with The Stacks: Instagram | Threads | Shop | Patreon | Goodreads | Substack | YoutubeSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.