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 book, All the Wrong Moves: How Three Catastrophic Decisions Led to the Rise of Trump, out now: ⁠https://www.scaramucci.net/allthewrongmoves

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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 Chairman, CEO, and principal owner of Major League Baseball’s Baltimore Orioles. He hosts The David Rubenstein Show on Bloomberg TV and PBS, and Bloomberg Wealth with David Rubenstein on Bloomberg TV. David is brilliant, and this book provides amazing insights into the life of a sports owner: Inside the Owner's Box: Conversations on Power and Leadership in Sports. 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 on the 17th of September in the UK and the 22nd of September in the US: ⁠https://www.scaramucci.net/allthewrongmoves

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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 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: ⁠https://www.scaramucci.net/allthewrongmoves

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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 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: ⁠https://www.scaramucci.net/allthewrongmoves

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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 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: ⁠https://www.scaramucci.net/allthewrongmoves

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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 the UK and the 22nd of September in the US: ⁠https://www.scaramucci.net/allthewrongmoves

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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 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: ⁠https://www.scaramucci.net/allthewrongmoves

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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 the Rise of Trump, out on the 17th of September in the UK and the 22nd of September in the US: ⁠https://www.scaramucci.net/allthewrongmoves

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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 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: ⁠https://www.scaramucci.net/allthewrongmoves

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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: ⁠https://www.scaramucci.net/allthewrongmoves

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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 the Fight for Our Future

📚Books mentioned in this episode: War is a Force That Gives Us Meaning by Chris Hedges It Happened On the Way to War: A Marine's Path to Peace by Rye Barcott The Unforgiving Minute: A Soldier's Education by Craig M. Mullaney 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: ⁠https://www.scaramucci.net/allthewrongmoves

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