A Conversation With... Steve Israel

About this episode

Steve Israel discusses his journey from Congressman to author and bookstore owner while sharing book recommendations for critical thinking.

Once upon a time, there was a Mets‑loving Congressman from New York who went on to become an author—and then opened an independent bookstore called Theodore’s Bookshop. On this episode, we welcome self‑proclaimed history nerd Steve Israel. Steve shares his top five book recommendations for reclaiming critical thinking and unpacks the amygdala. Hold your values tightly, but your ideas loosely—because there’s a universe much bigger than our own… In the Stacks!

People in this episode

Guest: Steve Israel

Topics covered

• books
• critical thinking
• history

Keywords

• Mets
• Congressman
• independent bookstore
• Theodore’s Bookshop
• amygdala

Mentioned in this episode

Places: New York

More episodes of In the Stacks

• A Conversation With... Kwani O'Pharrow · February 2, 2026
• A Conversation with... Geetu Makin · December 22, 2025 · 58 min
• A Conversation With... Senator Monica Martinez · November 19, 2025 · 52 min
• A Conversation With... Rebecca Sanin · October 21, 2025 · 46 min
• A Conversation With... Madeline Quintyne-McConney · October 9, 2025 · 57 min
• A Conversation With... Jason Richberg · September 29, 2025 · 60 min