Books and More with William Cooper

Max and I discuss the most consequential topics in technology today, including AI and cybersecurity. In addition to his work running the technology section at Fast Company, his writing has also appeared in publications such as The New York Times, The New Yorker, Wired, and The Guardian. He is the recipient of two Society of Professional Journalists awards and his 2016 essay on diners was anthologized in Best Food Writing.
https://www.fastcompany.com/user/mufberg
#artificialintelligence #cybersecurity
 
DON'T WORRY, BE HAPPY.
will-cooper.com
 
 
 
 

Ken is the lead NFL reporter for The New York Times. We discuss the recent NFL meetings, the upcoming draft, and his hit book, Every Day Is Sunday: How Jerry Jones, Robert Kraft, and Roger Goodell Turned the NFL into a Cultural & Economic Juggernaut.
It's a great read. The NFL is, indeed, a juggernaut.
 

Ilona joins to discuss her tremendous new novel FIVE, out on May 5, 2026.
https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/803094/five-by-ilona-bannister/
Book Description
Five lives. Five stories. Four will live—one will die. Who it will be? In this slow-burn masterpiece of psychological fiction, the choice is all yours.
“Five is a gripping, chilling story that asks difficult questions about judgement, forgiveness, and the notion of cause and effect.”—Chris Whitaker, New York Times bestselling author of All the Colors of the Dark
Have you ever tried to pass the time by imagining the lives of the strangers standing next to you? Ilona Bannister’s Five introduces readers to five seemingly random people waiting for a train. But these are not just any five people. From the beginning we know that one of them is going to die soon. Very soon. In five minutes the next train to London will arrive, killing one of them. But before this happens you will learn their stories.
None of these people are saints. Readers might fall in love with the beautiful young man who is on the verge of gambling his life away. They may pity the cantankerous old woman who has fallen to the ground yet is refusing help. Perhaps readers will look away from the child throwing a tantrum. Or judge his mother, who must surely be to blame. And some will be curiously compelled by the successful and damaged businessman orbiting them all.
These are the candidates for this morning’s misfortune. But they don’t know it. Only you know. And you, our complicit reader, will not be able to resist deciding who deserves to walk away, and who deserves only five more minutes to live.
An incredibly original novel that breaks the fourth wall and asks the reader to be judge, jury, and executioner, Five looks at some of the most complicated issues of contemporary life: motherhood, disability, addiction. Every stranger has a story. And in Ilona Bannister’s skillful hands, five people’s stories come together to create an unforgettable novel.

We discuss Professor Benton's latest book, They Called It Peace, and how it applies to current events--including the recent capture and arrest of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro.
Book: https://press.princeton.edu/books/hardcover/9780691248479/they-called-it-peace

How Our Constitution Works … And Why It Doesn’t: A wonderful discussion with Professor Eskridge—one of the top ten most-cited legal scholars of all time. He doesn’t mince words in his critique of the court.
DON’T WORRY, BE HAPPY.
will-cooper.com

A delightful interview with the co-publishers (two lifelong friends and book lovers) of Quite Literally Books, a heritage press devoted to discovering and reissuing ought-to-be-in-print books by American women authors—and occasionally others—who’ve been shelved for far too long.
https://quiteliterallybooks.com/?srsltid=AfmBOopfyHvxDG8jGe6Lvrqerie5N3GVrSpiUtmG2ts75GnMIp0KfMUj
 
will-cooper.com

The Rt Hon Sir Desmond Swayne is the Conservative MP for New Forest West. We have a far-reaching and stimulating conversation about US and UK politics.
 
DON'T WORRY, BE HAPPY.
https://will-cooper.com/

Georgetown Law Professor Steve Vladeck joins the show to discuss his New York Times bestselling book The Shadow Docket. Steve a leading authority on the Supreme Court and his wildly popular Substack newsletter One First is essential reading for every citizen concerned with (and by) the nation's highest court.
 
 

Some fun snippets from my new novel. 
DON'T WORRY, BE HAPPY.
will-cooper.com

Her new novel, Evening Begins the Day, will be published by Koehler Books in Spring 2026! The story weaves together two families in crisis—one reeling from a marital betrayal and the other grappling with their at-risk teenage daughter—with an ancient spiritual practice called The Counting of the Omer; a modern-day quest for community, hope, and safety.
 
https://jessicabrilliantkeener.com/about-jessica-keener.html