Walter Mondale shares insights from his five decades in public life, his role in creating the modern vice presidency, and the parallels he sees between the Carter years and the Obama years. In The Good Fight: A Life in Politics, he describes his evolution from a young Minnesota attorney general, to a U.S. senator, to vice president and a presidential candidate. He spells out the principles required to restore the United States as a model of progressive government.

Melissa Clark, writer of the weekly feature “A Good Appetite” in the New York Times Dining Section, talks about dishes that are easy to cook and that speak to everyone. In the Kitchen with a Good Appetite: 150 Recipes and Stories About the Food You Love, presents delicious, simply sophisticated recipes for foods so many of us like to eat. Clark prefaces each recipe with the story of its creation—the missteps as well as the strokes of genius—to inspire improvisation in her readers.

Pulitzer Prize winning novelist Michael Cunningham discusses his latest, By Nightfall. It tells the story of Peter and Rebecca Harris: mid-forties denizens of Manhattan’s SoHo, with successful careers in the arts. All goes awry when Rebecca’s wayward, much younger brother, who has a history of drug problems, shows up for a visit.

Martin Fletcher, longtime chief of NBC’s Tel Aviv news bureau, discusses walking along the entire coast of Israel, from Lebanon to Gaza, observing facets of the country that are ignored in news reports. His book Walking Israel: A Personal Search for the Soul of a Nation is packed with humor, historical insights, emotion, and true-life tales.

Melissa Clark shares some of her appetizing recipes with us, from her new book: In the Kitchen with A Good Appetite.

How would former Vice President Walter Mondale spend his last day in New York City? Read more to find out!

Michael Cunningham is a fan of The Social Network. Find out what else he revealed to us after his recent appearance on The Leonard Lopate Show. 

Find out some of Melissa Clark's favorite picks after appearing on The Leonard Lopate Show.