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The Roundtable

Megan Marshall's “After Lives: On Biography and the Mysteries of the Human Heart”

By Joe Donahue

Published July 22, 2025 at 10:31 AM EDT

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Megan Marshall, winner of the Pulitzer Prize for biography, has long been revered for her narrative skills and deep insights into historical figures. In her new book “After Lives: On Biography and the Mysteries of the Human Heart” she takes those skills to her own art and life.

She does this in a series of six intertwined pieces with each one being a conversation between her own experiences and the broader forces of history. Marshall reinvents the personal essay as a portal to the past with its lessons for living into the future.

[Encore airing - originally airs February 2025.]

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Joe Donahue

Joe talks to people on the radio for a living. In addition to countless impressive human "gets" - he has talked to a lot of Muppets. Joe grew up in Philadelphia, has been on the area airwaves for more than 25 years and currently lives in Washington County, NY with his wife, Kelly, and their dog, Brady. And yes, he reads every single book.

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