America’s Book Club
David M. Rubenstein and Andrea Wulf
Presented by C-SPAN, Live at the Folger Shakespeare Library
Booking and details
Dates Mon, Jun 15, 2026, 4pm
Venue Reading Room
Tickets Available to Folger Members; advance registration required
Member event
C-SPAN’s America’s Book Club returns to the Folger Shakespeare Library on June 15. In collaboration with C-SPAN, the Folger will host David M. Rubenstein in conversation with award-winning author Andrea Wulf.
In America’s Book Club, Rubenstein leads thought-provoking conversations exploring the ideas that shaped America’s past, challenge the nation’s present, and inspire our future, as the United States approaches its 250th birthday.
For this conversation at the Folger, Rubenstein and Wulf will discuss historic breakthroughs in our understanding of the natural world, the environment, human thought, and human rights.
Wulf is best-known for her acclaimed biography of Alexander von Humboldt, The Invention of Nature (2015), an international bestseller. Her newest book, The Traveler, is a biography of the 18th-century naturalist and revolutionary George Forster, who sailed with Captain James Cook and became one of the first Europeans to talk about universal human rights.
Members of the Folger may register to attend this live event in the Reading Room. (Please email membership@folger.edu with any questions.) The conversation will be taped and aired on C-SPAN at a future date.
About the speakers
David M. Rubenstein
David M. Rubenstein is an investor, philanthropist, interviewer, author, and historian. He is Co-Founder and Co-Chairman of The Carlyle Group, one of the world’s largest and most successful private investment firms. Established in 1987, Carlyle now manages $465 billion from 27 offices around the world.
Andrea Wulf
Andrea Wulf is an award-winning author of several books, including The Traveler, Magnificent Rebels, and the international bestseller The Invention of Nature: Alexander von Humboldt’s New World, which is published in 27 languages. A New York Times bestseller, it also won fifteen international literary awards, including the Royal Society Science Book Prize and Costa Biography Award. Andrea is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature. She lives in London.
Folger Membership
Member of the Folger receive invitations to exclusive events like this one, among other benefits. Become a member today to get on the invitation list for future events.
About America’s Book Club
America’s Book Club is a featured part of C-SPAN’s America 250 programming to honor, explore, and celebrate the 250th birthday of the nation at iconic libraries and cultural landmarks, including the Library of Congress and the National Archives. Other guests in the America’s Book Club series include Justice Amy Coney Barrett, John Grisham, Henry Louis Gates, Arthur Brooks, Walter Isaacson, Stacey Schiff, and José Andrés. Watch the series trailer below and learn more on the America’s Book Club website.
About C-SPAN
C-SPAN, the private nonprofit public affairs media organization providing Americans with unfiltered access to government proceedings, was created in 1979 as a public service by the cable television industry and is primarily funded through fees paid by cable and satellite television companies that provide the C-SPAN Networks to subscribers. C-SPAN connects with millions of Americans through its three commercial-free TV networks, C-SPAN Radio, C-SPAN podcasts, the C-SPAN Now app, a new connected-TV streaming app C-SPAN Select, C-SPAN.org and various social media platforms. The C-SPAN Networks’ video-rich website contains over 300,000 hours of searchable and shareable content. Engage with C-SPAN on X, Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, Threads, and YouTube, and stay connected through weekly and daily newsletters.