Open Book with Anthony Scaramucci

My guest today is Akbar Shahid Ahmed, an award-winning foreign affairs journalist whose new book Crossing the Red Line takes us inside the Biden administration’s handling of Israel and the war in Gaza. We get into what Washington knew before October 7th, the warnings that were missed, and how the decisions that followed reshaped America’s relationship with Israel and the Middle East. These are the conversations we have to have in the world today. Akbar Shahid Ahmed is the Senior Diplomatic Correspondent for HuffPost, based in Washington, D.C. A native Pakistani, Akbar has reported from around the globe. Akbar won the 2025 Writers Guild Award for Outstanding Writing and a 2025 New York Press Club Award. Read his wonderful new book, Crossing the Red Line: Biden, His Advisors, and Israel's War in Gaza Anthony Scaramucci is the founder and managing partner of SkyBridge, a global alternative investment firm, and founder and chairman of SALT, a global thought leadership forum and venture studio. Order my next book, All the Wrong Moves: How Three Catastrophic Decisions Led to the Rise of Trump, out now: ⁠https://www.scaramucci.net/allthewrongmoves Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

I am honored to be joined by my friend and repeat guest on Open Book, David Rubenstein. He has built one of the most successful careers in private equity, but he’ll be the first to tell you that owning a baseball team may be even harder. We talk about what he’s learned inside the owner’s box, why the best leaders know when to get out of the way, and his mission to bring a World Series championship back to his hometown of Baltimore. David M. Rubenstein is the New York Times bestselling author of How to Invest, How to Lead, The American Experiment, The American Story, The Highest Calling, and Inside the Owner’s Box. He is Co-founder and Co-chairman of The Carlyle Group, one of the world’s largest and most successful private investment firms. An original signer of The Giving Pledge and a recipient of the Presidential Medal of Freedom, Mr. Rubenstein chairs the Boards of the Council on Foreign Relations, the National Gallery of Art, the Economic Club of Washington, and the University of Chicago. Rubenstein is the Chairman, CEO, and principal owner of Major League Baseball’s Baltimore Orioles. He hosts The David Rubenstein Show on Bloomberg TV and PBS, and Bloomberg Wealth with David Rubenstein on Bloomberg TV. David is brilliant, and this book provides amazing insights into the life of a sports owner: Inside the Owner's Box: Conversations on Power and Leadership in Sports. Anthony Scaramucci is the founder and managing partner of SkyBridge, a global alternative investment firm, and founder and chairman of SALT, a global thought leadership forum and venture studio. Order my next book, All the Wrong Moves: How Three Catastrophic Decisions Led to the Rise of Trump, out on the 17th of September in the UK and the 22nd of September in the US: ⁠https://www.scaramucci.net/allthewrongmoves Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The Middle East didn’t become a cauldron overnight, and to understand what’s happening there today, you have to understand the history that brought us here. Simon Sebag Montefiore joins me to unpack the revolutions, empires, wars, and extraordinary personalities that shaped the region, and why decisions made decades ago still reverberate around the world today. Simon Sebag Montefiore is a historian whose bestselling books have been published in forty-eight languages and have won numerous awards, including the Costa Biography Award and the Los Angeles Times Book Prize. His books include Catherine the Great and Potemkin; Stalin; Young Stalin; Jerusalem; The Romanovs; The World; the acclaimed Moscow Trilogy of novels; Written in History; and Voices of History. He received his Ph.D. from Cambridge and is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature. I love all of Simon's books, but this might just be my favorite: The Cauldron: The Making of the Modern Middle East Anthony Scaramucci is the founder and managing partner of SkyBridge, a global alternative investment firm, and founder and chairman of SALT, a global thought leadership forum and venture studio. Pre-order my next book, All the Wrong Moves: How Three Catastrophic Decisions Led to the Rise of Trump, out on the 17th of September in the UK and the 22nd of September in the US: ⁠https://www.scaramucci.net/allthewrongmoves Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

What happens when you accumulate so much money and power that the normal rules no longer seem to apply? William Cohan joins me to unpack the extraordinary rise of Leon Black and Apollo, and a story of ambition, rivalry, Jeffrey Epstein, and the hubris that can turn unimaginable success into a cautionary tale. William D. Cohan is the New York Times bestselling author of Power Failure, which was named Best Book of 2022 by The New Yorker, Financial Times, and The Economist. He has written seven nonfiction narratives, including Money and Power, House of Cards, and The Last Tycoons. He was a longtime special correspondent at Vanity Fair and is a founding partner of and Wall Street correspondent for Puck. He writes often for the opinion pages of The New York Times and Financial Times and appears regularly on CNN, MSNOW, and BBC. This book is Bill Cohan at his very best: Money to Burn: The Unvarnished Truth About Leon Black, Apollo, and the Rise of a New Wall Street. Get it today! Anthony Scaramucci is the founder and managing partner of SkyBridge, a global alternative investment firm, and founder and chairman of SALT, a global thought leadership forum and venture studio. Pre-order my next book, All the Wrong Moves: How Three Catastrophic Decisions Led to the Rise of Trump, out on the 17th of September in the UK and the 22nd of September in the US: ⁠https://www.scaramucci.net/allthewrongmoves Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

He has sold more than 100 million books, but what I love most about Harlan Coben is that he’ll be the first to tell you he still wrestles with self-doubt, and that fear can either paralyze you or fuel you. We talk about why it’s never too late to start, why your first draft is supposed to be messy, and what one of the greatest storytellers of our time has learned about failure, creativity, and having the courage to just get started. Harlan Coben has over 80 million books in print worldwide. Harlan Coben is the #1 New York Times author of thirty-five novels, including WIN, THE BOY FROM THE WOODS, RUN AWAY, FOOL ME ONCE, TELL NO ONE, and the renowned Myron Bolitar series. His books are published in 46 languages around the globe. Get a copy of Harlan's brilliant new book (out today), Plot Twist: Life, Craft, and the Messy First Draft: A Memoir on Writing Anthony Scaramucci is the founder and managing partner of SkyBridge, a global alternative investment firm, and founder and chairman of SALT, a global thought leadership forum and venture studio. Pre-order my next book, All the Wrong Moves: How Three Catastrophic Decisions Led to the Rise of Trump, out on the 17th of September in the UK and the 22nd of September in the US: ⁠https://www.scaramucci.net/allthewrongmoves Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices