The Brian Lehrer Show Sen. Booker on 'Standing Up'
Mar 30, 2026
Cory Booker, U.S. Senator from New Jersey and author of Stand (2026), mixes personal stories and political history. He discusses virtues like humility, patriotism, and grace as practical tools. He talks about fundraising choices, foreign policy concerns, and how citizens can organize and act now.
AI Snips
Chapters
Books
Transcript
Episode notes
Virtue As Civic Strategy
- Stand argues virtue is strategy not nicety, offering virtues as practical tools for civic action against fear and anger.
- Booker frames ordinary Americans' historical actions as models, showing how small acts of devotion reshaped laws and society.
Quiet Patriotism Over Chest Beating
- Patriotism and humility can coexist as quiet devotion that aligns daily actions with national ideals rather than chest-beating.
- Booker elevates figures who loved the country while criticizing it, citing James Baldwin and Civil War chaplain questioning nationhood.
Judge Esther Salas Story Of Grace
- Booker tells Judge Esther Salas's story to illustrate grace and forgiveness after her son's murder.
- Salas chose forgiveness as a way to prevent hate from warping her soul and to honor her son's light.
