Rachel Maddow: Department of Fate

Rachel Maddow is coming to Kingsbury Hall at the University of Utah on Wednesday, November 18, for a talk about her latest book. It's not a solo lecture, though—she'll be in conversation with RadioWest host Doug Fabrizio, so the whole thing will play out as a dialogue rather than a monologue.

The book is The Department of Fate: The Promise, the Power, and the Collapse of America's Most Consequential Institution. Maddow describes it as a trip through the history of the Justice Department, one where heroism and treachery show up in equal measure. She frames that history as a path toward a more resilient, re-democratized America, so the conversation should touch on both the institutional record and what she thinks it means for the country going forward.

If you only know her from the screen, there's a bit more to the background. Maddow is the Emmy and Murrow Award-winning host of MSNBC's The Rachel Maddow Show, but she's also a New York Times bestselling author with Drift, Blowout, Prequel, and the co-authored Bag Man behind her. She holds a bachelor's in public policy from Stanford and a doctorate in political science from Oxford, and she splits her time between New York City and Massachusetts with her partner, the artist Susan Mikula.

The evening is presented by The King's English Bookshop in partnership with the Tanner Humanities Center, as part of UtahPresents—the University of Utah program that also manages Kingsbury Hall. It starts at 7 PM at Kingsbury Hall, 1395 East President's Circle, Salt Lake City, UT 84112.