America's Book Club: David M. Rubenstein and Andrea Wulf

C-SPAN’s America’s Book Club returns to the Folger Shakespeare Library on June 15, 2026, for an exclusive member event. The program features host David M. Rubenstein in conversation with award-winning author Andrea Wulf, discussing historic breakthroughs in our understanding of the natural world, the environment, human thought, and human rights. Wulf’s 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 advocate for universal human rights. The conversation will be taped and aired on C-SPAN at a future date as part of the network’s America 250 programming.

When: Monday, June 15, 2026, at 4pm.
Venue: Reading Room, Folger Shakespeare Library, 201 East Capitol Street SE, Washington, DC.
Tickets: Available exclusively to Folger Members; advance registration required. For membership inquiries, email membership@folger.edu.
Lineup: David M. Rubenstein (co-founder and co-chairman of The Carlyle Group, interviewer, author, historian) and Andrea Wulf (award-winning author of *The Traveler*, *Magnificent Rebels*, and the international bestseller *The Invention of Nature*, which won the Royal Society Science Book Prize and Costa Biography Award; Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature).
Event description: In this installment of America’s Book Club, Rubenstein leads a thought-provoking conversation exploring ideas that shaped America’s past, challenge its present, and inspire its future as the nation approaches its 250th birthday. The discussion will focus on Wulf’s biography of George Forster, an 18th-century naturalist and revolutionary who sailed with Captain Cook and was among the first Europeans to discuss universal human rights.
Audience: This event is for Folger Members only. Membership benefits include invitations to exclusive events like this one.
Additional note: The series is part of C-SPAN’s America 250 programming, held at iconic libraries and cultural landmarks. Other guests in the series have included Justice Amy Coney Barrett, John Grisham, Henry Louis Gates, Arthur Brooks, Walter Isaacson, Stacey Schiff, and José Andrés.