#1: Wil Haygood (The Supreme Court, Thurgood Marshall and President Obama)

Dare to Be

With less than six months to Election Day, the U.S. Supreme Court has a big gaping hole due to the recent loss of Justice Antonin Scalia. The fear of a dreaded 4 to 4 split looms above its gleaming marble columns like a dark and lightening-charged cloud. U.S. President Barack Obama faces uncooperative congressional leaders and a high court nomination that appears to be in indefinite limbo. Before 2016. Before Clarence Thomas. The most controversial Supreme Court nominee, Thurgood Marshall, Jr., shook the halls of Capitol Hill and every southern courtroom with his intense grasp of the law and interpretation of the U.S. Constitution. From Sam Davis, Jr. and Sugar Ray Robinson, to Hurricane Katrina and Nelson Mandela's life and presidency after nearly three decades in prison, reporter and author Wil Haygood has elegantly covered and reimagined countless true stories of talent and triumph. His new book, "Showdown: Thurgood Marshall and the Supreme Court Nomination That Changed American," continues Haygood's tradition of expert storytelling and in this interview also shares the inspiration and process of his most notable works. Wil Haygood is best known as the author of the New York Times bestseller The Butler: A Witness to History and is a distinguished writer whose career has spanned decades. Wil was an associate producer on the film adaptation of his book, The Butler, which was sparked from his Washington Post article, starred Academy Award winners Forest Whittaker, Cuba Gooding, Jr., Robin Williams, Vanessa Redgrave and Jane Fonda, as well as the incomparable Oprah Winfrey. He currently serves the as Karl and Helen Wiepking Visiting Distinguished Professor at his alma mater Miami University in Oxford, Ohio. Books l Writing l Literature l Nonfiction l Supreme Court Produced by Audrey Adams.