A marathon reading of The Power Broker by Robert Caro is ongoing in Brooklyn, featuring alternating reader in 10-minute timeslots, around the clock over the course of several days.
Transcript
SCOTT DETROW, HOST:
One of my favorite books in the world is “The Power Broker.” It is about 1,300 pages long, give or take. The paperback alone weighs nearly four pounds. And it’s all about urban planning. More specifically, how one man, Robert Moses, shaped New York City and the state’s infrastructure over the course of the 20th century. And look, I get that many of you listening do not find those two sentences appealing at all, but a whole bunch of people out there are obsessed with Robert Caro’s Pulitzer Prize-winning biography of Moses. So obsessed, in fact, that many are gathering in Brooklyn, right this minute, for a marathon reading of the entire book.
(SOUNDBITE OF MONTAGE)
UNIDENTIFIED PERSON #1: (Reading) He looked at Jones Beach with eyes that had looked at crowded New York City…
UNIDENTIFIED PERSON #2: (Reading) The potential for these changes had always been there, like a darker shadow on the edge of the bright gold of his idealism.
UNIDENTIFIED PERSON #3: (Reading) His face, normally swarthy, was pale with rage.
DETROW: Brad Vogel is here to talk about it. He is organizing the event in Gowanus, Brooklyn and joins us from the reading. Brad, thanks for taking some time away.
BRAD VOGEL: Hey. Thanks, Scott. We are marching on through this thing around the clock. We’re sort of estimating that this is a 65-, 66-hour long affair, but we don’t know. So that’s another added element here is it’s a little bit fun…
DETROW: Yeah.
VOGEL: …Not exactly knowing when the tail will end up wagging.
DETROW: This is a 24-hour affair, and I understand you were there overnight last night. What was that like?
VOGEL: Yeah. No, I stayed until past 4 in the morning just to make sure all the systems were running smoothly. But the volunteer teams are pretty expert at this point in moving the readers through. You know, every reader is reading a 10-minute segment of this giant book, and so it’s sort of an interesting ballet to move people in and keep things rolling. It’s been really interesting, though, to see how people’s reading, you know, their inflection and their emphasis, brings different parts of the book to light that – I’ve read the book multiple times, and I’m still getting new things from different readers. And these are people from every corner of New York City.
DETROW: I need to channel people who are not like you and me for a moment, right?
VOGEL: (Laughter).
DETROW: Because when I bring this up or I bring up the book in general, I get two responses. First is somebody – their eyes light up. They love “The Power Broker.” They love Robert Caro’s dedication as a reporter.
VOGEL: Right.
DETROW: They love what you can learn about government. Or, alternatively, blank stares. People have no idea what I’m talking about, and they say, wait, what? You know, like, what to you makes this book special?
VOGEL: Yeah. No, I think it’s status at this point as essentially the epic of New York City. And in some ways, you could maybe extend that out to sort of constituting an American epic, as well. It’s about power. It’s about community. It’s about displacement. It’s about democracy. It’s about hubris.
DETROW: Yeah.
VOGEL: There’s so much in here that really feeds into both the general American story, the New York story, but also our particular times politically.
DETROW: What is your favorite section of “The Power Broker”?
VOGEL: Oh, man. You know, I have to say, the stuff with Al Smith really is something that has stuck with me…
DETROW: Yeah.
VOGEL: …In the multiple times that I’ve read the book.
DETROW: For non-nerds, governor of New York State before FDR, somebody who Robert Moses worked with a lot, ran for president and got destroyed.
VOGEL: Yes, exactly. I love that the way Caro brings you the political message also weaves in this hyper personal relationship between the two men and provides you with insights, but also leaves you wondering about what really is happening in sort of the hearts of these two men. I’ve always found that very intriguing, and at points moving and poignant.
DETROW: Yeah. Can I tell you my favorite part?
VOGEL: Yeah, please.
DETROW: It’s – a lot of people share it, too, but it’s that one mile section where Robert Caro…
VOGEL: Oh, yes.
DETROW: And I interviewed him about this a couple years ago, just the motivation of he wanted to show the human impact, so he took one mile stretch of the Cross Bronx Expressway and tracked down as many people as he could find who had to move and had their lives totally ruined by the arbitrary decision of where to run a road.
VOGEL: That is another impressive thing about the book that draws people in, is someone who, in times like these, where we have AI and all sorts of different assistants, to go down and track things…
DETROW: Yes.
VOGEL: …In a human and personal way and to turn every page, you know? I have to shout out to Mr. Caro’s wife, Ina, who, you know, certainly did a lot of the work as well.
DETROW: Yeah.
VOGEL: You know, there was a real human effort involved in the making and production of that book.
DETROW: That is Brad Vogel, joining us from the middle of a marathon round-the-clock reading of “The Power Broker” in Gowanus in Brooklyn. Brad, thank you so much.
VOGEL: Thank you, Scott. Appreciate it.
(SOUNDBITE OF SWEET CHARLES SHERRELL SONG, “YES IT’S YOU”)
Copyright © 2026 NPR. All rights reserved. Visit our website terms of use and permissions pages at www.npr.org for further information.
Accuracy and availability of transcripts for NPR programming may vary. Transcript text may also be revised to correct errors or match updates to audio. Audio may be edited after its original broadcast or publication. The authoritative record of NPR’s programming is the audio record.
Please note that NPR platforms and products also include some programming produced by third parties; NPR cannot guarantee transcripts for that content and some transcripts may be produced using automated or other tools.
