On the October 29, 2016 episode of The New York Times Close Up, hosted by Sam Roberts:
- What makes Donald J. Trump run? In a revealing series of conversations taped in 2014 with by Michael D’Antonio, we heard a man who feared failure, and when he did suffer a personal or fiscal hit, he re-imagined it as a success.
- National Political Correspondent Michael Barbaro listened to the five-plus hours, culled and reflected on them for the New York Times and for his podcast, "The Run-Up."
- The writer Francine Prose joins the show. Her novel "Mister Monkey" received a resounding rave from Cathleen Schine in her cover review in last Sunday's Times Book Review.
- An interview with George Washington University History Professor Tyler Anbinder, who has written the epic story of us, "City of Dreams: The 400 Year Epic History of Immigrant New York.
- And New York Times journalists Contributing Writer Clyde Haberman, Editorial Board Contributing Writer Eleanor Randolph, Investigations Reporter William Rashbaum and City Hall Bureau Reporter David Goodman discuss the week’s lead stories.