Overheard with Evan Smith

Longtime Newsweek columnist Jonathan Alter joins us to discuss the latest in politics, the midterm elections and The Promise: President Obama, Year One, his new book about the beginning of Obama's presidency.

P. J. O'Rourke was a political satirist when Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert were still in short pants - and he was angry at the establishment when Sarah Palin was still reading sports scores on the local news.

Star food writer Amanda Hesser is a prolific food writer for The NY Times, former food editor of The NY Times Magazine, co-creator of the recipe lover's blog food52 and the author of the new, 1000-recipe The Essential NY Times Cookbook.

Jim Leach became head of the National Endowment for the Humanities in 2009, after 30 years in Congress. A Republican, Leach often strayed from the party line and advocates civility - attitudes he has vowed to bring to his NEH job.

The midterms are behind us and a new political landscape is taking shape. Howard Dean, former Vermont governor, 2004 contender for the Democratic presidential nomination and former DNC chair, joins us to discuss what's ahead.

Sam Tanenhaus is editor of The New York Times Book Review, and his biography of Whittaker Chambers was a finalist for both the Pulitzer Prize and the National Book Award. His latest book is The Death Conservatism.