Elaine's Literary Salon

When does the killing of political leaders become morally justifiable? Killing the Hitlers, Stalins and Pol Pots of the world is easy to justify. Murderous tyrants need to be killed. But what if our leaders are merely idiots, or perhaps corrupt, petty tyrants who aren’t in the same league as Hitler, Stalin or Pol Pot? How much damage can we allow them to do, how many of our rights can we allow them to take away, before killing them becomesClick here to listen to the podcast!

February 15, 2025: Meet Mike Henrich is a career educator who taught a variety of subjects to a variety of learners in his Southeast Virginia hometown, in the South Pacific, and in the DC area. He has been in the classroom for over 40 years as a student and teacher and keeps pointing to the splendor and potential of education even while kids, society, and he changes. His powerful 2023 book, Teacher Boy, is a collection of personal anecdotes fromClick here to listen to the podcast!

Feb. 1, 2025 — Children’s book author Karen Leggett Abouraya is the star of on Elaine’s Literary Salon show. Author Karen: A native of Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio, Karen grew up surrounded by writing and books: her father was a journalist and her mother a school librarian. Karen then became an award-winning broadcast journalist for more than two decades. She began reviewing and discussing children’s books on ABC WMAL Radio in Washington, DC, and reviewed children’s books and interviewed authors forClick here to listen to the podcast!

Today at Elaine’s Literary Salon in Alexandria, VA, we are thrilled to bring back to town author Bill Rapp, who began his professional life as an academic, teaching European History at Iowa State University. A graduate of Notre Dame (B.A.), the University of Toronto (M.A.), and Vanderbilt (Ph. D.), Bill has always been particularly intrigued by German history. He says the last 35 years working for the U. S. Government has broadened his perspective to all of Europe and muchClick here to listen to the podcast!

Jan. 15, 2025: Today at Elaine’s Literary Salon — Writing books is a passion for attorney Timothy Trainer who for more than three decades focused on intellectual property issues in his day job. He has worked in government agencies and in the private sector and his assignments have taken him to 60 countries around the world. “He found time to pen a few non-fiction tomes, including his first book, Customs Enforcement of Intellectual Property Rights; the 15th edition was publishedClick here to listen to the podcast!

Hello and welcome to today’s episode of Elaine’s Literary Salon, hosted by award-winning author and restauranteur Jeffery James Higgins, we meet Jeff Markowitz, author of “The Other.” Their interview tells the tale of this important book that offers parallel narratives that touch upon several fascinating ideas, including the reach of Nazism—even in rural America—during WWII, the lasting impacts of the January 6 insurrection on today’s world, and the similarities between two time periods each burdened with an oppressive sense ofClick here to listen to the podcast!

March 1, 2025: If you are a bibliophile, author, or have always dreamed of penning a book, you will love to meet Jeffrey James Higgins, host of Elaine’s Literary Salon.  This new show — live from the popular bistro Elaine’s in Old Town, Alexandria VA. Our host is the restaurant’s owner, Jeffrey James Higgins, a #1 Amazon bestselling author on a mission to help fellow writers share their stories. The author of The Forever Game, Furious and Unseen, Jeff has a reputation forClick here to listen to the podcast!