An Evening with Scott Detrow and Daniel Burke, Authors of AMERICAN POPE

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We are delighted to welcome award-winning NPR journalists SCOTT DETROW and DANIEL BURKE to the Midtown Scholar Bookstore, on Tuesday, October 6, 2026, at 7 PM, to celebrate the release of their new book, AMERICAN POPE: Leo XIV’s Road from the South Side of Chicago to Vatican City.This event is FREE and open to the public. RSVP at the link here - or - PREORDER a 1st Edition SIGNED Hardcover Book for VIP Reserved Seating.The definitive biography of the first-ever American Pope!From two award-winning journalists: NPR Senior Editor of Religion & Spirituality, DANIEL BURKE, and host of NPR's "All Things Considered," SCOTT DETROW.“A WELCOME, REVEALING LIFE OF THE FIRST NORTH AMERICAN BISHOP OF ROME" (Kirkus)The authors' presentation will be followed by a public Q&A. Bring all your Vatican questions!The authors won an Edward R. Murrow Award for their coverage of the 2025 papal conclave, where they reported live from St. Peter’s Square. Upon returning home from Rome, Burke and Detrow realized there was much more to report about Pope Leo XIV and his surprising election. Who, exactly, was this first-ever American pope, who right up to the moment of his election, was largely unknown outside church circles? To learn and tell the story of Robert Prevost (now known as Pope Leo XIV), this powerhouse team of experienced, well-connected journalists traced his footsteps across three continents, spending nights in the formation house he built in northern Peru, among other farflung places, exhaustively combing through dusty boxes of documents in church archives, and talking to hundreds of people who had known, lived, and worked with Robert Prevost—a man, they quickly learned, who was not inclined to talk about himself. The result of Burke and Detrow’s rigorous reporting, extensive research and tireless curiosity is AMERICAN POPE: Leo XIV’s Road from the South Side of Chicago to Vatican City—the first comprehensive, revelatory biography of the man now known as Pope Leo XIV—coming on October 6, 2026 from Flatiron Books.Join us in celebrating the book's release at the Midtown Scholar!AMERICAN POPE presents a profoundly thorough, moving and nuanced portrait of Robert Prevost, the quiet, devout priest from Chicago and his unexpected journey to the Vatican’s corridors of power. An engrossing read, Burke and Detrow reveal new aspects of Prevost’s personality—including a love of Saturday Night Live and a weakness for Europop tunes—capturing the humanity behind the first pope to have participated in American elections, to be born after World War II, and to be more intimately familiar with modern technology. With unparalleled access to Vatican insiders, the reporting duo showcases an impressive understanding of the politics and complexities of the Catholic Church, offering newly reported details behind the 2025 conclave and Pope Leo’s close relationship with Pope Francis—among other exclusive insights—to help readers better understand Pope Leo’s leadership style and approach, and how he might engage with the institution’s most pressing questions and challenges.AMERICAN POPE is a landmark publication from two indisputable experts that is both powerfully resonant in today’s climate and an enduring text that will be read for years to come.ABOUT THE AUTHORSDANIEL BURKE has been reporting on religion for more than 20 years. He is the Senior Editor of Religion & Spirituality at NPR, where he helped lead broadcast and digital coverage of the conclave that elected Pope Leo XIV. Before NPR, he was the communications director at Georgetown's Center on Faith and Justice, and CNN's Religion Editor, where he wrote in-depth news and analysis pieces while editing the award-winning religion section, CNN Belief (during that period, CNN Belief was named Best Online Religion Section by the Religion News Association multiple years in a row), and a reporter and editor at Religion News Service. Burke has been honored multiple times by the American Academy of Religion for best in-depth reporting on religion. His writing has also been honored by the National Headliner Awards and the Society for Features Journalism. He graduated from a dual-degree program at Columbia University, earning an MS in journalism and MA in comparative religion. Before that, he attended Georgetown University, where a course on “The Problem of God” set him on the path to religion reporting.SCOTT DETROW hosts NPR’s “All Things Considered,” and the “Consider This” podcast. Detrow regularly hosts NPR’s live special coverage of major news events, and has won two Murrow Awards for breaking news coverage. He was broadcasting from St. Peter's Square when the conclave selected Pope Leo XIV as the first American pontiff. He also hosted NPR's coverage of election night 2024, and the 2024 assassination attempt against President Trump, among other stories. He joined NPR in 2015 and spent the next eight years covering national politics, a time during which he covered the White House, Congress, two presidential campaigns and co-hosted The NPR Politics Podcast, which he helped launch and grow into a daily news show. Before NPR, Detrow worked as a statehouse reporter in both Pennsylvania and California for member stations WITF and KQED. He also covered energy policy for NPR's StateImpact project, where his reports on Pennsylvania's hydraulic fracturing boom won a DuPont-Columbia Silver Baton and national Edward R. Murrow Award in 2013. He got his start in public radio at Fordham University's WFUV. Detrow is a graduate of Fordham University and also has a master's degree from the University of Pennsylvania's Fels Institute of Government.AMERICAN POPE reports for the first time:Behind-the-scenes details from the 2025 conclave, including a previously unknown reason behind Prevost’s decision to take Leo XIV as his papal nameNew reporting on Prevost’s close relationship with Pope Francis, including fresh details from their private meetings, during which they strategized about how to handle difficult situations in the churchNew details on how Prevost balanced Church doctrine with the realities on the ground in Peru. For example, by letting women preach during Mass.How as a young priest, Prevost reached out to young Peruvians by playing Atari video games like Mario Bros. and Space Invaders with themNew details about Prevost’s life at Villanova, including his unique role at Villanovans for Life, a club dedicated to pro-life causes.New reporting on his interests and personality, including his love for Saturday Night Live, Broadway shows, Euro-Pop music – and, of course, the Chicago White SoxA telegram that Prevost sent Pope Benedict XIV shortly after the pontiff announced his stunning resignation in 2013How Prevost initially fell short in responding to the clergy sexual abuse scandal as head of the Order of St. Augustine, and how he changed course.