A dazzling biography of three of the most glamorous women of the twentieth century Jacqueline Bouvier Kennedy Onassis, her mother, Janet Lee Auchincloss, and her sister, Princess Lee Radziwell and an investigation into the science of popularity are the subjects of TALKish with Halli Casser-Jayne when joining Halli at her table is the New York Times bestselling author of JACKIE, JANET & LEE, J. Randy Taraborrelli and the author of HIT MAKERS, Atlantic senior editor Derek Thompson.

It begins like this: The year is 1951, at one of their “Mother Daughter Teas,” a favorite tradition of shopping and gossip, when the mother, Janet Norton Lee Bouvier Auchincloss Morris asked her daughters, Jacqueline Lee Bouvier one day to add Kennedy and Onassis to her name and Caroline Lee Bouvier one day to add Canfield then Radziwill then Ross to her name: “Do you know what the secret to ‘Happily Ever After’ is?” Before they could answer, Janet did: “Money and Power.” The daughters learned their mother’s lesson well, their stories told in the Oh, my gosh you cannot put it down biography JACKIE, JANET & LEE by the author of nearly 20 biographies that became New York Times bestsellers, J. Randy Taraborrelli. Taking a page from their mother’s playbook and her marriage to their handsome, philandering socialite father, “BlackJack” Bouvier and the fabulously rich Standard Oil heir Hugh D. Auchincloss, Jackie would marry John F. Kennedy who would become the most powerful man in the world as U.S. President and one of the richest men in the world, Greek Shipping Magnate, Aristotle Onassis. Younger sister Lee would add Princess to her title. Beauty, style, fashion, wealth, the world was their stage. But behind every curtain there is much to be revealed. Taraborrelli does just that.

Original, fascinating, and deeply entertaining, Derek Thompson’s HIT MAKERS, THE SCIENCE OF POPULARITY IN THE AGE OF DISTRACTION is a confetti of an astonishing thinker’s ideas that uncovers the hidden psychology of why we like what we like, a revelatory cornucopia of the economics of cultural markets that invisibly shape our lives. Hit-making, or why some things become popular and others do not, shatters the sentimental myths of popularity that have dominated pop culture and business in the past. Thompson shows quality is insufficient for success and slams the body culture, boldly asserting that nobody has “good taste.” Thompson believes that some of the most popular products in history were one bad break away from utter failure. And, there’s this: The consumers that matter the most aren’t the early adopters but rather their friends, followers, and imitators. Yet, although it may be a new world, there remain many enduring truths to what audiences and consumers want. We’ll ask him about that. Applying cutting edge science to stories of hits across the decades, including recent sensations, Thompson reveals how each blockbuster actually has a secret history - of power, influence, dark broadcasters, and passionate cults that turn some new products into cultural phenomena. Taking us from the dawn of impressionist art to the future of Facebook, from small Etsy designers to the origin of Star Wars, HIT MAKERS is a captivating jaunt through the last century of pop culture and the most valuable currency of the twenty-first century—people’s attention. Derek Thompson is a senior editor at The Atlantic magazine.

Biography, Jackie Kennedy Onassis, New York Times bestselling author J. Randy Taraborrelli, Hit Makers, science of popularity, Derek Thompson on TALKish, The Halli Casser-Jayne Show. The podcast will be posted at Halli Casser-Jayne dot com.