This week, The Boys unwrap their favorite book picks for the holiday season — from globe-trotting history to wild presidential tales to the secret life of gas stations in the American South. They also dig into new national park surcharges for foreign visitors.

The Books:

"Lafayette in the Somewhat United States" by Sarah Vowell — https://www.amazon.com/Lafayette-Somewhat-United-States-Vowell/dp/0399573100 Amazon+1

"Bolívar: American Liberator" by Marie Arana — https://www.amazon.com/Bol%C3%ADvar-American-Liberator-Marie-Arana/dp/006073509X

"The Magician" by Colm Tóibín — https://www.amazon.com/Magician-Novel-Colm-T%C3%B3ib%C3%ADn/dp/0307952879

"Wilderness Warrior: TR and the Crusade for America" by Douglas Brinkley — https://www.amazon.com/Wilderness-Warrior-Crusade-American-Brinkley/dp/0066210372

"Rightful Heritage: FDR and the Land for America" by Douglas Brinkley — https://www.amazon.com/Rightful-Heritage-America-Douglas-Brinkley/dp/0812980040

"Dead Presidents: An American Adventure into the Strange Deaths and Surprising Afterlives of Our Nation's Leaders" by Brady Carlson — https://www.amazon.com/Dead-Presidents-American-Surprising-Leaders/dp/1631493952

On this episode of "Out of Office: A Travel Podcast," Kiernan talks to Richard Stone, author of "Project Mayflower."

Things we discussed on today's episode:

"Project Mayflower" book

https://bookshop.org/p/books/project-mayflower-building-and-sailing-a-seventeenth-century-replica-richard-a-stone/a3f94ee44f9babb4?ean=9781493084364&next=t&next=t&affiliate=books

Plimoth Patuxet Museums

https://plimoth.org/

Plymouth Rock

https://seeplymouth.com/listing/plymouth-rock/

Pilgrim Hall Museum

https://www.pilgrimhall.org/

Sail250

https://www.sailboston.com/sail250/

Green-Wood Cemetery New Yorker article

https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2025/06/09/green-wood-cemeterys-living-dead

This week on the pod, the boys dive into their favorite museum heists, from Boston to Bogotá.