J.K. Rowling’s Untold Story: Solomon Schmidt on Fame, Backlash, and the Fight Over Transgender Politics
6/9/202649 min
This episode features a wide-ranging conversation with young biographer Solomon Schmidt about his new book on J.K. Rowling, tracing her rise from an impoverished single mother to one of the most successful authors in history. Schmidt explains how Rowling built the Harry Potter series from years of planning, personal grief, and creative discipline, and why her life story is compelling even beyond the books themselves. The discussion highlights Rowling’s difficult early years, including the death of her mother, domestic abuse in her first marriage, repeated publishing rejections, and the extraordinary path that turned Harry Potter into a global phenomenon. The interview also focuses on the controversy that has reshaped Rowling’s public image in recent years. Schmidt describes how Rowling, once embraced by the political left, became one of its biggest targets after speaking out against transgender ideology, gender-transition policies, and threats to women’s spaces and women’s sports. He argues that her refusal to back down, combined with her immense cultural influence, made her a uniquely powerful lightning rod in the broader free speech and transgender rights debate. The result is both a literary biography and a portrait of how one of the world’s most famous writers became a central figure in one of today’s fiercest cultural battles. Got a comment or question? Send it to EmailGreta@newsmax.com and it may be used or answered on an upcoming episode. You can watch the video version of the “Greta Wire” podcast on NEWSMAX social media channels, plus YouTube and Rumble, on the same afternoon the audio version launches. Listen to Newsmax LIVE and subscribe to our entire podcast lineup at http://Newsmax.com/Listen Don’t miss Greta every weekday on “The Record with Greta Van Susteren” at 4 PM ET, only on NEWSMAX TV. Watch the show anytime, anywhere with NEWSMAX+. Get your 15-day free trial of NEWSMAX+ at http://NewsmaxPlus.com Follow Greta on Social Media: Facebook: / greta X/Twitter: https://x.com/greta Instagram: / greta TikTok: / greta.com Follow NEWSMAX on Social Media: Facebook: http://nws.mx/FB X/Twitter: http://nws.mx/twitter Instagram: http://nws.mx/IG YouTube: / newsmaxtv Rumble: https://rumble.com/c/NewsmaxTV TRUTH Social: https://truthsocial.com/@NEWSMAX GETTR: https://gettr.com/user/newsmax Threads: http://threads.net/@NEWSMAX Telegram: http://t.me/newsmax BlueSky: https://bsky.app/profile/newsmax.com Parler: http://app.parler.com/newsmax THANKS FOR LISTENING! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Clips
Transcript preview
First 90 secondsGreta Van Susteren· Host0:01
Wait until you see this podcast. It's with Solomon Schmidt. He's 23 years old, just turned 23. He's already written two books. Actually wrote a series of books, children's books, when he was starting at age 12. He's written a biography of Alan Dershowitz, but now he's written a biography of J.K. Rowling. You know who she is. She's the woman who went from rags to riches, literally. She was a single mother with not much money, and now she's a billionaire writer. But even more important, at least to this discussion, is J.K. Rowling is in so hot water because she has stood strong against transgender surgery, and she comes from a liberal background, and the liberals are really mad at her. So here is Solomon Schmidt. We also talk about some other things, but watch this. [upbeat music] Solomon, nice to talk to you.
Solomon Schmidt· Guest0:59
Nice to talk to you too, Greta. Thank you.
Greta Van Susteren· Host1:02
Solomon, um, first of all, how, how old are you?
Solomon Schmidt· Guest1:04
23.
Greta Van Susteren· Host1:06
Okay.
Solomon Schmidt· Guest1:06
Just turned, uh, last month.
Greta Van Susteren· Host1:08
The reason I ask that is that the book I'm gonna ask you about isn't even your first book at 23. In fact, you finished it when you were 22.
Solomon Schmidt· Guest1:15
Yes, that's right, and I started writing when I was 12. I started a series called History Bites for kids my age to help them become excited about learning American history, and I had a mom who was just always giving me books to read from the time I was little, and