All posts by Francesca Rheannon

About Francesca Rheannon

Francesca Rheannon is an award-winning independent radio producer. In addition to hosting Writer's Voice, she's a freelance reporter for National Public Radio and its affiliates. Recipient of the prestigious Nancy Dickerson Whitehead Award for reporting on substance abuse issues for her news series, VOICES OF HIV, produced for 88.5 WFCR public radio in western Massachusetts. She is also finishing a book on Provence (PROVINCE OF THE HEART) and working on a memoir of her father, THE ARGONAUTS.

Podcast

David Wengrow, THE DAWN OF EVERYTHING

We talk with archeologist David Wengrow about the groundbreaking book he co-authored with the late David Graeber, The Dawn of Everything: A New History of Humanity.

Writers Voice— in depth conversation with writers of all genres, on the air since 2004.

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Podcast

Ten Best Author Interviews of 2021

It’s that time, folks! The time for Ten Best Of The Year lists. We play excerpts from ten of our favorite episodes in 2021:

Hugh Raffles, The Book Of Unconformities; Michael Mann, The New Climate War; Heather McGhee, The Sum Of Us; Elizabeth Kolbert, Under A White Sky; Michaeleen Doucleff, Hunt, Gather, Parent; Cal Flynn, Islands of Abandonment; Nina Burleigh, Virus; Elizabeth Hinton, America on Fire; HonorÁ©e Fanonne Jeffers, The Love Songs of W.E.B. DuBois;  and Eyal Press, Dirty Work.

Writers Voice— in depth conversation with writers of all genres, on the air since 2004.

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Podcast

Holiday Special: THE FOOD PHILOSOPHE, A Story for the Solstice

Francesca Rheannon reads her story “The Food Philosophe.” It’s about a Winter Solstice feast in Provence that led to some delicious life lessons.

Writers Voice— in depth conversation with writers of all genres, on the air since 2004.

Like us on Facebook at Writers Voice with Francesca Rheannon, on Instagram @WritersVoicePodcast or find us on twitter @WritersVoice.

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Podcast

Ben Sheehan, WHAT DOES THE CONSTITUTION SAY? & Noah Feldman, THE BROKEN CONSTITUTION

We talk with Ben Sheehan about his book, What Does The Constitution Say? A Kids Guide To How Our Democracy Works.

Then we talk with constitutional scholar Noah Feldman about his terrific new history of Lincoln and the civil war from a constitutional perspective, The Broken Constitution: Lincoln, Slavery, and the Refounding of America.

Writers Voice— in depth conversation with writers of all genres, on the air since 2004.

Like us on Facebook at Writers Voice with Francesca Rheannon, on Instagram @WritersVoicePodcast or find us on twitter @WritersVoice.

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Podcast

Leonard Rubenstein, PERILOUS MEDICINE & Stan Cox, THE PATH TO A LIVABLE FUTURE

We talk with Leonard Rubenstein about his book Perilous Medicine: The Struggle to Protect Health Care from the Violence of War.

Then, Stan Cox connects the dots between climate chaos, racism and the next pandemic. We talk with him about his book, The Path to a Livable Future: A New Politics to Fight Climate Change, Racism, and the Next Pandemic.

Writers Voice— in depth conversation with writers of all genres, on the air since 2004.

Like us on Facebook at Writers Voice with Francesca Rheannon, on Instagram @WritersVoicePodcast or find us on twitter @WritersVoice.

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Podcast

Edith Widder, BELOW THE EDGE OF DARKNESS & Sy Montgomery, TAMED & UNTAMED

We talk with deep sea explorer Edith Widder about Below the Edge of Darkness: A Memoir Of Exploring Light And Life In The Deep Sea.

Then, we revisit our 2017 interview with Sy Montgomery about the book she so-authored with Elizabeth Marshall Thomas, Tamed And Untamed: Close Encounters of the Animal Kind.

Writers Voice— in depth conversation with writers of all genres, on the air since 2004.

Like us on Facebook at Writers Voice with Francesca Rheannon, on Instagram @WritersVoicePodcast or find us on twitter @WritersVoice.

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Podcast

Eyal Press, DIRTY WORK & Melanie Joy, WHY WE LOVE DOGS, EAT PIGS, AND WEAR COWS

Who does the dirty work in our society? And who benefits? We talk with Eyal Press about his new book, Dirty Work: Essential Jobs and the Hidden Toll of Inequality in America.

Then, In the US, more than 23,000 animals, not including fish, are slaughtered for our food every minute. We talk with Melanie Joy about the tenth anniversary of her groundbreaking book, Why We Love Dogs, Eat Pigs, and Wear Cows: An Introduction to Carnism.

Writers Voice— in depth conversation with writers of all genres, on the air since 2004.

Like us on Facebook at Writers Voice with Francesca Rheannon, on Instagram @WritersVoicePodcast or find us on twitter @WritersVoice.

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Podcast

David Talbot, BY THE LIGHT OF BURNING DREAMS

We talk with David Talbot about the book he co-authored with his sister Margaret Talbot, By The Light of Burning Dreams: The Triumphs and Tragedies of the Second American Revolution.

Writers Voice— in depth conversation with writers of all genres, on the air since 2004.

Like us on Facebook at Writers Voice with Francesca Rheannon, on Instagram @WritersVoicePodcast or find us on twitter @WritersVoice.

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Podcast

Ken Follett, NEVER & Anthony Horowitz, A LINE TO KILL

We talk with best-selling author Ken Follett about his new novel, Never. It’s a chilling look about how a small international incident could lead to nuclear annihilation.

Then, Anthony Horowitz tells us about the third in his meta-murder mystery Hawthorne series, A Line To Kill.

Writers Voice— in depth conversation with writers of all genres, on the air since 2004.

Like us on Facebook at Writers Voice with Francesca Rheannon, on Instagram @WritersVoicePodcast or find us on twitter @WritersVoice.

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Podcast

Joe Lee, FORGIVENESS & Valerie Martin, I GIVE IT TO YOU

We talk with graphic artist Joe Lee about his stunningly illustrated book, Forgiveness: The Story of Eva Kor, Survivor of The Auschwitz Twin Experiments.

Then Valerie Martin tells us about her new novel I Give It To You. It’s a many-layered tale about what happens when an Italian friend tells a writer a story about her family in Mussolini’s Italy.

Writers Voice— in depth conversation with writers of all genres, on the air since 2004.

Like us on Facebook at Writers Voice with Francesca Rheannon, on Instagram @WritersVoicePodcast or find us on twitter @WritersVoice.

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Podcast

Victor Wooten, THE SPIRIT OF MUSIC & David Stebenne, PROMISED LAND

We talk with Victor Wooten, co-founder of the band Bela Fleck and the Flectones and author of The Spirit of Music. The book is an inspiring parable of the importance of music and the threats that it faces in today’s world.

Then, we talk with historian David Stebenne about his book, Promised Land: How The Rise Of The Middle-Class Transformed America, 1929 to 1968.

Writers Voice— in depth conversation with writers of all genres, on the air since 2004.

Like us on Facebook at Writers Voice with Francesca Rheannon, on Instagram @WritersVoicePodcast or find us on Twitter @WritersVoice.

Love Writer’s Voice? Please rate us on your podcast app. It really helps to get the word out about our show.

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Podcast

Ruth Ozeki, THE BOOK OF FORM AND EMPTINESS & Hilma Wolitzer, TODAY A WOMAN WENT MAD IN THE SUPERMARKET

We talk with Ruth Ozeki about her wonderful new novel, The Book of Form and Emptiness. It’s a coming-of-age/Hero’s Journey that is heart-wrenching, inspiring, funny and deeply wise.

Then, writer Hilma Wolitzer tells us about her retrospective collection of stories, Today A Woman Went Mad In The Supermarket. It spans decades of stories about an ordinary couple, written in extraordinary prose.

Writers Voice— in depth conversation with writers of all genres, on the air since 2004.

Like us on Facebook at Writers Voice Radio, on Instagram @WritersVoicePodcast or find us on twitter @WritersVoice.

Love Writer’s Voice? Please rate us on your podcast app. It really helps to get the word out about our show.

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Podcast

Geo Maher, A WORLD WITHOUT POLICE and John Cavanagh & Robin Broad, THE WATER DEFENDERS

We talk with Geo Maher about his new book, A World Without Police: How Strong Communities Make Cops Obsolete.

Then, we hear the thrilling and hopeful story of a rural community in EL Salvador that took on a global gold mining company — and won. John Cavanagh & Robin Broad tell us about their book, The Water Defenders: How Ordinary People Saved A Country From Corporate Greed.

Writers Voice— in depth conversation with writers of all genres, on the air since 2004.

Like us on Facebook at Writers Voice Radio, on Instagram @WritersVoicePodcast or find us on twitter @WritersVoice.

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Podcast

Jai Chakrabarti, A PLAY FOR THE END OF THE WORLD & Caroline Lea, THE METAL HEART

This week: two novels exploring love, trauma and the legacies of war. Both are based on true stories from World War II.

First, Jai Chakrabarti tells us about his novel A Play for the End of the World. It centers around a play written by Rabindranath Tagore that was put on by orphans in Warsaw just before they were taken to the death camp. Then, the same play is re-staged decades later, in India, as another act of resistance against tyranny.

Then, personal trauma and collective trauma intersect with a love story. We talk with Caroline Lea about her new novel The Metal Heart. It’s set on an Orkney Island during WWII, where Italian prisoners and British islanders find conflict and common ground.

Writers Voice— in depth conversation with writers of all genres, on the air since 2004.

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Love Writer’s Voice? Please rate us on your podcast app. It really helps to get the word out about our show. Continue reading

Blog

Transcript: Raj Patel and Rupa Marya Interview about INFLAMED

Francesca Rheannon

Well, Raj Patel and Rupa Marya, welcome to Writers Voice. This was just such an amazing book to read, Inflamed: Deep Medicine And The Anatomy Of Injustice. It’s a deeply researched and profoundly radical look at the links between the human body, the body of the world, and the body politic.

I want to start out by asking what brought each of you to write the book. Let’s start with Rupa Marya. You’re a physician and an activist; what brought you to write this book? Continue reading