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Cathryn Hankla talks about her memoir LOST PLACES: On Losing And Finding Home. Then Francesca reads a passage about “finding home” from her memoir about Provence.
                                 FINDING HOME
There is no Provence. Whoever loves it, loves the world, or loves nothing. –Jean Giono, Rondeur des Jours.
I woke at dawn. I had slept fitfully, thinking of my impending departure. I pulled on my shoes, took up my walking staff one last time, and headed out the door as the cat Poutin scurried past my feet into the house, looking for breakfast after a long night out.
The sky was a limpid blue with ropy trails of pink and gray-tinged clouds. The ground was dry, even at that hour, and the stony earth commented on my passing, while the wind sighed regretfully in the trees that bordered the village.
As I descended the plateau, I heard a duet of cuckoos calling to each other across the valley in contrapuntal harmony, bidding me mark the time. The church bells of the neighboring commune struck the half hour — 6:30. Sheep bells chimed from across the valley, as if in answer. Continue reading
Francesca Rheannon:Â There may be no better time than now to reread Rachel Carson’s Silent Spring. Originally published in 1962, it sparked the modern environmental movement that led to the clean water and the Clean Air Acts, now endangered like The Endangered Species Act under the Trump Administration and the GOP dominated Congress.
Luckily, there’s a new edition of Silent Spring out from Library from America, the first in a series of publications of Carson’s work. The deluxe Illustrated volume is bundled with an unprecedented collection of letters, speeches and other writings that reveal the extraordinary courage and vision of its author. Continue reading
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We talk today with ecologist and writer Sandra Steingraber about the new edition of Rachel Carson’s Silent Spring out from Library of America, Rachel Carson: Silent Spring & Other Writings on the Environment. Steingraber edited the volume and wrote the introduction.
We also play a clip from our February 2018 interview with Carey Gillam about her book: Whitewash: The Story of a Weedkiller, Cancer and the Corruption of Science.
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We talk with T.J. English about his latest book, The Corporation. It’s an epic story of the Cuban American Underworld and what that story tells us about the American political economy. We also air a clip from our 2008 interview with T.J. English about his book about the Mafia and the Cuban Revolution, Havana Nocturne.
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We spend with hour with Martin Puchner talking about his fascinating look at the story of world literature. It’s called The Written World: The Power of Stories to Shape People, History, Civilization. Published by Penguin Random House, the paperback version is coming out July 24. Continue reading
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On this July 4th, we’re re-playing two interviews about the foundational texts of our Republic. Danielle Allen talks about the foundational ideas of our American Republic in her book Our Declaration, A Reading Of The Declaration of Independence In Defense of Equality (W.W.Norton, 2014).
Then we air our 2008 interview with Anthony Lewis about Freedom For The Thought That We Hate: A Biography of the First Amendment.
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We talk with Elizabeth Rush about her beautifully written book, Rising: Dispatches from the New American Shore.
Then, a judge just ruled that two major California cities can’t sue fossil fuel companies to recover the costs of dealing with sea level rise. We’ll air some clips about the case from our December interview with Lynn Zinsser of Climate Liability News.
Show transcript available on request for $2.99 USD (email francesca@writersvoice.net)
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We talk with neuroscientist Barbara K. Lipska about her memoir, The Neuroscientist Who Lost Her Mind. Then, we air a clip from our 2008 interview with neuroscientist Jill Bolte Taylor about her book, My Stroke of Insight.
We also check in with Nation magazine correspondent Audrea Lim about how farmers in Puerto Rico are building resilience and fighting climate change. And we tell listeners about some great books for summer reading. Continue reading
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We talk with David Margolick about his groundbreaking examination of the relationship between Bobby Kennedy and Martin Luther King, Jr. The book is The Promise and the Dream.
Then, Alex Perry discusses his book, The Good Mothers: The True Story of the Women Who Took on the World’s Most Powerful Mafia. It’s a feminist saga of true crime and justice that shows the power of women, even against the most ruthless of enemies. Continue reading
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We talk with Steven Levitsky, co-author of How Democracies Die. Then, political cartoonist Ted Rall and author Harmon Leon tell us about their book, Meet The Deplorables: Infiltrating Trump America. Continue reading
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This week, we commemorate two momentous June 6 anniversaries. First, we explore the life of Bobby Kennedy, a life cut short on June 6, 1968. We talk with Larry Tye about his superb biography of Robert F. Kennedy, Bobby Kennedy: The Making of a Liberal Icon.
Then, we honor D-Day (June 6, 1944) by talking with Stephen Kiernan about his novel The Baker’s Secret. It tells the story of a remarkable young woman who keeps her neighbors alive until the D-Day invasion liberates their Normandy town from Nazi Occupation.
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We talk with Elizabeth George about the latest in her Inspector Lynley series, The Punishment She Deserves. Then, Anthony Horowitz of Foyle’s War, House of Silk and the Alex Rider mysteries tells us about his new book, The Word Is Murder. It’s a meta-mystery romp that invites the reader in behind the scenes of writing mystery fiction. Continue reading
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Jay Wertz tells us about his pictorial book about World War II, The World Turns To War.
Then, in the wake of last week’s events in Gaza, we re-air our 2015 interview with Susan Abulhawa about her novel The Blue Between Sky and Water. It’s the story of one Palestinian family from the day of the Naqba, or expulsion from Israel, in 1948 to today. Continue reading
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Lauren Markham talks about The Far Away Brothers (Crown 2017), her spellbinding story of two young migrants from El Salvador and the life they are making in America. Then, we hear poet Eduardo Corral read his poem, In Colorado, My Father Scoured and Stacked Dishes. And finally, we talk with singer-songwriter Don Arbor about his welcome song to immigrants Everyone Comes From Somewhere. Continue reading