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. View all posts by Francesca Rheannon →

Gregg Levine, “7 Years on, Sailors Exposed to Fukushima Radiation Seek Their Day in Court”

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NOAA map showing ocean radiation from Fukushima

Sunday, March 11, marked the seventh anniversary of the Japanese earthquake and tsunami — seven years for a group of US Navy sailors to get sick and some to die as a result of their exposure to radiation coming from the Fukushima Daichi nuclear plant that was devastated by the tsunami. They were part of a rescue mission to that plant in the days following the tsunami.

Journalist Gregg Levine has written an investigative piece for the Nation MagazineÂ titled “7 Years on, Sailors Exposed to Fukushima Radiation Seek Their Day in Court.”Â Writer’s Voice host Francesca Rheannon spoke with Levine on March 12, 2018.

Francis Moore LappÁ© & Adam Eichen, Daring Democracy

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Francis Moore LappÁ© and Adam Eichen of the Small Planet Institute talk about their new book, Daring Democracy: Igniting Power, Meaning, and Connection for the America We Want. Then Adam Eichen is joined by Rabbi Michael Pollack to talk about a democracy initiative going on right now in Pennsylvania, the March on Harrisburg. Continue reading →

Carey Gillam, WHITEWASH & Philip Ackerman-Leist, A PRECAUTIONARY TALE

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Carey Gillam talks about her book Whitewash: The Story of a Weedkiller, Cancer and the Corruption of Science. We also talk with Philip Ackerman-Leist about his remarkable story of a town that organized and won the right to be pesticide-free. It’s called A Precautionary Tale: How One Small Town Banned Pesticides, Preserved Its Food Heritage, and Inspired a Movement. Continue reading →

Tara Whitsitt, Fermentation on Wheels & Katherine Harvey, The Bare Bones Broth Cookbook.

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Tara Whitsitt talks about her book Fermentation on Wheels. It’s the story –with recipes — of how she’s been spreading the word about the wonders of fermented foods by traveling around the country on a bus.

Then we re-air our interview with Katherine Harvey about her book, The Bare Bones Broth Cookbook. Continue reading →

Lucy Hughes-Hallett, Peculiar Ground & Morgan Babst, The Floating World

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Lucy Hughes-Hallett tells us about her novel Peculiar Ground (Harper Collins). Set on an English country estate modeled on the one the author grew up on, it travels between the centuries to examine the theme of putting walls up and breaking them down.

Then, Morgan Babst’s novel The Floating World (Algonquin Books) examines the moral quandaries that arise in the wake of Hurricane Katrina. Continue reading →

Daniel Ellsberg, THE DOOMSDAY MACHINE & Michael Klare on Trump’s Nuclear Posture Review

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Pentagon Papers whistleblower Daniel Ellsberg talks about his shocking new book, The Doomsday Machine: Confessions of a Nuclear War Planner. Then we talk with peace and security analyst Michael Klare about his recent article in the Nation, “Trump’s Nuclear Posture Review: Back to Armageddon.” Continue reading →

Ashley Dawson On Inequality & Climate Change

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Author and activist Ashley Dawson talks about his groundbreaking book, Extreme Cities: The Peril and Promise of Urban Life in the Age of Climate ChangeÂ (Verso.) It examines the foundation on which climate chaos is playing out in the urban landscape: predatory capitalism and its most glaring feature, extreme inequality. [Note: this is the extended interview.]

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Rob Okun, on #MeToo VOICE MALE & Ursula K. Le Guin UNREAL AND REAL

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We air part of our 2014 interview with Rob Okun about his book, Voice Male: The Untold Story of the Pro-Feminist Men’s Movement, which is out in a new edition. But first we talk with Okun about #MeToo and #TimesUp — and how men can support that movement.

Then the pioneering science fiction writer Ursula K. Le Guin died on January 23. We air our 2012 interview with her about her anthology The Unreal And The Real. Continue reading →

Carl Safina Talks About Offshore Oil & Gas Drilling, Then & Now

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We talk with conservation biologist and author Carl Safina about Trump’s plan to target offshore waters for massive oil and gas drilling while abolishing safety rules put in place after the Deepwater Horizon blowout in 2010.

But first, we re-play our 2011 interview with Safina talking about his book about the Deepwater Horizon blowout, A Sea In Flames.

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Brian Platzer,Â BED-STUY IS BURNING & Peter Moskowitz,Â HOW TO KILL A CITY

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Our theme this episode is gentrification. We talk with Brian Platzer about his novel Bed-Stuy is Burning (Simon and Schuster). It’s about what happens when tensions between gentrifiers and the gentrified explode.

Then we re-air our interview from 2017 with Peter Moskowitz about his book,Â How to Kill a City: Gentrification, Inequality, and the Fight for the Neighborhood. Continue reading →

Katherine Paterson, MY BRIGADISTA YEAR & Jessica Yu, GARDEN OF THE LOST AND ABANDONED

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We talk with Katherine Paterson, the best selling author of The Bridge to Terabithia, about her new YA novel, My Brigadista Year. It’s about the 1961 Cuban Literacy Campaign and its teenage heroes.

Then, Jessica Yu talks about her book Garden of the Lost and Abandoned: The Extraordinary Story of One Ordinary Woman and the Children She Saves. It’s about a courageous and compassionate Ugandan journalist who rescues children who have become lost or cast out from home. Continue reading →

Jeff Goodell, THE WATER WILL COME & Lynn Zinser, Climate Liability News

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Jeff Goodell talks about his new book The Water Will Come: Rising Seas, Sinking Cities, and the Remaking of the Civilized World (Little Brown). Then, as coastal properties go underwater, will governments, businesses and homeowners sue Big Carbon? We talk with Lynn Zinser of the nonprofit journalism website Climate Liability News about the legal implications of climate change.

If you are listening to this podcast please rate us on iTunes or whichever podcast app you’re using. It really helps to get the word out about this show. Thanks!

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What You Need To Know: Climate Scientist Robert Kopp Discusses New Findings on Sea Level Rise

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Dr. Robert Kopp discusses the new report he co-authored that doubles projections of sea level rise if we fail to cut carbon emissions to zero by 2050. Continue reading →

John Michael Greer, The Retro Future & Peter Kalmus, Being The Change

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John Michael Greer talks about his latest book The Retro Future: Looking to the Past to Reinvent the Future (New Society Publishers.)Â Then, climate scientist Peter Kalmus weighs in on the personal choices we can all make to protect the climate. He tells us about his book, Being The Change: Live Well and Spark a Climate RevolutionÂ (New Society Publishers.) Continue reading →

WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW: Why We May Not Be Able To Trust Alabama’s Vote Count

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The Alabama special election for the US Senate is today.Â Whatever the final vote — can it be trusted? For our What You Need To Know series on Writers Voice, Francesca spoke with John Brakey of Election Defense Alliance and attorney Chris Sautter, two long-term election integrity activists. They sued the state of Alabama toÂ improve the integrity of the election. They won in court –Â but then lost in a last-minute backroom deal between the state GOP and the Alabama Supreme Court.