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.

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Thomas Frank, LISTEN, LIBERAL & New Fiction Picks

Thomas Frank talks about his book Listen, Liberal. It’s a scathing look at what’s wrong with the Democratic Party and how it got to the disastrous place it’s in right now. Then we share some our of favorite recent fiction. Continue reading

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WV Best of 2016 & A Story For New Year’s

2016 is passing into history. The New Year is just around the corner. And it’s time for a year-end review. In this week’s show, we play excerpts from some of our Top Ten of 2016. Find links to the entire interviews below.

Then, Francesca reads her story about New Year’s Day in Provence. Continue reading

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Ani Tuzman, THE TREMBLE OF LOVE & Terry Tempest Williams, FINDING BEAUTY IN A BROKEN WORLD

Ani Tuzman talks about her novel based on the life of the 18th century Jewish mystic, the Baal Shem Tov. Its called The Tremble of Love. Then, we re-air an excerpt from our 2008 interview with Terry Tempest Williams about her book, Finding Beauty In A Broken World.   Continue reading

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Francine Prose: MR. MONKEY & READING LIKE A WRITER

Writer Francine Prose talks about her acclaimed new novel, Mr. Monkey. It’s about art, ambition, childhood, aging, and love — and a very bad children’s musical. Then, we replay our 2006 interview with Prose about her book on writing, Reading Like A Writer.   Continue reading

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What You Need To Know: Field Guide To The Democracy Movement

In this edition of What You Need To Know, we talk with Frances Moore LappÁ©, author of the iconic Diet For A Small Planet and founder and director of The Small Planet Institute, and her colleague Adam Eichen about their new Field Guide to The Democracy Movement. Continue reading

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Nicholas Kardaras, GLOW KIDS: How Screen Addiction Is Hijacking Our Kids

We spend the hour on an issue that should concern every parent: the growing evidence that the dominance of digital tech is threatening our kids’ development, causing an addiction crisis that science is just beginning to understand.

Addictions expert Dr. Nicholas Kardaras talks about his book, Glow Kids: How Screen Addiction Is Hijacking Our Kids-and How to Break the Trance. Continue reading

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Mark Schapiro, The End of Stationarity & Greg Palast, The Best Democracy Money Can Buy

Mark Schapiro talks about his new book The End of Stationarity: Searching for the New Normal in the Age of Carbon Shock. Then, we talk with Greg Palast about his new book and movie, The Best Democracy Money Can Buy: A Tale of Billionaires and Ballot Bandits. Continue reading

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Katherine Harvey, Bare Bones Broth Cookbook, The True Story of Thanksgiving & “The Food Philosophe” (story)

Katherine Harvey talks about the book she co-authored, The Bare Bones Broth Cookbook. Francesca reads her story The Food Philosophe. And finally we continue our Thanksgiving tradition with native American scholar Marge Bruchac telling us the real story behind the holiday.

Also, a teaser from our interview with Nancy Altman of Social Security Works about her article for Huffington Post, “Medicare Will Be Gone By Next Thanksgiving If Republicans Have Their Way.” Continue reading

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WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW: Medicare Might Be Gone By Next Thanksgiving

Nancy J. Altman of Social Security Works speaks about the imminent threat to Medicare — and how Americans can fight to save it. She wrote “Medicare Will Be Gone By Next Thanksgiving If Republicans Have Their Way” for the Huffington Post. Continue reading

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Tana French, THE TRESPASSER & Shaun Chamberlin, SURVIVING THE FUTURE

Mystery novelist Tana French talks about her latest book in the Dublin Murder Squad series, The Trespasser.

Then, how can we best confront the terrible uncertainties of a darkening future? We talk with Shaun Chamberlin about the late David Fleming’s book, Surviving The Future, which Chamberlin edited and brought out after Fleming’s death. Continue reading

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Sarah Ellis, THE TRAINABLE CAT & Ted Rall, TRUMP

Cat behaviorist Sarah Ellis talks about The Trainable Cat: A Practical Guide to Making Life Happier for You and Your Cat.

Then, the election is finally over, with a shocking result that few in pollsters or pundits foresaw. But the signs were there for those unburdened by the blinders of conventional wisdom to see. We re-air our interview with one of them, cartoonist Ted Rall, about his graphic biography of Donald Trump, first broadcast in August.
Continue reading

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Steven Hill, EXPAND SOCIAL SECURITY NOW! & Election Fraud in America, Then and Now

Steven Hill explodes the myths about Social Security and shows how to strengthen it. His book is Expand Social Security Now!: How to Ensure Americans Get the Retirement They Deserve (Beacon Press, 2016)(Beacon Press, 2016).

Then, the election is next week. But is every vote equal? We talk with Beverly Harris of Black Box Voting about new research she’s published claiming voting machines are counting some votes as worth more than others.

Finally, we get the long view from historian Tracy Campbell, author of Deliver the Vote: A History of Election Fraud, An American Political Tradition. Continue reading

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Steven Hill: The Wealthy Don’t Pay Their Fair Share Into Social Security

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Political author Steven Hill explains how closing loopholes and tax advantages that benefit the wealthiest Americans would allow us to double Social Security payments for all Americans. His book is Expand Social Security Now!

 

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Tracy Campbell, DELIVER THE VOTE (Full Interview)

Historian Tracy Campbell delivervotediscusses the history of election fraud in America. He is the author of the acclaimed book, Deliver the Vote: A History of Election Fraud, an American Political Tradition, 1742-2004 (Basic Books, 2005).

WV spoke to him at length about this history — and his concerns that Trump’s claims muddy the waters.  Campbell is Professor of History at the University of Kentucky.