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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I love talking to authors about their awesome books, but that means I have to read — a lot! You’d be shocked at how many authors thank me for actually reading their books (I guess a lot of interviewers don’t.)
Of course, that’s one of the benefits of producing Writer’s Voice: I get to indulge my reading habit and ask questions of the authors.
But there’s so much great stuff coming out all the time that sometimes my desire to devour all of it gets ahead of the time available. That’s when I find myself with more books on my plate than I bargained for. This is one of those weeks. But what books! I just finished the first one: David Laskin’s THE FAMILY. Read on for my take on his book and more. Continue reading →
On October 6, Nation editor and publisher Katrina vanden Heuvel and contributing editor Stephen F. Cohen sat down in Moscow for a wide-ranging discussion with Edward Snowden, where he shared his thoughts on the surveillance state, the American political system and the price heÂ’s paid for his understanding of patriotism.
The conversation lasted for nearly four hours and has been distilled into an in-depth article in this week’s edition of the Nation magazine. Francesca Rheannon of Writers Voice spoke with Katrina van den Heuvel about the interview with Snowden, as well as her thoughts on the impact the Snowden revelations have had on the US press.
Then Katy Simpson Smith talks about her novel, The Story of Land And Sea (Harper Collins, 2014.) It takes place just after the Revolutionary War, when ideas of equality and liberty were transforming America.
NEWSFLASH! We’re excited to announce that Writer’s Voice has a redesigned, more user friendly website. It’s built to work with all your web devices: smart phones, tablets and computers.
Explore the site, join the email list and keep an eye on exclusive features we’re rolling out in the coming weeks. Let website designer Bill Weye know how much you appreciate this new design (or tell him what else you’d like to see there). We love his work!Continue reading →
Climate action opponents say climate change is too expensive to tackle. But they never talk about the cost of not dealing with it. Higher taxes and food prices, steeper insurance payments, and more costly travel come on top of the loss of jobs and income when droughts, floods, and other impacts of global warming hit us in the pocketbook. But who should pay? Polluters or the public?
What drives some of us to commit murder? That question is on the roster today as we talk with crime fiction writer Tana French about her terrific new novel, The Secret Place.  And Shannon Moroney’s memoir Through The Glass tells a searing story about a brutal crime and her journey toward restorative justice.
On the fiftieth anniversary of the Free Speech Movement, WV talks with Seth Rosenfeld about his bestselling history of that movement and its surveillance by J. Edgar Hoover’s FBI, Subversives. Also, WV revisits our April 2014 interview with Betty Medgser about her book, The Burglary: The Discovery of J. Edgar Hoover’s Secret FBI. Continue reading →
Karen Abbott talks about her latest book, Liar, Temptress, Soldier, Spy. It’s about four courageous women of the Civil War who made history. And later, we replay our 2013 interview with Lois Leveen about her novel, The Secrets of Mary Bowser. It’s about an African American ex-slave who was a Union spy right inside the Confederate White House.
Naomi Oreskes talks about the speculative novel she co-wrote with Erik Conway, The Collapse of Western Civilization: A View from the Future. Then, as the world prepares for climate talks and the People’s climate march in New York City, we hear our 2010 interview with climatologist Dr. James Hansen.
World-renowned biologist Paul Ehrlich of The Population Bomb fame talks about his new book (with Michael Charles Tobias)Hope on Earth: A Conversation. And Ryan Mitchell discusses Tiny House Living: Ideas For Building and Living Well In Less than 400 Square Feet.
WV spends the hour with Indian-born novelist Thrity Umrigar, talking about her latest work of fiction, THE STORY HOUR (Harper Collins, August 2014) and her 2012 novel, THE WORLD WE FOUND. Also, we air a sneak preview from next week’s show: a conversation with scientist Paul Ehrlich about HOPE ON EARTH.
Poet Kathy Engel reads her poem “Harvesting Strawberries.”
Harvesting Strawberries
In summer
my teenage daughters
hair waving freckles,
legs and arms swinging,
walk barefoot to the garden in our back yard,
pick greens,
wash them, make salad
or cook with olive oil and garlic
and we eat together
on the wooden table under the mimosa tree
beside hammocks and chimes,
then drive or walk three miles to plunge in the Atlantic.
On January 4, 2005
six Palestinian children ages eleven to seventeen
harvesting strawberries
were killed by Israeli military
paid, in part, with dollars we send in taxes
from our jobs.
A newspaper photo showed an almond eyed boy
carrying the body of his younger brother.
The children were harvesting strawberries.
Martin Blank talks about the dangers of cell phones,microwaves and other devices that emit electromagnetic radiation. His book is Overpowered: The Dangers of Electromagnetic Radiation (EMF) and What You Can Do about It.
And Argentina teeters on the brink of default because of hedge fund vultures like Paul Singer, who buy up national debt for pennies on the dollar and then demand payment in full. Today WV re-airs a 2011 interview with investigative journalist Greg Palast about his book, Vulture’s Picnic. Continue reading →