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

Is School Reform Failing Our Schools?

Dana Goldstein

Journalist Dana Goldstein discusses her groundbreaking history of school reform in the US and conflicts over teaching, then and now. It’s called The Teacher Wars: A History of America’s Most Embattled Profession (Doubleday). Then, we check in with Katrina van den Heuvel about her interview with NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden.

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Blog

Six Great Books I Have To Read This Week For Writer’s Voice

Francesca’s Bookshelf

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

Web Extras

Katrina vanden Heuvel, The Snowden Interview

Edward Snowden,
Edward Snowden

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.

Podcast

Danielle Allen, OUR DECLARATION & Katy Simpson Smith, THE STORY OF LAND AND SEA

Danielle Allen
Danielle Allen

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 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

Podcast

Mark Schapiro, CARBON SHOCK

Mark Schapiro
Mark Schapiro

Journalist Mark Schapiro discusses his new book, CARBON SHOCK: A Tale of Risk and Calculus on the Front Lines of the Disrupted Global Economy. It’s about how global warming isn’t just causing climate chaos — it’s creating economic chaos, as well.

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?

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Podcast

Tana French, THE SECRET PLACE & Shannon Moroney, THROUGH THE GLASS

Tana French
Tana French
Shannon Moroney
Shannon Moroney

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.

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Podcast

Vint Virga, THE SOUL OF ALL LIVING CREATURES & Mike Graf, ADVENTURES WITH THE PARKERS series

Vint Virga
Vint Virga

Animal behaviorist Vint Virga talks about his award-winning book, The Soul of All Living Creatures:What Animals Can Teach Us About Being Human. And children’s book author Mike Graf discusses two in his series of adventures guides set in National Parks, To The Top of The Grand, about Grand Teton and Eye of The Whale, about Acadia.

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Podcast

Seth Rosenfeld, SUBVERSIVES & Betty Medsger, THE BURGLARY

Seth Rosenfeld
Seth Rosenfeld
medsger-150x150
Betty Medsger

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

Podcast

Karen Abbott, LIAR, TEMPTRESS, SOLDIER, SPY & Lois Leveen, THE SECRETS OF MARY BOWSER

Karen Abbott
Karen Abbott
Lois Leveen
Lois Leveen

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.

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Podcast

Naomi Oreskes, THE COLLAPSE OF WESTERN CIVILIZATION & Dr. James Hansen, STORMS OF MY GRANDCHILDREN

Naomi Oreskes
Naomi Oreskes
Dr. James Hansen
Dr. James Hansen

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.

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Podcast

Paul Ehrlich, HOPE ON EARTH & Ryan Mitchell, TINY HOUSE LIVING

Paul R. Ehrlich
Paul R. Ehrlich
Ryan Mitchell
Ryan Mitchell

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.

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Podcast

Thrity Umrigar, THE STORY HOUR & THE WORLD WE FOUND

Thrity Umrigar
Thrity Umrigar

19144598WV 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.

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Web Extras

Kathy Engel reads “Harvesting Strawberries”

Kathy Engel
Kathy Engel

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.

Kathy Engel January 6, 2005

(Thanks to East End Report for the audio and text.)

Podcast

Nell Bernstein, BURNING DOWN THE HOUSE & Kathy Engel on poetry for peace

Kathy Engel
Nell Bernstein
Kathy Engel
Kathy Engel

Nell Bernstein talks about her book, Burning Down the House: The End of Juvenile Prison (New Press.) And we hear from poet Kathy Engel about using poetry to promote peace in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

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Podcast

Martin Blank, OVERPOWERED & Greg Palast, VULTURE’S PICNIC

Martin Blank
Martin Blank
Greg Palast
Greg Palast

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