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

Christian McEwen, WORLD ENOUGH & TIME and A Story for the Winter Solstice

Christian McEwen

Christian McEwen tells us about taking it slow in WORLD ENOUGH & TIME; we talk with Jane Brox about the evolution of artificial light; and we also hear a Winter Solstice story by host Francesca Rheannon, “The Food Philosophe”.

Continue reading

Podcast

Songwriters Katryna & Nerissa Nields & David Rovics

Nerissa & Katrina Shields
David Rovics

Folksinger sisters Katryna and Nerissa Nields talk about their terrific book and CD set, ALL TOGETHER SINGING IN THE KITCHEN. And topical singer-songwriter David Rovics tells us about writing “songs of social significance” and we listen to a few. Continue reading

Podcast

James Workman, HEART OF DRYNESS & Christine Shearer, KIVALINA

James Workman
Christine Shearer

James Workman talks about his book, THE HEART OF DRYNESS: How the Last Bushmen Can Help Us Endure the Coming Age of Permanent Drought. And journalist Christine Shearer talks about KIVALINA: A Climate Change Story.

Continue reading

Podcast

Greg Palast, VULTURE’S PICNIC & Marina Sitrin on #OWS

Greg Palast
Marina Sitrin

Marina Sitrin talks about her essay that appears in the book,  THIS CHANGES EVERYTHING — the first book out about the Occupy Movement. And investigative reporter Greg Palast talks about his latest shocker, VULTURES’ PICNIC: In Pursuit of Petroleum Pigs, Power Pirates, and High-Finance Carnivores.

Continue reading

Podcast

Christian Parenti, TROPIC OF CANCER & Marge Bruchac, 1621

Christian Parenti
Marge Bruchac

Christian Parenti talks about his book, TROPIC OF CHAOS: Climate Change and the New Geography of Violence. And Native American storyteller and scholar, Marge Bruchac tells us what really happened at the first Thanksgiving.

Continue reading

Podcast

Jeff Sharlet, SWEET HEAVEN & Chris Hedges, DEATH OF THE LIBERAL CLASS

Jeff Sharlet
Chris Hedges

Rolling Stone journalist Jeff Sharlet talks about his terrific book, SWEET HEAVEN WHEN I DIE and Chris Hedges tells us about his book, DEATH OF THE LIBERAL CLASS.

Continue reading

Podcast

Noah Charney & Eric Lamet

Eric Lamet
Eric Lamet

Noah Charney talks about STEALING THE MYSTIC LAMB. It’s about the 15th century Ghent Altarpiece and why so many, from Napoleon to the Nazis, coveted it so much, they stole it. And Eric Lamet talks about his memoir as a Jewish child in Mussolini’s Italy. His book is A CHILD AL CONFINO. Continue reading

Podcast

Bill Zimmerman, TROUBLEMAKER & Alan Michael Collinge, THE STUDENT LOAN SCAM

Bill Zimmerman
Alan Michael Collinge

Bill Zimmerman talks about his memoir of political activism during the 1960’s, TROUBLEMAKER. And we talk about the crushing burden of student loan debt with Alan Michael Collinge. His book is THE STUDENT LOAN SCAM.

Continue reading

Podcast

Gail Levin, John van Sickle & Jeff Sharlet

Gail Levin
John van Sickle

Art historian Gail Levin talks about her acclaimed LEE KRASNER: A Biography; John Van Sickle talks about his translation of VIRGIL’S BOOK OF BUCOLICS, and WV airs a brief excerpt from an upcoming interview with Jeff Sharlet about his book, SWEET HEAVEN WHEN I DIE.

Continue reading

Podcast

David S. Reynolds & Charles C. Mann

David S. Reynolds
Charles C. Mann

David S. Reynolds talks about MIGHTIER THAN THE SWORD: Uncle Tom’s Cabin and the Struggle for America and WV airs a 2005 interview with Charles C. Mann about his book 1491: New Revelations of America Before Columbus. Continue reading

Podcast

Novelists Russell Banks and Valerie Martin & biologist Michael Wojtech

Russell Banks

Russell Banks talks his acclaimed new novel, LOST MEMORY OF SKIN; Michael Wojtech tells how to identify trees in BARK and novelist Valerie Martin weighs in on writing fiction.

Continue reading

Podcast

Valerie Martin Extended Interview

Valerie Martin

Francesca Rheannon talks with novelist Valerie Martin about her literary influences, writing about women, and writing historical fiction. Martin lists Flaubert, Albert Camus and Stephen Crane as influences when she was beginning her literary career. It’s an eclectic group that showed her the possibilities and range of writing.


Podcast

Susan Rosenberg, AMERICAN RADICAL

Susan Rosenberg

Susan Rosenberg talks about her prison memoir, AN AMERICAN RADICAL: A Political Prisoner In My Own Country. She exposes systematic human rights abuses in the U.S. prison system in her searing memoir of the 18 years she spent behind bars. And later, WV remembers Nobel Peace Prize winner, Wangari Matthai.

Continue reading

Podcast

Tahmima Anam: The Good Muslim & A Golden Age

Tahmima Anam

Novelist Tahmima Anam discusses her novels of Bangla Desh. In 2008, WV spoke with Anam about her acclaimed debut novel A GOLDEN AGE. It was about one family’s experience in the Bangla Desh struggle for independence from Pakistan. Now she’s back with a terrific sequel: it’s called THE GOOD MUSLIM. WV airs our interviews about both books today. And host Francesca Rheannon reads two poems of the Bengali writer, Rabindranath Tagore.

Continue reading