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

AMERICAN FURIES and YURTS

Yurt maven Becky Kemery talks to us about her beautifully illustrated and informative book, YURTS: Living in the Round.

Also, Sasha Abramsky returns to Writer’s Voice to talk about his new book, AMERICAN FURIES: Crime, Punishment, and Vengeance in the Age of Mass Imprisonment.

Podcast

Medical Alternatives

We talk with Dr. Brent Bauer of the Mayo Clinic about the Clinic’s BOOK OF ALTERNATIVE MEDICINE.

Also, Josef Woodman tells us about PATIENTS BEYOND BORDERS: Everybody’s Guide to Affordable World Class Medical Tourism.

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The audio for this episode is available upon request for a donation of $4.99 to Writers Voice. Contact writersvoice [at] wmua.org.

Podcast

Jacqueline Sheehan and Sophie Freud

We talk with former therapist and now best-selling author Jacqueline Sheehan about her novel, LOST AND FOUND. A widowed psychologist finds the path to her own recovery from grief with the help of a black labrador retriever with a healing touch.

Also, Sigmund Freud’s granddaughter Sophie Freud tells us about about her memoir, LIVING IN THE SHADOW OF THE FREUD FAMILY. We hear about her childhood in pre-war Austria, her famous grandfather, and her dysfunctional family of origin. Now a retired social worker living in New England, Freud weaves together diaries, letters and memoir to reconstruct her flight from Nazi-occupied Austria, the agonizing wait for a visa from Nice, France, and her eventual escape from a Europe embroiled in war.

Podcast

Special on Human Trafficking

Author and anti-slavery activist Beatrice Fernando talks about her memoir, IN CONTEMPT OF FATE: THE TALE OF A SRI LANKAN SOLD INTO SERVITUDE, WHO SURVIVED TO TELL IT. She was a domestic slave in Lebanon in the 1980’s and threw herself off a balcony to escape. She’s also founder of the Nivasa Foundation. It helps women stay out of slavery by supporting their children.

Also, David Batstone talks about his book NOT FOR SALE: The Return of the Global Slave Trade—and How We Can Fight It. It’s about the modern Abolitionist movement. He’s founder of the Not For Sale Campaign.

Podcast

Patricia Klindienst, THE EARTH KNOWS MY NAME

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Patricia Klindienst
Patricia Klindienst

Patricia Klindienst talks about [amazon-product text=”THE EARTH KNOWS MY NAME: Food, Culture, and Sustainability in the Gardens of Ethnic Americans” type=”text”]0807085715[/amazon-product].

Also, check out the Writer’s Voice interview with Klindienst we did in 2009 about her latest book.

Podcast

Steve Hendricks, THE UNQUIET GRAVE and Performance Artist D’Lo

Investigative journalist Steve Hendricks talks about THE UNQUIET GRAVE, the FBI and The Struggle for the Soul of Indian Country. In this powerful report, Hendricks shows how the FBI undermined the American Indian Movement (AIM) and he uncovers a mystery neither the FBI nor AIM want revealed about a murder at Wounded Knee in the 1970’s.

And performance artist D’Lo talks about her new piece, Ramble-ations.

Podcast

Leslie Cerier and Jim Armenti

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Leslie Cerier
Leslie Cerier

Gourmet Organic Chef and Cookbook author Leslie Cerier. You can read two of her recipes here: Raspberry Almond Smoothie and Teff Pancakes.

Also, singer-songwriter Jim Armenti of the Lonesome Brothers talks about The Great Pumpkin Roll and saving local libraries.

Web Extras

Rasberry Almond Smoothie from GOING WILD IN THE KITCHEN

[amazon-product align=”right”]0757000916[/amazon-product]From cookbook author Leslie Cerier. Listen to Francesca’s interview with Leslie here.

Ingredients: 2 1/2 cups frsh or frozen rasberries, 2 cups almond milk, 1 cup plain yoghurt, 1/2 cup maple syrup, 1/2 tsp almond extract, 1/4 tsp nutmeg

1. Place all ingredients in a blender and puree until smooth.
2. Pour into glasses and serve.

For a Change:

* Substitute pitted cherries, peaches or blueberries for the rasberries.

Web Extras

Teff Pancakes Recipe from GOING WILD IN THE KITCHEN

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From cookbook author Leslie Cerier. Listen to Francesca’s interview with Leslie here.

Ingredients: 2 Tbs flaxseeds, 2 ripe bananas, 1 1/2 cups vanilla soymilk, 1 Tbs honey, 2 tsp safflower, almond or canola oil, 1 1/2 cups teff flour, 1 Tbs baking powder, 1/2 tsp cinnamon, 1/4 tsp salt.

  1. Place flaxseeds in a blender and grind until powdery. Add bananas, soymilk, vanilla, noney, and 1 tsp of the oil. Blend well.
  2. Combine the flour, baking powder, cinnamon, and salt until well combined.
  3. Heat the griddle, cast iron skillet, or large frying pan over medium heat. If it doesn’t have a nonstick surface, brush with remaining oil. Drop heaping tablespoons of batter onto the hot griddle and cook 1 and 1/2 minutes, or until the tops are bubbly and the edges are dry. Using a spatula, turn the pancakes over and cook another minute, or until the bottoms are brown.
  4. Serve immediately with your favorite topping.

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For a Change

  • Add 1/4 cup coarsely chopped pecans or walnuts.
  • Use maple sugar or rice syrup instead of honey.
  • Replace soymilk with juice.
  • Add 2 eggs to blender with bananas for added protein [note from Writer’s Voice: this also made the pancakes spread easier in the pan.]

Podcast

Bill McKibben and David Gessner

Environmentalist Bill McKibben talks about DEEP ECONOMY: The Wealth of Communities and the Durable Future. You can read Writers’ Voice host Francesca Rheannon’s review of the book here.

Also, naturalist writer David Gessner returns to Writer’s Voice to talk about his new book, SOARING WITH FIDEL: An Osprey Odyssey From Cape Cod to Cuba and Beyond.

Podcast

David Sirota, HOSTILE TAKEOVER and Michelle Goldberg, KINGDOM COMING

In this archived edition of Writer’s Voice, we podcast two interviews from June of 2006. We talk with David Sirota about HOSTILE TAKEOVER: How Big Money and Corruption Conquered Our Government–and How We Take It Back. It’s as relevant today as it was then.

Then we hear from Michelle Goldberg about KINGDOM COMING: The Rise of Christian Nationalism. It’s just out in paperback with an updated introduction.

Podcast

John Nichols, GENIUS OF IMPEACHMENT and Bill MacLeish

In this archived edition of Writer’s Voice, we talk with John Nichols about THE GENIUS OF IMPEACHMENT. Rep. Dennis Kucinich has just introduced articles of impeachment against Dick Cheney.

Also, Bill MacLeish reads from UPHILL WITH ARCHIE, his memoir of his father, poet and playwright, Archibald MacLeish. Writer’s Voice host Francesca Rheannon recorded it at “Five Writers on a Sense of Place”, and event in March of 2007 put on by the Pioneer Valley Institute.

Podcast

LIGHT WITHIN THE LIGHT, Jeanne Braham and Barry Moser

Author Jeanne Braham and illustrator Barry Moser talk about THE LIGHT WITHIN THE LIGHT: Portraits of Donald Hall, Richard Wilbur, Maxine Kumin, and Stanley Kunitz.

We also hear an excerpt from an archived interview with Maxine Kumin, and the poet reads from JACK AND OTHER NEW POEMS.

Podcast

Eesha Williams and Sefi Atta

Eesha Williams talks about his updated GRASSROOTS JOURNALISM: A Practical Manual. It’s just come out in paperback from Dollars and Sense Books.
And Nigerian novelist Sefi Atta talks about her EVERYTHING GOOD WILL COME. It was awarded the inaugural Wole Soyinka Prize for Literature in Africa.