Category Archives: Podcast

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Podcast

Writer’s Voice Ten Best of 2019

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Episode #572

It’s that time of year when media folks look back and try to pick out the Ten Best of whatever we produced or reviewed this year. You might as well gather them all up in a hat and toss the contents against the wall, we loved all our darlings so much.

But there were some standouts and so we winnowed down the list of about twenty to ten and then picked four to air excerpts from. Then we list the remaining six below.

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Podcast

Nathan Robinson, WHY YOU SHOULD BE A SOCIALIST & Michael Klare

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We talk with Current Affairs editor Nathan J. Robinson about his new book, Why You Should Be A Socialist: A Primer On Democratic Socialism For Those Who Are Extremely Skeptical Of It.

Then, energy and conflict analyst Michael Klare tells us how the US military will have to change in the face of the climate catastrophe. His recent article in the Nation is “When the Climate Replaces Our Forever Wars.”

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Podcast

Richard Louv, OUR WILD CALLING & Carl Safina, BEYOND WORDS

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We talk with Richard Louv, author of Last Child In The Woods, about his new book, OUR WILD CALLING: How Connecting with Animals Can Transform Our Lives”•and Save Theirs.

Then, we play an excerpt from our 2015 interview with Carl Safina about his book BEYOND WORDS, What Animals Think and Feel.

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Podcast

Writers Voice: David Silverman, THIS LAND IS THEIR LAND & Native American scholar Marge Bruchac

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We talk with historian David Silverman about his book This Land Is Their Land: The Wampanoag Indians, Plymouth Colony, and the Troubled History of Thanksgiving.

Then, we continue our Thanksgiving week tradition of hearing Native American storyteller and ethnohistorian Marge Bruchac talk about Thanksgiving from the Native point of view — and her re-telling of the Story of Corn.

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Podcast

Mimi Lemay, What We Will Become & Senator Sherrod Brown, Desk 88

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We talk with Mimi Lemay about her powerful memoir of a family with a transgender child, What We Will Become: A Mother, a Son, and a Journey of Transformation.

Then, we welcome a special guest to our show, Senator Sherrod Brown. He’ll tell us about his new book, Desk 88: Eight Progressive Senators Who Changed America. It’s a celebration of eight former progressive senators who sat at the desk he occupies in the Senate.

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And if you’re listening to our podcast, give us some love on iTunes or whichever podcast app you use.

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Podcast

Paul Theroux, ON THE PLAIN OF SNAKES

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We spend the hour with legendary travel writer and novelist Paul Theroux, talking about his latest book, ON THE PLAIN OF SNAKES: A Mexican Journey. We also hear a poem by the renowned Mexican poet Javier Sicilia.

Our conversation with Paul Theroux takes us from the US border to the jungles of Chiapas, as Theroux tells us about the resilience of the Mexican people in the face of violence and bad government, the preservation of ancient traditions by the poorest communities and the inspiring rebellion in the south by the Zapatistas, who have created their own liberated territory.

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Podcast

Monique Morris, SING A RHYTHM, DANCE A BLUES & Ben Ehrenreich on the California Wildfires

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We talk with social justice scholar Monique Morris about her new book, Sing a Rhythm, Dance a Blues: Education for the Liberation of Black and Brown Girls.

Then, as fire season in California becomes ever longer and more intense, some are saying the profit-driven utility ownership model just isn’t working. We talk with Ben Ehrenreich about his article in the Nation, “California Is Burning—Nationalize PG&E.”

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Podcast

Amitav Ghosh, GUN ISLAND & Aarti Shahani, HERE WE ARE

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On the menu this week are two books, both with roots in South Asia and America, touching on two of the most central issues of our time: climate and immigration.

We talk first with acclaimed novelist and writer Amitav Ghosh about his newest work of fiction, Gun Island. Then, NPR-correspondent Aarti Shahani tells us about her stunning memoir of immigration to America — the dream and the nightmare. It’s called Here We Are: American Dreams, American Nightmares. Continue reading →

Podcast

Ryan Grim, WE’VE GOT PEOPLE & Jeet Heer on the Dems

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We talk with Ryan Grim, correspondent for the Intercept about his fascinating new book, We’ve Got People: From Jesse Jackson to AOC, the End of Big Money and the Rise of a Movement.

Then we check in with Jeet Heer about his take on the state of the Democratic Party after the last debate. His editorial in the Nation is “On a Crowded Stage, Democrats Divide Into Two Tribes.” Continue reading →

Podcast

Virginia Eubanks, AUTOMATING INEQUALITY

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We spend the hour with Virginia Eubanks talking about her award-winning book Automating Inequality: How High-Tech Tools Profile, Police, and Punish the Poor. It’s about how the use of computerized algorithms are replacing human beings in deciding in who is or is not “worthy” of getting help — and destroying lives in the process. Continue reading →

Podcast

John Nichols on Impeachment, D.D. Guttenplan on Bernie-Warren & Les Leopold on Runaway Inequality

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We talk with John Nichols of the Nation about how the Congress should be proceeding on impeaching President Trump.

Then Bernie and Warren are friends. Should their supporters be? In a recent editorial in the Nation, D.D. Guttenplan says they should.

Finally, we check in with Les Leopold, author of Runaway Inequality and founder of runawayinequality.org about the current state of income and wealth inequality. Continue reading →

Podcast

James Hoggan, I’M RIGHT AND YOU’RE AN IDIOT & David Bollier, FREE, FAIR AND ALIVE

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We talk with David Bollier about the new book he co-authored with Silke Helfrich, Free, Fair and Alive: The Insurgent Power of the Commons.

But first, we tackle the toxic state public discourse and how to clean it up. We talk with James Hoggan about the new edition of his book, I’m Right and You’re An Idiot. Continue reading →

Podcast

Paul Rosalie THE GIRL AND THE TIGER & Jim Rousmaniere, WATER CONNECTIONS

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We talk with naturalist, author, and award-winning wildlife filmmaker Paul Rosalie about how a real life encounter with a tiger turned into a page-turner of a novel. His book is The Girl And The Tiger.

But first, we explore the relationship of water to people and people to water. We talk with journalist and historian Jim Rousmaniere about his book Water Connections. Continue reading →

Podcast

Dan Werb, CITY OF OMENS & Michael Mann on the Youth Climate Movement

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What’s causing the epidemic of violence against women in Tijuana Mexico? That’s the question epidemiologist Dan Werb addresses in his powerful exploration into the causes of the epidemic of missing and murdered women in Tijuana. We talk with him about his book, City of Omens: A Search for the Missing Women of the Borderlands (Bloomsbury Press, 2019.)

Then, the UN Climate Summit and a global week of action on the climate is happening. We air an excerpt from an interview with climate scientist Michael Mann. Continue reading →

Podcast

Paul Tough, THE YEARS THAT MATTER MOST & Kristina Rizga, MISSION HIGH

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We talk with Paul Tough about his terrific new book, THE YEARS THAT MATTER MOST: How College Makes Or Breaks Us. It asks the question: Is the American system of higher education fair? Or is it designed to protect the privileged and leave everyone else behind?

Then we re-air our 2015 interview with Kristina Rizga about her book MISSION HIGH: One School, How Experts Tried to Fail It, and the Students and Teachers Who Made It Triumph. It’s about a high school in San Francisco with an impressive track record on educating poor, minority and immigrant youth.

Writer’s Voice — in depth conversation with writers of all genres, on the air since 2004. Rate us on iTunes or wherever you get your podcasts!

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