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We talk with T.J. English about his latest book, The Corporation. It’s an epic story of the Cuban American Underworld and what that story tells us about the American political economy. We also air a clip from our 2008 interview with T.J. English about his book about the Mafia and the Cuban Revolution, Havana Nocturne.
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This week, we commemorate two momentous June 6 anniversaries. First, we explore the life of Bobby Kennedy, a life cut short on June 6, 1968. We talk with Larry Tye about his superb biography of Robert F. Kennedy, Bobby Kennedy: The Making of a Liberal Icon.
Then, we honor D-Day (June 6, 1944) by talking with Stephen Kiernan about his novel The Baker’s Secret. It tells the story of a remarkable young woman who keeps her neighbors alive until the D-Day invasion liberates their Normandy town from Nazi Occupation.
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We talk with Elizabeth George about the latest in her Inspector Lynley series, The Punishment She Deserves. Then, Anthony Horowitz of Foyle’s War, House of Silk and the Alex Rider mysteries tells us about his new book, The Word Is Murder. It’s a meta-mystery romp that invites the reader in behind the scenes of writing mystery fiction. Continue reading
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We talk with Chloe Benjamin about her bestselling novel, The Immortalists. (Penguin Random House.) It’s about four siblings who, in childhood, learn the dates of their death. Or do they? Then, could there be people among us whose lifespan is nearly a millennium? Matt Haig talks about his latest novel, How To Stop Time (Penguin Random House.) And finally, we talk with the great environmental philosopher and advocate Vandana Shiva. A new book of interviews with her, Creative Civil Disobedience, is out from Actes Sud.
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Lucy Hughes-Hallett tells us about her novel Peculiar Ground (Harper Collins). Set on an English country estate modeled on the one the author grew up on, it travels between the centuries to examine the theme of putting walls up and breaking them down.
Then, Morgan Babst’s novel The Floating World (Algonquin Books) examines the moral quandaries that arise in the wake of Hurricane Katrina. Continue reading
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We air part of our 2014 interview with Rob Okun about his book, Voice Male: The Untold Story of the Pro-Feminist Men’s Movement, which is out in a new edition. But first we talk with Okun about #MeToo and #TimesUp — and how men can support that movement.
Then the pioneering science fiction writer Ursula K. Le Guin died on January 23. We air our 2012 interview with her about her anthology The Unreal And The Real. Continue reading
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Our theme this episode is gentrification. We talk with Brian Platzer about his novel Bed-Stuy is Burning (Simon and Schuster). It’s about what happens when tensions between gentrifiers and the gentrified explode.
Then we re-air our interview from 2017 with Peter Moskowitz about his book, How to Kill a City: Gentrification, Inequality, and the Fight for the Neighborhood. Continue reading
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Katherine Nouri Hughes talks about her novel The Mapmaker’s Daughter. It tells the story of a remarkable historical figure of the 16th century, Queen Mother Nurbanu.
We also get advice from book publicist Claire McKinney on how to promote your book. She’s the author of Do You Know What a Book Publicist Does?: A Guide for Creating Your Own Campaigns. Continue reading
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When disaster strikes, will we descend into dystopia — or cooperate? We talk with Cory Doctorow about his new work of speculative fiction, Walkaway (Macmillan). It’s an “optimistic disaster novel” about what motivates humans to do good in the face of civilizational crisis.
Then, De’Andre Harris was assaulted August 12 by white supremacists in Charlottesville, Virginia. We talk with videographer and photojournalist Zach Roberts about his witnessing of the assault. His image of the beating (above) went viral. Continue reading
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Anthony Horowitz talks about his latest novel, Magpie Murders and about writing great mystery fiction. Then, the Battle to Save Net Neutrality is gearing up. We reach back into our archives for some very prescient conversations about the threats to the open internet and what to do about them. We talk with Rebecca McKinnon, author of Consent of the Networked and with Josh Silver, formerly of Free Press. Then we give our picks for summer reading. Continue reading
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Thrity Umrigar talks about her new novel, Everybody’s Son. It’s about the adoption of a poor black child by a powerful rich white family.
Then, we talk with climate journalist Marianne Lavelle about Trump’s Paris pullout and the Exxon shareholder revolt. Finally, we celebrate World Ocean Week with Carl Safina. Continue reading
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Bestselling author Corban Addison discusses his gripping new novel, A HARVEST OF THORNS. It’s a gripping thriller that reveals the ugly underbelly of fast fashion.
Then, Heather White talks about COMPLICIT, the film she co-produced with Lynn Zhang. It’s an explosive undercover exposÁ© about deadly hazards in China’s electronics industry. Continue reading
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Novelist Ellen Meeropol talks about her new work of fiction, Kinship of Clover. Then we talk with filmmaker Dan Natale about his documentary Bad Tidings. It looks at the impact of sea level rise on one vulnerable community in New Jersey. Continue reading
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Min Jin Lee talks about her acclaimed new novel Pachinko. It’s a multigenerational saga about a Korean family in Japan that defies oppression to thrive in a society stacked against them.
Then we air an edited version of our 2015 interview with Suki Kim about her book Without You There Is No Us. It’s her memoir of going undercover with the sons of the North Korean elite. Continue reading
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Ceridwen Dovey talks about her wonderful new short story collection Only The Animals (Farrar, Straus & Giroux). These poignant stories are told by the souls of ten literature-loving animals who were killed in the course of human conflict.
Then, a novel from the 1930’s is selling like hotcakes in 2017, as people wonder, “could it happen here”? We talk with Sally Parry, director of the Sinclair Lewis Society about Lewis’ novel about the coming of fascism to America, It Can’t Happen Here (Random House). Continue reading