Tag Archives: history

Podcast

BY THE FIRE WE CARRY, Rebecca Nagle on Indigenous Sovereignty and Democracy

In this episode, Rebecca Nagle, journalist and author of By the Fire We Carry: The Generations’ Long Fight for Justice on Native Land, unpacks the history of the Cherokee Nation and broader Indigenous struggles for sovereignty.

Nagle intertwines personal family history with systemic injustices, tracing the consequences of the Trail of Tears, the Indian Removal Act, and the ongoing fight for Native land rights. She examines how these histories intersect with larger issues of capitalism, democracy, and climate justice.

The conversation also highlights recent landmark Supreme Court decisions and their implications for Indigenous sovereignty and U.S. democracy.

““If you think that lawlessness towards one group can’t eventually affect you, history tells us otherwise.” — Rebecca Nagle

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

Writers Voice— in depth conversation with writers of all genres, on the air since 2004.

Connect with Us: Follow us on social media to stay up-to-date on the latest episodes and news. Find us on Facebook at Writers Voice with Francesca Rheannon, on Instagram and Threads @WritersVoicePodcast or find us on Bluesky @writersvoice.bsky.social. Read transcripts at the Writer’s Voice Substack

Key Words: Rebecca Nagle, By the Fire We Carry, Indigenous sovereignty, Cherokee Nation, Supreme Court, Trail of Tears, McGirt v. Oklahoma, Native land rights, Indian Removal Act, democracy and genocide, environmental justice, Neil Gorsuch

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Podcast

Jacob Mikanowski, GOODBYE EASTERN EUROPE & Michael Lerner Remembered

In this episode of Writer’s Voice, host Francesca Rheannon speaks with historian Jacob Mikanowski about his book Goodbye Eastern Europe: An Intimate History of a Divided Land.

Mikanowski explores the rich, complex, and often overlooked history of Eastern Europe—a region shaped by centuries of empires, revolutions, and diverse cultures. From the enduring impact of the Ottoman Empire to the shifting borders of Poland, Hungary, and the Baltics, Mikanowski sheds light on how these lands became the cradle of both cultural richness and conflict.

Then we remember activist, rabbi and champion of revolutionary love, Michael Lerner. He died August 28. We play our 2020 interview with Lerner about his book, Revolutionary Love: A Political Manifesto to Heal and Transform the World.

Writers Voice— in depth conversation with writers of all genres, on the air since 2004.

Connect with Us: Follow us on social media to stay up-to-date on the latest episodes and news. Find us on Facebook at Writers Voice with Francesca Rheannon, on Instagram @WritersVoicePodcast or find us on X/Twitter@WritersVoice.

Key words: Eastern Europe history, Jacob Mikanowski, Michael Lerner, Francesca Rheannon, podcast, history, politics

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Podcast

Ken Krimstein, EINSTEIN IN KAFKALAND & Harry Abrams, LET’S DO LAUNCH

We talk with cartoonist Ken Krimstein about the remarkable meeting of the minds between Albert Einstein and Franz Kafka in Prague, before either man was famous. His new graphic book is Einstein in Kafkaland: How Albert Fell Down The Rabbit Hole And Came Up With The Universe.

Join us as we explore how two seemingly disparate fields—physics and literature—intertwined in the lives of Einstein and Kafka, leading to some of the most profound and surreal discoveries of the modern age.

Then, we talk with veteran Hollywood talent agent Harry Abrams, who represented stars like Liam Neeson and Jennifer Lopez, about his memoir/how to book, Let’s Do Launch: A Hollywood Agent Dishes on How to Make Your Business and Career Take Off.

Writers Voice— in depth conversation with writers of all genres, on the air since 2004.

Connect with Us: Follow us on social media to stay up-to-date on the latest episodes and news. Find us on Facebook at Writers Voice with Francesca Rheannon, on Instagram @WritersVoicePodcast or find us on X/Twitter@WritersVoice.

Key words: Einstein, Kafka, Prague, Gravity, Relativity, Franz Kafka, Albert Einstein, Graphic Novels, Ken Krimstein, Philosophy, Physics, Literature, Harry Abrams, Hollywood agent, author interview, history, podcast

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Podcast

Exploring Apartheid: Venice’s Jewish Ghetto and the West Bank

Today, two stories of what in the modern world we’ve come to call “apartheid”—the practice of segregating a subjugated population and imposing oppressive laws on it.

First, we talk with UK historian Harry Freedman about his history of the first Jewish ghetto—that of Venice, Italy. It’s called Shylock’s Venice: The Remarkable History of Venice’s Jews and the Ghetto.

Then, we revisit our conversation with novelist Rebecca Sacks about her powerful novel, City of Thousand Gates. Its depiction of Israeli apartheid against the citizens of the Occupied West Bank sparks comparisons with the apartheid experienced by Jews in Venice centuries earlier.

Writers Voice— in depth conversation with writers of all genres, on the air since 2004.

Connect with Us: Follow us on social media to stay up-to-date on the latest episodes and news. Find us on Facebook at Writers Voice with Francesca Rheannon, on Instagram @WritersVoicePodcast or find us on X/Twitter@WritersVoice.

Key words: author interview, history, podcast, book podcast, Harry Freedman, Rebecca Sacks, Palestine, West Bank, Venice, ghetto, apartheid, fiction

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Podcast

Policing Women’s Bodies: Seema Yasmin, UNBECOMING + Jordan Elgrably, STORIES FROM THE CENTER OF THE WORLD

In this episode of Writer’s Voice, we sit down with Dr. Seema Yasmin to discuss her prescient YA novel, Unbecoming. Dr. Yasmin, a physician, journalist, and director of the Stanford Health Communication Initiative, brings her multifaceted expertise to the conversation. Her new book, set in a dystopian near-future America, explores the challenges faced by two teenage girls, Leila and Noor, as they navigate a society where abortion has been heavily restricted.

Listen to a clip from the interview on YouTube

Then, we talk with Jordan Elgrably, editor of a new collection of stories from the Middle East, Stories From The Center of The World. The stories originally appeared in the Markaz Review.

Writers Voice— in depth conversation with writers of all genres, on the air since 2004.

Connect with Us: Follow us on social media to stay up-to-date on the latest episodes and news. Find us on Facebook at Writers Voice with Francesca Rheannon, on Instagram @WritersVoicePodcast or find us on X/Twitter@WritersVoice.

Key words: abortion, reproductive rights, Seema Yasmin, Jordan Elgrably, Middle East, fiction, podcast, podcast, book recommendations, author interview, book podcast, book show, history, writer’s voice

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Podcast

Brad Wolf, A MINISTRY OF RISK, Noel Hernandez, SIMPATÍA, William Bronston on Willowbrook State School

In this episode of Writer’s Voice, we dive into the worlds of peace activism and literary translation through conversations with Brad Wolf and Noel Hernández-Gonzalez. Also, William Bronston, the doctor who brought instiionalization of the developmentally disabled to an end, reads from his book, Public Hostage, Public Ransom.

Brad Wolf discusses his work on Ministry of Risk, a collection of Philip Berrigan’s writings exploring themes of nonviolent resistance and liberation. Noel Hernández-Gonzalez shares insights into translating Simpatía, a novel by Rodrigo Blanco Calderón, depicting the devolution of Chavismo into chaos and poverty, through an effort to save Venezuela’s abandoned dogs.

Writers Voice— in depth conversation with writers of all genres, on the air since 2004.

Connect with Us: Follow us on social media to stay up-to-date on the latest episodes and news. Find us on Facebook at Writers Voice with Francesca Rheannon, on Instagram @WritersVoicePodcast or find us on X/Twitter@WritersVoice.

Key words: nonviolent activism, peace activism, Philip Berrigan, Brad Wolf, Noel Hernández-Gonzalez, William Bronston, Willowbrook State School, Venezuela, Chavismo, podcast, nonfiction, podcast, book recommendations, author interview, book podcast, book show, history, writer’s voice

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Podcast

Audrea Lim, FREE THE LAND & Carleen Madigan, THE BACKYARD HOMESTEAD

In this episode, we sit down with Audrea Lim, author of Free the Land: How We Can Fight Poverty and Climate Chaos.

Audrea traces the connections between land commodification and many of America’s most pressing issues: ecological collapse, climate change, systemic racism, gentrification and economic inequality. Through powerful examples and thoughtful analysis, she shows how land ownership and control are key to understanding and addressing these problems.

Then we re-broadcast our 2009 interview with Carleen Madigan about The Backyard Homestead: Produce All the Food You Need On Just a Quarter Acre! The book was so successful, it went on to spark a whole series of Backyard Homestead books.

Writers Voice— in depth conversation with writers of all genres, on the air since 2004.

Connect with Us: Follow us on social media to stay up-to-date on the latest episodes and news. Find us on Facebook at Writers Voice with Francesca Rheannon, on Instagram @WritersVoicePodcast or find us on X/Twitter@WritersVoice.

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Key words: land ownership, Audrea Lim, backyard homesteading, Carleen Madigan, podcast, nonfiction, podcast, book recommendations, author interview, book podcast, book show, history, writer’s voice, Francesca Rheannon

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Podcast

July 4 Special: Danielle Allen, OUR DECLARATION

In this conversation with Writer’s Voice host Francesca Rheannon, political theorist Danielle Allen talks about two core ideas at the heart of our nation’s Declaration of Independence: freedom and liberty. How are they aligned? How are they different? And can they contradict each other?

Listen to a clip on YouTube

We re-air our 2014 interview with Danielle Allen about her book, Our Declaration: A Reading of the Declaration of Independence in Defense of Equality

Connect with Us: Follow us on social media to stay up-to-date on the latest episodes and news. Find us on Facebook at Writers Voice with Francesca Rheannon, on Instagram @WritersVoicePodcast or find us on X/Twitter@WritersVoice.

Key Words: Danielle Allen, July 4, Declaration of Independence, writer’s voice, podcast, book recommendations, author interview, book podcast, book show

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Podcast

Two Biographies by Larry Tye: THE JAZZMEN & DEMAGOGUE

Larry Tye tells us about his new book, The Jazzmen: How Duke Ellington, Louis Armstrong, and Count Basie Transformed America. It’s a fresh look at three titans of the Jazz Age. Then, we re-air our 2020 interview with Larry Tye about his biography of Senator Joe McCarthy, Demagogue.

Writers Voice— in depth conversation with writers of all genres, on the air since 2004.

Find us on Facebook at Writers Voice with Francesca Rheannon, on Instagram @WritersVoicePodcast or find us on X/Twitter @WritersVoice.

Key words: Jazz Age, Larry Tye, Count Basie, Louis Armstrong, Satchmo, Duke Ellington, author interview, book podcast, podcast

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Podcast

Brad Gooch on The Radiant Life of Keith Haring & more

We talk with Brad Gooch about his acclaimed new biography of Keith Haring, RADIANT: The Life and Line of Keith Haring. Then we listen back to a clip of Gooch talking with us in 2017 about his biography, Rumi’s Secret: The Life of the Sufi Poet of Love.

Writers Voice— in depth conversation with writers of all genres, on the air since 2004.

Find us on Facebook at Writers Voice with Francesca Rheannon, on Instagram and Threads @WritersVoicePodcast or find us on X/Twitter @WritersVoice.

Love Writer’s Voice? Please rate us on your podcast app. It really helps to get the word out about our show.

Key words: biography, Keith Haring, Rumi, Brad Gooch, podcast, author interview, history, book show

Read more: Brad Gooch on The Radiant Life of Keith Haring & more

Keith Haring: Breaking Barriers

In the 1980s, the subways of New York City were covered with art. In the stations, black matte sheets were pasted over outdated ads, and unsigned chalk drawings often popped up on these blank spaces.

These temporary chalk drawings numbered in the thousands and became synonymous with a city as diverse as it was at war with itself, beset with poverty and crime but alive with art and creative energy. And every single one of those drawings was done by Keith Haring.

Haring was one of the most emblematic artists of the 1980s. Part of an iconic cultural crowd that included Andy Warhol, Madonna, and Jean-Michel Basquiat, Haring broke down the barriers between high art and popular culture, creating work that was accessible for all and using it as a means to provoke and inspire radical social change.

Haring died of AIDS in 1990. To this day, his influence on our culture remains.

RADIANT: Brad Gooch’s Definitive Biography of Haring

Brad Gooch’s biography of Keith Haring, Radiant, brings Haring’s brilliant but tragically short life to light, painting a vivid picture of the life and times of his subject. Gooch was granted access to Haring’s extensive archive to write a biography that will become the authoritative work on the artist.

About the Author

Brad Gooch is a poet, novelist, and biographer. In addition to Radiant and Rumi’s Secret: The Life of the Sufi Poet of Love (we play an excerpt from our 2017 interview with Gooch about Rumi’s Secret) he’s the author of biographies of Flannery O’Connor and Frank O’Hara; as well as several other works, including memoir, poetry and fiction.

Podcast

Tessa Hulls, FEEDING GHOSTS & Remembering Frans de Waal

A grandmother’s traumatic history reverberates through three generations…

We talk with Tessa Hulls about her powerful graphic memoir, Feeding Ghosts. It tells the story of three generations of women — her Chinese grandmother, Sun Yi; her mother, Rose; and herself —and how, in the process of writing and drawing their stories, she was able to heal the trauma that haunted them.

Then, we remember the great primatologist Frans de Waal, who passed away March 14. We re-air our 2022 interview with him about his last book, Different: Gender Through the Eyes of a Primatologist.

Writer’s Voice — in depth conversation with writers of all genres, on the air since 2004. Rate us on your favorite podcast app! It really helps others find our show.

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Key words: memoir, podcast, author interview, Frans de Waal, Tessa Hulls, gender, history

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Podcast

Amitav Ghosh, SMOKE AND ASHES & Manjula Martin, THE LAST FIRE SEASON

We talk with Amitav Ghosh about his masterful history of the opium trade, Smoke and Ashes: Opium’s Hidden Histories.

Then, Manjula Martin tells us about her personal and “pyro-natural” history of California wildfires — the ones she lived through in 2020 and the ones Indigenous people lived with before white settlers moved in and took their land. Her book is The Last Fire Season.

And finally, we read a poem from Mosab Abu Toha’s book Things You May Find Hidden In My Ear.


Writers Voice— in depth conversation with writers of all genres, on the air since 2004.

Find us on Facebook at Writers Voice with Francesca Rheannon, on Instagram @WritersVoicePodcast or find us on X/Twitter @WritersVoice.

Key Words: Amitav Ghosh, history, opium trade, author interview, Manjula Martin, climate change, global warming, fire season, memoir, podcast, book podcast, author interview, Writer’s Voice, Francesca Rheannon

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Podcast

A Jazz-Age Murder That Toppled Gotham’s Mayor

The Rundown

We talk with Michael Wolraich about his book, The Bishop And The Butterfly: Murder, Politics, And The End Of The Jazz Age. Then, we re-air part of our conversation with Paul Kix about You Have To Be Prepared To Die Before You Can Begin To Live: Ten Weeks In Birmingham That Changed America.  And we read a poem by Palestinian poet Mosab Abu Toha, who was abducted by the IDF and brutally beaten before a global outcry resulted in his release.


Writers Voice— in depth conversation with writers of all genres, on the air since 2004.

Find us on Facebook at Writers Voice with Francesca Rheannon, on Instagram and Threads @WritersVoicePodcast or find us on X/Twitter @WritersVoice. Read transcripts at the Writer’s Voice Substack.

Key Words: Michael Wolraich, Jazz Age, history, writers voice, podcast, book recommendations, author interview, book podcast, book show, book excerpt, creative nonfiction, poetry, Black History Month

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Podcast

Adam Shatz, THE REBEL’S CLINIC & Vanessa Lillie, BLOOD SISTERS

Mind & Liberation: Unveiling Frantz Fanon’s Revolutionary Psychiatry and Post-Colonial Vision. Also, a Cherokee murder mystery.

We talk with Adam Shatz about his acclaimed biography, The Rebel’s Clinic: The Revolutionary Lives of Frantz Fanon.

Then, a Cherokee murder mystery based on two very real crises affecting Indigenous communities: missing and murdered women and environmental racism. We talk with Cherokee author Vanessa Lillie about her suspense novel, Blood Sisters.

Writers Voice— in depth conversation with writers of all genres, on the air since 2004.

Find us on Facebook at Writers Voice with Francesca Rheannon, on Instagram and Threads @WritersVoicePodcast or find us on X/Twitter @WritersVoice. Read transcripts at the Writer’s Voice Substack.

Key words: Adam Shatz, Frantz Fanon, Vanessa Lillie, suspense, history, podcast, book recommendations, author interview, book podcast, book show, writer’s voice, Francesca Rheannon

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Podcast

Adam Goodheart, THE LAST ISLAND & Jennifer Jewell, WHAT WE SOW

We explore the people of North Sentinel Island, who are thought to be the last un-contacted tribe on Earth. Our guest is historian, essayist, and author Adam Goodheart and his book is The Last Island: Discovery, Defiance, and the Most Elusive Tribe on Earth.

Read The Interview Transcript

Then, we talk with author, gardener and radio host Jennifer Jewell about her book, What We Sow: On The Personal, Ecological And Cultural Significance Of Seeds.

Read The Interview Transcript

Key Words: Adam Goodheart, Jennifer Jewell, writer’s voice, podcast, book recommendations, author interview, book podcast, creative nonfiction, history, environment, seeds


Writers Voice — in depth conversation with writers of all genres, on the air since 2004. Find us on Facebook at Writers Voice with Francesca Rheannon, on Instagram and Threads @WritersVoicePodcast or find us on X/Twitter @WritersVoice.

Love Writer’s Voice? Please rate us on your podcast app. It really helps to get the word out about our show.

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