Tag Archives: Nonfiction

Wilmer Leon, POLITICS ANOTHER PERSPECTIVE & Greg Palast, The Best Democracy Money Can Buy

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WV talks with with political analyst, author and radio host Wilmer Leon about his collection of essays spanning part of the Bush era and both terms of the Obama administration, Politics Another Perspective: Commentary and Analysis on Race, War, Ethics and the American Political Landscape in the Age of Obama.

Also,Â we air an edited version of our interview with investigative journalist Greg Palast about his book and movie, The Best Democracy Money Can Buy. He says the GOP and its billionaire funders have been stealing the votes of millions of Americans. Continue reading →

Alexandra Chasin, ASSASSIN OF YOUTH & Mason Tvert, MARIJUANA IS SAFER

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With his threats to ramp up the war on drugs, is Attorney General Jeff Sessions channeling the spirit of the man who started us down this perilous path?

We speak with Alexandra Chasin about her biography/cultural-political critique of America’s first drug czar, Harry J. Anslinger, Assassin of Youth: A Kaleidoscopic History of Harry J. Anslinger’s War On Drugs. Then we re-air our 2010 interview with cannabis legalization advocate Mason Tvert about his book, Marijuana Is Safer. Continue reading →

Protecting Ourselves From Tyranny: Timothy Snyder, On Tyranny & Ryan Alford, Permanent State of Emergency

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We talk with historian Timothy Snyder about his book On Tyranny: Twenty Lessons from the Twentieth Century. The book is a kind of vaccine to inoculate us against acquiescing to authoritarianism.

Then, we talk with legal scholar Ryan Alford about his chilling study of how national security claims on the part of the executive branch have undermined the rule of law. His book is Permanent State of Emergency: The Demise of The Rule Of Law In The United States. Continue reading →

James Forman, Jr., LOCKING UP OUR OWN

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Writer’s Voice spends the hour with James Forman, Jr., talking about his groundbreaking book, Locking Up Our Own: Crime and Punishment in Black AmericaÂ (Farrar, Straus, and Giroux, April 2017).Â

It’s a groundbreaking look at how black civil rights leaders and other leaders in the black community contributed to the phenomenon of mass incarceration out of the best of intentions: a fierce desire to protect their communities and the young people in them. Continue reading →

Peter Moskowitz, HOW TO KILL A CITY & Steve Stollman on the Mulberry Street Gang

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We talk with Peter Moskowitz about his book, How to Kill a City: Gentrification, Inequality, and the Fight for the Neighborhood. Then we talk withÂ Steve Stollman about his pop-up exhibit on East Houston Street in New York, The Mulberry Street Gang. Continue reading →

Florence Williams, THE NATURE FIX & Sarah Williams Goldhagen, WELCOME TO YOUR WORLD

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Why is being in nature so good for us? And how can we design our built environment to better serve our needs?

We talk with science journalist Florence Williams about her book The Nature Fix: Why Nature Makes Us Happier, Healthier, and More Creative. Then we talk with Sarah Williams Goldhagen about her book, Welcome To Your World: How The Built Environment Shapes Our Lives. Continue reading →

Diogo Castro Freire, FACING THE SURGE & Paul Blanc, FAKE SILK

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Diogo Castro Freire talks about his film, Facing The Surge. It’s the first in a series planned about the impact of climate change on you and me.

Then, we hear about the little known dangers of rayon manufacturing. Environmental and Occupational Â Medicine expert Paul Blanc talks about his book Fake Silk: The Lethal History of Viscose Rayon. Continue reading →

Melissa Fleming, A HOPE MORE POWERFUL THAN THE SEA & Alan Furst, A HERO OF FRANCE

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Melissa Fleming talks about her book A Hope More Powerful Than the Sea: One Refugee’s Incredible Story of Love, Loss, and Survival. Then Alan Furst returns with a new thriller about the French Resistance during World War II. The book is A Hero of France. Continue reading →

Kimball Taylor THE COYOTE’S BICYCLE & Richard Cahan UN-AMERICAN

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Kimball Taylor talks about his book The Coyote’s Bicycle: The Untold Story of 7,000 Bicycles and the Rise of a Borderland Empire. It shows how human ingenuity and the humble bicycle are defeating the most expensive border barrier the US has ever built.

Then, it’s the 75th anniversary of the decree ordering the mass incarceration of Japanese-Americans during World War II. Richard Cahan tells us about his book Un-American: The Incarceration of Japanese Americans During World War II. It’s a collection with text of Images by Dorothea Lange, Ansel Adams, and other government photographers. Continue reading →

Wesley Lowery, They Can’t Kill Us All & Frederick Clarkson on “Dystrumpian” Theocracy

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Journalist Wesley Lowery talks about his acclaimed book, They Can’t Kill Us All: Ferguson, Baltimore, and a New Era in America’s Racial Justice Movement. Then Frederick Clarkson of Political Research Associates discusses Betsy de Vos and the Trump administration’s theocratic vision for America. Also, we hear Danez Smith read her poem C.R.E.A.M. Continue reading →

Thomas Frank, LISTEN, LIBERAL & New Fiction Picks

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Thomas Frank talks about his book Listen, Liberal. It’s a scathing look at what’s wrong with the Democratic Party and how it got to the disastrous place it’s in right now. Then we share some our of favorite recent fiction. Continue reading →

Ani Tuzman, THE TREMBLE OF LOVE & Terry Tempest Williams, FINDING BEAUTY IN A BROKEN WORLD

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Ani Tuzman talks about her novel based on the life of the 18th century Jewish mystic, the Baal Shem Tov. Its called The Tremble of Love. Then, we re-air an excerpt from our 2008 interview with Terry Tempest Williams about her book, Finding Beauty In A Broken World. Â Continue reading →

Francine Prose: MR. MONKEY & READING LIKE A WRITER

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WriterÂ Francine Prose talks about her acclaimed new novel, Mr. Monkey.Â It’s about art, ambition, childhood, aging, and love — and a very bad children’s musical. Then, we replay our 2006 interview with Prose about her book on writing, Reading Like A Writer. Â Continue reading →

What You Need To Know: Field Guide To The Democracy Movement

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In this edition of What You Need To Know, we talk with Frances Moore LappÁ©, author of the iconic Diet For A Small Planet and founder and director of The Small Planet Institute,Â and her colleague Adam Eichen about their new Field Guide to The Democracy Movement. Continue reading →

Mark Schapiro, The End of Stationarity & Greg Palast, The Best Democracy Money Can Buy

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Mark Schapiro talks about his new book The End of Stationarity: Searching for the New Normal in the Age of Carbon Shock. Then, we talk with Greg Palast about his new book and movie, The Best Democracy Money Can Buy: A Tale of Billionaires and Ballot Bandits. Continue reading →