Dialogue with Marcia Franklin

In part one of her interview with David Benioff & D. B. Weiss, co-creators of the immensely popular "Game of Thrones" television series, Marcia Franklin talks with the duo about why they wanted to create the series, what they think of criticism about its violence, how they work together, and how they've dealt with the fear of the unknown on such a complex project.

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Originally Aired: 11/4/2016

The interview is part of Dialogue's series "Conversations from the Sun Valley Writers' Conference" and was taped at the 2016 conference. Since 1995, the conference has been bringing together some of the world's most well-known and illuminating authors to discuss literature and life.

It's one of his most beloved tales, but was written in a hurry and under duress.

On this holiday episode of Dialogue, Marcia Franklin talks with Boise writer Samantha Silva about "A Christmas Carol," penned by Charles Dickens in 1843. In her debut novel, "Mr. Dickens and His Carol," Silva melds fact with fiction to imagine how Dickens came up with the plot for his now-classic story.

Of Silva's work, Pulitzer Prize-winner and Boise resident Anthony Doerr says, "It's as foggy and haunted and redemptive as the original; it's all heart, and I read it in a couple of ebullient, Christmassy gulps."

Silva talks with Franklin about what drew her to Dickens, how she researched her book, why she thinks "A Christmas Carol" crystallizes Dickens' ethos, and why the story is still relevant.

A graduate of Boise State University and the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies, Silva is a screenwriter who has sold projects to Paramount, Universal, New Line Cinema, and TNT. A film version of her short story, "The Big Burn," won the One Potato Short Screenplay Competition at the 2017 Sun Valley Film Festival and will be released in 2018. Silva will also be writing another novel.

Author Adam Johnson, who has won both a Pulitzer Prize and the National Book Award for his works, talks with host Marcia Franklin about his writing philosophy. The two also discuss his thoughts on North Korea, which he has visited and about which he wrote in The Orphan Master's Son.

Don't forget to subscribe, and visit the Dialogue website for more conversations that matter.

Originally Aired: 11/2/2018

The interview is part of Dialogue's series "Conversations from the Sun Valley Writers' Conference" and was taped at the 2018 conference. Since 1995, the conference has been bringing together some of the world's most well-known and illuminating authors to discuss literature and life.

Host Marcia Franklin talks with Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Gretchen Morgenson, then a financial editor and columnist at the New York Times who covered the country's financial crisis since its inception.

They discuss the federal government's push to increase home ownership, which Morgenson sees as the underpinning of the financial collapse. The two also talk about various taxpayer-funded bailouts of companies such as AIG, and whether Morgenson sees any light at the end of the tunnel for the slumping economy.

Before moving to The Wall Street Journal in November 2017, Morgenson was assistant business and financial editor at the New York Times since May 1998. Prior to that she was assistant managing editor at Forbes magazine. She was also the press secretary for the Forbes for President campaign. In 2002, she won a Pulitzer Prize for her coverage of Wall Street.

Don't forget to subscribe to the podcast and visit the Dialogue website for more conversations that matter!

Originally Aired: 09/10/2009

The interview is part of Dialogue's series, "Conversations from the Sun Valley Writers' Conference," and was taped at the 2009 conference. Since 1995, the conference has been bringing together some of the world's most well-known and illuminating authors to discuss literature and life.

Marcia Franklin talks with playwright Samuel D. Hunter about his work, including "The Whale," which was adapted into a movie with Brendan Fraser, who won an Academy Award. The two also discuss the role of Idaho in his works, and the importance of the humanities.

Marcia Franklin talks with historian Tiya Miles about her book, "All That She Carried," which won the National Book Award. It tells the story of "Ashley's sack," a bag given to an enslaved girl by her mother in the 1850s. The two discuss how a material object can bring untold history alive, and also talk about Miles' book, "Night Flyer," which looks at the effect of the outdoors on Harriet Tubman.

Marcia Franklin talks with Clarissa Ward, the chief international correspondent for CNN, about her start in the business, her assignments in some of the most dangerous parts of the world and the continuing need for journalistic ethics. The two also discuss her memoir, "On All Fronts: The Education of a Journalist." The conversation was taped at the 2024 Sun Valley Writers' Conference.

Marcia Franklin talks with Rabbi Sharon Brous of IKAR, a Jewish congregation in Los Angeles. The two discuss how the October 7, 2023 attack by Hamas on Israel affected her and her congregants, Israel's bombing of Gaza, increasing antisemitism, and a path forward to peace.

Host Marcia Franklin talks with author Margaret Atwood about her work, which includes the bestselling novel, "The Handmaid's Tale" and its sequel, "The Testaments." Atwood also shares her thoughts on whether the United States could head towards totalitarianism. The conversation was recorded at the 2024 Sun Valley Writers' Conference.

In this episode, host Marcia Franklin talks with Dr. Abraham Verghese about his latest blockbuster novel, The Covenant of Water. The epic, which includes a mystery at its core, covers more than 70 years in the intertwined lives of families in the Indian state of Kerala. Verghese discusses the ties the story has to his own family history and shares his joy of writing.

Originally Aired: 12/01/2023

The interview is part of the series "Conversations from the Sun Valley Writers' Conference" and was taped at the 2023 conference. Since 1995, the conference has been bringing together some of the world's most well-known and illuminating authors to discuss literature and life.