Free Library Podcast

In conversation with Tracey Matisak

A member of the formidable U.S. female gymnastics team nicknamed the ''Final Five'' at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Simone Biles won a record-setting four gold and one bronze medals for her flawless, fearless athletic feats. A three-time world all-around champion, three-time world floor champion, and a two-time world balance beam champion, among many other titles, she is one of the most decorated gymnasts in history. In Courage to Soar, Biles recounts the trials, tumbles, and triumphs that led her from an early childhood in foster care to the heights of Olympic victory. (recorded 1/6/2017)

In conversation with Carlin Romano, Critic-at-Large,The Chronicle of Higher Education 

''Perhaps the most prominent intellectual in France today'' (The Boston Globe), Bernard-Henri Lévy led the vanguard of the radical 1970s ''New Philosophy'' movement, a rejection of Marxism and the Left still debated today. This moralistic view culminated in 1979's controversial Barbarism with a Human Face and continued in Testament of God, in which he advocated an ''atheistic spirituality.'' He is also the author the internationally bestselling Who Killed Daniel Pearl? and Left in Dark Times: A Stand Against the New Barbarism. In The Genius of Judaism, the philosopher and activist confronts the underpinning of his spiritual roots and seeks a reckoning with his faith.

Please allow extra time to get to Parkway Central, due to extensive road work in the area.

(recorded 1/10/2017)

Often described as a hip-hop intellectual, Michael Eric Dyson is an ordained Baptist minister, a social analyst, and a professor at Georgetown University. His book Is Bill Cosby Right?: Or Has the Black Middle Class Lost Its Mind? was a national bestseller and winner of the 2006 NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Literary Work of Nonfiction. His latest book April 4, 1968, is a study of the life and legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. (recorded 4/9/2008)

Hampton Sides is an acclaimed bestselling author and a National Magazine Award nominated journalist.  He won the PEN USA Award for nonfiction and the 2002 Discover Award from Barnes and Noble for Ghost Soldiers, a historical narrative following the rescue of WWII Bataan Death March survivors that was later adapted into the Miramax feature film The Great Raid. His next book, Blood and Thunder, was adapted into an episode of the Public Broadcasting Service's American Experience series. Hellhound On His Trail, is a taut and thrilling account of the assassination of Martin Luther King, Jr., and the 65 day manhunt for his killer, the longest in American history.

  (recorded 5/18/2010)

One of Time magazine's most influential people, human rights advocate and broadcaster Tavis Smiley has been an ''engaging and compelling'' voice in the American discourse for over two decades.  He has hosted long-running and acclaimed programs on BET, NPR, and PBS. He currently hosts Tavis Talks on BlogTalkRadio. Smiley is the author of 16 books, including Fail Up, The Covenant with Black America, and The Rich and the Rest of Us, which he coauthored with Cornel West. Death of a King is a revealing chronicle of the year leading up to Martin Luther King, Jr.'s assassination. 

(recorded 9/18/2014)

Nationally syndicated Miami Herald columnist Leonard Pitts Jr. won the 2004 Pulitzer Prize for commentary for his writing about race, culture, and politics. His first book, Becoming Dad: Black Men and the Journey to Fatherhood, was published in 2006 and became a bestseller. Pitts is also the author of two novels, Freeman and Before I Forget, a critically praised story of fatherhood, Alzheimer's, and how African-American men confront illness and grief. Vacillating in time and touching on prominent themes in contemporary American race relations, his new novel blends the narratives of Martin Luther King Jr's last days with a reporter's fight for the truth on the eve of President Obama's 2008 election.

(recorded 12/1/2015)

During his decades-long career as a columnist for the New York Times, David K. Shipler reported from the battlefields of Vietnam and Lebanon, was the Bureau Chief of both Moscow and Jerusalem, and was the Chief Diplomatic Correspondent in the Washington Bureau. His bestselling and critically acclaimed nonfiction books include Russia: Broken Idols, Solemn Dreams; The Working Poor: Invisible in America; and Arab and Jew: Wounded Spirits in a Promised Land, winner of the Pulitzer Prize. Shipley's other honors include the George Polk Award and a Martin Luther King Jr. Social Justice Award. Freedom of Speech examines the threats to and triumphs of America's most sacrosanct ideal. 

(recorded 5/19/2015)

Often described as a hip-hop intellectual, Michael Eric Dyson is an ordained Baptist minister, a social analyst, and a professor at Georgetown University. His book Is Bill Cosby Right?: Or Has the Black Middle Class Lost Its Mind? was a national bestseller and winner of the 2006 NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Literary Work of Nonfiction. His latest book April 4, 1968, is a study of the life and legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. (recorded 4/9/2008)

Hampton Sides is an acclaimed bestselling author and a National Magazine Award nominated journalist.  He won the PEN USA Award for nonfiction and the 2002 Discover Award from Barnes and Noble for Ghost Soldiers, a historical narrative following the rescue of WWII Bataan Death March survivors that was later adapted into the Miramax feature film The Great Raid. His next book, Blood and Thunder, was adapted into an episode of the Public Broadcasting Service's American Experience series. Hellhound On His Trail, is a taut and thrilling account of the assassination of Martin Luther King, Jr., and the 65 day manhunt for his killer, the longest in American history.

  (recorded 5/18/2010)

One of Time magazine's most influential people, human rights advocate and broadcaster Tavis Smiley has been an ''engaging and compelling'' voice in the American discourse for over two decades.  He has hosted long-running and acclaimed programs on BET, NPR, and PBS. He currently hosts Tavis Talks on BlogTalkRadio. Smiley is the author of 16 books, including Fail Up, The Covenant with Black America, and The Rich and the Rest of Us, which he coauthored with Cornel West. Death of a King is a revealing chronicle of the year leading up to Martin Luther King, Jr.'s assassination. 

(recorded 9/18/2014)