Free Library Podcast

Praised for their ''clarity of expression . . . devastating directness'' and ''coruscating wit'' (Washington Post), Andrew Bacevich's bestselling books include The Limits of Power, America's War for the Greater Middle East, and Twilight of the American Century. A professor emeritus of history and international relations at Boston University, he served in the U.S. Army for 23 years, retiring as a colonel.His writing has appeared in the New York Times, the London Review of Books, and the American Conservative, among other publications. In The Age of Illusions, Bacevich offers a comprehensive account of the post–Cold War American blunders and misconceptions that gave rise to the Trump era.

 

(recorded 1/15/2020)

In conversation with Mike Newall, metro columnist at the Philadelphia Inquirer

''Incisive, insightful, and compassionate'' (Boston Globe), Liz Moore is the author of the acclaimed novels Heft and The Unseen World. She is the recipient of the 2014 Rome Prize in Literature, the University of Pennsylvania's ArtsEdge residency, and Philadelphia's Athenaeum Literary Award. A creative writing professor in the MFA program at Temple University, her fiction and nonfiction have appeared in Tin House and the New York Times, among other places. Moore's new novel follows two sisters on opposite sides of the law in a Philadelphia neighborhood devastated by the opioid crisis and a string of related murders.

(recorded 1/14/2020)

A former Paris bureau chief and contributing writer for the New York Times, Elaine Sciolino is acclaimed for her ''deliciously detailed and smart'' (Vogue) chronicles of French culture and history. Her books include the bestsellers The Only Street in Paris: Life on the Rue des Martyrs, La Seduction: How the French Play the Game of Life, and Persian Mirrors: The Elusive Face of Iran. In 2010 Sciolino was decorated as a chevalier of the Legion of Honor, France's highest honor. The Seine plumbs the depths of the romantic river, exposing its long history, colorful characters, and how it made the City of Lights shine so brightly.

(recorded 12/12/2019)

In conversation with novelist and musician Wesley Stace

''One of the major literary voices of our time'' (San Francisco Chronicle), Salman Rushdie is the author of more than a dozen novels, including The Satanic Verses, The Golden House, and Midnight's Children, winner of the ''Booker of Bookers'' Prize in 1993. His other works include a short story collection, East, West, and four works of nonfiction, including the memoir Joseph Anton, which chronicles his time in hiding during the fatwa against him. In his latest novel, Rushdie spins the humorous tale of a modern-day Don Quixote in midlife crisis tilting at the windmills of America's moral and spiritual turpitude.

(recorded 12/10/2019)

William D. Cohan is the bestselling author of The Last Tycoons, an inside history of Lazard Frères & Co., one of the country's most venerable investment banks. A former longtime Wall Street mergers and acquisitions banker, the topics of his other books range from the financial improprieties of Bear Stearns and Goldman Sachs to the Duke lacrosse scandal. He is a regular contributor to news outlets including the New York Times, the Financial Times, and CNBC. A portrait of four of his fellow Andover boarding school graduates, Cohan's new book is a group portrait of four vastly dissimilar men linked by the poignancy of their untimely demises.

Pine Tree Foundation Endowed Lecture

(recorded 12/5/2019)

In conversation with writer and film critic Gary Kramer

André Aciman is the author of the nationwide bestseller Call Me by Your Name, a novel that chronicles the bittersweet love story of a teenage boy and the young academic staying at his family's mansion on the Italian Riviera. Named to a number of ''Best Book of the Year'' lists, it was adapted into an Oscar-winning film. Aciman is a professor of comparative literature at the City University of New York and the author of several other acclaimed novels and works of nonfiction. A tale of chance encounters, missed opportunities, and romantic longing, Find Me returns to the captivating circle of characters from Call Me by Your Name.

(recorded 12/3/2019)

In conversation with Tamala Edwards, anchor, 6ABC Action News morning edition

New Yorker writer Ronan Farrow has won the Pulitzer Prize for public service, a National Magazine Award, and a George Polk Award for his ''indefatigable and imaginative'' (Globe and Mail) reportage of some of the most important issues of our time. A former anchor and reporter for MSNBC and NBC News and a former State Department official in Afghanistan and Pakistan, he is the author of the New York Times bestseller War on Peace: The End of Diplomacy and the Decline of American Influence. In his new book, he offers a harrowing account of his plunge into the scores of abuse allegations against Harvey Weinstein.

(recorded 11/26/2019)

Deirdre Bair won the National Book Award for her ''blockbuster biography'' of Samuel Beckett, ''the best introduction to an enigmatic giant of 20th-century literature'' (Christian Science Monitor). Her other acclaimed biographies include portraits of Simone de Beauvoir, Carl Jung, and Al Capone. Her books have twice been finalists for the Los Angeles Times Book Prize, and she is the recipient of Guggenheim and Rockefeller Foundation fellowships. In Parisian Lives, Bair travels nearly 50 years into the past in an exploration of the relationships she had with Beckett and de Beauvoir-literary peers but mortal enemies-and the disparate approaches she used to garner intimate insight into their lives and literature.

(recorded 11/21/2019)

In conversation with Larry Platt, co-founder/co-executive director of The Philadelphia Citizen and former editor of the Philadelphia Daily News and Philadelphia Magazine and co-author of Life is Magic

Philadelphia Eagles long-snapper Jon Dorenbos played in two Pro Bowls and had an illustrious 14-year career in the NFL. Also a gifted magician, he was a finalist on the 11th season of America's Got Talent and is a frequent guest on The Ellen Show. Illusion and sleight-of-hand became an escape shortly after his father murdered his mother when he was 12 and he and his sister were thrust into foster care and then sent to live with a beloved aunt. From this early tragedy to success as a professional football player, magician, and motivational speaker, Life Is Magic is a memoir of Dorenbos's heartening journey.

(recorded 11/18/2019)

In conversation with Carrie Rickey, former film critic for the Inquirer

Mentor to some of contemporary cinema's top directors (Joss Whedon and Michael Bay) and founder of the department of film studies at Wesleyan University, Jeanine Basinger built the program into one of the best in the world. Her twelve books include works about silent films, women on the screen, and the studio system during Hollywood's Golden Age. A trustee emeritus of the American Film Institute, Basinger has appeared in numerous documentaries and on many DVD commentary tracks. Replete with revealing portraits of an array of Hollywood's brightest lights, lush illustrations, and penetrating analysis, The Movie Musical! is an authoritative guide to cinema's most whimsical genre.

(recorded 11/19/2019)