Free Library Podcast

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Patricia Lockwood, ''The Poet Laureate of Twitter'' (unofficial), is the author of 2014's groundbreaking Motherland Fatherland Homelandsexuals, a book of obscene, angry, funny verse that ''is unforgettable, literally: once read, it cannot be forgotten'' (NPR). Her 2013 satirical poem ''Rape Joke,'' first printed on the website The Awl, ''reawakened a generation's interest in poetry'' (The Guardian). Her debut poetry collection Balloon Pop Outlaw Black was trumpeted as one of 2012's best by The New Yorker. Lockwood's new memoir Priestdaddy tells the story of her unconventional upbringing and irascible Catholic-priest father.

(recorded 6/13/2017)

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As NPR's science correspondent, David Baron received awards from the National Academy of Sciences, the American Medical Association, and the American Association for the Advancement of Science, among many other organizations. He is the author of 2005's The Beast in the Garden, the harrowing story of the clash between suburban sprawl and mountain lions in Colorado. In his new book, Baron, a committed eclipse chaser, details the 19th-century celestial and terrestrial drama of a coast-to-coast total solar eclipse in which three distinctly American personalities-including a ruthless young Thomas Edison-jockey for discovery amidst the last days of the Wild West. (recorded 6/15/2017)

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Winner of the 2002 Pulitzer Prize for his novel Empire Falls, Richard Russo is acclaimed for capturing the ''foolishness of this lonely world, but also the humor, friendship and love that abide'' (San Francisco Chronicle). His many other novels include Bridge of Sighs, That Old Cape Magic, and Nobody's Fool, which was adapted into a popular film starring Paul Newman. ''Like hopping on the last empty barstool surrounded by old friends'' (Entertainment Weekly), Everybody's Fool catches up with the world-worn protagonist Sully and the irresistible residents of North Bath, New York. Trajectory is a collection of four sprawling short stories far outside the blue-collar realm Russo has mapped in his many novels.  (recorded 6/20/2017)

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In conversation with Megyn Kelly, host of Sunday Night with Megyn Kelly

Ghosts of Manhattan, Douglas Brunt's New York Times bestselling debut novel about a flawed but highflying Bear Stearns bond trader, took ''a smart shot at the absurdity of Wall Street and the long fall that brought us all down'' (Kirkus). He followed with The Means, an ensemble tale of political intrigue and boundless ambition. His latest work, Trophy Son, takes on the equally ruthless dynamic of father-son relationships in our achievement-consumed society. Former CEO of the security company Authentium, Brunt will be joined in conversation by his wife, former Fox News and current NBC journalist Megyn Kelly.

(recorded 6/26/2017)

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Music historian Harvey Sachs's many books include The Ninth: Beethoven and the World in 1824, a biography of Arthur Rubenstein, and two collections of essays on musical subjects. He has written for dozens of newspapers, magazines, and literary journals-including The New York Times and The New Yorker-and penned hundreds of items for record companies. A faculty member at the Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia, Sachs has lectured at universities and cultural institutions across North America and Europe. On the sesquicentennial of Toscanini's birth, Musician of Conscience looks at the great conductor's musical brilliance, political courage, and personal passions.  (recorded 6/27/2017)

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In conversation with Bill Marimow, editor at large, The Philadelphia Inquirer

''One of the most intense, visceral'' (Philadelphia Inquirer) writers of our time, Mark Bowden is a national correspondent for The Atlantic and Vanity Fair and is the author of numerous New York Times bestselling books of investigative journalism, including the classic of war reporting, the National Book Award-nominated Black Hawk Down. Bowden's other books include Killing Pablo, winner of the Overseas Press Club's Cornelius Ryan Award for book of the year; Guests of the Ayatollah, listed by Newsweek as one of the ''50 Books for Our Times''; and The Three Battles of Wanat, a collection of his best long-form war, cultural, and sports essays. Using unprecedented archives and interviews with participants from both sides, Bowden's latest book narrates every stage of the Vietnam War's most pivotal and bloody battle.

(recorded 7/11/2017)

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A cofounder and former publisher of Apogee Journal and a contributing editor for Literary Hub, Zinzi Clemmons has had work published in a variety of literary magazines, including Zoetrope: All Story, The Paris Review Daily, and Transition. Raised in Philadelphia to a South African mother and an American father, Clemmons teaches in Los Angeles at The Coleburn Conservatory and Occidental College. Her debut novel, What We Lose, tells the story of Thandi, a young woman caught between cultures as she struggles with love, unexpected motherhood, and the loss of the person who shaped her the most.  (recorded 7/13/2017)

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In conversation with Dena Heilik, Department Head of Philbrick Hall, the fiction department of the Central Branch of the Free Library of Philadelphia. 

Kevin Hearne is the author of the New York Times bestselling Iron Druid Chronicles, the ancient-Celtic-meets-contemporary-mayhem action-adventure series featuring 2,000-year-old Atticus O'Sullivan. In his latest adventure, the immortal Irishman dodges traps in ancient Egypt and soul-stealing demons at a Kansas carnival.

Chuck Wendig's many works include the YA Heartland series, Blackbirds, and the Atlanta Burns books; the Emmy-nominated digital narrative Collapsus; a popular blog, terribleminds.com; and several celebrated books about writing. Wendig's New York Times bestselling Star Wars: Aftermath trilogy tells the canon story of the events that occurred between Return of the Jedi and The Force Awakens.

Fran Wilde's Nebula Award-nominated debut novel, Updraft, won the 2016 Andre Norton Award and the Compton Crook Award. Cloudbound is the second installment in the inventive Bone Universe saga, a series that explores a lofty society of towers populated by residents who strap on wings and soar the skies in search of their destinies.

(recorded 7/14/2017)

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In conversation with Dick Polman, "Writer in Residence" at the University of Pennsylvania, and national political columnist at WHYY's Newsworks.org

A longtime staff writer for The New Yorker, Lawrence Wright won the Pulitzer Prize for The Looming Tower, a ''wrenchingly intimate and boldly sweeping'' (The New York Times) narrative that explains the rise of Islamic fundamentalism and the intelligence mistakes that led to the 9/11 attacks. His other nonfiction books include In the New World, Thirteen Days in September, and Remembering Satan. A member of the Council on Foreign Relations and the Society of American Historians, Wright has written and performed two one-man plays, co-produced the Emmy-winning documentary Going Clear, and is currently producing a television series based on The Looming Tower. In 10 watershed pieces first published in The New Yorker, his new book charts the course of Middle East terrorism since the 1990s.

(recorded 7/27/2017)

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With a career spanning four decades, 26 studio albums, and untold scores of concerts, Loudon Wainwright III is one of the world's most loved singer-songwriters. A prolific actor in a variety of television and film roles, he can also boast of being the father of Rufus Wainwright, Martha Wainwright, and Lucy Wainwright Roche, three musical luminaries in their own right. In his new memoir, the folk patriarch and son of a celebrated Life magazine columnist reflects on the ups and downs of his career, the inspirations for his art, and the familial relationships that have marked him the most. 

''A kick-ass counter-cultural icon'' (The New Yorker), Eileen Myles is the celebrated author of nearly two dozen books of poetry, fiction, nonfiction, plays, and performance pieces, including Chelsea Girls, I Must Be Living Twice, and The Irony of the Leash. Her lengthy list of honors includes a Guggenheim Fellowship in nonfiction, the Clark Prize for Excellence in Art Writing, and an Andy Warhol/Creative Capital Arts Writers Grant. Afterglow is a multi-genre examination of the pet/pet-owner relationship told through the prism of Myles's 16-year relationship with her beloved pit bull Rosie. (recorded 9/12/2017)