Marie Lawson Fiala, author of "Letters from a Distant Shore," talks about how a prayer group was formed organically after all medical solutions had been exhausted in an effort to help her young son Jeremy recover from a sudden medical event.  The full interview from a 2010 episode of "Conversations On The Coast with Jim Foster" can be heard now wherever you get your podcasts.

Jared Farmer, author of "Trees in Paradise: A California History," talks about why eucalyptus and palm trees became such a large part of the California landscape and what has changed in recent decades.  The full interview from a 2013 episode of "Conversations On The Coast with Jim Foster" can be heard now wherever you get your podcasts. Photo: Robert Costa.

James Fallows, author of "China Airborne," talks about who the Klapmeier brothers are and how China came to own their revolutionary aircraft manufacturing company.  The full interview from a 2012 episode of "Conversations On The Coast with Jim Foster" can be heard now wherever you get your podcasts.

Harold Evans, the late author of "They Made America: From the Steam Engine to the Search Engine: Two Centuries of Innovators," talks about how A.P. Giannini helped change the banking industry by expanding services to the middle-class, and also speaks on what he did for the San Francisco Bay Area.  The full interview from a 2004 episode of "Conversations On The Coast with Jim Foster" can be heard now wherever you get your podcasts.

T.J. English, author of "Havana Nocturne: How the Mob Owned Cuba and Then Lost It to the Revolution," talks about the entertainment scene in 1950s Cuba and the revolution that destroyed it toward the end of the decade.  The full interview from a 2008 episode of "Conversations On The Coast with Jim Foster" can be heard now wherever you get your podcasts.  Photo: tj-english.com.

James Ellroy, author of "Blood's a Rover," talks about what makes the way he writes about American History so unique.  The full interview from a 2009 episode of "Conversations On The Coast with Jim Foster" can be heard now wherever you get your podcasts.  Photo: jamesellroy.net.

Joseph J. Ellis, author of "American Creation: Triumphs and Tragedies in the Founding of the Republic," talks about why John Adams wanted more credit for writing the Declaration of Independence.  The full interview from a 2007 episode of "Conversations On The Coast with Jim Foster" can be heard now wherever you get your podcasts.  Photo: josephellishistorian.com.

Barry Eisler, author of "Fault Line," talks about how two brothers who don't get along find a way to come together and rely upon each other anyway.  The full interview from a 2009 episode of "Conversations On The Coast with Jim Foster" can be heard now wherever you get your podcasts.  Photo: Douglas Sonders/barryeisler.com.

Gretel Ehrlich, author of "Facing The Wave," talks about how she went about learning the truth of what happened when a tsunami hit Japan in 2011, with the help of her interpreter guides, and the aftermath for the many people affected by the natural disaster.  The full interview from a 2013 episode of "Conversations On The Coast with Jim Foster" can be heard now wherever you get your podcasts.  Photo: gretelehrlich.com

Jennifer Egan, author of "The Keep," reads an excerpt from the novel and gives her answer to the question "Can the imagined become the reality?"  The full interview from a 2006 episode of "Conversations On The Coast with Jim Foster" can be heard now wherever you get your podcasts.  Photo: jenniferegan.com/Pieter M. van Hattem