KPFA - Bookwaves/Artwaves

Links to assorted local theater & book venues

George Saunders, whose latest novel is Vigil, in conversation with Richard Wolinsky.

George Saunders is the highly acclaimed author of several short story collections, including “Tenth of December,”  and “CivilWarLand in Bad Decline,” and others, along with political commentary that has appeared in The New Yorker and other magazines. He won the 2017 Booker Prize for his earlier novel, “Lincoln in the Bardo.”

This latest novel, Vigil, takes place in the in-between time before death, when an elderly oil oligarch lies dying, and an angel of mercy, a ghost, named Jill, is on hand to comfort him. The question at hand concerns forgiveness, accountability, grace and several other issues that become involved when someone whose actions were deleterious to humankind and the planet is forced to examine their actions on earth. Justification, remorse, sin? What does it mean, and how do we, the living, deal with these issues when there are so many bad actors doing damage these days on the world and national stages. Recorded by computer on April 15, 2026.

Review of “Come from Away” at TheatreWorks Mountain View Center for the Performing Arts through May 10, 2026.

The post Bookwaves/Artwaves – April 30, 2026: George Saunders, “Vigil” 2026 appeared first on KPFA.

Links to assorted local theater & book venues

Margaret Atwood, in conversation with Richard Wolinsky, recorded in the KPFA studios OCtober 3, 2013 while on tour for the novel “Maddaddam.”

These days, the great Canadian author Margaret Atwood is best known for her books The Handmaid’s Tale and its 2019 sequel, The Testaments, both of which have become acclaimed television series and miniseries, respectively. But along with several other novels, story and essay collections, there’s a somewhat satirical dystopian speculative fiction series, known collectively as the Maddadam trilogy, consisting of Oryx and Crake, the Year of the Flood and Maddaddam. I interviewed Margaret Atwood for each book in the series, and this interview, the most recent interview to date, concerned that third novel, Maddaddam.

This is the last of eight interviews with Margaret Atwood conducted between the years 1989 and 2013, and has not aired in over a decade.

Walter Mosley in conversation with Richard Wolinsky, recorded March 5, 2025 discussing his two recent novels, “Been Wrong So Long It Looks Like Right,”  a Joe King Oliver novel, and “Farewell, Amethystine,” an Easy Rawlins novel, now out in trade paperback.

Today, Walter Mosley is one of America’s leading authors. He is best known for his series of mystery novels featuring the characters of Easy Rawlins and Mouse. To date, there are now twenty non-series novels by Walter Mosley, the most recent titled Touched, published in 2023, Along with three Fearless Jones novels, six Leonid McGill mysteries, three Socrates Fortlow books, three books in the Crosstown to Oblivion series, three books in the King Oliver series, plus two graphic novels, two plays, and six works of non-fiction. Always Outnumbered became a television film in 1998 starring Laurence Fishburne, and a TV miniseries titled The Last Days of Ptolemy Gray, based on Walter Mosley’s book, starring Samuel L. Jackson, on Apple+. At present, an adaptation of his novel The Man in My Basement is in post-production.

Walter Mosley’s follow-up Easy Rawlins novel, Grey Dawn, was published in September 2025. The next King Oliver novel, Hanging and Burning, will be published in October 2026. A stand-alone novel, Ghalen: A Romance in Black, will be published in May, 2026.

The post Bookwaves/Artwaves – April 23, 2026: Margaret Atwood – Walter Mosley appeared first on KPFA.

Links to assorted local theater & book venues

Patrick Dooley, Artistic Director of Shotgun Players theatre company, in conversation with host Richard Wolinsky.

Patrick Dooley founded Shotgun Players in 1992, which originally produced plays in the basement of LaVal’s Pizza Parlor in Berkeley, California. Surviving with multiple venues over the years, Shotgun bought the Ashby Stage in 2004, where the company has resided ever since.

Originally from rural Virginia, Patrick came to Berkeley to visit his brother, wound up being invited to act in a play at LaVal’s, and within a short time decided to create a theatre company, which has now lasted over thirty years. Surviving the pandemic, and with a very loyal audience, Shotgun has continued to sell out many of its shows, creating a uniquely Berkeley community theatre.

In the interview, he discusses his own history with theatre the origins of Shotgun Players (including what the name means) , his views on such issues as the age of the audience and the subscription model, as well as the rest of the 2026 theatrical season.

Review of “The Monsters” at Berkeley Rep Peets Theatre through May 3, 2026.

The post Bookwaves/Artwaves – April 16, 2026: Patrick Dooley, Artistic Director Shotgun Players appeared first on KPFA.

Links to assorted local theater & book venues

Mary Roach in conversation with host Richard Wolinsky, recorded May 2, 2013 while she was on tour for Gulp: Adventures in the Alimentary Canal.

The author of several non-fiction works that examine specific areas of life that are rarely covered elsewhere, Mary Roach brings a sharp eye and excellent research skills to explain how things work, how they don’t work, and the various things that happen in between.

In this book, Mary Roach investigates the science of eating, saliva, stomach mechanics, and elimination, tackling “taboo” questions about how the body processes food. 

Gemma Whelan, whose latest novel is titled “Painting Through The Dark,” in conversation with host Richard Wolinsky, recorded on April 5, 2023. A staged reading of “Painting Through The Dark” will be presented at the Magic Theatre in Fort Mason Center in San Francisco on April 12, 2026.

‘Painting Through the Dark” concerns a young ex-nun in Ireland, Ashling, who comes to America in 1981, specifically San Francisco, in order to get away from her family and from the control of the Catholic Church in Ireland. A dedicated painter, after spending time attempting to get a job at a local gallery, she takes a position with a family in a rural home outside Mendocino.

This is Gemma Whelan’s second novel. Her first, “Fiona: Stolen Child,” was published in 2011. Gemma is an award-winning director, screenwriter, and educator. She was the founding Artistic Director of Wilde Irish Productions in the San Francisco Bay Area, and of Corrib Theatre in Portland, Oregon. Her short film The Wake was the winner of the Silver Knight Award at the Golden Knight Film Festival, Malta; her feature screenplay Eye of the Storm won the Robert and Ellen Little Screenwriting Award; and her screenplay Wedding Bells won the American Gem Short Screenplay award and was optioned by Fox Broadcasting.

Review of “Flex” at San Francisco Playhouse through May 2, 2023.

The post Bookwaves/Artwaves – April 9, 2026: Mary Roach – Gemma Whelan appeared first on KPFA.

Links to assorted local theater & book venues

Tracy Kidder (1945-2026), Pulitzer Prize winning author of literary non-fiction, in conversation with Richard Wolinsky, recorded in the KPFA studios during the book tour for “Strength in What Remains: A Journey of Remembrance and Forgiveness, ” which focuses on the extraordinary true story of Deo, a young man who arrives in America from Burundi in search of a new life.

Tracy Kidder, who died of lung cancer on March 24, 2026 at the age of eighty, was best known for his literary journalism, for turning non-fiction narratives into literary masterpieces. The author of eleven books, he won the Pulitzer Prize for General Nonfiction and the National Book Award for Nonfiction in 1982 for The Soul of A New Machine, which looked at the tech environment during the birth of the modern computer. His 1990 book, Among Schoolchildren, a close look at American education, focusing on twenty students in a Massachusetts elementary school, won several literary awards.

In the years after the interview, Tracy Kidder went on to write three more non-fiction books. His final book to date, Rough Sleepers: Dr. Jim O’Connell’s Urgent Mission to Bring Healing to Homeless People was published in 2023. Paul Farmer, the subject of Tracy Kidder’s 2003 book “Mountains Beyond Mountains”, died in February, 2022.

Joseph Kanon, in conversation with Richard Wolinsky, recorded June 17, 2017 during the book tour for the spy thriller “Defectors.”

Over the course of the last thirty years, Joseph Kanon has established himself as one of the best spy novelists around, in the vein of John Le Carre, Alan Furst, Graham Greene and Eric Ambler. His latest novel, “Defectors,” is about what happens after a Soviet mole defects to Russia. What is their life like? What happens then? Set in the early 1960s, “Defectors,” through copious research, sets up what life must have been like for people like Kim Philby and other Russian spies forced to leave the West to survive.

Joseph Kanon’s most recent novel, “Shanghai” was published in 2024.

Review of “The Goat or Who Is Sylvia”” at Shotgun Players Ashby Stage through April 28, 2026.

Book Interview/Events and Theatre Links

Note: Shows may unexpectedly close early or be postponed due to actors’ positive COVID tests. Check the venue for closures, ticket refunds, and mask requirements before arrival. Dates are in-theater performances unless otherwise noted. Some venues operate Tuesday – Sunday; others for shorter periods each week. All times Pacific Time. Closing dates are sometimes extended.

Book Stores

Live Theater Companies

Misc. Listings:

Filmed Live Musicals: Searchable database of all filmed live musicals, podcast, blog.

If you’d like to add your bookstore or theater venue to this list, please write [email protected]

.

y.

The post Bookwaves/Artwaves – April 2, 2026 – Tracy Kidder – Joseph Kanon appeared first on KPFA.

Links to assorted local theater & book venues

E. Hoffman Price (1898-1988), fantasy and science fiction author who published in various pulp magazines from the 1920s into the 1950s, in conversation with Probabiliaties hosts Richard Wolinsky, Richard A. Lupoff and Lawrence Davidson, recorded in early 1979 at Price’s home in Redwood City, California.

E. Hoffman Price, who was born 1898 and died shortly before his 90th birthday in 1988, wrote fantasy and science fiction stories for the pulp magazines of the first half of the twentieth century, along with some non-fiction. Mostly forgotten today, though several of his stories are available in small press editions, his claim to fame is a single collaboration with the great horror writer H.P. Lovecraft, titled “Through the Gates of the Silver Key,” a sequel to Lovecraft’s story, “The Silver Key.” A contributor to Weird Tales, he was also friends with two other writers from the magazine, Seabury Quinn and Clark Ashton Smith, as well as with the longtime editor of Weird Tales, Farnsworth Wright. He also knew Otis Adelbert Kline, famous in his day for writing imitations of Edgar Rice Burroughs.

In the interview, Price talks about his writing career, his friendships with H.P. Lovecraft, horror writer Seabury Quinn, adventure writer Otis Adelbert Kline, and horror master Clark Ashton Smith.

The Probabilities radio show first went on the air on KPFA in 1977. Within a year, my co-host Lawrence Davidson was on the trail for old pulp writers and editors, egged on by science fiction and fantasy author Richard A. Lupoff, who officially joined the show a couple of years later. This interview, following on the heels of interviews with pulp science fiction author Stanton A. Coblentz and editor Charles Hornig, was conducted at Price’s house in Redwood City, California, most likely in the spring of 1979. Accompanying Dick, Lawrence and myself were Dick’s wife Pat Lupoff and science fiction fanzine editor Jim Purviance. Over two hours were recorded on multiple tapes, and parts of the transcription can be found in the book Space Ships Ray Guns Martian Octopods: Interviews with Science Fiction Legends. The interview was digitized and then remastered using AI technology first, and then edited for clarity and coherence. Some outtakes exist which I can forward by email via [email protected].

The unpublished memoir Price discusses in the interview, Book of the Dead: Friends of Yesteryear, Fictioneers and Others was eventually published posthumously, in 2001. The interview opens with a question by Richard A. Lupoff.

Several collections of stories by E. Hoffman Price were published in 2017 by Wildside Press, and are available both digitally and in print. The interview was digitized, remastered and edited in March 2026. This interview was first heard in a very truncated version in 1979 and has not been aired until now. The complete 68-minute interview can be heard here.

Rob Nillson is a Bay Area based maverick filmmaker. The winner of the Camera d’Or at Cannes in 1979 for Northern Lights and the Grand Prize at Sundance for Heat and Sunlight in 1988, he continues to make independently distributed films. A documentary about the life and work of Rob Nillson, titled The Way Things Seem to Be, introduced by Rob Nillson and the documentary’s director, Zahn Petrov, gets its world premiere at the Christopher Smith San Rafael Film Center this coming sunday, March 29th at 12 noon, and for more information you can go to cafilm.org. This interview was part of a larger interview about the life and work of filmmaker David Schickele.

Review of “Assassins” at Oakland Theatre Project through April 5, 2026.e

Book Interview/Events and Theatre Links

Note: Shows may unexpectedly close early or be postponed due to actors’ positive COVID tests. Check the venue for closures, ticket refunds, and mask requirements before arrival. Dates are in-theater performances unless otherwise noted. Some venues operate Tuesday – Sunday; others for shorter periods each week. All times Pacific Time. Closing dates are sometimes extended.

Book Stores

Live Theater Companies

Misc. Listings:

Filmed Live Musicals: Searchable database of all filmed live musicals, podcast, blog.

If you’d like to add your bookstore or theater venue to this list, please write [email protected]

.

y.

The post Bookwaves/Artwaves – March 26, 2026: Pulp Magazine Author E. Hoffman Price (1898-1988) appeared first on KPFA.

Links to assorted local theater & book venues

Terry McMillan, best-selling novelist in conversation with host Richard Wolinsky, recorded February 13, 2001 while on tour for her novel, A Day Late and a Dollar Short.

Terry McMillan’s novels focus on the lives, aspirations and journeys of discovery of African American women and their families. She hit the ground running with her first novel, Mama, in 1987, which she helped turn into a best-seller. She followed that with a series of novels that helped create a large fan base for her work. Among her best known novels are Waiting to Exhale and How Stella Got Her Groove Back, along with Disappearing Acts, all of which were adapted for film.

A Day Late and a Dollar Short is a long novel that focuses on several family members going through a variety of crises and revelations. It was adapted into a television film in 2014 starring Whoopi Goldberg and Ving Rhames, which is now available streaming on Kanopy, the free library app, as well as on other streaming services. This interview leans hard into that novel, with side trips into discussions about black families and black culture in America.

As of 2026, she has published ten novels and two works of nonfiction, and according to IMDb is working as a producer for a series of television films under the title Terry McMillan presents. Her most recent novel, It’s Not All Downhill from Here, was published in 2020.

This interview was digitized, remastered and edited in March 2026 and has not been heard in over twenty years.

Poul Anderson (1926-2001), noted science fiction and fantasy author, winner of seven Hugo Awards and three Nebula Awards, in conversation with the late Lawrence Davidson, recorded for the Probabilities radio program on KPFA on June 10, 1978.

The late Poul Anderson, who died on July 31, 2001 at the age of 74, is considered one of the greatest science fiction and fantasy authors of the twentieth century. He even has an asteroid named in his honor. Known for his hard science writing, in particular his Polysotechnic League series as well as his Landry series and his Time Patrol series, he was also a master of fantasy. There were also historical novels and mysteries. His career began in 1947 at the age of 21 with stories in Astounding Science Fiction, and he became a professional writer a year later. One of his novels became a film, the Hugo nominated novel, The High Crusade, in 1994 about an alien spaceship landing in medieval England. It is currently not streaming in the United States though if you search, you can find a DVD copy. As with many of the writers of the pulp and paperback era, Poul Anderson is ripe for rediscovery.

After Probabilities got its start in 1977, it was natural that the Orinda-based writer would become a guest on the show, This short conversation with co-host Lawrence Davidson, recorded June 10, 1978, was likely Davidson’s very first solo interview and came before the show’s focus turned to the history of modern science fiction.

The interview was digitized, remastered and edited on February 22, 2026, using the Adobe Podcast app to remove noise and echo. This interview has not been heard on the radio since its initial airing.

Poul Anderson Wikipedia page

Book Interview/Events and Theatre Links

Note: Shows may unexpectedly close early or be postponed due to actors’ positive COVID tests. Check the venue for closures, ticket refunds, and mask requirements before arrival. Dates are in-theater performances unless otherwise noted. Some venues operate Tuesday – Sunday; others for shorter periods each week. All times Pacific Time. Closing dates are sometimes extended.

Book Stores

Live Theater Companies

Misc. Listings:

Filmed Live Musicals: Searchable database of all filmed live musicals, podcast, blog.

If you’d like to add your bookstore or theater venue to this list, please write [email protected]

.

The post Bookwaves/Artwaves – March 19, 2026: Best-Selling author Terry McMillan, recorded in 2001 (newly digitized) appeared first on KPFA.

Links to assorted local theater & book venues

Migdalia Cruz, an award-winning playwright and the translator/adaptor of Shakespeare’s “Macbeth” at the Magic Theatre, in conversation with host Richard Wolinsky, discussing her play, her career, and her ideas about the nature of theatre.

Migdalia Cruz is best known for her plays “Featherless Angels” and “Miriam’s Flowers” studied playwrighting with the legendary Irene Fornes before embarking on her own career. With fifty plays under her belt, she has been produced in numerous venues around the United States. She has also translated plays from Spanish. Growing up in the South Bronx, to Puerto Rican parents, she originally planned to study math but found that theatre was her real calling. Her focus is on social justice, and presenting voices of those who rarely have voices in the American arts.

“Macbeth,” the Scottish play, has been reset in New York in the 1970s, and in Brooklyn for this production. The three witches become a major element of the play, and here both Macbeth and Lady Macbeth are played by women.

The interview was recorded by computer on March 3, 2026.

Review of “Paranormal Activity” at ACT Toni Rember (Geary) Theatre through March 22, 2026.

Review of “All My Sons” by Arthur Miller at Berkeley Rep Roda Theatre through March 22, 2026.

Book Interview/Events and Theatre Links

Note: Shows may unexpectedly close early or be postponed due to actors’ positive COVID tests. Check the venue for closures, ticket refunds, and mask requirements before arrival. Dates are in-theater performances unless otherwise noted. Some venues operate Tuesday – Sunday; others for shorter periods each week. All times Pacific Time. Closing dates are sometimes extended.

Book Stores

Live Theater Companies

Misc. Listings:

Filmed Live Musicals: Searchable database of all filmed live musicals, podcast, blog.

If you’d like to add your bookstore or theater venue to this list, please write [email protected]

.

The post Bookwaves/Artwaves – March 12, 2026: Playwright Migdalia Cruz, Adaptation/Translation, “Macbeth” appeared first on KPFA.

Links to assorted local theater & book venues

Malcolm Margolin (1940-2025), the long-time publisher of Heyday Books in Berkeley, who died on August 20, 2025 at the age of 84, in conversation with Richard Wolinsky in the KPFA Studios on November 21, 2014.

Malcolm Margolin founded Heyday Books, the renownedy non-profit publishing house located in Berkeley, in 1974 and stayed until he retired in 2015. He was the author and editor of several books, most notably The Ohlone Way: Indian Life in the San Francisco – Monterey Bay Area, along with magazines and other periodicals. This interview was recorded November 21, 2014 upon the publication of his memoir/history, The Heyday of Malcolm Margolin: The Damned Good Times of a Fiercely Independent Publisher. 

Malcolm Margolin retired in 2015 but continued to work until his death. His final book, Deep Hanging Out: Wanderings and Wonderment in Native California. was published by Heyday in 2021.

The post Bookwaves/Artwaves – February 19, 2026: Fund Drive Special: Malcolm Margolin appeared first on KPFA.

Links to assorted local theater & book venues

John Fisher, Artistic Director of Theatre Rhino, and writer/dictor/actor in “Left Field,” which runs at Theatre Rhino from February 19th to March 15th , in conversation with Richard Wolinsky. Recorded February 4, 2026.

Theatre Rhino is the longest running LGBTQ+ theatre company in America, and John Fisher has been its Artistic Director since 2002. His latest show, “Left Field” is about a gay man from San Francisco who, through a bizarre series of events, winds up as President of the United States. Written as a response to the Trump regime and its fascist agenda, “Left Field” is a comedy with serious overtones about a man who finds himself in the presidency with a completely opposite series of priorities.

In this interview, John Fisher discusses the process of working on “Left Field,” and goes into detail about what an actor perceives on stage, and the changing Bay Area theatre audience.

Todd Haynes, independent filmmaker, in conversation with host Richard Wolinsky. Recorded February 27, 2025.

The director of ten feature length films, Todd Haynes is an independent film-maker with his roots in New Queer Cinema. After coming to the attention of the film community with his short film, Superstar: The Karen Carpenter Story, in which the “actors” were Barbie Dolls, he achieved fame with his first feature, Poison, which told three stories in different ways, all of which commented on the AIDS epidemic. He followed that with the much-lauded Safe, and then moved on to mainstream success with the lush melodrama, Far from Heaven.

His later films include Velvet Goldmine, focusing on the glam rock era, I’m Not There, in which several actors portrayed Bob Dylan, Carol, Dark Waters, Wonderstruck, and his latest film, May December(Netflix). His documentary, Velvet Underground, is available on Apple Plus. Along the way there was a miniseries, Mildred Pierce, starring Kate Winslet, on HBO (streaming on MAX). All his films are available streaming.

Todd Haynes will soon be filming a gay romance, “El Noche,” with Pedro Pascal, in the coming months.

Review of “The Mountaintop” by Katori Hall, directed by Michael Socrates Moran at Oakland Theatre Project through Feb. 15, 2026.

Review of “The Cherry Orchard” by Anton Chekhov, directed by Carey Perloff, at Marin Theatre through Feb. 22, 2026.

The post Bookwaves/Artwaves – February 12, 2026: John Fisher – Todd Haynes appeared first on KPFA.