KPFA - Bookwaves/Artwaves

A.E. Van Vogt, born April 26th, 1912, died January 28, 2000 at the age of 87, was a science fiction writer who had his heyday from the mid 1940s through the 1960s, with such novels as The Weapon Shops of Isher, Slan, The Voyage of the Space Beagle and The World of Null A. Named a science fiction grandmaster in 1995, Van Vogt started by writing for Astounding Stories under editor John W. Campbell in the early 1940s, and most of those novellas and serialized novels found their way into hardback and paperback years later, as fix-ups, reworked material often with new titles. In 1950, he came under the spell – as did Campbell – of L. Ron Hubbard and Dianetics, and later wrote through the lens of general semantics, founded by Alfred Korzibsky.

In 1980, with the publication of a new novel, Cosmic Encounter, and a lawsuit against Twentieth Century Fox over the film Alien, parts of which were derived from his story “Discord in Scarlet” in the book Voyage of the Space Beagle, he was available to be interviewed on February 23, 1980 by Richard Wolinsky’s former co-hosts on the radio show Probabilities on KPFA, the late Lawrence Davidson, science fiction book buyer for the legendary Cody’s Bookstore in Berkeley, and science fiction author Richard A. Lupoff.

A.E. Van Vogt continued to write after the interview, with three more novels, Computerworld, based on the screenplay mentioned in the interview, Null-A Three and To Conquer Kiber, translated into a French edition and never published in English. A.E. Van Vogt settled with Twentieth Century Fox and according to Wikipedia, received $50,000 but no credit for Alien. It! The Terror from Beyond Space is often credited as Dan O’Bannon’s inspiration for Alien, but no mention in Wikipedia is made of Van Vogt on that film’s page. Van Vogt’s name is not listed in the credits for either movie in IMDb. His collaboration with Harlan Ellison, “The Human Operators,” was adapted for the 2002 revival of the TV series The Outer Limits, and the previously mentioned Rod Serling adaptation of the Witch aired in 1971 on Night Gallery. Most of his novels and short stories can be found as e-books through Amazon and other booksellers, along with used paperbacks and hardcovers. This interview was digitized, remastered, and re-edited from two and a half hours of material by Richard Wolinsky in December 2019.

The complete 41-minute interview can be heard as a Radio Wolinsky podcast [1]

[1] https://kpfa.org/area941/episode/from-the-probabilities-archive-a-e-van-vogt-1912-2000/

Tommy Orange, author of the novel "There There," in conversation with Richard Wolinsky.

Winner of the PEN/Hemingway Award, the National Book Critics Circle John Leonard Prize, and the Center for Fiction First Novel Prize. "There There" is set in and around Fruitvale and the Coliseum areas in Oakland, and looks at the lives of several Native Americans, young and old, as they converge for a giant pow-wow. The novel stretches back in time to the takeover of Alcatraz and forward to the present day, shattering stereotypes and delving into the real lives of the urban Native American.

Tommy Orange was born and raised in Oakland, and is an enrolled member of the Cheyenne and Arapaho tribes of Oklahoma.

An extended 33-minute version of this interview can be found as a Radio Wolinsky podcast [1]

[1] https://kpfa.org/area941/episode/tommy-orange-there-there/

Noted playwright Sarah Ruhl, whose latest work "Becky Nurse of Salem" is having its premiere at Berkeley Rep through January 26, 2020, is interviewed by Richard Wolinsky.

Sarah Ruhl’s plays, The Clean House and In The Next Room (The Vibrator Play) have both been finalists for the Pulitzer Prize, and In The Next Room was also nominated for a Tony. In 2008 she received the Helen Hayes award for Dead Man’s Cell Phone, and has written the screenplay for a new film about Gloria Steinem, The Glorias directed by Julie Taymore. Sarah Ruhl has also written a collection of essays published in 2015 and Letters from Max: A Book of Friendship, published in 2018. A collection, 44 Poems for You, will be published in February, 2020.

From the Berkeley Rep [1] website:

Becky Nurse is an outspoken, sharp-witted tour guide at the Salem Museum of Witchcraft who’s just trying to get by in post-Obama America. She’s also the descendant of Rebecca Nurse, who was infamously executed for witchcraft in 1692—but things have changed for women since then…haven’t they? After losing her job for calling out The Crucible in front of schoolkids, Becky visits a local witch for help. One spell leads to another, and then everything really goes off the rails.

Becky Nurse of Salem was commissioned by Berkeley Rep and developed in The Ground Floor [2]: Berkeley Rep’s Center for the Creation and Development of New Work.

[1] http://berkeleyrep.org/season/1920/14545.asp

[2] http://berkeleyrep.org/groundfloor/index.asp

The Altamont concert was a free concert given by the Rolling Stones at the Altamont Speedway in east Contra Costa County on December 6th, 1969. Originally intended to be in Golden Gate Park, it was moved to Sears Point Raceway and then, on short notice, to a dilapidated racetrack in the middle of nowhere. When the dust cleared, a concert goer had been killed before the horrified eyes of Mick Jagger, and rock and roll changed. Host Richard Wolinsky talks with Joel Selvin, author of "Altamont: The Rolling Stones, The Hells Angels and the Inside Story of Rock’s Darkest Day."

Complete 54-minute interview. [1]

[1] https://kpfa.org/area941/episode/altamont-joel-selvin/

Katya Cengel, whose book is titled "Exiled: From the Killing Fields of Cambodia to California and Back" is interviewed by host Richard Wolinsky. She discusses the plight of Southeast Asian refugees, from their lives under the genocidal watch of the Khmer Rouge to their difficult times in the United States, to the fear and possibility of deportation under ICE.

A 43-minute version of this interview can be found as a Radio Wolinsky podcast. [1]

[1] https://kpfa.org/area941/episode/katya-cengel-exiled-from-the-killing-fields-of-cambodia-to-california-and-back/

Tea Obreht, author of the magic realist western "Inland," is interviewed by host Richard Wolinsky.

The author of "The Tiger's Wife" turns her attention to the American west in a tale that encompasses ghosts and camels, and the hardscrabble life of frontier families.

Recorded at Book Passage Bookstore in Corte Madera, California.

Complete 31 minute interview [1]

[1] https://kpfa.org/area941/episode/tea-obreht-inland/

Terry Tempest Williams, whose latest collection is titled "Erosion: Essays of Undoing", in conversation with Richard Wolinsky.

Terry Tempest Williams is an environmental activist and chronicler of the western landscape. In her several books and essays, she takes us from national parks and monuments to the way our environment affects us, both physically and emotionally.

In this latest collection, she discusses the degradation of our natural resources, an ongoing process that encompasses the past few administrations and rushes headlong in the ongoing one; she talks about her Mormon roots and how they still affect her at the deepest levels, and how her activism led to her removal from her post at the University of Utah, along with the heartbreaking story of her brother's death from suicide.

In this in-depth interview, she talks specifically about how she and her husband bought oil leases in an attempt to prevent drilling, about the climate crisis, and about how she came to be a writer.

For more, hear the extended 46-minute Radio Wolinsky podcast. [1]

[1] https://kpfa.org/area941/episode/terry-tempest-williams-erosion-essays-of-undoing/

Daniel Handler (Lemony Snicket), in conversation with host Richard Wolinsky.

Daniel Handler discusses his latest novel, "Bottle Grove," set in San Francisco, along with his earlier novel, "All The Dirty Parts." He also talks in depth about the Netflix three-season series of Lemony Snicket's "A Series of Unfortunate Events," as well as his work in theatre and how his life has changed with success.

"Bottle Grove" deals with the intricacies of marriage, along with how San Francisco has changed in recent years due to the influx of the tech world. "All The Dirty Parts" dissects what life is like for a horny teen-aged boy in a way that few books have attempted. "A Series of Unfortunate Events" is about the terrible things that befall the poor Baudelaire orphans, mostly due to the nefarious schemes of Count Olaf (Neil Patrick Harris).

An extended 47-minute version of this interview can be found as a Radio Wolinsky podcast. [1]

[1] https://kpfa.org/area941/episode/daniel-handler-lemony-snicket-bottle-grove-and-netflix/

Nicholas Meyer, author of "The Seven Percent Solution," returns to Sherlock Holmes with "The Adventure of the Peculiar Protocols." In this interview with host Richard Wolinsky, he also discusses his work in film and television, and specifically his work in the Star Trek universe.

Nicholas Meyer is a screenwriter and director. Among his directorial works are "Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan," "Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country," "Time After Time" and the lauded TV film "The Day After." He's written several screenplays, including "Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home," and worked on the first season of "Star Trek: Discovery" and the first season of the Netflix series "The Medicis."

"The Adventure of the Peculiar Protocols" takes Sherlock Holmes to Budapest and Odessa as he searches for the forger behind the infamous Protocols of the Learned Elders of Zion. This adventure, which takes place in 1905, falls into a period during which  the activities of Conan Doyle's Sherlock Holmes are unknown.

An extended 45 minute version of this interview can be found as a Radio Wolinsky [1] podcast.

[1] https://kpfa.org/area941/episode/nicholas-meyer/