KPFA - Bookwaves/Artwaves

In-depth interviews with authors of fiction and narrative non-fiction, delving deeply into political and social issues, literary technique, and the life of the author. Hosted by Richard Wolinsky.

Novelist and essayist Jonathan Safran Foer discusses his book, "We Are The Weather: Saving the Planet Begins at Breakfast" with host Richard Wolinsky.

The author of three acclaimed novels, Jonathan Safran Foer has also written "Eating Animals," a treatise on the evils of factory farming. This new book talks about changing one's diet, cutting one's carnivore diet, as a personal step in limiting your carbon footprint, i.e. removing meat, fish and dairy products from breakfast and lunch.

An extended 46-minute version of this interview can be found as a Radio Wolinsky podcast. [1]

[1] https://kpfa.org/area941/episode/jonathan-safran-foer-we-are-the-weather/

Esi Edugyan, author of the novel, “Washington Black,” in conversation with Richard Wolinsky.

From Wikipedia:

< Born and raised in Calgary [1], Alberta, to Ghanaian [2] immigrant parents, Edugyan studied creative writing at the University of Victoria [3], where she was mentored by Jack Hodgins [4]. She also earned a master’s degree from Johns Hopkins Writing Seminars [5]. Her debut novel [6], The Second Life of Samuel Tyne [7], was published in 2004 and was shortlisted for the Hurston-Wright Legacy Award [8] in 2005.

Despite favorable reviews for her first novel, Edugyan had difficulty securing a publisher for her second fiction manuscript. She spent some time as a writer-in-residence in Stuttgart [9], Germany. This period inspired her to drop her unsold manuscript and write another novel, Half-Blood Blues [10], about a mixed-race [11] jazz [12] musician in World War II [13]-era Europe who is abducted by the Nazis [14] as a “Rhineland Bastard [15]“.  Published in 2011, Half-Blood Blues was announced as a shortlisted nominee for that year’s Man Booker Prize.>

Washington Black tells the story of a young slave in Barbados in the 1840s who is taken under the wing of the abolitionist brother of his master. The novel follows his adventures as he wends his way through the world.

Recorded at Book Passage bookstore in Corte Madera, California. Special thanks to Elaine Petrocelli.

Extended 34-minute Radio Wolinsky podcast. [16]

[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Calgary

[2] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ghana

[3] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/University_of_Victoria

[4] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jack_Hodgins

[5] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Johns_Hopkins_Writing_Seminars

[6] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Debut_novel

[7] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Second_Life_of_Samuel_Tyne

[8] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hurston-Wright_Legacy_Award

[9] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stuttgart

[10] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Half-Blood_Blues

[11] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mixed-race

[12] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jazz

[13] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_War_II

[14] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nazis

[15] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rhineland_Bastard

[16] https://kpfa.org/area941/episode/esi-edugyan-washington-black/

[caption id="attachment_320413" align="alignleft" width="381"] Molly Ivins and Richard Wolinsky outside KPFA, 2003[/caption]

An interview with the late great Molly Ivins, recorded in December 2003 on the publication of her book, "Bushwhacked," in honor of the release of a documentary about her titled "Raise Hell: The Life & Times Of Molly Ivins." She is interviewed by Richard Wolinsky.

The first part of the interview deals with the current events of 2003, but as the discussion goes on, more and more it foreshadows the America of 2019.

Extended 40-minute Radio Wolinsky podcast [1]

[1] https://kpfa.org/area941/episode/molly-ivins-1944-2007-2003-bushwhacked/

Joshua Furst, author of the novel "Revolutionaries," which fictionalizes the story of Abbie Hoffman and his family in the 1960s and 1970s, is interviewed by host Richard Wolinsky.

Joshua Furst, in his second novel, focuses on the radicals of the '60s by looking at the life of a prankster activist based on Hoffman, and on the lives of his wife and son, and on the noted folk singer Phil Ochs.  Originally a playwright, Joshua Furst turned to fiction with a collection, "Short People," followed by a novel about the punk scene in the Midwest, "The Sabotage Cafe."

An extended 36-minute version of this interview can be found as a Radio Wolinsky podcast. [1]

[1] https://kpfa.org/area941/episode/joshua-furst-revolutionaries/

Robert Macfarlane, whose latest book is "Underland: A Deep Time Journey" is interviewed by host Richard Wolinsky.

The author of several books, including "Mountains of the Mind" and "The Old Ways," Robert Macfarlane discusses his latest work, a travelogue through caves, glacial crevices, mines, and catacombs, as he examines the world below our feet.

Extended 43-minute Radio Wolinsky podcast. [1]

[1] https://kpfa.org/area941/episode/robert-macfarlane-underland/

Ann Beattie, author of the novel, A Wonderful Stroke of Luck, in conversation with Richard Wolinsky.

Known primarily as one of the finest short story writers alive today, Ann Beattie also has a long and distinguished career as a novelist. Her latest work, A Wonderful Stroke of Luck, follows a group of millennials, and one in particular, as they (and he) negotiate the aftermath of 9/11 on their lives, through the following two decades of the 21st Century.

Special thanks to Cherilyn Parsons and the Bay Area Book Festival for making this interview possible.

 

 

Glen David Gold, whose latest book is “I Will Be Complete: A Memoir,” in conversation with Richard Wolinsky.

Glen David Gold is the author of the bestselling novels Sunnyside [1] and Carter Beats The Devil [2] which has been translated into 14 languages. His essays, memoir, journalism and short fiction have appeared in McSweeney’s, Playboy, Tin House, Wired, Zyzzyva, the New York Times Sunday Magazine, the Guardian UK and London Independent. He has written The Spirit for DC comics and The Escapist for Dark Horse.  Recently he has co-written episodes of The Thrilling Adventure Hour and Welcome to Nightvale.

I Will Be Complete tells the story of his life through his twenties, focusing on his relationship with his mother, who left him alone frequently to go off and do her own thing, and his relationships and attempts at coming to grips with his own life story. Reading like a novel, I Will Be Complete uses fictional tropes to tell a real-life story.

Glen David Gold website [3]

An extended version of this interview can be found as a 47-minute Radio Wolinsky [4] podcast.

[1] https://www.glendavidgold.com/sunnyside

[2] https://www.glendavidgold.com/carter-beats-devil

[3] https://www.glendavidgold.com/

[4] https://kpfa.org/area941/episode/glen-david-gold-i-will-be-complete-a-memoir/

Nathan Englander, whose latest novel is "kaddish.com," in conversation with host Richard Wolinsky.

The author of two other novels, including "Ministry of Special Cases," and two acclaimed short story collections, "For the Relief of Unbearable Urges" and "What We Talk About When We Talk About Anne Frank" talks about his latest book, which deals with the intersection of religion and technology, as a religious Jew who can't bring himself to say Kaddish for his late father every day contracts with an on-line company that will do it for him.

The extended 41-minute Radio Wolinsky podcast of this interview. [1]

[1] https://kpfa.org/area941/episode/nathan-englander-kaddish-com/

In-depth interviews with authors of fiction and narrative non-fiction, delving deeply into political and social issues, literary technique, and the life of the author. Hosted by Richard Wolinsky.