KPFA - Bookwaves/Artwaves

Links to assorted local theater & book venues

Carl Hiaasen is a novelist best known for writing humorous and satiric crime thrillers set in Florida. His latest novel, Fever Beach, satirizes the Proud Boys and Oath Keepers, corrupt nepo Florida Congress-critters, and rich right-wing geriatric  billionaires. Until 2021, he was a regular columnist for The Miami Herald, appearing every Sunday to discuss political and social issues. He is interviewed by host Richard Wolinsky.

In this in-depth interview, he discusses the writing of “Fever Beafch and how difficult it has been to create satire during the Trump years, his views on what’s happening in Washington and Florida, the adaptation of his novel “Bad Monkey” for Apple Plus, and his process of writing. Recorded August 13, 2025.

The post August 28, 2025: Carl Hiaasen, Master of the Comic Thriller appeared first on KPFA.

Links to assorted local theater & book venues

​​Erik Larson, author of “The Demon of Unrest: A Saga of Hubris, Heartbreak, and Heroism at the Dawn of the Civil War,” in conversation with host Richard Wolinsky, recorded at Book Passage Bookstre on May 31, 2024.

Erik Larson is the author of several bestsellers of non-fiction narrative, including The Devil in the White City, The Splendid and the Vile, and In The Garden of Beasts.

His latest book, just out in trade paperback, concerns the days and months preceding the start of the Civil War, focusing on Fort Sumter in Charleston Harbor, along with what life was like in the antebellum South at the time, the march to war, the election of Abraham Lincoln, and the various triggers that led to the Civil War.

In this interview he discusses how he came to write the book, some of the more interesting facts about the time of the Civil War, and how he became an author of these best-sellling narratives.

Photos: Richard Wolinsky.

Complete Interview.

The post August 21, 2025: Erik Larson: The Start of the Civil War appeared first on KPFA.

Links to assorted local theater & book venues

John Barth (1930-2024), who died on April 2, 2024 at the age of 93, was America’s leading writer of metafictional and post-modern fiction. This interview was conducted by Richard Wolinsky and Richard A. Lupoff on November 12, 2001 in the KPFA studios, while on the book tour for the novel Coming Soon.

John Barth began to receive notice for his two earliest novels, The Floating Opera and End of the Road in the late 1950s, but burst on the scene with his epic comic novel about colonial life in Maryland, The Sot-Weed Factor, and his allegory of the Cold War, set on a university campus, Giles Goat-Boy. His short story collection, Lost in the Funhouse and novella collection Chimera cemented his reputation as a writer of meta-fiction, as the stories zoom back on themselves and on the writing of those stories.

From Wikipedia: “In his epistolary novel LETTERS (1979), Barth corresponds with characters from his other books. Later novels such as The Tidewater Tales (1987) and The Last Voyage of Somebody the Sailor (1991) continue in the metafictional vein, using writers as protagonists who interact with their own and other stories in elaborate ways. His 1994 Once Upon a Time: A Floating Opera casts Barth himself as the protagonist who on a sailing trip encounters characters and situations from previous works.”

After the 2001 interview, he continued to work in the same vein with a triptych of novellas, Where Three Roads Meet in 2005, interrelated short stories set in a retirement community, The Development: Nine Stories in 2008, and Every Third Thought: A Novel in Five Seasons in 2011. A, book of collected stories was released in 2015 and Postscripts (or Just Desserts): Some Final Scribbling came out in 2022.

This interview was both the last interview conducted with Richard Lupoff as co-host, and the final interview recorded and edited on analog tape. This program was digitized and edited in July 2024 by Richard Wolinsky. Complete 46-minute Interview

Lorrie Moore is a celebrated short story writer and novelist. In this excerpt from an interview recorded April 8, 2014 while on tour for her collection, Bark, she discusses her writing and research process. Complete 40-minute Interview.

Review of “The Return”  a Golden Thread production at The Garret in ACT’s Toni Rembe Theatre through August 24, 2025.

The post August 14, 2025: John Barth, Master of Metafiction appeared first on KPFA.

Links to assorted local theater & book venues

Robert Macfarlane, whose latest book is “Is a River Alive,” in conversation with host Richard Wolinsky.

The best-selling nature writer, and author of “Underland” and “The Old Ways” discusses the relationship of the human race to nature in the context of the rights of natural phenomena, specifically rivers. What rights does the earth have in terms of man’s hegemony? Where do we fit in nature?

In this interview, recorded recorded June 11, 2025, he talks about his journey to three rivers: a cloud forest in South America, a dying river in India, and a river that runs through eastern Canada, along with a look at the spring near his home in England, and puts them all in context of environmentalism and politics.

He is the author of several books, including “”Mountains of the Mind” and “Ghostways,” Robert Macfarlane teaches at Cambridge University.

The post August 7, 2025: Nature Author Robert Macfarlane, “Is A River Alive?” appeared first on KPFA.

Links to assorted local theater & book venues

Isaac Asimov (1920-1992), in conversation with Richard Wolinsky, recorded in New York City on August 10, 1983.

Isaac Asimov, who died at the age of 72 in 1992, was considered, along with Ray Bradbury and Robert Heinlein, one of the three great masters of American science fiction in the 20th century.

Isaac Asimov began sending in stories and getting published in science fiction magazines at the age of nineteen, and at the age of 21, with the publication of the short story “Nightfall” in John W. Campbell’s Astounding Stories magazine. moved into the first ranks of science fiction writers. That status was confirmed a year later with the publication of the short story, “Foundation,” later renamed “The Encyclopedists,” which would be the first of several short stories and novellas republished as the three volumes of the Foundation trilogy.

In the 1940s, he turned to a series of stories focused on robots, which became the collection I Robot and then in the 1950s turned to novels, including Pebble in the Sky, The Caves of Steel and The End of Eternity. Along the way, through his entire career, he wrote dozens of non-fiction books on a wide variety of topics, along with young adult novels, and mystery novels and short stories. In the end, the number of books he wrote or edited exceeded 500, not counting separate short stories and articles.

This interview was conducted in a New York City bookstore Asimov was visiting to sign copies of a new collection, The Union Club Mysteries, a year after his return to the world of the Foundation trilogy, Foundation’s Edge, was published. Because his two –volume autobiography had come out a couple of years earlier and dealt with the plots and themes of his fiction, the interview focused instead on his life as a writer and his work with editors and publishers..

Complete 47-minute Radio Wolinsky podcast.

Ray Bradbury, the legendary author who passed away in 2012, sat down for an interview with Richard Wolinsky and Richard A. Lupoff in 1992 at his home in Los Angeles.

Though called a science fiction or fantasy writer, Ray Bradbury spanned all genres, from poetry to mystery to mainstream fiction. Among his works include The Martian Chronicles, Something Wicked This Way Comes, Farenheit 451 and The Illustrated Man.

This interview has been digitized and re-edited by Richard Wolinsky. Complete 38-minute Radio Wolinsky podcast.

The post Bookwaves/Artwaves – July 31, 2025: Isaac Asimov – Ray Bradbury appeared first on KPFA.

Links to assorted local theater & book venues

Gore Vidal, in conversation with Richard Wolinsky and Richard A. Lupoff, recorded on October 5, 2000 in San Francisco, California.

Over a period of sixteen years from 1990 to 2006, Richard Wolinsky conducted four interviews with Gore Vidal, two of which involved co-host Richard A. Lupoff. This is the third chronologically of those interviews, conducted on October 5, 2000 while Gore Vidal was on tour for his novel The Golden Age, the final in his series of seven novels exploring American history and titled “Narratives of Empire.” The other novels in the series are Burr, 1876, Lincoln, Empire, Hollywood and Washington D.C.

This conversation mostly concerns the period of The Golden Age, which encompasses the World War II and post-war era, focusing on the war itself, Roosevelt and Truman, Stalin, and the institution of the Cold War and the National Security State. The interview also tackles the Bush v Gore election season, and was conducted a month before Election Day.

Digitized, remastered and re-edited in August, 2017 by Richard Wolinsky.

The complete interview can be found as a Radio Wolinsky podcast.

The post July 24, 2025: Gore Vidal Fund Drive Special appeared first on KPFA.

Links to assorted local theater & book venues

There are four Martin Cruz Smith interviews. The first two, both co-hosted with Richard A. Lupoff for Probabilities, were recorded in 1990 while on tour for Polar Star, the sequel to Gorky Park, and then again in 1996 for the award-winning stand-alone novel, Rose. These interviews have yet to be digitized. Today’s program focuses on the two later interviews>

Martin Cruz Smith 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]

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The post July 17, 2025: Martin Cruz Smith (1942-2025) Acclaimed Noir and Literary Novelist appeared first on KPFA.

Links to assorted local theater & book venues

Colm Tóibín discusses his latest novel, “Long Island,” which follows characters from his earlier best-seller, “Brooklyn” twenty years later. Hosted by Richard Wolinsky.

Colm Tóibín was born in Enniscorthy, Ireland, in 1955. He is the author of 11 novels including The Master, Brooklyn, The Testament of Mary, Nora Webster, House of Names and The Magician. His work has been shortlisted for The Booker Prize three times, has won the Costa Novel Award and the IMPAC Award. He has also published two collections of stories and many works of non-fiction. Special thanks to the folks at BookShop West Portal in San Francisco for their assistance.

Complete Interview.

Review of “& Juliet” at BroadwaySF Orpheum through July 27, 2025.

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 July 10, 2025: Colm Toibin – Martin Amis appeared first on KPFA.

Links to assorted local theater & book venues

Vauhini Vara, Pulitzer Prize finalist for her novel, “The Immortal King Rao,” and former tech journalist for the Wall Street Journal and elsewhere, discusses her book, “Searches: Selfhood in the Digital Age” with host Richard Wolinsky.

“Searches” is an exploration of how the internet and digital technologies influence and reshape our personal identities and self-perception, and the quest for meaning in contemporary society.

The interview focuses on various aspects of her book, most notably the relation of the tech giants and corporations to politics, and specifically, the ins and outs of the corporate product known as “A.I.”

Review of “Aztlan” by Luis Alfaro at the Magic Theatre through July 13, 2025.

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 July 3, 2025: Vauhini Vara: “Searches: Selfhood in the Digital Age” appeared first on KPFA.

Links to assorted local theater & book venues

David Leavitt, acclaimed gay novelist, essayist, biographer and short story writer, discusses his book  The Man Who Knew Too Much: Alan Turing and the Invention of the Computer, recorded in the KPFA studios November 28, 2005.

David Leavitt has written ten novels, including The Lost Language of Cranes, Why England Sleeps and The Page Turner, four collections of short stories, and two non-fiction works. He’s also served as editor for several anthologies. His next novel, Bright Monday, will be published in 2026. His novels frequently, though not always, deal with issues in the gay community.

Alan Turing was one of the twentieth century’s greatest mathematicians. Along with leading the team that created the enigma machine, which broke German codes, his later work on the nascent world of computers has never been fully recognized.

Terrence McNally (1938-2020), four time Tony Award winner, who frequently focused on the gay experience in his work. in conversation with Richard Wolinsky, recorded at New Conservatory Theatre Center in San Francisco, March 18, 2004.

Terrence McNally, who died of complications from COVID on March 24, 2020  at the age of 81, was a giant of the American theatre. He received tony awards for his plays Love Valour Compassion and Master Class, and for best book for a musical for Kiss of the Spider Woman and Ragtime. His plays, musicals and operas have been performed around the world. Among his other plays were Lisbon Traviata, Lips Together Teeth Apart, The Ritz, and Frankie and Johnnie in the Claire de Lune.

His plays, rich with humor and deft characterization, also were political in nature, and he never shied away and he was always willing to take a stand especially in the area of gay rights and the necessity for community. Complete Interview.

Review of “Co-Founders,” a new hip hop musical at ACT Strand Theatre through July 6, 2025.

Review of “Come Back to the 5 & Dime, Jimmy Dean, Jimmy Dean,” a new musical at TheatreWorks Mountain view Center for the Performing Arts through July 13, 2025.

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 June 26, 2025: Pride Month: Biographer David Leavitt & Playwright Terrence McNally appeared first on KPFA.