KPFA - Radio Wolinsky

Oscar Hijuelos (1951-2013), Pulitzer Prize winning author of “The Mambo Kings Sing Songs of Love,” and other novels, in conversation with Richard Wolinsky.

The interview was first aired August 18, 2011 following the publication of “Thoughts Without Cigarettes,” a memoir, and “Beautiful Maria of My Soul,” a sequel to “Mambo Kings.” Among his other novels were “A Simple Habana Melody (when the world was good)” and “Empress of the Splendid Season.”

Born in Manhattan to Cuban immigrant parents, Oscar’s family spoke only Spanish, but he became fluent in English during a childhood year in a convalescent hospital for nephritis. He studied writing under Donald Barthelme and Susan Sontag, and after a career in advertising, began writing short stories, and then novels. “The Mambo Kings” became a film and later a musical. Oscar Hijuelos died of a heart attack while playing tennis at the age of 62.

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Paul Mazursky (1930-2014) was a major film director during the 1970s and 1980s. Among his films were Bob & Carol & Ted & Alice, Harry & Tonto, An Unmarried Woman, Enemies: A Love Story, and Down and Out in Beverly Hills. He was also a character actor, appearing in several films, including his own.

On June 8, 1999, he was interviewed by Richard Wolinsky and Richard A. Lupoff in the KPFA studios while on tour for his memoir, “Show Me The Magic.”

His directorial career faded out in the 21st Century, but he still managed to work as an actor, appearing on both The Sopranos and Curb Your Enthusiasm.

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Tess Gerritsen, whose latest novel is “Choose Me,” written with Gary Braver. and author of the 12 books in the Rizzoli and Isles mystery series, in conversation with Richard Wolinsky.

In a long and successful career, Tess Gerritsen has written romantic thrillers, medical thrillers, science fiction, and noir. She’s written the screenplays for two produced movies, and serves as co-director of a documentary, “The Magnificent Beast.” The Rizzoli and Isles books served as the inspiration for a long-running Rizzoli and Isles television series, which can now be seen on HBO Max.

In this interview, she discusses her latest novel, born from discussions about the #metoo movement, her involvement in film and television, her feelings about how the pandemic affected her work, and her thoughts on how Black Lives Matter affected her as an Asian American author.

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​​​​​This podcast, an interview with George Packer conducted by Richard Wolinsky in 2013, is being posted nearly six months to the day after the Trump insurrection which could have caused the overthrow of the United States democratically elected government. While that didn’t happen, the forces that brought about the capitol invasion haven’t gone away. The refusal by the Republican Party to examine those forces, and the role Donald Trump played in the coup attempt, indicates we are not out of the woods.

So how did we reach this point, putting aside Trump’ s strange cult of personality? How far back do we have to go to find the turning points in the history of America

In 2013, New Yorker staff writer George Packer’s book, “The Unwinding: An Inner History of the New America,” closely examined the changes in American society and politics that led to the political turmoil of the Obama years and in a way predicted the outcomes we’ve seen since the book was published. “The Unwinding” went on to win the National Book Award for non-fiction.

This interview with George Packer was conducted in the KPFA studios on June 4, 2013 while he was on tour for his book, The Unwinding. Since that time, his biography, “Our Man: Richard Holbrooke and the end of the American Century,” was a published in 2019 and was a Pulitzer Prize finalist. His latest book, “Last Best Hope: America in Crisis and Renewal” was published in June, 2021. An article delineating highlights from that book can be found in the July/August 2021 edition of The Atlantic.

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A conversation with Jim Obergefell, co-author of Love Wins: The Lovers and Lawyers Who Fought the Landmark Case for Marriage Equality. Hosted by Richard Wolinsky

In June, 2015 the Supreme Court decided in Obergefell v Hodges that gay marriage became the law of the land. In the six years that followed, gay marriage has been routinely accepted across the United States and few blink twice when someone mentions his husband or her wife. Richard Wolinsky interviewed Jim Obergefell, the man whose name appears on the decision, a year later while he was on tour for the book Love Wins, which he co-authored with Debbie Cenziper. This podcast is being posted on the day normally reserved for San Francisco’s annual Gay Pride Parade, cancelled for the second year in a row due to the pandemic, as a way to look back and be prepared looking forward to a time when gay rights will no longer be denied for the shabby arguments put forward in the name of religion. This podcast was previously posted on July 13, 2016.

Jim Obergefell’s husband John in Ohio was dying when he was approached by an attorney who explained that because the state did not recognize gay marriages from other states, Jim’s name would never appear on John’s death certificate. Jim and John both agreed to go for it, and the result, in June 2015 in the case Obergefell v Hodges, the Supreme Court made gay marriage the law of the land. Since then he has become a spokesperson for gay rights around the country.

In this compelling discussion recorded on June, 22, 2016, Jim Obergefell talks about the case, about his relationship, and about how his life has changed in the year following the decision.

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