Talking with Authors

This is the thirty-second episode of "Talking with Authors" by HEC Media and HEC Books. We're a program dedicated to speaking with some of the best selling authors around, covering many different genres.
 
 We’re excited to be able to come back to you after an unplanned hiatus due to the Coronavirus Pandemic of 2020. Since no authors were able to travel, and our partners at the St. Louis County Library and Left Bank Books were physically closed in the early days of social distancing, we were unable to conduct many of the scheduled interviews that we had planned.  But, after the initial weeks of the global shutdown, we were able to set up remote video interviews with many authors. And in the coming weeks, we’ll be providing you with the audio of these interviews. The sound quality may be slightly different than our previous podcasts, but they all still contain the great content that you’ve come to expect.

Our guest this time is Pulitzer-prize winning historian Anne Applebaum. We spoke with her via Zoom in July of 2020 about her latest book “Twilight of Democracy: The Seductive Lure of Authoritarianism” by publisher Penguin Random House.

She is a writer for the Atlantic, as well as a Senior Fellow of International Affairs and an Agora Fellow in Residence at the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies, where she co-directs LSE Arena, a program about disinformation and 21st century propaganda. In her new book she uses her expertise in these areas and personal experiences to explore the rise of fascist authoritarianism across the globe and explain how the political landscape’s changes over time have allowed it to happen. In this conversation we’ll learn about the negative effects cultural tribalism has on democracy, explore the ways some world leaders have exploited “cultural despair” for their own gain, and hear how parts of Europe have handled the Covid-19 pandemic as compared to the United states as Anne Applebaum joins us on this edition of Talking With Authors from HEC Media and HEC Books.
 
 HEC Media is a production company out of St. Louis, Missouri.  With the help of independent bookstore Left Bank Books and St. Louis County Library, we are able to sit down with these amazing writers and thought leaders to discuss their work, their inspiration, and what makes them special. You can watch video versions of most of our interviews at hecmedia.org.
 
 Producer – Julie Winkle
 Host – Brenda Madden 
 Video Editor – Greg Kopp
 Audio Editor- Paul Langdon
 Production Support – Jayne Ballew and Christina Chastain
 HEC Media Executive Director - Dennis Riggs
 Podcast Executive Producer - Christina Chastain
 Podcast Producer – Paul Langdon
 Podcast Host - Rod Milam
 
 You can follow us on all social media platforms. Just search for "Talking with Authors":
 Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/talkingwithauthors
 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/talkingwithauthors
 Twitter: https://twitter.com/TalkingwAuthors

This is the thirty-first episode of "Talking with Authors" by HEC Media and HEC Books. We're a program dedicated to speaking with some of the best selling authors around, covering many different genres.

We’re excited to be able to come back to you after an unplanned hiatus due to the Coronavirus Pandemic of 2020. Since no authors were able to travel, and our partners at the St. Louis County Library and Left Bank Books were physically closed in the early days of social distancing, we were unable to conduct many of the scheduled interviews that we had planned.  But, after the initial weeks of the global shutdown, we were able to set up remote video interviews with many authors. And in the coming weeks, we’ll be providing you with the audio of these interviews. The sound quality may be slightly different than our previous podcasts, but they all still contain the great content that you’ve come to expect.

Our guest this time is founder and CEO of Organize 365, Lisa Woodruff. We spoke with her via Zoom in July of 2020 about her latest book “The Paper Solution: What to Shred, What to Save, and How to Stop It From Taking Over Your Life” by publisher Penguin Random House.

She is a professional organizer, productivity coach, and podcaster. She uses her background in education to help instruct other on how to better organize their living spaces. In this conversation she shares the story of how she became a professional organizer, and we’ll learn what to expect when starting to sort through personal papers as Lisa Woodruff joins us on this edition of Talking With Authors from HEC Media and HEC Books.

HEC Media is a production company out of St. Louis, Missouri.  With the help of independent bookstore Left Bank Books and St. Louis County Library, we are able to sit down with these amazing writers and thought leaders to discuss their work, their inspiration, and what makes them special. You can watch video versions of most of our interviews at hecmedia.org.
 
 Video Producer and Host – Victoria Babu
 Supervising Producer – Julie Winkle
 Video Editor – Peter Foggy
 Audio Editor- Ben Smith
 Production Support – Jayne Ballew and Christina Chastain
 HEC Media Executive Director - Dennis Riggs
 Talking with Authors Podcast Executive Producer - Christina Chastain
 Podcast Producer – Paul Langdon
 Podcast Host - Rod Milam
 
 You can follow us on all social media platforms. Just search for "Talking with Authors":
 Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/talkingwithauthors
 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/talkingwithauthors
 Twitter: https://twitter.com/TalkingwAuthors

This is the thirtieth episode of "Talking with Authors" by HEC Media and HEC Books. We're a program dedicated to speaking with some of the best selling authors around, covering many different genres.

We’re excited to be able to come back to you after an unplanned hiatus due to the Coronavirus Pandemic of 2020. Since no authors were able to travel, and our partners at the St. Louis County Library and Left Bank Books were physically closed in the early days of social distancing, we were unable to conduct many of the scheduled interviews that we had planned.  But, after the initial weeks of the global shutdown, we were able to set up remote video interviews with many authors. And in the coming weeks, we’ll be providing you with the audio of these interviews. The sound quality may be slightly different than our previous podcasts, but they all still contain the great content that you’ve come to expect.

Our guest this time is bestselling author Fiona Davis. We spoke with her via Zoom in July of 2020 about her latest book “The Lions of Fifth Avenue” by publisher Penguin Random House.

Her novels all follow a theme, each is a work of historical fiction based around a building in New York City. Her settings have ranged from the Dakota Apartments in the 1880s, to Grand Central Terminal in the 1920s, to the Chelsea Hotel in the 1950s. In “The Lions of Fifth Avenue” her setting is, of course, the New York Public Library. She discusses her writing process as well as how the New York Public Library’s fascinating collections and history have influenced her latest novel on this edition of Talking with Authors from HEC Media and HEC Books.

HEC Media is a production company out of St. Louis, Missouri.  With the help of independent bookstore Left Bank Books and St. Louis County Library, we are able to sit down with these amazing writers and thought leaders to discuss their work, their inspiration, and what makes them special. You can watch video versions of most of our interviews at hecmedia.org.

Producer – Julie Winkle
Host – Ashley Hasty
Video Editor – Peter Foggy
Audio Editor- Ben Smith
Production Support – Jayne Ballew and Christina Chastain
HEC Media Executive Director - Dennis Riggs
Talking with Authors Podcast Executive Producer - Christina Chastain
Podcast Producer – Paul Langdon
Podcast Host - Rod Milam

You can follow us on all social media platforms. Just search for "Talking with Authors":
Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/talkingwithauthors
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/talkingwithauthors
Twitter: https://twitter.com/TalkingwAuthors

This is the twenty-ninth episode of "Talking with Authors" by HEC Media and HEC Books. We're a program dedicated to speaking with some of the best selling authors around, covering many different genres.

We’re excited to be able to come back to you after an unplanned hiatus due to the Coronavirus Pandemic of 2020. Since no authors were able to travel, and our partners at the St. Louis County Library and Left Bank Books were physically closed in the early days of social distancing, we were unable to conduct many of the scheduled interviews that we had planned.  But, after the initial weeks of the global shutdown, we were able to set up remote video interviews with many authors. And in the coming weeks, we’ll be providing you with the audio of these interviews. The sound quality may be slightly different than our previous podcasts, but they all still contain the great content that you’ve come to expect.

Our guest this time is Wes Moore. We spoke with him via Zoom in July of 2020 about his most recent book “Five Days: The Fiery Reckoning of an American City” published by Penguin Random House.

He’s an author, combat veteran, and CEO of the Robin Hood Foundation, a top poverty fighting nonprofit. But his incredible life story isn’t the focus of this episode’s conversation. Instead, he discusses the life and tragic death of Freddie Gray, a 25-year-old black man that suffered a fatal spinal cord injury at the hands of the Baltimore police in April of 2015. Moore’s latest book examines the aftermath of this young man’s death, as told through the experiences of multiple people from different backgrounds. Important topics concerning race, police violence, and the needs for systemic change in the United States are addressed on this edition of Talking with Authors from HEC Media and HEC Books.

HEC Media is a production company out of St. Louis, Missouri.  With the help of independent bookstore Left Bank Books and St. Louis County Library, we are able to sit down with these amazing writers and thought leaders to discuss their work, their inspiration, and what makes them special. You can watch video versions of most of our interviews at hecmedia.org.

Producer – Christian Chastain
Host – Kira Banks
Video Editor – Christian Chastain and Greg Kopp
Audio Editor- Ben Smith
Production Support – Jayne Ballew
HEC Media Executive Director - Dennis Riggs
Talking with Authors Podcast Executive Producer - Christina Chastain
Podcast Producer – Paul Langdon
Podcast Host - Rod Milam

You can follow us on all social media platforms. Just search for "Talking with Authors":

Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/talkingwithauthors
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/talkingwithauthors
Twitter: https://twitter.com/TalkingwAuthors

This is the twenty-eighth episode of "Talking with Authors" by HEC Media and HEC Books. We're a program dedicated to speaking with some of the best selling authors around, covering many different genres.

We’re very excited to be able to come back to you after an unplanned hiatus due to the Coronavirus Pandemic of 2020. Since no authors were able to travel, and our partners at the St. Louis County Library and Left Bank Books were physically closed in the early days of social distancing, we were unable to conduct many of the scheduled interviews that we had planned.  But, after the initial weeks of the global shutdown, we were able to set up remote video interviews with many authors. And in the coming weeks, we’ll be providing you with the audio of these interviews. Now sound quality may be slightly different than our previous podcasts, but they all still contain the great content that you’ve come to expect.

Our guest this time is a three-time recipient of the Ellery Queen Readers Award for Best Short Story of the Year and author of over 35 novels, Jeffery Deaver. We spoke with him via Zoom in May of 2020 about his latest book “The Goodbye Man” by publisher Penguin Random House.

His books have sold over 50 million copies worldwide, and have featured protagonists including the exceedingly popular quadriplegic detective Lincoln Rhyme, and even fiction’s most famous secret agent James Bond. “The Goodbye Man” is the second book to feature his latest hero, Colter Shaw, an itinerant reward-seeker. We’ll learn about Deaver’s latest thriller, get some insights on the settings of his books, and hear some stories from his years on the road on this edition of Talking With Authors from HEC Media and HEC Books.
 
 HEC Media is a production company out of St. Louis, Missouri.  With the help of independent bookstore Left Bank Books and St. Louis County Library, we are able to sit down with these amazing writers and thought leaders to discuss their work, their inspiration, and what makes them special. You can watch video versions of most of our interviews at hecmedia.org.

Producer – Julie Winkle
Host - Angie Weidinger
Video Editor – Greg Kopp
Audio Editor- Ben Smith
Production Support – Jayne Ballew and Christina Chastain
HEC Media Executive Director - Dennis Riggs
Talking with Authors Podcast Executive Producer - Christina Chastain
Podcast Producer – Paul Langdon
Podcast Host - Rod Milam

You can follow us on all social media platforms. Just search for "Talking with Authors":

Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/talkingwithauthors
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/talkingwithauthors
Twitter: https://twitter.com/TalkingwAuthors

This is the twenty-seventh episode of "Talking with Authors" by HEC Media and HEC Books. We're a program dedicated to speaking with some of the best selling authors around, covering many different genres.

We’re very excited to be able to come back to you after an unplanned hiatus due to the Coronavirus Pandemic of 2020. Since no authors were able to travel, and our partners at the St. Louis County Library and Left Bank Books were physically closed in the early days of social distancing, we were unable to conduct many of the scheduled interviews that we had planned.  But, after the initial weeks of the global shutdown, we were able to set up remote video interviews with many authors. And in the coming weeks, we’ll be providing you with the audio of these interviews. Now sound quality may be slightly different than our previous podcasts, but they all still contain the great content that you’ve come to expect.

Our guest this time is renown restaurant critic and former editor of Gourmet Magazine Ruth Reichl. We spoke with her via Zoom in May of 2020 about her latest memoir “Save Me The Plums” published by Random House.

Her previous memoirs have been translated into 18 different languages and published all around the world. Considering her impact on food media, it’s no wonder so many people want to know more about her experiences. She’s been blazing new trails throughout her career, from her writings in the New York Times to her tenure as editor for Gourmet Magazine. We’ll learn a little about her current documentary project exploring Covid-19’s impact on the food industry, get her insights into the future of food media, and hear quite a few stories from her latest book on this edition of Talking With Authors from HEC Media and HEC Books.

HEC Media is a production company out of St. Louis, Missouri.  With the help of independent bookstore Left Bank Books and St. Louis County Library, we are able to sit down with these amazing writers and thought leaders to discuss their work, their inspiration, and what makes them special. You can watch video versions of most of our interviews at hecmedia.org.

Producer – Julie Winkle
Host - Magazine Heather Hughes Huff
Video Editor – Peter Foggy
Audio Editor- Paul Langdon
Production Support - Christina Chastain
HEC Media Executive Director - Dennis Riggs
Talking with Authors Podcast Executive Producer - Christina Chastain
Podcast Producer – Paul Langdon
Podcast Host - Rod Milam

You can follow us on all social media platforms. Just search for "Talking with Authors":

Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/talkingwithauthors
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/talkingwithauthors
Twitter: https://twitter.com/TalkingwAuthors

This is the twenty-sixth episode of "Talking with Authors" by HEC Media and HEC Books. We're a program dedicated to speaking with some of the best selling authors around, covering many different genres.
 
 We’re very excited to be able to come back to you after an unplanned hiatus due to the Coronavirus Pandemic of 2020. Since no authors were able to travel, and our partners at the St. Louis County Library and Left Bank Books were physically closed in the early days of social distancing, we were unable to conduct many of the scheduled interviews that we had planned.  But, after the initial weeks of the global shutdown, we were able to set up remote video interviews with many authors. And in the coming weeks, we’ll be providing you with the audio of these interviews. Now sound quality may be slightly different than our previous podcasts, but they all still contain the great content that you’ve come to expect. 

Our guest this time is international bestselling author Alex George. We spoke with him via Zoom in April of 2020 about his book “The Paris Hours” published by Flatiron Books, a division of Macmillan Publishers.

Before starting his career as an author, he worked as a corporate lawyer in his home country of England, as well as Paris. Now living in Columbia Missouri, he owns his own bookstore, still occasionally practices law, and spends his days writing critically acclaimed novels like “A Good American” and “Setting Free the Kites.” We’ll learn the details of how his latest novel was developed, hear about his life in Europe and the American Midwest, and get insights into his experiences as both an author and a bookshop owner on this edition of Talking With Authors from HEC Media and HEC Books.
 
 HEC Media is a production company out of St. Louis, Missouri.  With the help of independent bookstore Left Bank Books and St. Louis County Library, we are able to sit down with these amazing writers and thought leaders to discuss their work, their inspiration, and what makes them special. You can watch video versions of most of our interviews at hecmedia.org.

Host and Video Producer - Angie Weidinger
Video Editor – Greg Kopp
Audio Editor- Ben Smith
Supervising Producer - Julie Winkle
Production Support - Jayne Ballew and Christina Chastain
HEC Media Executive Director - Dennis Riggs
Talking with Authors Podcast Executive Producer - Christina Chastain
Podcast Producer – Paul Langdon
Podcast Host - Rod Milam

You can follow us on all social media platforms. Just search for "Talking with Authors":

Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/talkingwithauthors
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/talkingwithauthors
Twitter: https://twitter.com/TalkingwAuthors

This is the twenty-fifth episode of "Talking with Authors" by HEC Media and HEC Books. We're a program dedicated to speaking with some of the best selling authors around, covering many different genres.

We’re very excited to be able to come back to you after an unplanned hiatus due to the Coronavirus Pandemic of 2020. Since no authors were able to travel, and our partners at the St. Louis County Library and Left Bank Books were physically closed  in the early days of social distancing, we were unable to conduct many of the scheduled interviews that we had planned.  But, after the initial weeks of the global shutdown, we were able to set up remote video interviews with many authors. And in the coming weeks, we’ll be providing you with the audio of these interviews. Now sound quality may be slightly different than our previous podcasts, but they all still contain the great content that you’ve come to expect.

Today, our author is an intelligence expert and award winning creator of 5 novels, Alma Katsu. We spoke with her via Zoom in April of 2020 about her book “The Deep” by publisher Penguin Random House.

This writer of horror and historical fiction has had her work published in 10 different languages around the world. But her career before writing for public consumption was with the NSA, CIA, and other intelligence agencies in the United States. Given that background, she knows how important it is to get facts correct. And with that in mind, before she took on her most recent book about the twin ocean liners the Titanic and the Britannic, she had to really think through what she was getting herself into. We’ll hear about that story of “The Deep”, talk a bit about her earlier work on the subject of The Donner Party, and learn more about her writing process.  Award winning author Alma Katsu joins us now on this edition of Talking With Authors from HEC Media and HEC Books.

Here’s our host this time is Victoria Babu.

HEC Media is a production company out of St. Louis, Missouri.  With the help of independent bookstore Left Bank Books and St. Louis County Library, we are able to sit down with these amazing writers and thought leaders to discuss their work, their inspiration, and what makes them special. You can watch video versions of most of our interviews at hecmedia.org.

Host and Video Producer - Victoria Babu
Video Editor - Kerry Marks
Audio Editor- Paul Langdon
Supervising Producer - Julie Winkle
Production Support - Jayne Ballew and Christina Chastain
HEC Media Executive Director - Dennis Riggs
Talking with Authors Podcast Executive Producer - Christina Chastain
Podcast Producer - Rod Milam
Podcast Host - Rod Milam

You can follow us on all social media platforms. Just search for "Talking with Authors":

Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/talkingwithauthors
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/talkingwithauthors
Twitter: https://twitter.com/TalkingwAuthors

This is the twenty-fourth episode of "Talking with Authors" by HEC Media and HEC Books. We're a program dedicated to speaking with some of the best selling authors around, covering many different genres.

We’re still back with you after an unplanned hiatus due to the Coronavirus Pandemic of 2020. After the initial weeks of the global shutdown, we were able to set up remote video interviews with many authors. And in the coming weeks, we’ll be providing you with the audio of these interviews. Now sound quality may be slightly different than our previous podcasts, but they all still contain the great content that you’ve come to expect.

Today, our author is an award winning, #1 New York Times Bestselling creator of over 20 novels, Chris Bohjalian. We spoke with him via Zoom in April of 2020 about his book “The Red Lotus” by publisher Knopf Doubleday.

This Vermont based writer has been a published novelist since 1995. And like most writers, he gets ideas from his own experiences and hobbies. With the oddly prescient and timely “The Red Lotus”, after he figured out that part of the locale would be in southeast Asia, he turned his one of his past-times into research to help him fill in his story. And he mixed a bike trip with interviews with emergency room doctors and epidemiologists to come up with the thriller that provides mystery in the characters, and a knowing fear for the reader since we are all now in the middle of a global pandemic.  Author Chris Bohjalian joins us now on this edition of Talking With Authors from HEC Media and HEC Books.

Our host and interviewer this time is Angie Weidinger.

HEC Media is a production company out of St. Louis, Missouri.  With the help of independent bookstore Left Bank Books and St. Louis County Library, we are able to sit down with these amazing writers and thought leaders to discuss their work, their inspiration, and what makes them special. You can watch video versions of most of our interviews at hecmedia.org.

Host and Producer - Angie Weidinger
Video Editor - Greg Kopp
Audio Editor - Ben Smith
Supervising Producer - Julie Winkle
Production Support - Jayne Ballew & Christina Chastain
HEC Media Executive Director - Dennis Riggs
Talking with Authors Podcast Executive Producer - Christina Chastain
Podcast Producer - Rod Milam
Podcast Host - Rod Milam

You can follow us on all social media platforms. Just search for "Talking with Authors":

Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/talkingwithauthors
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/talkingwithauthors
Twitter: https://twitter.com/TalkingwAuthors

This is the twenty-third episode of "Talking with Authors" by HEC Media and HEC Books. We're a program dedicated to speaking with some of the best selling authors around, covering many different genres.

We’re very excited to be able to come back to you after an unplanned hiatus due to the Coronavirus Pandemic of 2020. Since no authors were able to travel, and our partners at the St. Louis County Library and Left Bank Books were physically closed  in the early days of social distancing, we were unable to conduct many of the scheduled interviews that we had planned.  But, after the initial weeks of the global shutdown, we were able to set up remote video interviews with many authors. And in the coming weeks, we’ll be providing you with the audio of these interviews. Now sound quality may be slightly different than our previous podcasts, but they all still contain the great content that you’ve come to expect.

Today, our author is the #1 New York Times Bestselling creator of over 30 works in the international thriller genre, James Rollins. We spoke with him via Zoom in April of 2020 about his book “The Last Odyssey” by publisher Harper Collins.

“Two books a year for the last 20 years,” is how this practicing veterinarian has spun off his interest in writing into a full-blown successful literary career. And his signature series of books “Sigma Force” has taken up the largest area of focus for his writing. In “The Last Odyssey”, as usual, he draws inspiration from his fondness for myths and stories from around the world. This time, the Abrahamic religions caught his attention and he was driven by their views of The End Times.

In this interactive, virtual interview we’ll learn more about this newest book, his coming work, his process for writing, and some more about his many interests. Author James Rollins is our guest this time on this edition of Talking With Authors from HEC Media and HEC Books.

Our host and interviewer this time is the author events coordinator for the St. Louis County Library, Carrie Robb.

HEC Media is a production company out of St. Louis, Missouri.  With the help of independent bookstore Left Bank Books and St. Louis County Library, we are able to sit down with these amazing writers and thought leaders to discuss their work, their inspiration, and what makes them special. You can watch video versions of most of our interviews at hecmedia.org.

Host - Carrie Robb
Audio Editor- Paul Langdon
Supervising Producer - Julie Winkle
Production Support - Christina Chastain
HEC Media Executive Director - Dennis Riggs
Talking with Authors Podcast Executive Producer - Christina Chastain
Podcast Producer - Rod Milam
Podcast Host - Rod Milam

You can follow us on all social media platforms. Just search for "Talking with Authors":

Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/talkingwithauthors
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/talkingwithauthors
Twitter: https://twitter.com/TalkingwAuthors