Thecuriousmanspodcast

Matt Crawford speaks with Tananarive Due about her new book, The Wishing Pool and Other Stories. Fans have been waiting awhile for Tananarive's new book and it does not disappoint! This anthology is broken up into parts that give everyone something from classic horror, psychological, post-apocalyptic and even some pandemic stories written before 2020. We also discuss how powerful horror is and the why it doesn't get its fair shake. I hope you will all give a listen and check out all of Tananarive's work.

Matt Crawford speaks with Eli Merritt about his new book, How To Save Democracy: Advice and Inspiration from 95 World Leaders. How to Save Democracy is a collection of 423 instructive quotations derived from the First International Summit for Democracy. Divided into three sections-Virtues of Democracy, Challenges & Threats, and The Way Forward-the books brings hope, optimism, and poetry to the fight. Eli and I discuss what inspired him to compile this work as well as his newsletter, American Commonwealth which can be found on Substack. I hope you all will give this a listen, his book a read and subscribe to his newsletter.

Matt Crawford speaks with author Dana Sachs about her book, All Else Failed: The Unlikely Volunteers at the Heart of the Migrant Aid Crisis. In 2015, increasing numbers of refugees and migrants, most of them fleeing war-torn homelands, arrived by boat on the shores of Greece, the greatest human displacement in Europe since WWII. Surviving the sea crossing was harrowing in itself but how would they be accepted and where would they live? Sachs's compelling eyewitness account tells us of how refugees and volunteers stepped up to create an amazing network that rose up to meet the needs of these people within an immense global humanitarian disaster. Told through the eyes of seven individual men, women and their families this is a story that will move you. 

Matt Crawford speaks with Software Engineer, technologist and author David Auerbach about his book, Meganets: How Digital Forces Beyond Our Control Commandeer Our Daily Lives and Inner Realities. As we increasingly rely on and integrate our society, culture, politics and finances within a hyper-networked fabric, Auerbach explains how billions of people interacting creating massive amounts of data have produced a system that operates beyond the control of individuals, companies and the governments that created them, in turn skewing our very realities. David and I discuss how this occurred and what we can do to stem the tide and have a positive influence on these systems.

Matt Crawford speaks with author Lauren Kay Johnson about her book, The Fine Art of Camouflage. Born and raised in a family with a military legacy it wasn't a given that Johnson would serve in the armed services. September 11th helped to make that decision and Johnson decided to serve in the Air Force. As an information operations officer and the filter between the U.S military, the Afghanistan government and worldwide perception Johnson had to walk the line of truth and messaging. Moral injury is a term that many may not be familiar with but one that needs discussion. This book does just that and shows us how having our ideals challenged for love of country can impact us. 

Matt Crawford speaks with author Adele Bertei about her book, Twist: An American Girl. Adele Bertei takes us back to her childhood and the movement that was the 60's and 70's. Spoken through her shield of an avatar Maddie Twist, Bertei takes us back to her childhood growing up poor with an ill mother and an abusive father. Separated from her brothers and put into the foster care system, music and imagination were the ways in which she coped and overcame. She also reveals what it was like to be a queer teen and have to hide her true emotions. This is a memoir of hope and perseverance that will lift anyone's spirit and inspire. 

Matt Crawford speaks with author Rebecca Heisman about her book, Flight Paths. For the past century, scientists and naturalists have been trying to unravel the secrets of bird migration. How and why birds navigate the skies, traveling vast distances and heights. Heisman takes us through that study and evolution over time and whets our appetites for more. A layperson's view of this study and a read that will interest you on so many levels.

Matt Crawford speaks with author Lucy Jane Bledsoe about her novel, Tell The Rest. Delia Barnes and Ernest Wrangham met as teens at a Christian conversion camp for gay youth. After witnessing a tragedy, they escape together but split apart. Decades have passed and thousands of miles have separated them, but both are still intwined and haunted by that night. Delia has moved back home to coach the women's college basketball team and Ernest is a poet. Both are struggling to shake off that fateful time where they were meant to question their very souls. A powerful story of fiction that will unfortunately ring true for so many. I think anyone who has experienced trauma can relate to this book and be touched.

Matt Crawford speaks with author Balarama Holness about his book, Eyes On The Horizon: My Journey Toward Justice. Balarama takes us along as he traces his life journey. The son of a Jamaican father and a Quebecois mother Balarama recounts his time in an Ashram in West Virginia to then returning to Montreal and experiencing racism for the first time. Getting involved in the wrong crowd and then being saved by the CFL Balarama decided that education was going to be his sword and shield to combat systemic racism. Turning then to activism and politics to fight back injustice is just some of what you will find in this incredible story.

Matt Crawford speaks with author Tara Ison about her book, At the Hour Between Dog and Wolf. A 12-year-old Parisian Jewish girl is forced into "hiding" as a Catholic orphan in WWII France. When Danielle's father is killed during the German occupation her mother sends her away where she must take the name of Marie-Jeanne. At first bitter Danielle slowly begins to doubt her own identity as the years tick by. What follows is an emotional an oft overlooked aspect of the holocaust, the loss or suppression of one's identity due to shame and self-preservation. I hope all will give this powerful story a read,