AI, Autocracy, and Afterlife: Sci Fi Novelists Ray Nayler & Tim Weed

Writer’s Voice: compelling conversations with authors who challenge, inspire, and inform.

Episode Summary

This week on Writer’s Voice, two authors of speculative fiction explore what it means to be human in a world shaped by crisis, autocracy, and extinction.

First, Ray Nayler discusses Where the Axe is Buried, a gripping novel that imagines a future governed by AI prime ministers and mass surveillance. It’s a chilling look at authoritarianism, technocratic “solutions,” and the erosion of personal freedom. Yet it holds out hope for the eternal human drive for freedom.

“Dissatisfaction with things as they are is the engine that will always eventually undermine autocracy.” — Ray Nayler

Then, Tim Weed talks about The Afterlife Project, a haunting story set in the aftermath of a climate-engineered catastrophe. A lone scientist awakens 10,000 years in the future to discover whether humanity—and the planet—has survived.

“Maybe we will come to take what I consider to be our destiny as a species… to become the stewards of life on Earth.” — Tim Weed

Both novels ask big questions: Can systems change? What will artificial intelligence do to our democracies? And what kind of afterlife awaits a species on the brink?

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Key Words: Tim Weed, The Afterlife Project, speculative fiction, climate collapse, human extinction, ecological fiction, Ray Nayler, Where the Axe Is Buried, AI autocracy, surveillance state, artificial intelligence, authoritarianism,

You Might Also Like: Ray Nayler, THE MOUNTAIN AND THE SEA, Cary Groner, THE WAY

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Laura Spinney & Tonya Todd on Language, Myth & Resistance

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Writer’s Voice: compelling conversations with authors who challenge, inspire, and inform.

Episode Summary

In this episode of Writer’s Voice, we explore how language shapes history—and how stories shape culture.

We first speak with Laura Spinney, author of Proto: How One Ancient Language Went Global. She takes us into the world of Proto-Indo-European, a language spoken thousands of years ago and never written down, yet one whose descendants—including English, Sanskrit, and Latin—are spoken by nearly half the world’s population today.

“There is no such thing as a pure language.” — Laura Spinney

Then, Tonya Todd joins us to discuss Comics Lit, Volume 1, a groundbreaking anthology of essays that treat comic books as serious literature. We talk about mythology, feminism, censorship, and how comic narratives challenge societal norms while giving voice to underrepresented communities.

“Comics themselves can be a form of high art.” — Tonya Todd

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Key Words: Laura Spinney, Proto-Indo-European, Proto book, Yamnaya, ancient DNA, language origins, Maria Gimbutas, Tonya Todd, Comics Lit, Catwoman, Irene Adler, comics and mythology, feminist comics, Black Panther, Ta-Nehisi Coates, comic book literature,

You Might Also Like: Marilyn Johnson, LIVES IN RUINS

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The New Face of Homelessness: Brian Goldstone on THERE IS NO PLACE FOR US

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Writer’s Voice: compelling conversations with authors who challenge, inspire, and inform.

Episode Summary

This week: journalist Brian Goldstone joins us to talk about his powerful new book, There Is No Place For Us: Working and Homeless in America. It’s an eye-opening, deeply reported portrait of families who work full-time yet are unhoused, navigating a system that often punishes them for being poor.

It’s a conversation that will challenge how you see housing, inequality, and what it means to live on the edge in one of the richest countries in the world.

“We have allowed housing in America to basically become a luxury, to become a commodity that can just be hoarded by the few at the expense of the many.” — Brian Goldstone

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Key Words: Brian Goldstone, There Is No Place For Us, working homeless, housing crisis, homelessness in America, racial housing inequality, housing policy reform, affordable housing crisis, tenant rights,

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You Might Also Like: Bernadette Atuahene, PLUNDERED

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Jennifer Haigh on RABBIT MOON and L. Annette Binder on CHILD OF EARTH AND STARRY HEAVEN

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Writer’s Voice: compelling conversations with authors who challenge, inspire, and inform.

Episode Summary

Novelist Jennifer Haigh joins us to talk about Rabbit Moon, her atmospheric and emotionally complex novel set in Shanghai. It follows an estranged American family reuniting after a tragedy—and a daughter living a secret life abroad.

“Writing is having a conversation with the best friend you’ve never met.” — Jennifer Haigh

Then, L. Annette Binder returns to discuss Child of Earth and Starry Heaven, her deeply moving memoir of caring for her mother through Alzheimer’s. It’s a story of love, loss, and learning to live fully in the present.

“The two things I carry with me is the love that my mom was capable of feeling and that I felt for her survived her cognitive decline.” — L. Annette Binder

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Key Words: Rabbit Moon, Jennifer Haigh, literary fiction China, Child of Earth and Starry Heaven, L. Annette Binder, Alzheimer’s memoir, dementia caregiving, elder care,

You Might Also Like: Jennifer Haigh, MERCY STREET, Jennifer Haigh, NEWS FROM HEAVEN, Jennifer Haigh, FAITH, Jennifer Haigh, THE CONDITION, Jennifer Haigh, HEAT AND LIGHT, L. Annette Binder, THE VANISHING SKY

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Kingdoms Lost & Myths Undone: Dolen Perkins-Valdez on HAPPY LAND and Nancy Reddy on THE GOOD MOTHER MYTH

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Writer’s Voice: compelling conversations with authors who challenge, inspire, and inform.

Episode Summary

In this episode of Writer’s Voice, we speak with two authors who excavate buried truths and challenge dominant cultural narratives.

Dolen Perkins-Valdez discusses her historical novel Happy Land, inspired by a real African American community founded after the Civil War in North and South Carolina—an intentional kingdom that embodied Black sovereignty, only to be undermined by systemic land theft.

“Even though we have them in the history books as a monarchy, there must have also been a kind of shared power, a kind of egalitarianism that they participated in.” — Dolen Perkins-Valdez

Then, Nancy Reddy talks about The Good Mother Myth, her nonfiction book/memoir dismantling the unrealistic expectations placed on mothers, tracing them to flawed psychological theories and cultural constructions that ignore caregiving as a collective act.

“The good mother isn’t really a person—she is a subject of capitalism.” — Nancy Reddy

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Key Words: Nancy Reddy, The Good Mother Myth, motherhood, parenting, attachment theory, communal parenting, book about motherhood, Dolen Perkins-Valdez, Happy Land, African American history, Black land loss,

You Might Also Like: Dolen Perkins-Valdez, TAKE MY HAND, Aaron Robertson, THE BLACK UTOPIANS

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Muse, Myth & Murder: Michèle Gerber Klein on Gala Dalí and Anthony Horowitz on THE MARBLE HALL MURDERS

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Writer’s Voice: compelling conversations with authors who challenge, inspire, and inform.

Episode Summary

Michèle Gerber Klein discusses Surreal, her revelatory biography of Gala Dalí, the forceful and fascinating woman behind surrealist master Salvador Dalí. Gala emerges not just as a muse, but as a powerful shaper of modern art and identity.

“She wasn’t just a muse, she was an artist in her own right… she created a persona and curated a life.” — Michèle Gerber Klein

Then, Anthony Horowitz returns to the show with The Marble Hall Murders, the latest installment in his popular Atticus Pünd series. Blending classic mystery style with postmodern flair, Horowitz discusses the literary sleuthing of character Susan Ryland and the Agatha Christie-inspired brilliance of fictional detective Atticus Pünd.

All the tropes of the murder mystery are in there, but because of the nature of these books, which are both modern and old fashioned, I always have a certain self-questioning aspect going on. — Anthony Horowitz

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Key Words: Gala Dalí, Michèle Gerber Klein, Surreal biography, Salvador Dalí, women in surrealism, surrealist movement, Anthony Horowitz, The Marble Hall Murders, Atticus Pünd mystery series, Susan Ryland, metafictional crime novel, British mystery fiction,

You Might Also Like: Anthony Horowitz, MAGPIE MURDERS, Anthony Horowitz, MOONFLOWER MURDERS

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Borders and Backlashes: Boris Fishman, THE UNWANTED & Sophie Gilbert, GIRL ON GIRL

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Writer’s Voice: compelling conversations with authors who challenge, inspire, and inform.

Episode Summary

Novelist Boris Fishman talks about The Unwanted, a novel of migration, betrayal, and survival set in an unnamed, war-torn country. Fishman explores how lies—meant to protect—can fracture a family even in the face of collective trauma. It’s a moving portrait of a child’s resilience, a father’s compromise, and a mother’s reckoning, all raising one urgent question: What would you do to survive?

“There’s an implicit question in the novel: what would you do, you, person living in comfort and privilege?” – Boris Fishman

Then, journalist Sophie Gilbert joins us to discuss Girl on Girl, a searing critique of how pop culture has shaped—and often undermined—feminist progress. Gilbert analyzes the commodification of “girl power,” the rise of reality TV, and the mainstreaming of misogyny through media and porn. Through sharp insight and personal reflection, she maps the cultural backlash against women and explores how we might reclaim agency and rewrite our story.

“Porn kept showing up in my research. It was always there, shaping the messaging.” — Sophie Gilbert

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Key Words: Boris Fishman The Unwanted, Sophie Gilbert Girl on Girl, Feminism and pop culture, misogyny in pop culture, emigration narratives, porn and backlash to feminism

You Might Also Like: Boris Fishman, A REPLACEMENT LIFE

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Stories for Survival: Eiren Caffall, ALL THE WATER IN THE WORD and Ishion Hutchinson, FUGITIVE TILTS

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Writer’s Voice: compelling conversations with authors who challenge, inspire, and inform.

Episode Summary

Today’s episode brings together two extraordinary voices in literature—each grappling with the legacies of crisis, survival, and identity.

First, we speak with Eiren Caffall about her novel, All the Water in the World, a haunting, hope-filled work of climate fiction set in a post-collapse New York.

“I wanted to write something where I could imagine a future where all of the worst case scenarios had come to pass… and think through on the page whether I believed there was hope.” -Eiren Cafall

Then we turn to poet and essayist Ishion Hutchinson, whose latest collection Fugitive Tilts is a lyrical exploration of history, home, and poetic purpose.

“Poetry is confrontation and celebration. It’s how we stay rooted in a world that wants to erase us.”- Ishion Hutchinson

From cli-fi to cultural memory, this episode is about what we preserve, what we resist, and how art keeps us rooted through it all.

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Key Words: Eiren Caffall All the Water in the World, Ishion Hutchinson Fugitive Tilts, Climate fiction, cli-fi, Caribbean, colonial history, poetry,
Rastafarianism, Jamaican music, Post-apocalyptic fiction with hope

You Might Also Like: Eiren Caffall, THE MOURNER’S BESTIARY

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Seeds, Symphonies, and Survival: Leningrad’s Resistance in Science and Music

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Writer’s Voice: compelling conversations with authors who challenge, inspire, and inform.

Episode Summary

Two riveting accounts from the Siege of Leningrad during WWII: In the first half, Simon Parkin discusses The Forbidden Garden, the incredible true story of Soviet botanists who protected the world’s first seed bank during the Nazi blockade—sacrificing their own lives to preserve biodiversity.

“They have this decision—do we eat the seeds, do we distribute them to the starving people, or do we deny our hunger and preserve the collection?” — Simon Parkin

Then, we revisit my 2015 conversation with M.T. Anderson about his award-winning biography Symphony for the City of the Dead, a dramatic account of Dmitri Shostakovich and how his Seventh Symphony became a beacon of resistance and hope for the starving city.

The Seventh Symphony gave Leningraders the story of a victory that might be possible.” — M.T. Anderson

Together, these stories explore moral courage under the most agonizing duress, where dedication to science and to art rallied the deepest reserves of human resilience.

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Key Words: Siege of Leningrad, Dmitri Shostakovich Seventh Symphony, Simon Parkin The Forbidden Garden, M.T. Anderson Symphony for the City of the Dead, Leningrad seed bank WWII, Leningrad Symphony broadcast,

You Might Also Like: Sasha Vasilyuk, YOUR PRESENCE IS MANDATORY

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Sanjana Sekhar, METAMORPHOSIS & Sy Montgomery, WHAT THE CHICKEN KNOWS

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Writer’s Voice: compelling conversations with authors who challenge, inspire, and inform.

Episode Summary

Earth Day is coming up this month, so we get a jump on environmental awareness. From visionary climate futures to the minds of our feathered friends, this episode reminds us that joy, attention, and imagination may be our greatest tools for survival.

First, we speak with Sanjana Sekhar, editor of Metamorphosis: Climate Fiction for a Better Future, a bold new anthology of climate fiction that reimagines our planet’s future with optimism and justice at its core.

“Ancestral intelligence is the first AI—it’s the wisdom that has always known how to live on this planet.” — Sanjana Sekhar

Then we sit down with beloved naturalist and author Sy Montgomery to explore the surprising world of chickens—yes, chickens—in her delightfully enlightening new book, What the Chicken Knows: A New Appreciation of the World’s Most Familiar Bird.

“Almost everything we know about chickens is wrong.” — Sy Montgomery

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Key Words: Sanjana Sekhar, Metamorphosis anthology, Imagine 2200, climate fiction, cli-fi, climate hope, Sy Montgomery, What the Chicken Knows, animal intelligence, ethical eating, chicken cognition, Earth Day

You Might Also Like: Sy Montgomery & Matthew Patterson: OF TIME AND TURTLES, James Bridle, WAYS OF BEING & Sy Montgomery, THE HAWK’S WAY

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Podcast

Poetry of Place and Freedom with Forrest Gander and DaMaris Hill

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Episode Summary

This is the first week of April and April is Poetry Month. So we are so pleased to feature two conversations with poets who use their genre as a vehicle for historical witness and spiritual transformation.

First, we talk with poet, geologist and translator Forrest Gander about his novel in poetry Mojave Ghost. It’s a lyrical journey through the arid landscapes of the Mojave Desert that interweaves ecological awareness with personal loss.

First, we talk with poet, geologist and translator Forrest Gander about his novel in poetry Mojave Ghost. It’s a lyrical journey through the arid landscapes of the Mojave Desert that interweaves ecological awareness with personal loss. — Forrest Gander

Then, we revisit my 2019 conversation with poet DaMaris Hill, about her book of poems: A Bound Woman Is A Dangerous Thing. It’s a searing poetic exploration of Black women’s incarceration and resistance throughout American history.

“Black women’s resistance has always been an act of storytelling—of making sure we are seen, heard, and remembered.” — DaMaris Hill

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Key Words: Forrest Gander, Mojave Desert, poetry and nature, ecological poetry, Pulitzer Prize poet, environmental literature, contemporary poetry, DaMaris Hill, A Bound Woman Is a Dangerous Thing, Black women in poetry, historical poetry, poetry and activism, feminist poetry, poetry and social justice, contemporary Black poets, Poetry Month,

You Might Also Like: Nikki Giovanni on HipHop Poetry, Scott Chaskey: Soil & Spirit

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Speculative Futures: Cary Groner & Silvia Park on Survival, AI, and the Meaning of Being Human

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Episode Summary

We explore two speculative fiction novels that challenge our understanding of consciousness, communication and the human condition.

First, we speak with Cary Groner about The Way, a post-pandemic road novel that blends adventure, Buddhist philosophy, and a hopeful vision of the future after our current civilization has been largely swept away.

“It’s not all doom and gloom. Unlike most post-apocalyptic novels, I wanted to show a world where life adapts, and maybe even gets better.” — Cary Groner

Then, we welcome Silvia Park to discuss Luminous, a hauntingly prescient novel about AI, identity, and the blurred line between human and machine.

We build robots to love us—but does that love mean anything if we programmed it? — Silvia Park

Both stories wrestle with profound questions: What does it mean to live ethically in a fractured world? And can technology truly replace—or surpass—our humanity?

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Key Words: Speculative fiction, post-apocalyptic, robots, human-animal communication, consciousness, AI, Buddhist ethics, Cary Groner, Silvia Park, sci fi, The Way novel,

You Might Also Like: Sci-fi Imagines Climate Change: Paolo Bacigalupi’s THE WATER KNIFE & SHIPBREAKER

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Breaking Barriers on Denali: Cassidy Randall on THIRTY BELOW & Omar El Akkad on Empire, Liberalism & Bearing Witness

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Episode Summary

For Women’s History Month, we speak with Cassidy Randall about her book Thirty Below, which tells the gripping true story of the first all-women’s ascent of Denali in 1970. Facing extreme sexism, brutal conditions, and life-threatening storms, this pioneering team of climbers defied expectations and set a precedent for future generations of women in mountaineering. Randall shares the harrowing details of their climb, the deep social dynamics at play, and why this historic feat was largely forgotten—until now.

“If a woman failed on a climb, it was seen as proof that all women were incapable. But when they succeeded, their achievements were ignored.” — Cassidy Randall

Then, award-winning journalist and author Omar El Akkad joins us to discuss his latest book, One Day Everyone Will Have Always Been Against This, an urgent and unflinching critique of empire, media, and the failures of mainstream liberalism.

“They told us the loss of free speech would only apply to ‘them’—to terrorists, to the people who don’t matter. But it never stops there.” — Omar El Akkad

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Key Words: Gaza war and U.S. complicity, Gaza genocide, U.S. foreign policy and empire, Student protests for Palestine, journalism and state censorship, One Day Everyone Will Have Always Been Against This, Thirty Below, women climbers, Denali, mountaineering, CassidyRandall, womens history, adventure stories, extreme climbing

You Might Also Like: Omar El Akkad: What Strange Paradise

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Women’s History Month: The Fight for Abortion Rights After Dobbs

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In this episode, we talk with journalist Amanda Becker about the impact of the Dobbs decision, the legal chaos that followed, and how the fight for abortion rights continues.

Becker shares insights from her book You Must Stand Up, detailing the rollback of reproductive rights, the history of anti-abortion legislation, and the movement’s ongoing efforts to restore access through ballot measures, legal strategies, and political action.

“Fetal personhood is the endgame of the anti-abortion movement. If a fetus has the same rights as you or I, the person carrying it will inevitably have fewer.” — Amanda Becker

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Key Words: abortion rights, reproductive rights, Dobbs Decision, Roe V. Wade, Amanda Becker, reproductive justice, fetal personhood, abortion access,

You Might Also Like: Alice Rothchild, Policing Women’s Bodies, A Woman’s Life Is A Human Life,

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Alice Rothchild & Grace Tiffany on Women’s History, Power, and Resistance

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Episode Summary

We speak with two remarkable writers about two fascinating stories—one rooted in personal history, the other in literary imagination—both shedding light on the fight for justice and self-determination.

First, Alice Rothchild tells us about Inspired and Outraged: The Making of a Feminist Physician. It’s a powerful memoir in free verse exploring her journey as a feminist, activist, and doctor.

“I had potholders on the stirrups, I had a mirror, I had a flashlight, and every woman was invited to take a look down there. It changes the power dynamic.” – Alice Rothchild

Then, we turn to historical fiction with Grace Tiffany, whose novel The Owl Was a Baker’s Daughter is a feminist re-imagining of the life of Shakespeare’s daughter during the tumultuous English Civil War.

“Women healers were often accused of witchcraft. If something went wrong, you became a target.” – Grace Tiffany

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Key Words: Alice Rothchild Inspired and Outraged, Grace Tiffany The Owl Was a Baker’s Daughter, Feminism and women’s rights, Shakespeare’s daughter Judith, reproductive rights, women healers and witchcraft accusations, Historical fiction and feminist literature

You Might Also Like: Laura Kaplan, JANE, Kerri Maher, ALL YOU HAVE TO DO IS CALL

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