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We spend the hour talking with master of crime fiction Tana French, first about her new novel The Wych Elm (given a rave review by Stephen King in the New York Times.)
Then we re-air our 2016 interview with her about her last to date in the Dublin Murder Squad series, The Trespasser. Continue reading
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Tatjana Soli talks about her new novel, The Removes. It takes place during the so-called “Indian Wars” in the American West. Then, we air our interview from 2005 with Charles Mann about his acclaimed study of the Americas before Columbus, 1491. Continue reading
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We talk with Aida Edemariam about her memoir, The Wife’s Tale: A Personal History. It’s about her Ethiopian grandmother who, over nearly a century of living, experienced the transformation of Ethiopian society and her place in it.
Then we celebrate apple season with Russell Powell, talking about his book, Apples of New England: A User’s Guide. Continue reading
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We talk with James E. Loewen about his bestseller Lies My Teacher Told Me and why teaching history the right way is so important to our democracy.
Then, the celebrated author of The Giver is writing a play about school shootings. We speak with Lois Lowry about her work-in-progress, currently titled Fun and Games. Continue reading
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We talk with Arundhati Roy about her bestselling new novel, The Ministry of Utmost Happiness, set in today’s India. Then, Imogen Hermes Gowar tells us about her acclaimed debut novel set in 18th century London, The Mermaid and Mrs. Hancock. Continue reading
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We talk with Dr. Irwin Redlener about his book The Future of Us: What the Dreams of Children Mean for Twenty-First-Century America. Then we talk with Barbara Oakley about her book, Learning How To Learn, A Guide for Kids and Teens. Continue reading
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We talk with Cory Taylor about his book, How Hitler Was Made: Germany and the Rise of the Perfect Nazi. Then, Koch Brothers sponsored efforts are getting harsh new anti-protest laws passed in states across the country. We talk with Nicholas Kusnetz of Inside Climate News about this new threat to free speech. Continue reading
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Carl Hoffman talks about his book The Last Wild Men of Borneo: A True Story of Death and Treasure. Then we talk with Jane Goodall’s biographer Dale Peterson about his new book, The Ghosts of Gombe: A True Story of Love and Death in an African Wilderness. Continue reading
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We talk with Dr. Aaron Carroll about his book The Bad Food Bible: How and Why to Eat Sinfully. Then, Kristin Lawless tells us about why processed food is so bad for us. Her book is Formerly Known As Food: How the Industrial Food System Is Changing Our Minds, Bodies, and Culture. Continue reading
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We talk with Steven Stoll about his brilliant history of Appalachia: Ramp Hollow: The Ordeal of Appalachia. Then, coastal property values are threatened by sea level rise. We talk with Rachel Cleetus of the Union of Concerned Scientists about the report she co-authored, Underwater, Rising Seas, Chronic Floods, and the Implications for US Coastal Real Estate. Continue reading
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Cathryn Hankla talks about her memoir LOST PLACES: On Losing And Finding Home. Then Francesca reads a passage about “finding home” from her memoir about Provence.
FINDING HOME
There is no Provence. Whoever loves it, loves the world, or loves nothing. –Jean Giono, Rondeur des Jours.
I woke at dawn. I had slept fitfully, thinking of my impending departure. I pulled on my shoes, took up my walking staff one last time, and headed out the door as the cat Poutin scurried past my feet into the house, looking for breakfast after a long night out.
The sky was a limpid blue with ropy trails of pink and gray-tinged clouds. The ground was dry, even at that hour, and the stony earth commented on my passing, while the wind sighed regretfully in the trees that bordered the village.
As I descended the plateau, I heard a duet of cuckoos calling to each other across the valley in contrapuntal harmony, bidding me mark the time. The church bells of the neighboring commune struck the half hour — 6:30. Sheep bells chimed from across the valley, as if in answer. Continue reading
Francesca Rheannon: There may be no better time than now to reread Rachel Carson’s Silent Spring. Originally published in 1962, it sparked the modern environmental movement that led to the clean water and the Clean Air Acts, now endangered like The Endangered Species Act under the Trump Administration and the GOP dominated Congress.
Luckily, there’s a new edition of Silent Spring out from Library from America, the first in a series of publications of Carson’s work. The deluxe Illustrated volume is bundled with an unprecedented collection of letters, speeches and other writings that reveal the extraordinary courage and vision of its author. Continue reading
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We talk today with ecologist and writer Sandra Steingraber about the new edition of Rachel Carson’s Silent Spring out from Library of America, Rachel Carson: Silent Spring & Other Writings on the Environment. Steingraber edited the volume and wrote the introduction.
We also play a clip from our February 2018 interview with Carey Gillam about her book: Whitewash: The Story of a Weedkiller, Cancer and the Corruption of Science.
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We talk with T.J. English about his latest book, The Corporation. It’s an epic story of the Cuban American Underworld and what that story tells us about the American political economy. We also air a clip from our 2008 interview with T.J. English about his book about the Mafia and the Cuban Revolution, Havana Nocturne.