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Writer and naturalist Leslie Sharpe talks about her new book, The Quarry Fox and Other Tales of the Wild Catskills. Then we air part of my 2007 interview with David Gessner about his book, Soaring with Fidel: An Osprey Odyssey from Cape Cod to Cuba and Beyond. Continue reading
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As this show was being produced, the news came that the Supreme Court has upheld part of Donald Trump’s Muslim Ban — the part blocking new refugees coming from six majority-Muslim nations. The justices reversed rulings by a federal judge in Hawaii and the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco. The ban will affect some 24,000 refugees seeking asylum, among them those fleeing war-torn Syria.
We focus today on the human cost of war. Journalist Deborah Campbell tells us about her book, A Disappearance in Damascus: Friendship and Survival in the Shadow of War. Then, we re-air our interview earlier this year with Melissa Fleming about her book, A Hope More Powerful Than the Sea: One Refugee’s Incredible Story of Love, Loss, and Survival.
The books tell the stories of two refugees, one who fled Iraq into Syria and then had to flee Syria to the United States — long before Trump’s Muslim ban. The other story is about a Syrian refugee who barely survived the treacherous crossing from Turkey to Europe to resettled in the far more welcoming country of Sweden. Both stories are about the real cost of war — a cost few Americans ever get to see. Continue reading
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We talk with Marc Fasanella about his father, painter and labor organizer Ralph Fasanella and the new book he wrote about him, Ralph Fasanella: Images of Optimism (with an introduction by Leslie Umberger). Then, we turn to Marc Fasanella’s own project, the Ecological Culture Initiative. Continue reading
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WV talks with with political analyst, author and radio host Wilmer Leon about his collection of essays spanning part of the Bush era and both terms of the Obama administration, Politics Another Perspective: Commentary and Analysis on Race, War, Ethics and the American Political Landscape in the Age of Obama.
Also, we air an edited version of our interview with investigative journalist Greg Palast about his book and movie, The Best Democracy Money Can Buy. He says the GOP and its billionaire funders have been stealing the votes of millions of Americans. Continue reading
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August 26 is Women’s Equality Day. It marks the anniversary of the 1920 adoption of the Nineteenth Amendment to the US Constitution granting women the right to vote. In this episode, WV features two women who were important to the fight for women’s suffrage but whose names are less known than those of Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Susan B. Anthony.
We talk with John Tepper Marlin about his great aunt, suffragette Inez Milholland.  He’s the author of a play about the women’s suffrage movement, Take Up The Song. Then we re-play our 2007 interview with writer Marge Piercy about her novel, Sex Wars.  It’s about another great figure of the first women’s equality movement, Victoria Woodhull — the first woman to run for president. Continue reading
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When disaster strikes, will we descend into dystopia — or cooperate? We talk with Cory Doctorow about his new work of speculative fiction, Walkaway (Macmillan). It’s an “optimistic disaster novel” about what motivates humans to do good in the face of civilizational crisis.
Then, De’Andre Harris was assaulted August 12 by white supremacists in Charlottesville, Virginia. We talk with videographer and photojournalist Zach Roberts about his witnessing of the assault. His image of the beating (above) went viral. Continue reading
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With his threats to ramp up the war on drugs, is Attorney General Jeff Sessions channeling the spirit of the man who started us down this perilous path?
We speak with Alexandra Chasin about her biography/cultural-political critique of America’s first drug czar, Harry J. Anslinger, Assassin of Youth: A Kaleidoscopic History of Harry J. Anslinger’s War On Drugs. Then we re-air our 2010 interview with cannabis legalization advocate Mason Tvert about his book, Marijuana Is Safer. Continue reading
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Anthony Horowitz talks about his latest novel, Magpie Murders and about writing great mystery fiction. Then, the Battle to Save Net Neutrality is gearing up. We reach back into our archives for some very prescient conversations about the threats to the open internet and what to do about them. We talk with Rebecca McKinnon, author of Consent of the Networked and with Josh Silver, formerly of Free Press. Then we give our picks for summer reading. Continue reading
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We talk with historian Timothy Snyder about his book On Tyranny: Twenty Lessons from the Twentieth Century. The book is a kind of vaccine to inoculate us against acquiescing to authoritarianism.
Then, we talk with legal scholar Ryan Alford about his chilling study of how national security claims on the part of the executive branch have undermined the rule of law. His book is Permanent State of Emergency: The Demise of The Rule Of Law In The United States. Continue reading
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On the 103rd anniversary of the outbreak of World War I, we talk with two authors who have written books about the war. Margaret Wagner talks about her illustrated history, America and The Great War (Bloomsbury 2017). Then Richard Rubin tells us about his journey to visit the former battlefields of WWI, recounted in his book, Back Over There. Continue reading
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Writer’s Voice spends the hour with James Forman, Jr., talking about his groundbreaking book, Locking Up Our Own: Crime and Punishment in Black America (Farrar, Straus, and Giroux, April 2017).Â
It’s a groundbreaking look at how black civil rights leaders and other leaders in the black community contributed to the phenomenon of mass incarceration out of the best of intentions: a fierce desire to protect their communities and the young people in them. Continue reading
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Thrity Umrigar talks about her new novel, Everybody’s Son. It’s about the adoption of a poor black child by a powerful rich white family.
Then, we talk with climate journalist Marianne Lavelle about Trump’s Paris pullout and the Exxon shareholder revolt. Finally, we celebrate World Ocean Week with Carl Safina. Continue reading
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Susan Quinn talks about her acclaimed book, Eleanor and Hick. It’s about the romance between Eleanor Roosevelt and journalist Leonora Hick.
Then, on May 31 as this show was being produced, it was announced that Donald Trump is likely to pull out of the Paris Climate Agreement. We re-air our interview with Naomi Oreskes about the novel she co-wrote with Erik Conway, The Collapse of Western Civilization: A View from the Future. It’s a speculative look at what inaction on the climate has done to our world, looking back from the year 2393.
And be sure to check out our Web Only interview with Inside Climate News Reporter Marianne Lavelle about the implications of pulling out of the Paris Climate Accord and another blockbuster announcement May 31: the vote by Exxon shareholders to compel the company to report the impact of climate change on its bottom line. Continue reading
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Marianne Lavelle discusses two blockbuster climate change breaking news stories: Trump’s Paris pullout and Exxon’s rebellious shareholders. Continue reading
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Andrew Forsthoefel tells us about his book, Walking To Listen (Bloomsbury Press.) It’s the amazing story of what happened when he decided to walk across America to listen and learn life wisdom from whomever he encountered.
Then, we re-broadcast an edited version of our 2014 interview with Rob Okun about his book Voice Male: The Untold Story of the Pro-feminist Men’s Movement (Interlink Books.) Continue reading