All posts by Francesca Rheannon

About Francesca Rheannon

Francesca Rheannon is an award-winning independent radio producer. In addition to hosting Writer's Voice, she's a freelance reporter for National Public Radio and its affiliates. Recipient of the prestigious Nancy Dickerson Whitehead Award for reporting on substance abuse issues for her news series, VOICES OF HIV, produced for 88.5 WFCR public radio in western Massachusetts. She is also finishing a book on Provence (PROVINCE OF THE HEART) and working on a memoir of her father, THE ARGONAUTS. View all posts by Francesca Rheannon →

Podcast

Brad Wolf, A MINISTRY OF RISK, Noel Hernandez, SIMPATÍA, William Bronston on Willowbrook State School

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In this episode of Writer’s Voice, we dive into the worlds of peace activism and literary translation through conversations with Brad Wolf and Noel Hernández-Gonzalez. Also, William Bronston, the doctor who brought instiionalization of the developmentally disabled to an end, reads from his book, Public Hostage, Public Ransom.

Brad Wolf discusses his work on Ministry of Risk, a collection of Philip Berrigan’s writings exploring themes of nonviolent resistance and liberation. Noel Hernández-Gonzalez shares insights into translating Simpatía, a novel by Rodrigo Blanco Calderón, depicting the devolution of Chavismo into chaos and poverty, through an effort to save Venezuela’s abandoned dogs.

Writers Voice— in depth conversation with writers of all genres, on the air since 2004.

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Key words: nonviolent activism, peace activism, Philip Berrigan, Brad Wolf, Noel Hernández-Gonzalez, William Bronston, Willowbrook State School, Venezuela, Chavismo, podcast, nonfiction, podcast, book recommendations, author interview, book podcast, book show, history, writer’s voice

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Podcast

Audrea Lim, FREE THE LAND & Carleen Madigan, THE BACKYARD HOMESTEAD

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In this episode, we sit down with Audrea Lim, author of Free the Land: How We Can Fight Poverty and Climate Chaos.

Audrea traces the connections between land commodification and many of America’s most pressing issues: ecological collapse, climate change, systemic racism, gentrification and economic inequality. Through powerful examples and thoughtful analysis, she shows how land ownership and control are key to understanding and addressing these problems.

Then we re-broadcast our 2009 interview with Carleen Madigan about The Backyard Homestead: Produce All the Food You Need On Just a Quarter Acre! The book was so successful, it went on to spark a whole series of Backyard Homestead books.

Writers Voice— in depth conversation with writers of all genres, on the air since 2004.

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Key words: land ownership, Audrea Lim, backyard homesteading, Carleen Madigan, podcast, nonfiction, podcast, book recommendations, author interview, book podcast, book show, history, writer’s voice, Francesca Rheannon

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Podcast

July 4 Special: Danielle Allen, OUR DECLARATION

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In this conversation with Writer’s Voice host Francesca Rheannon, political theorist Danielle Allen talks about two core ideas at the heart of our nation’s Declaration of Independence: freedom and liberty. How are they aligned? How are they different? And can they contradict each other?

Listen to a clip on YouTube

We re-air our 2014 interview with Danielle Allen about her book, Our Declaration: A Reading of the Declaration of Independence in Defense of Equality

Key Words: Danielle Allen, July 4, Declaration of Independence, writer’s voice, podcast, book recommendations, author interview, book podcast, book show

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Podcast

Two Memoirs: Francine Prose, 1974 & Gail Godwin, GETTING TO KNOW DEATH

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In this episode of Writer’s Voice, Francesca Rheannon welcomes back acclaimed novelist, essayist, and now memoirist, Francine Prose. They dive into Prose’s latest work, 1974, a memoir that revisits her time in San Francisco during a pivotal year in American history.

Then, In a deeply introspective conversation, Gail Godwin opens up about the pivotal moment that sparked her memoir, Getting to Know Death. Following a life-altering accident where she broke her neck, Godwin found herself confronting mortality in a visceral way. This memoir, initially sparked by personal trauma, evolved into a broader reflection on life, loss, and the inevitability of death.

Writers Voice— in depth conversation with writers of all genres, on the air since 2004.

Key Words: Gail Godwin, Francine Prose, counterculture, Tony Russo, writer’s voice, podcast, book recommendations, author interview, book podcast, book show, book excerpt, memoir

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Podcast

Uncovering Hidden Histories: Claire Wills on Family Secrets and National Scandals

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Episode Description

In this episode of Writer’s Voice, host Francesca Rheannon sits down with acclaimed author Claire Wills to discuss her deeply personal and historically insightful book, Missing Persons or My Grandmother’s Secrets.

Wills shares her journey of uncovering family secrets surrounding an “illegitimate” pregnancy in 1950s Ireland and exploring the broader national scandal of mother and baby homes.

Through a blend of memoir and historical analysis, Wills illuminates the complex social forces that shaped perceptions of legitimacy and the devastating impact of secrecy on countless lives.

Then we re-play our interview from March of this year with Claire Coughlan about her mystery novel, Where They Lie. It centers around a clandestine abortion clinic in 1960’s Ireland.

And we continue our series of poetry readings from Mosab Abu Toha’s book, Things You May Find Hidden in My Ear: Poems from Gaza.

Key Words: Claire Wills, Mother and Baby Homes, unwed mothers, abortion, podcast, author interview, book show, Ireland, Claire Coughlan, abortion rights

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Podcast

How To Stop A Pipeline: Jonathan Mingle, GASLIGHT

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What did a group of ordinary citizens find out when they managed to stop a huge gas pipeline from being built?

We spend the hour with Jonathan Mingle talking about his book, Gaslight: The Atlantic Coast Pipeline And The Fight For America’s Energy Future. It’s the story of how a diverse group of citizens came together to fight a pipeline proposed by one of America’s biggest corporations — and won.

Key Words: climate crisis, climate change, Jonathan Mingle, gas pipeline, global warming, podcast, book podcast, author interview

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Podcast

Two Great Beach Novels: Victor Lodato, HONEY & Kimberly Belle, THE PARIS WIDOW

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We talk with Victor Lodato about his terrific new novel, Honey. It’s about an octogenarian who is trying to come to terms with her life — her childhood growing up in a Mafia family in New Jersey and her adulthood trying to escape it.

Then, we talk with Kimberly Belle about her new thriller, The Paris Widow. The novel takes a look at the illicit trade in blood antiquities.

Key Words: illicit art trade, blood antiquities, Victor Lodato, Kimberly Belle, thriller, podcast, book podcast, author interview

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Podcast

Kelly Fong, INVESTIGATING FAMILIES & Emi Nietfield, ACCEPTANCE

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Are child protection service (CPS) agencies doing more harm than good?

Join us for an in-depth conversation with sociologist Kelly Fong about her book, Investigating Families: Motherhood in the Shadow of Child Protective Services. We explore the inner workings of Child Protection Services (CPS), the impact on families, and the need for systemic change.

Plus, we replay a segment from our 2022 interview with Emi Nietfield, author of the memoir Acceptance, about overcoming childhood trauma and the foster care system.

And we recommend a new children’s book for Father’s Day!

Key Words: Child Protective Services, CPS, child welfare, family separation, poverty, social inequality, family policy, Emi Nietfield, Kelly Fong, podcast, book podcast, author interview

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Podcast

Abrahm Lustgarten, ON THE MOVE & Ross Barkan on Jamaal Bowman’s Challenge

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We talk with Abrahm Lustgarten about his book, On The Move: The Overheating Earth and the Uprooting of America. It’s about how climate chaos means a humanity on the move.

Then, we catch up with journalist and author Ross Barkan about his recent article in New York Magazine, “The Most Endangered Democrat in America: Jamaal Bowman might lose his job over Israel.”

Writers Voice— in depth conversation with writers of all genres, on the air since 2004.

Find us on Facebook at Writers Voice with Francesca Rheannon, on Instagram @WritersVoicePodcast or find us on X/Twitter @WritersVoice.

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Key Words: climate migration, climate refugees, climate justice, Abrahm Lustgarten, On the Move book, Ross Barkan, Jamaal Bowman, George Latimer, Gaza ceasefire, New York primary

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Podcast

Eric Klinenberg, 2020: The Year Everything Changed

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Was 2020 the year Americans finally lost faith in their government? We talk with Eric Klinenberg about his acclaimed new book, 2020: One City, Seven People, And The Year Everything Changed.

The book follows seven New Yorkers as they try to cope with the pandemic. Among them, a transit worker, a bar owner, a retired lawyer who organizes a mutual aid network and a Black Lives Matter protester. Their stories and those of the others illustrate how our leaders and institutions failed us — and how some citizens stepped into the breach.

Then, in February 2021 we spoke with journalist John Nichols about why President Biden’s bold plan for Covid relief was defeated by the Republicans, joined by a few centrist Dems. We listen back to that conversation.

Writer’s Voice — in depth conversation with writers of all genres, on the air since 2004. Rate us on your favorite podcast app! It really helps others find our show.

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Podcast

Two Biographies by Larry Tye: THE JAZZMEN & DEMAGOGUE

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Larry Tye tells us about his new book, The Jazzmen: How Duke Ellington, Louis Armstrong, and Count Basie Transformed America. It’s a fresh look at three titans of the Jazz Age. Then, we re-air our 2020 interview with Larry Tye about his biography of Senator Joe McCarthy, Demagogue.

Writers Voice— in depth conversation with writers of all genres, on the air since 2004.

Find us on Facebook at Writers Voice with Francesca Rheannon, on Instagram @WritersVoicePodcast or find us on X/Twitter @WritersVoice.

Key words: Jazz Age, Larry Tye, Count Basie, Louis Armstrong, Satchmo, Duke Ellington, author interview, book podcast, podcast

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Podcast

Adelle Waldman, HELP WANTED & Remembering Paul Auster

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A bestselling novelist took a job at a big box store, was shocked by what she found, and decided to write a novel about it.

We talk with Adelle Waldman about her new novel, Help Wanted. It’s about what happens when a group of workers at a big box store scheme to get their overbearing manager promoted out of their department. Along the way, it reveals what work life is really like for millions of low wage workers in today’s economy.

Then, we remember novelist Paul Auster, who died on April 30 at the age of 77. We air our 2008 conversation with Auster about his novel, Man In The Dark.

Writers Voice— in depth conversation with writers of all genres, on the air since 2004. Find us on Facebook at Writers Voice with Francesca Rheannon, on Instagram @WritersVoicePodcast or find us on X/Twitter @WritersVoice.

Key Words: author interview, podcast, book podcast, author interview, Writer’s Voice, Francesca Rheannon, fiction, Adelle Waldman, Paul Auster

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Podcast

Earth Day Special: Greg Wrenn, MOTHERSHIP & Elizabeth Kolbert, H IS FOR HOPE

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We talk with Greg Wrenn about his book Mothership: A Memoir of Wonder and Crisis. It’s about healing the maladaptive imprinting of childhood trauma with Nature — and psychedelics.

Then, a climate journalist tries a new tack to craft a narrative about the climate emergency. We talk with Elizabeth Kolbert about her illustrated alphabet book, H Is For Hope: Climate Change From A To Z.

Writers Voice— in depth conversation with writers of all genres, on the air since 2004.

Find us on Facebook at Writers Voice with Francesca Rheannon, on Instagram @WritersVoicePodcast or find us on X/Twitter @WritersVoice.

Key Words: author interview, memoir, podcast, book podcast, author interview, Writer’s Voice, Francesca Rheannon, climate change, climate crisis, ayahuasca, Greg Wrenn, Elizabeth Kolbert

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Podcast

War & Secrets: Howard Mansfield, I WILL TELL NO WAR STORIES & Sasha Vasilyuk, YOUR PRESENCE IS MANDATORY

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In this episode of Writer’s Voice, we feature two stories about war and secrets. First, we talk with Howard Mansfield about his book, I Will Tell No War Stories: What Our Fathers Left Unsaid About World War II. The book uncovers the truth about the terrible toll that war took on American airmen like Mansfield’s father—revealing the real story behind the much touted “glory.”

Then we talk with journalist Sasha Vasilyuk about her terrific debut novel, Your Presence Is Mandatory (publication date 4/23/24). It hews closely to her own family’s history, particularly her Jewish Ukrainian grandfather’s hidden past as a World War II prisoner of war.

Key Words: author interview, memoir, fiction, book podcast, Writer’s Voice, WWII, Soviet Union, nonfiction

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Podcast

Brad Gooch on The Radiant Life of Keith Haring & more

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We talk with Brad Gooch about his acclaimed new biography of Keith Haring, RADIANT: The Life and Line of Keith Haring. Then we listen back to a clip of Gooch talking with us in 2017 about his biography, Rumi’s Secret: The Life of the Sufi Poet of Love.

Writers Voice— in depth conversation with writers of all genres, on the air since 2004.

Find us on Facebook at Writers Voice with Francesca Rheannon, on Instagram and Threads @WritersVoicePodcast or find us on X/Twitter @WritersVoice.

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Key words: biography, Keith Haring, Rumi, Brad Gooch, podcast, author interview, history, book show

Keith Haring: Breaking Barriers

In the 1980s, the subways of New York City were covered with art. In the stations, black matte sheets were pasted over outdated ads, and unsigned chalk drawings often popped up on these blank spaces.

These temporary chalk drawings numbered in the thousands and became synonymous with a city as diverse as it was at war with itself, beset with poverty and crime but alive with art and creative energy. And every single one of those drawings was done by Keith Haring.

Haring was one of the most emblematic artists of the 1980s. Part of an iconic cultural crowd that included Andy Warhol, Madonna, and Jean-Michel Basquiat, Haring broke down the barriers between high art and popular culture, creating work that was accessible for all and using it as a means to provoke and inspire radical social change.

Haring died of AIDS in 1990. To this day, his influence on our culture remains.

RADIANT: Brad Gooch’s Definitive Biography of Haring

Brad Gooch’s biography of Keith Haring, Radiant, brings Haring’s brilliant but tragically short life to light, painting a vivid picture of the life and times of his subject. Gooch was granted access to Haring’s extensive archive to write a biography that will become the authoritative work on the artist.

About the Author

Brad Gooch is a poet, novelist, and biographer. In addition to Radiant and Rumi’s Secret: The Life of the Sufi Poet of Love (we play an excerpt from our 2017 interview with Gooch about Rumi’s Secret) he’s the author of biographies of Flannery O’Connor and Frank O’Hara; as well as several other works, including memoir, poetry and fiction.