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.

Podcast

Heinz Insu Fenkl, SKULL WATER & Stephanie Wear, EAT UGLY

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We talk with Korean American writer Heinz Insu Fenkl about his autobiographical novel Skull Water. It’s about his youth in Korea as the son of a Korean mother and German-American father, the trauma of war and the dizzying transformation of Korea from the old ways to modern life.

Then, jelly fish, bugs and garbage, oh my! We talk with marine scientist Dr. Stephanie Wear about the importance—and the joys — of “eating ugly.” She hosts the new documentary series Eating Ugly, on Discovery+.

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

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Ray Nayler, THE MOUNTAIN AND THE SEA & Victor Navasky Remembered

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We talk with Ray Nayler about his novel of speculative fiction, The Mountain In The Sea. It was named by Slate Book Review as one of the Best Books of 2022.

Then, we remember Victor Navasky, the long time editor of the Nation magazine. He died January 24 at the age of 90. We listen back to my 2006 interview with him about his memoir, A Matter of Opinion.

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

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

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Podcast

Maya K. van Rossum, THE GREEN AMENDMENT & David Margolick on MLK, Jr.

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A landmark win under Pennsylvania’s Green Amendment to its constitution led Maya van Rossum to imagine much, much more. We talk with her about her book The Green Amendment: The Peoples Fight For A Clean, Safe, And Healthy Environment.

Then, in honor of Martin Luther King’s birthday this week, we re-air our 2018 interview with David Margolick about his book The Promise and the Dream. It’s about the connection between Martin Luther King, Jr. and Bobby Kennedy in the fight for civil rights.

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

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

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Podcast

Danielle Clode, KOALA & Russell Banks, VOYAGER

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We remember Russell Banks, who passed away on January 7 at the age of 82. We last spoke with him in 2016, about his memoir Voyager, and re-air that interview today.

But first, we talk with Danielle Clode, award-winning natural history writer, about her new book Koala: A Natural History and an Uncertain Future.

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

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

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Dr. Ann-Christine Duhaime, MINDING THE CLIMATE & Darr Reilly, The Carbon C.R.E.W. Project

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Why is it so hard to get the hair-on-fire action on climate we need to deal with the crisis? Could it have something to do with our brains? We talk with Dr. Ann-Christine Duhaime about her book, Minding The Climate: How Neuroscience Can Help Solve Our Environmental Crisis.

Then, we talk with one climate activist who’s putting Duhaime’s lessons on how to change minds about the crisis to work: Darr Reilly, co-founder of the Carbon Crew Project.

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

Like us on Facebook at Writers Voice with Francesca Rheannon, on Instagram @WritersVoicePodcast or find us on Twitter @WritersVoice. Find Francesca at mastodon.social[at]FRheannon.

Love Writer’s Voice? Please rate us on your podcast app. It really helps to get the word out about our show.

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Jeff Lowenfels, TEAMING WITH BACTERIA & Best of 2022

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It’s the last week of December 2022. The days are already starting to get longer. A great time to start thinking about next year’s garden. And, with next year around the corner, a good time to look back at some of our favorite interviews of 2022.

Today, we talk with garden columnist Jeff Lowenfells about his book, Teaming with Bacteria. It’s the fourth in his groundbreaking series about building the soil microbiome to create a flourishing soil food web.

Then we hear excerpts from our 2022 interviews with Bill McKibben, Mohsin Hamid and Keri Blakinger.

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

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

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Podcast

Holiday Special: THE FOOD PHILOSOPHE, A Story for the Solstice

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Francesca Rheannon reads her story “The Food Philosophe.” It’s about a Winter Solstice feast in Provence that led to some delicious life lessons.

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

Like us on Facebook at Writers Voice with Francesca Rheannon, on Instagram @WritersVoicePodcast or find us on twitter @WritersVoice.

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Podcast

Elsa Sjunneson, BEING SEEN & Kathryn Nicolai, NOTHING MUCH HAPPENS

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We talk with Elsa Sjunneson about life as a deaf-blind person and the rights every disabled person should have. Her book is Being Seen: One Deafblind Woman’s Fight to End Ableism.

Later in the show we talk with podcaster and author Kathryn Nicolai about her book of stories for better sleep, Nothing Much Happens: Cozy & Calmng Stories to Soothe Your Mind & Help You Sleep. It’s based on her wildly successful podcast of the same name.

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

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

Love Writer’s Voice? Please rate us on your podcast app. It really helps to get the word out about our show.

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Podcast

James Vincent, BEYOND MEASURE & Simon Winchester, LAND

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We talk with James Vincent about his book Beyond Measure: The Hidden History Of Measurement From Cubits To Quantum Constants.

Then we replay an excerpt from our interview with Simon Winchester about his book, Land: How the Hunger for Ownership Shaped the Modern World.

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

Like us on Facebook at Writers Voice with Francesca Rheannon, on Instagram @WritersVoicePodcast or find us on Twitter @WritersVoice. Find Francesca at Mastodon Social.

Love Writer’s Voice? Please rate us on your podcast app. It really helps to get the word out about our show.

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Devra Lehmann, SOCRATES & Seema Yasmin, WHAT THE FACT?

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We talk with Devra Lehmann about her book, Socrates: A Life Worth Living. It’s a YA book that’s great for readers of all ages.

Then, another YA book for everyone: we talk with Dr. Seema Yasmin about her guide to inoculating ourselves against false information, What the fact: Finding The Truth In All The Noise.

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

Like us on Facebook at Writers Voice with Francesca Rheannon, on Instagram @WritersVoicePodcast or find us on twitter @WritersVoice.

Love Writer’s Voice? Please rate us on your podcast app. It really helps to get the word out about our show.

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Omolola Ogunyemi, JOLLOF RICE AND OTHER REVOLUTIONS & Noviolet Bulaweyo, GLORY

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Nigerian novelist Omolola Ijeoma Ogunyemi talks about her novel of interlocking short stories, Jollof Rice and Other Revolutions.

Then, we harken back to our conversation earlier this year with NoViolet Bulaweyo about her novel of Zimbabwe, Glory. It was shortlisted for the 2022 Man Booker Prize.

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

Like us on Facebook at Writers Voice with Francesca Rheannon, on Instagram @WritersVoicePodcast or find us on twitter @WritersVoice.

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Podcast

Douglas Rushkoff, SURVIVAL OF THE RICHEST & Tyson Yunkaporta, SAND TALK

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We talk with digital philosopher Douglas Rushkoff about his book, Survival of the Richest: Escape Fantasies of the Tech Billionaires. It’s about the Mindset of the richest and most powerful moguls on the planet and the destruction it’s leaving in its wake.

Then, Survival of the Richest praises the work of Indigenous philosopher Tyson Yunkaporta. We air our 2020 interview with Yunkaporta about his book. Sand Talk: How Indigenous Thinking Can Save the World.

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

Like us on Facebook at Writers Voice with Francesca Rheannon, on Instagram @WritersVoicePodcast or find us on twitter @WritersVoice

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Podcast

Kirk Wallace Johnson, THE FISHERMAN AND THE DRAGON & Diane Wilson, AN UNREASONABLE WOMAN

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We talk with Kirk Wallace Johnson about his book, The Fisherman And The Dragon: Fear, Greed, And A Fight For Justice On The Gulf Coast. It’s a gripping account of a small town set on fire by hatred, xenophobia, and ecological disaster—and the woman who fought to save it.

Then, our 2005 interview with that very woman. We re-air our interview with Diane Wilson about her book, An Unreasonable Woman: A True Story of Shrimpers, Politicos, Polluters, and the Fight for Seadrift, Texas.

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

Like us on Facebook at Writers Voice with Francesca Rheannon, on Instagram @WritersVoicePodcast or find us on twitter @WritersVoice.

Love Writer’s Voice? Please rate us on your podcast app. It really helps to get the word out about our show.

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Laura Kaplan, JANE & Helen Shiller, DARING TO STRUGGLE, DARING TO WIN

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We talk with Laura Kaplan about her book, Jane: The women of the Legendary Underground Feminist Abortion Service. It’s about how a group of ordinary women worked together to create the women-centered, women-empowering organization called “Jane” that operated in Chicago from 1969 to 1973.

But first, another Chicago story about organizing for justice. We talk with former Chicago Alderwoman and community activist Helen Shiller about her memoir, Daring To Struggle, Daring to Win: Five Decades of Resistance in Chicago’s Uptown Community.

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Philip Schultz, COMFORTS OF THE ABYSS & Carey Gillam on Paraquat and Parkinson’s

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Vulnerability. Could it be a writer’s greatest strength?

We talk with poet Philip Schultz about his memoir/how-to book, Comforts Of The Abyss: The Art of Persona Writing.

Then, we talk about paraquat and Parkinson’s disease. Newly revealed documents show that the maker of a common herbicide knew decades ago about the link. We catch up with former Writer’s Voice guest Carey Gillam about her blockbuster scoop on the chemical company Syngenta.

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

Like us on Facebook at Writers Voice with Francesca Rheannon, on Instagram @WritersVoicePodcast or find us on twitter @WritersVoice.

Love Writer’s Voice? Please rate us on your podcast app. It really helps to get the word out about our show.

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