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

Mark Schapiro, The End of Stationarity & Greg Palast, The Best Democracy Money Can Buy

Mark Schapiro talks about his new book The End of Stationarity: Searching for the New Normal in the Age of Carbon Shock. Then, we talk with Greg Palast about his new book and movie, The Best Democracy Money Can Buy: A Tale of Billionaires and Ballot Bandits. Continue reading

Podcast

Katherine Harvey, Bare Bones Broth Cookbook, The True Story of Thanksgiving & “The Food Philosophe” (story)

Katherine Harvey talks about the book she co-authored, The Bare Bones Broth Cookbook. Francesca reads her story The Food Philosophe. And finally we continue our Thanksgiving tradition with native American scholar Marge Bruchac telling us the real story behind the holiday.

Also, a teaser from our interview with Nancy Altman of Social Security Works about her article for Huffington Post, “Medicare Will Be Gone By Next Thanksgiving If Republicans Have Their Way.” Continue reading

Web Extras

WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW: Medicare Might Be Gone By Next Thanksgiving

Nancy J. Altman of Social Security Works speaks about the imminent threat to Medicare — and how Americans can fight to save it. She wrote “Medicare Will Be Gone By Next Thanksgiving If Republicans Have Their Way” for the Huffington Post. Continue reading

Podcast

Tana French, THE TRESPASSER & Shaun Chamberlin, SURVIVING THE FUTURE

Mystery novelist Tana French talks about her latest book in the Dublin Murder Squad series, The Trespasser.

Then, how can we best confront the terrible uncertainties of a darkening future? We talk with Shaun Chamberlin about the late David Fleming’s book, Surviving The Future, which Chamberlin edited and brought out after Fleming’s death. Continue reading

Podcast

Sarah Ellis, THE TRAINABLE CAT & Ted Rall, TRUMP

Cat behaviorist Sarah Ellis talks about The Trainable Cat: A Practical Guide to Making Life Happier for You and Your Cat.

Then, the election is finally over, with a shocking result that few in pollsters or pundits foresaw. But the signs were there for those unburdened by the blinders of conventional wisdom to see. We re-air our interview with one of them, cartoonist Ted Rall, about his graphic biography of Donald Trump, first broadcast in August.
Continue reading

Podcast

Steven Hill, EXPAND SOCIAL SECURITY NOW! & Election Fraud in America, Then and Now

Steven Hill explodes the myths about Social Security and shows how to strengthen it. His book is Expand Social Security Now!: How to Ensure Americans Get the Retirement They Deserve (Beacon Press, 2016)(Beacon Press, 2016).

Then, the election is next week. But is every vote equal? We talk with Beverly Harris of Black Box Voting about new research she’s published claiming voting machines are counting some votes as worth more than others.

Finally, we get the long view from historian Tracy Campbell, author of Deliver the Vote: A History of Election Fraud, An American Political Tradition. Continue reading

Web Extras

Steven Hill: The Wealthy Don’t Pay Their Fair Share Into Social Security

ess

Political author Steven Hill explains how closing loopholes and tax advantages that benefit the wealthiest Americans would allow us to double Social Security payments for all Americans. His book is Expand Social Security Now!

 

Web Extras

Tracy Campbell, DELIVER THE VOTE (Full Interview)

Historian Tracy Campbell delivervotediscusses the history of election fraud in America. He is the author of the acclaimed book, Deliver the Vote: A History of Election Fraud, an American Political Tradition, 1742-2004 (Basic Books, 2005).

WV spoke to him at length about this history — and his concerns that Trump’s claims muddy the waters.  Campbell is Professor of History at the University of Kentucky.

Web Extras

Bev Harris: Are Minority Votes Counted As Lesser Than Other Votes?

Bev Harris of BlackBox Voting. org explains how votes of minority workers are flagged, enabling them to be assigned lesser values in the final vote count. Continue reading

Podcast

Margot Livesy, MERCURY & Alice Mattison, THE KITE AND THE STRING

Margot Livesy talks about her new novel, Mercury. Then, some great advice about writing that urges freedom and discipline: Alice Mattison talks about her book, The Kite and the String: How to Write with Spontaneity and Control—and Live to Tell the Tale.  Continue reading

Podcast

Gretchen Bakke, THE GRID

Gretchen Bakke discusses her terrific new book, The Grid: The Fraying Wires Between Americans and Our Energy Future. It’s about how our outdated electrical grid is holding us back from making the crucial transition to renewable energy. Continue reading

Web Extras

lulu Fries’dat, AN UNPREDICTABLE, HIGH-STAKES ELECTION

We’ve spoken before with journalist lulu Fries’dat about her report An Electoral System in Crisis. That report examined statistical anomalies in the 2016 presidential primaries. She and her team of statisticians found evidence of possible vote rigging in both political parties.

This week, we speak with Fries’dat about troubling findings in her new report on the Florida Democratic primary between Debbie Wasserman Schultz and Tim Canova, An Unpredictable, High Stakes Election.   Continue reading

Podcast

Alan Schwarz, ADHD NATION & Carol Gignoux, YOUR INNOVATOR BRAIN

Is Big Pharma fueling the ADHD epidemic? Alan Schwarz talks about his book, ADHD Nation: Children, Doctors, Big Pharma, and the Making of an American Epidemic. Then, maybe ADHD isn’t so much a disorder, as a different type of brain — one with great gifts, as well as deficits. Carol Gignoux discusses her book, Your Innovator Brain: The Truth About ADHD. Continue reading

Podcast

Antony Loewenstein, DISASTER CAPITALISM

We spend the hour with journalist Antony Loewenstein talking about his book (and forthcoming movie) Disaster Capitalism: Making a Killing out of Catastrophe. It’s a powerful indictment of the burgeoning global industry of profiting from the misery of the world’s most vulnerable citizens through privatizing basic goods and services when disaster strikes. Continue reading