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Eighty years ago on September 1, 1939 World War Two broke out. Today, we talk about a new novel and a surprising biography that illumine important but lesser known stories about that conflict: Julie Orringer’s acclaimed novel, The Flight Portfolio and Robert Matzen’s fascinating biography of the young Audrey Hepburn and her work with the Dutch Resistance against the Nazis, Dutch Girl.
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Why was the original Penn Station built, only to be torn down some 50 years later? We find out in the first half of today’s Writers Voice when we talk with Paul Kaplan about his book New York’s Penn Station: The Rise and Fall of an American Landmark.
Then, we talk with Bram Presser about The Book of Dirt, his novel/memoir about his grandparents’ remarkable history during the Holocaust.
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We talk with Christina Proenza-Coles about her groundbreaking new history, American Founders: How People of African Descent Established Freedom in the New World.
Then, we talk with Jamaican-English author Sara Collins about her breakout debut novel, The Confessions of Frannie Langton. It’s an historical thriller about a former slave who is accused of murdering her employer and his wife in Georgian London.
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Today’s episode features two books that explore therapy from both sides of the couch. We talk with Lori Gottlieb about her bestselling memoir, Maybe You Should Talk to Someone: A Therapist, HER Therapist, and Our Lives Revealed.
Then, a novel about a therapist who finds herself crossing dangerous lines with a patient while struggling with her own grief: we talk with Bev Thomas about her debut novel, A Good Enough Mother. A breakout sensation in the UK, it was just published in the US.
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We talk today with Damion Searls about his acclaimed translation of Uwe Johnson’s landmark of 20th Century literature, ANNIVERSARIES, now in English for the first time.
Then, we welcome Peter Filkins back to Writer’s Voice; we’ve spoken with him before about his translations of the works of H.G. Adler. Now, he tells us about his biography of Adler, H.G. ADLER: A Life in Many Worlds. Continue reading
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It’s Valentine’s Day, but instead of the usual romantic fare, we take an unconventional look at relationships.
We talk with Briallen Hopper about her wonderful collection of essays about all kinds of love, Hard to Love: Essays and Confessions. Continue reading
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Delia Owens talks about her breakout novel, Where The Crawdads Sing. It explores isolation, connection and the healing power of Nature through the story of a young woman who lives as a hermit in a salt marsh.
Then, another novel, this time about Nature gone awry. We re-play our 2012 interview with Barbara Kingsolver about her book, Flight Behavior.
And finally, Francesca shares her story about a man who hunted healing plants in the wild regions of southern France. It’s from her memoir, Province of the Heart. 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 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 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.
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This week, we commemorate two momentous June 6 anniversaries. First, we explore the life of Bobby Kennedy, a life cut short on June 6, 1968. We talk with Larry Tye about his superb biography of Robert F. Kennedy, Bobby Kennedy: The Making of a Liberal Icon.
Then, we honor D-Day (June 6, 1944) by talking with Stephen Kiernan about his novel The Baker’s Secret. It tells the story of a remarkable young woman who keeps her neighbors alive until the D-Day invasion liberates their Normandy town from Nazi Occupation.
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We talk with Elizabeth George about the latest in her Inspector Lynley series, The Punishment She Deserves. Then, Anthony Horowitz of Foyle’s War, House of Silk and the Alex Rider mysteries tells us about his new book, The Word Is Murder. It’s a meta-mystery romp that invites the reader in behind the scenes of writing mystery fiction. Continue reading
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We talk with Chloe Benjamin about her bestselling novel, The Immortalists. (Penguin Random House.) It’s about four siblings who, in childhood, learn the dates of their death. Or do they? Then, could there be people among us whose lifespan is nearly a millennium? Matt Haig talks about his latest novel, How To Stop Time (Penguin Random House.) And finally, we talk with the great environmental philosopher and advocate Vandana Shiva. A new book of interviews with her, Creative Civil Disobedience, is out from Actes Sud.
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Lucy Hughes-Hallett tells us about her novel Peculiar Ground (Harper Collins). Set on an English country estate modeled on the one the author grew up on, it travels between the centuries to examine the theme of putting walls up and breaking them down.
Then, Morgan Babst’s novel The Floating World (Algonquin Books) examines the moral quandaries that arise in the wake of Hurricane Katrina. Continue reading
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We air part of our 2014 interview with Rob Okun about his book, Voice Male: The Untold Story of the Pro-Feminist Men’s Movement, which is out in a new edition. But first we talk with Okun about #MeToo and #TimesUp — and how men can support that movement.
Then the pioneering science fiction writer Ursula K. Le Guin died on January 23. We air our 2012 interview with her about her anthology The Unreal And The Real. Continue reading