Francesca Rheannon พอดคาสต์

We’re celebrating the upcoming Climate Week by featuring two books that tackle the crisis from different perspectives. We take a journey into the heart of climate grief and out the other side with Andrew Boyd. His book is I Want A Better Catastrophe: Navigating the Climate Crisis with Grief, Hope and Gallows Humor. Then, a new novel shines a light …

The US military is one of the biggest engines driving private profits in the world. But what’s the cost to the rest of us? We talk with Norman Solomon about his new book, War Made Invisible: How America Hides the Human Toll of Its Military Machine. But first, we explore George Eliot’s scandalous solution to “the marriage question.” We talk with Cla…

We talk with historian Ahmed White about the Wobblies and the capitalist war on radical workers. His award-winning book is Under the Iron Heel. Then Nikhil Goyal tells us about his book, Live to See the Day: Coming of Age in American Poverty. It follows three children as they struggle to survive in the poorest neighborhood of the poorest large city…

We talk with David Goodman about his book, An American Cannabis Story. Illustrated with stunning photos, it’s about a pioneering cannabis farm in Washington State. Then we replay our 2021 interview with neuroscientist Carl Hart about his book, Drug Use For Grownups: Chasing Liberty In The Land of Fear. Writers Voice— in depth conversation with writ…

We talk with historian Martha Hodes about her memoir My Hijacking: A Personal History of Forgetting and Remembering. In 1970, she survived six days as a hostage on a hijacked plane when she was twelve years old. Then, teacher Adam Bessie tells us about his take on how the pandemic has driven us apart—and what it will take to bring us together. His …

Paul Kix tells us the thrilling story of the fight to end Jim Crow, led by the greatest figures of the Civil Rights Movement—and won by children. We spend the hour with Kix talking about his book, You Have To Be Prepared To Die Before You Can Begin To Live: Ten Weeks In Birmingham That Changed America. Read Transcript of Interview with Paul Kix Wri…

Buzzy Jackson tells us the story of the Dutch anti-Nazi saboteur, Hannie Schaft and the lessons it holds for us as we confront fascism today. Her novel based on true events is To Die Beautiful. Then Francesca reads a short excerpt from her own father’s story of resistance in the same war. Writers Voice— in depth conversation with writers of all gen…

Ava Chin tells us about her stunning family memoir/history of the Chinese Exclusion Act in America, Mott Street: A Chinese American Family’s Story of Exclusion and Homecoming. Then we talk with Tanis Rideout about her new novel The Sea Between Two Shores. It’s about two families, one Canadian and one from an island in Vanuatu, who must deal with th…

July 4, 2023 was the hottest day ever recorded on Earth. Are we exceeding the “Goldilocks zone” of a habitable planet? We ask that question of climate journalist and author Jeff Goodell. His new book is THE HEAT WILL KILL YOU FIRST: Life and Death on a Scorched Planet. We also revisit a conversation about suing the fossil fuel companies for scorchi…

We talk with Jeff Sharlet about his new book, The Undertow: Scenes From A Slow Civil War. Then we air part of an interview we did with Sharlet in 2009 about the increasing influence of rightwing extremism into the US military. And finally, a review of Dennis Lehane’s new novel Small Mercies. Writers Voice— in depth conversation with writers of all …

Family separation continues to devastate the lives of children, as explored in Sylvia Rodriguez-Vega‘s book, Drawing Deportation: Art and Resistance among Immigrant Children. This poignant work delves into the traumatic experiences faced by immigrant children and showcases the healing power of art in their recovery. We talk with Sylvia Rodriguez-Ve…

A profoundly humanist novel tackles the tragedies of life: As a physician I’m perhaps more aware than most people of how perilous our everyday lives are and how quickly they could transition to something quite disastrous. And I think in America especially we exist in a sort of denial of our mortality…As a result we are very shocked when any hint …

Travel writer Jane Marshall takes us on her modern quest for Shangri La; her book is Searching for Happy Valley. Then, Francesca shares a story from her own journey to a Happy Valley in the foothills of the Maritime Alps of Haute Provence, where a market vendor of medicinal herbs taught her something about true vocation. “I feel like if we can spen…

We talk with Peggy Orenstein about her book, Unraveling: What I Learned About Life While Shearing Sheep, Dyeing Wool, and Making the World’s Ugliest Sweater. But first, Katy Simpson Smith tells us about her new novel, The Weeds. It weaves history, botany, feminism and the climate crisis together into a compelling and sharply funny tale. Writers Voi…

Today on Writerâ€s Voice, an eclectic offering. Later in the show, we talk about eggs: actual, mythological and artistic. Author Lizzie Stark tells us about her book, Egg. But first, we talk about media literacy, something that is vital if we are to preserve and strengthen democracy. We speak with Allison Butler about the book she co-wrote for Proj…

Writerâ€s Voice spends the hour with Jonathan Eig talking about his acclaimed new biography, KING: A Life. Itâ€s a captivating portrait of the renowned civil rights leader, unveiling new material and providing an intimate perspective. “He suffered tremendously from doubt. And he suffered terribly from the effects of the FBI assault on him. He kept …

Did you know that American English (not British English) is one of the very few languages that has no dialects? No matter where you are from in this big country, you can easily understand the speech of anyone else. Thatâ€s true, even with having different regional accents or ethnic differences such as Black English. Thatâ€s one of the many fascinat…

I’ve been thinking about climate change lately in really simple terms: that it’s really about the people and the places we love. It isn’t actually any more complex than that. So, yes, we talk a lot about parts per million and all these degrees of warming and all these complex things. And they are indeed metrics that scientists use to talk about cli…