Yewande Omotoso’s “The Woman Next Door”
Yewande Omotoso’s new novel, “The Woman Next Door,” explores racial tension in post-apartheid South Africa. It’s about a pair of elderly women — one black and one white — who live in a well-to-do...
View ArticleA Cemetery With a View
Yiyun Li grew up in Beijing in the 1970s, a child of Communism. During her year in the Army, she kept a journal hidden under her bed, and at night she would lose herself in American novels. When she...
View ArticleThe FBI and Its Secrets, Documenting the Rise of the Radical Right, Are Your...
Cora Currier, a journalist at The Intercept, and Trevor Aaronson, executive director of the Florida Center for Investigative Reporting and a contributing writer at The Intercept, join us to discuss The...
View ArticleRoxane Gay's "Difficult Women"
Author and essayist Roxane Gay joins us to talk about feminism, politics, and her new story collection, “Difficult Women.”
View ArticleCelebrating Shirley Jackson's Haunting Life & Legacy
In honor of Shirley Jackson’s 100th birthday on December 14th, Ruth Franklin, author of Shirley Jackson: A Rather Haunted Life, discusses her work and literary legacy, along with Jackson’s grandson,...
View ArticleBrit Bennett on Church, Racism, and Her Novel “The Mothers”
Brit Bennett came to prominence in a way that was unheard of in the literary world a generation ago. She published a piece about racial justice in Jezebel in 2014, and it provoked a huge discussion...
View ArticleCity of Weird
Writer and editor Gigi Little joins us to talk about “City of Weird,” a new anthology of “otherworldly Portland tales,” along with two of the short story authors, Rene Denfeld and Dan DeWeese.
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Leo Rosten Analyzes Humor
Leo Rosten in 1959(Arthur Rothstein, Baltimore Sun/Wikimedia Commons)"I have no speech. I am not entirely speechless, though," Leo Rosten begins his talk, titled, "On Humor, and What It Is" at this...
View ArticleMary Roach On Her Book Grunt
Best-selling author Mary Roach joins us to talk about her latest book, “Grunt: The Curious Science of Humans At War.”
View ArticleTiny Houses For Homeless
Andrew Heben spent years researching and even living in places like Dignity Village in Portland to write “Tent City Urbanism,” a guide for cities wanting to build tiny house communities.
View ArticleSendak's 'Magic Flute'
Chris Mattaliano, director of the Portland Opera, tells us about the new production of The Magic Flute, designed by children’s book author and illustrator Maurice Sendak.
View ArticleBeverly Cleary's Birthday
We celebrate beloved children’s book author and Oregonian Beverly Cleary on her 100th birthday. We’ll hear clips from an interview with Cleary, and talk to her daughter, Marianne.
View ArticleLaila Lalami
We talk to Moroccan-born novelist Laila Lalami about what it’s like living in America as a Muslim. She’ll be speaking in Portland and Bend as part of Oregon Humanities’ Think and Drink series. We talk...
View ArticleThe Music of Mitch Albom
Click on the audio player above to hear the full interview.Mitch Albom has been a lot of things—a sports reporter, a writer, and a publishing phenomenon with more than 35 million copies of his books in...
View ArticleJohn Irving And His Avenue Of Mysteries
Acclaimed author John Irving sits down with Dave Miller in front of an audience at Wordstock to talk about Irving's 14th novel. Acclaimed author John Irving sits down with Dave Miller in front of an...
View ArticleJonathan Galassi Gets in Touch with His Muse
Once upon a time, the world of book publishing was both more genteel and more glamorous — gentlemanly editors tending the prose of genius authors before adjourning to their martini lunches. The writer...
View ArticleAgent Scully's Sci-Fi
This segment originally aired live on October 8, 2014. An edited version was included in a best-of episode of The Brian Lehrer Show on November 28th. The unedited audio can be found here. Gillian...
View ArticleJules Feiffer Goes Noir
Bronx-born Obie, Oscar, and Pulitzer Prize-winning cartoonist and playwright and the author/illustrator of Kill My Mother: A Graphic Novel (Liveright, 2014), Jules Feiffer, talks about his new work and...
View ArticleB.J. Novak Is A Romantic, And Doesn't Think That's A Good Thing
B.J. Novak is best known for his role as Ryan, the ne’er-do-well temp on the NBC comedy The Office. But he’s also a screenwriter, producer, and author of a new book of short stories, One More Thing:...
View ArticleKurt Vonnegut Talks to the Dead
As part of WNYC's 90th anniversary celebration, Marty Goldensohn, former WNYC news director, shares excerpts from the station's 1998 series "Reports on the Afterlife." It's based on Vonnegut's book God...
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