Writer's Voice

Writer’s Voice: compelling conversations with authors who challenge, inspire, and inform. Episode Summary In this episode of Writer’s Voice, we explore how language shapes history—and how stories shape culture. We first speak with Laura Spinney, author of Proto: How One Ancient Language Went Global. She takes us into the world of Proto-Indo-European, a language spoken … Continue reading Laura Spinney & Tonya Todd on Language, Myth & Resistance →

Writer’s Voice: compelling conversations with authors who challenge, inspire, and inform. Episode Summary This week: journalist Brian Goldstone joins us to talk about his powerful new book, There Is No Place For Us: Working and Homeless in America. It’s an eye-opening, deeply reported portrait of families who work full-time yet are unhoused, navigating a system … Continue reading The New Face of Homelessness: Brian Goldstone on THERE IS NO PLACE FOR US →

Writer’s Voice: compelling conversations with authors who challenge, inspire, and inform. Episode Summary Novelist Jennifer Haigh joins us to talk about Rabbit Moon, her atmospheric and emotionally complex novel set in Shanghai. It follows an estranged American family reuniting after a tragedy—and a daughter living a secret life abroad. “Writing is having a conversation with … Continue reading Jennifer Haigh on RABBIT MOON and L. Annette Binder on CHILD OF EARTH AND STARRY HEAVEN →

Writer’s Voice: compelling conversations with authors who challenge, inspire, and inform. Episode Summary In this episode of Writer’s Voice, we speak with two authors who excavate buried truths and challenge dominant cultural narratives. Dolen Perkins-Valdez discusses her historical novel Happy Land, inspired by a real African American community founded after the Civil War in North … Continue reading Kingdoms Lost & Myths Undone: Dolen Perkins-Valdez on HAPPY LAND and Nancy Reddy on THE GOOD MOTHER MYTH →

Writer’s Voice: compelling conversations with authors who challenge, inspire, and inform. Episode Summary Mich​èle Gerber Klein discusses Surreal, her revelatory biography of Gala Dalí, the forceful and fascinating woman behind surrealist master Salvador Dalí. Gala emerges not just as a muse, but as a powerful shaper of modern art and identity. “She wasn’t just a … Continue reading Muse, Myth & Murder: Mich​èle Gerber Klein on Gala Dalí and Anthony Horowitz on THE MARBLE HALL MURDERS →

Writer’s Voice: compelling conversations with authors who challenge, inspire, and inform. Episode Summary Novelist Boris Fishman talks about The Unwanted, a novel of migration, betrayal, and survival set in an unnamed, war-torn country. Fishman explores how lies—meant to protect—can fracture a family even in the face of collective trauma. It’s a moving portrait of a … Continue reading Borders and Backlashes: Boris Fishman, THE UNWANTED & Sophie Gilbert, GIRL ON GIRL →

Writer’s Voice: compelling conversations with authors who challenge, inspire, and inform. Episode Summary Today’s episode brings together two extraordinary voices in literature—each grappling with the legacies of crisis, survival, and identity. First, we speak with Eiren Caffall about her novel, All the Water in the World, a haunting, hope-filled work of climate fiction set in … Continue reading Stories for Survival: Eiren Caffall, ALL THE WATER IN THE WORD and Ishion Hutchinson, FUGITIVE TILTS →

Writer’s Voice: compelling conversations with authors who challenge, inspire, and inform. Episode Summary Two riveting accounts from the Siege of Leningrad during WWII: In the first half, Simon Parkin discusses The Forbidden Garden, the incredible true story of Soviet botanists who protected the world’s first seed bank during the Nazi blockade—sacrificing their own lives to … Continue reading Seeds, Symphonies, and Survival: Leningrad’s Resistance in Science and Music →

Writer’s Voice: compelling conversations with authors who challenge, inspire, and inform. Episode Summary Earth Day is coming up this month, so we get a jump on environmental awareness. From visionary climate futures to the minds of our feathered friends, this episode reminds us that joy, attention, and imagination may be our greatest tools for survival. … Continue reading Sanjana Sekhar, METAMORPHOSIS & Sy Montgomery, WHAT THE CHICKEN KNOWS →

Episode Summary This is the first week of April and April is Poetry Month. So we are so pleased to feature two conversations with poets who use their genre as a vehicle for historical witness and spiritual transformation. First, we talk with poet, geologist and translator Forrest Gander about his novel in poetry Mojave Ghost. … Continue reading Poetry of Place and Freedom with Forrest Gander and DaMaris Hill →

Episode Summary We explore two speculative fiction novels that challenge our understanding of consciousness, communication and the human condition. First, we speak with Cary Groner about The Way, a post-pandemic road novel that blends adventure, Buddhist philosophy, and a hopeful vision of the future after our current civilization has been largely swept away. “It’s not … Continue reading Speculative Futures: Cary Groner & Silvia Park on Survival, AI, and the Meaning of Being Human →

Episode Summary For Women’s History Month, we speak with Cassidy Randall about her book Thirty Below, which tells the gripping true story of the first all-women’s ascent of Denali in 1970. Facing extreme sexism, brutal conditions, and life-threatening storms, this pioneering team of climbers defied expectations and set a precedent for future generations of women … Continue reading Breaking Barriers on Denali: Cassidy Randall on THIRTY BELOW & Omar El Akkad on Empire, Liberalism & Bearing Witness →

In this episode, we talk with journalist Amanda Becker about the impact of the Dobbs decision, the legal chaos that followed, and how the fight for abortion rights continues. Becker shares insights from her book You Must Stand Up, detailing the rollback of reproductive rights, the history of anti-abortion legislation, and the movement’s ongoing efforts to restore access … Continue reading Women’s History Month: The Fight for Abortion Rights After Dobbs →

Episode Summary We speak with two remarkable writers about two fascinating stories—one rooted in personal history, the other in literary imagination—both shedding light on the fight for justice and self-determination. First, Alice Rothchild tells us about Inspired and Outraged: The Making of a Feminist Physician. It’s a powerful memoir in free verse exploring her journey … Continue reading Alice Rothchild & Grace Tiffany on Women’s History, Power, and Resistance →

Episode Summary This episode of Writer’s Voice features two urgent and thought-provoking conversations. First, we speak with Professor Bernadette Atuahene, author of Plundered: How Racist Policies Undermine Black Homeownership in America, about how predatory governance has systematically stripped Black homeowners of generational wealth—particularly in Detroit, where one in three homes has gone through property tax foreclosure since 2009. She explains how … Continue reading Bernadette Atuahene: Fighting Predatory Governance & Andrew Boyd: Overcoming Political Overwhelm →

In this episode, we welcome Aran Shetterly to discuss his powerful new book, Morningside: The 1979 Greensboro Massacre and the Struggle for an American City’s Soul. Shetterly unearths the long-overlooked history of the Greensboro Massacre, a brutal attack in which members of the Ku Klux Klan and neo-Nazis murdered five labor and civil rights activists … Continue reading BLACK HISTORY MONTH: Aran Shetterly on The Greensboro Massacre, MORNINGSIDE & Jonathan Eig, KING, A LIFE →

We sit down with award-winning author Victoria Christopher Murray to talk about Harlem Rhapsody, her novel about the Harlem Renaissance and the woman who made it possible. This gripping novel brings to life Jessie Redmon Fauset, a pioneering literary editor, mentor, and novelist who played a pivotal role in shaping the Harlem Renaissance—yet remains largely … Continue reading Black History Month: Victoria Christopher Murray on HARLEM RHAPSODY & Reviving Forgotten Women Writers →

In this episode of Writer’s Voice, we talk with Aaron Robertson about his fascinating book, The Black Utopians: Searching for Paradise and the Promised Land in America. It’s about the hidden legacies of Black utopian experiments and what they teach us about the power of community today. Then, we talk with best-selling novelist, journalist and … Continue reading Black History Month: Aaron Robertson, THE BLACK UTOPIANS. Also, Cory Doctorow, PICKS AND SHOVELS →

In this episode of Writer’s Voice, we explore two fascinating books. Rowan Jacobsen takes us deep into the Amazon in Wild Chocolate, uncovering the origins of cacao and the ethical challenges of the chocolate industry. Then, Karissa Chen discusses Homeseeking, her powerful novel tracing the Chinese diaspora through generations of displacement, love, and longing for … Continue reading From the Amazon to the Chinese Diaspora: Rowan Jacobsen on WILD CHOCOLATE & Karissa Chen on HOMESEEKING →

This week on Writer’s Voice we feature three great conversations. Karen Joy Fowler reflects on the relevance of Ursula K. Le Guin’s The Dispossessed and its vision of utopia on the occasion of the 50th anniversary re-issue of that classic work of speculative fiction. She wrote the introduction. Listen to our 2012 interview with Ursulla … Continue reading Utopias, Pipelines, and Political Art: Karen Joy Fowler, Charlotte Dennett, and Jules Feiffer →