December 31, 2015
Lee Grant, author of I Said Yes to Everything.
Oscar-winning actress and documentary film-maker Lee Grant discusses her careers in Hollywood and her time on the Hollywood blacklist in this fascinating memoir, which also deals with the nature of acting. Rebroadcast.
December 28, 2015
Lisa Rothman: Date Night at Pet Emergency
A performed mologue at the Marsh in Berkeley through January 23, 2016, 5 pm Saturdays. The Marsh.
December 24, 2015
Paul Theroux, author of Deep South
Theroux's latest travel book is about America, the back roads of the South: South Carolina, Arkansas, Mississippi, Alabama, the poorest parts of the United States, with stops in churches, gun shows, homes and stores. An in-depth look at the forgotten America.
December 21, 2015
Michael Crichton, author of Jurassic Park.
Michael Crichton (1942-2008) wrote several works that became best-sellers, including Disclosure, Rising Sun, Sphere and The Andromeda Strain. His works were fast-paced, usually with a science fiction theme. Recorded December 5, 1990, co-hosted by Richard A. Lupoff.
December 7. 2015
Kate Jessica Raphael, author of Murder Under the Bridge: A Palestine Mystery
KPFA producer Kate Jessica Raphael's first novel is a mystery set in Palestine featuring a female Palestinian detective and her friend, an American activist from Berkeley.
December 3, 2015
Adam Johnson, author of Fortune Smiles
Fortune Smiles, a collection of stories, was the winner of the 2015 National Book Award. His recent novel, The Orphan Master's Son, about life in North Korea, won the 2013 Pulitzer Prize in Literature.
November 30, 2015
Bob Mankoff, cartoon editor of The New Yorker and author of How About Never - Is Never Good for You?
An illustrated memoir, featuring memorable cartoons by the author and by other New Yorker artists. Rebroadcast.
November 26, 2015
Cary Elwes, author of As You Wish
The star of The Princess Bride tells the detailed story of the making of that now-classic film. Rebroadcast.
November 23, 2015
Ayad Akhtar, playwright, Disgraced, at Berkeley Rep thru Dec. 27, 2015; The Invisible Hand at Marin Theatre Company, June 2016.
November 19, 2015
Mona Simpson, author of Casebook
The author of Anywhere But Here and My Hollywood returns with the story of a young man dealing with his parents' divorce, becoming a detective as he wonders who his mom is now dating. Rebroadcast
November 16, 2015
Susi Damilano, director, Stage Kiss by Sarah Ruhl, at San Francisco Playhouse through January 9, 2016.
November 12, 2015
Colum McCann, author of Thirteen Ways of Looking
One novella and three short stories dealing with the nature of forgiveness and acceptance.
November 9, 2015
Amy Bloom, author of Lucky Us
Two sisters escape from their father and go to Hollywood, and then on to New York. An examination of life in America before, during and after World War II. Rebroadcast.
November 5, 2015
Orhan Pamuk, author of A Strangeness in My Mind
The Nobel Prize-winning Turkish novelist's latest work tells the story of a poor street vendor, against the backdrop of changes in the political and social life of Istanbul.
November 2, 2015
Judd Winick, author of Hilo: The Boy Who Crashed on Earth
A middle school graphic novel by the noted cartoonist and comic book illustrator, in the tradition of Calvin & Hobbes and Pixar films.
October 29, 2015
October 26, 2015
John Lahr, author of Joy Ride: Show People and their Shows and Tennessee Williams: Mad Pilgrimage of the Flesh. John Lahr spent 21 years as theater critic for The New Yorker, writing profiles and reviews, some of which are collected in Joy Ride, which examines playwrights, directors and their shows. He is also the author of a recent biography of Tennessee Williams, which focuses on the playwright's later years, now out in trade paperback.
October 22, 2015
Steve Toltz, author of Quicksand
Quicksand is the follow-up to Toltz's Man Booker Prize shortlisted novel, A Fraction of the Whole. It is a comedic character study set in Australia that concerns the nature of fear. A tour de force performance with several laugh out loud moments.
October 19, 2015
Henning Mankell (1948-2015)
The great Swedish crime novel/mystery writer, author of the Kurt Wallander series and a political activist, died on October 5, 2015. This interview was recorded in 2011 while he was on tour for his book The Troubled Man.
October 15, 2015
James Grissom, author of Follies of God: Tennessee Williams and the Women of the Fog. Grissom's interviews with actresses and directors, and his insights into the work of Tennessee Williams go well beyond this story of a twenty year old and his five day jaunt in 1982 with the great playwright. Beautifully written.
October 12, 2015
Laura Nader, author of What the Rest think of the West.
A compendium of essays starting from 600 AD written by travelers to western civilization from India, China, the Middle East and Japan.
October 8, 2015
Paula McLain author of the novel Circling The Sun.
A novel about the early life of famed aviatrix Beryl Markham, set mostly in colonial Kenya and dealing with her complicated relationship with Karen Blixen (Isak Dinesen) and other expatriates.
October 5, 2015
Jasson Minidakis, Artistic Director of Marin Theatre Company.
Fund Drive pre-emptions Sept 21-Oct 1, 2015
September 18, 2015
Salman Rushdie, author of Two Years Eight Months and Twenty-Eight Nights. Rushdie's latest novel is a fantasy/science fiction story in which the Jinn come to earth and screw around with humans. Both satire and allegory, the novel also deals with the role of religion in society, and the breakdown of societal expectations.
September 14, 2015
Torange Yeghiazarian, Artistic Director of the Re-Orient Festival, through October 4, 2015 at Z Space Below
September 10, 2015
Richard Flanagan, author of The Narrow Road to the Deep North, now out in trade paperback. Rebroadcast from 2014.
September 7, 2015
Craig Lucas, playwright & librettist for Amelie, playing at Berkeley Rep thru October 4. Also librettist for An American in Paris and The Light in the Piazza; screenplay for Longtime Companion; film and stage director.
September 3, 2015
August 31, 2015
Don Winslow, author of The Cartel and Power of the Dog
A thinly fictionalized history of the Mexican drug wars of the 1990s through 2012, this two-part novel focuses on the relationship of a DEA agent and the leading Mexican drug lord. But the book is more than that: it tells a story of a war as vicious as any in the world today, and while characters and events are fictional, they are mostly based on real people and real events.
August 27, 2015
Susan Minot, author of the novel Thirty Girls.
Set in Uganda and Kenya during the late 1990s, this tells the story of girls kidnapped by Joseph Kony and his Lord's Resistance Army, from the perspective of one of the girls and of an American journalist researching the kidnapping. First broadcast in 2014.
August 24, 2015
Alan Furst, author of Midnight in Europe
A Spanish diplomat gets involved with arms smuggling in the years before World War II. Another spy novel from one of the contemporary masters. First broadcast in 2014.
August 20, 2015
Michael Cunningham, author of The Snow Queen
The author of The Hours and other novels returns with a work set in New York between 2004 and 2008 featuring a pair of brothers, one gay and one straight, who negotiate their lives during a troubled period in American history. First broadcast in 2014, now out in trade paper.
August 17, 2015
Patrick Macnee (1922-2015)
Archive interview with the late actor (The Avengers TV show) from September 29, 1989 while on tour for his memoir, Blind in One Ear. Hosts: Richard Wolinsky and Richard A. Lupoff. Remastered and re-edited in 2015 by Richard Wolinsky.
August 13, 2015
Lee Grant, author of I Said Yes to Everything, a memoir.
Oscar-winning actress and documentary film-maker Lee Grant discusses her careers in Hollywood and her time on the Hollywood blacklist in this fascinating memoir, which also deals with the nature of acting.
August 10, 2015
Colson Whitehead, author of The Noble Hustle and Zone One. Zone One is a literary zombie novel, exploring survival after a zombie war. The Noble Hustle is Whitehead’s story of his entry into the World Series of Poker and a rumination on gambling and the American Dream. (rebroadcast)
August 6, 2015
Carolina de Robertis, author of The Gods of Tango
The Gods of Tango tells the story of an young woman, an Italian immigrant to Buenos Aires, Argentina, at the turn of the 20th Century who strives to become a tango musician by disguising herself as a man.
August 3, 2015
Bill English, Artistic Director of San Francisco Playhouse.
Annual interview discussing the past season, the upcoming season, and the current production of Sondheim's Company.
July 30, 2015
Mary Doria Russell, author of Epitaph.
Epitaph: A Novel of the OK Corral adheres closely to the historical record in telling the legendary story of Wyatt Earp, his brothers, Doc Holliday and the Clantons and McLaureys and their gunfight at the famed OK Corrall in Tombstone in 1881. It also tells the story of the women who lived in Tombstone as well and forms a kind of sequel to Russell's earlier novel, Doc.
July 27, 2015
Gail Sheehy, author of Daring My Passages.
Now out in trade paper. One of the founders of the New Journalism, Sheehy's book takes us from her days at New York Magazine through her years as a freelance journalist, focusing on the personalities of the people she's interviewed over the years as well as on her personal life. Recorded at Book Passage in Corte Madera. (rebroadcast from 2014)
July 23, 2015
Bookwaves Special:
Tribute to E.L. Doctorow (1931-2015)
Documentary look at the life and career of the author of Ragtime, The March, Homer & Langley and other novels.
July 20, 2015
Martin Amis, author of The Zone of Interest
Now out in trade paper. A novel of the holocaust, told mostly from the point of view of Germans in the camp. Satirical in tone but deadly serious in perspective, one of Amis' best books to date. (rebroadcast from 2014)
July 16, 2015
Vendela Vida, author of The Diver’s Clothes Lie Empty.
A young woman goes to Casablanca to forget her past. Fascinating novel written in the second person.Vendela Vida is a founding editor of The Believer literary magazine.
July 13, 2015
Ivan Doig (1939-2015), who died on June 27th, was acclaimed as one of the finest authors writing about the American West, in both fiction and non-fiction. On October 28, 1993, Ivan Doig was interviewed in the KPFA studios while on tour for his memoir, Heart Earth. He discusses the memoir, his writing, and his life and career with Richard Wolinsky and Richard A. Lupoff . From the Probabilities archive, digitized, remastered and re-edited by Richard Wolinsky in 2015.
July 9, 2015
T. Geronimo Johnson, author of Welcome to Braggsville
Welcome to Braggsville is a novel in which college students from UC Berkeley go to a small town in Georgia to protest a Civil War re-enactment. Recorded live in front of an audience at Pegasus Bookstore on Solano Avenue in Berkeley.
July 6, 2015
Anna Deavere Smith, playwright and performer, Notes from the Field: Doing Time in Education, the California Chapter, at Berkeley Rep through August 2, 2015.
July 2, 2015
Loretta Greco, Artistic Director of the Magic Theater, and director of Life is a Dream, at Cal Shakes. Annual interview and update.
June 29, 2015
Matthew Thomas, author of We Are Not Ourselves
This acclaimed first novel spans half a century in the story of the daughter of Irish immigrants in Queens, New York, and her marriage to a man who develops early onset Alzheimers.
June 25, 2015
Neal Stephenson, author of SevenEves
Seven Eves is an ambitious novel that deals with the end of the world when the moon explodes, and then moves forward five thousand years to a time when the earth can be inhabited again. A tour de force that will keep space and science geeks happy for days.
June 22, 2015
Edmund White, author of the memoir, Inside a Pearl.
Noted gay author Edmund White, whose novels are memoirs in disguise, now tells his own life story, this book about his life in Paris during the 1980s and 1990s, fleeing the AIDS crisis in New York and struggling to be a successful author living in the City of Light. Now out in trade paperback. (rebroadcast)
June 18, 2015
Greg Iles, author of The Bone Tree and Natchez Burning.
These books form 2/3 of a trilogy about racism and corruption in the American South. Natchez Burning is a literary novel disguised as a thriller; The Bone Tree is an out-and-out thriller.
June 15, 2015
Chris Hedges, author of Wages of Rebellion. The Moral Imperative of Revolt.
Chris Hedges is a former New York Times bureau chief, now a columnist, who writes about the United States in the context of an ever-increasing oligarchy. His book is a must-read. This is a Q&A from a KPFA event, June 9, 2015 and includes some questions from the audience.
June 11, 2015
Erik Larson, author of Dead Wake.
Larson tells the story of the sinking of the Lusitania in 1915. One of the world's great ocean liners, it sank in just a few minutes. He surrounds the sinking with the story of the early days of World War I, and the sinking's effect on the war.
Recorded at Dominican College via Book Passage.
June 8, 2015
Ruth Rendell (1930-2015).
The late great mystery and suspense writer discusses her career in this far-reaching interview recorded in 1992. Hosted by Richard Wolinsky and Richard A. Lupoff. Digitized and re-edited in 2015 by Richard Wolinsky.
June 4, 2015
Elizabeth Alexander, poet, author of The Light of the World.
The noted poet writes a memoir about grief and the death of her husband, using poetry and other literary devices to tell her story.
June 1, 2015
Tony Taccone, Artistic Director of Berkeley Rep.
Annual interview with one of the Bay Area's leading artistic directors about the future and past year at Berkeley Rep.
May 28, 2015
Kazuo Ishiguro, author of The Buried Giant.
An allegorical fantasy novel dealing with the nature of genocide and remembrance, taking place in medieval England but based on more recent events.
Recorded at Book Passage in Corte Madera.
Monday May 25
Luz Mena, creator of Andares, Part One, at the San Francisco International Arts Festival in Fort Mason, May 29-31.
May 4, 2015
Teju Cole, author of the novel Every Day is for the Thief
A novel that reads like a travelogue, Every Day tells the story of a young Nigerian who has lived in the United States, returns home to Lagos after fifteen years, and tells of what he sees in his homeland. Now out in trade paper. (rebroadcast)
Monday, April 27
Thursday, April 30
Michael Meyer, author of In Manchuria
Michael Meyer lived in the village of Wasteland, in Manchuria, as a member of his wife's family. His book touches on the history and geography of Northeast China, as well as on the daily life of the people who live there.
Thursday, April 23
Carey Perloff, author of a memoir, Beautiful Chaos: A Live in theTheater. The artistic director of ACT talks about her history in the theater in a book-length essay that also touches on theater in America, non-profits, and her work as director and playwright.
Monday, April 20
Carey Perloff, Artistic Director of American Conservatory Theater (ACT) talks about the past and upcomin seasons.
Thursday, April 16
Dennis Lehane, author of World Gone By.
The third volume of Lehane's trilogy about the early part of the 20th Century focuses on his gangster protagonist, Joe Coughlin during the Second World War.
Monday, April 13
Tarell Alvin McCraney, playwright, Head of Passes, Choir Boy, The Brothers Size.
Thursday, April 9
Daniel Handler, author of We Are Pirates
The author of the Lemony Snicket books (A Series of Unfortunate Events, etc) writes a novel under his own name which concerns a teenaged girl who decides to become a pirate in the middle of San Francisco Bay.
Monday, April 6
Lawrence Wright ,author of Going Clear: Scientology, Hollywood and the Prison of Belief..
In honor of the Alex Gibney documentary on HBO.
Thursday, April 2
Lynsey Addario, author of It's What I Do: A Photographer's Life of Love and War.
A memoir about life in war zones, from Afghanistan and Iraq to Darfur. Riveting, and soon to be a film directed by Steven Spielberg.
Monday, March 30
Arts-Waves: Caitlyn Louchard of The Free Theatre, Romeo and Juliet plays the first two weekends in April at the Omni Commons in Oakland.
Thursday, March 26
Richard Price, author of The Whites.
Price's latest novel, written under the name Harry Brandt, tells the story of a group of cops obsessed with "white whales," people who committed crimes and got away with it. As with any Richard Price novel, the depth of characterization is the real key to the work.
Monday, March 23
Colleen McCullough (1937-2015)
Recorded on January 27, 1996 on the tour for her novel Caesar's Women. (with Richard A. Lupoff).
Thursday, March 19
Kelly Link, author of Get in Trouble
Kelly Link writes short stories that employ fantasy and science fictional elements in a way that is remarkably unique. This collection shows her virtuosity and originality.
Monday, March 16
Lisa See, author of China Dolls (rebroadcast)
Three young women attempt to break into show business before World War II. A rich look back at Asian-American life in the 1940s and the effects of war and racism on their lives. China Dolls now out in paperback.
Monday, March 9, 2015
Thursday, March 12, 2015
Jill Leovy, author of Ghettoside.
Los Angeles Times reporter Jill Leovy was embedded with the LAPD in South Central for several years, covering homicides in mostly African American neighborhoods. Ghettoside looks at black-on-black murder and its effect on communities and the police, focusing on two murder investigations but broadening to create an indictment of the American policing and justice system.
Thursday, March 5, 2015
Stewart O'Nan, author of West of Sunset
West of Sunset deals with the final years in Hollywood of F. Scott Fitzgerald, immersing the reader in the late 1930s and early 1940s in a remarkable tour de force.
Monday, March 2, 2015
Leonard Nimoy (1931-2015)
Recorded Oct, 26, 1995 during the book tour for his memoir, I Am Spock. Hosted by Richard Wolinsky & Richard A. Lupoff.
Thursday, February 26, 2015
Miranda July, author of the novel The First Bad Man.
The noted performance artist, director and actor with her first novel, about a strange relationship between two women.
Monday, February 23, 2015
Bay Area Theatre: Charlie Varon, playwright and performer, Feisty Old Jew.
Thursday, February 19
Armistead Maupin, author of The Days of Anna Madrigal
The Tales of the City series concluded as we learn about the past of the legendary landlady of Barbary Lane, and the old tenants take a trip to Burning Man.
Monday, February 16
David Carr. 2009 interview with the late New York Times columnist and reporter, and author of the memoir The Night of the Gun.
Monday, January 26
Bay Area Theatre: Mona Golabek, star of The Pianist of Willisden Lane, at Berkeley Rep in a return engagement, Feb. 3-22.
Thursday, January 22, 2015
Tribute to Kent Haruf (1943-2014)
Monday, January 19, 2015
Bay Area Theatre: Neecole Cockerham, playwright and star of I Am Not My Mother at the Osher Theatre Jan. 24-25, 2015.
Thursday, January 15, 2015
Richard Blanco, author of The Prince of Los Cacuyos.
The noted poet writes a series of essays about growing up Cuban and gay in Miami during the last two decades of the twentieth century.
Monday, January 12, 2015
Film Talk: Richard Wolinsky talks with KPFA film reviewer Reyna Cowan about the year in cinema.
Thursday, January 8, 2015
Azar Nafisi, author of The Republic of Imagination
The author of Reading Lolita in Tehran returns with a book-length essay about the importance of fiction, focusing on a handful of classic novels and showing how they relate to the real world today.
Monday, January 5, 2015
Probabilities Archive: P.D. James (1920-2014), British mystery writer. Interview conducted in 1990 by Richard Wolinsky and Richard A. Lupoff.
Thursday, January 1, 2015
Chang Rae Lee, author of On Such a Full Sea
Now out in trade paper. Rebroadcast from 2014.
