Podcast posted February 14, 2021
Frederik Pohl (1918-2013) author of Man-Plus, Gateway and other novels, science fiction Grandmaster. Recorded October 1978. One of the greats in the science fiction field, Fred Pohl did everything: short stories, collaborative novels (most notably with C.M. Kornbluth), novels, book editor for Bantam Books, pulp magazine editor, digest magazine editor, literary agent. This interview was conducted by Richard Wolinsky, Richard A. Lupoff and Lawrence Davidson the weekend of October 15-16, 1978 at the Octocon Science Fiction convention in Santa Rosa, California. Digitized and remastered in 2021 by Richard Wolinsky.
Charles Yu, author of Interior Chinatown, winner of the 2020 National Book Award for Fiction. A mix of prose, screenplay, teleplay, and polemic, Interior Chinatown deconstructs the stereotypes of Asian actors and actresses in Hollywood over the course of the past half-century.
Delroy Lindo, director/actor, discussing his career and the work of playwright August Wilson, recorded November 2008.
Carl Hiaasen, author of the novel Squeeze Me, a satirical look at the Trumpist world of Palm Beach involving elderly fan clubs, giant snakes, and other things Floridian. Very funny and engrossing by the author of Strip Tease, Skinny Dip and other comic thrillers.
Alla Kovgan, director of the documentary film Cunningham, about the early work of dancer/choreographer Merce Cunningham, currently streaming on Hulu. Recorded in December, 2019.
Chris Hedges, author of Wages of Rebellion, 2015 interview in front of a live audience. Chris Hedges was prophetic in this conversation recorded weeks before Donald Trump declared his candidacy, and the insights from six years ago remain as profound as they were then.
Ralph Steadman, author of Ralph Steadman: A Life in Ink, artist/illustrator best known for his work with Hunter S. Thompson. With a brief memoir at the beginning, this large format collection from Chronicle Books shows his work as artist and satirist.
Neil Sheehan (1936-2021), author of A Bright and Shining Lie and A Fiery Peace in a Cold War, recorded 2009. The journalist who broke the Pentagon Papers in the New York Times went on to write a definitive book about the Vietnam War, and followed it with an examination of the Cold War and how the world avoided nuclear annihilation. He died in early January, 2021.
Eddie Muller, noted film noir scholar and programmer, discusses the restored 1951 film adaptation of Richard Wright's Native Son, starring the author Richard Wright, as well as film noir in general.
Barry Lopez (1945-2020) Interview recorded in 2000 while on tour for the story collection Light Action in the Caribbean. Barry Lopez split his writing between short fiction and essays on the natural world, and in both cases, brilliantly and intelligently dissected both current events and the past and future of our planet. Interviewers: Richard Wolinsky and Richard A. Lupoff. Digitized and edited in 2021 by Richard Wolinsky.