This podcast was first posted on February 26, 2017. George Saunders, author of the novel Lincoln in the Bardo, in conversation with Richard Wolinsky. George Saunders is the highly acclaimed author of several short story collections, including "Tenth of December," "CivilWarLand in Bad Decline," "In Persuasion Nation" and others, along with political commentary that recently appeared in The New Yorker and other magazines. His latest novel takes place in the form of a fictional oral history from the perspective of several ghosts who survive after death in a Washington DC graveyard in 1862. Willie Lincoln, the favored son of Abraham Lincoln, has gotten sick and died, and during the course of the book, the President visits his son's tomb. The book deals with the Civil War, with the relationship of blacks and whites in America, with beliefs about life and death, and with the relationship of history and memory. Lincoln in the Bardo won the 2017 Man Booker Prize. His latest book is a collection of essays, A Swim in a Pond in the Rain: In Which Four Russians Give a Master Class on Writing, Reading and Life, published in January, 2021.    

KPFA - Radio Wolinsky

George Saunders, “Lincoln in the Bardo,” 2017

Daniel Handler, author of "Poison for Breakfast" by Lemony Snicket, in conversation with host Richard Wolinsky. Daniel Handler writes young adult/children's books under the name "Lemony Snicket," along with novels for adults under his own name. Lemony Snicket was narrator for the 13-book "A Series of Unfortunate Events," and "wrote" several other books as well. "A Series of Unfortunate Events" was a not so successful film and a very successful Netflix TV series. In this in-depth interview, he talks about how he came to write "Poison for Breakfast," his love of noir, the origins of characters in "A Series of Unfortunate Events," his early years as a writer, and how he handled the pandemic shutdown. Recorded at his home, this is the first Radio Wolinsky in eighteen months created as an in-person interview. Photos: Richard Wolinsky.

Daniel Handler (Lemony Snicket), 2021: “Poison for Breakfast”

Mary Roach discusses her latest book, "Fuzz: When Nature Breaks the Law" with host Richard Wolinsky. The author of several non-fiction works that examine specific areas of life that are rarely covered elsewhere, Mary Roach brings a sharp eye and excellent research skills to explain how things work, how they don't work, and the various things that happen in between. "Fuzz" deals with such issues as animals killing humans, pests in the fields, attempts to control invasive species, animal burglaries (watch out, Yogi Bear!) and even birds destroying flowers in the Vatican. In this interview, she discusses many of these issues, plus adds some information that never found its way into her book. Toward the end, she talks about her research, and offers advice on how to research on your own.

Mary Roach, 2021: “Fuzz”

Frank Herbert, author of Dune and other works, in conversation with Richard Wolinsky, Lawrence Davidson and Richard A. Lupoff, recorded July, 1981 at Westercon in Sacramento. During the July 4th weekend of 1981, the Probabilities crew, Richard Lupoff, Lawrence Davidson and Richard Wolinsky, went to the Westercon Science fiction convention in Sacramento. One of the guests that weekend was Frank Herbert. By that point, he’d written several novels, including what had become known as the Dune trilogy – Dune, Dune Messiah, and Children of Dune. Earlier that year, a sequel to the trilogy had been published, God Emperor of Dune. The three managed to corral the author for an interview that lasted, including some socializing, to just under a half hour. Back at KPFA, it turned out that the tape had screwed up, and the final portion of the interview had speed variations that made it unlistenable. Perhaps ten minutes were aired at the time. Digitizing it in 2021, it became clear that at least some more of the interview could be manipulated sufficiently to allow listeners to follow the conversation. The final question in the interview did not survive. Here's what happened: In 1977, Ballantine Books published a novel called Sword of Shannara by Terry Brooks. After reading the novel, Richard Wolinsky drew up a long list of plot points the book shared with the Lord of the Rings trilogy, so many in fact that the publisher, Judy-Lyn Del Rey, also the publisher of the Tolkien books, admitted with a nodthat any other publisher could have been sued for plagiarism. What turned Sword of Shannara into a best-seller, however, was a very positive review by Frank Herbert that appeared in the New York Times. Dick Lupoff became obsessed with the review, and how it ignored the similarities between the two books. In that final question, he asked Herbert about the review. At first, Herbert admitted that he overlooked the Tolkienesque prose style because most new authors copy others. When Dick pressed him further about the content, Herbert finally said that he had never read Lord of the Rings. After that answer, he said abruptly, “times up." After 1981, Frank Herbert wrote two more Dune sequels, Heretics of Dune and Chapterhouse: Dune before dying at the age of 65. After his death, his son Brian Herbert along with Kevin J. Anderson used Herbert’s notes for several other novels and one collection of short stories, which at this point stands at 15 additional books set in the universe of Dune. The chronological history of Dune concluded with Hunters of Dune (2006) and Sandworms of Dune (2007)  based on Frank Herbert’s original chronology and outlines for the final books in the series. The David Lynch version of Dune came out in 1984 and is streaming on HBO Max. The story of the Dune movie that was never made, Jodorowsky's Dune, was released as a documentary in 2013 and can be rented on various streaming services. A new version of Dune, (first of two parts) directed by Denis Villeneuve, opens in theaters and on HBO Max on October 22, 2021.            

The Probabilities Archive: Frank Herbert (1920-1986), 1981: “Dune”

[caption id="attachment_366076" align="alignleft" width="192"] Stephen Greenblatt, 2004[/caption] Stephen Greenblatt, in conversation with Richard Wolinsky about his book Will in the World: How Shakespeare Became Shakespeare, recorded in 2005. Stephen Greenblatt is a literary historian and an expert on Shakespeare. Among his other books on Shakespeare are  Shakespearean Negotiations: The Circulation of Social Energy in Renaissance England, Hamlet in Purgatory, Shakespeare’s Freedom, and most recently Tyrant: Shakespeare in Politics, set in motion by his feelings about the Trump presidency. Host Richard Wolinsky interviewed Stephen Greenblatt twice afterward, for his award-winning best-seller, The Swerve: How the World Became Modern, and in 2016 for The Rise and Fall of Adam and Eve. Will in the World focuses on William Shakespeare's life, and how that life and the events in his world affected his work. The interview looks at, among other plays, Hamlet, Romeo and Juliet, MacBeth and Richard III and gives a brief overview of London in the waning days of the 1500s.  

Stephen Greenblatt, “Will in the World,” 2005

Mick LaSalle, author of Dream State: California in the Movies, and film critic for the San Francisco Chronicle, in conversation with host Richard Wolinsky. Recorded as a Zoom event for KPFA, edited for audio. Link to complete 81-minute video. [1] A wide-ranging discussion that includes a look at the work of French director Eric Rohmer, movie viewing during the pandemic, the rise of long-form television, and the real reason why Dorothy should never have gone back to Kansas. From the San Francisco Chronicle: Mick LaSalle is the film critic for the San Francisco Chronicle, where he has worked since 1985. He is the author of two books on pre-censorship Hollywood, "Complicated Women: Sex and Power in Pre-Code Hollywood" and "Dangerous Men: Pre-Code Hollywood and the Birth of the Modern Man." Both were books of the month on Turner Classic Movies and "Complicated Women" formed the basis of a TCM documentary in 2003, narrated by Jane Fonda. He has written introductions for a number of books, including Peter Cowie's "Joan Crawford: The Enduring Star" (2009). He was a panelist at the Berlin Film Festival and has served as a panelist for eight of the last ten years at the Venice Film Festival. [1] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oFcr-Vd0PMI&list=PLcKTcNwy7BrEaUe_zOh-wbJYBJ_SpgRaf&index=5

Mick LaSalle, “Dream State: California in the Movies,” 2021

Kitty Carlisle Hart (1910-2007), in conversation with Richard Wolinsky, recorded by phone. This interview has never been heard via radio or podcast. Created for an unfinished radio documentary on the life of George Gershwin, this interview was the final of seven interviews recorded for the program before it was abandoned, recorded in 2001 or 2002. Best known for a long stint as panelist on a popular television quiz show, To Tell the Truth, from 1956 to 1978, with cameos in a handful of films late in life, Kitty Carlisle was born in 1910 and died in 2007.  She came of age as an opera singer and Broadway performer, moving to Hollywood for a handful of  films, including the Marx Brothers A Night at the Opera. She dated George Gershwin from 1933 until he moved to Hollywood six months before his death. After that, she married playwright Moss Hart, a marriage that lasted until his early death in 1961. She was a leading advocate for the arts and arts funding, serving on the New York State Arts Council for twenty years. In the interview, she mentions going out with George, accompanied by a friend, a "piano player." Most likely, that person was composer Burton Lane (Finian's Rainbow, On A Clear Day You Can See Forever). George Gershwin was born in 1898 and his brother Ira two years earlier. At the age of 15 he took a job as a song-plugger, playing other people’s songs on a piano for Remick Music Publisher for the sale of their sheet music. His first composed song was published when he was 17, and at 21 he scored his first big hit, Swanee. But it wasn’t until 1924 when he teamed up with his brother Ira as lyricist that George Gershwin became, what we might call a superstar, which he remained until his untimely death from a brain tumor in 1937. Ira Gershwin, who went on to work with other composers until he retired in the early 1960s, died in 1983. Previous Gershwin Project podcasts: Interview I: [1] English Strunsky, Ira Gershwin's brother-in-law and George's wingman in the 1920s. Interview II: [2] Musicologist Deena Rosenberg and Michael Strunsky, Ira Gershwin's nephew. Image from "A Night At The Opera," Alamy stock photo available for non-profit use.     [1] https://kpfa.org/area941/episode/gershwin-project-english-strunsky/ [2] https://kpfa.org/area941/episode/gershwin-project-ii-fascinating-rhythm/

The Gershwin Project III: Kitty Carlisle

Margaret Atwood in conversation with Richard Wolinsky, discussing her books, Moral Disorder, Writing with Intent and The Penelopiad, recorded in December, 2006 in the KPFA studios. The author of such novels as The Handmaid's Tale and Oryx and Crake talks about her three recent works: Moral Disorder, a series of connected short stories; Writing with Intent, a collection of essays; and The Penelopiad, a comic take on the Odyssey from the perspective of Odysseus' wife. She also discusses the relation of memoir and fiction, America's role in Afghanistan, her views about America from the perspective of a Canadian, genre fiction, and other issues. Margaret Atwood I, 1989: [1]Cat's Eye, The Handmaid's Tale Margaret Atwood II, 1993 [2]: The Robber Bride M [3]argaret Atwood III, 1997: [4] Alias Grace Margaret Atwood IV, 2000: [5]The Blind Assassin [1] https://kpfa.org/area941/episode/margaret-atwood-1989-handmaids-tale-cats-eye/ [2] https://kpfa.org/area941/episode/margaret-atwood-1993-the-robber-bride/ [3] https://kpfa.org/area941/episode/margaret-atwood-2000-the-blind-assassin/ [4] https://kpfa.org/area941/episode/margaret-atwood-1997-alias-grace/ [5] https://kpfa.org/area941/episode/margaret-atwood-2000-the-blind-assassin/

Margaret Atwood V: 2006, Moral Disorder, Writing with Intent

Isaac Asimov (1920-1992), in conversation with Richard Wolinsky, recorded in New York City on August 10, 1983. Isaac Asimov, who died at the age of 72 in 1992, was considered, along with Ray Bradbury and Robert Heinlein, one of the three great masters of American science fiction in the 20th century. Isaac Asimov began sending in stories and getting published in science fiction magazines at the age of nineteen, and at the age of 21, with the publication of the short story “Nightfall” in John W. Campbell’s Astounding Stories magazine. moved into the first ranks of science fiction writers. That status was confirmed a year later with the publication of the short story, "Foundation," later renamed "The Encyclopedists," which would be the first of several short stories and novellas republished as the three volumes of the Foundation trilogy. In the 1940s, he turned to a series of stories focused on robots, which became the collection I Robot and then in the 1950s turned to novels, including Pebble in the Sky, The Caves of Steel and The End of Eternity. Along the way, through his entire career, he wrote dozens of non-fiction books on a wide variety of topics, along with young adult novels, and mystery novels and short stories. In the end, the number of books he wrote or edited exceeded 500, not counting separate short stories and articles. This interview was conducted in a New York City bookstore Asimov was visiting to sign copies of a new collection, The Union Club Mysteries, a year after his return to the world of the Foundation trilogy, Foundation’s Edge, was published. Because his two –volume autobiography had come out a couple of years earlier and dealt with the plots and themes of his fiction, the interview focused instead on his life as a writer and his work with editors and publishers. A miniseries adaptation of the Foundation Trilogy is due to be released on the Apple + streaming app in September, 2021.

The Probabilities Archive: Isaac Asimov (1920-1992), 1983

W.P. Kinsella, author of the now classic novel Shoeless Joe, which became the film Field of Dreams, died on September 16, 2016 at the age of 81.  In this archive interview recorded April 19, 1988, he talks about the book and his career with Richard A Lupoff and Richard Wolinsky. Digitized, remastered and edited in 2016 by Richard Wolinsky. This is the interview's first appearance as a Radio Wolinsky podcast.

W.P. Kinsella (1935-2016), “Shoeless Joe” (“Field of Dreams”), 1988

Tony Horwitz discussing his book, "Midnight Rising: John Brown and the Raid That Sparked the Civil War," with host Richard Wolinsky, recorded November 12, 2011. ​​​​​Tony Horwitz, who died in 2019 at the age of sixty, was a master of the non-fiction form. In books like Confederates in the Attic, Blue Latitudes and A Voyage Long and Strange, he turned his research and his own personal searches into narratives impossible to put down. His work with Civil War reenactcors led him to the story of John Brown, and in his 2011 book, Midnight Rising: John Brown and the Raid that Started the Civil War, he took a closer look at the Civil War, at abolitionists, and at the war against slavery. This interview was recorded at his hotel  while he was on tour for Midnight Rising. Tony Horwitz discussing "Spying On The South" in 2019. [1]   [1] https://kpfa.org/area941/episode/tony-horwitz/

Tony Horwitz (1958-2019), “Midnight Rising,” 2011

Jack Arnold, who died at the age of 75 in 1992, was the 1950s master of the science fiction film. Among the films he directed were It Came From Outer Space, The Creature from the Black Lagoon, Revenge of the Creature, Tarantula, and The Incredible Shrinking Man. The Probabilities crew – Richard A. Lupoff, Lawrence Davidson and Richard Wolinsky – received a small stipend from a science fiction convention and flew to Los Angeles to interview Jack Arnold in his office at Universal Studios. The interview is undated but was recorded in around 1980, give or take a year. Arnold’s memory was fuzzy on when films were released. IMDb lists It Came from Outer Space, along with two film noirs  in 1953, Creature from the Black Lagoon in 1954 and Revenge of the Creature in 1955. The first western, The Man from Bitter Ridge along with Tarantula and his work on This Island Earth also came from 1955. The rest of the westerns, along with The Incredible Shrinking Man and the Peter Sellers classic The Mouse That Roared, came between 1956 and 1959. After that, he directed a couple more A pictures, as he called them, but his primary work moved to television, and from then until his retirement in 1984, he was constantly working on projects for the small screen, interspersed with the occasional film. At the end of the interview, he discusses a remake of Conan Doyle’s The Lost World, complete with storyboards. That project never did get off the ground, though it’s possible later versions used some of Arnold’s pre-planning. And, not to forget, he helped turn Gilligan's Island into a cultural (for better or worse) icon. Remastered and re-edited by Richard Wolinsky in July 2021, this interview has not been heard in forty years, and has never been publicly available in its entirety.    

Jack Arnold (1916-1992), film director, 1980

Oscar Hijuelos (1951-2013), Pulitzer Prize winning author of "The Mambo Kings Sing Songs of Love," and other novels, in conversation with Richard Wolinsky. The interview was first aired August 18, 2011 following the publication of "Thoughts Without Cigarettes," a memoir, and "Beautiful Maria of My Soul," a sequel to "Mambo Kings." Among his other novels were "A Simple Habana Melody (when the world was good)" and "Empress of the Splendid Season." Born in Manhattan to Cuban immigrant parents, Oscar's family spoke only Spanish, but he became fluent in English during a childhood year in a convalescent hospital for nephritis. He studied writing under Donald Barthelme and Susan Sontag, and after a career in advertising, began writing short stories, and then novels. "The Mambo Kings" became a film and later a musical. Oscar Hijuelos died of a heart attack while playing tennis at the age of 62.

Oscar Hijuelos (1951-2013), 2011

Paul Mazursky (1930-2014) was a major film director during the 1970s and 1980s. Among his films were Bob & Carol & Ted & Alice, Harry & Tonto, An Unmarried Woman, Enemies: A Love Story, and Down and Out in Beverly Hills. He was also a character actor, appearing in several films, including his own. On June 8, 1999, he was interviewed by Richard Wolinsky and Richard A. Lupoff in the KPFA studios while on tour for his memoir, "Show Me The Magic." His directorial career faded out in the 21st Century, but he still managed to work as an actor, appearing on both The Sopranos and Curb Your Enthusiasm.

Paul Mazursky (1930-2014), noted film director, 1999

Tess Gerritsen, whose latest novel is "Choose Me," written with Gary Braver. and author of the 12 books in the Rizzoli and Isles mystery series, in conversation with Richard Wolinsky. In a long and successful career, Tess Gerritsen has written romantic thrillers, medical thrillers, science fiction, and noir. She's written the screenplays for two produced movies, and serves as co-director of a documentary, "The Magnificent Beast." The Rizzoli and Isles books served as the inspiration for a long-running Rizzoli and Isles television series, which can now be seen on HBO Max. In this interview, she discusses her latest novel, born from discussions about the #metoo movement, her involvement in film and television, her feelings about how the pandemic affected her work, and her thoughts on how Black Lives Matter affected her as an Asian American author.

Tess Gerritsen, “Choose Me,” 2021

A podcast featuring extended interviews and discussions from the Bookwaves and Arts-Waves programs on KPFA, interviews and discussions with KPFA producers and hosts, and extended archive interviews from the Probabilities series over the past thirty years. Literature, theater, film, the visual arts: in-depth interviews from a progressive and artistic viewpoint, with long-time KPFA/Pacifica host Richard Wolinsky. New podcasts are generally weekly, though not always.

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KPFA - Radio Wolinsky

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