LA Review of Books

Author Julietta Singh troubles the boundaries that we imagine in and through the body, recuperating it as a porous site marked by flows betwen the internal and external, the self and others. In a wide-ranging conversation about her new book, No Archive Will Restore You, Singh and hosts Eric Newman, Medaya Ocher, and Kate Wolf touch on gender, sexuality, parenting and navigating the world in and as a body. Also, LARB's Medaya Ocher recommends her favorite short story from this past year, The Cafe by Kristen Gleason, which appeared in the Romance Issue of LARB's quarterly journal.

Journalist and Author Mark Jacobson joins co-hosts Medaya Ocher and Eric Newman to discuss his timely new book, Pale Horse Rider: William Cooper, the Rise of Conspiracy, and the Fall of Trust in America. The result is a Trump-era gem: equally depressing and hilarious, with as much sociological and political insight as can be packed into one show. Jacobson addresses the phenomenal rise of conspiracy theory culture through the underground history of its most influential text, Behold a Pale Horse by William Cooper; who emerges as a sincere and at-least-somewhat redeemable character, the tragedy to Alex Jones' farce. The detour the conversation takes through Hip-Hop culture is worth the price of admission itself! Also, philosopher Kwame Anthony Appiah returns once more to recommend a text he never tires of teaching, John Stuart Mill's On Liberty.

Author, Publisher, and Art Critic Chris Kraus joins hosts Eric Newman, Kate Wolf, and Medaya Ocher to talk about her new collection, Social Practices; which is described as "Essays on and around art and art practices" by Semiotexte, the legendary radical imprint where Chris has been a driving force since the '90s. What follows is a wide-ranging conversation about the role of art and art criticism in contemporary society; with detours into the recent cultural history of LA, the back-story to her novel I Love Dick, and the importance of good old fashioned description when your beat is radical creativity beyond your comfort zone. Also, Kwame Anthony Appiah, who chaired this year's Man Booker Prize, returns to recommend the book that won fiction's most prestigious award, Milkman by Northern Irish author Anna Burns.

Philosopher Kwame Anthony Appiah talks with host Eric Newman about his new book The Lies That Bind: Rethinking Identity. Appiah tackles questions of cultural appropriation, how we come to feel that we possess our various identities, and why it is past time that we start restructuring our relationship to identity and our relationship to others. While Appiah’s work has long engaged questions of how we relate to others through and across difference in pursuit of a more peaceful world, these questions take on a special weight in today’s perilous times as the President inflames racial and political divisions and the commentariat ponder whether we have entered a new “Cold Civil War.” Also, Dan Lopez returns to honor poet Tony Hoagland, who died last month, by reading from and recommending his Application for Release from the Dream.

In conversation at the finale of the Lambda LitFest in October, Patrisse Cullors, author of When They Call You a Terrorist: a Black Lives Matter Memoir, speaks to host Eric Newman about her activism, the philosophy that undergirds #BlackLivesMatter and how queer writers and activists from the 1960s and 1970s continue to shape her political vision and practice. While Cullors celebrates recent victories against police brutality and the prison system in Los Angeles, she also gives the audience inspiration for fighting back on the eve of Brett Kavanaugh’s confirmation to the Supreme Court. Also, Author Dan Lopez returns to recommend Autonomous by Sci-Fi author Annalee Newitz.

"Shirkers" is a film that Sandi Tan and her friends made in 1992, in Singapore, when they were teenagers. Then the film was lost - stolen. 20 years later it was recovered. Tan's new documentary on Netflix, also called Shirkers, tells the story behind the original film, the tragedy of its theft, and the mystery of its recovery. Co-hosts Medaya Ocher and Kate Wolf ask Tan about her life as a teenage auteur in Singapore and how she came to work with Georges, an older mentor, who shot the sumptuously gorgeous footage and then betrayed her trust. Tan evokes the DIY spirit of early '90s Indie cinema, and her magical relationship to the few great films she saw (in the era before instant access); providing an uncanny re-encounter, at mid-life, with the dreams of an inspired youth. Also, Dan Lopez drops by to herald Haruki Murakami latest novel, Killing Commendatore; reflect on the magical humanism of the master's flawless formula; and confess that he, like legions of fans around the world, never wants it to end.

Moving between the starlight of Hollywood’s golden age and the stardust that made Studio 54 sparkle in the 1970s, director Matt Tyrnauer’s recent documentaries “Scotty and the Secret History of Hollywood” and "Studio 54" capture sexual utopias before the dawn of the HIV/AIDS epidemic. Moving between the two films in a wide ranging conversation, host Eric Newman and Tyrnauer riff on post-closet culture, the social absorption of economic and political changes, and the glimpses of freedom to be caught in these moments for the archive of American experience. Also, Ben Marcus drops in to recommend Catherine Lacey's most recent collection of stories Certain American States.

Is there something fundamentally different about contemporary capitalism than the system that Adam Smith identified, Karl Marx critiqued, and John Maynard Keynes sought to reform? If so, is there a unique underlying logic to what is frequently called Neo-Liberalism (aka post-Reagan/Thatcher capitalism)? Co-hosts Eric Newman and LARB Economics and Finance editor Michelle Chihara speak with Political Economist Martijn Konings about his ambitious new book, Capital and Time: For a New Critique of Neo-Liberal Reason, which posits that, yes, the current global order is distinct in ways that impacts every aspect of our lives. This raises two essential issues: one, on the economic and political front, how can we hope to reform (let alone challenge) Neo-Liberalism if we don't have a solid theoretical understanding of how it operates in our daily lives; two, on the philosophical front, given how all-encompoassing this system is in our materialist society, what does it say about how we experience "reality," in particular time. As Martin takes us through the changes that led to the rise of Neo-Liberal logic, he reveals the web we are entangled in - and, to paraphrase one of Martijn's predecessors, an accurate interpretation of the world is a necessary first step to changing it. Also, Brian Phillips, author of Impossible Owls, drops by to recommend Rebecca West's beautiful, heart-wrenching 1956 novel The Fountain Overflows.

As one of today's featured authors is a celebrated sports blogger, it seems appropriate to begin by quoting legendary Chicago Cub Ernie Banks, "Let's Play Two!" Indeed, it's a Doubleheader today. First off, co-hosts Medea Ocher and Kate Wolf talk with Ben Marcus about his new collection, Notes from the Fog. Medea posits what she sees as a recurring theme in the stories, "Can we really know the people closest to us?" What follows is fascinating series of reflections on child raring, the banality of death, surreal realism, what makes a narrative compelling, and how Trump is undermining contemporary fiction. Then guest host Evan Kindley talks with Brian Phillips, one of our most celebrated non-fiction writers, about his new collection, Impossible Owls. While Brian initially gained notoriety and a huge fan base on the beloved-but-now-defunct Grantland website, which featured quality writing on sports; and he delighted millions with his puckish Tweets during the men's World Cup; he has now established himself as a master of long form reporting that is indistinguishable from the literary essay, through which he bares witness to our contemporary moment. In conversation with Evan, Brian opens up about his unorthodox career and inspired approach to his often-quirky subjects.

It's the LARB Radio Reunion Show, as the original triumvirate of hosts - Seth Greenland, Laurie Winer, and Tom Lutz - reconvene on the occasion of the publication of Seth's new novel, The Hazards of Good Fortune. The witty repartee flows forth as if they never skipped a beat. Seth speaks of the motivations and inspirations behind his sweeping story of contemporary American society that echoes classics from the previous gilded age. Tom and Laurie praise while they ponder the pressures of producing a narrative that captures the spirit of the times. The result is a thoroughly entertaining extended reflection on how we write today. Also, Fran Lebowitz returns to recommend Deborah Eisenberg's masterful new collection of short stories, Your Duck is My Duck.