LA Review of Books

It is safe to say, in the Age of Trump and the Kardashians, that America's obsession with wealth grows ever-stronger. Photographer and Documentarian Lauren Greenfield has built a brilliant career both capturing and critiquing the conspicuous consumption of the 1% and wanna-be one percenters. Lauren joins co-hosts Eric Newman and Kate Wolf to discuss her new film, Generation Wealth; which, she explains, contrasts with her previous work because it shows how her super-wealthy subjects had a come-to-Jesus moment in the wake of the spectacular market crash of 2008 and subsequent Great Recession, which seemed, once-and-for-all, to kill the Greed is Good ethic. Generation Wealth then captures how quickly the super rich betrayed Jesus once their balance sheets recovered, even as the average household fell further behind. Also, fittingly, LARB Radio's own Medaya Ocher stops by to recommend 99 Glimpses of Princess Margaret by Craig Brown, a fascinating study of a daughter of (the highest) privilege who remains more worthy of our attention than America's current crop of gluttonous narcissists.

To celebrate the release of the Romance Issue of the LARB Print Journal, this week’s podcast focuses on one of the definitional institutions of 21st century romance: The Bachelor (and The Bachelorette). Co-hosts Eric Newman, Medaya Ocher and LARB Poetry Editor Callie Siskel discuss the ABC hit-series with LA Times writer Amy Kaufman, the author of Bachelor Nation: Inside the World of America's Favorite Guilty Pleasure. The conversation hones in on the cultural resonance, as well as the juicy behind-the-scene secrets, of the now 16-year old TV franchise. Also, Lydia Millet, author of Fight No More, returns to recommend Julia Holmes' first novel Meeks, a tale about bachelors in an alternative woman-dominated world.

Co-hosts Eric Newman, Medaya Ocher and Kate Wolf talk with Lydia Millet about her new short story collection, Fight No More, which covers the wide swathe of LA life through intimate, quiet stories in homes magnificent and modest. In a wide-ranging conversation, Millet talks about the simultaneously private and public nature of homes, delighting in the moments that blur the distinction between what a host wants you to see and what they want to hide from view. Millet and the co-hosts also lament the pornified nature of contemporary culture, one in which abjection and nakedness are not only daily fare but also the center of performed social identities. Also, author Jervey Tervalon pays tribute to his friend, legendary food critic and Los Angeleno Jonathan Gold, with some epic verse: Adventures in Life and Food with J Gold.

Co-hosts Medaya Ocher and Eric Newman talk with Director Tim Wardle about his Sundance-winning documentary Three Identical Strangers, which tells the story of identical triplets, separated at birth and re-united by chance in their late teens. The film is a masterpiece of pacing and Wardle discusses how he approached unveiling a story with so many unexpected twists and jaw-dropping turns; and also how he integrated reflections on the many controversial elements of the story. Throughout the interview, Wardle's compassion for the triplets shines through. Also, Michelle Chihara, LARB's Economics and Finance Editor, stops by to explain why she adores The Woman Upstairs and all of Claire Messud's novels.

This week's podcast is an homage to Ursula K Le Guin from her final collaborator. David Naimon joins co-hosts Kate Wolf, Medaya Ocher, and Eric Newman and explains the backstory to his new book, Ursula K Le Guin: Conversations on Writing, a collection of dialogues with the legendary author from Naimon's literary podcast, Between the Covers. Le Guin died unexpectedly before Naimon had completed the project; thus, her mortality did not hang over the proceedings. Still, Naimon, a master interviewer, elicited reflections on the breadth of her work and thinking. In this conversation, he paints a resonant portrait of Le Guin as a generous, powerful, and fully-engaged person. Also, author Dan Lopez returns to recommend Lisa Halliday's novel, Asymmetry.

Hosts Eric Newman and Kate Wolf sit down with documentary filmmaker Morgan Neville to discuss his latest work, Won’t You Be My Neighbor?, which tackles the work and impact of Fred Rogers and his iconic children’s show. In a conversation that moves from Rogers’ recognition of the complex emotional life of children to his sense of television as his ministry for a more loving world, Neville outlines both the example and challenge that Rogers sets for us in an era when hatred and vitriol seem poised to engulf the nation. Also, in recognition of The World Cup, Joseph O'Neill, author of the short story collection Good Trouble, recommends his favorite book on football, Brilliant Orange: The Neurotic Genius of Dutch Soccer by David Winner.

Co-hosts Kate Wolf and Medaya Ocher talk with author Joseph O'Neill about his new collection of stories, Good Trouble. This show is a gem, full of reflections on 21st century mores, literature, politics, and crises. A master of contemporary language, O'Neill begins by playfully challenging a description of his characters - and away we go - as he reflects upon his craft and the task of representing the inner lives of the "American educated bourgeoisie," which he describes as "still a revolutionary class" that's remaking the world. Also, Johanna Drucker returns to recommend Arthur C Clarke's sci-fi tale of Alien invasion, Childhood's End, which holds up a mirror to humanity.

Author Rebecca Makkai joins co-hosts Eric Newman, Medaya Ocher, and Kate Wolf to discuss her heralded new novel, The Great Believers, which tells two parallel and inter-related stories: one of the AIDS epidemic ravaging the Chicago gay community in the 1980s; the other, set in Paris in 2015, about a woman, Fiona, searching for her daughter, who has joined a cult. The connection is Fiona, who had become a caretaker for the men dying 30 years earlier in Chicago. Rebecca explains how she arrived at such a complex narrative structure (hint: it wasn't how the project started); as well as how she struggled with issues of cultural appropriation versus historical alliance. Also, Jenny Zhang, author of Sour Heart, returns to recommend the work of Tommy Pico, in particular his new book-length poem, Junk.

Author Tayari Jones joins co-hosts Eric Newman and Medaya Ocher to talk about her latest novel, An American Marriage, that tells the story of an African-American couple that gets separated when the husband is falsely accused of a crime and receives a twelve year sentence. Tayari relates her inspiration. How she set out to research the impact of mass incarceration on families; but, fittingly, made no progress until she overheard an exchange from a couple at a mall. She realized that the key component for any novel to have a powerful political impact is having fully realized, fully human, central characters. Also, Carmen Maria Machado, author of Her Body and Other Parties, returns to recommend Anne Rivers Siddons horror novel from the 1970s, The House Next Door.

Co-hosts Kate Wolf and Medaya Ocher are joined by UCLA Professor Johanna Drucker, author most recently of a novel Downdrift and a work of social philosophy, The General Theory of Social Relativity. The conversation begins with Downdrift, a tale narrated by an Archaeon, the world’s oldest surviving species, who relates how non-human species are increasingly adopting human behavior in a world dominated by the ever-more-destructive Homo Sapiens Sapiens. As Johanna explains, we happily proclaim those documented instances in which animals act like us as “updrift” because the reality is something we’d rather deny: we are destroying our mutually shared habitat and the other animals are feeling desperate. Johanna’s work is a clarion call for us to respect, and learn from, all those other species on earth, who in marked contrast to us, live in harmony with their environment. Also, Morgan Jerkins returns to recommend Jesmyn Ward’s Sing, Unburied, Sing, which won the National Book Award for Fiction in 2017.