LA Review of Books

Eric Newman, Medaya Ocher and Kate Wolf speak with legendary public speaker Fran Lebowitz. In a wide-ranging conversation, the gang flits from the Kavanaugh hearings to how the uber-rich have blighted the landscape of New York, from the escapism of literature (Lebowitz maintains that books are always better than real life) to the changes that have rocked the media environment in which Lebowitz has been a central figure for decades. In her iconic unvarnished style, Fran proves — as if there were ever any need for such a thing — that she’s still one of the most fascinating people to chat with about the lofty and mundane. Also, Eric recommends classicist Madeline Miller's novel, The Song of Achilles, that brings to life the love affair between Patroclus and Homeric Greece's greatest warrior.

Documentary filmmaker Bing Liu joins host Eric Newman to discuss his award winning and critically acclaimed documentary Minding the Gap. A portrait of Bing's friends from his skate community in his hometown of Rockford Illinois, Minding the Gap is a hard film to pin down. In his conversation with Eric, Bing reflects upon the allure of skate culture for struggling teens, the cycles of domestic violence and abuse that move across generations from parents to children, and the emotional and cultural density of life in Middle America. Also, Michael Arceneaux, author of the collection I Can't Date Jesus, returns to recommend Darnell Moore's No Ashes in the Fire: Coming of Age Black and Free in America, a tale of a young, queer, black activist that's full of social observations, trenchant critique, and beautiful prose.

Michael Arceneaux joins co-hosts Eric Newman and Medaya Ocher to discuss the first collection of his writing, the critically heralded I Can't Date Jesus: Love, Sex, Family, Race and Other Reasons I've Put My Faith in Beyonce. If ever a LARB podcast captured the texture of an author's writing, this may be it. After Michael opens the show, fittingly, by reading a passage from his book, he and Eric begin with reflections on their shared experience of growing up Queer and Catholic in the South - the conversation then moves seamlessly through matters of faith, family, race, writing and gay dating culture - all of it infused with Michael's wit. Along the way, amidst the laughter, much is revealed about our deepest shared desires.

Author Porochista Khakpour joins co-hosts Medaya Ocher and Kate Wolf to talk about her new book Sick: A Memoir, which chronicles her struggle with Lyme disease. Porochista discusses how she identified the illness, how it has affected her career and day to day life and how she navigates the experience of being a young sick woman in contemporary society. Also, LARB's Medaya Ocher recommends Ali Smith's novel Autumn.

Legendary LA-based art reporter Jori Finkel joins co-hosts Eric Newman, Kate Wolf, and Medaya Ocher to discuss her first documentary film "Artist and Mother;" which investigates why the contemporary art world, which prides itself as a space of absolute free expression, seems more-than-reluctant to embrace work about Motherhood, even when done by theretofore established artists who are new mothers. Finkel and her team of filmmakers highlight the work of four powerful Los Angeles based artists, all mothers, who challenge this bias: Kenyatta A. C. Hinkle, Andrea Chung, Rebecca Campbell, and Tanya Aguiniga. In the interview, Jori shares her theories about why such a universal theme remains taboo in this iconoclastic realm. Also, LARB's Eric Newman recommends Nella Larsen's 1929 classic Passing, which has long been a staple of academic syllabi but has remained relatively obscure among the general public. All that should change, Eric explains, as it's soon to be a major motion picture.

Two scholars of Queer History, Emeritus Professor Martin Duberman and LARB's Eric Newman, assess the state of the LGBTQ+ movement and ask whether today's generation can redeem the radical vision of Stonewall era activists. The jumping off point is Martin's new book, Has the Gay Movement Failed?, which finds today's largest and best-financed advocacy groups championing a narrow vision of the LGBTQ+ community that is unthreatening to the American status quo. However, both Martin and Eric take heart in the new emphasis by radicals on intersectionality, which celebrates both diversity and inclusion. Towards the end of the dialogue Martin offers a searing critique of "individualism," as the core of mainstream American ideology; a peroration that should be heard by all progressives, radicals, and people of good will. Also, Eric tells LARB's Medaya Ocher about Michael Bronski's excellent A Queer History of the United States of America.

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.