fiction/non/fiction

Novelist Aamina Ahmad joins Fiction/Non/Fiction hosts V.V. Ganeshananthan and Whitney Terrell to discuss the situation in Pakistan as the country tries to contend with the aftermath of historic floods that have displaced 35 million people. Ahmad, whose debut novel The Return of Faraz Ali is set in Pakistan, talks about her own connection to the country; the scale of what has occurred and its connection to climate change; and how a long history of political instability, militarization, and economic hardship have affected the country’s most vulnerable. She also reflects on writing about corruption, and reads from her acclaimed debut. To hear the full episode, subscribe through iTunes, Google Play, Stitcher, Spotify, or your favorite podcast app (include the forward slashes when searching). You can also listen by streaming from the player below. Check out video versions of our interviews on the Fiction/Non/Fiction Instagram account, the Fiction/Non/Fiction YouTube Channel, and our show website: https://www.fnfpodcast.net/.This podcast is produced by Anne Kniggendorf.Selected Readings:Aamina AhmadThe Return of Faraz AliOthers: Review: ‘The Return of Faraz Ali,’ by Aamina Ahmad - The New York Times Pakistan's IMF loan shows few signs of stopping economic slide - Nikkei Asia Pakistan’s Biblical Floods and the Case for Climate Reparations: Isn’t it time for rich nations to pay the communities that they have helped to drown? By Mohammed Hanif, The New Yorker Imran lashes out at 'facilitators of conspiracy’ at Karachi rally Imran Khan: Pakistan police charge ex-PM under terrorism act - BBC News A history of U.S. interference worsened Pakistan’s devastating floods - The Washington Post by Maira Hayat First came the floods. Now, Pakistan's children face a new disaster GoFundMe: Medical Camp for Pakistan Flood Victims  Alia Haider on Twitter Sri Lanka’s IMF Saga – The Diplomat Sri Lanka holds rates as crisis-hit economy banks on govt reforms, IMF bailout | Reuters Poetry, Prose, and the Climate Crisis: John Freeman and Tahmima Anam on Public Space and Global Inequality (Season 3, Episode 17) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Tetyana Ogarkova and Volodymyr Yermolenko, hosts of the podcast Explaining Ukraine, join Fiction/Non/Fiction hosts V.V. Ganeshananthan and Whitney Terrell to discuss the Russian invasion of Ukraine through the lens of Fyodor Dostoevsky’s Crime and Punishment. They talk about how Russian literature and Russian culture have separated crime from punishment, creating a society that distrusts laws and regulation and values power and impunity. To hear the full episode, subscribe through iTunes, Google Play, Stitcher, Spotify, or your favorite podcast app (include the forward slashes when searching). You can also listen by streaming from the player below. Check out video versions of our interviews on the Fiction/Non/Fiction Instagram account, the Fiction/Non/Fiction YouTube Channel, and our show website: https://www.fnfpodcast.net/.This podcast is produced by Anne Kniggendorf.Selected Readings:Explaining Ukraine podcastUkraine WorldTetyana Ogarkova Ukraine Crisis Media Center Volodymyr Yermolenko Internews Ukraine  Others:Fiction/Non/Fiction Season 5 Episode 14: “They Didn’t Know Which Way to Go.” Katya Soldak Sheds Light on the Plight of the Ukrainian PeopleFiction/Non/Fiction Season 5 Episode 15: Scott Anderson on What Russia’s Wars in Chechnya Tell Us about the Invasion of UkraineFiction/Non/Fiction Season 5 Episode 17: “We’re There to Bear Witness.” Putsata Reang on Reporting in War ZonesCrime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoevsky“Inside the Ukrainian Counterstrike That Turned the Tide of the War,” by Simon Shuster and Vera BergengruenMacbethKing LearEuripidesAeschylusSophoclesLes Misérables by Victor HugoThe Human Comedy of Balzac  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Acclaimed fiction writer Elizabeth McCracken joins Fiction/Non/Fiction hosts V.V. Ganeshananthan and Whitney Terrell for the show’s fifth anniversary. She reads from her new novel, The Hero of This Book, which she wrote during the pandemic, shortly after her mother’s death. She also discusses what’s involved with tricking herself into writing a novel, particularly one that deals with difficult, almost autobiographical, subject matter. To hear the full episode, subscribe through iTunes, Google Play, Stitcher, Spotify, or your favorite podcast app (include the forward slashes when searching). You can also listen by streaming from the player below. Check out video versions of our interviews on the Fiction/Non/Fiction Instagram account, the Fiction/Non/Fiction YouTube Channel, and our show website: https://www.fnfpodcast.net/.This podcast is produced by Anne Kniggendorf.Selected Readings:Elizabeth McCracken The Hero of This Book The Souvenir Museum Bowlaway Thunderstruck & Other Stories The Giant’s House Others:Fiction/Non/Fiction Season 4 Episode 12: WTF, Texas? Lacy M. Johnson and Natalia Sylvester on Surviving the Recent Storm and Unraveling the Whitewashed Myth of Texas Fiction/Non/Fiction Season 1 Episode 1: MFA vs. Everything: Four Writers Weigh in Fiction/Non/Fiction Season 5 Episode 42: Yiyun Li on Complicated Friendships Real and Imagined Fiction/Non/Fiction Season 4 Episode 25: Tolstoy Forever: Brigid Hughes and Yiyun Li on Retweeting a Russian Classic Mezzanine by Nicholson Baker  “Against Aboutness” by Yiyun Li, Harper’s Magazine The Book of Goose by Yiyun Li Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Award-winning author Jonathan Escoffery joins Fiction/Non/Fiction hosts V.V. Ganeshananthan and Whitney Terrell to discuss the complexity of immigrant communities in Florida. Escoffery talks about children of immigrants who fall into a middle space, unable to identify fully with their parents’ country or the one in which they grew up. He also speaks about generational and emotional gaps between his Jamaican American characters, explains why some Florida immigrants’ history and interests might make them lean conservative, and analyzes how fiction can succeed where politicians often fail: in understanding subtlety, nuance, and difference. Finally, he reflects on the political ramifications of categorizing or othering recent immigrants and their families, and reads from his National Book Award-nominated linked story collection, If I Survive You.To hear the full episode, subscribe through iTunes, Google Play, Stitcher, Spotify, or your favorite podcast app (include the forward slashes when searching). You can also listen by streaming from the player below. Check out video versions of our interviews on the Fiction/Non/Fiction Instagram account, the Fiction/Non/Fiction YouTube Channel, and our show website: https://www.fnfpodcast.net/.This podcast is produced by Anne Kniggendorf.Selected Readings:Jonathan Escoffery If I Survive You “Under the Ackee Tree” (Paris Review) Others: The Family Chao by Lan Samantha Chang Fiction/Non/Fiction Season 5 Episode 23, The Brothers Chao: Lan Samantha Chang on Food, Family, and New Ways of Imagining Asian American Narratives Fiction/Non/Fiction Season 5 Episode 36, Remembering Afghan’s Wars: Jamil Jan Kochai on Shifting Storytellers and Forms The Emerging Democratic Majority by John B. Judis and Ruy Teixeira  “Lost Hope of Lasting Democratic Majority” by Nate Cohn  “PolitiFact: What we know about DeSantis flying migrants to Martha's Vineyard. Is it legal?” by Maria Ramirez Uribe and Yacob Reyes “Florida's governor signs controversial law opponents dubbed 'Don't Say Gay'” by Jaclyn Diaz “DeSantis Bans CRT From K-12 Classrooms Despite Absence From Curriculum” by Fatma Khaled “Trump cultivated the Latino vote in Florida, and it paid off” by Carmen Sesin Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Frenemies of the State: Yiyun Li on Complicated Friendships Real and ImaginedNovelist and memoirist Yiyun Li joins Fiction/Non/Fiction hosts V.V. Ganeshananthan and Whitney Terrell to discuss frenemies in writing circles, in literature, and in politics (with a tip of the hat to Joe Manchin). Li explains how intention helps her to distinguish between friendship and frenemyship, talks about finding frenemies in literature more interesting than those in politics, and offers examples ranging from The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie to Sweet Days of Discipline. She also reads from her own new novel, The Book of Goose, and reflects on discovering the intense connection between her two central characters, Agnès and Fabienne, young girls growing up together in France.To hear the full episode, subscribe through iTunes, Google Play, Stitcher, Spotify, or your favorite podcast app (include the forward slashes when searching). You can also listen by streaming from the player below. Check out video versions of our interviews on the Fiction/Non/Fiction Instagram account, the Fiction/Non/Fiction YouTube Channel, and our show website: https://www.fnfpodcast.net/.This podcast is produced by Anne Kniggendorf.Selected Readings:Yiyun Li The Book of Goose Must I Go Dear Friend, From My Life I Write to You in Your Life Where Reasons End Others: The Best Frenemies in Fiction ‹ CrimeReads The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie by Muriel Spark The Silence of the Lambs by Thomas Harris The Talented Mr. Ripley by Patricia Highsmith War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy My Brilliant Friend by Elena Ferrante Sweet Days of Discipline by Fleur Jaeggy A Separate Peace by John Knowles “Harry Styles Has Entered the SpitGate Chat” by Adrienne Westenfeld (Esquire) Milan Kundera Chelsea Clinton Talks Candidly About Crumbling of Friendship with Ivanka Trump: 'She Went to the Dark Side' "'Checked Out': Trump rebukes Ivanka over Jan. 6 testimony" by Kelly Hooper (Politico) Column: Bill Barr is telling the truth about Trump. Too bad it’s too little, too late by Jackie Calmes (Los Angeles Times) F/N/F Season 4 Episode 25: Tolstoy Forever: Brigid Hughes and Yiyun Li on Retweeting a Russian Classic Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Critically acclaimed fiction writer Andrea Barrett joins Fiction/Non/Fiction hosts V.V. Ganeshananthan and Whitney Terrell to discuss her new collection of short stories, Natural History. Barrett explains her approach to writing about women studying science in the 19th century, reflects on the layers of intimacy in letters, and considers if online exchanges will make archives of correspondence obsolete. She also reads from Natural History and explains some of its connections to her previous work. To hear the full episode, subscribe through iTunes, Google Play, Stitcher, Spotify, or your favorite podcast app (include the forward slashes when searching). You can also listen by streaming from the player below. Check out video versions of our interviews on the Fiction/Non/Fiction Instagram account, the Fiction/Non/Fiction YouTube Channel, and our show website: https://www.fnfpodcast.net/.This podcast is produced by Anne Kniggendorf.Selected Readings:Andrea Barrett Natural History Ship Fever Archangel Servants of the Map Voyage of the Narwal The Air We Breathe Others: William Faulkner (via the Nobel Prize) Meet Rosalind Franklin, a sidelined figure in the history of DNA science | PBS NewsHour Daddy Long-Legs Harriet the Spy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Novelist, poet, and memoirist Rachel DeWoskin joins Fiction/Non/Fiction hosts V.V. Ganeshananthan and Whitney Terrell to discuss her work on the Writers for Democratic Action’s National Steering Committee. She explains how the group is partnering with libraries and bookstores across the nation to register voters and connect them with crucial information in the run-up to midterm elections, an effort called Book the Vote. She also reads from her novel, Banshee.To hear the full episode, subscribe through iTunes, Google Play, Stitcher, Spotify, or your favorite podcast app (include the forward slashes when searching). You can also listen by streaming from the player below. Check out video versions of our interviews on the Fiction/Non/Fiction Instagram account, the Fiction/Non/Fiction YouTube Channel, and our show website: https://www.fnfpodcast.net/.This podcast is produced by Anne Kniggendorf.Selected Readings:Rachel DeWoskin Banshee Someday We Will Fly Writers for Democratic Action Book The Vote (special events September 20) DEMOCRACY BOOK CLUB: Unthinkable: An Afternoon with Jamie Raskin and Paul Auster Others: Biden's Approval Rating Surges After Hitting Low Mark In July, Quinnipiac University National Poll Finds; Half Of Americans Say Trump Should Be Prosecuted On Criminal Charges Over His Handling Of Classified Documents Democrats and Republicans Agree That Democracy Is in Danger - The New York Times Voting Laws Roundup: May 2022 | Brennan Center for Justice Florida Republicans targeted Black voters, justice department says in filing | US voting rights | The Guardian 2020 Presidential Election Voting & Registration Tables Now Available Americans Think Our Democracy Is on the Brink. So Does Biden. - The New York Times Robert Pinsky Burning Questions by Margaret Atwood Ta-Nehisi Coates Paul Auster Representative Jamie Raskin Ada Limón  David Modigliani Peter Ho Davies Charles Baxter Jacinda Townsend Kiley Reid James Baldwin William Carlos Williams Walt Whitman Ralph Ellison Schoolhouse Rock Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Nobel Prize-winning novelist Abdulrazak Gurnah joins Fiction/Non/Fiction hosts V.V. Ganeshananthan and Whitney Terrell to discuss the history and lasting effects of colonialism in African nations, particularly Tanzania, where he grew up, and which was once part of German East Africa. He reads from his book Afterlives, which traces the lives of young friends with different relationships to the schutztruppe, the German colonial troops. To hear the full episode, subscribe through iTunes, Google Play, Stitcher, Spotify, or your favorite podcast app (include the forward slashes when searching). You can also listen by streaming from the player below. Check out video versions of our interviews on the Fiction/Non/Fiction Instagram account, the Fiction/Non/Fiction YouTube Channel, and our show website: https://www.fnfpodcast.net/.This podcast is produced by Anne Kniggendorf.Selected Readings:Abdulrazak Gurnah Afterlives Gravel Heart The Last Gift Others: Abdulrazak Gurnah – Facts – 2021 - NobelPrize.org Abdulrazak Gurnah Refuses to Be Boxed In: ‘I Represent Me’ - The New York Times Nobel Prize in Literature: Read About Abdulrazak Gurnah's Books - The New York Times Stories of Familial Unrest and Displacement - The New York Times In Tanzania, Gurnah’s Nobel Prize win sparks both joy and debate | Arts and Culture News | Al Jazeera The English Patient by Michael Ondaatje Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In the wake of Nancy Pelosi’s recent visit to Taiwan, fiction writer Phong Nguyen joins Fiction/Non/Fiction hosts V.V. Ganeshananthan and Whitney Terrell to discuss China’s interests abroad. Nguyen speaks about his new historical novel Bronze Drum, in which he retells the story of Viêt sisters who led an army of women in battle against their Hán Chinese occupiers. He explains how their actions laid the groundwork for an independent Vietnam, and considers modern relationships between China and other countries around the world.To hear the full episode, subscribe through iTunes, Google Play, Stitcher, Spotify, or your favorite podcast app (include the forward slashes when searching). You can also listen by streaming from the player below. Check out video versions of our interviews on the Fiction/Non/Fiction Instagram account, the Fiction/Non/Fiction YouTube Channel, and our show website: https://www.fnfpodcast.net/.This podcast is produced by Anne Kniggendorf.Selected Readings:Phong Nguyen Bronze Drum Pages From The Textbook Of Alternate History Roundabout: An Improvisational Fiction Others: Pelosi’s ‘reckless’ Taiwan visit deepens US-China rupture – why did she go? U.S. Insists It Will Operate Around Taiwan, Despite China’s Pressure - The New York Times The Princess Bride Thelma and Louise Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Fiction writer Anthony Marra joins Fiction/Non/Fiction hosts V.V. Ganeshananthan and Whitney Terrell to discuss how his new historical novel, Mercury Pictures Presents, echoes the right’s current embrace of authoritarianism in the U.S. and globally. By looking at censorship in 1940s Hollywood and the fascist regime of Italy during that same period, Marra teases out truths about conservatives’ current interest in controlling popular opinion. To hear the full episode, subscribe through iTunes, Google Play, Stitcher, Spotify, or your favorite podcast app (include the forward slashes when searching). You can also listen by streaming from the player below. Check out video versions of our interviews on the Fiction/Non/Fiction Instagram account, the Fiction/Non/Fiction YouTube Channel, and our show website: https://www.fnfpodcast.net/.This podcast is produced by Anne Kniggendorf.Selected Readings:Anthony Marra Mercury Pictures Presents The Tsar of Love and Techno A Constellation of Vital Phenomena Others: Frankenstein Psycho Lightyear S5 Episode 13: Farah Jasmine Griffin: Censoring the American Canon S5 Episode 12: Intimate Contact: Garth Greenwell on Book Bans and Writing About Sex  Doctor Faustus by Thomas Mann Billy Wilder Three Days of the Condor Jason Bourne franchise Ban on 52 Books in Largest Utah School District is a Worrisome Escalation of Censorship - PEN America Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices