fiction/non/fiction

In this episode, Fiction/Non/Fiction co-hosts Whitney Terrell and V.V. Ganeshananthan are joined by acclaimed fiction writer and essayist Kaitlyn Greenidge and poet and novelist Russell Banks. Greenidge challenges traditional framings of “white backlash” and argues that white privilege in the U.S. has shifted to a false narrative of victimhood. Then, Banks discusses his experiences of protest in the ’60s and ’70s, highlighting similarities in the tactics of – and governmental responses to – today’s #BLM activists.To hear the full episode, subscribe to the Fiction/Non/Fiction podcast 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. And check out video excerpts from our interviews at LitHub’s Virtual Book Channel and Fiction/Non/Fiction’s YouTube Channel.This podcast is produced by Andrea Tudhope. Guests: Kaitlyn Greenidge Russell Banks Selected readings for the episode:Kaitlyn Greenidge “The Hollowness of This Too Shall Pass” “Can You Dismantle White Supremacy with Words?” We Love You, Charlie Freeman Russell Banks The Darling The Sweet Hereafter Cloudsplitter Rule of the Bone Affliction Success Stories Continental Drift Searching for Survivors Trailerpark The Book of Jamaica The New World Hamilton Stark The Reserve Lost Memory of Skin A Permanent Member of the Family Dreaming Up America Voyager Foregone Others:  Fiction/Non/Fiction interview with Thomas Frank Conflict is Not Abuse by Sarah Schulman “The Pandemic is a Portal” by Arundhati Roy The Salt Eaters by Toni Cade Bambara Malcolm X: A Life of Reinvention by Manning Marable “Waking Up in the Middle of Some American Dreams,” by June Jordan  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this special live episode of Fiction/Non/Fiction, political commentator and historian Thomas Frank joins co-hosts Whitney Terrell and V.V. Ganeshananthan to discuss his newest book, The People, No: A Brief History of Anti-Populism. Presented by the Kansas City Public Library and Rainy Day Books, this conversation delves into the complicated history of populism, as Frank argues that the Trump administration and right-wing authoritarian governments in Hungary and Brazil — characterized by many as examples of populist movements — are in fact anything but. To hear the full episode, subscribe to the Fiction/Non/Fiction podcast 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. And check out video excerpts from our interviews at Fiction/Non/Fiction’s YouTube Channel.This podcast is produced by Andrea Tudhope. Guests:Thomas FrankSelected readings for the episode:Thomas Frank The People, No: A Brief History of Anti-Populism Listen, Liberal What’s the Matter with Kansas? The Conquest of Cool Rendezvous with Oblivion: Reports from a Sinking Society The Wrecking Crew Pity the Billionaire Commodify Your Dissent One Market Under God The Return of Socialism in America? Dana Goldstein and Thomas Frank on Season 1, Episode 17 of the Fiction/Non/Fiction podcast   Others:  “How Americans Politics Went Insane” by Jonathan Rauch “It’s Time for the Elites to Rise Up Against the Ignorant Masses” by James Traub “How Long, Not Long” Speech by Martin Luther King Jr.  Fiction/Non/Fiction Interview with James Traub “The Fight Over the Future of the Democratic Party” by James Traub Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this episode, acclaimed modern crime writer Sara Paretsky and political satirist and novelist Christopher Buckley join Fiction/Non/Fiction co-hosts V.V. Ganeshananthan and Whitney Terrell to talk about pushing against the boundaries of genre writing. Buckley discusses how political satire has been redefined in the era of reality-television-star-turned-president Trump, and why his new novel Make Russia Great Again is a faux memoir. Then, Paretsky speaks about making the male-dominated detective fiction genre her own with the best-selling V.I. Warshawski series, and reflects on her recent collection Love & Other Crimes, which also features the iconic character.To hear the full episode, subscribe to the Fiction/Non/Fiction podcast 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. And check out video excerpts from our interviews at LitHub’s Virtual Book Channel and Fiction/Non/Fiction’s YouTube Channel.This podcast is produced by Andrea Tudhope. Guests: Christopher Buckley Sara Paretsky Selected readings for the episode:Christopher Buckley Make Russia Great Again But Enough About You They Eat Puppies, Don’t They? Losing Mum and Pup Supreme Courtship Boomsday No Way to Treat a First Lady Florence of Arabia Little Green Men Wry Martinis Sara Paretsky V.I. Warshawski novels Indemnity only Fallout Fire Sale Hardball Love & Other Crimes “Acid Test” “Miss Bianca” “Flash Point” Anatomy of Innocence Others:  “Christopher Buckley’s ‘Make Russia Great Again’ is the Trump satire we’ve been waiting for” by Ron Charles  “Sarah Cooper Doesn’t Mimic Trump. She Exposes Him.” by ZZ Packer Julius Caesar by William Shakespeare “Fawlty Towers” - Television series “‘Art of the Deal’ co-author: Trump ‘couldn’t care less tens of thousands are people are dying’” - MSNBC interview with Donald Trump’s ghostwriter Tony Schwartz “This Be The Verse” by Philip Larkin  Hilary Mantel Too Much and Never Enough by Mary L. Trump Fiction/Non/Fiction interview with Curtis Sittenfeld Fiction/Non/Fiction interview with Jabari Asim Rodham by Curtis Sittenfeld Anna Katherine Green S.J. Rozan Raymond Chandler The Maltese Falcon by Dashiell Hammett Dorothy L. Sayers Raymond Chandler John D. MacDonald Rex Stout Jabari Asim John Conroy Lee Child Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this episode, acclaimed author and pulmonary and critical care specialist Daniela Lamas and celebrated poet and radiation oncologist C. Dale Young join Fiction/Non/Fiction co-hosts V.V. Ganeshananthan and Whitney Terrell to discuss the sustained trauma the COVID-19 pandemic has already inflicted, as well as what is to come. Lamas reflects on providing end of life care to coronavirus patients, and reads from a New York Times piece about the varied difficulties some survivors face on long journeys to recovery. Young reads from The Affliction: A Novel in Stories, as well as his recent poem “Adrenaline,” in which he describes wanting relief from being on constant alert; he also talks about watching Americans fail to consider the public good.To hear the full episode, subscribe to the Fiction/Non/Fiction podcast 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. And check out video excerpts from our interviews at LitHub’s Virtual Book Channel and Fiction/Non/Fiction’s YouTube Channel.This podcast is produced by Andrea Tudhope. Guests: Daniela Lamas C. Dale Young Selected readings for the episode:Daniela Lamas You Can Stop Humming Now What If We Have to Decide Who Gets a Ventilator? In the I.C.U., Before the Coronavirus Storm I’m on the Front Lines. I Have No Plans for This.  What if I Need to Go on a Ventilator? They Survived Covid-19. Now They Need to Learn to Walk Again.  To My Patients’ Family Members, My Apologies The Country Is Reopening. My Patients Are Still Suffering.  I’m a Critical Care Doctor. I’m Tired, I’m Mourning, I’m Bracing for More.  What Have We Learned About Reopening C. Dale Young “Adrenaline”  The Affliction: A Novel in Stories “Between Men” The Halo The Torn The Second Person The Day Underneath the Day Others:  Pedro Páramo by Juan Rulfo “The Resident” - Television series Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The police killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis has sparked nationwide protests and a reckoning with racism and police brutality. In this episode, University of Minnesota professor and author Terrion Williamson talks with Fiction/Non/Fiction podcast co-hosts V.V. Ganeshananthan and Whitney Terrell about her recent Belt Magazine essay, in which she writes about the parallels between George Floyd’s killing and the 2010 death of David Cornelius Smith, a Black man who moved from her hometown to the Twin Cities. Then, poet and writer Jabari Asim breaks down the dangerous fallout of the criminalization of Black communities and favorable portrayals of police in literature and the media, which he tackles in his newest collection, “Stop and Frisk.”To hear the full episode, subscribe to the Fiction/Non/Fiction podcast 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. And check out video excerpts from our interviews at LitHub’s Virtual Book Channel and Fiction/Non/Fiction’s YouTube Channel.This podcast is produced by Andrea Tudhope. Guests: Jabari Asim Terrion Williamson Selected readings for the episode:Jabari Asim Stop and Frisk A Child’s Introduction to African American History We Can’t Breathe: On Black Lives, White Lies, and the Art of Survival Only the Strong What Obama Means … for Our Culture, Our Politics, Our Future Not Guilty Sing It Like a God The N Word: Who Can Say It, Who Shouldn’t, and Why  A Taste of Honey: Stories Terrion Williamson The Black Midwest Initiative Remembering David Cornelius Smith Black in the Middle: An Anthology of the Black Midwest Scandalize My Name: Black Feminist Practice and the Making of Black Social Life Others:  Minneapolis Had This Coming by Justin Ellis Why Minneapolis Was the Breaking Point by Wesley Lowery Revealing the Divisive History of Minneapolis by Sarah Holder Century after Minnesota lynchings, black man convicted of rape ‘because of his race’ up for pardon by Meagan Flynn Their Minneapolis Restaurant Burned, but They Back the Protest by Amelia Nierenberg Yes, We Mean Literally Abolish the Police by Mariame Kaba The tiny media collective that is delivering some of the most vital reporting from Minneapolis by Troy Patterson Amy Cooper Is Fired After Calling Police on Black Birder in Central Park All Fiction is Crime Fiction: Mat Johnson on the Origins of Modern Mystery The Crisis Magazine - NAACP’s Magazine Chester Himes Barbara Neely Grace Edwards Attica Locke Nichelle Tramble Walter Mosley Watchmen (television series) BlackKklansman Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this episode, Curtis Sittenfeld discusses the mix of historical context and fictionalized character development—as well as the double standards every professional woman faces—in her new novel, Rodham. Sittenfeld joins Fiction/Non/Fiction podcast co-hosts V.V. Ganeshananthan and Whitney Terrell to ask the question no one else has dared to: what would the world look like had Hillary Rodham never accepted Bill Clinton’s marriage proposal? To hear the full episode, subscribe to the Fiction/Non/Fiction podcast 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.This episode was produced by Whitney Terrell and V.V. Ganeshananthan.Guests:Curtis SittenfeldSelected readings for the episode: Curtis Sittenfeld Rodham You Think It, I’ll Say It Sisterland American Wife Prep: A Novel “White Women LOL” from Oprah Magazine Others Chasing Hillary: On the Trail of the First Woman President Who Wasn’t by Amy Chozick The President’s Daughter by Ellen Emerson White Philip Roth John Updike Ulysses by James Joyce Wellesley, 1969 from “With Her,” a podcast by Hillary Clinton Hillary Rodham Clinton’s 1969 Commencement Speech Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this episode, poet and editor John Freeman talks to Fiction/Non/Fiction podcast co-hosts V.V. Ganeshananthan and Whitney Terrell about his second collection of poetry, The Park. Freeman discusses who finds public space a source of connection, relaxation, and recreation, and who is excluded. Then Ganeshananthan, Terrell, and Freeman are joined by acclaimed Bangladeshi writer Tahmima Anam, who has written extensively about climate change and whose fable appears in Freeman’s new anthology, Tales of Two Planets: Stories of Climate Change and Inequality in a Divided World. The four discuss global inequality, the climate crisis, and resilience.To hear the full episode, subscribe to the Fiction/Non/Fiction podcast 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. And check out video excerpts from our interviews at LitHub’s Virtual Book Channel and Fiction/Non/Fiction’s YouTube Channel.This podcast is produced by Andrea Tudhope. Guests: John Freeman  Tahmima Anam Selected readings for the episode:John Freeman Freeman’s  The Park Maps Tales of Two Planets: Stories of Climate Change and Inequality in a Divided World Selections: “Unfinished,” “The Sacrifice,” “Open All Night” Tales of Two Cities: The Best and Worst of Times in Today’s New York Tales of Two Americas: Stories in of Inequality in a Divided Nation Tahmima Anam “The Unfortunate Place” in Tales of Two Planets Tahmima Anam on how Bangladesh is succumbing to global warming in The Guardian (2007) A Burst of Energy in Bangladesh in the New York Times (2016) A Golden Age The Good Muslim   The Bones of Grace Others:  The Recovering by Leslie Jamison “The Funniest Shit You Ever Heard” by Lina Mounzer in Tales of Two Planets Jennifer 8. Lee's post on Instagram showing "circular human parking spots at Domino Park in Williamsburg, Brooklyn" Bill McKibben Gold Fame Citrus: A Novel by Claire Vaye Watkins Fiction/Non/Fiction interview with Emily Raboteau and Omar El Akkad Fiction/Non/Fiction interview with Juliana Spahr and Nathaniel Rich Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this episode, acclaimed fiction writer David Means and Sex and the City author Candace Bushnell share their experiences with solitude and sociability in quarantine. Means, author of the recent short story collection Instructions for a Funeral, talks to Fiction/Non/Fiction podcast co-hosts V.V. Ganeshananthan and Whitney Terrell about how writers use solitude to their advantage. Bushnell discusses the crucial role social life and friendship plays in Sex and the City and in the lives of New Yorkers. She also speaks about her new novel Rules for Being a Girl.To hear the full episode, subscribe to the Fiction/Non/Fiction podcast 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. And check out video excerpts from our interviews at LitHub’s Virtual Book Channel and Fiction/Non/Fiction’s YouTube Channel.This podcast is produced by Andrea Tudhope. Guests: David Means Candace Bushnell Selected readings for the episode:David Means Instructions for a Funeral Assorted Fire Events The Secret Goldfish The Spot Hystopia “Two Ruminations on a Homeless Brother” Candace Bushnell Rules for Being a Girl (co-written with Katie Cotugno) Is There Still Sex in the City? Sex and the City Summer and the City The Carrie Diaries Lipstick Jungle  Others I See the World by Jamaica Kincaid, Paris Review Daily On Isolation and Literature, The Millions William Carlos Williams Katie Cotugno Anna Karenina Edith Wharton Jane Austen Gloria Evangelina Anzaldúa Such A Fun Age by Kiley Reid Bad Feminist by Roxane Gay We Should All Be Feminists by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie  The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this episode, acclaimed poet Danez Smith discusses the role friendship plays in their most recent collection of poetry, Homie. Smith talks to Fiction/Non/Fiction podcast co-hosts V.V. Ganeshananthan and Whitney Terrell about the isolating effect COVID-19 has had on black communities, using space on the page inventively, and writing about money. This episode is presented in conjunction with the Loft Literary Center’s literary festival, Wordplay, which this year is a virtual event.To hear the full episode, subscribe to the Fiction/Non/Fiction podcast 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.This episode was produced by Andrea Tudhope. This week's sponsor is the University of Colorado's Master of Arts in Journalism Entrepreneurship program. Learn more at ce.colorado.edu/tellthestory to invent your future in journalism today. Poetry, Blackness, and Friendship: Danez Smith on Language, Connection, and ‘Homie’ from The Virtual Book Channel on Vimeo.Guests:Danez SmithSelected readings for the episode:Danez Smith Homie Don’t Call Us Dead Two Poems what was said on the bus stop: a new poem by Danez Smith my president VS podcast, from the Poetry Foundation, hosted by Danez Smith and Franny Choi Others  Corona Correspondences: #28 by Danielle Evans (The Sewanee Review) Review: ‘Homie,’ a Book of Poems That Produces Shocking New Vibrations by Pahrul Sehgal Frank O’Hara As I Lay Dying by William Faulkner Angel Nafis Hieu Minh Nguyen Douglas Kearney 1977: Poem for Mrs. Fannie Lou Hamer by June Jordan Recordings of June Jordan from Harvard Library Digitized recordings and more digitized recordings ‘Feet’ and ‘Spoon’ from Catalog of Unabashed Gratitude by Ross Gay Mirrors: Stories of Almost Everyone by Eduardo Galeano Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this episode, New York Times bestselling author Sue Monk Kidd discusses her upcoming novel The Book of Longings, which is from the point of view of Ana, the wife of Jesus. Kidd talks to Fiction/Non/Fiction podcast co-hosts V.V. Ganeshananthan and Whitney Terrell about how alternate histories can be vehicles for silenced voices of the past, and how our present might be different if Jesus being married was part of the Bible’s story. Kidd also talks about her research process and writing the character of Judas Iscariot. To hear the full episode, subscribe to the Fiction/Non/Fiction podcast 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.Alternate Histories and Silenced Women: Sue Monk Kidd on her Novel The Book of Longings from The Virtual Book Channel on Vimeo.Guests:Sue Monk KiddSelected readings for the episode:Sue Monk Kidd The Book of Longings The Secret Life of Bees The Invention of Wings The Dance of the Dissident Daughter Traveling With Pomegranates (with Ann Kidd Taylor) Others Others  The work and teachings of psychoanalyst Carl Jung The Man in the High Castle by Philip K. Dick The Plot Against America by Philip Roth The Underground Railroad by Colson Whitehead Empire City by Matt Gallagher Rodham by Curtis Sittenfeld (forthcoming) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices