KPFA - Radio Wolinsky

Don Winslow, author of “City on Fire,” in conversation with Richard Wolinsky, recorded at Book Passage bookstore in Corte Madera on April 27, 2022. Don Winslow is the author of 21 novels, many of which focus on crime and the criminal underworld, including The Cartel, The Force, Savages (which became an Oliver Stone film), and The Border. His latest novel, “City on Fire,” tells the story of a mob war in the 1980s in Rhode Island using as a template the story of the Trojan War, The Iliad, the Odyssey, the Aeneid and other works. This is the first of a trilogy, already completed, that marks the end of Don Winslow’s career as a novelist. Don Winslow also produces political videos aimed at saving the American democracy from insurrectionists and fascists, and is a vital force on Twitter. Photos: Richard Wolinsky. The post Don Winslow, “City on Fire,” 2022 appeared first on KPFA.

Jim Harrison, who died on March 26th, 2016 at the age of 78, was one of those figures people call “larger than life.” A novelist, essayist, poet, screenplay writer and master of the novella, Harrison dealt in his work with issues such as mortality, illness, living the solitary life, redemption and absolution, work that, as the NY Times obituary said, captured the resonant, almost mythic soul of 20th-century rural America. Among his best known novels were Legends of the Fall and Wolf, both of which became major Hollywood films. This interview was recorded while he was on tour in 2007 for his novel, Returning to Earth, which revisits characters from his 2005 novel, True North. The conversation was wide-ranging, touching on not only his work but also life in New York after 9/11, the columnist David Brooks, the education system, and life in Hollywood in the ’90s. The post Jim Harrison (1937-2016), “Returning to Earth,” 2007 appeared first on KPFA.

A conversation with A.O. Scott, co-chief film critic of the New York Times and author of Better Living Through Criticism: How to Think about Art, Pleasure, Beauty and Truth, Hosted by Richard Wolinsky. Encore podcast originally posted on April 7, 2016. A.O. Scott is one of America’s foremost film critics. Since 2002, he’s shared the chief movie review slot at the New York Times with Mahnola Dargis. His book, Better Living Through Criticism: How to Think about Art, Pleasure, Beauty and Truth, takes a look at reviewing and criticism, at some of the challenges critics face, and at some of the issues that roll across his mind every time he writes a review. In this interview, he talks about many of those issues, including the rise of algorithms, the relationship between taste and popularity, the relationship between taste and quality, and his own beliefs about aesthetics. Scott also looks at the 2016 controversy involving diversity at the Academy Awards, and how he and Mahnola Dargis divvy up reviews.   The post A.O. Scott, “Better Living Through Criticism,” 2016 appeared first on KPFA.

Miranda July, in conversation with Richard Wolinsky, while on tour for The First Bad Man. Encore podcast first posted December 22, 2015. Recorded January 21, 2015 in the KPFA studios. Miranda July is a multi-talented artist, working in film, fiction, monologue, digital media presentations, and live performance art. In 2022, her films You, Me and Everyone We Know is available by subscription on AMC+ and can be rented from Apple TV, and The Future can be rented from Apple TV. The First Bad Man remains her most recent book to date. In 2020, a film Kajillionaire, starring Debra Winger, Richard Jenkins, Gina Rodriguez and Evan Rachel Wood was written and directed by Miranda July and is currently streaming on HBO Max and can be rented via Apple TV. From Miranda July’s webpage: Miranda’s collection of stories, No One Belongs Here More Than You, won the Frank O’Connor International Short Story Award and has been published in twenty-three countries. Her writing has appeared in The Paris Review, Harper’s, and The New Yorker; It Chooses You was her first book of non-fiction.  She wrote, directed and starred in The Future and Me and You and Everyone We Know — winner of the Camera d’Or at the Cannes Film Festival and a Special Jury Prize at Sundance. July’s participatory art works include the website Learning to Love You More (with artist Harrell Fletcher), Eleven Heavy Things (a sculpture garden created for the 2009 Venice Biennale), New Society (a performance), and Somebody (a messaging app.) Raised in Berkeley, California, July lives in Los Angeles. The post Miranda July, “The First Bad Man,” 2015 appeared first on KPFA.

Margo Hall, Artistic Director of Lorraine Hansberry Theatre and noted Bay Area actor, in conversation with host Richard Wolinsky. Margo Hall has established herself as one of the premier actors on Bay Area stages, having performed at Marin Theatre Company, Cal Shakes, Shotgun Players, ACT and elsewhere. A playwright whose work appeared at Berkeley Rep, she has also directed several plays around the area, and currently teaches at both UC Berkeley and Chabot College. She is also a featured performer in the TV series Blindspotting, on STARZ and in the original Blindspotting film. Lorraine Hansberry‘s first live in theatre production, “Intimate Apparel” by Lynn Nottage, directed by Jan Hunter, plays at the Magic Theatre in San Francisco through April 16, 2022. The post Margo Hall, Artistic Director Lorraine Hansberry Theatre; actor, “Blindspotting”, 2022 appeared first on KPFA.

Roger Ebert (1942-2013) on tour for his book “The Great Movies,” in conversation with Richard Wolinsky, recorded April 18, 2002 in the KPFA studios. The great film critic Roger Ebert died of cancer at the age of 70 in 2013. From 1967 until his death he was the film critic of the Chicago Sun Times, and from 1975 to 2008 , first with Gene Siskel and later mostly with Richard Roeper, co-hosted film review programs first on PBS and later in syndication. The Great Movies featured reviews of a hundred different great films and has since become a classic reference work. At the time of the interview, Roger Ebert had turned his eye to politics, and had become a regular commentator on various television programs. In the interview, he discusses the political climate of the day, including the disputed 2000 election, and other issues, some of which have changed over the years, and others which haven’t.. Sections of the interview are also devoted to the viewing technology of twenty years ago, and a lot of that has changed. The interview was first aired on the program Living Room on April 23, 2002. A half hour version later aired on Bookwaves. This is the first time the full interview has been heard in nearly twenty years. There are two undigitized earlier interviews with Roger Ebert, both co-hosted by Richard A. Lupoff, and one later one, in 2005, while he was on tour for The Great Movies II. A third volume was published shortly before his death. All the reviews can now be found at rogerebert.com The post Roger Ebert (1942-2013), “The Great Movies,” 2002 appeared first on KPFA.

Robert Stone (1937-2015), author of “Dog Soldiers,” “A Flag for Sunrise” and “Damascus Gate,” in conversation with Richard Wolinsky, recorded in the KPFA studios on April 25, 2003 during the book tour for “Bay of Souls.” Robert Stone, who died on January 10th, 2015 at the age of 77, won the National Book Award in 1975 for his novel Dog Soldiers and was a finalist four other times, and twice was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize for fiction. Among his other books were the critically acclaimed A Flag for Sunrise, set in war-torn Central America, and Damascus Gate, set in the conflicted city of Jerusalem. His memoir, Prime Green: Remembering the Sixties, is one of the best books written about the counterculture. Robert Stone’s books tend to have complicated characters existing during complex political and social turmoil. Two of his books became films, Hall of Mirrors became WUSA, and Dog Soldiers became Who’ll Stop the Rain, an excellent film that was dumped by the studio. Following the interview, only four books were published. In 2007, it was the memoir Prime Green, followed in 2010 by a collection of short stories, Fun with Problems. The college novel mentioned at the end of the interview, Death of the Black Haired Girl, was published in 2013, and a collection of non-fiction The Eye You See With, was published posthumously in 2020. A second interview, from 2007 for Prime Green will be posted in the future. The post Robert Stone (1937-2015), “Bay of Souls,” 2003 appeared first on KPFA.

Paul Gordon, composer/lyricist for the musical adaptation of “Sense & Sensibility,” and other works, in conversation with host Richard Wolinsky. Paul Gordon was a pop music songwriter when he decided to create a musical adaptation of Jane Eyre, which arrived in Broadway in December 2000 and ran for six months. Since then, he’s written the music and lyrics for several shows, including Pride & Prejudice, Emma, Daddy Long Legs, Estella Scrooge and Sleepy Hollow. His version of Jane Austen’s  Sense and Sensibility, directed by Robert Kelley, plays at the Lucie Stern Theatre as part of the TheatreWorks Silicon Valley current season, and runs through April 3, 2022. His earlier Pride & Prejudice at TheatreWorks can be rented through Amazon Prime. In this interview, he discusses the trajectory of his career, some of the challenges facing adaptations of Jane Austen, elements of the current production, and his work at streamingmusicals.com   The post Paul Gordon, composer/lyricist “Sense & Sensibility,” 2022 appeared first on KPFA.

Wayne Wang, director of such films as “Chan is Missing,” “The Joy Luck Club” and “Smoke,” in conversation with host Richard Wolinsky. Recorded March 1, 2022. In this hour-long conversation, the noted filmmaker discusses, in depth, several of his movies, talks about his origins as a director, his work on Hollywood films like “Anywhere But Here,” “Smoke,” and “Maid in Manhattan,” his difficulties filming in China, his view of Chinatown and Chinese families, and much more. A Wayne Wang retrospective is currently on view at Berkeley Art Museum Pacific Film Archive, featuring several of his films, including Chan is Missing, Dim Sum: A Little Bit of Heart, Life Is Cheap..But Toilet Paper Is Expensive, Chinese Box and others, several of which are introduced live by the filmmaker. BAMPFA Website and schedule. The post Wayne Wang: Career Retrospective, 2022 appeared first on KPFA.

Rita Moreno, legendary Hollywood star, actress, dancer and singer, in conversation about her career and her one-woman show, “Rita Moreno: Life Without Make-up,” recorded  September 16, 2011 in the KPFA studios. Hosted by Richard Wolinsky. The talented winner of the big four awards, Oscar, Emmy, Grammy and Tony, Rita Moreno is back in the spotlight both in celebration of her 90th birthday on December 11th, and for her work in the new Steven Spielberg West Side Story. In this interview recorded during previews of her one-woman show at Berkeley Rep ten years ago, she discusses not only her work on the show, but her time in Hollywood, her five year relationship with Marlon Brando, her work on the film The King and I, working with Morgan Freeman on PBS, and other stories. The post Rita Moreno, 2011 appeared first on KPFA.