Tony Hillerman (1925-2008) in conversation with Richard Wolinsky and Richard A. Lupoff, recorded November 8, 1993 while on tour for the novel “Sacred Clowns.” This is the second of four interviews.Digitized, remastered and edited in February 2024 by Richard Wolinsky. This interview has not been heard in three decades. Photo: Copyright 1993 Harper Collins.

From the Probabilities Archive: Two interviews conducted by the late Richard A. Lupoff. Fritz Leiber, noted fantasy and science fiction author, interviewed in the KPFA studios, September 1977. Tony Hillerman, master of detective fiction, interviewed January, 1987 while on tour for his novel “Skinwalkers.” Digitized, remastered and edited by host Richard Wolinsky in August, 2023. Neither interview has has been heard on radio since the initial airings.


Tony Hillerman, who died in 2008 at the age of 83, was a master of the detective genre and an important writer in detailing life on the Navajo reservation. In this interview with the late Richard A. Lupoff for the Probabilities radio series recorded in January 1987, he discusses his early years, his service during World War II, and his relationship with Native American tribes and the belief systems of the Navaho, This first of four Probabilities/Bookwaves interviews conducted over a fifteen eyar period, was digitized, remastered and edited by Richard Wolinsky in August 2023 and has not been heard in over thirty years.