John Leguizamo, in conversation with Richard Wolinsky, recorded July 7, 2016 in the offices at Berkeley Rep, where Latin History for Morons had opened to rave reviews. The show can now be seen on Netflix. John Leguizamo has been in several films and television shows as an actor. As a performer/writer, his one man shows have all been performed on Broadway, and several have been recorded as films for television.
Mavis Gallant, who died in 2014 at the age of 91, was a Canadian short story writer who spent most of her life in France. During her lifetime, she had 118 stories in the New Yorker, which made her one of that magazine’s most published writers. Along the way she did write two novels, but it was because of her shorter fiction that she was very much a writers’ writer. Interviewed in October, 1993 by Richard Wolinsky and Richard A. Lupoff while on tour for her collection, “Across the Bridge.”
Nicky Silver, in conversation by phone from New York, live on the air, with host Richard Wolinsky and director John Dixon in the studio, recorded April 27, 2007. Nicky Silver is the author of several successful plays, including “The Lyons,” which premiered on Broadway in 2012, “Beautiful Child” and “Pterodactyls.” At the time of the interview, his play ‘Past Perfect” was making its world premiere at San Francisco’s Theatre Rhino, directed by John Dixon.
Robert K. Massie was an historian and journalist, with a focus on the Romanov dynasty. His book on Peter The Great won a Pulitzer Prize, and “Nicholas and Alexandra” became a film in the 1960s. Richard Wolinsky and Richard A. Lupoff interviewed him on November 4, 1995 about his book “The Romanovs: The Final Chapter,” which dealt with the bones of Czar Nicholas’s family and with the various people claiming to be either the children of the Czar or their descendents.
John Irving in conversation with host Richard Wolinsky, recorded in November 2009 while on tour for the novel “Last Night in Twisted River.” John irving is the author of “The World According to Garp,” “The Hotel New Hampshire,” “Cider House Rules” and other novels.
Acclaimed novelist Colm Toibin discussing his play “The Testament of Mary” which ran at ACT’s Geary Theatre in October and November, 2014, and also discussing his novel “Nora Webster,” which was published in October 2014. The interview with host Richard Wolinsky was recorded in the KPFA studios the afternoon of October 27, 2014.
Patrisse Cullors with Cat Brooks in Oakland | 1-25-2017 | When They Call You a Terrorist: A Black Lives Matter Memoir. WHEN THEY CALL YOU A TERRORIST takes an intimate look at Patrisse Cullors’ time growing up in Van Nuys, California, surrounded by a devoted family and supportive friends, and weaves her experiences into the … Continued
MUMIA ABU-JAMAL 2-18-2016 | Writing on the Wall: Selected Prison Writings – presented by Angela Davis • Johanna Fernandez • Walter Turner. Writing on the Wall presents a selection of more than 100 previously unpublished essays spanning the entire period of Mumia Abu-Jamal’s incarceration that crystallize his essential perspectives on community, politics, protest, history, social … Continued
Ibram X. Kendi 5-4-2017 in Oakland | Stamped from the Beginning: The Definitive History of Racist Ideas in America Stamped from the Beginning is a history of how racist ideas are built, and how they are built to last. In this deeply researched, provocative narrative, Kendi offers a comprehensive history of anti-Black racist ideas their … Continued
Ta-Nehisi Coates in Berkeley 10-28-2015 | Between the World and Me “This is your country, this is your world, this is your body, and you must find some way to live within the all of it.” In a profound work that pivots from the biggest questions about American history and ideals to the most intimate … Continued
