Tayari Jones’ novel “An American Marriage” deals with an African American couple torn apart by a white woman’s false accusation toward the husband, and how both husband and wife cope with their lives in this country’s unjust society. In the interview, Tayari Jones talks about the book and about her career as a writer. Hosted by Richard Wolinsky.
An interview with the Oscar winning screenwriter and acclaimed African American playwright Tarell Alvin McCraney, recorded in 2014, discussing two of his plays, along with his career. Hosted by Richard Wolinsky.
Laurel Ollstein, whose latest play, “Pandora,”will be streaming on the theatreworks.org website, is interviewed by host Richard Wolinsky. This latest project is a theatrical retelling of the myth of Pandora, the first human woman in Greek Mythology, who was said to have opened a box which allowed all the ills of the world to escape. The production, recorded in Zoom toward the end of May, 2020, is a workshop reading featuring actors from the Bay Area and beyond, and is directed by Giovanna Sardelli.
John Updike was considered one of the great chroniclers of middle class American life. Novelist, short story writer, literary critic, poet and essayist, twice winner of the Pulitzer Prize for fiction — for the novels Rabbit is Rich and Rabbit at Rest – Updike was considered one of America’s greatest literary masters. He was interviewed by Richard Wolinsky on June 9, 2006.
Eve Ensler is one of America’s best known playwrights. She is the author of several plays, including Vagina Monologues, The Good Body, Here. Necessary Targets, a memoir, Insecure at Last, and co-editor of an anthology A Memory, A Monologue, a Rant and a Prayer. Richard Wolinsky interviewed Eve Ensler in early June 2012 in the offices of Berkeley Rep, where she was preparing “Emotional Creature,” a theatrical adaptation of her book, I Am an Emotional Creature.
Clive Cussler (1931-2020) The best-selling author of the Dirk Pitt series, and several other adventure novels, died at the age of 88 on Feb. 24, 2020. This interview was recorded in 1994 on the publication of his novel, “Inca Gold” for the Probabilities radio series, he is interviewed by Richard Wolinsky & Richard A. Lupoff.
Tope Folarin, author of the novel “A Particular Kind of Black Man” is interviewed by host Richard Wolinsky. This first novel, by an up and coming Nigerian American writer, blends memoir and fiction in the tale of the son of Africans who grew up in white Utah and Texas, finding himself ethnically displaced and looking to find his roots.
This week’s playwright podcast hosted by Richard Wolinsky is with Simon McBurney as he discusses The Encounter, which ran at San Francisco’s Curran Theatre in April and May 2017. The Encounter is streaming on-line for free through May 22, 2020, 2 pm Pacific on You Tube or through the sfcurran.com website. If you plan on watching, the best experience is through headphones.
Andrew Altschul discusses his latest novel, The Gringa, with host Richard Wolinsky. The Gringa tells the story of an American activist who goes to Peru in the early 1990s and becomes involved with a radical group who is eventually charged and incarcerated with terrorist crimes, based loosely on the real-life story of Lori Berenso
Tony Kushner: Two Interviews. The first, from 2006, deals with a wide range of topics, from Angels in America and Munich, to the plays of Arthur Miller. The second, from 2014, focuses on The Intelligent Homosexual’s Guide to Capitalism and Socialism with a Key to the Scriptures and the presidency of Barack Obama. He is interviewed by Richard Wolinsky.
