Radio Wolinsky

A podcast posted every Sunday featuring extended interviews and discussions from Bookwaves, Art-Waves, and Bookwaves Artwaves Hour programs on KPFA, and newly digitized and edited archive interviews from the pre-digital Probabilities series dating back to 1977. Literature, theater, film, the visual arts: in-depth interviews from a progressive and artistic viewpoint, with long-time KPFA/Pacifica host Richard Wolinsky.

Radio Wolinsky

Suzy McKee Charnas (1939-2023), “The Vampire Tapestry,” 1981

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Suzy McKee Charnas (1939-2023), who died on January 2nd, 2023 at the age of 83, in conversation with Richard Wolinsky, recorded over Halloween Weekend, 1981. A novelist and short story writer focusing on fantasy and science fiction, and a groundbreaking feminist writer in the field, her career began in 1974 with her first novel, Walk to the End of the World. All told, she wrote eleven novels and several short stories, winning both the Hugo and Nebula Awards for Best Short Story in different years. She is best known for her tetralogy, The Holdfast Chronicles, and for her stand-alone novel, The Vampire Tapestry.

Radio Wolinsky

Frank Galati (1943-2023), theatre director and librettist, 2019

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Frank Galati (1943-2023), who died on January 2, 2023 at the age of 79, was a giant in American theatre. in this interview recorded in May 2019 while he was directing Ionesco’s “Rhinoceros” at ACT in San Francisco, he discusses not only the play in depth, but also some of his history as a director, librettist and screenwriter. Hosted by Richard Wolinsky. First posted as a Bay Area Theater podcast on June 2, 2019.

Radio Wolinsky

Richard Adams, “The Plague Dogs,” 1978

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Richard Adams (1920-2016) interviewed in 1978 by Richard Wolinsky. Richard Adams, the author of “Watership Down,” “Plague Dogs” “Shardik” and other novels, died on Christmas Eve, 2016 at the age of 96. It was on tour for “The Plague Dogs” upon its American publication in the spring of 1978 that Richard Wolinsky interviewed Richard Adams. Though he’d conducted a handful of interviews with a co-host, this was Richard Wolinsky’s first solo shot in what would be a long career as literary interviewer. First posted as a podcast on January 1, 2017, shortly after Adams’ death.

Radio Wolinsky

Douglas Preston, “Lost City of the Monkey God,” 2017

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Douglas Preston, author of “The Lost City of the Monkey God” is interviewed by Richard Wolinsky. Douglas Preston has written several works of fiction and non-fiction, including a best-selling series of thrillers co-written with Lincoln Child (the Agent Pendergast series). In his latest work of non-fiction, Preston delves into the story of a lost city in Honduras, in Mosquitia, and a civilization that vanished after the Spanish came to the Americas. Encore podcast first posted March 12, 2017.

Radio Wolinsky

William Gibson, “Pattern Recognition,” 2003

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William Gibson is best known as the father of the Cyberpunk movement in science fiction, beginning with “Neuromancer” in 1984 and continuing to his most recent novel, “Agency,” published in 2020. Its prequel in the Jackpot series from 2014, “Peripheral” is now an Amazon Prime TV series. On February 4, 2003, he was in the KPFA studios on the book tour for his novel, “Pattern Recognition”  and was interviewed by Richard Wolinsky

Radio Wolinsky

Julie Powell (1973-2022), “Cleaving” and “Julie & Julia,” 2009

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Julie Powell (1973-2022) was the best-selling author of  “Julie & Julia,” which was based on her blog posts in which she duplicated all of Julia Child’s recipes in the classic Mastering the Art of French Cooking. She was interviewed by Richard Wolinsky on December 16, 2009 while she was on tour for her second (and it turned out, her last) book, Cleaving: A Story of Marriage, Meat and Obsession.

Radio Wolinsky

Emma Rice, playwright/director, “Wuthering Heights,” at Berkeley Rep

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Emma Rice is the artistic director of the Wise Children theatre company, and is former artistic director of the acclaimed Kneehigh Theatre. Her latest work, an adaptation of Emily Bronte’s classic novel, “Wuthering Heights,” is at Berkeley Rep through January 1st. She talks about the adaptation, and about her work during the Covid shutdown with host Richard Wolinsky. (photo: Suki Dhanda)