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.
Third in a series of interviews recorded for an abandoned documentary on George Gershwin. Kitty Carlisle Hart (1910-2007) dated George Gershwin for three years in the mid-1930s. In this brief phone interview from 2001, she discusses her relationship with the composer, as well as her work with the Marx brothers and in the early days of television. Hosted by Richard Wolinsky.
Margaret Atwood, in conversation with Richard Wolinsky, discussing her books, Moral Disorder, Writing with Intent and The Penelopiad, recorded in December, 2006 in the KPFA studios. Fifth in a series of seven interviews with the legendary writer.
Isaac Asimov, who died in 1992 at the age of 72, was one of science fiction’s greatest writers. This interview with host Richard Wolinsky was conducted on August 10, 1983 for KPFA’s Probabilities radio series, and has not been available for nearly forty years. A television adaptation of his “Foundation” trilogy arrives on Apple+ in September.
W.P. Kinsella, author of the now classic novel Shoeless Joe, which became the film Field of Dreams, died on September 16, 2016 at the age of 81. In this archive interview recorded April 19, 1988, he talks about the book and his career with Richard A Lupoff and Richard Wolinsky.
Tony Horwitz (1958-2019) discussing his book, “Midnight Rising: John Brown and the Raid That Sparked the Civil War,” with host Richard Wolinsky, recorded November 12, 2011.
Jack Arnold was the most important director of science fiction films in the 1950s, including “It Came From Outer Space,” “Creature from the Black Lagoon” and “The Incredible Shrinking Man,” among others. He also directed the Peter Sellers classic “The Mouse That Roared.” In 1980, the Probabilities crew, Richard A. Lupoff, Lawrence Davidson and Richard Wolinsky interviewed Jack Arnold in his office at Universal Pictures in Hollywood. This in-depth interview has never been presented in its entirety, and has not been available for nearly forty years. Digitized and re-edited by Richard Wolinsky in July, 2021.
Oscar Hijuelos (1951-2013), Pulitzer Prize winning author of “The Mambo Kings Sing Songs of Love,” and other novels, in conversation with Richard Wolinsky. The interview was first aired August 18, 2011 following the publication of “Thoughts Without Cigarettes,” a memoir, and “Beautiful Maria of My Soul,” a sequel to “Mambo Kings.”
Paul Mazursky (1930-2014) was a major film director during the 1970s and 1980s. Among his films were Bob & Carol & Ted & Alice, Harry & Tonto, An Unmarried Woman, Enemies: A Love Story, and Down and Out in Beverly Hills. On June 8, 1999, he was interviewed by Richard Wolinsky and Richard A. Lupoff in the KPFA studios while on tour for his memoir, “Show Me The Magic.”
Tess Gerritsen, author of the best-selling Rizzoli & Isles series of novels, discusses her latest thriller, “Choose Me,” written in collaboration with mystery author Gary Braver. She also talks about how the pandemic affected her writing, her views on working as an Asian American author, and her history working in films and television. Hosted by Richard Wolinsky.
In 2013, New Yorker staff writer George Packer’s book, “The Unwinding: An Inner History of the New America,” closely examined the changes in American society and politics that led to the political turmoil of the Obama years and in a way predicted the outcomes we’ve seen since the book was published. “The Unwinding” went on to win the National Book Award for non-fiction. This interview was recorded on June 4, 2013. Hosted by Richard Wolinsky.
