Bookwaves/Artwaves – January 8, 2026: John Varley – Alan Furst

Bookwaves/Artwaves

John Varley (1947-2025), Hugo and Nebula award winning science fiction author, who died December 10, 2025 at the age of 78, in conversation with Richard Wolinsky on “Probabilities” on July 17, 1992. Alan Furst, noted spy novelist, talks about his book “Blood of Victory” and researching World War II in an interview recorded in 2002. Also: James Lapine discusses his career with Stephen Sondheim in a short excerpt. Hosted by Richard Wolinsky.

Upcoming Episode

Jack Arnold, who died at the age of 75 in 1992, was the 1950s master of the science fiction film. Among the films he directed were It Came From Outer Space, The Creature from the Black Lagoon, Revenge of the Creature, Tarantula, and The Incredible Shrinking Man. The Probabilities crew – Richard A. Lupoff, Lawrence Davidson and Richard Wolinsky – received a small stipend from a science fiction convention and flew to Los Angeles to interview Jack Arnold in his office at Universal Studiosin 1980.


Two interviews: Malcolm Margolin (1940-2025) legendary Berkeley-based publisher of Heyday books, in a 2014 interview about his career. Azar Nafisi, author of “Reading Lolita in Tehran” discusses the tyranny of the Islamic regime and her love for literature in an interview from 2009. Also: A tribute to KPFA’s late master of poetry, Jack Foley. Hosted by Richard Wolinsky.


Two from the Bookwaves Archive 2007: Amy Bloom, award-winning novelist and short-story writer, in conversation with Richard Wolinsky in the KPFA studios, on October 4, 2007 while on tour for her second novel, “Away.” John Banville, Booker Prize winning novelist, in conversation with host Richard Wolinsky in the KPFA studios, on March 19, 2007 while on tour for the novel, “Christine Falls,” written under the pseudonym Benjamin Black. Plus reviews of “A Driving Beat” at TheatreWorks and “Sally and Tom” at Marin Theatre. Hosted by Richard Wolinsky.


Tanith Lee (1947-2015) and Chelsea Quinn Yarbro (1942-2025). This programhonors two master practitioners of horror, fantasy and science fiction, Chelsea Quinn Yarbro and Tanith Lee, with two interviews back to back. In the first, Chelsea Quinn Yarbro joins Richard A. Lupoff to speak with Tanith Lee, recorded in San Jose in 1983. In the second, Richard Wolinsky speaks with Chelsea Quinn Yarbro about her historical horror fiction, recorded in late 1978 or early 1979. Also: Review of “Stereophonic” at the Curran Theatre through November 23, 2025. Hosted by Richard Wolinsky.