AWM Author Talks

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In this weekly series, we air previously recorded conversations with leading authors, poets, graphic novelists, playwrights, songwriters, historians and more about craft, processes, influences, inspirations, and what it's like to live as a writer. These episodes are edited and condensed versions of our programs and they are a great way to discover new writers, listen to a program you missed, or relive a program that you loved!

  1. 23 MAR

    Episode 230: Kati Curts

    This week, religious studies professor Dr. Kati Curts discusses her book Assembling Religion: The Ford Motor Company and the Transformation of Religion in America, which illustrates how Henry Ford institutionalized a social gospel. Though Ford's efforts at the head of the Ford Motor Company have commonly been understood as secular, Ford himself was explicit that his work in engineering and auto production was prophetic and meant to remake the world. AWM PODCAST NETWORK HUB This episode is presented in conjunction with the American Writers Museum's new special exhibit American Prophets: Writers, Religion, and Culture. This exhibit and programming series explores the profound ways writing reflects and influences our understanding of religion. American Prophets is now open. This conversation originally took place March 5, 2026 and was recorded live at the American Writers Museum. More about Assembling Religion: Henry Ford did not just mass produce cars. As a member of the Episcopal Church, reader of New Thought texts, believer in the "gospel of reincarnation," mass marketer of antisemitic material, and employer who institutionalized a social gospel, Henry Ford’s contributions to American models of business were informed by and produced for an America he understood to be broadly Christian. Though Ford's efforts at the head of the Ford Motor Company have commonly been understood as secular, Ford himself was explicit that his work in engineering and auto production was prophetic and meant to remake the world. This religious history of Henry Ford and the Ford Motor Company repositions them within critical studies of religion, examining how Ford transformed American religious practice in the twentieth century. Drawing directly on documents from Ford’s archive, it examines Ford's mass production methods and bureaucratic reforms as examples of prosperity gospel traditions, illuminating the ways manufacturing and technology intersect with American religious practice. Bridging American religious and industrial history, Assembling Religion offers a new and surprising way to understand Ford's impact on culture, commerce, and the technology of labor. DR. KATI CURTS is Associate Professor in the Department of Religious Studies at Sewanee: The University of the South. She is a historian of religion, specializing in the history and culture of nineteenth- and twentieth-century America. She teaches courses and researches at the intersections of religion, capitalism, and popular culture.

    51 min

  2. 17 MAR

    Episode 229: Oscar Brown, Jr.

    This week, Maggie and Africa Brown discuss the legacy of their father—Oscar Brown, Jr.—and perform some of his work. This conversation originally took place February 26, 2026 and was recorded live at the American Writers Museum. Maggie and Africa Brown love doing what they do best together—singing with theatrics on stage. These "2 Brown Sisters" energetically merge their foundations in jazz with the melting pot of their mixed musical upbringing. The Browns' harmonious vocal blend radiates sisterly love and their often comical chemistry on stage. Their shows are always enjoyable and steeped in a rich musical legacy, which they proudly carry on from their father, singer, composer, playwright, and activist, Oscar Brown, Jr. This episode is presented in conjunction with the American Writers Museum’s new special exhibit American Prophets: Writers, Religion, and Culture. This exhibit and programming series explores the profound ways writing reflects and influences our understanding of religion. American Prophets is now open. More about the episode: Oscar Brown, Jr. was a towering figure in American arts whose genius transcended categories. A poet, playwright, songwriter, actor, director, and activist, he embodied the very spirit of creativity fused with social conscience. Born and raised on the South Side of Chicago, Brown used his words and music as instruments of truth, courage, and transformation. His career spanned theater, television, film, and jazz, leaving a body of work that was all at once entertaining, revolutionary, and timeless. The 2 Brown Sisters grew up watching and internalizing their father at work, until they themselves began being part of the show. This performance offers songs and poetry to complement the celebration of African American History and Valentines Day. The 2 Brown Sisters will demonstrate glimpses of several of Oscar’s plays—written entirely in rhyming verse. They will also give insight into his own poetry form he called a "Long Song," which means: a poem with a large number of verses, that was composed to be accompanied with music or sung. Thanks to their upbringing, the 2 Brown Sisters know how to turn poetry into theatre. This activity is part of the Brown family's year-long centennial celebration for Oscar Brown, Jr., born October 10, 1926.

    55 min

  3. 16 FEB

    Episode 228: Rima Vesely-Flad

    In this episode, Dr. Rima Vesely-Flad discusses her book The Fire Inside: The Dharma of James Baldwin and Audre Lorde. Black, queer, feminist, Buddhist: The Fire Inside casts a fresh new light on the radical literary legacies of James Baldwin and Audre Lorde. This conversation originally took place January 29, 2026 and was recorded live via Zoom. AWM PODCAST NETWORK HUB This episode is presented in conjunction with the American Writers Museum’s new special exhibit American Prophets: Writers, Religion, and Culture. This exhibit and programming series explores the profound ways writing reflects and influences our understanding of religion. Travel through vibrant spaces that trace the many paths of American faith, from sacred rituals to songs of devotion. Discover rare artifacts and creative works from literature, film, music, and comedy along the way. This isn't just an exhibit—it's a shared journey of reflection, inspiration, and connection through the stories that move us all. American Prophets is now open. More about The Fire Inside: The Fire Inside explores the writings of Audre Lorde and James Baldwin through a Dharmic lens, revealing for the first time how two of America's greatest literary voices reflect—and expand—Buddhism's most timeless truths toward justice and liberation. Dr. Rima Vesely-Flad dives deeply into a dharma of liberation as lived by Baldwin and Lorde, offering timely lessons to help us each meet this moment. She explores the writers' enduring legacies to show that liberation depends not only on organizing and mass movements, but the generative power of inner well-being, authenticity, art, and embodiment. Each chapter shares how looking inward is the way forward, examining Baldwin and Lorde through key Buddhist principles. This book offers space for emerging conversations within spiritual communities—ones that don’t shy away from difficult or uncomfortable truths; that center—and celebrate—Black, queer, radical thought; and that embrace the ways our inner lives, creative fire, sensuality, and expressions of love can ignite and sustain revolutionary liberation. About the author: DR. RIMA VESELY-FLAD is the Visiting Professor of Buddhism and Black Studies at Union Theological Seminary. She is the author of Black Buddhists and the Black Radical Tradition: The Practice of Stillness in the Movement for Liberation (NYU Press, 2022) and Racial Purity and Dangerous Bodies: Moral Pollution, Black Lives, and the Struggle for Justice (Fortress Press, 2017).

    57 min

  4. 10 FEB

    Episode 227: Lisa Marie Gring-Premble & Martha Watson

    This week, scholars Lisa Marie Gring-Pemble and Martha Watson discuss their book Your Daughters Will Prophesy: Religion and Rhetoric in the Nineteenth-Century Woman’s Movement. Their work explores how four 19th-century women—Jarena Lee, Sarah Moore Grimké, Lucretia Coffin Mott, and Frances Willard—used the Bible to claim their voice on the moral questions of their day. This conversation originally took place January 27, 2026 and was recorded live via Zoom. AWM PODCAST NETWORK HUB This episode is presented in conjunction with the American Writers Museum's special exhibit American Prophets: Writers, Religion, and Culture. This exhibit and programming series explores the profound ways writing reflects and influences our understanding of religion. American Prophets is now open. We hope you enjoy entering the Mind of a Writer. More about Your Daughters Will Prophesy: Caught between their identity as Christians and social norms that silenced them, American women used scripture to claim moral and then rhetorical agency. They reinterpreted familiar biblical passages, recovered previously ignored stories about women, and contested passages used to circumscribe women’s activities. By strategically adopting a rhetorical posture of dissent, these women became prophetic voices in American society. In Your Daughters Will Prophesy, Lisa Marie Gring-Pemble and Martha Watson analyze the argumentative resources four women—Jarena Lee, Sarah Moore Grimké, Lucretia Coffin Mott, and Frances Willard—used to counter gendered restrictions and gain access to platform and pulpit, catalyzing what became known as the woman’s movement. About the authors: LISA MARIE GRING-PEMBLE is an associate professor at George Mason University. She is author of Grim Fairy Tales: The Rhetorical Construction of American Welfare Policy, and her writing has appeared in journals, including the Quarterly Journal of Speech and Rhetoric and Public Affairs. MARTHA WATSON is author and editor of several books, including Lives of Their Own: Rhetorical Dimensions in Autobiographies of Women Activists. She is a priest in the Episcopal Diocese of Maryland.

    57 min

  5. 2 FEB

    Episode 226: Mary Ann Ahern

    This week, Emmy Award-winning journalist Mary Ann Ahern talks about covering religion, writing about Chicago's Pope, and shaping the public's perception and practice of faith. Ahern is interviewed by AWM President Carey Cranston. This conversation originally took place January 22, 2026 and was recorded live at the American Writers Museum. AWM PODCAST NETWORK HUB Mary Ann Ahern joined NBC 5 News in March 1989 and was named the station's Political Reporter in 2006. Most recently, Ahern was front-and-center at the Vatican for NBC 5 Chicago's extensive on-site coverage of one of the year's biggest international stories when Chicago native, Cardinal Robert Francis Prevost, became Pope Leo XIV. For her standout work at the Vatican, Ahern earned a pair 2025 Chicago/Midwest Emmy Awards. This episode is presented in conjunction with the American Writers Museum's new special exhibit American Prophets: Writers, Religion, and Culture. This exhibit and programming series explores the profound ways writing reflects and influences our understanding of religion. American Prophets is now open. American Prophets is supported by a grant from Lilly Endowment Inc. through its Religion and Cultural Institutions Initiative. We hope you enjoy entering the Mind of a Writer. More about Mary Ann Ahern: In her storied career, Ahern has covered political campaigns from the White House to Springfield to Chicago. She witnessed the transitions from Mayor Richard Daley to Mayor Rahm Emanuel to Mayor Lori Lightfoot to Mayor Brandon Johnson and traveled through the primary states for the 2008, 2012, 2016 presidential campaigns, just as she did in 1988 while a reporter in Atlanta. She has covered presidential election nights from Texas, Boston, New York and Chicago and has covered presidential inaugurations from Washington, D.C. She's gained recognition over the years for covering the religion beat and has reported from Rome on the selection of Pope Francis, Pope Benedict's farewell and the 2014 canonization of pontiffs John XXIII and John Paul II. Over the years she covered Pope John Paul II's many trips including Cuba and several World Youth Day events. Ahern followed Cardinal Joseph Bernardin's final years, the selection of both Cardinal Blase Cupich and Cardinal Francis George, the beatification of Mother Teresa, and the Pope's emergency meeting with the American Cardinals on the priest sex abuse crisis.

    59 min

  6. 15/12/2025

    Episode 225: Alan Light

    Music journalist Alan Light discusses spirituality and song, as well as his new book Don’t Stop: Why We (Still) Love Fleetwood Mac’s Rumours, which examines the enduring relevance of Fleetwood Mac's album Rumours 50 years after its release. He is interviewed by radio host Ryan Arnold. This conversation originally took place November 24, 2025 and was recorded live at the American Writers Museum. This episode is presented in conjunction with the American Writers Museum’s new special exhibit American Prophets: Writers, Religion, and Culture. This exhibit and programming series explores the profound ways writing reflects and influences our understanding of religion. American Prophets is now open. AWM PODCAST NETWORK HUB More about Don't Stop: The author of The Holy or the Broken and former editor-in-chief of Vibe brings his "thoughtful and illuminating" (New York Times) insight to Fleetwood Mac's iconic album Rumours, celebrating its story, mythology, and enduring impact. On January 1, 1975, struggling young singer-songwriter Lindsey Buckingham was invited to join the veteran blues band Fleetwood Mac. He agreed on the condition that his girlfriend, an equally unknown vocalist named Stevie Nicks, also be included. Within two years, Rumours was born—and went on to become one of the most popular albums of all time. Almost five decades later, it is the only classic rock record that still attracts young listeners and continues to top sales and streaming charts. In Don’t Stop, award-winning journalist and bestselling author Alan Light unravels the enduring allure of Fleetwood Mac's monumental album. Since its 1977 release, Rumours has captivated generations with its unparalleled blend of romantic turmoil and musical genius. Light explores the album's transformation from a pop phenomenon to a cultural touchstone, and its unique ability to remain relevant in today's rapidly changing music scene. Drawing on in-depth interviews with current artists inspired by Fleetwood Mac, as well as fans who have only recently discovered the album, Light investigates what keep Rumours at the forefront of popular culture, from Glee to Saturday Night Live to Daisy Jones & the Six. Through insightful analysis and storytelling, Don't Stop celebrates the album's trail blazing sound and diverse voices, and the emotional depth that continues to fascinate audiences. From the incredible soap opera behind the album’s creation to its embrace in the age of TikTok, this book presents a kaleidoscopic view of a landmark work that has transcended its time. Emmy Award–winning music journalist ALAN LIGHT is the author of numerous books including The Holy or the Broken: Leonard Cohen, Jeff Buckley, and the Unlikely Ascent of “Hallelujah” (which was adapted into an acclaimed documentary), as well as Let’s Go Crazy: Prince and the Making of Purple Rain and biographies of Johnny Cash, Nina Simone, and the Beastie Boys. He was the cowriter of bestselling memoirs by Gregg Allman and Peter Frampton. Alan was a senior writer at Rolling Stone and the editor-in-chief of Vibe and Spin. He contributes frequently to The New York Times, Esquire, and The Wall Street Journal, among many publications, and cohosts the podcast Sound Up! With Mark Goodman and Alan Light.

    55 min

  7. 07/12/2025

    Episode 224: Christopher W. Hunt

    This week, scholar Christopher W. Hunt discusses his recent book Jimmy’s Faith: James Baldwin, Disidentification, and the Queer Possibilities of Black Religion. This conversation originally took place September 16, 2025 and was recorded live at the American Writers Museum. This episode is presented in conjunction with the American Writers Museum’s new special exhibit American Prophets: Writers, Religion, and Culture. This exhibit and programming series explores the profound ways writing reflects and influences our understanding of religion. American Prophets is now open! More about Jimmy's Faith: The relationship of James Baldwin's life and work to Black religion is in many ways complex and confounding. What is he doing through his literary deployment of religious language and symbols? Despite Baldwin's disavowal of Christianity in his youth, he continued to engage the symbols and theology of Christianity in works such as The Amen Corner, Just Above My Head, and others. With Jimmy's Faith, author Christopher W. Hunt shows how Baldwin's usage of those religious symbols both shifted their meaning and served as a way for him to build his own religious and spiritual vision. Engaging José Esteban Muñoz's theory of disidentification as a queer practice of imagination and survival, Hunt demonstrates the ways in which James Baldwin disidentifies with and queers Black Christian language and theology throughout his literary corpus. Baldwin's vision is one in which queer sexuality signifies the depth of love's transforming pos-sibilities, the arts serve as the (religious) medium of knitting Black community together, an agnostic and affective mysticism undermines Christian theological discourse, "androgyny" troubles the gender binary, and the Black child signifies the hope for a world made new. In disidentifying with Christian symbols, Jimmy's Faith reveals how Baldwin imagines both religion and the world "oth-erwise," offering a model of how we might do the same for our own communities and ourselves. DR. CHRISTOPHER W. HUNT is Assistant Professor of Religion at Colorado College, and received his PhD from the Garrett-Evangelical Theological Seminary. Hunt’s work considers the relevance and meaning of Black religion for those on the margins or considered outside of traditional religious spaces.

    51 min

  8. 05/12/2025

    Episode 223: Divine Love

    This week, three writers of romance—Sajni Patel, Scarlett St. Clair, and Helene Wecker—discuss the role of religion in the romance genre. This conversation originally took place July 10, 2025 and was recorded live at the American Writers Museum. This episode is presented in conjunction with the American Writers Museum’s new special exhibit American Prophets: Writers, Religion, and Culture. This exhibit and programming series explores the profound ways writing reflects and influences our understanding of religion. American Prophets is now open! About the writers: SAJNI PATEL is an award-winning author of romance and young adult novels and is perhaps best known for her debut, The Trouble with Hating You. Her works have appeared in numerous Best of the Year and Must-Read lists from Cosmopolitan, Teen Vogue, Apple Books, Audiofile, Tribeza, Austin Woman, NBC, Insider, and many others. Her critically acclaimed YA dark fantasy, A Drop of Venom, from Disney Hyperion/Rick Riordan Presents fuses the Medusa myth with Indian mythology in what Booklist calls “a furious, action-packed fantasy” and Publisher’s Weekly calls “urgent and vital.” #1 New York Times bestselling author SCARLETT ST. CLAIR is a citizen of the Muscogee Nation and the author of the Hades X Persephone Saga, the Adrian X Isolde series, fairytale retellings, and When Stars Come Out. She has a master’s degree in library science and information studies and a bachelor’s in English writing. She is obsessed with Greek mythology, murder mysteries, and the afterlife. Her newest book is Terror at the Gates. HELENE WECKER is the author of The Golem and the Jinni and The Hidden Palace. Her books have appeared on The New York Times and San Francisco Chronicle’s bestseller lists, and have won a National Jewish Book Award, the VCU Cabel Award, the Harold U. Ribalow Prize, and a Mythopoeic Award. She currently lives in the San Francisco Bay Area.

    58 min
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About

In this weekly series, we air previously recorded conversations with leading authors, poets, graphic novelists, playwrights, songwriters, historians and more about craft, processes, influences, inspirations, and what it's like to live as a writer. These episodes are edited and condensed versions of our programs and they are a great way to discover new writers, listen to a program you missed, or relive a program that you loved!

Information

  • Creator
    Unknown
  • Years Active
    2020 - 2026
  • Episodes
    231
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Show Website
    AWM Author Talks