The Chronicles of Now

4.0 (200)
FICTION

Short fiction torn from today’s headlines. Each week, our favorite authors write an original story inspired by the news. Featuring Curtis Sittenfeld, Roxane Gay, Colum McCann, Carmen Maria Machado and more. Because in a world gone haywire, sometimes art is the only thing to make sense of it all. Hosted by Ashley C. Ford.iHeartMedia is the exclusive podcast partner of Pushkin Industries.

09/02/2020

Tommy Orange: Reopening

As schools reopen across the country, parents are facing another round of pandemic fear and uncertainty: How safe will their kids be and for how long? And can life—and work—finally take on some semblance of normalcy? Tommy Orange, the bestselling author of There There, asks a more salient and troubling question: What are the kids thinking? Narrated by Forrest Goodluck. Hosted by Ashley C. Ford. This is the final episode of Season 1. Thanks for listening! You can keep reading stories at chronicles.fm. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

19 min
08/26/2020

Dantiel W. Moniz: What You Make It

As protests erupted across the nation this summer, heavily armed militias stood off against Black Lives Matter supporters in some cities. In July, a Florida sheriff even threatened to deputize all civilian gun owners to protect Jacksonville from protesters. Dantiel W. Moniz, the author of the upcoming story collection Milk Blood Heat, takes this trend to its chilling conclusion: an America in which every citizen is either the hunter or hunted, and every small decision—where to walk, what to say, what mask to wear—could end your life. Narrated by N’Jameh Camara. Hosted by Ashley C. Ford. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

16 min
08/19/2020

Laura van den Berg: 3D

Now that Joe Biden has selected a female VP and finally claimed the nomination, can we talk about his long, weird, handsy history with women? Laura van den Berg, the author of the new story collection I Hold a Wolf by the Ears, explores why some women risked all in coming forward with stories about Biden. And more importantly, what we can learn from them today. Narrated by Cindy Katz. Hosted by Ashley C. Ford. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

17 min
08/12/2020

Curtis Sittenfeld: Breeze Point

The most uplifting news of the past six months? Two giant pandas in Hong Kong finally mate after ten years, when their zoo is closed to visitors due to Covid. But what if there was another reason it took so long for them to get into the mood? An alternate history of panda passion by Curtis Sittenfeld, the bestselling author of six novels, including most recently, Rodham. Narrated by Rachel Dratch. Hosted by Ashley C. Ford. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

17 min
08/05/2020

Hannah Lillith Assadi: The People of Music

The New York Times recently revealed a top-secret Pentagon unit tasked with investigating encounters between UFOs and military pilots. Which got Hannah Lillith Assadi, the author of Sonora, wondering: If aliens touch down on earth in the near future, what will they find? And more importantly, what will they do?Narrated by Soneela Nankani. Hosted by Ashley C. Ford. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

22 min
07/29/2020

John Wray: Status Report

In late June, President Trump visited Yuma, Arizona to celebrate 200 new miles of border wall declaring, “It stopped COVID, it stopped everything.” John Wray, the acclaimed author of five novels, including most recently Godsend, imagines what the border barrier will look like long after Trump, in say, 2056—what will be standing, whom it will protect, how much it will matter. Hint: Tread carefully. Narrated by Edoardo Ballerini. Hosted by Ashley C. Ford. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

12 min
07/22/2020

J. Courtney Sullivan: Proof

Three billion birds have gone missing in North America over the past 50 years. Or is that fake news? J. Courtney Sullivan, the New York Times bestselling author of five novels, including her most recent, Friends and Strangers, tells the stories of two sisters forever connected by birds and forever divided by politics. Narrated by Cindy Katz. Hosted by Ashley C. Ford. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

16 min
07/13/2020

Ben Fountain: Rules of Special Measures

What if instead of dropping off our stereos, cocktail sets and coffee tables, all those sleek white vans that sneak through our streets took our possessions away? You might call them "Recovery Operations," imagines Ben Fountain, the award-winning author of Billy Flynn's Long Halftime Walk, and most recently, Beautiful Country Burn Again. In a time of national crisis, isn't giving up your 800-thread-count sheets in the name of shared sacrifice the least you can do? Narrated by Edoardo Ballerini. Hosted by Ashley C. Ford. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

17 min
07/08/2020

Manuel Gonzales: The Extinction Show

Who knew extinction could be the hottest ticket in town? Manuel Gonzales, the author of The Regional Office Is Under Attack! and The Miniature Wife, imagines a time when people pay to attend Extinction Witnessing Events. It’s a dark, far-fetched idea. And uncomfortably plausible. Just remember: the larger and more beautiful the animal (say, your Amur Leopards and Asian Elephants), the higher the price of admission. Narrated by Edoardo Ballerini. Hosted by Ashley C. Ford. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

11 min
07/08/2020

Roxane Gay: String Theory

Covid-19 has made us all prisoners of our homes. And at times, our families. If the pandemic goes well into 2021, what will an extended quarantine do to our relationships, our country, our daily lives? Roxane Gay, the best selling author of Bad Feminist and Hunger, has some ideas. Sex? Yes. Vaccine? No. Narrated by Bahni Turpin. Hosted by Ashley C. Ford. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

18 min
05/27/2020

Jess Walter: The Ponz

Michael Cohen, Trump's infamous fixer, was just released from prison to home confinement. Jess Walter, author of the international bestseller Beautiful Ruins, imagines Cohen's life in the slammer: betterment, celebrity, and the cellmate down the hall—The Sitch from Jersey Shore. And what about that tell-all memoir in progress? Jess Walter is the author of six novels, including the New York Times bestseller Beautiful Ruins and Citizen Vince, which won the Edgar Allan Poe Award. His new novel, The Cold Millions, will be published in October. Narrated by Oliver Wyman. Hosted by Ashley C. Ford. Read this story and more at chroniclesnow.com. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

17 min

11 Episodes

Maybe you’ve laid awake and imagined how it could have been, how it might yet be, but the moment to act was never right. Well, the moment is here and the podcast making it happen is Heavyweight. Join Jonathan Goldstein for road trips, thorny reunions, and difficult conversations as he backpedals his way into the past like a therapist with a time machine.

4.9 (17073)

PERSONAL JOURNALS
Revisionist History is Malcolm Gladwell's journey through the overlooked and the misunderstood. Every episode re-examines something from the past—an event, a person, an idea, even a song—and asks whether we got it right the first time. From Pushkin Industries. Because sometimes the past deserves a second chance. To get early access to ad-free episodes and extra content, subscribe to Pushkin+ in Apple Podcasts or at pushkin.fm/plus. iHeartMedia is the exclusive podcast partner of Pushkin Industries.

4.7 (58228)

SOCIETY & CULTURE
Deep Cover is a show about people who lead double lives. Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Jake Halpern reveals webs of deception and dark underworlds, through interviews with federal agents and convicted criminals. Deep Cover Presents: Snowball. A special limited series from the Unravel Podcast team at the Australian Broadcasting Corporation. Ollie Wards' family lost everything after their brush with a charming Californian con woman. As he embarks on a quest to find out how she did it, why she did it, and where she is now, he opens the door on a mystery that spans decades and across continents. Binge episodes of Deep Cover Presents: Snowball early and ad-free with a Pushkin+ subscription. Find Pushkin+ on the Deep Cover show page in Apple Podcasts or at pushkin.fm/plus. In the sixth season of Deep Cover: The Truth About Sarah, Jake Halpern and acclaimed investigative journalist Jess McHugh unravel an epic six-year deception that upended lives of countless people. Sarah Cavanaugh was many things: A decorated veteran. A Marine who saved her comrades. A young woman fighting cancer. She was stoic, humble, tough. In short: a hero. Sarah was everything people wanted her to be—until she wasn’t. Turns out, no one knew the real Sarah. Not her comrades. Not her wife. No one. Jake and Jess interview all of the key sources—including Sarah, herself—to tell this sprawling tale. Season five covers the rise and fall of George Santos, the former Republican Congressman from New York, and the stories—many of which were not true—he told about his life and credentials. Season four, The Nameless Man, tells the epic tale of two federal agents who investigate a rumor about a murder that supposedly took place 15 years prior. It is also the story of a family searching for answers about why their brother was killed. These two storylines collide in a courtroom in Philadelphia, where murder, memory, and morality go on trial. Season three, Never Seen Again, tells the story of two women living on opposite sides of the country, who went missing in the summer of 1999. Seven years later, their stories collided when a small town detective got a tip and became convinced that if he could solve one mystery, he’d solve the other. Season two, Mob Land, is about a high-rolling lawyer who joins forces with the feds to try to bring down one of the most powerful criminal syndicates in the country. Season one, The Drug Wars, tells the story of an FBI agent who goes undercover with a biker gang, and follows a trail of clues that eventually leads to the US invasion of a foreign country. Deep Cover drops on Mondays. To hear episodes early and ad-free, subscribe to Pushkin+ in Apple Podcasts or at pushkin.fm/plus. iHeartMedia is the exclusive podcast partner of Pushkin Industries.

4.2 (4354)

TRUE CRIME
We tell our children unsettling fairy tales to teach them valuable lessons, but these Cautionary Tales are for the education of the grown ups – and they are all true. Tim Harford (Financial Times, BBC, author of “The Data Detective”) brings you stories of awful human error, tragic catastrophes, and hilarious fiascos. They'll delight you, scare you, but also make you wiser. New episodes every Friday.

4.7 (4722)

HISTORY
You might think you know what it takes to lead a happier life… more money, a better job, or Instagram-worthy vacations. You’re dead wrong. Yale professor Dr. Laurie Santos has studied the science of happiness and found that many of us do the exact opposite of what will truly make our lives better. Based on the psychology course she teaches at Yale -- the most popular class in the university’s 300-year history -- Laurie will take you through the latest scientific research and share some surprising and inspiring stories that will change the way you think about happiness.

4.7 (13917)

SOCIETY & CULTURE
Michael Lewis’s best-selling book The Big Short is now 15 years old. The Oscar-winning movie based on it came out a decade ago. To mark the occasion, Lewis has narrated a new audiobook of The Big Short. Here on his podcast, he and co-host Lidia Jean Kott are thinking about the legacy of the book, the movie, and the financial crisis of 2008. Michael catches up with the director of the movie, Adam McKay, as well as some of the real-life characters depicted by the likes of Ryan Gosling, Steve Carell and Jeremy Strong. He also calls up journalists, economists, and historians to make sense of the 2008 financial crisis and to understand how it still affects the world today. Get your copy of The Big Short audiobook, narrated by Michael Lewis, on Audible, Spotify, Apple Books, pushkin.fm/bigshort or wherever you get audiobooks. iHeartMedia is the exclusive podcast partner of Pushkin Industries.

4.4 (9465)

SOCIETY & CULTURE

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Ashley C. Ford

Host
Forrest Goodluck

Guest
Tommy Orange

Guest
N’Jameh Camara

Guest
Cindy Katz

Guest
Curtis Sittenfeld

Guest
Hannah Lillith Assadi

Guest
Soneela Nankani

Guest

4

out of 5

200 Ratings

Novel...

10/23/2020

on known:)

Listened to “the people of music” and subscribed. Too bad this kind of future doesn’t seem too imaginary
Where are you?

10/10/2020

greengay

More, please, more!
Good Stuff

09/03/2020

Mountain-

Good Stuff
Biased. Bashing.

09/20/2020

xxxxxrated

Just listening to the intro of this podcast through others the host says a derogatory comment about the president. You can surely state facts without a tacky and biased opinion. Won’t give this any more attention.

Short fiction torn from today’s headlines. Each week, our favorite authors write an original story inspired by the news. Featuring Curtis Sittenfeld, Roxane Gay, Colum McCann, Carmen Maria Machado and more. Because in a world gone haywire, sometimes art is the only thing to make sense of it all. Hosted by Ashley C. Ford.iHeartMedia is the exclusive podcast partner of Pushkin Industries.