The Last We Fake

Alan Rifkin

An LA novel-in-stories each season, along with selected short fiction from exceptional authors, both new and established, whose works take place at the shifting borders of the American Dream. Each season, the podcast debuts an original novel in serialized episodes. Separately, the episodes stand alone, but together they comprise a novel-length journey, with a cast of recurring characters. 

  1. 11/18/2025

    S3 E19 - The Celebrity by Catherine Hein: Episode 17, Just a Woman Catching Her Breath

    Send us a text You can’t postpone the death of the one person who always loved you, not really. Though if you try, it may lead you to some achingly dangerous places. Such as: gagging in bathroom stalls, or giving celebrity flirting lessons to a nurse with shellacked hair. Or on the cold ground beside your car, beneath the knowing fingers of a handsome doctor you felt sure you were trying to drive away from.  CREDITS: Catherine Hein's former life took her from 20 years in the entertainment industry to two years in a homeless women's shelter. That's where Wanda, the reigning spirit of this epic two-volume novel of early ‘60s Hollywood, was born. Host Alan Rifkin's novels, essays and short stories of Los Angeles have been published widely. Learn more about him at www.alanrifkin.com. Intro music is from the song "Slow," performed by Sally Dworsky. Written by Sally Dworsky and Chris Hickey. Available on iTunes, Spotify, Apple Music and all other streaming platforms. Closing credit music for Season 3 is performed by Ben Rifkin. Podcast art by Ryan Longnecker. We have double publishing news!!  Season Two’s novel, Sunland by Charlie Haas, has been released in print by Beck & Branch with a new title, The Current Fantasy ("Heart, soul, art, and the promise of Giant Vegetables... perhaps the last great untold chapter of the California Story." —Don Wallace).  Purchase on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Current-Fantasy-Charlie-Haas/dp/B0DJ1TJV82/ref=sr_1_1?dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.tuTmk2PLbYrhl35vNF26hNKifzMVNLxUX5sbuZKxIrSaOzMPlYjB5Uys5Y1YQ2ED1dDgQKbH8KqXAWxZaLQCQTt-KHNyPXOjQoh_573_J3WAGlt6ZVeniX-tqsXmWnQ3.CsBj4yVK4jbIFxGRKRiHullCZ9rJF1jsg1L23qgiuZE&dib_tag=se&qid=1728574532&refinements=p_27%3ACharlie+Haas&s=books&sr=1-1 And Season One’s novel, The Drift That Follows Will Be Gradual by Alan Rifkin, has been released in print by Open Books (“A delectable tour de force through our fractured culture from the 1980s through the 2010s—it is witty, wise, memorable, touching, by turns drop dead funny and piercingly moving.”—Richard Bausch). Purchase on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Drift-That-Follows-Will-Gradual/dp/1948598795?source=ps-sl-shoppingads-lpcontext&ref_=fplfs&psc=1&smid=ATVPDKIKX0DER

    1h 15m

  2. 09/23/2025

    S3 E18 - The Celebrity by Catherine Hein: Episode 16, A Modified Mambo

    Send us a text Wanda dances to El Watusi, the drowsy Sparx sings along, and even the suspicious nurse will chime in on “Where the Boys Are” if you flatter her enough. But after hearing Sparx may be committed, and desperately pretending it can't ever happen to her, Wanda seems tethered to the world only by her cravings. Such as: hip young Dr. Bowtie in his red Fiat, asking “Can I see you sometime?”--either disregarding Wanda’s total dishevelment or hopelessly drawn to it.  How long now, the drive to Grandma Neva at St. Jude’s? CREDITS: Catherine Hein's former life took her from 20 years in the entertainment industry to two years in a homeless women's shelter. That's where Wanda, the reigning spirit of this epic two-volume novel of early ‘60s Hollywood, was born. Host Alan Rifkin's novels, essays and short stories of Los Angeles have been published widely. Learn more about him at www.alanrifkin.com. Intro music is from the song "Slow," performed by Sally Dworsky. Written by Sally Dworsky and Chris Hickey. Available on iTunes, Spotify, Apple Music and all other streaming platforms. Closing credit music for Season 3 is performed by Ben Rifkin. Podcast art by Ryan Longnecker. We have double publishing news!!  Season Two’s novel, Sunland by Charlie Haas, has been released in print by Beck & Branch with a new title, The Current Fantasy ("Heart, soul, art, and the promise of Giant Vegetables... perhaps the last great untold chapter of the California Story." —Don Wallace).  Purchase on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Current-Fantasy-Charlie-Haas/dp/B0DJ1TJV82/ref=sr_1_1?dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.tuTmk2PLbYrhl35vNF26hNKifzMVNLxUX5sbuZKxIrSaOzMPlYjB5Uys5Y1YQ2ED1dDgQKbH8KqXAWxZaLQCQTt-KHNyPXOjQoh_573_J3WAGlt6ZVeniX-tqsXmWnQ3.CsBj4yVK4jbIFxGRKRiHullCZ9rJF1jsg1L23qgiuZE&dib_tag=se&qid=1728574532&refinements=p_27%3ACharlie+Haas&s=books&sr=1-1 And Season One’s novel, The Drift That Follows Will Be Gradual by Alan Rifkin, has been released in print by Open Books (“A delectable tour de force through our fractured culture from the 1980s through the 2010s—it is witty, wise, memorable, touching, by turns drop dead funny and piercingly moving.”—Richard Bausch). Purchase on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Drift-That-Follows-Will-Gradual/dp/1948598795?source=ps-sl-shoppingads-lpcontext&ref_=fplfs&psc=1&smid=ATVPDKIKX0DER

    46 min

  3. 09/08/2025

    S3 E17 - The Celebrity by Catherine Hein: Episode 15, "Wanda, You Could Never Look Like a Saint"

    Send us a text Record player in tow, bent on igniting a party for the suicidal Sparx at Good Sam's (Marilyn Monroe stayed here--it must be good), Wanda recalls the childhood picnic where her family's powerlessness to save a crash victim stole her appetite and, seemingly, her faith in the cosmos. Now she's hiding self-inflicted bald patches under a loaned head scarf (ugly enough to shock her devastated gay bestie awake), desperate to persuade him their lives will work out yet--but can she consume one more cafeteria meatball in the meantime?  CREDITS: Catherine Hein's former life took her from 20 years in the entertainment industry to two years in a homeless women's shelter. That's where Wanda, the reigning spirit of this epic two-volume novel of early ‘60s Hollywood, was born. Host Alan Rifkin's novels, essays and short stories of Los Angeles have been published widely. Learn more about him at www.alanrifkin.com. Intro music is from the song "Slow," performed by Sally Dworsky. Written by Sally Dworsky and Chris Hickey. Available on iTunes, Spotify, Apple Music and all other streaming platforms. Closing credit music for Season 3 is performed by Ben Rifkin. Podcast art by Ryan Longnecker. We have double publishing news!!  Season Two’s novel, Sunland by Charlie Haas, has been released in print by Beck & Branch with a new title, The Current Fantasy ("Heart, soul, art, and the promise of Giant Vegetables... perhaps the last great untold chapter of the California Story." —Don Wallace).  Purchase on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Current-Fantasy-Charlie-Haas/dp/B0DJ1TJV82/ref=sr_1_1?dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.tuTmk2PLbYrhl35vNF26hNKifzMVNLxUX5sbuZKxIrSaOzMPlYjB5Uys5Y1YQ2ED1dDgQKbH8KqXAWxZaLQCQTt-KHNyPXOjQoh_573_J3WAGlt6ZVeniX-tqsXmWnQ3.CsBj4yVK4jbIFxGRKRiHullCZ9rJF1jsg1L23qgiuZE&dib_tag=se&qid=1728574532&refinements=p_27%3ACharlie+Haas&s=books&sr=1-1 And Season One’s novel, The Drift That Follows Will Be Gradual by Alan Rifkin, has been released in print by Open Books (“A delectable tour de force through our fractured culture from the 1980s through the 2010s—it is witty, wise, memorable, touching, by turns drop dead funny and piercingly moving.”—Richard Bausch). Purchase on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Drift-That-Follows-Will-Gradual/dp/1948598795?source=ps-sl-shoppingads-lpcontext&ref_=fplfs&psc=1&smid=ATVPDKIKX0DER

    59 min

  4. 05/05/2025

    S3 E16 - The Celebrity by Catherine Hein: Episode 14, "Excitement Isn't Love"

    Send us a text So maybe Wallichs’ "Battle of the Surf Bands" wasn’t the best time and place for Wanda to demand a display model record player for her hospitalized pal and makeup man, Sparks, her beloved mutual crybaby over “Where the Boys Are.” But she could take in the teen-bikini scene from the ledge she’s climbed up on, kick her heels to the pulsating Watusi beat, and try to make sense of her own exploited girlhood.  Why couldn’t Wanda—or seemingly any woman—find real love, like her dying Grandma Neva did? Fat chance, with these sales boys who either have no idea they’re in the presence of a TV star, or recall this one as having been. . . thinner, somehow? Shouldn't the blonde hairs compulsively plucked from a celebrity's patchy scalp count for anything in this establishment?  CREDITS: Catherine Hein's former life took her from 20 years in the entertainment industry to two years in a homeless women's shelter. That's where Wanda, the reigning spirit of this epic two-volume novel of early ‘60s Hollywood, was born. Host Alan Rifkin's novels, essays and short stories of Los Angeles have been published widely. Learn more about him at www.alanrifkin.com. Intro music is from the song "Slow," performed by Sally Dworsky. Written by Sally Dworsky and Chris Hickey. Available on iTunes, Spotify, Apple Music and all other streaming platforms. Closing credit music for Season 3 is performed by Ben Rifkin. Podcast art by Ryan Longnecker. We have double publishing news!!  Season Two’s novel, Sunland by Charlie Haas, has been released in print by Beck & Branch with a new title, The Current Fantasy ("Heart, soul, art, and the promise of Giant Vegetables... perhaps the last great untold chapter of the California Story." —Don Wallace).  Purchase on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Current-Fantasy-Charlie-Haas/dp/B0DJ1TJV82/ref=sr_1_1?dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.tuTmk2PLbYrhl35vNF26hNKifzMVNLxUX5sbuZKxIrSaOzMPlYjB5Uys5Y1YQ2ED1dDgQKbH8KqXAWxZaLQCQTt-KHNyPXOjQoh_573_J3WAGlt6ZVeniX-tqsXmWnQ3.CsBj4yVK4jbIFxGRKRiHullCZ9rJF1jsg1L23qgiuZE&dib_tag=se&qid=1728574532&refinements=p_27%3ACharlie+Haas&s=books&sr=1-1 Season One’s novel, The Drift That Follows Will Be Gradual by Alan Rifkin, has been released in print by Open Books (“A delectable tour de force through our fractured culture—witty, wise, memorable, and touching.”—Richard Bausch). Purchase on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Drift-That-Follows-Will-Gradual/dp/1948598795?source=ps-sl-shoppingads-lpcontext&ref_=fplfs&psc=1&smid=ATVPDKIKX0DER

    49 min

  5. 02/10/2025

    S3 E15 - Noelle Calabretta Reads and Discusses "Sleepless Sheep"

    Send us a text In author Noelle Calabretta’s dream-infused and bittersweet new short story, "Sleepless Sheep," an insomniac rice farmer and failed poet who left his long-ago love beneath Mt. Fiji makes a return journey to the woods where she’s remained.  The story was developed in an upper-division fiction workshop at California State University, Long Beach.  A second-year Fine Arts Ceramicist at California State University Long Beach, with an Associates degree in Studio Art, Calabretta is now minoring in Creative Writing, and her work has appeared in Sierra Journal.  Intro music is from the song "Slow," performed by Sally Dworsky. Written by Sally Dworsky and Chris Hickey. Available on iTunes, Spotify, Apple Music and all other streaming platforms. Podcast art by Ryan Longnecker. Find The Last We Fake's serialized novels in print.  Season Two’s novel, Sunland by Charlie Haas, has been released in print by Beck & Branch with a new title, The Current Fantasy ("Heart, soul, art, and the promise of Giant Vegetables... perhaps the last great untold chapter of the California Story." —Don Wallace).  Purchase on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Current-Fantasy-Charlie-Haas/dp/B0DJ1TJV82/ref=sr_1_1?dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.tuTmk2PLbYrhl35vNF26hNKifzMVNLxUX5sbuZKxIrSaOzMPlYjB5Uys5Y1YQ2ED1dDgQKbH8KqXAWxZaLQCQTt-KHNyPXOjQoh_573_J3WAGlt6ZVeniX-tqsXmWnQ3.CsBj4yVK4jbIFxGRKRiHullCZ9rJF1jsg1L23qgiuZE&dib_tag=se&qid=1728574532&refinements=p_27%3ACharlie+Haas&s=books&sr=1-1 Season One’s novel, The Drift That Follows Will Be Gradual by Alan Rifkin, has been released in print by Open Books (“A delectable tour de force through our fractured culture—witty, wise, memorable, and touching.”—Richard Bausch). Purchase on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Drift-That-Follows-Will-Gradual/dp/1948598795?source=ps-sl-shoppingads-lpcontext&ref_=fplfs&psc=1&smid=ATVPDKIKX0DER

    41 min

  6. 01/24/2025

    S3 E14 - The Celebrity by Catherine Hein: Episode 13, A Perfect Statuette

    Send us a text From begging Jock Penny’s autograph at Coffee Dan’s, to blundering into a surf music contest at Wallich's, to brushing past a wisp of her former self outside a flower shop, Wanda is waylaid by memories of better times—the onion rings at Frankie’s (“the world’s only delicious vegetable”); the awards ceremony where, slid between two beaus at an effortless 103 lbs, she’d been honored for her heartfelt report on the loss of a local movie house (could she ever do works again that honor the daydreams of women in Bell Gardens and Reseda?). All this, as she searches and yearns for the perfect, maybe last, gesture of love to bring her dying Grandma Neva. And whose all-knowing voice is this anyway, interviewing her to reflect on her finest achievements?  Catherine Hein's former life took her from 20 years in the entertainment industry to two years in a homeless women's shelter. That's where Wanda, the reigning spirit of this epic two-volume novel of early ‘60s Hollywood, was born. Host Alan Rifkin's novels, essays and short stories of Los Angeles have been published widely. Learn more about him at www.alanrifkin.com. Intro music is from the song "Slow," performed by Sally Dworsky. Written by Sally Dworsky and Chris Hickey. Available on iTunes, Spotify, Apple Music and all other streaming platforms. Closing credit music for Season 3 is performed by Ben Rifkin. Podcast art by Ryan Longnecker. We have double publishing news!!  Season Two’s novel, Sunland by Charlie Haas, has been released in print by Beck & Branch with a new title, The Current Fantasy ("Heart, soul, art, and the promise of Giant Vegetables... perhaps the last great untold chapter of the California Story." —Don Wallace).  Purchase on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Current-Fantasy-Charlie-Haas/dp/B0DJ1TJV82/ref=sr_1_1?dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.tuTmk2PLbYrhl35vNF26hNKifzMVNLxUX5sbuZKxIrSaOzMPlYjB5Uys5Y1YQ2ED1dDgQKbH8KqXAWxZaLQCQTt-KHNyPXOjQoh_573_J3WAGlt6ZVeniX-tqsXmWnQ3.CsBj4yVK4jbIFxGRKRiHullCZ9rJF1jsg1L23qgiuZE&dib_tag=se&qid=1728574532&refinements=p_27%3ACharlie+Haas&s=books&sr=1-1 Season One’s novel, The Drift That Follows Will Be Gradual by Alan Rifkin, has been released in print by Open Books (“A delectable tour de force through our fractured culture—witty, wise, memorable, and touching.”—Richard Bausch). Purchase on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Drift-That-Follows-Will-Gradual/dp/1948598795?source=ps-sl-shoppingads-lpcontext&ref_=fplfs&psc=1&smid=ATVPDKIKX0DER

    1h 1m

  7. 09/07/2024

    S3 E13 - The Celebrity by Catherine Hein: Episode 12, Don't Spit On the Stars

    Send us a text Using acting-school chops to conquer her deeply ingrained instinct to run away, Wanda finally phones for the directions to St. Jude's Hospital. But the flickering world at Sunset and Vine floods her with memories--from golden visits to the Hollywood Ranch Market, to the high-rise vistas behind casting couches where she used to fight her way free, to The Brown Derby. . . The Smoke House . . . the warm safety of Coffee Dan's. And is that Tab Hunter as Jesus in the revolving glass? Catherine Hein's former life took her from 20 years in the entertainment industry to two years in a homeless women's shelter. That's where Wanda, the reigning spirit of this epic two-volume novel of early ‘60s Hollywood, was born. Host Alan Rifkin's novels, essays and short stories of Los Angeles have been published widely. Learn more about him at www.alanrifkin.com. Intro music is from the song "Slow," performed by Sally Dworsky. Written by Sally Dworsky and Chris Hickey. Available on iTunes, Spotify, Apple Music and all other streaming platforms. Closing credit music for Season 3 is performed by Ben Rifkin. Podcast art by Ryan Longnecker. We have double publishing news!!  Season Two’s novel, Sunland by Charlie Haas, has just been released in print by Beck & Branch with a new title, The Current Fantasy ("Heart, soul, art, and the promise of Giant Vegetables... perhaps the last great untold chapter of the California Story." —Don Wallace).  Purchase on Amazon! https://www.amazon.com/Current-Fantasy-Charlie-Haas/dp/B0DJ1TJV82/ref=sr_1_1?dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.tuTmk2PLbYrhl35vNF26hNKifzMVNLxUX5sbuZKxIrSaOzMPlYjB5Uys5Y1YQ2ED1dDgQKbH8KqXAWxZaLQCQTt-KHNyPXOjQoh_573_J3WAGlt6ZVeniX-tqsXmWnQ3.CsBj4yVK4jbIFxGRKRiHullCZ9rJF1jsg1L23qgiuZE&dib_tag=se&qid=1728574532&refinements=p_27%3ACharlie+Haas&s=books&sr=1-1 Season One’s novel, The Drift That Follows Will Be Gradual by Alan Rifkin, has just been released in print by Open Books (“A delectable tour de force through our fractured culture—witty, wise, memorable, and touching.”—Richard Bausch). Purchase on Amazon! https://www.amazon.com/Drift-That-Follows-Will-Gradual/dp/1948598795?source=ps-sl-shoppingads-lpcontext&ref_=fplfs&psc=1&smid=ATVPDKIKX0DER

    1h 7m

  8. 07/28/2024

    S3 E12 - The Celebrity by Catherine Hein: Episode 11, The Broken Clock

    Send us a text Achieving a moment's peace between mind and body in the bathroom of June's trailer after the aborted three-way, Wanda staggers off toward a darker reality ...fully reassembled, although, yes, forgetting her horse ...  But in the shelter of her own Daytalk dressing room, teen memory is rounding the corner from summer's sewing with the relatives to riding with boys. In what one listener describes as "Once Upon a Time in Hollywood" if it were written by a woman, Catherine Hein's historical novel traces the journey of Wanda Fleming, the tenacious, calamity-prone co-host fatale of TV's Daytalk who, in the spring of 1962, must face life without her closest ally, settle on one lover, conquer her eating disorder, and ace a round of Password in order to secure a coveted game-show gig. . . if the world doesn't change too much first. Hein's former life took her from 20 years in the entertainment industry to two years in a homeless women's shelter. That's where Wanda, the reigning spirit of this epic two-volume novel of early ‘60s Hollywood, was born. Host Alan Rifkin's novels, essays and short stories of Los Angeles have been published widely. Learn more about him at www.alanrifkin.com. Intro music is from the song "Slow," performed by Sally Dworsky. Written by Sally Dworsky and Chris Hickey. Available on iTunes, Spotify, Apple Music and all other streaming platforms. Closing credit music for Season 3 is performed by Ben Rifkin. Podcast art by Ryan Longnecker. Publishing news!!  Season Two’s novel, Sunland by Charlie Haas, is being released in print on October 15 by Beck & Branch with a new title, The Current Fantasy. Visit: https://www.beckandbranch.com/the-current-fantasy. Season One’s novel, The Drift That Follows Will Be Gradual by Alan Rifkin, will be released August 1 by Open Books, where it is already available for pre-order. Visit https://www.open-bks.com/library/moderns/the-drift-that-follows-will-be-gradual/order.html

    1h 7m
See All (59)

Trailers

5
out of 5
13 Ratings

About

An LA novel-in-stories each season, along with selected short fiction from exceptional authors, both new and established, whose works take place at the shifting borders of the American Dream. Each season, the podcast debuts an original novel in serialized episodes. Separately, the episodes stand alone, but together they comprise a novel-length journey, with a cast of recurring characters. 

Information

  • Creator
    Alan Rifkin
  • Years Active
    2022 - 2025
  • Episodes
    59
  • Rating
    Explicit
  • Copyright
    © 2025 The Last We Fake
  • Show Website
    The Last We Fake