100 episodes

The Los Angeles Review of Books Radio Hour is a weekly show featuring interviews, readings and discussions about all things literary. Hosted by LARB Editors-at-Large Kate Wolf, Medaya Ocher, and Eric Newman.

LARB Radio Hour Los Angeles Review of Books

    • Arts
    • 4.9 • 120 Ratings

The Los Angeles Review of Books Radio Hour is a weekly show featuring interviews, readings and discussions about all things literary. Hosted by LARB Editors-at-Large Kate Wolf, Medaya Ocher, and Eric Newman.

    The Problem with Adoption

    The Problem with Adoption

    Kate Wolf speaks with sociologist Gretchen Sisson about her first book, Relinquished: The Politics of Adoption and the Privilege of American Motherhood. The book is based on interviews Sisson conducted over the last decade with birth mothers who relinquished their children for private adoption in the US. Most often Sisson found that these women deeply regretted their decision, and that poverty was the driving force behind it. Alongside the harrowing stories of the women who Sisson spoke with, her book also looks at the history of adoption in the United States and its ties to conservative Christianity, as well as family policing systems of the state. In an age of narrowing reproductive freedom, when adoption is touted by the Supreme Court as an answer to the need for abortion, Relinquished asks hard questions about the compatibility of the practice with the possibility for true reproductive justice.
    Also, Brad Gooch, author of Radiant: The Life and Line of Keith Haring, returns to recommend Candy Darling by Cynthia Carr.

    • 56 min
    Brad Gooch's "Radiant: The Life and Line of Keith Haring"

    Brad Gooch's "Radiant: The Life and Line of Keith Haring"

    Eric Newman and Kate Wolf speak with Brad Gooch about his new biography, Radiant: The Life and Line of Keith Haring. A deep-dive into the life of an artist whose work can be seen today on everything from museum walls to t-shirts and tote bags, Gooch's book unearths the cultural moment that gave rise to Haring's meteoric career before his untimely death in 1990. Moving across topics including the commercialization of art, cultural appropriation, the AIDS crisis, and more, Radiant brings the highly-recognizable artist into nuanced focus.
    Also, Tana French, author of The Hunter, returns to recommend Watership Down by Richard Adams.

    • 59 min
    Tana French's "The Hunter"

    Tana French's "The Hunter"

    Medaya Ocher and Eric Newman speak with megawatt mystery maven Tana French about her latest novel, The Hunter. Set in the fictional rural Irish town of Ardnakelty, The Hunter is a dark, slow-burning story of the ties that knit together small communities–and the animosities that tear them apart. French talks about how American Westerns influenced the tone and texture of her latest novels, where she gets the ideas for her dark stories, and how her globe-hopping childhood made her the mystery writer she is today.
    Also, Leslie Jamison, author of Splinters: Another Kind of Love Story, returns to recommend Eliza Barry Callahan's The Hearing Test: A Novel, as well as Emmeline Clein's Dead Weight: Essays on Hunger and Harm.

    • 57 min
    LARB Radio Hour x Film Comment 2024 Oscars Preview

    LARB Radio Hour x Film Comment 2024 Oscars Preview

    In this special episode, Eric Newman chats with LARB Film & TV editor Annie Berke and Film Comment co-editors Devika Girish and Clinton Krute for a preview of this year's Academy Awards. Breaking down the top Oscar contenders, the group talks the best and worst of the year in movies, from Barbie to Oppenheimer, Killers of the Flower Moon, Poor Things, Maestro, and more. If you loved–or hated!–the year in film, this episode is for you.

    • 1 hr 36 min
    Leslie Jamison's "Splinters: Another Kind of Love Story"

    Leslie Jamison's "Splinters: Another Kind of Love Story"

    Leslie Jamison joins Medaya and Kate to discuss her latest book Splinters: Another Kind of Love Story, a memoir that chronicles the birth of her daughter and the collapse of her marriage soon after. Jamison writes about the bond with her own mother, as well as the intense, consuming love for her child. The book is not only a story about her most intimate relationships, but an examination of doubt, betrayal, forgiveness and, as the subtitle says, love.
    Also, Phillip B. Williams, author of Ours, returns to recommend The Black Book, edited by Toni Morrison.


    Literaturememoirmotherchildmarriagebreak-updoubtbetrayalforgivenessLoveLeslie JamisonSplinterMedaya OcherKate WolfLos Angeles Review of BooksPhillip B. WilliamsOursThe Black BookToni MorrisonEric Newman

     


     



     

    • 54 min
    Phillip B. Williams' "Ours"

    Phillip B. Williams' "Ours"

    Eric Newman speaks with Phillip B. Williams about his debut novel, Ours. A surrealist epic largely set in the American midwest both pre- and post-emancipation, the book tells the story of Saint, a conjure woman who uses her supernatural powers to liberate slaves and keep them safe in a magically secluded town near St. Louis. But as Saint's magic begins to falter and newcomers appear in the town, the residents chafe at her power over them, eager for a freedom, identity, and community forged on their own terms. In the interview, Williams discusses his novel's blend of diasporic traditions and spirituality, how his characters repair themselves and each other, and what it means to read–and write–with love.
    Also, Lucy Sante, author of I Heard Her Call My Name: A Memoir of Transition, returns to recommend April Ashley's Odyssey by Duncan Fallowell and April Ashley.

    • 59 min

Customer Reviews

4.9 out of 5
120 Ratings

120 Ratings

Alchfjwlskdbewl ,

Five stars!

The LARB Radio Hour is the most consistently intelligent yet down to earth podcast about books and ideas. And the best part is that I never know what I’m going to get when I tune in. How is it always interesting??

Harlequinknight ,

Excellent

I love the LARB Radio Hour. Kate and Media are the best hosts: well-informed, well-read, and asking the good questions.

NeedsANicknamexxx ,

Most Favorite Pod

Cannot recommend this pod enough! Some of the most engaging and thoughtful conversation I've heard in eons, plus excellent book recommendations. This is my most favorite podcast out there!

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