fiction/non/fiction

fiction/non/fiction
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Hosted by Whitney Terrell and V.V. Ganeshananthan, fiction/non/fiction interprets current events through the lens of literature, and features conversations with writers of all stripes, from novelists and poets to journalists and essayists.

  1. 1d ago

    S9 Ep. 39 Nate Bukaty on World Cup 2026 and the Heart of American Soccer

    MLS commentator Nate Bukaty joins co-hosts Whitney Terrell and V.V. Ganeshananthan to talk about Kansas City’s influence on American soccer and how the city came to host the World Cup. Bukaty is the co-author of Perfect Pitch: How Kansas City Became the Heart of American Soccer and Landed the World Cup along with the writer Rustin Dodd. He discusses how immigration and local leaders like Lamar Hunt turned a Midwestern “flyover” city into an unexpected soccer powerhouse. Terrell and Bukaty reflect on their youth playing the sport in Kansas City and describe what it felt like for their hometown to become a focal point of this year’s World Cup and a destination for teams and fans from all over the world. Bukaty considers the U.S. men’s team’s loss to Belgium in the round of 16 and compares the most recent roster to the 2014 lineup. He reads from Perfect Pitch. To hear the full episode, subscribe through iTunes, Google Play, Stitcher, Spotify, or your favorite podcast app (include the forward slashes when searching). You can also listen by streaming from the player below. Check out video versions of our interviews on the Fiction/Non/Fiction Instagram account, the Fiction/Non/Fiction YouTube Channel, and our show website: https://www.fnfpodcast.net/ This podcast is produced by V.V. Ganeshananthan and Whitney Terrell. Nate Bukaty Perfect Pitch: How Kansas City Became the Heart of American Soccer and Landed the World Cup Others Kansas City, the Smallest World Cup Host, Has the World at Its Feet The New York TimesTrump Asked FIFA to Review U.S. Player’s Suspension. Now He’s Eligible to Play. The New York TimesFiction/Non/Fiction Season 6, Episode 21, Kingdom Quarterback: Mark Dent and Rustin Dodd on Race, Kansas City Football, and Super Bowl MVP Patrick Mahomes See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

  2. Jul 9

    S9 Ep. 38 Peter Hessler on the Implications of a Chinese Education

    Acclaimed nonfiction writer Peter Hessler joins co-hosts Whitney Terrell and V.V. Ganeshananthan to talk about his new memoir, Other Rivers: A Chinese Education. Hessler, a New Yorker staff writer who first went to China as a teacher in the 1990s, explains how education there shifted between that era and 2019, when he returned to Sichuan Province with his wife and daughters to teach English again. He discusses the impact of his students’ shift from rural to urban lives, unpacks the differences between his twins’ schooling in Colorado and in China, and the relationship, in both places, to memorization, creativity, and authority. He also talks about keeping in touch with his students from the 1990s, many of whom became teachers, over decades. Hessler reads from Other Rivers. This podcast is produced by V.V. Ganeshananthan and Whitney Terrell. Peter Hessler Other Rivers: A Chinese EducationThe Buried: An Archaeology of the Egyptian RevolutionStrange Stones: Dispatches from East and WestCountry Driving: A Chinese Road TripOracle Bones: A Journey Through Time in ChinaRiver TownPeter Hessler Latest Articles | The New YorkerA Teacher in China Learns the Limits of Free Expression The Double Education of My Twins’ Chinese SchoolChina’s Shifting Relationship to the CountrysideChina’s Reform Generation Adapts to Life in the Middle Class Others Stoner by John WilliamsGossip GirlJohn McPheeThe Grapes of Wrath by John SteinbeckEast of Eden by John SteinbeckKaroline Leavitt: This is a full-blown communist revolutionFactory Girls by Leslie T. Chang See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

  3. Jul 2

    S9 Ep. 37 Soman Chainani on the Dream of a Young President

    Young adult novelist Soman Chainani joins co-hosts Christian Barter and V.V. Ganeshananthan to discuss the impact of age on politics. Chainani, the author of a new novel called Young World that features a teenage everyman’s unlikely rise to the presidency, explains trying to make his premise as plausible as possible using devices like a Supreme Court decision, a split Electoral College, and realistic images. He talks about smuggling civics lessons into the plot, getting young people excited to vote and run for office, and taking his story beyond the U.S. to imagine a global youth revolution and a fictional G-8 of teen leaders. Chainani also reflects on the impact of aging politicians’ unwillingness to relinquish power, particularly as life expectancies continue to rise. He reads from Young World. To hear the full episode, subscribe through iTunes, Google Play, Stitcher, Spotify, or your favorite podcast app (include the forward slashes when searching). You can also listen by streaming from the player below. Check out video versions of our interviews on the Fiction/Non/Fiction Instagram account, the Fiction/Non/Fiction YouTube Channel, and our show website: https://www.fnfpodcast.net/ This podcast is produced by V.V. Ganeshananthan and Christian Barter. Soman Chainani Young WorldCovenThe School for Good and Evil series Others The President’s Daughter by Ellen Emerson WhiteFiction/Non/Fiction Season 7, Episode 51: Ellen Emerson White on the First Woman President, Real and Imagined1776Richie RichScandal See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

  4. Jun 25

    S9 Ep. 36 Matthew Wolfe on the Secret History of Radical Environmentalism

    Journalist Matthew Wolfe joins co-hosts Whitney Terrell and V.V. Ganeshananthan to discuss his new book Fires in the Night: The Earth Liberation Front, the FBI, and a Secret History of Eco-Sabotage. Wolfe talks about the history of environmental activism, including its rarely discussed bipartisan past, and explains how industry made climate change a Democratic and progressive issue. He reflects on the impact of the Earth Liberation Front, which originated in England and developed another home in Oregon. He also unpacks their three guiding principles, including preventing harm to people, and considers law enforcement’s reaction to the radical group’s arson tactics. Wolfe analyzes the post-9/11 shift in environmental activism and the significance of the term “eco-terrorism,” which moved from describing harm done to the environment to those taking radical actions in the planet’s defense. He reads from Fires in the Night. To hear the full episode, subscribe through iTunes, Google Play, Stitcher, Spotify, or your favorite podcast app (include the forward slashes when searching). You can also listen by streaming from the player below. Check out video versions of our interviews on the Fiction/Non/Fiction Instagram account, the Fiction/Non/Fiction YouTube Channel, and our show website: https://www.fnfpodcast.net/ This podcast is produced by V.V. Ganeshananthan and Whitney Terrell. Matthew Wolfe Fires in the Night: The Earth Liberation Front, the FBI, and a Secret History of Eco-Sabotage Others Silent Spring by Rachel Carson See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

  5. Jun 18

    S9 Ep. 35 Deb Olin Unferth on Our Apocalypse Now World

    Writer Deb Olin Unferth joins co-hosts Whitney Terrell and Christian Barter to discuss the enduring power of apocalyptic narratives and her new novel Earth 7. The novel follows the life of Dylan, the daughter of a researcher, cast adrift on an earth that has been depopulated by war and environmental collapse. As Dylan’s mother tries to replicate and preserve the DNA of the earth’s now extinct flora and fauna, Unferth examines how proposed scientific solutions to global warming–like carbon capture, building artificial reefs, or shooting precious metals and sulfur into the sky–may exacerbate the problems they are meant to solve. She talks about the role apocalyptic narrative plays in a world that is, in many ways, already experiencing the apocalypse. She also reflects on her decision to “lean in” to the possibility of love and hope in the last third of the novel and explains how her optimism stems from the amazing beauty of the earth that we are living on now, even as we destroy it. She reads from Earth 7. Subscribe through iTunes, Google Play, Stitcher, Spotify, or your favorite podcast app (include the forward slashes when searching). Check out video versions of our interviews on the Fiction/Non/Fiction Instagram account, the Fiction/Non/Fiction YouTube Channel, and our show website: https://www.fnfpodcast.net/ This podcast is produced by Christian Barter and Whitney Terrell. Deb Olin Unferth Earth 7Barn 8Wait Till You See Me DanceI, Parrot Others “The Second Coming”|William Butler Yeats“September 1, 1939” |W. H. Auden“Waking Early Sunday Morning” |Robert Lowell See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

  6. Jun 11

    S9 Ep. 34 Ben Fountain on Rasputin and Trump’s Coming Third Term

    Novelist Ben Fountain joins co-hosts Whitney Terrell and V.V. Ganeshananthan to discuss his new book, Rasputin Swims the Potomac. Fountain's satire, set in the not-to-distant future, describes the furor, scandal, and hysterical “weeping sickness” that arrives in the wake of the fictional President’s decision to seek an unprecedented third term. Fountain talks about the technical choices he has made to fictionalize Trump, including the decision to redact his name. He also reflects on the roles of the other characters in the novel, including Clarence Thomas Jr., a Black reporter unrelated to the Supreme Court Judge; Faith Spack, the President’s loyal aide; and Rasputin, a professional wrestler who can cure the “weeping sickness” and begins to rival the President in popularity. Fountain explains how the political times of the original Rasputin increasingly mirror our own and reads from Rasputin Swims the Potomac. To hear the full episode, subscribe through iTunes, Google Play, Stitcher, Spotify, or your favorite podcast app (include the forward slashes when searching). You can also listen by streaming from the player below. Check out video versions of our interviews on the Fiction/Non/Fiction Instagram account, the Fiction/Non/Fiction YouTube Channel, and our show website: https://www.fnfpodcast.net/ This podcast is produced by Christian Barter and Whitney Terrell. Ben Fountain Rasputin Swims the PotomacDevil Makes ThreeBeautiful Country Burn Again: Democracy, Rebellion, and RevolutionBilly Lynn's Long Halftime WalkBrief Encounters with Che Guevara: Stories See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

  7. Jun 4

    S9 Ep. 33 Sarah Pearsall on the Worldwide Scope of the American Revolution

    Historian Sarah Pearsall joins co-hosts Jennifer Maritza McCauley and Whitney Terrell to discuss her new book, Freedom Round the Globe: a World History of the American Revolution. As we approach the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence, Pearsall talks about how she chose to write about the global context of the American Revolution. She explains how the hanging of an indigenous woman in Detroit, ordered by British colonizers of the area, led to protests that prefigured the American Revolution. She outlines how tax protests in St. Kitts and the East India Company’s actions in South Asia influenced the thinking of revolutionary leaders in the thirteen colonies. She also discusses the role that war crimes played in the public relations battle of the war and reads a passage from Freedom Round the Globe. To hear the full episode, subscribe through iTunes, Google Play, Stitcher, Spotify, or your favorite podcast app (include the forward slashes when searching). You can also listen by streaming from the player below. Check out video versions of our interviews on the Fiction/Non/Fiction Instagram account, the Fiction/Non/Fiction YouTube Channel, and our show website: https://www.fnfpodcast.net/ This podcast is produced by Jennifer Maritza McCauley and Whitney Terrell. Sarah Pearsall Freedom Round the Globe: a World History of the American Revolution Others The Declaration of Independence“What we know about the UFC fight at the White House”|CNN, June 1, 2026“These 6 Acts Dropped Out of the Freedom 250 Concert. Here's Why”|People, June 3, 2026See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

  8. May 28

    S9 Ep. 32 Barry Walters on LGBTQ Music 1969-2000

    Music critic Barry Walters joins co-hosts Whitney Terrell and Christian Barter to discuss his new book, Mighty Real: A History of LGBTQ Music 1969-2000. Walters talks about how he chose the artists that he includes in his book and explains how musicians like David Bowie, Lou Reed, Grace Jones, and Sylvester saved his life. He explores how social repression shaped and complicated work from LGBTQ bands, how queer acts like Queen were pigeonholed by music critics, and how mainstream groups like Nirvana spoke to the LGBTQ experience.  He talks about his personal connection to Madonna’s work and reads from Mighty Real. To hear the full episode, subscribe through iTunes, Google Play, Stitcher, Spotify, or your favorite podcast app (include the forward slashes when searching). You can also listen by streaming from the player below. Check out video versions of our interviews on the Fiction/Non/Fiction Instagram account, the Fiction/Non/Fiction YouTube Channel, and our show website: https://www.fnfpodcast.net/ This podcast is produced by Christian Barter and Whitney Terrell. Barry Walters Mighty Real: A History of LGBTQ Music 1969-2000“George Michael’s ‘Father Figure’: When Love Meets Crime”|Billboard, Oct. 26, 2017“Madonna’s ‘Erotica,’ ‘Sex’: Why Musical Masterpiece, Defiant Book Still Matter”| Rolling Stone, Oct. 19, 2017“As Much As I Can, As Black As I Am: The Queer History of Grace Jones”|Pitchfork, August 25, 2015“Sylvester: Staying Alive”|The Village Voice, Nov. 8, 1988 Others City Boy: My Life in New York During the 1960s and '70s by Edmund White See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

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About

Hosted by Whitney Terrell and V.V. Ganeshananthan, fiction/non/fiction interprets current events through the lens of literature, and features conversations with writers of all stripes, from novelists and poets to journalists and essayists.

Information

  • Creator
    fiction/non/fiction
  • Years Active
    2017 - 2026
  • Episodes
    349
  • Rating
    Explicit
  • Copyright
    © Whitney Terrell, V.V. Ganeshananthan, 980309
  • Show Website
    fiction/non/fiction

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