Writer's Voice with Francesca Rheannon Francesca Rheannon

In this episode of Writer’s Voice, we dive into the worlds of peace activism and literary translation through conversations with Brad Wolf and Noel Hernández-Gonzalez. Also, William Bronston, the doctor who brought instiionalization of the developmentally disabled to an end, reads from his book, Public Hostage, Public Ransom.







Brad Wolf discusses his work on Ministry of Risk, a collection of Philip Berrigan’s writings exploring themes of nonviolent resistance and liberation. Noel Hernández-Gonzalez shares insights into translating Simpatía, a novel by Rodrigo Blanco Calderón, depicting the devolution of Chavismo into chaos and poverty, through an effort to save Venezuela’s abandoned dogs.







Writers Voice— in depth conversation with writers of all genres, on the air since 2004.







Connect with Us: Follow us on social media to stay up-to-date on the latest episodes and news. Find us on Facebook at Writers Voice with Francesca Rheannon, on Instagram @WritersVoicePodcast or find us on X/Twitter@WritersVoice.







Key words: nonviolent activism, peace activism, Philip Berrigan, Brad Wolf, Noel Hernández-Gonzalez, William Bronston, Willowbrook State School, Venezuela, Chavismo, podcast, nonfiction, podcast, book recommendations, author interview, book podcast, book show, history, writer’s voice















Episode Highlights













Brad Wolf on Philip Berrigan









* Introduction to Philip Berrigan’s background and his journey from a WWII soldier to a nonviolent activist.







* Exploration of Berrigan’s writings and philosophy centered around resistance, revolution, and liberation.







* Discussion on Berrigan’s civil rights and anti-war activism, including his actions with the Baltimore Four and the Catonsville Nine.







* Wolf’s personal connection to Berrigan and his inspiration to edit and publish Ministry of Risk.









Noel Hernández-Gonzalez on Translating Simpatía















* Overview of Simpatía, set in present-day Venezuela under Nicolás Maduro’s regime.







* Examination of the novel’s title and its nuanced meaning in Spanish.







* Discussion on the abandonment of pets in Venezuela as a metaphor for societal issues.







* Insights into the characters and plot, focusing on characters Ulysses Khan and General Martín Ayala.







* The translation process and collaboration with co-translator Daniel Hahn.









William Bronston reads from Public Hostage, Public Ransom













Next week, we talk with the man who ended institutionalization of the developmentally disabled in America, Dr. William Bronston. In his book, Public Hostage, Public Ransom,

In this episode, we sit down with Audrea Lim, author of Free the Land: How We Can Fight Poverty and Climate Chaos.







Audrea traces the connections between land commodification and many of America’s most pressing issues: ecological collapse, climate change, systemic racism, gentrification and economic inequality. Through powerful examples and thoughtful analysis, she shows how land ownership and control are key to understanding and addressing these problems.







Then we re-broadcast our 2009 interview with Carleen Madigan about The Backyard Homestead: Produce All the Food You Need On Just a Quarter Acre! The book was so successful, it went on to spark a whole series of Backyard Homestead books.







Writers Voice— in depth conversation with writers of all genres, on the air since 2004.







Connect with Us: Follow us on social media to stay up-to-date on the latest episodes and news. Find us on Facebook at Writers Voice with Francesca Rheannon, on Instagram @WritersVoicePodcast or find us on X/Twitter@WritersVoice.







Read The Transcript







Key words: land ownership, Audrea Lim, backyard homesteading, Carleen Madigan, podcast, nonfiction, podcast, book recommendations, author interview, book podcast, book show, history, writer’s voice, Francesca Rheannon















Guest: Audrea Lim







Audrea Lim is a Brooklyn-based journalist who has written for the New Yorker, Rolling Stone, the New Republic, and The Nation. In addition to Free The Land, She is the author of The World We Need: Stories and Lessons from America’s Unsung Environmental Movement.













Introduction to Free the Land







Audrea Lim introduces her book and its core theme: The realization that commodification of land drives various American issues, including ecological collapse and systemic racism.







The Climate and Land Connection







Audrea’s experiences reporting on the climate crisis and Indigenous movements in Alberta, Canada, including the impact of oil developments on Indigenous lands and treaty rights.







Urban Displacement and Gentrification







The parallels between Indigenous dispossession and urban gentrification.The struggle for land control in urban neighborhoods and its impact on long-time residents.







Historical Perspectives on Land Ownership







The evolution of land ownership from communal use to capitalist property-driven systems.The complexities and challenges of returning sovereignty to dispossessed communities.







Examples of Community-Led Land Reclamation







The White Earth Land Recovery Project by Winona LaDuke.The efforts of a href="https://somalibantumaine.

In this conversation with Writer’s Voice host Francesca Rheannon, political theorist Danielle Allen talks about two core ideas at the heart of our nation’s Declaration of Independence: freedom and liberty. How are they aligned? How are they different? And can they contradict each other?







Listen to a clip on YouTube







We re-air our 2014 interview with Danielle Allen about her book, Our Declaration: A Reading of the Declaration of Independence in Defense of Equality







Connect with Us: Follow us on social media to stay up-to-date on the latest episodes and news. Find us on Facebook at Writers Voice with Francesca Rheannon, on Instagram @WritersVoicePodcast or find us on X/Twitter@WritersVoice.







Key Words: Danielle Allen, July 4, Declaration of Independence, writer’s voice, podcast, book recommendations, author interview, book podcast, book show















Liberty — or Justice For All?







America, we’ve been told, was founded on the principle of liberty — a notion many like to claim as justification for doing whatever they want without restraint of law or regulation. “Don’t tread on me!,” the libertarians cry, as they oppose business regulations, push to carry guns openly, or claim their right to discriminate against fellow citizens.













But in her close reading of the Declaration of Independence in Our Declaration, political theorist Danielle Allen says the core value of the founding document of our nation is equality — and it is the value from which liberty and justice derive. Her wonderful book examines what equality meant for the Founders of our nation — and what it means for us.







The Founders had many contradictions, not least of which was the fact that some of them espoused equality despite being slave-owners. Allen doesn’t shrink from these contradictions, but she shows that the Founders transcended them by doing something we seem to have forgotten how to do. They brought together a diversity of views with a common purpose: to forge a community dedicated to the rights of all humans to seek happiness. Not private happiness exactly, but happiness as a political right.







Allen, a Princeton professor and MacArthur “Genius” grant recipient, critically examines how the Founders reconciled their diverse viewpoints to establish a community dedicated to the universal right to pursue happiness—not merely personal contentment, but happiness as a fundamental political entitlement.

In this episode of Writer’s Voice, Francesca Rheannon welcomes back acclaimed novelist, essayist, and now memoirist, Francine Prose. They dive into Prose’s latest work, 1974, a memoir that revisits her time in San Francisco during a pivotal year in American history.







Then, In a deeply introspective conversation, Gail Godwin opens up about the pivotal moment that sparked her memoir, Getting to Know Death. Following a life-altering accident where she broke her neck, Godwin found herself confronting mortality in a visceral way. This memoir, initially sparked by personal trauma, evolved into a broader reflection on life, loss, and the inevitability of death.







Writers Voice— in depth conversation with writers of all genres, on the air since 2004.







Connect with Us: Follow us on social media to stay up-to-date on the latest episodes and news. Find us on Facebook at Writers Voice with Francesca Rheannon, on Instagram @WritersVoicePodcast or find us on X/Twitter@WritersVoice.







Key Words: Gail Godwin, Francine Prose, counterculture, Tony Russo, writer’s voice, podcast, book recommendations, author interview, book podcast, book show, book excerpt, memoir















Francine Prose’s 1974: Interview Highlights













Memoir vs. Anecdote:Prose reflects on her transition from essays, as in Reading Like a Writer to memoir writing. She notes that while her previous works contained personal anecdotes, 1974 marks her first sustained effort into memoir, focusing on the transformative year when she lived in San Francisco.







The Changing Times:Prose discusses the societal shifts of the early 1970s, contrasting the idealism of the 1960s with the disillusionment of the subsequent decade. She highlights how events like Watergate and the Patty Hearst case reshaped public perception, leading to a decline in the optimism of the previous decade.







Meeting Tony Russo:Prose introduces Tony Russo, a pivotal figure in her memoir, and his involvement in the release of the Pentagon Papers alongside Daniel Ellsberg. She details Russo’s background as an aeronautical engineer turned anti-war activist, emphasizing his radicalization following experiences in Vietnam.







Relationship Dynamics:Prose reflects on her personal interactions with Russo, portraying their relationship as one primarily defined by his intense idealism and her role as a listener. She describes Russo’s fervent dedication to activism and writing amidst personal struggles and mental instability.







The Zeitgeist of the 1970s:The conversation delves into the countercultural movements of the era, exploring themes of sexual liberation, feminism, and the broader societal aspirations for change. Prose reflects on the contradictions and freedoms of the time, drawing parallels to contemporary challenges faced by young women.







Legacy of the Past:Prose shares insights into the lasting impact of historical events like the Vietnam War, illustrating how the echoes of that era resonate in today’s political and social landscape.

Episode Description







In this episode of Writer’s Voice, host Francesca Rheannon sits down with acclaimed author Claire Wills to discuss her deeply personal and historically insightful book, Missing Persons or My Grandmother’s Secrets.







Wills shares her journey of uncovering family secrets surrounding an “illegitimate” pregnancy in 1950s Ireland and exploring the broader national scandal of mother and baby homes.







Through a blend of memoir and historical analysis, Wills illuminates the complex social forces that shaped perceptions of legitimacy and the devastating impact of secrecy on countless lives.







Then we re-play our interview from March of this year with Claire Coughlan about her mystery novel, Where They Lie. It centers around a clandestine abortion clinic in 1960’s Ireland.







And we continue our series of poetry readings from Mosab Abu Toha’s book, Things You May Find Hidden in My Ear: Poems from Gaza.







Connect with Us: Follow us on social media to stay up-to-date on the latest episodes and news. Find us on Facebook at Writers Voice with Francesca Rheannon, on Instagram @WritersVoicePodcast or find us on X/Twitter @WritersVoice.







Key Words: Claire Wills, Mother and Baby Homes, unwed mothers, abortion, podcast, author interview, book show, Ireland, Claire Coughlan, abortion rights















Key Topics















* The personal motivations behind Claire Wills’ exploration of her family’s hidden history.







* The Mother-and-Baby Home scandal that rocked Ireland in 2015.







* The changing social constructions of illegitimacy from the Irish famine to the mid-20th century.







* The role of the Catholic Church and the bureaucratization of secrecy in post-independence Ireland.







* The dynamics of family secrets and their influence on personal and collective memory.









About the Author







Claire Wills is an acclaimed author and historian whose work focuses on 20th-century British and Irish cultural history and literature. She teaches English literature at Cambridge University.







Download & Read The Transcript







Listen to more episodes:









* A Personal History of Modern Ireland with Fintan O’Toole







* Mary Costello, ACADEMY STREET & Katha Pollitt, PRO







* a href="https://www.writersvoice.net/2023/03/celebrating-reproductive-choice-felicia-kornbluh-a-womans-life-is-a-human-life-dolen-perkins-valdez-take-my-ha...

What did a group of ordinary citizens find out when they managed to stop a huge gas pipeline from being built?







We spend the hour with Jonathan Mingle talking about his book, Gaslight: The Atlantic Coast Pipeline And The Fight For America’s Energy Future. It’s the story of how a diverse group of citizens came together to fight a pipeline proposed by one of America’s biggest corporations — and won.







Connect with Us: Follow us on social media to stay up-to-date on the latest episodes and news. Find us on Facebook at Writers Voice with Francesca Rheannon, on Instagram @WritersVoicePodcast or find us on X/Twitter @WritersVoice.







Key Words: climate crisis, climate change, Jonathan Mingle, gas pipeline, global warming, podcast, book podcast, author interview















Gaslight: The Fight Against America’s Energy Future













In this episode, we delve into the David versus Goliath narrative about the battle against the Atlantic Coast Pipeline. Jonathan Mingle, author of Gaslight: The Atlantic Coast Pipeline And The Fight For America’s Energy Future, joins us to unravel the story behind the successful resistance against one of America’s biggest corporations.







Key Points Covered:







Introduction to the Atlantic Coast Pipeline: Jonathan Mingle sets the stage by introducing the proposed pipeline project by Dominion Energy, a corporate endeavor billed as a solution for America’s energy needs.







The Dark Reality of “Natural” Gas: Despite its innocuous name, Mingle exposes the hidden dangers of fossil gas, highlighting how it leaks methane and other toxins, contributing to environmental degradation and health hazards.







The Community Uprising: Mingle shares the remarkable tale of how ordinary citizens from diverse backgrounds rallied together to oppose the pipeline’s construction. Their fight, spanning six years and reaching the Supreme Court, serves as a testament to the power of grassroots activism.







The Battle for America’s Energy Future: At the heart of the conflict lies a pivotal question: Is natural gas truly a “bridge fuel” to a cleaner future, or is it a ticking methane bomb jeopardizing both local communities and the planet’s stability?







Jonathan Mingle’s Insights: As a seasoned journalist whose beat is climate change, energy, and environmental issues, Mingle provides invaluable insights into the broader implications of the pipeline saga, touching upon political, policy, and climate-related ramifications.