Frank Buckley Interviews KTLA Audio Network

This episode originally aired June 06, 2018.

Viet Thanh Nguyen is the author of “The Sympathizer,” a spy novel set in the chaos of 1975 Saigon for which Nguyen won the 2016 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction. The novel has been adapted as a limited series for HBO and streaming service MAX, starring Hoa Xundae, Robert Downey Jr., and Sandra Oh.

Viet was born in Ban Me Thuot, Vietnam, and fled as a four-year-old with his family in 1975 to the U.S. as Vietnam was enveloped in the chaos of the end of the war.

Viet and his family were initially transported to a refugee camp in Pennsylvania but eventually moved to San Jose, California where his parents opened one of the first Vietnamese stores in the city. Viet attended U.C. Berkeley and earned a Ph.D. in English. Today, he is University Professor of English, American Studies and Ethnicity and Comparative Literature and the Aerol Arnold Chair of English Studies at the USC Dornsife School. He is the author of several books including “The Refugees,” “The Displaced,” and “Nothing Ever Dies” among others.

During this podcast, Viet discusses his family’s refugee story and the plight of refugees everywhere. He also reveals the challenges he faces as a writer and explains why it took more than 15 years to write the short stories collection “The Refugees.”

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UFC champion and former WWE wrestler Ronda Rousey joins Frank Buckley Interviews to discuss her new memoir, 'Our Fight.' During this conversation, Rousey discusses her history of concussions, and how it played a role in her stunning defeat to Holly Holm at UFC 193. She also shares criticism about her time in the WWE, and about ex-CEO Vince McMahon. Rousey also talks about her life now, and her love of motherhood.

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This episode was originally released October 27, 2021.

Professor Brian Greene is a physicist, mathematician, and string theorist. He is the author of the book "Until the End of Time: Mind, Matter, and Our Search for Meaning in an Evolving Universe." The book is described as a "breathtaking new exploration of the cosmos and our quest to find meaning in the face of this vast expanse. Greene takes us on a journey from the big bang to the end of time, exploring how lasting structures formed, how life and mind emerged, and how we grapple with our existence through narrative, myth, religion, creative expression, science, the quest for truth, and a deep longing for the eternal."

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This episode originally aired March 31, 2021.

Eric Nusbaum is the author of the award-winning book, "Stealing Home: Los Angeles, the Dodgers, and the Lives Caught in Between." Dodger Stadium is an American icon. But the story of how it came to be goes far beyond baseball. The hills that cradle the stadium were once home to three vibrant Mexican American communities. In the early 1950s, those communities were condemned to make way for a utopian public housing project. Then, in a remarkable turn, public housing in the city was defeated amidst a Red Scare conspiracy.

Instead of getting their homes back, the remaining residents saw the city sell their land to Walter O’Malley, the owner of the Brooklyn Dodgers. Now LA would be getting a different sort of utopian fantasy — a glittering, ultra-modern stadium.

But before Dodger Stadium could be built, the city would have to face down the neighborhood’s families — including one, the Aréchigas, who refused to yield their home. The ensuing confrontation captivated the nation – and the divisive outcome still echoes through Los Angeles today.

In this episode of the podcast, Nusbaum discusses the history of Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles, and the lives and communities its construction disrupted.

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This episode was originally released November 22, 2023.

David Zucker is a film director, producer, and screenwriter. He is the co-director and writer of the critically acclaimed 1980 parody film Airplane! His experiences working on the film are covered in his new book Surely You Can't Be Serious: The True Story of Airplane! Zucker is also the creator of The Naked Gun franchise and director of Scary Movie 3 and Scary Movie 4.

In this wide-ranging interview, Zucker discusses topics including political correctness, tales from behind the scenes of his films, and the evolution of Hollywood.

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This episode was originally released March 10, 2021.

Kimberley Chambers is a marathon open water swimmer from New Zealand. After a freak accident left Kim Chambers with a mere one-percent chance of walking unassisted again. Determined to prove the doctors wrong, Kim spent two years rehabilitating her leg and has now regained almost full functionality. She began swimming again as part of her rehabilitation, and has since become the sixth person in the world to complete the Ocean's Seven swimming challenge. In 2015, she became the first woman to swim from the Farallon Islands to the Golden Gate Bridge – a distance of about 30 miles. Many consider it to be the hardest marathon swim in the world.

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