Based on exclusive interviews with Supreme Court Justices themselves and other insiders, The Nine is a timely and provocative report on America's most elite legal institution by The New Yorker's legal correspondent.
Oct 03, 2007•1 hr 30 min
One of the world's preeminent scholars of World War II history, author of the bestselling Europe: A History and Rising '44, offers a clear-eyed reappraisal and an illuminating portrait of a conflict that continues to provoke debate today.
Sep 28, 2007•1 hr 30 min
A highly respected statistical analyst of climate discusses why and how he believes the debate over climate change, fueled by politicians and the media, has stifled rational dialogue and marginalized meaningful dissent.
Sep 25, 2007•1 hr 30 min
Alda and Farrell, former co-stars of M*A*S*H, both authors of recent memoirs, re-unite to discuss art, activism, family, money, and fame.
Sep 19, 2007•1 hr
Robert Alter's translation of \"The Five Books of Moses\" was hailed as a \"godsend\" by poet Seamus Heaney. He discusses with Kirsch, also a Biblical scholar, his new translation of the timeless Book of Psalms.
Sep 18, 2007•1 hr 3 min
Gilmore's Golden Country vividly brings to life the intertwining stories of three immigrants seeking their fortunes. In Freudenberger's The Dissident, a performance artist/political activist collides with a wealthy Beverly Hills family. In these extraordinary first novels, family dynamics and cultures in collision are limned with hilarity and wisdom.
Sep 11, 2007•1 hr 3 min
Kidd’s book jacket designs for Alfred A. Knopf, where he has worked since 1986, have helped spawn a revolution in the art of American book packaging. "The history of book design can be split into two eras: before graphic designer Chip Kidd and after." (Time Out New York)Presented on the occasion of the exhibition "Dancing by the Light of the Moon: The Art of Fred Marcellino" in Central Library’s Getty Gallery.
Jul 26, 2007•1 hr 15 min
An unsettling and timely investigation into the ties between Beverly Hills, its oil wells, and a local cancer cluster. A compelling legal drama by a journalist and member of the Beverly Hills High School class of '71.
Jul 25, 2007•1 hr 10 min
\"America's foremost literary pugilist\" (Village Voice) offers an elegantly argued case against all religions.
Jun 05, 2007•1 hr 24 min
On a devastated, lawless American continent, families have only one hope: passage on a ship to Europe. A remarkable novel by one of the most inventive novelists writing in English today.
May 24, 2007•1 hr 24 min
Two California-born writers-one from East L.A. and the other from the Central Valley-discuss their understanding of stories as a way to complicate our views of self, of morality, and of our relationships with the world around us.
May 23, 2007•1 hr 30 min
From the celebrated author of For the Relief of Unbearable Urges, a stunning historical novel—his first—set in Buenos Aires at the start of Argentina’s Dirty War.
May 22, 2007•1 hr 4 min
At age twelve, Beah (now twenty-five), fled attacking rebels in his native Sierra Leone and was picked up by the government army. What is war like through the eyes of a child soldier? How does one become a killer? How does one stop?
Apr 06, 2007•1 hr 8 min
Whether chronicling the class conflict in the African American community or exposing the failings of the government response to Hurricane Katrina, Dyson never shies away from controversy. Join two of America's most astute intellectuals in a discussion about issues that matter.
Mar 08, 2007•1 hr 30 min
In a society in which sex is both a major obsession and a major taboo, what is the function of erotic literature? Is there a new receptivity to thinking and writing about the sexual dimension? Join two award-winning American writers for a provocative discussion.
Feb 16, 2007•1 hr 14 min
Solnit-activist and cultural historian-draws on emblematic moments of uncertainty, trust, loss, memory, desire and place in brilliant autobiographical essays exploring how we find ourselves or lose ourselves.
Feb 13, 2007•1 hr 9 min
Oren, recently visiting professor at Harvard and Yale and author of the best-selling Six Days of War - covers 230 years of America's political, military, and intellectual involvement in the Middle East from George Washington to George W. Bush.
Feb 13, 2007•1 hr 11 min
Aslan (No god but God: The Origins, Evolution, and Future of Islam) and Harris (The End of Faith: Religion, Terror, and the Future of Reason; Letter to a Christian Nation) square off for the first time to debate the future of religion and its role in society.
Jan 26, 2007•1 hr 28 min
A surprising love story set in 1946 Moscow and a camp in the Arctic Circle by the bestselling author of London Fields.
Jan 24, 2007•1 hr 5 min
What are the deep origins of communal celebration in human biology and culture? Join us for an original and exhilarating look at one of humanity's oldest traditions.
Jan 17, 2007•1 hr 6 min
The inimitable raconteur, essayist, novelist, playwright, historian, critic and screenwriter travels in memory through the arenas of literature, television, film, theater, politics, and international society.
Nov 21, 2006•1 hr 11 min
The creator/executive producer and cast members of HBO's \"Deadwood\" discuss the themes and motivations that run through the series - gold, Custer, betrayal, profanity - and the remarkable accidents of history that created the wildest town in the West.
Nov 02, 2006•1 hr 28 min
The great Irish novelist--known as a pioneer for her frank portrayals of women--discusses her daring new work that explores the unbreakable bond between mother and child. \"O'Brien is a storyteller, an Irish story-teller, one of an ancient tradition of storytellers, people who tell the truth.\" (Thomas Cahill, Los Angeles Times Book Review)
Oct 25, 2006•1 hr 9 min
Gordon, one of America's master story-tellers, probes the lives of her characters and how the workings of the world- both enormous events and intimate moments-define and change us. She discusses her writing life on the publication of the complete collection of her remarkable short fictions.
Oct 06, 2006•1 hr 8 min
A provocative discussion about the competing interests and issues raised by The Google Books Library Project, and whether a universal digital repository of our collective knowledge is in our future. With: Allan Adler, Association of American Publishers; David Drummond, Google; Fontayne Holmes, Los Angeles Public Library; Jonathan Kirsch, author and lawyer, Lawrence Lessig, Stanford Law School, and Gary Wolf, WIRED Magazine.
Jun 13, 2006•1 hr 29 min
Pekar, known for his autobiographical slice-of-life comic book series \"American Splendor\" and author of the just-released Ego & Hubris: The Michael Malice Story discusses artistic strategies and kvetching as a form of \"Outsider Realism\" with Conal, L.A.'s own iconic anti-icon master and guerrilla poster artist.
Jun 09, 2006•1 hr 10 min
The author of the national bestseller The Omnivore's Dilemma returns with a manifesto for our times: what to eat, what not to eat, and how to think about health.
May 11, 2006•1 hr 16 min
Rowley, a distinguished biographer and Obst, legendary producer of films such as "Sleepless in Seattle" offers an intimate look at one of the world's most unconventional love stories.
May 02, 2006•1 hr 14 min
Geraldine Brooks - in conversation with Carla Kaplan, Professor of English, USC - is the author of a luminous second novel (after 2001’s acclaimed Year of Wonders) entitled March: A Novel. This book imagines the Civil War experiences of Mr. March, the absent father in Louisa May Alcott’s Little Women.
Feb 23, 2006•1 hr 7 min
Join two brilliant scholars of religion for a fascinating discussion on the internal conflict within Islam over the scope and outcome of the Islamic Reformation.This program was presented by ALOUD in 2006, and the recording from our archive was added to our podcast collection in 2014.
Feb 03, 2006•1 hr 22 min