Available today! Meet Canadian author, David LeBrun, whose first book, a travel memoir, is being published today by Tortoise Books. Delirium Vitae is a recounting of David's adventures in Central America when he fled the cold Canadian winter to party with an old friend, promptly ran out of money, and began the slow journey of discovering what he was running from while returning home. In this episode, David talks about the jobs-related book he was working on during the trip and how it was scuttle...
Jun 03, 2025•51 min•Season 2Ep. 283
Welcome Flora Qian with her first novel "South of the Yangtze," a coming-of-age story of a thoughtful and curious Chinese girl, born and raised in Shanghai during the one-child years.* Flora discusses the origins of the novel which maps some of her own experiences as a young woman educated in China who then moved to Hong Kong. The intriguing novel, written in English, explores the themes of language, relationships, loneliness, and community, against a backdrop of post-Cultural Revolution China. ...
Dec 23, 2024•52 min•Season 2Ep. 282
Relationship expert Melinda Blau is back with her new book, "The Wisdom Whisperers: Golden Guides to a Long Life of Grit, Grace, and Laughter." Melinda began collecting her "old ladies," as she calls them, in mid-life and shares here the tremendous wisdom and benefit she has received over the past twenty years or so from these relationships with women much older than she is. Not so much a book on aging as a continuation of Melinda's astute career-long observations about the magic and wonder of r...
Dec 16, 2024•58 min•Season 2Ep. 281
Join petroleum engineer Malvina Lerma as she talks about her cozy mystery series, Oilfield Mysteries, and her amateur sleuth, Charlie, a woman working in a man's world. Malvina and Jennifer talk about the oil industry, Bakersfield, the BP catastrophe, well drilling, as well as a bunch of writing-related topics: how to convey technical expertise in a novel, what makes a cozy, Malvina's influences (especially Agathie Christie), and how to get better as a writer. An upbeat conversation great for wr...
Dec 01, 2024•54 min•Season 2Ep. 280
The two parts of the Americana duo Tattletale Saints, Simon Stanley and Vanessa McGowen, join us today to talk about tons of music stuff: their formation and evolution, Simon's foray into kids music, Vanessa's bass playing, their move to Nashville, what makes a good cover, and why music from New Zealand might be especially innovative. Simon also talks about songwriting, and Vanessa gives advice to early musicians about making success out of passion. We also include D.I.N.K., one of The Tattletal...
Nov 17, 2024•59 min•Season 2Ep. 279
Join us to talk about "Law of the Jungle" and "Skin of Tattoos," two of Christina's novels, both replete with interesting characters and quite absorbing . One is about a biochemist deep in the Amazonian jungle who falls in love with the perfect guy only to discover—well, you can imagine. What you might not imagine is what she does next. Drawn from Christina's experience working with LA gangs, "Skin of Tattoos" is a sympathetic story about a gang member released from jail who finds himself inexor...
Nov 04, 2024•51 min•Season 2Ep. 278
Sarah Langan, author of "A Better World" and "Good Neighbors," talks about her new dystopian novel and its frightening similarities to our current real life. In Sarah's novel, our hero, Linda, doctor and mom, is initially thrilled to be accepted into Plymouth Valley, a safe refuge for her family from an outside crazy world, but too soon she discovers that there are disturbing dark elements to this so-called utopia. In this episode, Sarah and Jennifer discuss the novel and its plot and characters...
Aug 26, 2024•53 min•Season 2Ep. 277
Joining us to talk about the recent campus protests and their ramifications for free speech is Kristen Shahverdian of PEN America. Kristen discusses the various balls that campuses must keep in the air, considering the participants' right to free speech, safety on campus, and viewpoint-neutral policy decisions. She discusses the advice that PEN America offers to campus administrators about how to reasonably respond to protesters and what would constitute a disproportionate reaction. We dig into ...
Jun 24, 2024•1 hr 3 min•Season 2Ep. 276
The Sam Hinton Folk Heritage Festival at Old Poway Park in San Diego will be held June 1! We're delighted in this episode to share Sam's history through the eyes of his granddaughter Katrina Hinton-Cooper. In this wide-ranging conversation, we discuss Sam's music, his tremendous work for the Aquarium Museum of the Scripps Institute of Oceanography, and his outlook on the world, as shown through his songs, humor, drawings, and observations. We also manage to talk about science fiction, hypnosis t...
May 27, 2024•56 min•Season 2Ep. 275
Join us as pharmacist Miffie Seideman talks about her new book from Indiana University Press, "The Grim Reader: A Pharmacist's Guide to Putting Your Characters in Peril," a great resource for fiction writers who would like to bring a bit more accuracy to their drug-related scenes. Jennifer and Miffie talk about the most egregious errors that show up in books and movies (provoking eye rolls from experts) and how more accurate scenes would result in better and less clichéd writing. We also discuss...
May 20, 2024•1 hr 8 min•Season 2Ep. 274
Okay, so the new memoir "Splinters" wasn't our favorite book ever, and sometimes it downright irritated us, but our investigation into what worked (and what didn't!) makes for a fascinating conversation about the nature of memoir and new trends in the genre, from "woe is me" themes to shameless self-exposure which apparently appeals to voyeuristic readers. John Julius Reel and Jennifer discuss the author, Leslie Jamison, the buzz surrounding this book, and their critiques and suggestions for wha...
May 13, 2024•1 hr 1 min•Season 2Ep. 273
Join Craig Erpelding, Director of the BFA in Cinematic Arts at Indiana University, to discuss the ways AI can be used effectively and ethically in the development of screenplays and the teaching of screenwriting. Craig bravely jumps into this fraught topic and clearly and logically explains his own research with the tool and what limitations and concerns he has uncovered. Knowing that students are going to use AI in the development of their work, he advises students and teachers alike about how ...
Apr 29, 2024•1 hr 1 min•Season 2Ep. 272
Join us as we talk with Teri Den Herder, longtime bookseller at the UCSD Bookstore, about Independent Bookstore Day, the annual celebration of indie bookstores, and the San Diego Book Crawl, the weekend when booklovers swarm the 13 participating bookstores in search of books, passport stamps, prizes, and surprises. We discuss the national day, how it got started, what's new this year (shuttle busses!), how the event has grown, what to expect, and how to have the most fun. We also discuss Teri's ...
Apr 22, 2024•58 min•Season 2Ep. 271
Join the charming Debi Derryberry as we explore her long career as a voice-over artist, including voicing Jimmy Neutron, as well as her various projects, such as the recent release of her fourth CD of children's music, Gotta Go Green. Here she generously shares her experiences, growing up with a "little voice," her foray to Nashville, and returning to California to settle into a successful acting and voice career in Hollywood which has resulted in over 400 IMDb credits (so far!). Debi also works...
Apr 01, 2024•1 hr 1 min•Season 2Ep. 270
University of San Diego law professor Donald Dripps joins us to educate us on the plea bargain system which has essentially replaced what we think of as our criminal justice system. Prof. Dripps explains why defendants waive their right to a jury trial by pleading guilty, why defense attorneys recommend taking a plea, why prosecutors offer up "deals" for alleged criminals, and the ramifications of "self-conviction." He discusses which cases tend to get pled out, in what jurisdictions, and if fol...
Mar 18, 2024•58 min•Season 2Ep. 269
San Diego's own wild & crazy guy, Billy Galewood, recounts his quest for fun from Cleveland to Bushwalla and beyond. An original showman from the Java Joe days, he entertains through improv, song, rap, storytelling, and making people laugh. Here he tells the tales of musical theatre, the Cleveland Opera, early days with Jason Mraz, how meditation led to the demise of Bushwalla, his LA/SD split personality, and his reincarnation as a comic and celebrity host. He also shares the SECRET TO LIFE...
Mar 11, 2024•56 min•Season 2Ep. 268
Rafi Kohan's new book, "Trash Talk: The Only Book About Destroying Your Rivals That Isn't Total Garbage," covers sh*t talking and its relatives: bench jockeying, the dozens, and sledging; as well as its variants from ancient times (think Odysseus and hubris). Rafi discusses the complexity of trash talk in its levels of teasing, threat, trust, and going "too far," but delves further into its effectiveness in competition, or lack thereof. He goes on to explore the research about these psychologica...
Mar 04, 2024•1 hr 2 min•Season 2Ep. 267
Join Steve Denyes, of Hullabaloo, the best kids' music band in these parts (and maybe the universe!), as he chats about songwriting, kids and parents, and what has changed in the twenty years that Hullabaloo has been performing. Hullabaloo's first live album, their 15th album overall, came out this month. It was recorded live in Sun Studio, and Steve talks about what it was like to be in Memphis, learning about its history and living some of it too. We also get to talk about word play, folk song...
Feb 26, 2024•59 min•Season 2Ep. 266
Dr. Helveston's new book tells the history of the Clostridium botulinum, a bacterium that was discovered and researched as a poison and how it came to be Botox , with multiple medical applications and a household word in the beauty industry. As an ophthalmologist, Dr. Helveston worked with Alan Scott who is credited with developing and manufacturing Botox although, as you'll hear in the episode, his rewards were more advancing science and having fun rather than making money. It's a fascinating t...
Feb 19, 2024•54 min•Season 2Ep. 265
Please join us for a wonderful conversation with author Sarah Blake about her latest novel, The Guest Book, a book described by the Washington Post as "monumental," a sweeping family drama of secrets and silence that crosses three generations but is anchored by a private island off the coast of Maine. With periods set in the thirties, just before World War II; in the late fifties, just before the Civil Rights Movement; and in present day, it is very much of our time as it dares to approach the i...
Feb 12, 2024•55 min•Season 2Ep. 264
Nearly 6,000 instances of book banning have been recorded since 2021, and the book censorship movement is growing, accelerated by new laws in some states. PEN America has joined Penguin Random House, authors, and students in a lawsuit against Escambia County school district, challenging unlawful censorship. PEN America program director, Kasey Meehan, joins us to talk about the numbers, what is being banned, who is driving the movement, and what actions, both legal and grassroots, are underway to...
Feb 05, 2024•56 min•Season 2Ep. 263
Matt Singer, author of Opposable Thumbs: How Siskel and Ebert Changed Movies Forever, joins us to discuss two TV guys who argued passionately about movies for over twenty years, during a period when American Cinema was in its heyday, and film criticism rose to the challenge. Matt's book covers the history of S&E's successful collaboration, somewhat surprising since they were first longform movie critics from competing Chicago newspapers, before they joined thumbs and their Two Thumbs Up! bec...
Jan 29, 2024•1 hr 1 min•Season 2Ep. 262
American streets killed more than 7500 pedestrians in 2023, a 40-year high and climbing every year. Why? City planner and walkable cities advocate Jeff Speck joins us to explain that street design is largely to blame and how modest changes could be made to increase safety, as has been done in European cities with dramatic results. Jeff uses traffic studies to show how urban planning can affect driver speed, traffic congestion, safety, and walkability—all of which can improve and restore our sens...
Jan 22, 2024•49 min•Season 2Ep. 261
Duke copyright law professor Jennifer Jenkins joins us to celebrate and explain Public Domain Day. After a twenty-year hiatus, copyrighted works began moving into the public domain in 2019. Now each year, we can re-discover works that are available to be re-purposed by creators without the legal burden of obtaining permission from the former copyright holders. This year, for example, includes works such as The House at Pooh Corner , Millions of Cats , The ThreePenny Opera , and the 800-pound mou...
Jan 15, 2024•58 min•Season 2Ep. 260
Indiana University English professor Michael Adams returns to talk about taboo language and historical attempts to document it and suppress it. He bravely takes on the fraught issues around the f-word, bathroom graffiti, obscene literature, Shakespeare, and even hate speech. Along the way, he enlightens us about the Comstock Act, Tijuana bibles, smuggling contraband books, and daring scholars who persisted in studying forbidden language, particularly those supported by Madeleine Kripke, whose re...
Jan 08, 2024•1 hr 19 min•Season 2Ep. 259
The great Tom Lehrer has a new album! Put out by Needlejuice records and mixed by our guest, Jeff Morris, from the original reel-to-reel tapes, it's a compilation of all of Tom's songs recorded with an orchestra, now available in stereo for the first time. This gives us a wonderful excuse to revisit Tom's unusual career, his transition from touring artist to UC-Santa Cruz math instructor, and some of our favorite songs, like Silent E, which we include in the podcast. Jeff tells the story of how ...
Dec 22, 2023•58 min•Season 2Ep. 258
Join bestselling author J. Ryan Stradal to discuss his third novel, Saturday Night at the Lakeside Supper Club, a celebration of food and drink across four generations in Minnesota. J. Ryan contrasts four female voices, four decades, and two restaurants, one a traditional supper club, and the second a chain restaurant, similar to a Denny's. The result is an exploration of our times and our evolving relationship with food and drink, health, and community. J. Ryan also discusses his writing during...
Dec 16, 2023•48 min•Season 2Ep. 257
Author Dale Bridges joins us to discuss his first novel, The Mean Reds, a fun mystery novel featuring Sam, the self-deluded, weed-addled, but utterly relatable film buff protagonist, who encounters a hilarious cast of characters as he attempts to investigate the death of a stripper. Dale talks about the setting of the novel in Mountainview, a liberal college town, how he developed his characters, and how the novel was ultimately published by a university press. Dale also discusses his own develo...
Dec 08, 2023•51 min•Season 2Ep. 256
Join Charles Beeker, Indiana University professor and director of the IU Center for Underwater Science, to talk about shipwrecks, underwater treasures and resources, and the surrounding web of related ethical and legal issues. From Indiana shipwrecks (yes! Indiana has shipwrecks and an interesting maritime history) to the Titanic, the Monitor, and Columbia's San José, each historical object is unique, but all serve to lure us into the deep, to learn their stories or investigate what lies beneath...
Dec 01, 2023•1 hr•Season 2Ep. 255
DOJ Attorney Brendan Ballou discusses his new book, "Plunder: Private Equity's Plan to Pillage America." Ever wonder why we seem to have fewer airlines, fewer retail stores, fewer drugstores, and the same names keep showing up on businesses from rental agencies to nursing homes to mobile home parks? Why did all those long-lasting businesses fail in the past 15 years? (Hint: it's not all Amazon.'s fault.) Doesn't it seem as though fewer people own their own homes? Who got all that Covid money? An...
Nov 22, 2023•52 min•Season 2Ep. 254
