Martin Puchner, Alexandra Chasin – June 10, 2018

Written World, The Power of Stories to Shape People, History, and Civilization. This work is lively and accessible and Martin brings that energy to his conversation with Suzanne Lang.

A kaleidoscope is a plaything, an optical device that continuously juxtaposes elements in a mirrored chamber, generating constantly changing patterns according to the twist of the viewer. Alexandra Chasin’s Assassin of Youth: A Kaleidoscopic History of Harry J. Anslinger’s War on Drugs, does just that. Suzanne talks with Alexandra Chasin on this eye opening view of modern history.

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A Novel Idea

March 03, 2023

Donnaldson Brown and Samuel W. Gailey on A Novel Idea (Aired: March 5, 2023)

Absorbing literary fiction comes from Donnaldson Brown with her decades spanning epic novel Because I Loved You and Samuel W. Gailey with Come Away from Her, his bold mystery set in the cold of Eastern Pennsylvania. Both authors are in conversation with Suzanne M. Lang on A Novel Idea, heard first…
February 03, 2023

Candi Milo and Loren Niemi on A Novel Idea (Aired: February 5, 2023)

Actor, singer, and Warner Brothers voice artist for many animated characters, Candi Milo, tells the story of her unusual upbringing in her memoir Surviving the Odd. Her father was entertainer Tony Milo, and when he gave up show business to run a half-way house for mentally ill and emotionally…
January 01, 2023

Shugri Salh and Hemu Aggarwal on A Novel Idea (Aired: Sunday, January 1, 2022)

Shugri Salh was born in the Somalia desert and lived with her grandmother as a desert nomad herding goats before landing in an orphanage and the streets of Mogadishu during the Somali Civil War, and eventually making her way to North America. The Last Nomad, Coming of Age in the Somali Desert is…
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December 05, 2022

Brennan Matthews and Brad Herzog on A Novel Idea (Aired: December 4, 2022) (2)

Road trips seem to be uniquely American and Suzanne Lang talks with two authors about their unique takes on traveling the country. Miles to Go, an African Family in Search of America Along Route 66 is Brennen Matthews’ travelogue of his family’s emersion into America on its “Mother Road." Brad…
November 04, 2022

Lissa Bachner and Amy Turner on A Novel Idea (Aired: November 6th, 2022)

Suzanne Lang talks with equestrian Lissa Bachner. When Lissa became blind, it was the healing partnership with her horse Milo that physically guided her to become a show jumping champion and emotionally provided Lissa the love and confidence she needed to define herself outside of blindness. The…
Mar 03, 2019

Michael Morey – March 3, 2019

Author and independent historian Michael Morey’s book, Fagen: An African American Renegade in the Philippine-American War, unpacks American…
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Dec 02, 2018

Thomas E. Cochrane – December 2, 2018

Oil makes the world go round and geologist Thomas E. Cochrane delivers candid and lively remembrances of his life and experience in the American…
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Oct 24, 2018

Susan Hand Shetterly – October 7, 2018

Seaweed. It plays a vital role in ocean ecology, and also in our health and diet, and in our local and global economies. Seaweed Chronicles: A World…
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Sep 30, 2018

Gregory Couch – October 1, 2018

Gregory Crouch joins Suzanne M. Lang in conversation on his epic western history of California wealth and the Comstock Lode, bringing focus to one of…
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Aug 05, 2018

Jonah Raskin – August 5, 2018

Jonah Raskin has a large and ranging body of non-fiction books and articles and now has come out with a detective fiction of a different order, Dark…
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Jul 29, 2018

Bruce Holbert – July 30, 2018

San Francisco’s City Lights Bookstore, the landmark independent bookstore founded in 1953 by poet Lawrence Ferlinghetti and Peter D. Martin, recently…
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Jul 01, 2018

Brad Herzog – July 1, 2018

A timely encore presentation of Rosemary Manchester in conversation with Brad Herzog, collaborator on Carolyn Goodman’s memoir, My Mantelpiece: a…
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Apr 01, 2018

Bruce Holbert – April 1, 2018

To celebrate the release of Bruce Holbert’s third novel, Whiskey, here is a reprise of two previous conversations between Bruce and Suzanne M Lang on…
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Nov 13, 2017

Jeffrey Miller – January 31, 2016

This episode of KRCB’s A Novel Idea is an “encore” presentation of a favorite broadcast, originally broadcast in 2010, featuring Andre Codrescu and…
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Nov 13, 2017

Eva Rutland – March 6, 2016

To honor Black History Month and International Women’s Day (March 8th) we present Rosemary Manchester with an encore presentation of a show featuring…
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Nov 13, 2017

Abby Geni, Lewis deSoto – April 3, 2016

Big Nature, Big California The Farallon Islands, remote and mysterious, is the setting of Abby Geni’s novel of nature and mystery, The Lightkeepers.…
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Nov 13, 2017

Wendy E. Simmons – July 4, 2016

Wendy E. Simmons is a world traveler. Not a novice. Not a pushover. Her trip to North Korea challenged every bit of her perceptions of herself and…
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Nov 13, 2017

Kenneth Wishnia – August 7, 2016

Mystery writer Kenneth Wishnia joins Suzanne Lang in conversation on his latest novel, The Fifth Servant, which is set in 1592 Prague, where a young…
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Nov 13, 2017

William Luvaas – September 4, 2016

William Luvaas, NEA grant recipient who has been recognized for his short stories and novels alike, joins Suzanne Lang in conversation on his third…
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Nov 13, 2017

Meg Waite Clayton – October 2, 2016

New York Time’s bestselling author Meg Waite Clayton joins Suzanne M. Lang in conversation about The Race for Paris, Clayton’s compelling novel of…
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Nov 13, 2017

Heather Lyn Mann – April 3, 2017

15,000 nautical miles, six years, and a world of insight ….Heather Lyn Mann joins Suzanne Lang in conversation about Heather’s journey as expressed…
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Nov 13, 2017

Gary Soto, Gerald Haslam – May 7, 2017

Encore presentation of a 2013 broadcast features Suzanne Lang in conversation with author and poet Gary Soto and Rosemary Manchester talking with…
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Nov 13, 2017

Peter Afrasiabi – October 1, 2017

Top intellectual property and entertainment lawyer Peter Afrasiabi joins Suzanne Lang in conversation on his recent book Burning Bridges, America’s…
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Nov 13, 2017

J. Jaye Gold – October 29, 2017

J. Jaye Gold has been a hustler and gambler in his life, but sought a new way of being in his that lead him on a journey around the globe, and
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