A Novel Idea

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Suzanne Lang 2020

Non-fiction to pulp fiction, host Suzanne M. Lang explores the world of books featuring conversations with writers, academics, and readers. We all have a story to tell. It’s A Novel Idea.

A Novel Idea airs on the first, third, and fifth Sundays of every month at 10:00 am on KRCB-FM 104.9 / streaming @ norcalpublicmedia.org /Download the FREE KRCB mobile app from the App Store & Google Play!

A Novel Idea

September 14, 2023

Laura Maylene Walter and Ivy Anderson & Devon Angus on A Novel Idea (Aired: September 17, 2023)

Marked Women is the focus this time on A Novel Idea. First, Suzanne Lang talks with Laura Maylene Walter on her award-winning novel Body of Stars. Then, it's a conversation with historians Ivy Anderson and Devon Angus on their nonfiction work, Alice: Memoirs of a Barbary Coast Prostitute. It’s A…

August 31, 2023

Maddalena Bearzi and Greg Sarris on A Novel Idea (Aired: September 3, 2023)

Marine mammal researcher and co-founder of the Ocean Conservation Society, Maddalena Bearzi, like many of us, had her work curtailed during the initial shutdown period of the pandemic. But her habit is to observe, and her world did not get smaller, as she found a universe of life right in her own…

August 17, 2023

Daniel Stashower on A Novel Idea (Aired: August 20, 2023)

True crime and bestselling author Daniel Stashower’s American Demon: Eliot Ness and the Hunt for America’s Jack the Ripper probes the depression era search for the “torso murderer” who left a wake of dismembered bodies in Cleveland Ohio, while also revealing the post-Untouchables life and career of…

August 03, 2023

Andy Dolich and Dale Tafoya on A Novel Idea (Aired: August 6, 2023)

A tale of two cities. Suzanne Lang talks with sports executive and author Andy Dolich, who along with journalist Dave Newhouse, authored the book Goodbye Oakland: Winning, Wanderlust, and a Sports Town’s Fight for Survival about the history of professional teams in Oakland California and their…

July 28, 2023

Chuck Collins and Katrin Ciaffa on A Novel Idea (Aired: July 30, 2023)

Long time activist for economic and environmental justice, Chuck Collins, brings us his provocative novel of the near future, Altar to an Erupting Sun, which opens with a woman strapping a bomb to herself to blow up an oil executive. Also featured is Hannelore Krollpfeiffer’s book, We Lived in…

July 13, 2023

Ginny Kubitz Moyer and Robert McKean on A Novel Idea (Aired: July 16, 2023)

Suzanne Lang talks with novelists Ginny Kubitz Moyer on her historical novel, The Seeing Garden, set in 1910 on the San Francisco Peninsula. Also on the program, Robert McKean, whose novel Mending What is Broken is mad-capped, funny, and heartfelt. It’s A Novel Idea, Sunday, July 16th at 10 am PT.

Jun 29, 2023

Christy Warren and Susan Farren on A Novel Idea (Aired: July 2, 2023)

Fire Captain Christy Warren was born to deal with crisis situations and rescuing others. She was tough and decisive under pressure, but when she…

Jun 16, 2023

Tina Davidson and Francesco Lecce-Chong on A Novel Idea (Aired: June 18, 2023)

Tina Davidson is a composer whose music is autobiographical, so her memoir is of course, musical. Suzanne Lang talks with composer Tina Davidson, on…

Jun 02, 2023

Mary Jo McConahay and Kate McElwee on A Novel Idea (Aired: June 4, 2023)

Suzanne Lang talks with prize-winning journalist Mary Jo McConahay on her book Playing God, American Catholic Bishops and the Far Right, which…

May 07, 2023

Dale Tafoya and Mark Shrager join Suzanne on A Novel Idea (Aired: May 7, 2023)

Baseball and horseracing are two sports that have been with us since before the Civil War and we still enjoy them in one way or another today.…

Apr 27, 2023

Beth Ann Mathews and Skye Blaine on A Novel Idea (Aired: April 30th, 2023)

Suzanne M. Lang is joined by Beth Ann Mathews, Marine biologist and author of Deep Waters, A Memoir of Loss, Alaska Adventure, and Love Rekindled.…

Mar 30, 2023

Author Joan Frank on A Novel Idea (Aired: April 2, 2023)

Joan Frank is simply a master of language and expression, and she has two new books to prove it: a novel, Juniper Street, and a book of essays, Late…

Mar 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…

Feb 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…

Jan 27, 2023

Marylee MacDonald and Elisa Stancil Levine on A Novel Idea (Aired: January 29, 2023)

What happens in our youth ripples through our entire lives. Authors Marylee MacDonald and Elisa Stancil Levine join Suzanne M. Lang in conversation…

Jan 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…

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Dec 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…

Nov 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…

Oct 28, 2022

A Novel Idea goes Way out West (Aired: October 30, 2022)

Way out West. Biographer of scrappy women, Theresa Kaminski talks about her book Queen of the West, The Life and Times of Dale Evans. Then, author…

Oct 07, 2022

Jori Lewis and Judith Berlowitz on A Novel Idea (Aired: October 2, 2022)

Jori Lewis visits with her book Slaves for Peanuts, A Story of Conquest, Liberation, and a Crop that Changed History, a lyrical revelation that…

Sep 02, 2022

Keri Blankenship and Dr. Dianna Grayer on A Novel Idea (Aired: September 4, 2022)

Keri Blankenship did not let her worst moments define her. Her book is Corrections in Ink, a Memoir, a candid self-portrait of her journey to elite…

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Aug 04, 2022

Marston Hefner and Schuyler M. Wood on A Novel Idea (Aired: August 7, 2022)

Marston Hefner is a young writer who plays with language and sentiment, with some of his pieces having a sort of absurdity that upon closer reading…

Jul 29, 2022

Jillian Haslam on A Novel Idea with Suzanne Lang (Aired: July 31, 2022)

Jillian Haslam grew up destitute and malnourished in the slums of Calcutta. She survived to climb out of poverty, achieve a successful career in…

Jul 01, 2022

Amy Edelstein and Kathleen C. Stone on A Novel Idea (Aired: July 3, 2022)

Inner strength and agency over our lives is what we explore with Amy Edelstein, whose book is Adventure in Zanskar, a young woman’s solitary journey…

Jun 03, 2022

Barbara Graham and Caitlin Hamilton Summie on A Novel Idea (Aired: June 5, 2020)

Best-selling nonfiction author Barbara Graham and award winner Caitlin Hamilton Summie join Suzanne M. Lang in conversation on their novels. Both…

May 27, 2022

Neal Thompson and Connie Hertzberg Mayo on A Novel Idea (Aired: May 29, 2022)

The Late 19th Century tells us as much about ourselves as looking in the mirror. Two writers explore the late 19th century, though one writes fiction…

Apr 28, 2022

Poet/novelists Andrei Codrescu and Barbara Quick on A Novel Idea (

Long-time NPR commentator, editor of Exquisite Corpse, novelist, and poet Andrei Codrescu joins Suzanne Lang in conversation on his life, writing,…

Apr 01, 2022

Greg Sarris and Julene Bair on A Novel Idea (Aired: April 3, 2022)

Story, memory, place, and water converges with our two guests. Suzanne Lang is joined by Greg Sarris, author, educator and Tribal Chairman of the…

Mar 04, 2022

Ruthie Marlenee and Meredith Hall join Suzanne on A Novel Idea (Aired: March 6, 2022)

Characters seem to tell their authors where the story is going, and that is part of the alchemy of writing novels. Suzanne Lang talks with Ruthie…

Feb 04, 2022

Ann Vileisis talks about abalone's uncertain future on A Novel Idea (Aired: February 6, 2022)

Environmental historian Ann Vileisis goes deep and pulls together a fascinating story in Abalone, the Remarkable History and Uncertain Future of…

Jan 28, 2022

Daniel Coshnear and Beth Kirschner on A Novel Idea (Aired: January 30, 2022)

Good fiction invites us to be less alone, to question our own thoughts and perceptions, to laugh at ourselves and cry about what hurts. Join Suzanne…

Dec 31, 2021

Rosemary Manchester shares her autobiography on A Novel Idea (Aired: January 2, 2022)

A young couple with four little children experienced a calling to the missionary life and found themselves living in the crisis time of independence…

Dec 03, 2021

Rosemary Manchester previews her new book on A Novel Idea (Aired: December 5, 2021)

It’s a sneak peek ahead to a conversation with Rosemary Manchester about her book Turn Left at the Big Anthill, a Memoir, her story of living in the…

Nov 05, 2021

Two young new literary voices on A Novel Idea (Aired: November 7, 2021)

It’s two young new literary voices on this edition on KRCB’s A Novel Idea with Suzanne Lang. Kendra Atleework’s book is Miracle Country, a Memoir of…

Oct 28, 2021

Peri Chickering and Carolyn Lee Arnold on A Novel Idea (Aired: October 31, 2021)

Over the years it seems that many of the authors we’ve featured have been published by Berkeley based She Writes Press, including our featured…

Oct 04, 2021

Joanna FitzPatrick and Jeanne Baker Guy on A Novel Idea (Aired: October 3, 2021)

Nonfiction that reads like a novel, and a novel steeped in modern California history are approached by Suzanne M Lang in conversation with Joanna…

Sep 02, 2021

Suzanne Lang talks with Kent Wong on A Novel Idea (Aired: September 5, 2021)

Author Kent Wong's memoir, Swimming to Freedom -My Escape from China and the Cultural Revolution, an Untold Story is a riveting tale of his life in…

Aug 31, 2021

Award-Winning Authors Jessica Barksdale Inclán and Nancy Econome on A Novel Idea (Aired: August 29, 2021)

Fiction can be fantasy, fiction can reflect back to us who we are, and at its best it does both while being an entertaining read. Such is the case…

Aug 09, 2021

Sailing the Early Seas of Pirate Radio in the U.K. on A Novel Idea (Aired: August 1, 2021)

Scampering across balconies, rooftops, and even Mick Jaggers house, to string antenna wire across London, Arnold M.D. Levine details the antics and…

Jul 04, 2021

A Novel Idea Features Jonathan Taplin (Aired: July 4, 2021)

“I believe in Rock-and-Roll, books, and movies to upset the world” says Jonathan Taplin author of The Magic Years, Scenes from a Rock-and-Roll Life.…

Jun 07, 2021

Cheryl Krauter & Rachel Michelberg on A Novel Idea (Aired: June 6, 2021)

Sometimes we move through life and are blindsided by catastrophe, and each individual’s response is unique and their own. No roadmaps, but there are…

May 27, 2021

A Novel Idea Features Andrea Pitzer (Aired: May 30, 2021)

The year is 1597. The setting is the Upper Arctic. In search of a northeast passage to the Orient, Dutch cartographer William Barents and his crew…

May 02, 2021

On the Road Again: Journalist Brad Herzog Joins Suzanne Lang on A Novel Idea (Aired: May 2, 2021)

Suzanne Lang is on the road and her guest, journalist Brad Herzog, brings us his own travelogue in Detour 2020, a Cross-country Drive through…

Apr 09, 2021

Award-Winning Author L. Annette Binder on A Novel Idea (Aired: April 11, 2021)

Award-winning author L. Annette Binder has created a moving and intimate portrait of an ordinary German family affected by war in the waning days of…

Mar 07, 2021

Richard Alther Discusses His New Novel Bedside Matters on A Novel Idea (Aired: March 7, 2021)

There is the promise of life, even at its end. Richard Alther’s novel Bedside Matters explores the ultimate question: what matters most? Alther,…

Feb 05, 2021

Bohemians West: Free Love, Family, and Radicals in Twentieth-Century America on A Novel Idea (Aired: February 7, 2021)

Bohemians West — Free Love, Family, and Radicals in Twentieth-Century America is the story of free love and the radical movement of the early…

Jan 01, 2021

Historian Lynn Downey Joins Suzanne Lang on A Novel Idea (Aired: January 3, 2021)

Lynn Downey is a historian of the American West, longtime archivist with Levi Strauss & Co, and has two new books worth talking about, whether you’re…

Dec 07, 2020

Join Suzanne M Lang in Conversation with Brandon J McDermott on A Novel Idea (Aired: December 6, 2020)

“Radio saved me.” Brandon J McDermott grew up pretending to be a baseball announcer and ranking all the songs he knew said just this about himself:…

Nov 30, 2020

Joan Frank joins Suzanne M. Lang on A Novel Idea (Aired: November 29, 2020)

Northern California writer Joan Frank is a woman who quotes Dorothy Parker with ease and whose conversations are as good as her books. Joan’s…

Nov 01, 2020

David Stebenne Joins Suzanne Lang for A Novel Idea (Aired: November 1, 2020)

David Stebenne unwraps how the middle class was created but then could not hold in his book Promised Land, How the Rise of the Middle Class…

Oct 02, 2020

Charmian Kittredge London Biographer Iris Jamahl Dunkle on A Novel Idea (Aired: October 4, 2020)

Charmian Kittredge London was a great American writer, Jack London’s second wife, and is the subject of Iris Jamahl Dunkle’s biography Charmian…

Sep 04, 2020

Flying Free with Cecilia Aragon on KRCB’s A Novel Idea (Aired: September 6, 2020)

Aerobatic flying, as described and practiced by Cecilia Aragon, a world champion aerobatic pilot, is a dance in the sky, with spins and turns and…

Aug 28, 2020

Obi Kaufmann on A Novel Idea (Aired: August 30, 2020)

A Novel Idea comes from 9000 ft above sea level in the Eastern Sierra Nevada mountains of California, where Suzanne M. Lang brings you her…

Aug 02, 2020

Chana Porter on A Novel Idea (Aired: August 2, 2020)

Risky authors play with form and defy easy description, and this is the case with two authors who through their radical storytelling

Jul 05, 2020

A Celebration of Food and Family with Two Award-Winning Authors on A Novel Idea (Aired: July 5, 2020)

Food and family sustain us, especially during trying times. We celebrate this with two award-winning authors in

Jun 07, 2020

Caitlin Hamilton Summie Explains Why Our Stories Are Important on A Novel Idea – June 7, 2020

Our stories are important. It is our stories that connect us. So says Caitlin Hamilton Summie, author of

Jun 01, 2020

Suzanne Lang Talks with J. Chester Johnson – May 31, 2020

White people kill black people. Despite Emancipation, despite the Civil Rights movement of now over fifty years ago, white people

May 03, 2020

Barbara L. Baer Talks About Her Latest Novel, The Ice Palace Waltz on A Novel Idea (Aired: May, 3, 2020)

Suzanne M. Lang welcomes Barbara L. Baer in conversation on her latest novel, The Ice Palace Waltz, the multi-generational

Apr 05, 2020

Namwali Serpell & Martin Puchner on A Novel Idea – April 5, 2020

Namwali Serpell is an Associate Professor at UC Berkeley and a well-published cultural critic who has now

Apr 01, 2020

Margaret Wilkerson Sexton and Jessica Winters Mireles (Aired: March 29, 2020)

Suzanne M. Lang talks with two authors whose novels reflect on gender and family, race and ethnicity, and the effects

Mar 01, 2020

Joan Frank – Try to Get Lost, Essays on Travel and Place on A Novel Idea – March 1, 2020

Try to Get Lost! We continue celebrating the work ofJoan Frank. We recently featured her book of four novellas, Where You’reAll

Feb 02, 2020

Joan Frank Shares Her Wit and Insight on A Novel Idea – February 1, 2020

This week on A Novel Idea, richly drawn characters, vivid language, and compelling pace and story create the most satisfying

Jan 05, 2020

Journalist and Author Susan Swartz Joins Suzanne on A Novel Idea – January 5, 2020

Death and dementia aren’t all that funny, but really,sometimes they are, especially when we open

Dec 29, 2019

Two Favorites from 2019 This Month on A Novel Idea (Aired: December 29, 2019)

On this final week of this last month of the decade, webring you two favorite conversations of this past year. Both

Dec 01, 2019

Peter Mehlman Takes on Gender Politics in his New Book #MeAsWell on A Novel Idea – December 1, 2019

#MeAsWell , a novel by Peter Mehlman takes on genderpolitics, race, and the ubiquitous control of Social Media on our

Nov 03, 2019

Roberto Tejada, Plus Russian River Poet Pat Nolan Join Suzanne M. Lang for A Novel Idea – November 3, 2019

Roberto Tejada’s Still Nowhere in an Empty Vastness is expansive in its range: from accounts

Oct 06, 2019

Author and Musician Amy Edwards on A Novel Idea – October 6, 2019

ReInvention! Amy Edwards does it, again and again. FromAustin, Texas, Edwards is a musician, hosts

Sep 29, 2019

Jonah Raskin Joins Suzanne Lang – September 29, 2019

Dark Day, Dark Night is Jonah Raskin’s sequel to Dark Land,Dark Mirror, where we were

Sep 01, 2019

The transHuman Code and Grandmother Power on A Novel Idea – September 1, 2019

The Fourth Industrial Revolution.Heard of it? Maybe not, but I guarantee, you’re living in it. Technology and artificialintelligence, genomics and…

Aug 04, 2019

Teacher, Author, and Poet Deborah Tobola on A Novel Idea – August 4, 2019

Hummingbird in Underworld, Teaching in a Men’s Prison ispoet Deborah Tobola’s memoir of working in

Jul 07, 2019

Eliot Pattison in Conversation with Suzanne Lang on A Novel Idea – July 7, 2019

Bones of the Earth is the tenth installment in the Inspector Shan mystery series by award winning

Jun 30, 2019

Bo Kearns and Frank Strausser Join Suzanne M. Lang on A Novel Idea – June 30, 2019

Bo Kearns and Frank Strausser join Suzanne M. Lang in conversation. Each has published a first novel after years of writing in other forms: Kearns as…

Jun 02, 2019

The Guest Book Author Sarah Blake, and Author Laurie Ann Doyle – June 2, 2019

The Guest Book follows three generations of a powerfulAmerican family as their wealth declines, examining “not just a privilegedAmerican family,

May 21, 2019

Suzanne Lang has World Traveler Dena Moes and Journalist Jo Geise on A Novel Idea – May 5, 2019

Mothers always take their children somewhere in life and on the planet. Dena Moes traveled with

Apr 07, 2019

Brian Fies and R. L. Rotary – April 7, 2019

Suzanne M. Lang visits with two Sonoma County writers who bring us their stories of moving beyond adversity. Journalist, blogger,

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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Feb 03, 2019

Carol Rosenberger’s Memoir of Musical Survival – February 3, 2019

At age twenty-one, while studying music abroad, Carol Rosenberger was struck with polio resulting in paralysis of the very muscles she needed to play…

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Feb 03, 2019

Carol Rosenberger’s Memoir of Musical Survival – February 3, 2019

At age twenty-one, while studying music abroad, Carol Rosenberger was struck with polio resulting in paralysis of the very muscles she needed to play…

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Jan 06, 2019

Barbara L. Baer & Hilary Moore – January 6, 2019

Barbara L. Baer, publisher of Floreant Press and author of two previous novels joins Suzanne M. Lang in conversation on her latest book set in the…

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Dec 29, 2018

Samira Ahmed & Robin Whitten – December 30, 2018

Love, Hate, & Other Filters is Samira Ahmed’s novel of a young Muslim American woman finding her way through contemporary cultural challenges. Samira…

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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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Nov 04, 2018

Barbara van Driel, Andrew Shaffer – November 5, 2018

This moment in history, in culture, in our election cycle demands truth and craves heroes. We cover both with Suzanne Lang on KRCB’s A Novel…

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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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Sep 02, 2018

Cynthia Lim, Susan Avery Stewart – September 2, 2018

Suzanne Lang speaks with author Cynthia Lim, whose book Wherever You Are, A Memoir of Love, Marriage, and Brain Injury is an odyssey through loss and…

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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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Jun 10, 2018

Martin Puchner, Alexandra Chasin – June 10, 2018

From Homer to Harry Potter, literary critic and philosopher Martin Puchner takes the reader on an epic journey through the history of literature, and…

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May 06, 2018

Adam Federman, Elaine Khosrova – May 6, 2018

It’s all about food. Suzanne Lang talks with Adam Federman on his book Fasting and Feasting, the Life of Visionary Food Writer Patience Gray. Gray…

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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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Mar 04, 2018

Sy Montgomery, Elizabeth Marshall Thomas – March 5, 2018

Tamed and Untamed, Close Encounters with the Animal Kind. Suzanne Lang talks with two of the world’s most celebrated animal writers, Sy Montgomery…

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Feb 04, 2018

Berbara Ridley, Laurie Ann Doyle – February 4, 2018

Two California writers who both had long non-literary careers before publishing these heralded first works join Suzanne M. Lang in conversation on…

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Jan 07, 2018

Jaime B. Hansen, Rand Ertll – January 7, 2018

Emerging from the economic consulting and the tech sector, Jaime B. Hansen aims to inspire and empower women through videos, speaking and speaking…

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Dec 31, 2017

Val Bodurtha, Barbara Baer – December 31, 2017

History, culture, and strong women are at the core of the two novels: The History Makers by Val Bodurtha and The Ballet Lover by Barbara Baer. You’ll…

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Dec 03, 2017

Gin Phillips, Rachel Khong – December 3, 2017

Featured on KRCB’s A Novel Idea, two novelists whose books hit big this year. Fierce Kingdom is a thriller of a book by Gin Phillips, which takes…

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Nov 13, 2017

Kermit Roosevelt, Larry Hendricks – January 3, 2016

This episode of KRCB’s A Novel Idea features Suzanne Lang in conversation with Kermit Roosevelt on his latest novel, Allegiance, an historical…

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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

Richard Michael Levine, Lucille Lang Day – February 7, 2016

This month’s A Novel Idea features authors Richard Michael Levine and Lucille Lang Day. Levine has just published a short story collection, The Man…

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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

Elizabeth Marshall Thomas – May 1, 2016

Suzanne Lang speaks with Elizabeth Marshall Thomas, who has spent a lifetime observing other creatures and other cultures, from her own backyard to…

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Nov 13, 2017

Linda Hervieux, Jeane Slone – June 5, 2016

Black lives matter. Suzanne Lang explores the injustices of Jim Crow American and the valor of an all-Black battalion whose D-Day contributions have…

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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

Fred Euphrat, Donna Richardson Robbins – October 30, 2016

California forests and the rich natural history of Sonoma County are brought to light with Fred Euphrat, forester and author of Sonoma Mandala, a…

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Nov 13, 2017

Kimball Taylor, Emma Blad Smith – December 4, 2016

A Novel Idea, with Suzanne M. Lang, takes a look at California’s borders: the immigrants traveling over our Southern border rolling in on bicycles,…

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Nov 13, 2017

Elaine Khosrova, Barbara Doud Wright – January 1, 2017

This edition A Novel Idea with Suzanne Lang features two authors who go deep into our cultural histories and help us understand where we’ve come from…

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Nov 13, 2017

Jonah Raskin, Alison Owings, Elena Ferrante – January 29, 2017

This encore presentation features Rosemary Manchester in conversation with Jonah Raskin on his book James McGrath: The Life and Times of an…

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Nov 13, 2017

Paul H.B. Shin, Wendy E. Simmons – February 5, 2017

Elite North Koreans struggle to protect themselves and their families in the face of a paraonoid, tyrannical regime in award winning journalist, Paul…

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Nov 13, 2017

Paul H.B. Shin, Wendy E. Simmons – February 5, 2017

Elite North Koreans struggle to protect themselves and their families in the face of a paraonoid, tyrannical regime in award winning journalist, Paul…

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Nov 13, 2017

Jessica Teich, Cathy Wild – March 5, 2017

A Novel Idea with Suzanne M. Lang features Jessica Teich with her memoir The Future Tense of Joy. A Rhodes Scholar, Teich happens upon an obituary 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

Jonah Raskin, Thomas E Cochrane – April 30, 2017

Prolific author and curious man, Jonah Raskin joins Suzanne M. Lang in conversation on his book A Terrible Beauty: the Wilderness of American…

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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

Shanti Sekaran, Shelby Londyn-Heath – June 4, 2017

A Novel Idea features two novelists, whose books couldn’t be more different. Both write about the challenges of difference, of motherhood, and of…

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Nov 13, 2017

Daniel Pyne, Stephan Mack Jones – July 2, 2017

Neo-noir and crime fiction with Suzanne Lang in conversation with Daniel Pyne, screenwriter, show runner of Amazon’s hit drama Bosch, and author of…

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Nov 13, 2017

Thais Nye Derich, Cathy Langlois – July 30, 2017

Suzanne M. Lang talks with Thais Nye Derich about her path of self-examination and learning to discover that she, like many other women, was a victim…

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Nov 13, 2017

Susan Sherman, David Boling – September 3, 2017

Historical fiction radiates into the present with two novels featured on A Novel Idea. Join Suzanne M. Lang in conversations with Susan Sherman on…

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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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Nov 05, 2017

Joan Frank, Richard Alther – November 5, 2017

On KRCB’s A Novel Idea, two authors at the top of their form —Joan Frank, with her novel All the News I Need, and Richard Alther and his book Roxie…

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Dec 12, 2016

Gayle Forman, Silas Dent Zobal – November 6, 2016

Suzanne Lang talks with Gayle Forman, a literary star in the Young Adult genre, who has recently released a novel, as she says, starring adults and…

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