Writer's Voice With Francesca Rheannon

Writer’s Voice: compelling conversations with authors who challenge, inspire, and inform. What does a 2,000-year-old epic have to say to us today about exile, duty, love, power, war, misinformation, and the fragile hopes of human community? A great deal, say translators Scott McGill and Susannah Wright, whose new English translation of Virgil’s Aeneid captures both the grandeur of the epic … Continue reading The Relevance of Virgil’s Aeneid: A Conversation with Scott McGill & Susannah Wright →

Francesca Rheannon interviews Joe Dolce about Modern Psychedelics: The Handbook for Mindful Exploration—covering mental health breakthroughs, brain science, spiritual experience, policy debates, and how to safely and thoughtfully approach psychedelics.

Writer’s Voice: compelling conversations with authors who challenge, inspire, and inform. Francesca speaks with Jonathan Slaght about his remarkable book Tigers Between Empires: The Improbable Return of Great Cats to the Forests of Russia and China. Slaght tells the story of the 35-year Siberian (Amur) Tiger Project, one of the longest-running wildlife studies in the … Continue reading The Return of the Siberian Tiger: Jonathan Slaght, TIGERS BETWEEN EMPIRES →

Writer’s Voice: compelling conversations with authors who challenge, inspire, and inform. This week on Writer’s Voice, we look at two stories from history that illuminate the choices people face as they confront evil: collaborate or resist? First, independent scholar Charles Dick joins us to discuss Unknown Enemy: The Hidden Nazi Force That Built the Third … Continue reading Builders of Terror, Ally to Justice: Charles Dick on Organisation Todt & Carla Kaplan on Jessica Mitford →

Writer’s Voice: compelling conversations with authors who challenge, inspire, and inform. In this episode of Writer’s Voice, Francesca Rheannon speaks with Susana M. Morris, acclaimed scholar of Black feminist thought, about her new biography Positive Obsession: The Life and Times of Octavia E. Butler. Drawing on interviews, archival materials, and Butler’s own journals, Morris shows … Continue reading Positive Obsession: Susana M. Morris on the Life, Vision & Influence of Octavia Butler →

Writer’s Voice: compelling conversations with authors who challenge, inspire, and inform. In this, our 1,000th episode of Writer’s Voice, Francesca Rheannon interviews Julian Brave Noisecat about We Survived the Night, his memoir weaving Indigenous oral traditions, personal narrative, political history, and  environmental insight. Noisecat explores Coyote stories, the legacy of residential schools, intergenerational trauma, mixed-race … Continue reading WE SURVIVED THE NIGHT: Julian Brave Noisecat on Story, Survival & the Power of Indigenous Truths →

Writer’s Voice: compelling conversations with authors who challenge, inspire, and inform. This week on Writer’s Voice, Bruce Holsinger tells us about his new novel Culpability, a story about a family shattered by a self-driving car accident — and about the ethical and emotional consequences of artificial intelligence. Holsinger, whose earlier novel The Displacements explored climate catastrophe, turns his sharp eye … Continue reading Bruce Holsinger on AI’s Moral Dilemmas and Elizabeth George’s New Inspector Lynley Mystery →

Writer’s Voice: compelling conversations with authors who challenge, inspire, and inform. This week on Writer’s Voice, we turn our attention to the living world—and our place within it. First, writer Adam Nicolson joins us to talk about his luminous new book, Bird School: A Beginner in the Wood. It’s the story of how he built … Continue reading The Wisdom of the Wild: Adam Nicolson on BIRD SCHOOL & Isabella Tree on Rewilding →

Writer’s Voice: compelling conversations with authors who challenge, inspire, and inform. In our first segment, comic artist Ben Passmore takes us on a time-bending, darkly funny journey through more than a century of Black resistance in his graphic history Black Arms to Hold You Up. It’s a story of struggle, rebellion, and what liberation really … Continue reading Ben Passmore on Black Resistance & David Baron on the Martian Craze →

Writer’s Voice: compelling conversations with authors who challenge, inspire, and inform. This episode of Writer’s Voice features two leading voices confronting the defining challenges of the 21st century — corporate monopolization and climate breakdown. Together, these conversations show that both the digital and planetary crises share a root cause — the concentration of power — and that … Continue reading Cory Doctorow on Big Tech’s “Enshittification” & Bill McKibben on Solar Hope for the Planet →

Writer’s Voice: compelling conversations with authors who challenge, inspire, and inform. In this episode of Writer’s Voice, we talk with Edward Wong, diplomatic correspondent for The New York Times and former Beijing bureau chief, about his new book At the Edge of Empire: A Family’s Reckoning with China. Part memoir, part history, and part frontline … Continue reading Edward Wong on China’s Imperial Past and Present: AT THE EDGE OF EMPIRE →

Writer’s Voice: compelling conversations with authors who challenge, inspire, and inform. In this episode of Writer’s Voice, we hear from two authors illuminating the human cost of broken systems — one through fiction, the other through investigative memoir. In the first half of the show, we speak with Evanthia Bromiley about her haunting and lyrical … Continue reading Lives on the Margin: Evanthia Bromiley’s CROWN and Judy Karovsky’s DISELDERLY CONDUCT →

Writer’s Voice: compelling conversations with authors who challenge, inspire, and inform. Today, a gripping story of courage, faith, and friendship in one of the most dangerous countries on Earth. Ross Halperin joins us to talk about his extraordinary book Bear Witness: The Pursuit of Justice in a Violent Land. It’s the true story of two … Continue reading Ross Halperin on BEAR WITNESS: Fighting Gang Violence & Restoring Justice in A Violent Land →

Writer’s Voice: compelling conversations with authors who challenge, inspire, and inform. Today, a remarkable conversation with Reality Winner, the NSA whistleblower who leaked proof of Russian interference in the 2016 election and paid for it with the harshest sentence ever imposed under the Espionage Act. Reality Winner’s new memoir, I Am Not Your Enemy, tells … Continue reading Reality Winner on I AM NOT YOUR ENEMY: The Intercept’s Betrayal, Trump’s Double Standard, and the Egregious Espionage Act →

Writer’s Voice: compelling conversations with authors who challenge, inspire, and inform. Today, we look at two urgent threats to our world: the assault on science and the concentration of wealth. First, climate scientist Michael E. Mann talks about the book he co-authored with infectious disease expert Dr. Peter Hotez, Science Under Siege: How to Fight … Continue reading SCIENCE UNDER SIEGE & BURNED BY BILLIONAIRES: Michael Mann and Chuck Collins on Defending Truth and Democracy →

Writer’s Voice: compelling conversations with authors who challenge, inspire, and inform. Episode Summary This week on Writer’s Voice, two stories from the planet’s frontlines: the Amazon rainforest and the Arctic ice. Two urgent stories from Earth’s frontlines — and why they matter for us all. Journalist Andrew Fishman joins us to talk about completing the … Continue reading HOW TO SAVE THE AMAZON & ARCTIC PASSAGES: Andrew Fishman on Dom Phillips’ Legacy & Kieran Mulvaney on Climate and Power in the Far North →

Writer’s Voice: compelling conversations with authors who challenge, inspire, and inform. Episode Summary This episode of Writer’s Voice explores two inspiring approaches to building a more just and compassionate world. It’s part of September’s WV programming in honor of Climate Week. Two nationwide mobilizations are happening for Climate Week: Make Billionaires Pay and Sun Day. … Continue reading HOLY GROUND & A YEAR OF COMPASSION: Catherine Coleman Flowers and Colleen Patrick-Goudreau on Justice, Hope, and Living Kindly →

Writer’s Voice: compelling conversations with authors who challenge, inspire, and inform. Episode Summary In this episode of Writer’s Voice, we explore the lives and legacies of two giants—Charles Dickens and Plato—through the eyes of authors who reveal new dimensions of their work. Cultural historian Peter Conrad tells us about his biography, Dickens the Enchanter: Dickens … Continue reading Dickens the Enchanter & Plato and the Tyrant: Peter Conrad and James Romm on Imagination, Power, and Authoritarianism →

Writer’s Voice: compelling conversations with authors who challenge, inspire, and inform. Episode Summary This episode of Writer’s Voice brings you two powerful stories of women adventurers who forged their paths in male-dominated outdoor sports. Bridget Crocker’s memoir River’s Daughter is a story of trauma and healing, rooted in her lifelong connection to rivers. From childhood … Continue reading Breaking Barriers in the Wild: Bridget Crocker on RIVER’S DAUGHTER & Cassidy Randall on THIRTY BELOW →