Litquake's Lit Cast

Recorded live at  KALW during Litquake Festival 2025 Sarah Goodyear and Doug Gordon, co-authors of the book Life After Cars and hosts of "The War on Cars" podcast, discuss the idea of building infrastructure that isn't centered around the automobile. In conversation with KALW's Sunni Khalid, they discuss the history of car-centric culture and outline the ways in which it contributes to inequality, climate crisis, and even the loneliness epidemic. They also offer glimpses at cities tackling the problem in novel and effective ways and offer practical tips for navigating the (car-free) road ahead.   

Recorded live during Litquake Festival 2025 A beautiful evening was had with U.S. Poet Laureate Ada Limón as she read and discussed Startlement, an essential collection spanning nearly twenty years of emphatic, fearlessly original poetry from one of America's most celebrated living writers. With no shortage of awards and accolades to her name (MacArthur Genius and Time Woman of the Year, anyone?), Limón looked back on her distinguished career and shared radiant new work for the first time. In conversation with Matthew Zapruder. 

Recorded live at Litquake Festival 2025 Outdoor enthusiast Josh Jackson had never heard of "BLM land" before a casual recommendation from a friend led him to a free campsite in the desert—and the revelation that over 15 million acres of land in California are owned collectively by the people. Recorded live at KALW during Litquake Festival 2025, Jackson discusses his new book, The Enduring Wild, which takes us on a road trip spanning thousands of miles, crisscrossing the Golden State to seek out every parcel of public wilderness therein. Jackson tells of the Indigenous peoples who have called them home for millennia, of the threats that imperil them today, and of the grassroots organizers and political champions who have rallied to uphold mandates to protect these natural treasures for generations to come. In conversation with KALW's Marissa Ortega-Welch.  

Recorded live at Litquake 2025 What happens when a work becomes unbound by language, medium, and format? How does meaning and experience shift? These are the questions we explore in this recording from Litquake Festival 2025. Writer, editor, and voice director Camilo Garzón and special guests, Noelle de la Paz, Monica Cure, and Amanda Nazareno, guide a listening party through three immersive audio adaptations: an Ecuadorian horror story about altitude sickness transformed into auditory terror, Romanian poetry layered with kitsch and nostalgia, and a Japanese short story with sounds and voices pushing the limits of reality. These multiple translations—from language, to audio, to the stage—unbind narrative from any single form, transcending the boundaries of medium, translation, and performance. 

Recorded live at Counterpulse in San Francisco during Litquake Festival 2025.  Award-winning writer and cultural critic Sarah Schulman discusses the themes in her book, The Fantasy and Necessity of Solidarity. In conversation with 48 Hills' Mark Bieschke, she delves into the intricate and often misunderstood concept of solidarity to provide a new vision for what it means to engage in this work—and why it matters.

Recorded live at the Gray Area Theater during Litquake Festival 2025 With bylines in The Nation, the New Republic, and The Baffler, financial reporter Jacob Silverman has had his eyes on Silicon Valley for years. Now, in his deeply researched book, Gilded Rage: Elon Musk and the Radicalization of Silicon Valley, he traces the tech world's reactionary turn. Elon Musk, as Silverman illustrates, is only the most recent and high-profile example of this rightward lurch. In what Kirkus has called "a book to trouble your dreams," Silverman traces the promise of political influence, the enticements of deregulation, and the lure of technofascism. Silverman's partner in this vital conversation is Alex Hanna, Director of Research at the Distributed AI Research Institute and co-author of The AI Con. 

The Bay Area’s long-running Porchlight storytelling series returned to Litquake once again for this special edition, featuring tales on the theme of Touched by an Angel: Stories of Mentors, Teachers, Guardians, and Influencers.  Featuring off the cuff stories by Litquake co-founder Jack Boulware and memoirists Nico Lang, Adam Nimoy, Eugene Rodriguez , Dawn Silva, and Christina Vo. Co-hosted by Arline Klatte and Beth Lisick. With music by Marc Capelle.  Interested in learning more about Litquake? Visit us at www.litquake.org Connect with us on Instagram, Facebook, and Bluesky!

Generation Women returns to Litquake with a powerful night of live, multigenerational storytelling. Founded by author Georgia Clark in 2017, this series amplifies underheard voices and fosters intergenerational connection. In this special festival edition, one woman or non-binary storyteller from each decade—20s through 70s+—shares an original, true story inspired by the evening’s theme. Featuring performances by Eirinie Carson, Susan Kiyo Ito, Giovanna Lomanto, Jenny Pritchett, Rachel Levin, and Jane Smiley. Hosted by writer and curator Samantha Schoech. Interested in learning more about Litquake? Visit us at www.litquake.org Connect with us on Instagram, Facebook, and Bluesky!

Recorded at The Lost Church during Litquake 2024, this magical evening features DIY witch and literary icon Michelle Tea in conversation with The Witching Year author Diana Helmuth, guided by writer and artist MK Chavez—plus a special onstage gathering in the second half. Interested in learning more about Litquake? Visit us at www.litquake.org Connect with us on Instagram, Facebook, and Bluesky!  

Three acclaimed writers—Morgan Parker, Carvell Wallace, and sam sax—offer bold, deeply personal takes on healing in a world that resists it. From mental health and identity to queerness and survival, their recent works reimagine what self-love can look like today. Interested in learning more about Litquake? Visit us at www.litquake.org Connect with us on Instagram, Facebook, and Bluesky!  

Recorded live at Litquake Festival 2024, this episode celebrates Wild Life, the latest from the minds behind Atlas Obscura. Editor Cara Giaimo, journalist Marissa Ortega-Welch, and Oakland Zoo’s Amy Gotliffe share stories of Earth’s most awe-inspiring creatures—and why they matter. Interested in learning more about Litquake? Visit us at www.litquake.org Connect with us on Instagram, Facebook, and Bluesky!  

Recorded during Litquake Festival 2024, journalist Alison Owings and Del Seymour—founder of Code Tenderloin and former unhoused advocate—share a powerful conversation about recovery, resilience, and community transformation. Featuring a special performance by Skywatchers! Interested in learning more about Litquake? Visit us at www.litquake.org Connect with us on Instagram, Facebook, and Bluesky!

On the eve of the 2024 presidential election, journalist Paola Ramos joined us to discuss her urgent new book, Defectors: The Rise of the Latino Far Right. In conversation with KALW’s Angie Coiro, Ramos explores the complex forces—identity, race, disillusionment, and political trauma—driving a growing number of Latino voters toward conservative candidates and causes.  Interested in learning more about Litquake? Visit us at www.litquake.org Connect with us on Instagram, Facebook, and Bluesky!

In the third of our "How They Did It" series from summer of 2024, we heard from four talented novelists who have blended fact with their fiction, with dazzling results. Novelist Jasmin Darznik moderated a wide-ranging conversation with novelists Karen Joy Fowler, Dawn Tripp, and Gail Tsukiyama. We gathered once again at the Page Street Co-Working space in Berkeley with our co-presenter LitCamp and book sales by Mrs. Dalloway's Bookstore. 

Another from the archives! A staple of Litquake for nearly two decades, the Bay Area’s long-running Porchlight storytelling series returned once again to Litquake Festival 2023 for this special edition, featuring tales on the theme of Tricks Up My Sleeve: Invisible Magic. With authors Derrick Brown, Dorothy Lazard, Dominic Lim, Ahmed Naji, and Dan Stuart. Porchlight is co-hosted as always by Arline Klatte and Beth Lisick, and with music by Marc Capelle.   

Litquake Festival 2021 saw us return to San Francisco’s gothic and gorgeous Grace Cathedral for the first time post-COVID. This event, which has now been going for almost 10 years is always a special evening. In 2021, Grace Notes featured Sandra Lim, Forrest Gander, Miguel Murphy, and Derrick Austin with Danusha Lameris’ poems read by TS Leonard as Danusha was sick that night. Grace Notes has been curated and hosted by D.A. Powell since its inception, and is now co-curated by Preeti Vangani. Check out our upcoming Grace Notes event during Litquake Festival 2024 on Wed. 10/23. 

Together with Green Apple Books, we copresented the launch party celebrating R.O. Kwon's highly-anticipated second novel, EXHIBIT, the exhilarating, blazing-hot story of a woman caught between her desires and her life. On this night in May at San Francisco’s historic Verdi Club, Kwon was in conversation with friend and fellow author Ingrid Rojas Contreras. 

Writing anything for public consumption is an act of bravery, but writing memoir and autobiography requires next-level courage. How can you share a true story that demands to be told—even if it might harm relationships, revisit trauma, unearth secrets—and portray your own life honestly and vulnerably, without the benefit of an Instagram filter? In the this “How They Did It” conversation, co-presented by Litquake and LitCamp and recorded at Page Street Co-Working, we’ll hear from five intrepid authors of recent memoirs, all of whom took the heroic step of committing their fascinating stories to the page. Eddie Ahn (Advocate), Sylvia Brownrigg (The Whole Staggering Mystery), Margaret Juhae Lee (Starry Field), Susan Lieu (The Manicurist's Daughter), and Carvell Wallace (Another Word for Love) bravely unfurl stories of family, memory, ambition, healing, and love. Our moderator is Rachel Howard, author of the memoir The Lost Night. What did they risk on the page? What, if anything, do they regret? And how can they

In early April, we celebrated IAIA with a reading from students, alumni, and faculty at Green Apple Books on the Park. You’re gonna hear from Tracey Abeyta, a current Institute student pursuing a MFA in Fiction; alumna Jennifer Elise Foerster; recent IAIA graduate, Ibe Liebenberg; and Deborah Jackson Taffa, the director of the MFA Creative Writing program at IAIA.   

We’re going way back to Litquake Festival 2012. It was a Sunday evening early in the festival at Z Space, the same Sunday that Hardly Strictly Bluegrass wrapped. That night, Hardly Strictly lent us some special guests with My Morning Jacket’s Jim James enjoying from the stands. On stage to celebrate Woody Guthrie’s 100th birthday, we had Jay Farrar of Son Volt and Uncle Tupelo fame, as well as surprise guest alt-country legend Steve Earle who closed the night out.  Keep an ear/eye out for more archival recordings and stories as we count down to the 25th anniversary Litquake Festival, October 10-26, 2024.