Month: October 2007

Richard Russo (BSS #152)

Richard Russo is most recently the author of Bridge of Sighs. Condition of Mr. Segundo: Spending the days sighing. Author: Richard Russo Subjects Discussed: The origins of Bridge of Sighs‘s dual narrative, writing a long novel without an end in sight, Byron, characters who approach Lucy’s elbows, a protagonist’s blind spots, Marconi — the character […]

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Oliver Sacks (BSS #151)

Oliver Sacks is most recently the author of Musicophilia. Condition of Mr. Segundo: Dwelling upon the rotten fruit that comes from musical relationships. Author: Oliver Sacks Subjects Discussed: Musicophilia, emotional responses in patients with dementia and Tourette’s, an amazing musical rendition from Alzheimer’s patient Woody Geist played by Dr. Sacks on his CD player, the […]

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James Lipton (BSS #150)

James Lipton is most recently the author of Inside Inside. Condition of Mr. Segundo: Stepping away to preserve his dubious legacy. Author: James Lipton Subjects Discussed: Lipton’s balance between writing about Inside the Actors Studio and writing about himself, throwing actors out of the Actors Studio, whether or not Lipton is still perfecting aspects about […]

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David Michaelis (BSS #149)

David Michaelis is most recently the author of Schulz and Peanuts. Condition of Mr. Segundo: Heckled for peanuts. Author: David Michaelis Subjects Discussed: The connection between Charles Schulz’s emotional reticence and his Minnesota childhood, Peanuts characters who aren’t explicitly reflected through Schulz’s life, the connection between Lucy and Schulz’s first wife, names borrowed for Peanuts […]

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Naomi Wolf (BSS #148)

Naomi Wolf is most recently the author of The End of America: A Letter of Warning to a Young Patriot. Condition of Mr. Segundo: Contemplating the end of The Bat Segundo Show. Author: Naomi Wolf Subjects Discussed: James Madison’s prescient statement about the American republic in 1829, the end of America, despotic blueprints, on the […]

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Steven Pinker (BSS #147)

Steven Pinker is most recently the author of The Stuff of Thought. Condition of Mr. Segundo: He knows his first name is not Steven. Author: Steven Pinker Subjects Discussed: The Starbucks coffee cup size hierarchy, L.A. Story, “divorce project” and unusual noun phrase connotations, perceptive illusions in language, connotation and denotation, polysemy, campus slang and […]

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Danica McKellar (BSS #146)

Danica McKellar is the author of Math Doesn’t Suck. [PROGRAM NOTE: For background on this podcast, see this post.] Condition of Mr. Segundo: Contemplating mathematical positions. Author: Danica McKellar Subjects Discussed: Whether the relationship between prime numbers and monkeys is equitable, metaphorical criteria, factor trees, teenage girls and shopping, “fun and friendly” math, relying upon […]

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The Bat Segundo Pledge Drive

In almost four years of running Reluctant and two years of running The Bat Segundo Show, I have never openly asked for money on this website. Sure, there’s been a donation bar on the side, and some of you have graciously pitched in. I thank those of you who have. There’s also been some advertising, […]

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Jeff Parker (BSS #145)

Jeff Parker is most recently the author of Ovenman. Condition of Mr. Segundo: Contemplating memories in a pizzeria. Author: Jeff Parker Subjects Discussed: Growing up in Florida, working in a pizzeria, John Sheppard’s Small Town Punk, the working class in fiction, setting the book in the early ’90’s, unexpected parallels to current events, music references, […]

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David Peace (BSS #144)

David Peace is most recently of Tokyo Year Zero. [podpress] Condition of Mr. Segundo: Empathizing with surnames. Author: David Peace Subjects Discussed: Why it took so long to set a book in Japan, stereotypes, research, the occupation period, the effects of serial killers, language and repetition, dissociation, Japan vs. the UK, Zodiac, police investigation, the […]

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