The Bat Segundo Show was a long-running cultural radio program devoted to quirky and very thorough long-form interviews with contemporary authors, idiosyncratic thinkers, and other assorted artists. Guests included David Lynch, Octavia Butler, John Waters, John Updike, Stephen Fry, Marilynne Robinson, Karen Russell, Weird Al Yankovic, Robert A. Caro, and more than 500 others. There was also a program called Follow Your Ears, which was a thematic investigative counterpart, in which I pursued a specific subject through several angles. The entire archive of what I did from 2005 to 2014 is included here.
Author: Erica Jong Condition of Mr. Segundo: Taking care of fish-related housekeeping. Winner of Philosophical Contest: John Barlow Subjects Discussed: Maintaining a conversational and confessional tone, finding a voice, being known for Isadora Wing vs. poetry, Pablo Neruda, the current status of poetry, on sleeping with Martha Stewart’s husband, personal mistakes, why Jong wrote about […]
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MoreAuthor: Jonathan Ames Condition of Bat Segundo: Too easily complaisant to charlatan announcers. Subjects Discussed: The controversial cover of I Love You More Than You Know, self-promotional footnotes, rules for writing, writing originating from unexpected requests, “tossed off” essays, depression and writing, essays which involve the penis, the somber and introspective feel of Ames’ latest […]
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MoreAuthor: Dave Barry Condition of Mr. Segundo: Reduced to second-string narrator. Subjects Discussed: Suze Orman, footnotes, Donald Trump, lawsuits, phone calls from Paul Anka, daily affirmations, indices, sex with ducks, buzz cuts (1960 vs. 2005), the boomerang generation, getting reviewed in the NYTBR, Dave Barry deconstructs our Young, Roving Correspondent’s baroque speaking style, snobbery, humor, […]
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MoreAuthor: Chris Elliott Condition of Mr. Segundo: Immersed in the past with a baseball bat cut from a tree. Subjects Discussed: Lack of sleep from both parties, the lure of money, the Chris Elliott persona vs. the real Chris Elliott, Jack the Ripper, parodies, Alan Moore’s From Hell, research, trying to read while acting, on […]
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MoreAuthors: Lizzie Skurnick and Wendy Lesser Condition of Mr. Segundo: Slightly hoarse but nostalgic for trains. Subjects Discussed: The mania of poets, poetic meters, the prejudice against Spenserian stanza, the difficulties of getting a poetry collection published, writing while driving, husband poems, masturbation, clandestine encounters, educating a native Californian about Tyringham, Mass., Horace, the use […]
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MoreAuthor: Laura Joplin Condition of Mr. Segundo: Fresh from an unexpected vacation, feeling unloved. Subjects Discussed: Remembering Janis Joplin years later, unexpected letters from Janis, Laura Joplin’s bio vs. Myra Friedman’s bio, growing up in the Joplin household, Janis’ literary interests, F. Scott and Zelda Fitzgerald, Dick Cavett, clarifying the heroin overdose, the qualifications of […]
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MoreOur third episode is our first conversation with Jonathan Ames — this one, in relation to Wake Up, Sir! Ames would be the first writer to appear twice on the program, returning to Show #25. He would later be involved with various film and television projects. But we talked with him way back when. Condition […]
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