interview

Ideas by ed

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 […]

Listen: Play in new window | Download (Running Time: 37:11 — 34.0MB)

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Ideas by ed

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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Ideas by ed

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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People by ed

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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Fiction by ed

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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Fiction by ed

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 […]

Listen: Play in new window | Download (Running Time: 48:48 — 44.7MB)

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Ideas by ed

Katha Pollitt (BSS #143)

Katha Pollitt is most recently the author of Learning to Drive. Condition of Mr. Segundo: Dwelling on legal inconsistencies. Author: Katha Pollitt Subjects Discussed: The pragmatism in learning to drive, being lazy, observation as a strength and weakness, “webstalking” vs. Googling, responding to Toni Bentley’s review, what a feminist is supposed to be, whether or […]

Listen: Play in new window | Download (Running Time: 39:17 — 36.0MB)

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Fiction by ed

Brian Francis Slattery (BSS #142)

Brian Francis Slattery is most recently the author of Spaceman Blues. Condition of Mr. Segundo: Objecting to snobbish Manhattan types who use three names. Author: Brian Francis Slattery Subjects Discussed: Matt Cheney’s “leap of faith,” paranoia, the advantages of writing in Guatemala, secret economies, food as cultural shorthand, the underground world of Darktown, H.P. Lovecraft […]

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Fiction by ed

Chimamanda Adichie (BSS #141)

Chimamanda Adichie is most recently the author of Half of a Yellow Sun. [powerppress] Condition of Mr. Segundo: Finding uses for his Kleenex supply. Author: Chimamanda Adichie Subjects Discussed: Young novelists and ambitious war novels, horrible Nigerian critics, the novel as the ideal prism for the Biafra conflict, A Woman in Berlin, the advantages of […]

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Ideas by ed

Naomi Klein (BSS #140)

Naomi Klein is most recently the author of The Shock Doctrine. PROGRAM NOTES: (1) Our Young, Roving Correspondent claimed that Milton Friedman supported the New Deal. Naomi Klein claimed that he did not. As it turns out, both Our Young, Roving Correspondent and Klein were wrong. In an October 2000 interview, Friedman professed his support […]

Listen: Play in new window | Download (Running Time: 39:35 — 36.2MB)

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Fiction by ed

George Saunders (BSS #139)

George Saunders is most recently the author of The Braindead Megaphone. Condition of Mr. Segundo: Feeling a little dead down there. Author: George Saunders Subjects Discussed: Writing fragmentary travelogue pieces, trying not to pre-process experiences, observational criteria, Dubai, responding to Ben Ehrenreich’s claim of “pulled punches,” journalistic integrity, on taking people to task, writing comprehensive […]

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Fiction by ed

Rupert Thomson II, Part Two (BSS #138)

Rupert Thomson is most recently the author of Death of a Murderer. [This is the second of an in-depth, two-part conversation with Rupert Thomson, conducted over the course of two days. The first part, which can be heard in Show #137, details primarily with Death of a Murderer. The second part extends into his career. […]

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