KPFA - Radio Wolinsky

Patrick Dooley, Artistic Director of Shotgun Players theatre company, in conversation with host Richard Wolinsky. Patrick Dooley founded Shotgun Players in 1992, which originally produced plays in the basement of LaVal’s Pizza Parlor in Berkeley, California. Surviving with multiple venues over the years, Shotgun bought the Ashby Stage in 2004, where the company has resided ever since. Origijnally from rural Virginia, Patrick came to Berkeley to visit his brother, wound up being invited to act in a play at LaVal’s, and within a short time decided to create a theatre company, which has now lasted over thirty years. Surviving the pandemic, and with a very loyal audience, Shotgun has continued to sell out many of its shows, creating a uniquely Berkeley community theatre. In the interview, he discusses his own history with theatre the origins of Shotgun Players (including what the name means) , his views on such issues as the age of the audience and the subscription model, as well as the rest of the 2026 theatrical season. The post Patrick Dooley, Artistic Director, Shotgun Players in Berkeley appeared first on KPFA.

Joseph Kanon, in conversation with Richard Wolinsky, recorded June 17, 2017 during the book tour for the spy thriller “Defectors.” Over the course of the last thirty years, Joseph Kanon has established himself as one of the best spy novelists around, in the vein of John Le Carre, Alan Furst, Graham Greene and Eric Ambler. His latest novel, “Defectors,” is about what happens after a Soviet mole defects to Russia. What is their life like? What happens then? Set in the early 1960s, “Defectors,” through copious research, sets up what life must have been like for people like Kim Philby and other Russian spies forced to leave the West to survive. Joseph Kanon’s most recent novel, “Shanghai” was published in 2024. The post Encore Podcast: Joseph Kanon, Author of Spy Thrillers, 2017 appeared first on KPFA.

Tracy Kidder (1945-2026), Pulitzer Prize winning author of literary non-fiction, in conversation with Richard Wolinsky, recorded in the KPFA studios during the book tour for “Strength in What Remains: A Journey of Remembrance and Forgiveness, ” which focuses on the extraordinary true story of Deo, a young man who arrives in America from Burundi in search of a new life. Tracy Kidder, who died of lung cancer on March 24, 2026 at the age of eighty, was best known for his literary journalism, for turning non-fiction narratives into literary masterpieces. The author of eleven books, he won the Pulitzer Prize for General Nonfiction and the National Book Award for Nonfiction in 1982 for The Soul of A New Machine, which looked at the tech environment during the birth of the modern computer. His 1990 book, Among Schoolchildren, a close look at American education, focusing on twenty students in a Massachusetts elementary school, won several literary awards. In the years after the interview, Tracy Kidder went on to write three more non-fiction books. His final book to date, Rough Sleepers: Dr. Jim O’Connell’s Urgent Mission to Bring Healing to Homeless People was published in 2023. Paul Farmer, the subject of Tracy Kidder’s 2003 book “Mountains Beyond Mountains”, died in February, 2022. The post Tracy Kidder (1945-2026), Pulitzer Prize Winning Non-Fiction Author appeared first on KPFA.

E. Hoffman Price (1898-1988), fantasy and science fiction author who published in various pulp magazines from the 1920s into the 1950s, in conversation with Probabiliaties hosts Richard Wolinsky, Richard A. Lupoff and Lawrence Davidson, recorded in early 1979 at Price’s home in Redwood City, California. E. Hoffman Price, who was born 1898 and died shortly before his 90th birthday in 1988, wrote fantasy and science fiction stories for the pulp magazines of the first half of the twentieth century, along with some non-fiction. Mostly forgotten today, though several of his stories are available in small press editions, his claim to fame is a single collaboration with the great horror writer H.P. Lovecraft, titled “Through the Gates of the Silver Key,” a sequel to Lovecraft’s story, “The Silver Key.” A contributor to Weird Tales, he was also friends with two other writers from the magazine, Seabury Quinn and Clark Ashton Smith, as well as with the longtime editor of Weird Tales, Farnsworth Wright. He also knew Otis Adelbert Kline, famous in his day for writing imitations of Edgar Rice Burroughs. In the interview, Price talks about his writing career, his friendships with H.P. Lovecraft, horror writer Seabury Quinn, adventure writer Otis Adelbert Kline, and horror master Clark Ashton Smith, as well as colorful tales of whore houses and the publishing industry that existed a century ago. The Probabilities radio show first went on the air on KPFA in 1977. Within a year, my co-host Lawrence Davidson was on the trail for old pulp writers and editors, egged on by science fiction and fantasy author Richard A. Lupoff, who officially joined the show a couple of years later. This interview, following on the heels of interviews with pulp science fiction author Stanton A. Coblentz and editor Charles Hornig, was conducted at Price’s house in Redwood City, California, most likely in the spring of 1979. Accompanying Dick, Lawrence and myself were Dick’s wife Pat Lupoff and science fiction fanzine editor Jim Purviance. Over two hours were recorded on multiple tapes, and parts of the transcription can be found in the book Space Ships Ray Guns Martian Octopods: Interviews with Science Fiction Legends. The interview was digitized and then remastered using AI technology first, and then edited for clarity and coherence. Some outtakes exist which I can forward by email via richard@kpfa.org. The unpublished memoir Price discusses in the interview, Book of the Dead: Friends of Yesteryear, Fictioneers and Others was eventually published posthumously, in 2001. The interview opens with a question by Richard A. Lupoff. Several collections of stories by E. Hoffman Price were published in 2017 by Wildside Press, and are available both digitally and in print. The interview was digitized, remastered and edited in March 2026. This interview was first heard in a very truncated version in 1979 and has not been heard until now.   The post Probabilities Archive: E. Hoffman Price (1898-1988), Science Fiction & Fantasy Pulp Magazine Author appeared first on KPFA.

Terry McMillan, best-selling novelist in conversation with host Richard Wolinsky, recorded February 13, 2001 while on tour for her novel, A Day Late and a Dollar Short. Terry McMillan’s novels focus on the lives, aspirations and journeys of discovery of African American women and their families. She hit the ground running with her first novel, Mama, in 1987, which she helped turn into a best-seller. She followed that with a series of novels that helped create a large fan base for her work. Among her best known novels are Waiting to Exhale and How Stella Got Her Groove Back, along with Disappearing Acts, all of which were adapted for film. A Day Late and a Dollar Short is a long novel that focuses on several family members going through a variety of crises and revelations. It was adapted into a television film in 2014 starring Whoopi Goldberg and Ving Rhames, which is now available streaming on Kanopy, the free library app, as well as on other streaming services. This interview leans hard into that novel, with side trips into discussions about black families and black culture in America. As of 2026, she has published ten novels and two works of nonfiction, and according to IMDb is working as a producer for a series of television films under the title Terry McMillan presents. Her most recent novel, It’s Not All Downhill from Here, was published in 2020. This interview was digitized, remastered and edited in March 2026 and has not been heard in over twenty years.   The post Terry McMillan, Novelist, Chronicler of the Lives of Contemporary African American Women, 2001 appeared first on KPFA.

Migdalia Cruz, an award-winning playwright and the translator/adaptor of Shakespeare’s “Macbeth” at the Magic Theatre, in conversation with host Richard Wolinsky, discussing her play, her career, and her ideas about the nature of theatre. Migdalia Cruz is best known for her plays “Featherless Angels” and “Miriam’s Flowers” studied playwrighting with the legendary Irene Fornes before embarking on her own career. With fifty plays under her belt, she has been produced in numerous venues around the United States. She has also translated plays from Spanish. Growing up in the South Bronx, to Puerto Rican parents, she originally planned to study math but found that theatre was her real calling. Her focus is on social justice, and presenting voices of those who rarely have voices in the American arts. “Macbeth,” the Scottish play, has been reset in New York in the 1970s, and in Brooklyn for this production. The three witches become a major element of the play, and here both Macbeth and Lady Macbeth are played by women. The interview was recorded by computer on March 3, 2026. The post Migdalia Cruz, Playwright, Adaptation/Translation “Macbeth” at the Magic Theatre appeared first on KPFA.

Poul Anderson (1926-2001), noted science fiction and fantasy author, winner of seven Hugo Awards and three Nebula Awards, in conversation with the late Lawrence Davidson, recorded for the Probabilities radio program on KPFA on June 10, 1978. The late Poul Anderson, who died on July 31, 2001 at the age of 74, is considered one of the greatest science fiction and fantasy authors of the twentieth century. He even has an asteroid named in his honor. Known for his hard science writing, in particular his Polysotechnic League series as well as his Landry series and his Time Patrol series, he was also a master of fantasy. There were also historical novels and mysteries. His career began in 1947 at the age of 21 with stories in Astounding Science Fiction, and he became a professional writer a year later. One of his novels became a film, the Hugo nominated novel, The High Crusade, in 1994 about an alien spaceship landing in medieval England. It is currently not streaming in the United States though if you search, you can find a DVD copy. As with many of the writers of the pulp and paperback era, Poul Anderson is ripe for rediscovery. After Probabilities got its start in 1977, it was natural that the Orinda-based writer would become a guest on the show, though his libertarian politics put him at odds with much of the KPFA audience. This conversation with co-host Lawrence Davidson, recorded June 10, 1978, was likely Davidson’s very first solo interview and came before the show’s focus turned to the history of modern science fiction. For some unfathomable reason, Lawrence seemed to keep turning the focus to Anderson’s politics, to which the writer finally explained, a little exasperated, that he was basically a story-teller. The interview was digitized, remastered and edited on February 22, 2026, using the Adobe Podcast app to remove noise and echo. .   The post The Probabilities Archive: Science Fiction Grandmaster Poul Anderson (1926-2001), 1978 appeared first on KPFA.

Lady Antonia Fraser, noted writer of English history and biography, discusses her book, “The Six Wives of Henry VIII” with Probabilities hosts Richard Wolinsky and Richard A. Lupoff, recorded November 17,1992 while she was on tour in San Francisco. With the arrest of the former Prince Andrew, we can look back at other scandals in the history of England, such as the story of Henry the Eighth and his six wives, seen through the eyes of the great historian Antonia Fraser. Antonia Fraser, now age 93, is best known for her various biographies and non-fiction works, often focusing on women in history and on various members of the British crown. She is also the author of several mysteries featuring her amateur detective, Jemima Share, published between 1977 and 1995, followed by two omnibus collections. At present, there are 17 works of history, plus three memoirs, one of which, Must You Go: My Life with Harold Pinter, about her life married to the late playwright who died in 2008, was published in 2010. Antonia’Fraser’s most recent book, Caroline Lamb: A Free Spirit, was published in 2023. Along with her discussion of English history, she also talks about her work as a mystery writer and her then most recent Jemima Shore novel, The Cavalier Case. The interview ends with a look at her next book, The Gunpowder Plot: Terror and Faith in 1605, which would be published in 1996.. She would return on tour for that book, and the second of two Probabilities/Cover to Cover interviews.   This interview was digitized, remastered and edited by Richard Wolinsky on February 20, 2026. An edited for time version aired in 1992, and the complete version has never seen the light of day until now. The post From the Archive: Antonia Fraser, “The Six Wives of Henry VIII,” 1992 appeared first on KPFA.

John Fisher, Artistic Director of Theatre Rhino, and writer/dictor/actor in “Left Field,” which runs at Theatre Rhino from February 19th to March 15th , in conversation with Richard Wolinsky. Recorded February 4, 2026. Theatre Rhino is the longest running LGBTQ+ theatre company in America, and John Fisher has been its Artistic Director since 2002. His latest show, “Left Field” is about a gay man from San Francisco who, through a bizarre series of events, winds up as President of the United States. Written as a response to the Trump regime and its fascist agenda, “Left Field” is a comedy with serious overtones about a man who finds himself in the presidency with a completely opposite series of priorities. In this interview, John Fisher discusses the process of working on “Left Field,” and goes into detail about what an actor perceives on stage, and the changing Bay Area theatre audience. The post John Fisher, Artistic Director of Theatre Rhino, writer/director/actor, “Left Field” appeared first on KPFA.

John Sayles and Maggie Renzi. Photo: Richard Wolinsky John Sayles, author of the novel “Crucible” and director of eighteen independent films, including “Lone Star,” Eight Men Out” and “The Secret of Roan Inish” in conversation with Richard Wolinsky. They are joined by Maggie Renzi, John Sayles’ producer on fourteen of his eighteen films. John Sayles is best known for his work as a director, screenwriter and actor, though this is his sixth novel. Among the films he directed are Lone Star, Sunshine State, Eight Men Out, Matewan, The Brother from Another Planet, Baby It’s You and Passion Fish. His acting credits include small roles in several films, and he wrote the screenplay for the films he directed. Maggie Renzi, his wife, produced fourteen of his eighteen films, and acted in several of them. She is currently producing John’s upcoming western film, to be shot in Spain in Summer, 2026. In the first part of the interview, John Sayles discusses the real-life events behind his novel, “Crucible,” set between the 1920s and 1940s in Detroit  and Brazil and focusing on Henry Ford, and the workers at his plants, and his attempt to create a rubber plantation and city in the jungles of Brazil. In the second part, he and Maggie Renzi talk about the making of his films, from his early days as a screenwriter to some of his later work, including the three films mentioned above and “Matewan,” along with difficulties in streaming rights. The post John Sayles, Film-maker and Novelist, “Crucible,” 2026 appeared first on KPFA.

Delroy Lindo, actor and theatre director, in conversation with Richard Wolinsky in the KPFA studios in November 2008 while directing August Wilson’s play, Joe Turner’s Come and Gone at Berkeley Rep. Actor and director Delroy Lindo was born in London and moved to the United States at the age of 16, eventually coming to San Francisco where he studied acting at ACT at the age of 24. In his early career, he focused on the stage, winning a Tony nomination in 1988 his role in the original Broadway production of August Wilson’s Joe Turner’s Come and Gone. From there, he moved toward television and film, and performed in three Spike Lee films, including Do The Right Thing  and Malcolm X, along with Get Shorty, Romeo Must Die and other films. More recently, he received acclaim for his role in Spike Lee’s Da 5 Bloods in 2018 and has been nominated for an Academy Award for his role as Delta Slim in the Ryan Coogler film, Sinners. In the interview, he discusses his work directing Joe Turner’s Come and Gone, as well as his views on directing and acting, and the work of August Wilson. First posted September 27, 2020. The post Delroy Lindo, Actor and Director, 2008 appeared first on KPFA.

Hershey Felder discusses his world premiere stage show, “The PIano and Me,” playing at TheatreWorks Mountain View through February 8, 2026, with host Richard Wolinsky. Over the past three decades, Hershey Felder has been performing one-person plays with his piano accompaniment, focusing on a variety of different composers, including George Gershwin, Leonard Bernstein, Tschaikovsky, Beethoven, Chopin and others. He has also created film versions of these and others, which can be found at his website, hersheyfelder.net. “The Piano and Me” focuses on Hershey Felder’s own life, looking at his immigrant family who came to Canada after surviving the Holocaust, and his own education at the piano, from his first teachers to his more formal schooling, to the advent of his very first show, “George Gershwin Alone.” In the interview, Hershey Felder talks about how this show came into being, his preparation for each performance, his work in film, and his view of live theatre today. The post Hershey Felder: “The Piano and Me,” 2026 appeared first on KPFA.

John Varley (1947-2025), Hugo and Nebula Award winning science fiction novelist, who died on December 10, 2025 at the age of 78, in conversation with Richard Wolinsky, recorded in the KPFA studios July 17, 1992 while on tour for the novel “Steel Beach.” John Varley hit the ground running with his first short story, “Picnic on Nearside,” published in 1974 in the Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction. He was already considered the logical heir to Robert Heinlein by the time his novel, The Ophiuchi Hotline was published in 1977 and his short story collection, The Persistence of Vision a year later. He followed those books with a trilogy that included Titan, Wizard and Demon, then went to Hollywood for seven years. This Probabilities interview was recorded on July 17, 1992 when he returned to the field with his novel, Steel Dreams, first of two novels set in the Eight Worlds universe of his earlier work; the sequel, The Golden Globe, was published in 1998.. By the time of this interview, John Varley’s history with Hollywood would be over. You can find a PBS version of Overdrawn at the Memory Bank on Pluto TV, and two episodes from the TV show Paradox on You Tube. The film Millennium is not streaming. After The Golden Globe, John Varley wrote seven novels, most in a new series titled Thunder and Lightning. He returned to the Eight Worlds for his final novel, Irontown Blues, published in 2018. There would also be The John Varley Reader in 2004 and another collection in 2013. The post John Varley (1947-2025), Hugo and Nebula Award-winning Science Fiction Author appeared first on KPFA.

Laura Truffaut, daughter of the great French New Wave film-maker Francois Truffaut (1932-1984) in conversation with host Richard Wolinsky, discussing her father’s films and her memories of his film shoots. Berkeley Art Museum & Pacifc Film Archive is presenting a retrospective of nine films of Francois Truffaut, beginning with his first film, “The 400 Blows” and continuing to his final film, “Confidentially Yours,” from January 17 to February 28th, all introduced by Laura Truffaut. Francois Truffaut began his career as a critic for the influential French film magazine, “Cahiers du Cinema”, but within four years, following his article in the publication discussing his auteur theory of film criticism, he moved on to his first film, “The 400 Blows,” which blew everyone away at the Cannes Film Festival. Twenty-one films followed, until his untimely death from a brain tumor at the age of 52. Along the way he made several masterpieces, including Jules et Jim, Day for Night, Small Change, The Wild Child, and The Soft Skin, to name a handful which will be at BAMPFA.   The post Laura Truffaut: The Films of Francois Truffaut (1932-1984) appeared first on KPFA.

Alan Furst, historical spy novelist, in conversation with Richard Wolinsky, recorded in the KPFA studios during the book tour for “Blood of Victory, September 26, 2002. This is a first-time podcast. In this interview, he discusses his early career, resistance during World War II, and creating the unique atmosphere and characters in his books.His latest novel, Under Occupation, was published in 2019. Alan Furst’s career took off with his novel Kingdom of Shadows in 2000, the sixth book in his series of stand-alone novels about heros and villains in Europe in the years leading up to, and including World War II.  Suffused with atmosphere, his books feel as if you’re living with the characters in those haunted times. Of course, there is added resonance as we live through what might be similar times today. This is the second of five Bookwaves interviews with Alan Furst. The post Alan Furst, Master Spy Novelist, 2002 appeared first on KPFA.

Azar Nafisi,author of the best-selling memoir, “Reading Lolita in Tehran,”  in conversation with host Richard Wolinsky, recorded in the KPFA studios on January 12, 2009 while on tour for the memoir, “Things I’ve Been Silent About.” Azar Nafisi burst on the literary scene in 2003 with her memoir, Reading Lolita in Tehran in 2003, which remained on the New York Times best seller list for 117 weeks. Born in Tehran, Iran, she came to the United States in 1997 and became an American citizen in 2008. A professor of literature, she’d previously written a critical study of the works of Vladimir Nabokov. There would be a second interview with Azar Nafisi  in 2015 for her book about the importance of literature, The Republic of the Imagination. The post Azar Nafisi: Best-selling Author of “Reading Lolita in Tehran,” 2009 appeared first on KPFA.

Jack Arnold  (1916-1992), who died at the age of 75 in 1992, was the 1950s master of the science fiction film. Among the films he directed were It Came From Outer Space, The Creature from the Black Lagoon, Revenge of the Creature, Tarantula, and The Incredible Shrinking Man. The Probabilities crew – Richard A. Lupoff, Lawrence Davidson and Richard Wolinsky – received a small stipend from a science fiction convention and flew to Los Angeles to interview Jack Arnold in his office at Universal Studios. The interview is undated but was recorded in around 1980, give or take a year. Arnold’s memory was fuzzy on when films were released. IMDb lists It Came from Outer Space, along with two film noirs  in 1953, Creature from the Black Lagoon in 1954 and Revenge of the Creature in 1955. The first western, The Man from Bitter Ridge along with Tarantula and his work on This Island Earth also came from 1955. The rest of the westerns, along with The Incredible Shrinking Man and the Peter Sellers classic The Mouse That Roared, came between 1956 and 1959. After that, he directed a couple more A pictures, as he called them, but his primary work moved to television, and from then until his retirement in 1984, he was constantly working on projects for the small screen, interspersed with the occasional film. At the end of the interview, he discusses a remake of Conan Doyle’s The Lost World, complete with storyboards. That project never did get off the ground, though it’s possible later versions used some of Arnold’s pre-planning. And, not to forget, he helped turn Gilligan’s Island into a cultural (for better or worse) icon. Digitized, remastered and edited by Richard Wolinsky in July 2021, and originally posted on August 1, 2021. The post The Probabilities Archive: Jack Arnold (1916-1992), film director, “Creature from the Black Lagoon” and others, 1980ish appeared first on KPFA.

Joe R. Lansdale, in conversation with Richard Wolinsky f, recorded November 12, 2025, discussing his latest Hap & Leonard book, “Hatchet Girls,” his recent collections, and his life as a writer. Joe R. Lansdale writes a broad spectrum of fiction, from his successful Hap and Leonard series of noir mysteries, to fantasy and horror short fiction, to western novels and short stories, as well as a variety of genre mash-ups. His latest Hap and Leonard mystery, Hatchet Girls, according to Wikipedia, is the 27th in that series. There are forty books in the series, plus over forty short story collections, including the most recent to date, In the Mad Mountains, stories inspired by H.P. Lovecraft. There are five books in his Drive-In series, three in his Ned the Seal series, plus various chapbooks. He’s also written for television and film, including episodes of Love, Death and Robots, and a Hap and Leonard TV three-season series, which ran originally on AMC+ and later on Netflix, starting in 2016.   The post Joe Lansdale, Prolific Genre Writer, Part Two: 2025 appeared first on KPFA.

Malcolm Margolin (1940-2025), the long-time publisher of Heyday Books in Berkeley, who died on August 20, 2025 at the age of 84, in conversation with Richard Wolinsky in the KPFA Studios on November 21, 2014. Malcolm Margolin founded Heyday Books, the renownedy non-profit publishing house located in Berkeley, in 1974 and stayed until he retired in 2015. He was the author and editor of several books, most notably The Ohlone Way: Indian Life in the San Francisco – Monterey Bay Area, along with magazines and other periodicals. This interview was recorded November 21, 2014 upon the publication of his memoir/history, The Heyday of Malcolm Margolin: The Damned Good Times of a Fiercely Independent Publisher.  Malcolm Margolin retired in 2015 but continued to work until his death. His final book, Deep Hanging Out: Wanderings and Wonderment in Native California. was published by Heyday in 2021. The post Malcolm Margolin (1940-2025), Legendary Publisher of Heyday Books in Berkeley appeared first on KPFA.

Lauren Gunderson, recognized as the most produced contemporary playwright in America four of the last five years, including 2025, in conversation with host Richard Wolinsky. Lauren Gunderson is a prolific playwright whose plays are produced all over North America and in Britain and Europe. She is best known for such plays as “The Book of Will” and the “Christmas at Pemberley” series of three plays (co-written by Margot Malcon). She also worked on the script for the Pixar film “Lightyear,” and her book for the musical version of “The Time Traveler’s Wife” recently played in London. As of the first week in December, two plays are currently being produced in the San Francisco Bay Area. Georgiana and Kitty: Christmas at Pemberley, runs December 5-28 at TheatreWorks Lucie Stern Theatre in Palo Alto, and Ada and the Engine plays at the Pear Theatre in Mountain View through December 7th. A third play, Louisa Alcott’s Little Women played earlier in 2025 at TheatreWorks in Mountain View, and plays at Portland Center Stage through December 21st. In this interview, she discusses those plays and others, with emphasis on Muse of Fire, in which she performs, directed by Evren Odcikin, which wil be produced by the Magic Theatre from September 22nd through October 11th. Among upcoming plays in 2026 are Silent Sky in Bethesda Maryland in February. The Book of Will in Wisconsin in January and Raleigh, North Carolina in April, The Revolutionists in Rhode Island in May and Raleigh in August, Louisa May Alcott’s Little Women at the Guthrie in Minnesota next April through June. The Half Life of Marie Curie will be in Eureka California iwill be performed in February, 2026 in Eureka, California. The post Lauren Gunderson, Noted Contemporary Playwright, the “Christmas in Pemberley” series appeared first on KPFA.