fiction/non/fiction

Nearly three years after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, journalists and podcasters Tetyana Ogarkova and Volodymyr Yermolenko return to Fiction/Non/Fiction to tell hosts V.V. Ganeshananthan and Whitney Terrell how Ukrainians view Donald Trump’s return to power in the U.S. They talk about the situation at the frontlines, the consequences of delayed aid, the urgent need for a swift and decisive response to Russian aggression, and continued Ukrainian resilience in the face of the existential threat of the war.  To hear the full episode, subscribe through iTunes, Google Play, Stitcher, Spotify, or your favorite podcast app (include the forward slashes when searching). You can also listen by streaming from the player below. Check out video versions of our interviews on the Fiction/Non/Fiction Instagram account, the Fiction/Non/Fiction YouTube Channel, and our show website: https://www.fnfpodcast.net/. This podcast is produced by Whitney Terrell and V.V. Ganeshananthan. Selected Readings: Tetyana Ogarkova Ukraine Crisis Media Center L’Ukraine face à la guerre - Ukraine Crisis Media Center Volodymyr Yermolenko Internews Ukraine   Explaining Ukraine podcast Ukraine World Trump’s Election and Its Impact on Ukraine - with Nataliya Gumenyuk  Others: Fiction/Non/Fiction Season 5 Episode 15: Scott Anderson on What Russia’s Wars in Chechnya Tell Us about the Invasion of Ukraine Fiction/Non/Fiction Season 6 Episode 51: Tetyana Ogarkova and Volodymyr Yermolenko on How Artists Are Responding to the War in Ukraine Fiction/Non/Fiction Season 6 Episode 2: How Dostoevsky’s Classic Has Shaped Russia’s War in Ukraine, with Explaining Ukraine’s Tetyana Ogarkova and Volodymyr Yermolenko Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

ProPublica reporter Molly Redden joins co-hosts V.V. Ganeshananthan and Whitney Terrell to discuss her recent piece on impoundment, Donald Trump’s strategy to thwart Congressional spending priorities. Redden talks about how the presidential budget and Congressional appropriations work now, Trump’s claim that he has the authority to ignore what Congress wants to fund, what this could mean for those he perceives as enemies, and the possible role of the “nongovernmental Department of Government Efficiency,” co-led by Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy. She explains the history of impoundment, Richard Nixon’s excessive use of the power to ignore projects he didn’t want to do, and how this led to a 1974 law restricting the option. She analyzes the likelihood that Trump will succeed in challenging the law and reflects on writing and reporting on seemingly outlandish schemes that are neither likely nor impossible. She reads from her article, “How Trump Plans to Seize the Power of the Purse From Congress.” To hear the full episode, subscribe through iTunes, Google Play, Stitcher, Spotify, or your favorite podcast app (include the forward slashes when searching). You can also listen by streaming from the player below. Check out video versions of our interviews on the Fiction/Non/Fiction Instagram account, the Fiction/Non/Fiction YouTube Channel, and our show website: https://www.fnfpodcast.net/ This episode of the podcast was produced by Anne Kniggendorf. Molly Redden “How Trump Plans to Seize the Power of the Purse from Congress” | ProPublica  Others: “Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy: The DOGE Plan to Reform Government” | WSJ The Brownback Legacy: Tax cut push led to sharp backlash | Wichita Eagle | July 26, 2017 The Constitution of the United States Loving v. Virginia Impoundment Control Act Alien Enemies Act Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Writer and podcaster Carvell Wallace joins co-hosts V.V. Ganeshananthan and Whitney Terrell to discuss finding his way to the understanding that life is lived on a continuum and is not made up of neat endings and beginnings. He talks about how his childhood experiences with poverty, housing insecurity, and a frustrated creative genius of a single mother prepared him to understand the world. Wallace also discusses his expansive, generous approach to writing about both people he knows and loves and those he’s profiling as a journalist. He reads from his new memoir Another Word for Love. To hear the full episode, subscribe through iTunes, Google Play, Stitcher, Spotify, or your favorite podcast app (include the forward slashes when searching). You can also listen by streaming from the player below. Check out video versions of our interviews on the Fiction/Non/Fiction Instagram account, the Fiction/Non/Fiction YouTube Channel, and our show website: https://www.fnfpodcast.net/ This episode of the podcast was produced by Anne Kniggendorf. Carvell Wallace Another Word for Love Others: Life is Elsewhere by Milan Kundera Marilynne Robinson Easy Rider “Remembering Hollywood's Hays Code, 40 Years On” | All Things Considered, NPR | August 8, 2008 James Alan McPherson Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Following Donald Trump’s dinner at Mar-A-Lago with Ye (formerly Kanye West) and white supremacist Nick Fuentes, novelist Michael Knight joins hosts V.V. Ganeshananthan and Whitney Terrell to talk about the best and worst dinner parties in literature. They discuss the pressures of hosting, what makes someone a great guest, signature dishes, post-party regrets, and festive successes, as well as scenes in literature featuring all of these things. Knight also reads from a classic dinner party scene in his novella The Holiday Season. To hear the full episode, subscribe through iTunes, Google Play, Stitcher, Spotify, or your favorite podcast app (include the forward slashes when searching). You can also listen by streaming from the player below. Check out video versions of our interviews on the Fiction/Non/Fiction Instagram account, the Fiction/Non/Fiction YouTube Channel, and our show website: https://www.fnfpodcast.net/ This podcast is produced by Anne Kniggendorf. Selected Readings: Michael Knight The Typist At Briarwood School for Girls Divining Rod Dogfight  Goodnight, Nobody  Eveningland The Holiday Season  Others: “The inside story of Trump’s explosive dinner with Ye and Nick Fuentes,” by Marc Caputo The Days of Afrekete by Asali Solomon To the Lighthouse by Virginia Woolf Leo Tolstoy “The 8 best Festivus moments from ‘Seinfeld,’ ranked,” USA Today “Curb Your Enthusiasm”: Bad Middling Bobcat and Other Stories by Rebecca Lee Light Years by James Salter Last Night by James Salter Beloved by Toni Morrison The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald Mrs. Dalloway by Virginia Woolf The Dark Tower VII by Stephen King Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe by Fannie Flagg The Family Chao by Lan Samantha Chang The Remains of the Day by Kazuo Ishiguro Jim Harrison Alice in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll Jesus’ Son by Denis Johnson The Sun Also Rises by Ernest Hemingway Redwall series by Brian Jacques Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Writer Ruben Reyes Jr. joins co-hosts V.V. Ganeshananthan and Whitney Terrell to discuss the Trump administration’s plans for mass deportation. Reyes explains how deportation could affect families or households with different immigration statuses, including those here through Deferred Action Childhood Arrival (commonly known as DACA) and with Temporary Protected Status. The three discuss Trump’s plans to involve the military in his efforts, and the difficulties he may face, given the interconnectedness of our social and economic systems. Reyes also talks about writing about the dehumanization of immigrants through science fiction and satire, and how he thinks about agency and possibility when he is portraying characters facing systemic oppression. He reads from his short story collection There is a Rio Grande in Heaven. To hear the full episode, subscribe through iTunes, Google Play, Stitcher, Spotify, or your favorite podcast app (include the forward slashes when searching). You can also listen by streaming from the player below. Check out video versions of our interviews on the Fiction/Non/Fiction Instagram account, the Fiction/Non/Fiction YouTube Channel, and our show website: https://www.fnfpodcast.net/ This episode of the podcast was produced by Anne Kniggendorf. Ruben Reyes Jr. There is a Rio Grande in Heaven Others: “Trump is promising deportations under the Alien Enemies Act of 1798. What is it?” by Rachel Treisman | NPR Stephen Miller “Who is Usha Vance? Yale law graduate and wife of vice presidential nominee JD Vance” by Olivia Diaz |AP Pedro Paramo by Juan Rulfo "Trump's goal of mass deportations fell short. But he has new plans for a second term" by Elliot Spagat | AP Donald Trump TIME Interview on 2024 Transcript | Time "In Trump's mass deportation plan, the private prison industry sees a lucrative opportunity" by Laura Romero and Peter Charalambous | ABC News "If Trump Wins the Election, This is What's at Stake" by Lauren Gambino | The Guardian “Trump promised the 'largest deportation' in U.S. history. Here's how he might start” by Steve Inskeep and Christopher Thomas | NPR Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In the wake of the election, writer Maggie Tokuda-Hall joins co-hosts V.V. Ganeshananthan and Whitney Terrell to discuss what Project 2025 has in store for authors and book bans. Tokuda-Hall explains Project 2025’s misuse of terms like “critical race theory” and “pornography” and how these will be used to attack mainstream content, especially material by BIPOC and LGBTQ creators. She analyzes conservatives’ plans to make reading less accessible to the general population and talks about co-founding the new organization, Authors Against Book Bans. She also reflects on her experiences with corporate attempts to censor her books for children and young adults, the importance of libraries, and how individuals can resist by connecting with others and by understanding and focusing on their own expertise. To hear the full episode, subscribe through iTunes, Google Play, Stitcher, Spotify, or your favorite podcast app (include the forward slashes when searching). You can also listen by streaming from the player below. Check out video versions of our interviews on the Fiction/Non/Fiction Instagram account, the Fiction/Non/Fiction YouTube Channel, and our show website: https://www.fnfpodcast.net/ This episode of the podcast was produced by Anne Kniggendorf. Maggie Tokuda-Hall The Worst Ronin The Siren, the Song, and the Spy The Mermaid, the Witch, and the Sea Love in the Library Squad Others: Authors Against Book Bans Fiction/Non/Fiction Season 5, Episode 13: "Censoring the American Canon: Farah Jasmine Griffin on Book Bans Targeting Black Writers" "The Republicans’ Project 2025 is Disastrous For Books," by James Folta | LitHub Fiction/Non/Fiction Season 5, Episode 12: "Intimate Contact: Garth Greenwell on Book Bans and Writing About Sex" Alex DiFrancesco's resignation from Jessica Kingsley Publishers | X Fiction/Non/Fiction Season 6, Episode 52: "Brooklyn Public Library’s Leigh Hurwitz on Helping Young People Resist Censorship" Fiction/Non/Fiction Season 4, Episode 20: "Adam Serwer on Critical Race Theory and the Very American Fear of Owning Up to Our Racist Past and Present" Fiction/Non/Fiction Season 7, Episode 22: “Rachel Bitecofer on Democratic Strategies to Counter Republicans in the 2024 Election” And Tango Makes Three by Justin Richardson, Peter Parnell, and Henry Cole Idaho House Bill No. 710 Iowa Senate File 496 Book Bans | PEN America Kimberlé Crenshaw Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Writer Jennifer Maritza McCauley joins co-hosts V.V. Ganeshananthan and Whitney Terrell to analyze the fallout from Tony Hinchcliffe’s “floating island of garbage” comment at Trump’s Madison Square Garden rally. McCauley—whose mother is Puerto Rican—discusses the island’s history and her communities’ reactions. McCauley reads her mother’s self-assured response to Hinchcliffe’s racism and reflects on the country’s distinctive mix of African, Spanish, and Indigenous populations. She also discusses the rights Puerto Ricans have and are denied, given their unusual status as U.S. citizens of a territory rather than a state. She reads from the title story of her collection, When Trying to Return Home, which includes many depictions of Puerto Rican identity. To hear the full episode, subscribe through iTunes, Google Play, Stitcher, Spotify, or your favorite podcast app (include the forward slashes when searching). You can also listen by streaming from the player below. Check out video versions of our interviews on the Fiction/Non/Fiction Instagram account, the Fiction/Non/Fiction YouTube Channel, and our show website: https://www.fnfpodcast.net/ This episode of the podcast was produced by Anne Kniggendorf. Jennifer Maritza McCauley Kinds of Grace When Trying to Return Home Scar On/Scar Off Others: "Pennsylvania: anger among Puerto Ricans in key swing state after racist remarks" by José Olivares | The Guardian Tony Hinchcliffe “Trump’s Derision of Haitians Goes Back Years” by Michael D. Shear | The New York Times Fiction/Non/Fiction Season 7, Episode 52: “Myriam J.A. Chancy on Haitian American Communities” “Donald Trump is the First White President” by Ta-Nehisi Coates | The Atlantic | October 2017 Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton The Jones Act  “Trump at the Garden: A Closing Carnival of Grievances, Misogyny, and Racism” by Shane Goldmacher, Maggie Haberman and Michael Gold | The New York Times X: “Bigot Coachella” Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In the lead-up to the presidential election, novelist Jess Walter returns to the show to revisit his previous comments about former president Donald Trump. Walter joins co-hosts V.V. Ganeshananthan and Whitney Terrell to discuss Trump’s dangerous decisions and inflammatory rhetoric, as well as how reactions to him have changed since 2016. Walter talks about former Trump cronies who have abandoned the candidate and endorsed Kamala Harris, and reflects on the inaction that has made it possible for Trump, a felon, to run for the presidency once more. He hazards a prediction about the election results, and reads from his short story “Town and Country,” which appeared in his recent story collection Angel of Rome.  To hear the full episode, subscribe through iTunes, Google Play, Stitcher, Spotify, or your favorite podcast app (include the forward slashes when searching). You can also listen by streaming from the player below. Check out video versions of our interviews on the Fiction/Non/Fiction Instagram account, the Fiction/Non/Fiction YouTube Channel, and our show website: https://www.fnfpodcast.net/ This episode of the podcast was produced by Anne Kniggendorf. Jess Walter The Angel of Rome and Other Stories  The Cold Millions Beautiful Ruins Others: Fiction/Non/Fiction Season 1 Episode 6: "All the President's Shakespeare: Jess Walter and Kiki Petrosino"  Fiction/Non/Fiction Season 4 Episode 4: “Life After Trump: Jess Walter and Jerald Walker on the Aftermath of Election 2020” Fiction/Non/Fiction Season 8 Episode 2: “Jeff Sharlet on ‘Sanewashing’ and Fascism” Anderson Cooper interviews Kamala Harris | CNN | October 24, 2024 The Price of Power: How Mitch McConnell Mastered the Senate, Changed America, and Lost His Party by Michael Tackett Liz Cheney Lindsey Graham Shark Tank Hopium Chronicles by Simon Rosenberg Fiction/Non/Fiction Season 7 Episode 50: “Thomas Frank on How the Harris-Walz Ticket Can Win Red State Voters”  Veep Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In the wake of Hurricanes Helene and Milton, novelist Stephen Markley joins co-hosts V.V. Ganeshananthan and Whitney Terrell to discuss his novel The Deluge, which predicts and depicts the impact of climate change over the next couple of decades. Markley talks about researching and portraying the scale of catastrophic climate events, the role of the markets and other financial considerations in pushing world leaders to take the issue seriously, and which character in his novel was previously Kamala Harris. Markely also reflects on how in revision, he repeatedly had to scale up his fictional disasters to keep them ahead of actual events, the uncanny experience of forecasting disasters like Helene, and the movement leaders—including Bill McKibben, Al Gore, and James Hansen—he felt compelled to include in his novel. Markley reads from The Deluge. Check out video versions of our interviews on the Fiction/Non/Fiction Instagram account, the Fiction/Non/Fiction YouTube Channel, and our show website: https://www.fnfpodcast.net/ This episode of the podcast was produced by Anne Kniggendorf and Cheni Thein. Stephen Markley The Deluge  Ohio Only Murders in the Building Others: Matthew Salesses on the Possibilities of Climate Fiction | Literary Hub 1984 by George Orwell Ali Zaidi Weather Underground Climate Defiance The End of Nature by Bill McKibben The Stand by Stephen King The Inflation Reduction Act The Green New Deal  “Helene, Milton losses expected to surpass ‘truly historic’ $50 billion each”  - CBS News “Beyond Helene: Hurricane death toll tops 300 lives, with month left in season” - USA Today Fiction/Non/Fiction Season 4 Episode 15: Workshop Politics: Matthew Salesses on Centering the Marginalized Writer Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Linguist, writer, and professor Anne Curzan joins co-hosts V.V. Ganeshananthan and Whitney Terrell to discuss how language is constantly changing—and how that’s okay. Curzan talks about how, in her work as an English language historian, she’s learned that people have always been critical of usage changes; Ben Franklin, for instance, didn’t care for colonize as a verb. But, Curzan explains, as much as “grammandos” bemoan the evolution of language, it can’t be stopped—singular “they,” “funnest,” and “very unique” are here to stay. Curzan reads from her book, Says Who? A Kinder, Funner Usage Guide for Everyone Who Cares About Language. To hear the full episode, subscribe through iTunes, Google Play, Stitcher, Spotify, or your favorite podcast app (include the forward slashes when searching). You can also listen by streaming from the player below. Check out video versions of our interviews on the Fiction/Non/Fiction Instagram account, the Fiction/Non/Fiction YouTube Channel, and our show website: https://www.fnfpodcast.net/ This episode of the podcast was produced by Anne Kniggendorf. Anne Curzan Says Who? A Kinder, Funner Usage Guide for Everyone Who Cares About Words “‘They’ has been a singular pronoun for centuries. Don’t let anyone tell you it’s wrong.” | October 21, 2021 | The Washington Post Others: Grammando Declaration of Independence Dreyer’s English: And Utterly Correct Guide to Clarity and Style by Benjamin Dreyer The Elements of Style by William Strunk and E.B. White Fiction/Non/Fiction Season: One Episode, 12: “C. Riley Snorton and T Fleischmann Talk Gender, Freedom, and Transitivity” Antonin Scalia  Will Shortz Maxine Hong Kingston The American Heritage Dictionary Urban Dictionary Merriam-Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary Leaves of Grass by Walt Whitman Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Nonfiction writer Jeff Sharlet joins co-hosts V.V. Ganeshananthan and Whitney Terrell to discuss how mainstream media outlets sanitize Donald Trump’s rhetoric in their reporting rather than straightforwardly describing his words and behavior, an approach recently dubbed “sanewashing” by The New Republic’s Parker Molloy. Sharlet analyzes the term’s usefulness and also its limitations; talks about the need to describe fascism using the word itself; and reflects on who is now at the center of political discourse and who is at the fringe. He also considers whether popular new media influencers like the MeidasTouch Network and YouTuber Brian Tyler Cohen are really filling the need to describe Trump as he is. He reads from his book, The Undertow: Scenes from a Slow Civil War. To hear the full episode, subscribe through iTunes, Google Play, Stitcher, Spotify, or your favorite podcast app (include the forward slashes when searching). You can also listen by streaming from the player below. Check out video versions of our interviews on the Fiction/Non/Fiction Instagram account, the Fiction/Non/Fiction YouTube Channel, and our show website: https://www.fnfpodcast.net/ This episode of the podcast was produced by Anne Kniggendorf. Jeff Sharlet The Undertow: Scenes from a Slow Civil War This Brilliant Darkness: A Book of Strangers Sweet Heaven When I Die C Street: The Fundamentalist Threat to American Democracy The Family: The Secret Fundamentalism at the Heart of American Power Others: "This genius website captures Trump’s weirdest debate quotes," by Grace Snelling | Fast Company Lenny Bruce The White Album by Joan Didion The Anatomy of Fascism by Robert O. Paxton Rick Perlstein Brian Tyler Cohen MeidasTouch Network Jeffrey Ruoff Susan Faludi Lane Kirkland Dietrich Bonhoeffer Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

As the housing crisis worsens and Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris makes lowering housing prices a key part of her agenda, nonfiction writer Lola Milholland joins co-hosts V.V. Ganeshananthan and Whitney Terrell to discuss her experience with communal living. With traditional single-family homes economically out of reach for many Americans, Milholland talks about the social and financial benefits of living with others, including shared cooking and meals. She cautions that living with roommates will not solve the housing crisis and talks about the need for widespread and systemic change. She reads from her book, Group Living and Other Recipes. To hear the full episode, subscribe through iTunes, Google Play, Stitcher, Spotify, or your favorite podcast app (include the forward slashes when searching). You can also listen by streaming from the player below. Check out video versions of our interviews on the Fiction/Non/Fiction Instagram account, the Fiction/Non/Fiction YouTube Channel, and our show website: https://www.fnfpodcast.net/ This episode of the podcast was produced by Anne Kniggendorf. Lola Milholland Group Living and Other Recipes Umi Organic Living With Roommates Is Sorely Underrated |TIME Can a $9 Lunch Cure Loneliness? | Oprah Daily Others: Fiction/Non/Fiction Season 7, Episode 33: “Brandy Jensen on the Mainstreaming of Polyamory” Fiction/Non/Fiction Season 7, Episode 29: “Jen Silverman on Generational Divides in American Politics” Fiction/Non/Fiction Season 7, Episode 52: “Myriam J.A. Chancy on Haitian American Communities” Joint Center for Housing Studies at Harvard  Joint Center for Housing Studies at Harvard: “Home Prices Far Outpace Incomes” The Gift: How the Creative Spirit Transforms the World by Lewis Hyde Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Following Donald Trump and J.D. Vance’s racist smears against Haitian immigrants in Springfield, Ohio, author Myriam J.A. Chancy joins co-hosts V.V. Ganeshananthan and Whitney Terrell to talk about Haitian history and independence; imperialism in Haiti; immigration to and from Haiti; the positive and negative impacts social media has on Haitian communities; and how the current discourse obscures both Haitian past and present. Chancy reflects on the importance of translating Haitian literature into English, recommends the work of several other writers, and discusses the Expo of ’49, which brought people from around the world to Haiti. She reads a related scene from Village Weavers.  To hear the full episode, subscribe through iTunes, Google Play, Stitcher, Spotify, or your favorite podcast app (include the forward slashes when searching). You can also listen by streaming from the player below. Check out video versions of our interviews on the Fiction/Non/Fiction Instagram account, the Fiction/Non/Fiction YouTube Channel, and our show website: https://www.fnfpodcast.net/ This episode of the podcast was produced by Anne Kniggendorf. Myriam J.A. Chancy  Village Weavers  What Storm, What Thunder  Spirit of Haiti Harvesting Haiti Others: Cléanthe Desgraves Valcin  Yanick Lahens Marie-Célie Agnant Valérie Bah Lyonel Trouillot Gary Victor     Mackenzy Orcel  Kettly Mars    “'It just exploded': Springfield woman claims she never meant to spark false rumors about Haitians” by Alicia Victoria Lozano | NBC News “Opinion | Trump Knows What He’s Doing in Springfield. So Does Vance.” by Jamelle Bouie| The New York Times “Marianne Williamson Defends Donald Trump’s Bizarre Haitian Pet-Eating Conspiracy” by Liam Archacki| Daily Beast Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

As Vice President Kamala Harris's historic campaign for the presidency enters its final weeks, writer Ellen Emerson White joins co-hosts V.V. Ganeshananthan and Whitney Terrell to discuss her prescient 1984 novel The President's Daughter, which imagines the first woman president’s campaign and early days in the White House from the point of view of her teenage daughter. White reminisces about beginning the YA book when she was still a teenager herself and notes the uncanny similarities between a fictional presidential debate that appears in the book and the recent Trump-Harris showdown. White reflects on the qualities her character Katharine Powers shares with Kamala White—notably, a “likable, elegant swagger”—as well as how Powers’s cool bearing contrasts with Harris’s reputation for warmth. She talks about hitting pause on her current writing project following Harris’s entrance into the race, and reads from The President’s Daughter. To hear the full episode, subscribe through iTunes, Google Play, Stitcher, Spotify, or your favorite podcast app (include the forward slashes when searching). You can also listen by streaming from the player below. Check out video versions of our interviews on the Fiction/Non/Fiction Instagram account, the Fiction/Non/Fiction YouTube Channel, and our show website: https://www.fnfpodcast.net/ This episode of the podcast was produced by Anne Kniggendorf. Ellen Emerson White “The President’s Daughter” series A Season of Daring Greatly Webster: Tale of an Outlaw “The Echo Company” series Others: Fiction/Non/Fiction Season 7 Episode 50: “Thomas Frank on How the Harris-Walz Ticket Can Win Red State Voters”  The Apprentice Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Political and cultural critic Thomas Frank joins host Whitney Terrell to discuss how Democrats and Republicans courted voters from the Midwest and South at their respective conventions. Frank gives reports from the floors of both the Republican and Democratic national conventions, which he attended. He analyzes the efforts that the Trump-Vance and Harris-Walz tickets have made to attract union and working class, “red state” votes. He also reads a passage from his famed 2004 book What’s the Matter with Kansas on the origin of the terms “red state” and “blue state” and discusses the surprising staying power, and fundamental absurdity, of these categories. To hear the full episode, subscribe through iTunes, Google Play, Stitcher, Spotify, or your favorite podcast app (include the forward slashes when searching). You can also listen by streaming from the player below. Check out video versions of our interviews on the Fiction/Non/Fiction Instagram account, the Fiction/Non/Fiction YouTube Channel, and our show website: https://www.fnfpodcast.net/ This episode of the podcast was produced by Anne Kniggendorf. Thomas Frank The People, No: A Brief History of Anti-populism What’s the Matter With Kansas: How Conservatives Won the Heart of America Listen, Liberal: Or, What Ever Happened to the Party of the People? The Conquest of Cool: Business Culture, Counterculture, and the Rise of Hip Consumerism Others: Mother Night by Kurt Vonnegut Motherless Brooklyn by Jonathan Lethem Fiction/Non/Fiction Season 3, episode 22: “The Unpopular Tale of Populism: Thomas Frank on the Real History of an American Mass Movement” Fiction/Non/Fiction Season 5, episode 31: “What Do Dems Do Now? Thomas Frank on How the Left Can Counter a Rogue Supreme Court” David Brooks John Podhoretz Blake Hurst Hulk Hogan Kid Rock Ted Cruz Tucker Carlson “Acid, amnesty - and abortion: 1972 and all that” by Michael Cross | Law Society Gazette | May 4, 2022  George McGovern George Wallace The New Deal Robert Reich Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Nonfiction writer Alissa Quart joins co-hosts V.V. Ganeshananthan and Whitney Terrell to discuss how the American obsession with “bootstrap narratives” led to the publishing industry championing Hillbilly Elegy, the bestselling and problematic memoir by J.D. Vance, who was subsequently elected to the Senate and is now the Republican vice presidential nominee. Quart talks about Vance’s failure to credit those who have contributed to his success and reflects on both the fetishization of poverty and the importance of authentic representation. She also explains the long tradition of self-made man narratives and their underlying queer romantic elements, and compares Vance’s work to that of writers like Laura Ingalls Wilder and Horatio Alger. She critiques Vance’s recent remarks about childless and professional women and suggests the need for a more nuanced and expansive understanding of community. Quart talks about the nonprofit she leads, the Economic Hardship Reporting Project, and reads from her book, Bootstrapped: Liberating Ourselves from the American Dream. To hear the full episode, subscribe through iTunes, Google Play, Stitcher, Spotify, or your favorite podcast app (include the forward slashes when searching). You can also listen by streaming from the player below. Check out video versions of our interviews on the Fiction/Non/Fiction Instagram account, the Fiction/Non/Fiction YouTube Channel, and our show website: https://www.fnfpodcast.net/ This episode of the podcast was produced by Anne Kniggendorf. Alissa Quart Bootstrapped: Liberating Ourselves from the American Dream Thoughts and Prayers  Squeezed: Why Our Families Can't Afford America  Monetized  Republic of Outsiders: The Power of Amateurs, Dreamers, and Rebels  Economic Hardship Reporting Project   "JD Vance is the Toxic Byproduct of America’s Obsession with Bootstrap Narratives" | Literary Hub Others: Laura Ingalls Wilder Horatio Alger Barbara Ehrenreich Dorothy Allison Elizabeth Catte Alex Miller Bobbi Dempsey Ann Larson Fiction/Non/Fiction Season 6, Episode 32: “The East Palestine Train Derailment and Your Health: Kerri Arsenault on the Pervasive and Ongoing Risks of Dioxin”  “‘Dangerous and un-American’: new recording of JD Vance’s dark vision of women and immigration” by Jason Wilson | The Guardian Hillbilly Elegy: A Memoir of a Family and Culture in Crisis Going for Broke with Ray Suarez | The Nation Going for Broke | NPR Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

ProPublica reporter Joshua Kaplan joins co-hosts V.V. Ganeshananthan and Whitney Terrell to discuss his recent article on militia group American Patriots Three Percent, or AP3. Kaplan talks about group founder Scot Seddon, a former Army reservist, and how he created a movement whose members number gun control and the “LGBTQ agenda” among their grievances. Kaplan also reflects on AP3’s ties to law enforcement, the military, and elected officials, as well as their calculated attempts to brand themselves. He considers the recent history of militias in the U.S., including the 1995 Oklahoma City bombing, and explains how that led to a loss of momentum for the movement, the subsequent rise of recruiting via Facebook, and the environment that allowed for the January 6 attack on the Capitol. Finally, he reflects on how Donald Trump fans the flames of extremist groups like AP3. Kaplan reads from his article. To hear the full episode, subscribe through iTunes, Google Play, Stitcher, Spotify, or your favorite podcast app (include the forward slashes when searching). You can also listen by streaming from the player below. Check out video versions of our interviews on the Fiction/Non/Fiction Instagram account, the Fiction/Non/Fiction YouTube Channel, and our show website: https://www.fnfpodcast.net/ This episode of the podcast was produced by Anne Kniggendorf. Joshua Kaplan "Armed and Underground: Inside the Turbulent, Secret World of an American Militia" Others: Oklahoma City Bombing “Trump to Host ‘The J6 Awards Gala’ at His Bedminster Golf Club” by Owen Lavine | The Daily Beast BlacKkKlansman Mad Max Keith Kidwell Oath Keepers Southern Poverty Law Center Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Following Elon Musk’s estranged daughter Vivian Jenna Wilson’s accusations of unethical behavior on the part of Musk’s authorized biographer, memoirist Kelly McMasters and biographer Iris Jamahl Dunkle join co-hosts V.V. Ganeshananthan and Whitney Terrell to talk about the ethics of biography. Dunkle, the author of Riding Like the Wind: The Life of Sanora Babb, talks about using archives to restore the history of Babb, the writer whose notes John Steinbeck used to research The Grapes of Wrath, and how women’s lives are often wrongly or incompletely depicted. McMasters, a memoirist whose recent book The Leaving Season: A Memoir portrays many people close to her, talks about the impossibility of writing honestly about her life without including her children, the two people with whom she spends the most time. Dunkle and McMasters discuss Wilson’s accusations against Walter Isaacson, whom she says did not directly contact her for comment for his recent book about her father, although much of his book refers to her life. The group also discusses recent revelations that Alice Munro failed to act when she learned that her second husband had abused her daughter, and how authorized biographies often omit full accounts of the truth. Dunkle and McMasters read from their work. To hear the full episode, subscribe through iTunes, Google Play, Stitcher, Spotify, or your favorite podcast app (include the forward slashes when searching). You can also listen by streaming from the player below. Check out video versions of our interviews on the Fiction/Non/Fiction Instagram account, the Fiction/Non/Fiction YouTube Channel, and our show website: https://www.fnfpodcast.net/ This episode of the podcast was produced by Anne Kniggendorf. Iris Jamahl Dunkle  Riding Like the Wind: The Life of Sanora Babb  West: Fire: Archive Charmian Kittredge London: Trailblazer, Author, Adventurer Finding Lost Voices | Substack Kelly McMasters The Leaving Season: A Memoir Welcome to Shirley: A Memoir From and Atomic Town This Is the Place: Women Writing About Home “The Ethics of Writing Hard Things in Family Memoir,” Literary Hub Others: Elon Musk by Walter Isaacson “Musk’s Daughter Flames Dad’s Biographer: ‘You Threw Me to the Wolves’” by Dan Ladden-Hall | Daily Beast J.D. Salinger The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck “What do we Know about Alice Munro Now?” by Contance Grady | Vox La Belle Noiseuse The Hyacinth Girl: T.S. Eliot’s Hidden Muse by Lyndall Gordon Loving Sylvia Plath: A Reclamation by Emily Van Duyne Jackson Pollock “What Virginia Woolf’s ‘Dreadnought Hoax’ Tells Us About Ourselves” by Danell Jones | January 25, 2024 | Literary Hub Fiction/Non/Fiction Season 6 Episode 19: “The Lives of the Wives: Carmela Ciuraru on Marriage, Writing, and Equity” Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Novelist Francine Prose joins co-hosts V.V. Ganeshananthan and Whitney Terrell to discuss her new book, 1974: A Personal History. Prose talks about her relationship with Tony Russo, who in collaboration with Daniel Ellsberg leaked the Pentagon Papers, a whistleblowing act which revealed decades of government lies about U.S. involvement in Vietnam; how the politics and progressive activism of today compare to those of half a century ago; and why that year was politically pivotal. She also reflects on how in 1974, the idea of government dishonesty was shocking, whereas today it’s a given. Prose reads from the book. To hear the full episode, subscribe through iTunes, Google Play, Stitcher, Spotify, or your favorite podcast app (include the forward slashes when searching). You can also listen by streaming from the player below. Check out video versions of our interviews on the Fiction/Non/Fiction Instagram account, the Fiction/Non/Fiction YouTube Channel, and our show website: https://www.fnfpodcast.net/ This episode of the podcast was produced by Anne Kniggendorf. Francine Prose 1974: A Personal History A Changed Man Blue Angel Anne Frank: the Book, The Life, the Afterlife Others: The Heritage Foundation The Sixties: Big Ideas, Small Books by Jenny Diski Opus Dei J.D. Vance Patty Hearst RAND Corporation Daniel Ellsberg Fiction/Non/Fiction Season 6, Episode 46: “Samuel G. Freedman on What Hubert Humphrey’s Fight for Civil Rights Can Teach Us Today” Ground Truth | NPR Journey to Italy Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb Cato Institute Pentagon Papers Espionage Act Comstock Act Wag the Dog Gravity’s Rainbow by Thomas Pynchon Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Marine biologist Jasmin Graham joins co-hosts V.V. Ganeshananthan and Whitney Terrell to discuss her new book, Sharks Don’t Sink: Adventures of a Rogue Shark Scientist, which is about the beauty and diversity of sharks and her career studying them inside and outside of academia. Graham, who left a doctoral program and subsequently founded the community-based organization Minorities in Shark Science to make the field more accessible and inclusive, unpacks how Jaws-inspired fears about sharks fail to understand the species. She also talks about seeing similarities in how sharks and Black people are misrepresented, misunderstood, brutalized, and threatened. Graham reads from Sharks Don’t Sink.   To hear the full episode, subscribe through iTunes, Google Play, Stitcher, Spotify, or your favorite podcast app (include the forward slashes when searching). You can also listen by streaming from the player below. Check out video versions of our interviews on the Fiction/Non/Fiction Instagram account, the Fiction/Non/Fiction YouTube Channel, and our show website: https://www.fnfpodcast.net/ This episode of the podcast was produced by Anne Kniggendorf. Jasmin Graham  Sharks Don't Sink: Adventures of a Rogue Shark Scientist “How Japanese-American Scientist Eugenie Clark Spearheaded the Study of Sharks” | Literary Hub Others: "50 Years Ago, ‘Jaws’ Hit Bookstores, Capturing the Angst of a Generation" by Brian Raftery | The New York Times  Opinion | "What is Trump’s shark story really about?" by Eugene Robinson | The Washington Post  Opinion | "What is going on inside Trump’s mind?" by Eugene Robinson | The Washington Post Jaws by Peter Benchley  Deep Wizardry by Diane Duane  Finding Nemo Shark Tale Shark Week SharkFest Apocalypse Now Anthony Swofford Fiction/Non/Fiction Season 7, Episode 25: "Ivy Pochoda on Caitlin Clark and Women Athletes” Nyad “Donald Trump Mocked Over 'Bizarre Rant' About Sharks” | video | Newsweek Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices