Carl Rollyson
A Life in Biography
Talks and interviews about the life of biography as experienced by a biographer over forty years and fourteen biographies, dealing with subjects ranging from Sylvia Plath to William Faulkner, Marilyn Monroe to Susan Sontag, and much more.
Where to listen?
Podcasts in the app Replaio Radio Coming soonPodcasts are coming to the app soon. Install now and be the first to see a whole new take on podcasts
Install for free
Android 5M+ downloads · 4.8 rating
iOS soon
Episodes
Honey Traps! Why spies make good if spooky biographical subjects. 17.12.2023 26:58
A talk with Henry Schlesinger about his book on Honey Traps and the biographies of alluring spies.
A slightly trimmed version of my talk with Chris Wallace about biographers and political lives 11.12.2023 40:34
What happens when the biographer becomes part of the story? Chris Wallace shows us in her unique book, Political Lives.
A conversation with Chris Wallace about her book Political Lives and how biographers get the story 10.12.2023 41:02
A discussion of a unique book by Chris Wallace, a journalist turned scholar, and how biographers interact with their subjects.
Come On! Get Happy! How Summer Stock with Judy Garland and Gene Kelly got made 03.12.2023 41:02
Join David Fantle and Tom Johnson for a lively discussion of the backstory and performances and production of the MGM musical, Summer Stock
Danny Fingeroth’s new biography of Jack Ruby 22.11.2023 40:51
How to deal with a figure so involved with conspiracy theories: What does a biography have to add to history?
Listening to Larry Lockridge, Part 2, biographer turned novelist 13.11.2023 36:11
What happens when a biographer turns from the themes of his biography to a series of novels that are biographical and then some.
What happened when T. S. Matthews decided to write the first biography of T. S. Eliot? Find out! 12.11.2023 44:16
A conversation with Karen Christensen about her edition of Writing The Great Tom as well as her own work on a biography of Valerie Eliot.
The role of place and the place of the biographer’s biography in biography 11.11.2023 16:08
An example from my Lillian Hellman biography.
Larry Lockridge discusses his biography of his father Ross Lockridge and his novel Raintree County 06.11.2023 41:51
Listen to a fascinating discussion of how biographers deal with success and suicide and what happens when you discover details that fundamentally alter what is known about your subject.
Talking with Dan Van Neste about Warner Baxter, the “accidental star” 05.11.2023 40:07
Why is it that some important actors are remembered and not others? Find out by listening to this discussion about Dan Van Neste’s biography of Warner Baxter.
The Warner Brothers: How They Became That Way 29.10.2023 38:01
Movie making in Hollywood’s heyday, but also much that applies to today, to Netflix, Amazon, and the world of streaming
Paula Broussard and Lisa Royére discuss Eleanor Powell: Born to Dance 22.10.2023 40:17
Two biographers who befriended their subject and lived to tell an inspiring tale of a life well lived and a biography well written.
Eric Laursen talks about his biography of Alex Comfort & The Joy of Sex 15.10.2023 43:27
Sexologist, gerontologist, novelist, poet, anarchist—just some of the work that Alex Comfort accomplished, the subject of a brilliant new biography.
Sylvia Plath Day by Day, volume 1: Why did I do it. What’s in it? 12.10.2023 16:08
A podcast that reflects on how I got started on studying Sylvia Plath and why I’ve written so many books about her.
A new biography of Betty Friedan and why it matters. 01.10.2023 38:29
Rachel Shteir takes us inside of making of her Jewish Lives biography of the author of The Feminine Mystique
An Emergency Podcast: What To Do When You Don’t Have Primary Sources 27.09.2023 11:09
My response to an email asking me for help
A preview of coming attractions and of my work in progress on presidential biography 24.09.2023 9:58
Forthcoming podcasts on new biographies of Betty Friedan, Warner Baxter, Alex Comfort, Eleanor Powell, Jack Ruby, T. S. Eliot and my working in progress on presidential biography
FDR Unmasked: What the Biographers Missed 17.09.2023 45:24
My conversation with neurologist Steven Lomazow about his revelatory book about FDR and the impact of his health on biographies of Roosevelt
Fair Use Biography 27.07.2023 16:54
Just remember: You are the one in charge of fair use. Don’t give your rights away.
Finding Ursula Parrott: One biographer’s quest. 16.07.2023 39:49
My talk with Marsha Gordon about her sensational new biography of an important writer you probably have never heard of.
The Different Discourses of Biographers and Subjects 09.07.2023 24:08
Knowing your subject may mean knowing his or her discourse, and the same can be said of reading biographies when considering the voices of biographer and subject.
The Way I Work 02.07.2023 25:46
How I go about each day as a biographer, the sources I use, as I assemble my own archive and write my biography—in this case the one I’m working on now: Ronald Colman: Hollywood’s Gentleman Hero
What It Takes To Do Biography 25.06.2023 21:35
Find out
Gabriella Kelly-Davies on writing biographies of scientists and doctors and much more 10.06.2023 43:18
A wide ranging discussion of how to write about science and medicine in a biographical narrative, with some talk of other biographers including Kai Bird and Hermione Lee
What memory tells us about biography and doesn’t. 03.06.2023 43:18
A continuation of the previous podcast about the variables in understanding a writer and his world.
Similar podcasts
Listen to the A Life in Biography podcast in Replaio
Radio and podcasts in one app - free, with no sign-up. Install today and do not miss the launch
Replaio is not a podcast publisher; show names, artwork and audio belong to their authors and are distributed through public RSS feeds.
