Bay Area Book Festival Podcast

Two-time Grammy winner and Oakland native Fantastic Negrito (blues and Black roots music) meets multiracial, eight-time Swedish Grammy-winning rapper and debut author Timbuktu — and each discovers a brother. In a highly personal conversation, these two extraordinary artists, each with a huge fan base, share their experiences of racism, fatherhood, ancestors, and what it means to be an "elder." The...

It's not an exaggeration to say that the future of the American republic hangs in the balance. There are few levers as powerful in tipping that balance as interpretations of the U.S. Constitution by the Supreme Court. One of the nation's preeminent constitutional law scholars, Erwin Cherminsky, asserts that there has never been a more important time to adopt a progressive vision of the U.S. Consti...

Where can we turn for a scalable vision of a sustainable, equitable, and delicious future? Look no further than Chez Panisse founder Alice Waters, legendary maven of the "slow food movement," and food labor activist Saru Jayaraman. Now they're coming together, in a time of climate change, pandemics, and global hunger, to examine how we got here, and cook up a bold recipe for implementing transform...

Late Congressman John Lewis called the coming election "the most important ever." The national schisms that led to the election of Donald Trump have become even deeper over the past four years. How can we address the anger and divisiveness, the "othering" that fuels persistent racism, political dysfunction, raging culture wars, and rises in violence? At this major inflection point in our society,...

It's been demonstrated that reading fiction increases empathy. Can it also unlock a blueprint for our future, at a moment when we need new ways of defining what's possible? Four of Berkeley's most visionary novelists, known for their ability to conjure exciting "future histories" with words, come together to discuss how literature and the imagination can light a bold path to progress.

"The choice today," said Martin Luther King, Jr., "is no longer between violence and nonviolence. It is either nonviolence or nonexistence." Our nation is rocked by protests; and on a global stage, nuclear-armed countries flirt with mutually assured destruction. What is the path forward? In conversation with Stephen Best, Judith Butler overturns common assumptions about nonviolence, offering a def...

W. Kamau Bell, an Emmy-winner for CNN's United Shades of America, and Steve Kerr, outspoken head coach of the Golden State Warriors, are teaming up to raise the good kind of hell, talking all things race, power, dissent, the intersection of sports and activism, and comedy as coping mechanism and vehicle for truth. In a freewheeling conversation refereed by Dacher Keltner, founding director of UC B...

In this conversation, Merlin Sheldrake and bestselling writer Michael Pollan delve into "The Wood Wide Web": an enchanting "superorganism" whose secrets just might save the world. Merlin's riveting first book, Entangled Life: How Fungi Make Our Worlds, Change Our Minds & Shape Our Futures, has become an instant classic of nature and philosophy — a work of rigorous science and poetic expression, dr...

This episode includes passages that may not be appropriate for all listeners. Why is it so hard for so many of us to claim our own power? "Because," writes Alexandra Roxo in her debut, F*ck Like a Goddess, "each of us has been conditioned, programmed, and literally brainwashed into thinking we are not enough." The solution is to rewrite the story we've been told about our own worth. Joining Roxo i...

Author of Real Happiness and columnist for the Peabody Award-winning On Being, Sharon Salzberg has built a devoted fanbase and major excitement for her latest book, Real Change. A renowned figure in the world of meditation, Salzberg offers us a guide for harnessing mindfulness in ways that benefit ourselves and the world around us. She dispenses her invaluable wisdom and counsel for vanquishing fe...

Trust Adam Hochschild to unearth one of history's forgotten heroines. Russian immigrant Rose Pastor Stokes spent her first years in America in a sweatshop, only to skyrocket to the upper class when she married an heir. It's a classic Cinderella story: that is, if Cinderella converted her prince to socialism, became an antiwar and labor activist, promoted birth control access, and was dubbed "one o...

In this panel sponsored by Heyday, four authors meet at a crossroads between hard science and visual sumptuousness. Obi Kaufmann turns his artist's palette on California's most contested natural resource, water; while Josie Iselin wades into the deep end with the magic of seaweed. John Muir Laws & Emilie Lygren take us into the revelatory practice of nature journaling. How do these artists learn t...

Dive into an exploration of female power with bestselling authors Sue Monk Kidd and Lisa See, moderated by Aimee Phan. Lisa's latest novel, the multi-generational saga The Island of Sea Women, brings us into the lives of Mi-ja and Young-sook, two best friends on the Korean island of Jeju, who join their village's all-female diving collective. Sue's newest novel, The Book of Longings, puts us in th...

Swedish suspense phenomenon Lars Kepler, famed for the #1 bestselling Joona Linna series, is husband-and-wife duo Alexandra Coelho Ahndoril and Alexander Ahndoril. Both were already acclaimed authors before they joined forces, but together they've sold millions of copies. Their first book, The Hypnotist, stirred up intrigue as the media sleuthed to uncover Lars Kepler's real identity. Come for a r...

Bestselling author David Talbot has written an illness memoir with a twist. His lauded Between Heaven and Hell: The Story of My Stroke intimately chronicles the life-changing year following his massive stroke. From the remarkable care he received in Davies Hospital to daily life in recovery, this Type-A journalist was forced to slow down radically, depend on the kindness of others, and learn the v...

Brooke Warner and Grant Faulkner interview Courtney Maum about her indispensable new book, Before and After the Book Deal, for the Write-minded podcast. This conversation delves into everything aspiring authors want and need to know but might be afraid to ask, and doesn't shy away from scary and taboo topics like rejection, money, and how much you really need to be on social media if you want to b...

At a time when we all rely on technology more than ever to work, connect, and even relax, filmmaker and author Tiffany Shlain instituted a "Tech Shabbat" for her family, and it changed their lives. In 24/6, Shlain shares the story of how her family tuned out in order to tune in, and offers lessons for how you can follow their example, delving into fascinating philosophical and psychological justif...

In this enlightening and truly comforting discussion, four remarkable experts show how to take a clear-eyed, compassionate approach to mortality. These authors shed light on how medical providers and patients alike can reshape the mentality of fear around the process of dying and create an experience that can be transformative and extremely meaningful. This conversation features journalist Shoshan...

Carol Anderson is one of our nation's leading voices on racial justice. In One Person, No Vote, she zeros in on the fallout from the 2013 Supreme Court ruling that gutted the Voting Rights Act of 1965. Anderson will be in conversation with Congresswoman Barbara Lee, one of the most well-regarded and outspoken members of the U.S. House of Representatives. Generously supported by the Federated India...

Best-selling novelist R.O. Kwon's New York Times essay about grief in times of uncertainty was the inspiration for this conversation. In an emotionally profound exchange, she is joined by Pulitzer Prize winners Anthony Doerr, whose novel All the Light We Cannot See illuminates the ways people try to be good to one another; and Viet Thanh Nguyen, whose The Sympathizer captures the ambivalence and h...

The past few years have been infused with political engagement from a diverse electorate. For every victory, however, there's an equally coordinated attempt to disenfranchise these citizens. Bestselling authors Steve Phillips and David Daley will teach us how to unrig the rules to ensure everyone's vote is counted. Moderated by Rebecca Nagle (Cherokee). Generously supported by the Federated Indian...

Listen to these two leading ladies of suspense as they crack the case of how to write spine-tingling, sophisticated thrillers. Meg Gardiner specializes in heroines with big brains, from FBI agents to forensic psychiatrists to firecracker. And Rachel Howzell Hall, author of the Detective Elouise Norton series, has created an unforgettable protagonist. Moderated by Edgar Award winner Laurie King.

How much can we rely on our courts as the last line of defense in our right to vote? Experts lead us through the role of the courts in ensuring access to absentee ballots and early voting, and show us how citizens can shape the judiciary. Featuring Richard Hasen, Alan Hirsch, and ACLU of Northern California director Abdi Soltani. Moderated by Lala Wu. Generously supported by the Federated Indians...

Eimear McBride's career is an underdog's dream: she spent six months writing her debut novel, A Girl is a Half-Formed Thing, and nine years trying to sell it, only to take the literary scene by storm when it was finally published in 2013 to an avalanche of acclaim, awards, and rapturous comparisons to James Joyce and Samuel Beckett. Now, McBride joins Brooke Warner in celebration of her eagerly aw...