Dialogue with Marcia Franklin

Marcia Franklin talks with Idaho author Anthony Doerr about his bestselling novel, "All the Light We Cannot See," which took ten years to research and write. The book debuted at #10 on the New York Times' Best Sellers list and received glowing reviews around the country. It also won the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction in 2015 shortly after this interview. Franklin talks with Doerr, who lives in Boise,...

On this edition of Dialogue, Marcia Franklin talks with Idahoan Esther Emery, who wrote a book about her year off the internet called "What Falls From the Sky." Emery talks about the crisis in her life that made her decide to unplug from the web, the challenges she encountered, and how the experience grounded and connected her in new ways to herself and her family. The two also talk about Emery's...

To coincide with the 50th anniversary of the assassination of President John F. Kennedy, Marcia Franklin talks with historian Douglas Brinkley, Ph. D., about his 2012 biography of iconic CBS newsman Walter Cronkite, who famously announced Kennedy's death to a national TV audience on November 22, 1963. In "Cronkite," Brinkley (no relation to newscaster David Brinkley) drew on his access to Cronkite...

Marcia Franklin continues her conversation with Boise-based outdoor writer Michael Lanza, focusing on tips for hiking and camping, including some of the best gear and small essentials to pack. The two also talk about ways to keep safe in the backcountry. Lanza, the former Northwest editor for Backpacker magazine, has written three books about hiking, as well as many articles chronicling his worldw...

Marcia Franklin talks with Idaho outdoor writer and photographer Michael Lanza about some of the best backcountry trips in our region. Lanza, the former Northwest editor for Backpacker magazine, has written three books about hiking, as well as many articles chronicling his worldwide adventures backpacking, climbing, skiing and paddling. "Before They're Gone," his book about his family's adventures...

Marcia Franklin talks with Boise resident Kurt Koontz about his book, "A Million Steps," which chronicles his journey along the Camino de Santiago trail in northern Spain. The 500-mile route, known colloquially as 'The Way,' was originally a trek made by Catholic pilgrims to the Santiago de Compostela Cathedral, believed to be the burial place of St. James, an apostle of Jesus. Today, 200,000 seek...

Host Marcia Franklin talks with Pulitzer Prize-winning New York Times columnist Nicholas Kristof. Kristof was in Boise in October, 2018 to address the fall conference of the Idaho Women's Charitable Foundation. The two discuss Kristof's views on current social issues in America. His next book will look at those concerns, focusing on his hometown of Yamhill, Oregon. Kristof talks about programs he...

Host Marcia Franklin interviews Michael Ames, the co-author of "American Cipher: Bowe Bergdahl and the U.S. Tragedy in Afghanistan." Ames, a former reporter for the Idaho Mountain Express and Sun Valley Magazine, became fascinated with the story of Bowe Bergdahl, an U.S. Army soldier who grew up in Hailey, Idaho, who was captured by the Taliban and held for five years. Ames and co-author Matt Farw...

Montana author Pete Fromm joins host Marcia Franklin to talk about his latest book, "A Job You Mostly Won't Know How to Do." The novel tells the story of a young man who has to raise his child when his wife dies in childbirth. Fromm talks about how he developed the story, as well as his writing style. The two also discuss the success he's had with his books in France. Fromm also reminisces about t...

Marcia Franklin talks with author Kirk Wallace Johnson about his book The Feather Thief: Beauty, Obsession, and the Natural History Heist of the Century. The book details Johnson's investigation into a major theft of 300 rare bird skins from a British museum in 2009 by a 20-year-old American, Edward Rist. Rist then illegally sold the feathers into the arcane world of Victorian salmon fly-tyers. Jo...

As the United States heads for what portends to be a raucous convention season, Dialogue host Marcia Franklin talks with Eric Liu, the founder of Citizen University in Seattle, about whether it's even possible in a seemingly fractured society to have a civil discussion about politics. Liu, also the executive director of the Citizenship and American Identity Program at the Aspen Institute, is tryin...

  Host Marcia Franklin continues her conversation with Idaho-born playwright Samuel Hunter, focusing on the craft of playwriting, some of the actors he admires, and a new project he's working on that's not for the stage. Hunter, a Moscow, ID native, is the recipient of a 2014 MacArthur Fellowship, known colloquially as the "Genius Grant." He also won an Obie Award in 2011. Originally Aired: 10/16/...

  He's only 34, but has already won some of the most prestigious awards for creativity in the country. On this episode of Dialogue, Marcia Franklin interviews playwright and Moscow, ID native Samuel Hunter. Hunter is the recipient of a 2014 MacArthur Fellowship, known colloquially as the "Genius Grant." He also won an Obie Award in 2011. Hunter talks about what it was like to win the MacArthur, an...

  Marcia Franklin talks with Pulitzer Prize-winning historian and author Fredrik Logevall, Ph. D. about the antecedents to the Vietnam War. Logevall, the Laurence D. Belfer Professor of International Affairs at the Harvard Kennedy School and a professor of history at Harvard College, won the 2013 Pulitzer Prize in History for his book, "Embers of War." It examined France's colonial involvement in...

  Marcia Franklin talks with poet Richard Blanco, the first LatinX and gay inaugural poet. Blanco wrote a poem for President Obama's second inaugural and read it at the ceremony. He discusses the process of writing the inaugural poem, "One Today," how the piece reflected his life and his philosophy of writing, the themes of his work, and the power of poetry to change lives. Mr. Blanco was the keyn...

  Marcia Franklin talks with leading death penalty opponent Sister Helen Prejean, C.S.J. about her views, as well as the success of the book and film about her life, 'Dead Man Walking.' The two also discuss the potential future of the death penalty, women in the priesthood, and her next project. Originally aired: 05/13/98

  As part of the events in 2016 surrounding the 400th anniversary of William Shakespeare's death, Dialogue host Marcia Franklin talks with Professor Eric Rasmussen of the University of Nevada, Reno. Rasmussen, the chair of the English department at UNR, is a pre-eminent Shakespeare scholar and an expert on the First Folio, which was published in 1623 and includes almost all of the Bard of Avon's p...

  Marcia Franklin talks with Pulitzer Prize-winning author Frank McCourt about storytelling and the power of memory. (Note: McCourt died July 19, 2009) The two talk about the loss of the storytelling ethos in our culture, and the need to preserve history through both oral and written tradition. They also discuss the rigors of teaching; McCourt taught high school English for 30 years and wrote abou...

Idaho native and author Alyssa Harad talks with Marcia Franklin about her first book, Coming to My Senses , which chronicles her surprise at discovering how the power of perfume helped her grow personally as both a writer and feminist. She also recommends books for good winter reading. Harad, who grew up in Boise, had been working in a series of unfulfilling jobs in Austin, TX after receiving her...

Marcia Franklin talks with Judge Joan E. Donoghue of the International Court of Justice, also known as the World Court. Donoghue is the first female American judge to sit on the court, which is in The Hague, Netherlands, and is only the third female judge to be seated in that court's history. She discusses the role of the court, which hears disputes between nation-states, her experience on the cou...

As Russia's dominance on the international stage increases, along with its presence in the American presidential election, Dialogue host Marcia Franklin talks with journalist Jill Dougherty about Russian President Vladimir Putin. Dougherty, who reported for CNN for 30 years, most recently as its Foreign Affairs Correspondent, was also the network's Moscow Bureau Chief and White House Correspondent...

Director, writer and performance artist Miranda July talks with host Marcia Franklin about her life and work. The conversation was filmed at the Church of the Big Wood in Ketchum, as part of an event sponsored by the Sun Valley Center for the Arts. July discusses the inspirations for her work, her creative process, and how becoming a mother has changed her. Miranda July wrote, directed and starred...

Host Marcia Franklin talks with bestselling author and Pulitzer Prize-winning columnist Anna Quindlen. The two discuss the political and cultural landscape of today, including the "Me Too" movement. The author of "How Reading Changed My Life," Quindlen also talks about the power of reading to bridge gaps between people. Quindlen has written 17 books of fiction and non-fiction, including "Lots of C...

Host Marcia Franklin talks with Pulitzer Prize-winning historian and Idaho native Laurel Thatcher Ulrich about her latest book, "Well-Behaved Women Seldom Make History." Ulrich, a professor at Harvard University, coined the phrase in a scholarly paper she wrote in the 1970s. Franklin and her guest discuss how growing up in Idaho influenced Professor Ulrich to become a historian. She also explains...

Marcia Franklin talks with novelist Dinaw Mengestu about the themes of his books, which include  All the Beautiful Things That Heaven Bears  and  All Our Names . Mengestu, who emigrated from Ethiopia with his family when he was two, often writes about the lives of immigrants. He is the recipient of many honors, including the Guardian First Book Award and the MacArthur Fellowship. Don't forget to s...