Dialogue with Marcia Franklin

Host Marcia Franklin sits down with historian and law professor Annette Gordon-Reed about her book,  The Hemingses of Monticello: An American Family . The book, which won both the National Book Award and the Pulitzer Prize, explores the complex bonds between President Thomas Jefferson and one of his slave families, the Hemingses. Using primary source documents, as well as second-hand accounts, Gor...

Dialogue host Marcia Franklin talks with historical novelist Lois Leveen about two of her works: The Secrets of Mary Bowser, about a former slave who was a spy in the Confederate White House, and Juliet's Nurse, which imagines the life of the nurse in Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet. Franklin asks Leveen about how she researches her ideas and what she hopes readers will glean from her works. Origin...

Marcia Franklin interviews Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Isabel Wilkerson about her book, The Warmth of Other Suns. The work, about the Great Migration of African-Americans from the south to other parts of the country, took Wilkerson 15 years to research and write. They discuss the reasons for the migration, its influence on the country, and how the book's success has affected Wilkerson. Origi...

Marcia Franklin talks with Pulitzer-Prize winning novelist Richard Russo about his book, Elsewhere: A Memoir. The book describes the complicated relationship Russo had with his mother, who raised him, but who needed assistance herself. He and Franklin also discuss the themes of his other works, the process of adapting his books for the screen, and his upcoming projects. Originally Aired: 11/30/12

In this extra segment, host Marcia Franklin continues her discussion with Holocaust survivor Marion Blumenthal Lazan, focusing on the changes that have taken place in Germany since World War II, and her thoughts on Israel. Originally Aired: 09/05/13

Host Marcia Franklin talks with Holocaust survivor Marion Blumenthal Lazan about her experiences in several concentration camps, including Bergen-Belsen, and her life educating others about how to prevent such a tragedy from occurring again. Lazan is the co-author of a young adult book about her experiences called Four Perfect Pebbles, and is the subject of a documentary called Marion's Triumph. O...

Marcia Franklin talks with Rep. John Lewis (D-GA), the last of the so-called "Big Six" leaders of the African-American civil rights movement. Don't forget to subscribe, and visit the  Dialogue website  for more conversations that matter!  Originally Aired: 11/14/2014 Lewis was the chairman of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) from 1963 to 1966, and played a seminal role in some...

Novelist Tayari Jones describes the process of writing "An American Marriage," a novel that chronicles the trajectory of a marriage when one of the spouses is wrongfully convicted of a crime. Jones talks with Marcia about the serendipity that led to the book's characters, as well as how her writing is informed by the experiences of her parents, who were both active in the civil rights movement. Do...

Longtime New Yorker writer and author Susan Orlean rounds out the month with a lively chat with Franklin about her writing style and her work, including hundreds of magazine articles, "The Library Book," and an upcoming memoir. Don't forget to subscribe, and visit the  Dialogue  website  for more  conversations that matter. Originally Aired: 12/31/2021 The interview is part of  Dialogue 's series ...

Sarah Broom unpacks her National Book Award-winning memoir, "The Yellow House," which chronicles the devastating effects that decades of neglect and bureaucratic amnesia have had on her childhood neighborhood of New Orleans East. The book also pays homage to the house she and her 11 siblings grew up in, which was destroyed in Hurricane Katrina, but which lives on in Broom's prose. Don't forget to...

Catherine Grace Katz talks with host Marcia Franklin about "The Daughters of Yalta," her first book. In it, she illuminates the contributions that Anna Roosevelt, Sarah Churchill and Kathleen Harriman made during the seminal 1945 meeting of world leaders at Yalta, which included their fathers, Franklin Delano Roosevelt, Winston Churchill, and Averell Harriman. Don't forget to subscribe, and visit...

Tom Ikeda, who provided critical research for Daniel James Brown's book "Facing the Mountain," discusses his Seattle-based non-profit, Densho. It preserves the stories of Americans of Japanese descent during World War II. Ikeda's parents and grandparents were imprisoned in the Minidoka camp in Idaho. Don't forget to subscribe, and visit the  Dialogue  website  for more  conversations that matter....

Daniel James Brown, the best-selling author of "The Boys in the Boat," talks about his newest book, "Facing the Mountain," which honors the 442nd Regimental Combat Team, a segregated unit of Japanese-Americans who fought in World War II despite the fact that many of their families were incarcerated in the United States simply for being of Japanese descent.  Don't forget to subscribe, and visit the...

More of Marcia Franklin's 2019 conversation with National Book Award-winning author and world traveler Barry Lopez about his life, his philosophy of writing and his new memoir, Horizon . In December 2020, the Sun Valley Writers' Conference awarded Barry Lopez with the inaugural Writer in the World Prize in recognition of his singular voice in the landscape of English Literature. Lopez died Decembe...

Marcia Franklin talks with National Book Award-winning author and world traveler Barry Lopez about his philosophy of writing and his penultimate memoir, Horizon. In December 2020, the Sun Valley Writers' Conference awarded Barry Lopez with the inaugural Writer in the World Prize in recognition of his singular voice in the landscape of English Literature. Lopez died on December 25, 2020. Don't forg...

Marcia Franklin talks with author Brando Skyhorse about his life and works, focusing on his memoir, Take This Man. In the book, Skyhorse writes about what it was like to grow up thinking he was Native American and then to find out that was not true. He also discusses the topic of his next novel, Wall. Don't forget to subscribe, and visit the Dialogue website for more conversations that matter. Ori...

Marcia Franklin talks with Pulitzer Prize–winning author Stacy Schiff about her latest work , The Witches. The book examines the Salem Witch Trials of 1692, delving into what precipitated them, and the participants involved. Franklin talks with Schiff about why she wanted to write the book, the challenges involved and the legacy of the trials.   Don't forget to subscribe, and visit the Dialogue we...

Marcia Franklin talks with Yale Professor of History Joanne Freeman about her book The Field of Blood. In it, Freeman illustrates how the U.S. Congress leading up to the Civil War was a more violent body than previously thought. Franklin asks her about parallels to current tensions in Congress. Freeman also discusses her next book, "Hunting for Hamilton," and the value of studying history. Don't f...

Marcia Franklin talks with Emily Ruskovich, the author of Idaho: A Novel. In 2019, the novel won the Dublin Literary Award, worth more than $100,000. Ruskovich reflects on what it has been like to win the award. The two also discuss the plot of Idaho, whose setting is based on the landscape of Ruskovich's childhood in northern Idaho. Don't forget to subscribe, and visit the Dialogue website for mo...

Marcia Franklin talks with renowned architect Jeanne Gang about her work and architectural philosophy. Gang, the founder of Studio Gang in Chicago, is known for her innovative use of materials and approach to architecture. She was awarded a prestigious MacArthur Fellowship for her work. Don't forget to subscribe, and visit the Dialogue website for more conversations that matter. Originally Aired:...

Journalist Steve Coll talks with Marcia Franklin about his latest book, Directorate S, a follow-up to his Pulitzer Prize-winning book Ghost Wars. He discusses why he wanted to write the book and what he learned -- including about Idahoan Bowe Bergdahl, who was imprisoned by the Taliban. Coll, who is also the dean of the Columbia University School of Journalism, discusses threats to journalism. Don...

Journalist and Pulitzer Prize-winning author Eliza Griswold talks with host Marcia Franklin about her book Amity and Prosperity , which investigates the effects of fracking in a southwestern Pennsylvania community. The two discuss how Griswold researched the book and the rural-urban divide in American politics. Griswold also talks about her forthcoming book of poetry. Don't forget to subscribe, an...

Author Adam Johnson, who has won both a Pulitzer Prize and the National Book Award for his works, talks with host Marcia Franklin about his writing philosophy. The two also discuss his thoughts on North Korea, which he has visited and about which he wrote in The Orphan Master's Son. Don't forget to subscribe, and visit the Dialogue website for more conversations that matter. Originally Aired: 11/2...

Author and professor Andrew Solomon relates how he went from being a bullied child suffering from depression to an award-winning journalist traveling the world. Solomon's 2001 book, The Noonday Demon: An Atlas of Depression, won the National Book Award for Nonfiction. He has delivered popular TED Talks on culture and psychology. Don't forget to subscribe, and visit the Dialogue website for more co...

Falconer and author Helen Macdonald shares how a goshawk helped her soar above grief and loss and discusses her new PBS Nature documentary. Her memoir, "H is for Hawk," recounts the year Macdonald spent training a goshawk in the wake of her father's death and how it helped her begin her life anew. She is also the author of Shaler's Fish and has since published the book Vesper Flights. Don't forget...