fiction/non/fiction

Nobel Prize-winning novelist Abdulrazak Gurnah joins Fiction/Non/Fiction hosts V.V. Ganeshananthan and Whitney Terrell to discuss the history and lasting effects of colonialism in African nations, particularly Tanzania, where he grew up, and which was once part of German East Africa. He reads from his book Afterlives , which traces the lives of young friends with different relationships to the sch...

In the wake of Nancy Pelosi’s recent visit to Taiwan, fiction writer Phong Nguyen joins Fiction/Non/Fiction hosts V.V. Ganeshananthan and Whitney Terrell to discuss China’s interests abroad. Nguyen speaks about his new historical novel Bronze Drum , in which he retells the story of Viêt sisters who led an army of women in battle against their Hán Chinese occupiers. He explains how their actions la...

Fiction writer Anthony Marra joins Fiction/Non/Fiction hosts V.V. Ganeshananthan and Whitney Terrell to discuss how his new historical novel, Mercury Pictures Presents, echoes the right’s current embrace of authoritarianism in the U.S. and globally. By looking at censorship in 1940s Hollywood and the fascist regime of Italy during that same period, Marra teases out truths about conservatives’ curr...

Fiction writer Jamil Jan Kochai joins Fiction/Non/Fiction hosts V.V. Ganeshananthan and Whitney Terrell almost a year after U.S. troops’ withdrawal from Afghanistan to talk about how the wars there will be remembered. He reflects on how growing up with Western stereotypes of Afghans made him want to revise false narratives, and also discusses how fiction’s flexible forms allow him to reorient his...

Novelist Margot Livesey joins Fiction/Non/Fiction hosts V.V. Ganeshananthan and Whitney Terrell from London to discuss the downfall of Prime Minister Boris Johnson and the legacy of his decision to “do Brexit.” Livesey, who grew up in Scotland, explains Johnson’s career of fabrications, talks about how Brexit looks now, and shares her experience of the recent heat wave in the U.K. Finally, she and...

Memoirist Emi Nietfeld joins Fiction/Non/Fiction hosts V.V. Ganeshananthan and Whitney Terrell to discuss how the pandemic has caused an increase in unhoused Americans as well as common—and off-base—tropes associated with homelessness. Nietfeld, who as a teenager spent time in foster care and living out of her car, talks about the American urge to view suffering as something that makes you stronge...

Writer and professor Charles Baxter joins Fiction/Non/Fiction hosts V.V. Ganeshananthan and Whitney Terrell to discuss his new essay collection Wonderlands: Essays on the Life of Literature , and how his thoughts on craft are linked to the times in which we live. He defines concepts he has used, including “wonderlands,” “Captain Happen,” “request moments,” and “toxic narratives,” and offers illust...

Poet Diane Louie and Editions Gallmeister editor Benjamin Guérif join Fiction/Non/Fiction hosts V.V. Ganeshananthan and Whitney Terrell to discuss what recent losses by centrist President Emmanuel Macron’s party—combined with wins for the left and far right—mean for France’s political future. Guérif, a French citizen, and Louie, an American expat in Paris, talk about how small towns in France are...

Writer and historian Thomas Frank joins Fiction/Non/Fiction hosts V.V. Ganeshananthan and Whitney Terrell to discuss how the U.S. can move forward in the wake of the Supreme Court’s overturning of Roe v. Wade. Frank offers his perspective on what it would take for Democrats to win back control of states that have swung right in recent years. He also reads from his 2004 book What’s the Matter With...

Podcaster and writer Van Lathan Jr. joins Fiction/Non/Fiction host Whitney Terrell to talk about growing up a Star Wars fan and continuing to think and talk about the franchise as a co-host of The Ringer podcast. He discusses the enduring qualities of the universe, the continuing relevance of the characters, and how the story intersects with American politics and literature. He also talks about an...

Novelist and journalist Héctor Tobar joins Fiction/Non/Fiction hosts V.V. Ganeshananthan and Whitney Terrell to talk about the articles he wrote on the L.A. riots both as they took place in 1992 and this year on the 30th anniversary. Tobar also reads from his 2020 novel The Last Great Road Bum , and discusses how his fiction writing and journalism have informed each other. This podcast is produced...

Novelist and Fiction/Non/Fiction podcast co-host V.V. Ganeshananthan talks to co-host Whitney Terrell about what happens to a book between writing and publication. Ganeshananthan’s second novel, Brotherless Night , about a young woman in the early years of Sri Lanka’s decades-long civil war, will be released by Random House in January of 2023. Ganeshananthan describes the editorial process, select...

Writer and educator Amye Archer joins co-hosts V.V. Ganeshananthan and Whitney Terrell to discuss her 2019 anthology, If I Don't Make It, I Love You: Survivors in the Aftermath of School Shootings , co-edited with Loren Kleinman. Archer explains how hearing the heartbreaking details of loss can prevent us from glossing over the staggering trauma of these events. Archer also reads from the antholog...

Editor and writer Shelly Oria and novelist Kristen Arnett join co-hosts V.V. Ganeshananthan and Whitney Terrell to discuss the reproductive rights crisis through the lens of art, specifically through the stories, plays, essays and poems that comprise McSweeney’s new anthology, I Know What’s Best for You , edited by Oria. In the wake of the leaked Supreme Court draft opinion overturning Roe v. Wade...

Editor, dramaturg, and author Sunila Galappatti joins co-hosts V.V. Ganeshananthan and Whitney Terrell to discuss why protesters across Sri Lanka are calling for the resignation of their once-popular president, Gotabaya “Gota” Rajapaksa. Galappatti reads from her recent article in The Hindu about what the protests look like firsthand, and also talks about how brutal economic conditions are driving...

Journalist and biographer Steve Paul and writer and Washington University professor Henry Schvey join host Whitney Terrell live from the Unbound Book Festival in Columbia, Missouri, to discuss their books on novelist Evan S. Connell and Tennessee Williams, respectively. Each of the old masters was from Missouri—Connell from Kansas City and Williams from St. Louis. Paul and Schvey talk about how, t...

Novelist and Iowa Writers’ Workshop director Lan Samantha Chang joins co-hosts V.V. Ganeshananthan and Whitney Terrell to discuss her new novel, The Family Chao , an homage to The Brothers Karamazov centered on the title family’s Midwestern Chinese restaurant. Chang talks about how the three brothers of her story and their varied relationships to identity reflect their parents’ changing circumstan...

Novelist, Skylark Bookshop owner, and Unbound Book Festival organizer Alex George joins co-hosts V.V. Ganeshananthan and Whitney Terrell live from the festival in Columbia, Missouri, to discuss what’s harder, writing a novel or running a bookfest – or doing both and continuing his (other) day job as an attorney. It turns out that doing all of the above is difficult, but so rewarding that George wo...

Fiction writers Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah and Sequoia Nagamatsu join hosts V.V. Ganeshananthan and Whitney Terrell live from the Unbound Book Festival in Columbia, Missouri, where they talk about pop culture in the literary sphere, the blurring of the line between literary and popular fiction, and subverting tropes within their genres (plus, a bit of Frasier fanfiction). Nana reads from his short s...

Now celebrating its fifth season, Storybound is a radio theater program designed for the podcast age. Hosted by 2021 KCRW Radio Race winner Jude Brewer, Storybound presents the voices of today’s best writers, like Mitchell S. Jackson, Tamara Winfrey-Harris, and Lauren Groff, reading accomplished works of fiction and non-fiction. You’ll also hear original music specially composed for the respective...

Novelist SJ Sindu joins host V.V. Ganeshananthan live from the Tamil Worlds Initiative at the University of Toronto-Scarborough to discuss her new novel, Blue-Skinned Gods , and its protagonist, Kalki, a blue-skinned boy raised in an ashram as the tenth human incarnation of Vishnu. Sindu talks about depicting caste, gender, and heteronormative privilege within a rigid community; the destructive in...

Award-winning actor and LGBTQ and HIV/AIDS activist Alexandra Billings joins co-hosts V.V. Ganeshananthan and Whitney Terrell to discuss the spate of recent anti-Trans bills and American misogyny. Billings reads from her new memoir, This Time for Me , and talks about her life as a Trans woman, her career as a teacher, and her experiences on the show Transparent . To hear the full episode, subscrib...

Fiction writer and former Tor assistant editor Molly McGhee joins co-hosts V.V. Ganeshananthan and Whitney Terrell to discuss details of her recent resignation from a position she’d fought for in the industry she loves. She also talks about what’s behind #PublishingBurnout for junior employees and what that means for the future of publishing. To hear the full episode, subscribe through iTunes, Goo...

Author and journalist Putsata Reang joins co-hosts V.V. Ganeshananthan and Whitney Terrell to discuss the dangers faced by foreign correspondents and local journalists during times of violent crisis. Reang talks about the dangers reporters are facing in Ukraine, recalls training journalists in Afghanistan, and reads from her forthcoming book Ma and Me: A Memoir . She also reflects on how her exper...

Author and former Guantánamo detainee Mansoor Adayfi joins co-hosts V.V. Ganeshananthan and Whitney Terrell to discuss his 14 years of systematic torture in the military prison. Adayfi reads from his memoir, Don’t Forget Us Here: Lost and Found at Guantánamo ; recalls being ambushed, kidnapped, and sold to the U.S. by warlords; and explains the hunger strikes and protests he and other detainees pa...