Free Library Podcast

A marine scientist, ocean explorer, conservation policy specialist, and submarine pilot, David E. Guggenheim, Ph. D. is the founder and president of Ocean Doctor, a nonprofit organization committed to advancing the conservation of the world's oceans. He also teaches ocean stewardship and sustainability at Johns Hopkins University; has spoken at an array of conferences, schools, and government hear...

In conversation with Alexandra Auder, author of Don't Call Me Home: A Memoir Publishing industry veteran  Christine Pride  has held a variety of editorial positions at Doubleday, Simon & Schuster, and Crown, among other publishing companies. In this capacity she has championed and edited numerous New York Times bestselling memoirs and inspirational stories. Also a freelance editorial consultant, t...

Geraldine Brooks won the 2006 Pulitzer Prize for her novel March, an ''honorable, elegant, and true'' (The Wall Street Journal) retelling of Louisa May Alcott's Little Women from the point of view of the titular family's absent patriarch. Her other internationally bestselling works of fiction and nonfiction include Nine Parts of Desire: The Hidden World of Islamic Women, Caleb's Crossing, Foreign...

In conversation with Paul Hendrickson ''One of our most talented biographers and historians'' (The New York Times),  David Maraniss  is the author of bestselling portraits of some of America's most consequential figures, including Bill Clinton, Vince Lombardi, Barack Obama, and Roberto Clemente, as well as an acclaimed trilogy of books about the 1960s. An associate editor at The Washington Post, h...

In conversation with Tracey Michae'l Lewis-Giggetts  Kwame Alexander  is the author of The Crossover, a ''beautifully measured novel'' (The New York Times Book Review) that follows twin brother basketball stars coming to terms with the world. Winner of the 2015 Newbery Medal and the 2015 Coretta Scott King Honor Award, it was recently adapted for Disney+ into a television series. Also a poet, educ...

In conversation with poet Phillip B. Williams Airea D. Matthews is the 2022–23 Philadelphia Poet Laureate and directs the poetry program at Bryn Mawr College. Her collection Simulacra won the 2016 Yale Series of Younger Poets Prize and her work has appeared in The New York Times, Best American Poets, Gulf Coast, Harvard Review, and VQR, among other journals. Matthews' other honors include a 2022 A...

In conversation with George Anastasia The director of the FBI from 2013 to 2017, James Comey captured international attention for his investigations into Hillary Clinton's emails, Russian interference into the 2016 presidential election, and Donald Trump, the last of which ultimately led to his dismissal. He is a former prosecutor, defense lawyer, general counsel, law teacher, and the author of tw...

In conversation with Arwa Mahdawi Referred to by bestsstelling author Rebecca Traister as ''exhilarating, good humored, and forward looking,''  Kristen R. Ghodsee 's Everyday Utopia is a two-millennia examination of diverse civilizations' boldest dreams of and experiments in ideal societies. Ghodsee is also the author of six other books, including the acclaimed and bestselling Why Women Have Bette...

In conversation with podcaster and author Kelsey McKinney ''America's most talented comic writer'' (The New Republic), Samantha Irby is the author of four essay collections, including Wow, No Thank you.; Meaty; New Year, Same Trash: Resolutions I Absolutely Did Not Keep; and the New York Times bestseller We Are Never Meeting in Real Life. In her celebrated long-running blog, bitches gotta eat, she...

A contributing writer at The New York Times Magazine and The 1619 Project, Linda Villarosa has won numerous awards for articles concerning issues of Black mother and infant health, medical myths, America's hidden HIV epidemic, environmental justice, and COVID-19's toll on Black American communities. She is the author of Body & Soul: The Black Women's Guide to Physical Health and the novel Passing...

In conversation with Ernest Owens A consultant and writer in the fields of civic activism and government reform,  Brett H. Mandel  served as director of Philadelphia's Financial & Policy Analysis Unit in the city controller's office, was a member of the Tax Reform Commission, and was assistant policy director of the Philadelphia Independent Charter Commission. Co-authored during his stint in the c...

Hernan Diaz 's bestselling and Pulitzer Prize winning novel Trust, "a genre-bending, time-skipping story about New York City's elite in the roaring '20s and Great Depression'' (Vanity Fair), presents a literary puzzle about the reality warping power of money. Named one of the top ten books of 2022 by The New York Times, The Washington Post, Vogue, Esquire, and Barack Obama, it won the Kirkus Prize...

With characters situated in surreal, Twilight Zone-esque, yet all-too-familiar positions of oppression within our most venerable institutions,  Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah 's 2018 debut fiction collection, Friday Black, was praised as a "vivid, original'' portrait of ''America in all its racism, weirdness and abject consumerism'' (People). The winner of the PEN/Jean Stein Book Award and the Saroyan P...

A ''genuine genius'' (The New York Times Book Review), Dave Barry won the Pulitzer Prize for commentary in 1988. He wrote for the Miami Herald for 30 years, where his column was syndicated in more than 500 newspapers. His dozens of bestselling works of fiction, nonfiction, and essay collections include I'll Mature When I'm Dead; Dave Barry Slept Here: A Sort of History of the United States; Lesson...

In conversation with Eric Banks Acclaimed for ''wonderfully readable'' fusions of ''biography, philosophy, history, cultural analysis and personal reflection'' (The Independent), Sarah Bakewell is the author of At the Existentialist Café, a rousing and comprehensive account of the 20th century intellectual movement, which was named one of 2016's best books by The New York Times. She is also the au...

In conversation with Abra Lee Camille T. Dungy  is the author of Guidebook to Relative Strangers: Journeys into Race, Motherhood, and History, a debut personal essay collection that was nominated for the National Book Critics Circle Award. She is also the author of four collections of poetry, What to Eat, What to Drink, What to Leave for Poison; Suck on the Marrow; Smith Blue; and Trophic Cascade,...

In conversation with Mia Bay Chad L. Williams is the author of Torchbearers of Democracy: African American Soldiers in the World War I Era, winner of the Liberty Legacy Foundation Award from the Organization of American Historians. The Samuel J. and Augusta Spector Professor of History and African and African American Studies at Brandeis University, he has earned fellowships from the Radcliffe Ins...

Pine Tree Foundation Endowed Lecture Exuding ''the comfort and charm of a beloved encyclopedia come to life'' (The New Yorker), Simon Winchester is the bestselling author of nearly 30 nonfiction books that explore some of the world's most consequential people, places, and historical events, including The Professor and the Madman, Krakatoa, The Men Who United the States, Atlantic, Pacific, The Perf...

''Unflinching but also irrepressibly humorous'' (The New York Times Book Review), Eileen Myles is the celebrated author of nearly two dozen books of poetry, fiction, nonfiction, plays, and performance pieces, including Pathetic Literature, For Now, Chelsea Girls, I Must Be Living Twice, The Irony of the Leash, and Afterglow (a dog memoir). Their lengthy list of honors includes a Guggenheim Fellows...

Charles Yu  is the author of four books, including Interior Chinatown (the winner of the 2020 National Book Award for fiction), and the novel How to Live Safely in a Science Fictional Universe (a New York Times Notable Book and a Time magazine best book of the year). He received the National Book Foundation's 5 Under 35 Award and was nominated for two Writers Guild of America Awards for his work o...

David Grann is the No. 1 New York Times bestselling author of Killers of the Flower Moon: The Osage Murders and the Birth of the FBI, an account of the chilling true-life story of one of the most sinister conspiracies in U.S. history. A finalist for the National Book Award and winner of the Edgar Allan Poe Award, it has been adapted into an upcoming film directed by Martin Scorcese. His other best...

In conversation with Signe Wilkinson A Wall Street Journal correspondent for two decades, Neil King Jr. reported from more than 50 countries, served as the newspaper's chief diplomatic correspondent, national political reporter, and global economics editor in Washington, D.C., and was part of a Wall Street Journal team that earned a Pulitzer Prize for its 9/11 coverage. He formerly wrote for the T...

In conversation with Homay King The lead vocalist, songwriter, and guitarist of the indie rock outfit Japanese Breakfast, Michelle Zauner has garnered wide acclaim for her shoegaze-inspired pop earworms. These works include Psychopomp, Soft Sounds from Another Planet, and her 2021 breakthrough album Jubilee, for which she received Grammy Award nominations for Best Alternative Music Album and Best...

In conversation with award-winning journalist and broadcaster Tracey Matisak Barbara Gohn Day Memorial Lecture An NPR reporter for more than two decades, Mary Louise Kelly currently co-hosts the network's flagship program All Things Considered, the most listened-to radio news show in the United States. Also the author of two popular suspense novels, she has contributed articles and essays to a var...

In conversation with Bill Marimow Renowned for his ''signature blend of deep reportage and character-driven storytelling (The New York Times Book Review),'' Mark Bowden is a former national correspondent for The Atlantic and a former longtime reporter for The Philadelphia Inquirer. He is the author of 16 bestselling books of investigative journalism, including Black Hawk Down, adapted by Ridley Sc...