The Elmore Leonard Podcast

Revisiting what many consider to be Elmore Leonard's most unusual novel, TOUCH is a revelatory experience for Alex and Judd. Written in 1977 but not published until almost ten years later, it stands out for so many reasons. Hear why it's one of Judd's favorite novels and what Alex thinks Elmore got right about the music business.   Hosted By: Judd Rubin and Alex Leonard Music by: Greg Ahee Produce...

Dennis Lehane is the best-selling and Edgar-award winning author of over a dozen books including A Drink Before the War, World Gone By, and most recently, Small Mercies. Films based on his work include Mystic River, directed by Clint Eastwood, Gone Baby Gone and Live By Night, both directed by Ben Affleck, Shutter Island, directed by Martin Scorsese and The Drop, which Dennis wrote the screenplay...

Alex and Judd sip some mezcal and try to wrangle Elmore's classic western novel HOMBRE (1961), later turned into Paul Newman's classic western film HOMBRE (1967). This book has it all: gunfights, parleys, biblical references, and stolen fortunes. It is one of Elmore's best Western novels, and its success as a movie is what allowed him to pursue writing full time.  Please note that while we discuss...

Charles Ardai is the co-founder and editor of Hard Case Crime, a publishing house devoted to hardboiled crime fiction. Hard Case crime titles range from lost noir masterpieces to new novels by today's most powerful writers, all featuring stunning original cover art in the grand pulp style. Authors include award-winning modern masters like Stephen King, Joyce Carol Oates, Lawrence Block, and Donald...

Chip Kidd is one of the greatest living graphic designers. He has designed book covers for not just Elmore Leonard, but Michael Crichton, Cormac McCarthy, Haruki Murakami, Anne Rice, David Sedaris, John Updike, James Ellroy, and so many more. He joins us to share a little bit about his approach to designing iconic book covers, how he started working with Elmore, and writing his own novels.  Hosted...

There are few people who have worked with Elmore Leonard as closely as Michael Siegel. While he didn't write the books, Michael was an integral part of several of Elmore's books get turned into some fantastic movies, including Get Shorty, Jackie Brown and Out of Sight.   He joins Judd to talk about how he got his start in the entertainment industry working for another legend - H.N. Swanson, and wh...

There were ten rules to recording to this podcast about SWAG - what many Elmore Leonard fans consider their favorite novel, but don't expect Judd and Alex to follow many of them for long.  Join them to discuss this amazing book, hear about Elmore's days by the pool, and debate what it was that Elmore figured out by writing this book.  Hosted By: Judd Rubin and Alex Leonard Music by: Greg Ahee Prod...

C.M. Kushins has written acclaimed biographies of music legends Warren Zevon and John Bonham. He has now written about another legend - Elmore Leonard, in the upcoming biography COOLER THAN COOL. He joins Judd to talk about empathy, his time in a Buddhist monastery, and what it's like to not just meet your hero, but have the responsibility of writing about him.   Cooler Than Cool can be pre-ordere...

Elmore Leonard is one of the great writers of modern fiction. In the inaugural episode of The Elmore Leonard Podcast, your hosts Alex Leonard and Judd Rubin hop on an Islands Air flight take a big swig of RUM PUNCH, and revisit the classic novel. Along the way, we hear about Elmore's fake ID, what about it made Quentin Tarantino want to turn it into Jackie Brown (we think), and how it redefines an...

The Elmore Leonard Podcast explores the work and life of one of our greatest novelists: Elmore Leonard.  We will interview those who knew him and his work best, and also dive deep into the novels, the short stories and the invisible threads that tie them together. If you've read the books and seen the adaptations, we've got a lot to talk about. And if you haven't, get to work. Either way, subscrib...