The Last Word: Conversations with Writers

With me today, journalist and freelance correspondent at ABC News and former business correspondent at CNN International, you may recognize Alison Kosik’s name as the face of Wall Street. Despite glowing credentials and smarts, Alison admits that she often didn’t have the confidence to make big, personal financial decisions, often deferring to her husband. After divorce, she had to learn fast. Her...

Have you ever found yourself noticing something again and again that appears to “flirt” for your attention? Or perhaps wake from a dream that later sparks an unexpected synchronicity, conjures an image, or which sets you on an adventure to learn more? Naturalist and environmental writer Brooke Williams joins me with Encountering Dragonfly: Notes on The Practice of Re-Enchantment. Two decades ago,...

Two of Santa Fe’s wonderful poets read and share inspiration from their collections in this intimate interview. Mary McGinnis has been writing since she was 16 years old and has been published in over 80 magazines and anthologies. Blind since birth, today she reads from See with Your Whole Body generating a fascinating conversation about synesthesia and how she “tastes color.” Kathamann, a retired...

A few months after graduating high school in Santa Fe, Tessa Horan journeys to the Himalayas to further her studies in Buddhism. What she encounters opens her eyes to disparities of cultures that shock her and which inform and strengthen humanitarian actions for the rest of her life. Kristena Prater deepens our understanding in Tessa: Eyes on The World written from her own heart as a mother and gi...

What have we learned in the past 100 years from the early days of the rise of fascism? Are there critical lessons that serve us now as anti-semitism, divisiveness and racism rear their ugly heads more and more each day? With me is Bruce Neuburger with his latest, impeccably researched book, Postcards to Hitler: A German Jew’s Defiance in A Time of Terror. Bruce is the son of a Holocaust survivor a...

Today, essential and very practical information for all aspiring authors with encouragement for all writers, poets and screenwriters in the state. I’m joined by New Mexico Writer's Executive Director James McGrath Morris and grant committee member Sandra Blakeslee. Learn how you can apply for grant monies to complete your book and network with other writers across the state. Sandra has been a resp...

Immerse yourself this evening in the evocative poetry of Mary Ellen Capek reading from her first ever collection, Love Lessons: Poems 1973-2023. Her career as a professor, university administrator, philanthropy researcher and deeply perceptive student of life’s most joyous triumphs and numbing hardships have brought her to this moment, ready to reveal herself to the world through the intimate writ...

Is there a way that we can feel better prepared for turbulent times as well as times of joy and harmony? Learning how to respond wisely rather than react impulsively is a possibility offered by life coach and counselor, Roxanne Howe-Murphy, through her decades studying the early 20th century system known as The Enneagram. Underneath Your Personality: Discover Greater Well-Being through Deep Living...

A light-hearted look at Moses, yes, the Biblical Moses who climbed Mount Sinai, with local author and publisher Gershon Siegel who’s imagined that there could have been a few more commandments. With deep respect for all who revere and honor the 10 Commandments and God’s word, Gershon offers The Ten Commandments Reboot. He summarizes what five additional ones might read for today’s society includin...

Take a few minutes to sink into this rich and intimate conversation with Santa Fe author, hospice worker and grief counselor Nancy London as she discusses her new book, The Ripening: Essays on Love, Loss, Marriage and Aging. Described as luminous, Nancy’s eloquent writing, borne from her life’s intricate journey, will resonate with you many times over, bringing tears, joy, deep sighs, and sometime...

We begin 2025 with Lisa Madison and Mari Angulo co-owners of Mango Moon Media a Santa Fe based independent publishing house. Mango Moon’s mission “… support(s) authors who dare to explore the depth of human experience and present ideas that can reshape the world.” How and when on the writing journey do you submit your manuscript? What if your book has been published elsewhere, can you get help now...

With an author self-described as “the brief flash of brilliance” behind the Fool’s Gold column you know you’re in for a little bit of fun. Humorist, award-winning poet and former radio guy himself Zach Hively joins me on the other side of the mic with Call Me Zach Hively, Because That is My Name. A fabulous collection of short essays written along the way to “a dubious adulthood,” you get the drif...

Make yourself a mug of hot chocolate and get toasty warm as you listen to this week’s podcast episode celebrating the hottest annual event in town. Writer, graphic designer, printmaker and teacher Daniel Clavio joins me to launch Zozobra & Santa Fe: 100 Years of Burning Gloom and Loving A Monster in The City Different. A wealth of illustrations, rare archival photos and a veritable rogues’ gal...

 Last week, we learned about the intimate habits of insects, today we roar along with the largest ever-known creatures, dinosaurs. Meet author, therapeutic yoga teacher and wellness educator Taran Collis and Rex the protagonist of Dinosaurs Have Big Feelings Too. It’s a little story that teaches mindfulness and emotional resting to young children, their parents, teachers and caregivers alike. And...

By popular demand a return visit by renowned entomologist Professor Barrett Klein with his truly fascinating book, The Insect Epiphany: How Our Six-Legged Allies Shape Human Culture. A volume filled with photographs and drawings and pages of notes Barrett’s contagious enthusiasm for bugs promises to delight you. Even if you’re a lifelong arachnophobe or terrified by anything that slithers or sting...

From the very first sentence, Abiquiu memoirist Karen Chrappa take us on a journey that will have us hanging on by a thread as we read, and alternately resting deeply with her into the breathtaking beauty of our enchanted state. From her New York City roots, through the mystical high Andes of Peru to New Mexico, Beyond Fear: A Woman’s Path to Enlightenment is a story of love, resilience and awaken...

It’s always fun and fascinating when I’m joined in the KSFR studios by travel journalists, cultural adventurers and delightful entertainers, Judith Fein and Paul Ross for my annual Halloween themed show. Today, we mix it up with two of their best-selling books, How to Communicate with The Dead and Slow Travel New Mexico. Judie and Paul take death away from the morbid and fearful to celebrate the l...

Don’t hesitate to press “Listen” for an absolutely fascinating dive into the world of bugs with renowned entomologist Barrett Klein. I was so caught up in his engaging, encyclopedic knowledge during this interview that I couldn’t wait to go back outside and dig, watch for and delight in the thousands of species we humans share our planet with in the ground, on flowers, and in the air. The Insect E...

An exquisite, full color book, Grandmothers’ Wisdom: Living Portrayals from The International Council of Thirteen Indigenous Grandmothers marks the 20th Anniversary of the formation of the Council. To celebrate with me is Deborah Parrish Snyder of Synergetic Press who worked over several years with compilers and editors Marisol Villanueva and Molly Suggs to bring the book to life. And Heather Hall...

A timely and essential interview for all of us in the midst of change. Whether we’ve been suddenly thrust into a life change through losing a job, a home, or a beloved or are being gently nudged to make a change, Rebecca Borland Reynolds assures us that we can forever change the way we change. Published this week, Thresholds of Change: The Way Through Transformational Times is her stage-by-stage g...

Journey with me behind the velvet curtains of the Paris Opera House in the hopeful years before the outbreak of World War II. A beautiful young soprano with a soaring voice destined for a starlit future, Yvonne is cast as an understudy to Madeleine, the most beloved voice of her time in the opera world. As Hitler’s SS advance on Paris, and Yvonne’s son enlists to help save France, she realizes tha...

Three-dimensional poems which evoke sculptural images invite you to view Carol Moldaw’s poetry from every angle and form the heart of her seventh collection, Go Figure. Carol’s eyes and ears are finely tuned to nature and even the mundane comes alive under her exquisite mastery and unbridled love of words, described as “lyric intensity” by a noted literary critic. How does she write with such surg...

An ordinary radio interview becomes “Unordinary” in the masterful hands and words of renowned poet-philosophers David Whyte and Henry Shukman. Take 23 minutes now to journey with them ahead of their autumnal morning in Santa Fe named “Unordinary.” Listen attentively and be prepared to cherish that which is ordinary in our daily lives and discover that maybe it is already Unordinary. Their collabor...

A unique opportunity to support student literacy through Reading Quest, hone your writing skills and participate in stimulating conversation with wonderful local authors. Coming up this Saturday, September 7th meet eight of New Mexico’s finest authors in the genre of Memoir and Mystery. As a preview, I interview historical mystery writer, Kari Bovee, author of 14 “cosy” mysteries including The Pry...

Do you ever wonder how to speak authentically to your friends, acquaintances and colleagues or do you even question that your words may not really be what you’re thinking and feeling deep down ? Robert W. Jensen, Professor Emeritus in the School of Journalism and Media at UT, Austin, poses these and many provocative questions and ideas in his latest book, It’s Debatable: Talking Authentically abou...