A podcast posted every Sunday featuring extended interviews and discussions from Bookwaves, Art-Waves, and Bookwaves Artwaves Hour programs on KPFA, and newly digitized and edited archive interviews from the pre-digital Probabilities series dating back to 1977. Literature, theater, film, the visual arts: in-depth interviews from a progressive and artistic viewpoint, with long-time KPFA/Pacifica host Richard Wolinsky.
Miranda July in conversation with host Richard Wolinsky, recorded in 2015 while on tour for her novel “The Last Bad Man,” which remains her most recent book to date. This encore podcast was first posted in December, 2015. “Kajillionaire,” written and directed by Miranda July and released in 2020, is now available on HBO Max and for rental via Apple TV.
Margo Hall, Artistic Director of Lorraine Hansberry Theatre, the legendary African American Bay Area theatre company, and noted Bay Area actor, in conversation with host Richard Wolinsky. Margo Hall is a featured player in the film and TV series “Blindspotting.”
Roger Ebert (1942-2013) on tour for his book “The Great Movies,” in conversation with Richard Wolinsky, recorded April 18, 2002 in the KPFA studios. Among the topics discussed, in addition to the films, are the 2000 election, DVD extras and letter-boxing, viewing a film at home or in a theater, and how politics relates to film viewing.
Robert Stone (1937-2015), author of “Dog Soldiers,” “A Flag for Sunrise” and “Damascus Gate,” in conversation with Richard Wolinsky, recorded in the KPFA studios on April 25, 2003 during the book tour for “Bay of Souls.” Robert Stone won the Natonal Book Award for “Dog Soldiers” and was a finalist three other times, and twice was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction.
Paul Gordon, composer/lyricist for the musical adaptation of “Sense & Sensibility,” and other works, in conversation with host Richard Wolinsky. The composer/lyricist for the Broadway “Jane Eyre” in 2001, his latest work, “Sense & Sensibility” plays at TheatreWorks Lucie Stern Theater in Palo Alto through April 3, 2022. TheatreWorks previously produced his versions of “Pride & Prejudice” and “Emma,” making this the third element of his Jane Austen trilogy.
Wayne Wang, director of such films as “Chan is Missing,” “The Joy Luck Club” and “Smoke,” in conversation with host Richard Wolinsky. In this hour-long conversation, the noted filmmaker discusses, in depth, several of his movies, talks about his origins as a director, his work on Hollywood films like “Anywhere But Here,” “Smoke,” and “Maid in Manhattan,” his difficulties filming in China, his view of Chinatown and Chinese families, and much more.
Rita Moreno, legendary Hollywood star, actress, dancer and singer, in conversation about her career and her one-woman show, “Rita Moreno: Life Without Make-up,” recorded September 16, 2011 in the KPFA studios. Hosted by Richard Wolinsky.
Wil Haygood, author of Colorization: One Hundred Years of Black Films in a White World, in conversation with host Richard Wolinsky. In the interview, he discusses the origins of the book, the careers of some of the Black pioneers in Hollywood film, and the way television and streaming has changed the race equation in our culture.
Janis Ian, singer/songwriter, in conversation with Richard Wolinsky, recorded June 14, 2008 in the KPFA studios while she was on tour for her memoir, “Society’s Child.”
Joseph Hansen (1923-2004) was a pioneer of private eye fiction, whose main character, Dave Brandstetter, an insurance investigator, was the first gay protagonist in the detective field published by a mainstream house. At the time his first Brandstetter book was published, in 1970, being gay was illegal in forty-nine of the fifty states. Richard Wolinsky and Richard A. Lupoff interviewed Joseph Hansen on June 14, 1990 upon publication of the eleventh novel in the series. This interview has not been heard since its initial airing thirty years ago, and has never seen the light of day in its entirety.
