Épisodes

  • Laura Truffaut: The Films of Francois Truffaut (1932-1984)

    Laura Truffaut: The Films of Francois Truffaut (1932-1984)
    Jan 11 2026
    Laura Truffaut, daughter of the great French New Wave film-maker Francois Truffaut (1932-1984) in conversation with host Richard Wolinsky, discussing her father’s films and her memories of his film shoots. Berkeley Art Museum & Pacifc Film Archive is presenting a retrospective of nine films of Francois Truffaut, beginning with his first film, “The 400 Blows” and continuing to his final film, “Confidentially Yours,” from January 17 to February 28th, all introduced by Laura Truffaut. Francois Truffaut began his career as a critic for the influential French film magazine, “Cahiers du Cinema”, but within four years, following his article in the publication discussing his auteur theory of film criticism, he moved on to his first film, “The 400 Blows,” which blew everyone away at the Cannes Film Festival. Twenty-one films followed, until his untimely death from a brain tumor at the age of 52. Along the way he made several masterpieces, including Jules et Jim, Day for Night, Small Change, The Wild Child, and The Soft Skin, to name a handful which will be at BAMPFA. The post Laura Truffaut: The Films of Francois Truffaut (1932-1984) appeared first on KPFA.
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    1 h et 52 min
  • Alan Furst, Master Spy Novelist, 2002

    Alan Furst, Master Spy Novelist, 2002
    Jan 4 2026
    Alan Furst, historical spy novelist, in conversation with Richard Wolinsky, recorded in the KPFA studios during the book tour for “Blood of Victory, September 26, 2002. This is a first-time podcast. In this interview, he discusses his early career, resistance during World War II, and creating the unique atmosphere and characters in his books.His latest novel, Under Occupation, was published in 2019. Alan Furst’s career took off with his novel Kingdom of Shadows in 2000, the sixth book in his series of stand-alone novels about heros and villains in Europe in the years leading up to, and including World War II. Suffused with atmosphere, his books feel as if you’re living with the characters in those haunted times. Of course, there is added resonance as we live through what might be similar times today. This is the second of five Bookwaves interviews with Alan Furst. The post Alan Furst, Master Spy Novelist, 2002 appeared first on KPFA.
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    1 h et 28 min
  • Azar Nafisi: Best-selling Author of “Reading Lolita in Tehran,” 2009

    Azar Nafisi: Best-selling Author of “Reading Lolita in Tehran,” 2009
    Dec 28 2025
    Azar Nafisi,author of the best-selling memoir, “Reading Lolita in Tehran,” in conversation with host Richard Wolinsky, recorded in the KPFA studios on January 12, 2009 while on tour for the memoir, “Things I’ve Been Silent About.” Azar Nafisi burst on the literary scene in 2003 with her memoir, Reading Lolita in Tehran in 2003, which remained on the New York Times best seller list for 117 weeks. Born in Tehran, Iran, she came to the United States in 1997 and became an American citizen in 2008. A professor of literature, she’d previously written a critical study of the works of Vladimir Nabokov. There would be a second interview with Azar Nafisi in 2015 for her book about the importance of literature, The Republic of the Imagination. The post Azar Nafisi: Best-selling Author of “Reading Lolita in Tehran,” 2009 appeared first on KPFA.
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    1 h et 19 min
  • The Probabilities Archive: Jack Arnold (1916-1992), film director, “Creature from the Black Lagoon” and others, 1980ish

    The Probabilities Archive: Jack Arnold (1916-1992), film director, “Creature from the Black Lagoon” and others, 1980ish
    Dec 21 2025
    Jack Arnold (1916-1992), who died at the age of 75 in 1992, was the 1950s master of the science fiction film. Among the films he directed were It Came From Outer Space, The Creature from the Black Lagoon, Revenge of the Creature, Tarantula, and The Incredible Shrinking Man. The Probabilities crew – Richard A. Lupoff, Lawrence Davidson and Richard Wolinsky – received a small stipend from a science fiction convention and flew to Los Angeles to interview Jack Arnold in his office at Universal Studios. The interview is undated but was recorded in around 1980, give or take a year. Arnold’s memory was fuzzy on when films were released. IMDb lists It Came from Outer Space, along with two film noirs in 1953, Creature from the Black Lagoon in 1954 and Revenge of the Creature in 1955. The first western, The Man from Bitter Ridge along with Tarantula and his work on This Island Earth also came from 1955. The rest of the westerns, along with The Incredible Shrinking Man and the Peter Sellers classic The Mouse That Roared, came between 1956 and 1959. After that, he directed a couple more A pictures, as he called them, but his primary work moved to television, and from then until his retirement in 1984, he was constantly working on projects for the small screen, interspersed with the occasional film. At the end of the interview, he discusses a remake of Conan Doyle’s The Lost World, complete with storyboards. That project never did get off the ground, though it’s possible later versions used some of Arnold’s pre-planning. And, not to forget, he helped turn Gilligan’s Island into a cultural (for better or worse) icon. Digitized, remastered and edited by Richard Wolinsky in July 2021, and originally posted on August 1, 2021. The post The Probabilities Archive: Jack Arnold (1916-1992), film director, “Creature from the Black Lagoon” and others, 1980ish appeared first on KPFA.
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    2 h et 30 min
  • Joe Lansdale, Prolific Genre Writer, Part Two: 2025

    Joe Lansdale, Prolific Genre Writer, Part Two: 2025
    Dec 14 2025
    Joe R. Lansdale, in conversation with Richard Wolinsky f, recorded November 12, 2025, discussing his latest Hap & Leonard book, “Hatchet Girls,” his recent collections, and his life as a writer. Joe R. Lansdale writes a broad spectrum of fiction, from his successful Hap and Leonard series of noir mysteries, to fantasy and horror short fiction, to western novels and short stories, as well as a variety of genre mash-ups. His latest Hap and Leonard mystery, Hatchet Girls, according to Wikipedia, is the 27th in that series. There are forty books in the series, plus over forty short story collections, including the most recent to date, In the Mad Mountains, stories inspired by H.P. Lovecraft. There are five books in his Drive-In series, three in his Ned the Seal series, plus various chapbooks. He’s also written for television and film, including episodes of Love, Death and Robots, and a Hap and Leonard TV three-season series, which ran originally on AMC+ and later on Netflix, starting in 2016. The post Joe Lansdale, Prolific Genre Writer, Part Two: 2025 appeared first on KPFA.
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    1 h et 52 min
  • Malcolm Margolin (1940-2025), Legendary Publisher of Heyday Books in Berkeley

    Malcolm Margolin (1940-2025), Legendary Publisher of Heyday Books in Berkeley
    Dec 7 2025
    Malcolm Margolin (1940-2025), the long-time publisher of Heyday Books in Berkeley, who died on August 20, 2025 at the age of 84, in conversation with Richard Wolinsky in the KPFA Studios on November 21, 2014. Malcolm Margolin founded Heyday Books, the renownedy non-profit publishing house located in Berkeley, in 1974 and stayed until he retired in 2015. He was the author and editor of several books, most notably The Ohlone Way: Indian Life in the San Francisco – Monterey Bay Area, along with magazines and other periodicals. This interview was recorded November 21, 2014 upon the publication of his memoir/history, The Heyday of Malcolm Margolin: The Damned Good Times of a Fiercely Independent Publisher. Malcolm Margolin retired in 2015 but continued to work until his death. His final book, Deep Hanging Out: Wanderings and Wonderment in Native California. was published by Heyday in 2021. The post Malcolm Margolin (1940-2025), Legendary Publisher of Heyday Books in Berkeley appeared first on KPFA.
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    1 h et 8 min
  • Lauren Gunderson, Noted Contemporary Playwright, the “Christmas in Pemberley” series

    Lauren Gunderson, Noted Contemporary Playwright, the “Christmas in Pemberley” series
    Nov 30 2025
    Lauren Gunderson, recognized as the most produced contemporary playwright in America four of the last five years, including 2025, in conversation with host Richard Wolinsky. Lauren Gunderson is a prolific playwright whose plays are produced all over North America and in Britain and Europe. She is best known for such plays as “The Book of Will” and the “Christmas at Pemberley” series of three plays (co-written by Margot Malcon). She also worked on the script for the Pixar film “Lightyear,” and her book for the musical version of “The Time Traveler’s Wife” recently played in London. As of the first week in December, two plays are currently being produced in the San Francisco Bay Area. Georgiana and Kitty: Christmas at Pemberley, runs December 5-28 at TheatreWorks Lucie Stern Theatre in Palo Alto, and Ada and the Engine plays at the Pear Theatre in Mountain View through December 7th. A third play, Louisa Alcott’s Little Women played earlier in 2025 at TheatreWorks in Mountain View, and plays at Portland Center Stage through December 21st. In this interview, she discusses those plays and others, with emphasis on Muse of Fire, in which she performs, directed by Evren Odcikin, which wil be produced by the Magic Theatre from September 22nd through October 11th. Among upcoming plays in 2026 are Silent Sky in Bethesda Maryland in February. The Book of Will in Wisconsin in January and Raleigh, North Carolina in April, The Revolutionists in Rhode Island in May and Raleigh in August, Louisa May Alcott’s Little Women at the Guthrie in Minnesota next April through June. The Half Life of Marie Curie will be in Eureka California iwill be performed in February, 2026 in Eureka, California. The post Lauren Gunderson, Noted Contemporary Playwright, the “Christmas in Pemberley” series appeared first on KPFA.
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    1 h et 26 min
  • The Bookwaves Archive: John Banville, Irish Literary Master, 2007

    The Bookwaves Archive: John Banville, Irish Literary Master, 2007
    Nov 23 2025
    John Banville, Booker Prize winning novelist, in conversation with host Richard Wolinsky in the KPFA studios, on March 19, 2007 while on tour for the novel, “Christine Falls,” written under the pseudonym Benjamin Black. John Banville is a giant of Irish literature, winner of the Booker Prize for his novel, The Sea, and the Franz Kafka Prize in 2011. A literary novelist of the first order, he took a turn in 2007 with a mystery novel, Christine Falls, featuring a detective named Quirke, under the pseudonym Benjamin Black. Since that time there have been ten Quirke mysteries, three written under his own name, and four novels under the pseudonym. He continues to write literary and noir fiction. His most recent novel is “Venetian Vespers,” published in October, 2025. This is the first posting of this interview, which never aired in its entirety. The post The Bookwaves Archive: John Banville, Irish Literary Master, 2007 appeared first on KPFA.
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    1 h et 35 min