LA Review of Books

Melissa Febos joins Medaya and Kate to discuss Abandon Me, her new beautifully lyrical eight-chapter essay. In one of the most intimate dialogues to date on the LARB Radio Hour, Melissa talks not only about the life changing love affair, and her search for her birth father, that are the core of the book's narrative; but also draws us into how the world looks through the eyes of one of America's leading literary stylists. Also on this week's podcast, Naima Keith of the California African American Museum returns to recommend Issa Rae's The Misadventures of Awkward Black Girl.

Host Janice Rhoshalle Littlejohn talks with Naima Keith, the award-winning deputy director of the California African American Museum in Los Angeles about art, history, politics, and how they intersect. Naima also talks in detail about the new Spring Season at CAAM, which features five shows including exhibits of the work of New York based artist Derrick Adams, Los Angeles' own Kenyatta A C Hinkle, and a look back at the 1992 LA Uprising. Also, podcast superstar Karina Longworth returns to recommend Marcy Dermansky's novel The Red Car.

In this episode, we’ll be discussing Everything I Never Told You, by Celeste Ng. Ng’s debut novel was published in 2014, and it follows the lives of a Chinese-American family after their teenage daughter, Lydia, goes missing. The book touches on issues of immigration, assimilation, marriage and love. Our young readers talk about Ng’s novel as well as fear, isolation and the pressures young people face, including the expectation parents have for their children, who should do better and be better than they were. The Real WORD Podcast, is produced by Reading Opens Minds and edited by Saul Black. Special thanks for this episode goes to Stacy Reader, Lesley Peters and Mercedes Vasquez for facilitating the book club and to Ernesto Orellano for recording this meeting. Next week we’ll be talking about Pleasantville by Attica Locke. Until then, happy reading!

Yale Law Professor and constitutional scholar Akhil Reed Amar joins LARB Legal Editor Dan Franzen for a discussion of his book, The Constitution Today; and how the new Trump Administration may represent a threat to the US constitutional system. From possible impeachment proceedings to travel bans already knocked down by District Courts to Administration challenges to the Free Press, it's clear the Trump Administration requires newfound vigilance for defenders of the Constitution. Also, Akhil explains one of his best known policy proposals: The National Popular Vote Interstate Compact (already adopted by ten states) that could transform American Presidential Elections so that the winner of the national popular vote becomes President.

Award-winning novelist Valeria Luiselli joins Kate and Medaya to talk about her new book, Tell Me How it Ends: An Essay in Forty Questions, about the flood of children refugees coming to the United States on a harrowing journey through Mexico from Central America. Luiselli reminds us that Trump may exacerbate the problem, but its been a tragic reality for years. Also, Sarah Manguso returns to recommend Amy Fusselman's underappreciated "8: All True: Unbelievable."

In this episode we’re talking about the book: The Tattooed Soldier by Hector Tobar. The Tattooed Soldier was first published in 1998 by Delphinium Books and was hailed by LA Weekly in 2014 as “The Best LA Novel Ever”. The story of The Tattooed Soldier begins with Antonio, a refugee from Guatemala's dictatorship during the 1990’s who stumbles upon his wife's killer in MacArthur Park, recognizing the soldier by his unforgettable tattoo. He plots his act of personal justice as Los Angeles explodes into what we now know as the LA Riots. I had the great pleasure of speaking a bit with the author Hector Tobar, about his early days of journalism and covering the LA Riots. I also ask him about nurturing more budding Latino writers. We ask our group if they connected to the book more deeply because it’s set here in LA, and we talk about empathy for the two main characters in the book who, by the end of the book, both have committed murder. The Real WORD Podcast produced by Reading Opens Minds and edited by Saul Black. Special thanks for this episode goes to Stacy Reader and Mercedes Vasquez for facilitating the book club. Next episode we’ll be talking about the book, Everything I Never Told You, by Celeste Ng Until then, Happy Reading!

Essayist Sarah Manguso joins Kate and Medaya to read from and talk about her new book 300 Arguments, which is a searing set of aphorisms (though Sarah shies away from that word) that prove the power of concision. Also, Vanessa Davis, author of Spaniel Rage, returns to recommend Lynda Barry's One Hundred Demons.

This week's podcast is the audio from the Film Now panel held in late 2016 & moderated by LARB's Anna Shechtman. The panelists were LA Times film critic Justin Chang, USC Professor and film scholar J D Connor, Cathy Schulman, the head of the organization Women In Film, and Gil Robertson, President of the African American Film Critics Association - and the event featured a wide-ranging consideration of the state of Cinema in the middle of the second decade of the 21st century, with particular focus on questions of diversity and distribution as well as the best films of 2016.

Real WORD Podcast – Episode 4: The Ocean at the End of the Lane In this episode, we’re talking about the book: The Ocean at the End of the Lane by Neil Gaiman The Ocean at the End of the Lane was published in 2013 by HarperCollins. Gaiman himself has said he wasn’t sure as he was writing it whether it would be an adult novel - his first in a while - or a novel for young adult readers. Reviewers have come down on both sides with The Guardian reviewer noting that, “When I thought about it, I realised that I am an adult reading self, and also a child reader, and that it was my childhood self who settled into this story.” When I began to read the book, it reminded me of the film, Pan’s Labyrinth by Mexican filmmaker, Guillermo del Toro, where the real world of a child is intermingled with a magical one in order to make some sense of the darkness around them. First, we talk about the absence of the narrator’s name, then we look at the quote the author chose to put on the first page of the book and what it seems to mean. (If you’re a parent you may want to pay special attention to this section!) We talk about how in the book memory becomes fabric and what would make a sacrifice worthwhile. The Real WORD Podcast is produced by Reading Opens Minds and edited by Saul Black. For more information about Reading Opens Minds goto: readingopensminds.org - there you can subscribe to our newsletter and see what else we’re up to! Special thanks for this episode goes to Stacy Reader and Mercedes Vasquez for co-facilitating the book club. Next episode we’ll be talking about the book, The Tattooed Soldier by Hector Tobar. Until then, Happy Reading!

Vanessa Davis talks with co-hosts Medaya Ocher and Kate Wolf about her autobiographical comics; in particular her collection Spaniel Rage, which is being re-issued. Davis discusses the evolution of a new literary art form; along with the establishment of women in the comics world. Then Martabel Wasserman drops by to recommend Sarah Schulman's classic novel of New York City at the height of the AIDS crisis, People in Trouble; which features a Donald Trump inspired antagonist. Lastly, Tom and Laurie listen to, and adore, a couple of poems by Emily Dickinson.

Co-hosts Kate Wolf and Medaya Ocher speak with Iranian Poet in exile Moshen Emadi, who lives in Mexico but is touring America on the occasion of the publication of the first English language collection of his poems, Standing On Earth. A lover of Whitman and other great American poets, Emadi reflects on the tragedy that when he leaves the country the current President would ban him from returning to the Land of the Free. Then local artist, publisher, and activist Martabel Wasserman joins Kate and Medaya to discuss how art and literature are a powerful and essential component of resistance against oppression - needed now more than ever. Also, Karina Longworth drops by to give a book recommendation: Slow Days, Fast Company by Eve Babitz.

In this episode we’re talking about the book: The Cuckoo’s Calling by Robert Galbraith aka JK Rowling. The Cuckoo’s Calling was first published in the UK in 2013 by Sphere Books, and had placement at number 4,709 on Amazon.com before it was revealed that the author of the Harry Potter book series had actually penned the book under the pseudonym, Robert Galbraith. The book shot to the top of the charts nearly overnight when Galbraith’s true identity was leaked! This is a crime novel about a model who falls to her death from a balcony. Though it looks like suicide, her brother is not convinced and hires private investigator Cormoran Strike to look into the case and find the killer. Reviews were good (even before the outing of the author) with The Independent noting that it’s “...a book about looking and listening...and about using loss to develop emotional intelligence and about friendship.” This group hadn’t read a crime novel yet, so we thought it would be a fun new experience with the Harry Potter author tie-in --- of course, this was before we learned that many of them hadn’t actually read the Harry Potter books! We talk about the relationship between the two main characters, and the killer in the story and his motives -- SPOILERS AHEAD! The Real WORD Podcast is produced by Reading Opens Minds and edited by Saul Black. You can find us on iTunes or the podcast app on your phone, or on the web at: LAReviewofbooks.org/the-real-word. Thank you to the LA Review of books staff and supporters for giving this podcast a home and some tender loving care. Special thanks for this episode goes to Maria Jose Vazquez and Stacy Reader for co-facilitating the book club. Next episode we’ll be talking about the book, The Ocean at the End of the Lane by Neil Gaiman. Until then Happy Reading!

Karina Longworth talks with LARB's Medaya Ocher and Gustavo Turner about her phenomenally successful podcast about old Hollywood, "You Must Remember This," on the occasion of the launch of its new season series on Dead Blondes. Then LARB's Janice Littlejohn talks with African-American Theologian Monica Coleman about her stunning memoir Bipolar Faith. Also LARB Film Editor Anna Schectman drops in to recommend Patricia White's book Women's Cinema/World Cinema: Projecting Contemporary Feminisms.

LARB's resident film critic Anna Shechtman joins fellow cinephiles Medaya Ocher & Kate Wolf to talk about their favorite foreign films of 2016; focusing on Pedro Almodovar's change of pace, Julieta; Paul Veerhoeven's Elle starring fiercely sublime Isabelle Huppert; and The Handmaiden, a genre-bending and visually stunning tale of Victorian Korea by Park Chan-Wook. Also, Tom Lutz recommends TC Boyle's The Terranauts (with its surprising Trump Administration tie-in); and praises DH Lawrence's Terra Incognita.

The Real WORD Podcast, produced by Reading Opens Minds and hosted by the LA Review of Books. In Episode Two of The Real Word, the Reading Opens Minds teen book club will be discussing the novel, Me Before You (2012) by JoJo Moyes. Me Before You is a love story about a young, novice caregiver and a wealthy, former adventurer, paralyzed by an accident. Listen in as our young men and women banter about family dynamics, morality in love and what it might feel like to be in a wheelchair *A word here about how we’re honoring privacy for our students. You’ll hear some first names here and there, and in upcoming episodes, you’ll also hear certain details about the lives of these students, but not too many. We hope to offer enough to enjoy, but not enough to expose. The Real Word Podcast is produced by Reading Opens Minds and edited by Saul Black. For more information about Reading Opens Minds go to: readingopensminds.org. Subscribe to our newsletter and see what we’re up to! Special thanks for this episode goes to Michelle Kholos-Brooks, Lesley Peters and Jackie Amezcua for story editing, Katie McCuen for graphic design, and Stacy Reader for co-facilitating the book club. Until next time, happy reading!