Writer's Voice with Francesca Rheannon

We remember Russell Banks, who passed away on January 7 at the age of 82. We last spoke with him in 2016, about his memoir Voyager, and re-air that interview today. But first, we talk with Danielle Clode, award-winning natural history writer, about her new book Koala: A Natural History and an Uncertain Future. Writers Voice— in depth conversation with writers of all genres, on the air since 2004. Like us on Facebook at Writers Voice with Francesca Rheannon, on Instagram @WritersVoicePodcast or find us on Twitter @WritersVoice. Love Writer’s Voice? Please rate us on your podcast app. It really helps to get the word out about our show. Danielle Klode The years 2019 and 2020 saw perhaps the worse fire season in Australia yet. The mega fires were devastating not only for human communities but for Australia’s wildlife. The toll was unimaginable. Among its victims, were many members of that species of charismatic cuteness: the koala. The flames raged across their native eucalyptus forests, devastating their habitat. Yet koalas are also incredibly resilient. During their long presence on Planet Earth, they’ve come through previous eras of climate chaos, rebounding from population crashes to thrive again. It’s a fascinating story that holds lessons not only for the koala, but also for all the other species it shares the planet with — including us. Danielle Clode examines that story in her new book Koala: A Natural History and an Uncertain Future. She’s an award winning author of numerous non-fiction books. Her writing includes natural history, essays, science-writing, historical fiction and best-selling children’s books as well as documentaries. Francesca Remembers Russell Banks I was saddened to hear that Russell Banks passed away on January 7. When I first came upon his novels—I think The Sweet Hereafter was the first — I was struck that he delved so sensitively into the lives of the working class — a demographic that is all too often overlooked in the catalogs of the major publishing houses. Later, I had the privilege to interview him about his novels Reserve and Lost Memory of Skin, his collection of short stories, A Permanent Member of the Family, and finally his memoir Voyager. In memory of his passing, we re-play my conversation with Russell Banks about that memoir.    

Why is it so hard to get the hair-on-fire action on climate we need to deal with the crisis? Could it have something to do with our brains? We talk with Dr. Ann-Christine Duhaime about her book, Minding The Climate: How Neuroscience Can Help Solve Our Environmental Crisis. Then, we talk with one climate activist who’s putting Duhaime’s lessons on how to change minds about the crisis to work: Darr Reilly, co-founder of the Carbon Crew Project. Writers Voice— in depth conversation with writers of all genres, on the air since 2004. Like us on Facebook at Writers Voice with Francesca Rheannon, on Instagram @WritersVoicePodcast or find us on Twitter @WritersVoice. Find Francesca at mastodon.social[at]FRheannon. Love Writer’s Voice? Please rate us on your podcast app. It really helps to get the word out about our show. Ann-Christine Duhaime As we produce this show, a bomb cyclone is bearing down on the west coast—the second in two weeks. Buffalo New York is digging out of its most deadly blizzard, ever. Meanwhile carbon pollution in the atmosphere is spiking to record levels and Europe is basking in record January heat—climatologists say it’s an “extreme event” unlike anything in European history. The steady drumbeat of climate catastrophe is clamoring in our ears. But how many people are really listening? Listening in a way to make the changes we need to make in time to survive? Why aren’t they listening–and is there anything we can do to change that? Neuroscientist Dr. Ann-Christine Duhaime tackles this question in her book, Minding The Climate. She explores how our long evolution as a species has shaped our brains to respond to immediate threats, but to miss or discount ones that play out over the long term. But she also shows that the brain’s enormous capacity for change is reason for hope. By understanding both the barriers and the spurs to change, we can move the needle on climate action. Read an excerpt from Minding The Climate Darr Reilly, Carbon Crew Project When Francesca read Ann-Christine Duhaime’s book Minding the Climate, she immediately thought of her friend Darr Reilly. She’s an advocate and practitioner of Drawdown, the climate action movement developed by Paul Hawken. It promotes 100 solutions to the climate crisis that ordinary people can engage in. Growing out of her work with Drawdown, Reilly co-founded the Carbon Crew Project. It’s a program geared for small groups of friends and neighbors to lessen their carbon footprint, step by step. Resources mentioned by Darr Reilly: Carbon Crew Project Pachamama Alliance The True Cost movie 2040 Regenerators

It’s the last week of December 2022. The days are already starting to get longer. A great time to start thinking about next year’s garden. And, with next year around the corner, a good time to look back at some of our favorite interviews of 2022. Today, we talk with garden columnist Jeff Lowenfells about his book, Teaming with Bacteria. It’s the fourth in his groundbreaking series about building the soil microbiome to create a flourishing soil food web. Then we hear excerpts from our 2022 interviews with Bill McKibben, Mohsin Hamid and Keri Blakinger. Writers Voice— in depth conversation with writers of all genres, on the air since 2004. Like us on Facebook at Writers Voice with Francesca Rheannon, on Instagram @WritersVoicePodcast or find us on Twitter @WritersVoice. Love Writer’s Voice? Please rate us on your podcast app. It really helps to get the word out about our show. Jeff Lowenfells If we don’t do anything about it, some say, we have about sixty years left of soil. And without soil, we don’t have food, at least not enough to feed the world. The remedy? Regenerative agriculture that builds the soil by using nature’s own methods. Jeff Lowenfels has been writing about gardening for over 45 years. He writes the column Alaska Gardening and Growing for the Anchorage Daily News. But perhaps his greatest contribution to gardening is his series on the soil food web or soil microbiome. He began in 2010 with Teaming with Microbes, followed by Teaming With Nutrients. Teaming With Fungi, and now Teaming with Bacteria. Jeff Lowenfels is a former president of the Garden Writers Association; he was inducted into the organization’s Hall of Fame in 2005 He Wrote a Gardening Column. He Ended Up Documenting Climate Change Best of 2022 It’s that time of year to look back at 2022 before we leave to head to the New Year. This was one of our best years for interviews. We spoke with Nobel laureate for literature Abdulrazak Gurnah, NoViolet Bulawayo, whose novel Glory was shortlisted for the Booker prize, and presidential candidate Marianne Williamson, among many other terrific conversations. So it was tough to choose among them. Today we’ll hear excerpts from three of our favorite interviews. The full list with links to the interviews is below. Bill McKibben We spoke with world-renowned climate protector Bill McKibben about his wonderful memoir The Flag, The Cross And The Station Wagon: A Graying American Looks Back at His Suburban Boyhood and Wonders What The Hell Happened. Listen to the full episode Mohsin Hamid We talked with Hamid about his brilliant and thought-provoking novel, The Last White Man. Listen to the full episode Keri Blakinger Finally, we hear an excerpt from my interview with Keri Blakinger about her memoir, Corrections In Ink. Listen to the full episode  

Francesca Rheannon reads her story “The Food Philosophe.” It’s about a Winter Solstice feast in Provence that led to some delicious life lessons. Writers Voice— in depth conversation with writers of all genres, on the air since 2004. Like us on Facebook at Writers Voice with Francesca Rheannon, on Instagram @WritersVoicePodcast or find us on twitter @WritersVoice. Love Writer’s Voice? Please rate us on your podcast app. It really helps to get the word out about our show. And check out our previous episode here: The Food Philosophe by Francesca Rheannon Twenty years ago, Francesca Rheannon spent several months living in southern France. Soon after her arrival in the Fall of 2001, she became good friends with a couple living in the old Roman town of Apt. She had been introduced to them — Michel, a chef, and his wife, Marie-Jo — by her friend, the writer Fabienne Pasquet. On December 21, Marie Jo and Michel threw a dinner party to celebrate the Winter Solstice. The food was divine, the wine likewise, and the company convivial — and Francesca ended up learning a profound lesson about the French Art of Living. Francesca wrote up her experience in the story, “The Food Philosophe,” part of a longer memoir of her sojourn in Provence, titled Province of the Heart.  

We talk with Elsa Sjunneson about life as a deaf-blind person and the rights every disabled person should have. Her book is Being Seen: One Deafblind Woman’s Fight to End Ableism. Later in the show we talk with podcaster and author Kathryn Nicolai about her book of stories for better sleep, Nothing Much Happens: Cozy & Calmng Stories to Soothe Your Mind & Help You Sleep. It’s based on her wildly successful podcast of the same name. Writers Voice— in depth conversation with writers of all genres, on the air since 2004. Like us on Facebook at Writers Voice with Francesca Rheannon, on Instagram @WritersVoicePodcast or find us on Twitter @WritersVoice. Find Francesca at mastodon.social/@FRheannon Love Writer’s Voice? Please rate us on your podcast app. It really helps to get the word out about our show. Elsa Sjunneson Disability rights are human rights. Yet how often does our society actually acknowledge, much less honor, that frame? The truth is, despite the Americans with Disabilities Act, our society isn’t set up to meet the needs of disabled people. Not by a long shot. Elsa Sjunneson has been contending with that reality for a long time. As a Deafblind woman with partial vision in one eye and bilateral hearing aids, Elsa Sjunneson lives at the crossroads of blindness and sight, hearing and deafness. Her book Being Seen explores what it means to be disabled in America, how disabled people are portrayed in the media and why ignoring their needs damages us all. Sjunneson is a disability rights activist, a media studies professor and a writer. She has written extensively on issues relating to disability and representation in the media. She also writes speculative fiction and has been a Hugo Award finalist seven times. Read or Listen to an Excerpt from Being Seen Elsa Sjunneson Exorcises Helen Keller Kathryn Nicolai Do you have trouble getting to sleep? Or do you nod off easily at bedtime, but then wake up in the early hours of the morning to toss and turn? Americans have a sleep problem—and more of them are turning to sleep podcasts to help them slip off to dreamland and stay there. Many of them have found their way to Nothing Much Happens, the hugely popular podcast by Kathryn Nicolai. On her podcast, she reads stories that promote a comforting kind of mindfulness: like the one called Holiday At Weathervane Farm. it’s “a story about hay rides through snowy fields, the ducks waddling back from a day at the pond, and a new calf born who will only ever know kindness.” The podcast Nothing Much Happens was so successful, Nicolai new stories to create a book of the same title. Like the podcast, the book gently trains the brain to fall and stay asleep. It also includes tips for mindfulness when we are awake. Before becoming a full time podcaster and writer, Kathryn Nicolai was a yoga and meditation teacher.

We talk with James Vincent about his book Beyond Measure: The Hidden History Of Measurement From Cubits To Quantum Constants. Then we replay an excerpt from our interview with Simon Winchester about his book, Land: How the Hunger for Ownership Shaped the Modern World. Writers Voice— in depth conversation with writers of all genres, on the air since 2004. Like us on Facebook at Writers Voice with Francesca Rheannon, on Instagram @WritersVoicePodcast or find us on Twitter @WritersVoice. Find Francesca at Mastodon Social. Love Writer’s Voice? Please rate us on your podcast app. It really helps to get the word out about our show. James Vincent Humans have been measuring things since time immemorial, from the earliest hashmarks on bone—possibly to count hunting kills—to the advanced algorithms of today. Measurement is a way of bringing order and control to our world. A good thing, right? But it also has been used to impose domination on people and on the natural world. Or to exclude some considerations in favor of others: think of how GDP measures economic growth but not the devastation untrammeled growth is wreaking upon our planet. James Vincent examines the history and the consequences of measurement in his fascinating book, Beyond Measure. He is a journalist and writer who has written for numerous publications, including the Independent, the Financial Times and Wired. He is currently a senior reporter for the Verge. Beyond Measure is his first book. Simon WInchester We interviewed Simon Winchester in 2021 about his book, Land. We play an excerpt on this episode, but you can hear the entire conversation here.   Next week on Writer’s Voice:  We talk with disability rights activist Elsa Sjunneson about her book, Being Seen. Also, we start dreaming about gardening, as we talk with garden columnist and author Jeff Lowenfels about the fourth in his series on regenerative gardening, Teaming With Bacteria.

We talk with Devra Lehmann about her book, Socrates: A Life Worth Living. It’s a YA book that’s great for readers of all ages. Then, another YA book for everyone: we talk with Dr. Seema Yasmin about her guide to inoculating ourselves against false information, What the fact: Finding The Truth In All The Noise. Writers Voice— in depth conversation with writers of all genres, on the air since 2004. Like us on Facebook at Writers Voice with Francesca Rheannon, on Instagram @WritersVoicePodcast or find us on twitter @WritersVoice. Love Writer’s Voice? Please rate us on your podcast app. It really helps to get the word out about our show. Devra Lehmann Socrates may be the most famous philosopher who ever lived, at least in the Western canon, but what was his philosophy really about? And does it have any relevance to us in the modern world? Author and teacher Devra Lehmann sets out to answer the first question with her highly readable biography of the sage, Socrates: A Life Worth Living. While she firmly situates him within his own historical context, Lehmann also shows that his philosophy of what makes life worth living not only has universal relevance, but also special salience for our troubled times. Devra Lehmann is the author of two biographies of philosophers, Socrates and Spinoza. She’s working on biographies of Augustine of Hippo and Hannah Arendt for the Philosophy for Young People series from Seven Stories Press. Seema Yasmin A tsunami of false information is washing over our global civilization. Whether purveyed by Fox News, Facebook or Elon Musk’s Twitter; spewed by corrupt politicians and corporations; or spread by the likes of Q Anon, Alex Jones or the Kremlin’s troll army, false information threatens to destroy us, making it nigh impossible to deal with the overwhelming crises we face. Is there anything we can do about it? Can we protect ourselves, our families and friends from falling victim to the lies? Yes, says Dr. Seema Yasmin. She lays out the strategies to inoculate ourselves against the viral epidemic of false information in her terrific book, What The Fact: Finding The Truth In All The Noise. While geared toward the young adult reader, it’s really for everyone. Dr. Seema Yasmin is an expert on epidemics, both physical and informational. She’s also a journalist, medical doctor, poet and author of five books. Teaching guide to What The Fact Listen to an Excerpt

Nigerian novelist Omolola Ijeoma Ogunyemi talks about her novel of interlocking short stories, Jollof Rice and Other Revolutions. Then, we harken back to our conversation earlier this year with NoViolet Bulaweyo about her novel of Zimbabwe, Glory. It was shortlisted for the 2022 Man Booker Prize. Writers Voice— in depth conversation with writers of all genres, on the air since 2004. Like us on Facebook at Writers Voice with Francesca Rheannon, on Instagram @WritersVoicePodcast or find us on twitter @WritersVoice. Omolola Ijeoma Ogunyemi Omolola Ogunyemi was born and raised in Idbadan, Nigeria but she has lived in the U.S. for many years. Her love for her homeland and its rich culture provide the inspiration for her novel, Jolloff Rice and Other Revolutions. It’s a collection of linked short stories that follow a group of friends from their early years in a girls’ boarding school, starting in 1986 and into the middle of our century, the year 2050. One reviewer said of the book, “Jollof Rice and Other Revolutions celebrates friendship, the power of community and home, and the joy of being a woman able to take control of her destiny… Ogunyemi’s writing has the power to reverberate through generations.” But as the title expresses, celebration takes place within a political context that poses challenges for the books’ characters and tests their loyalty, their courage and their hopes and dreams for themselves and their families. As they move between Nigeria and the U.S., they come to realize that while the powers-that-be can be cruel and oppressive in either country, friendship and solidarity provide salvation. The book emerged from Ogunyemi’s short story, “Jollof Rice and Revolutions,” which appeared in Ploughshares in 2017 and was named to the list of “Other Distinguished Stories of 2017” in The Best American Short Stories 2018. It came out In September 2022, from Amistad Books, an imprint of HarperCollins. Omolola Ogunyemi’s poetry, short stories and essays have been published widely. Jolloff Rice and Other Revolutions is her first novel. Read an excerpt Recipe for jollof rice NoViolet Bulaweyo Some of the greatest contemporary women writers writing in English come from the continent of Africa. Think Chimamanda Adichie, for example. It’s probable that our earlier guest today, Omolola Ogunyemi, will join their ranks. Another wonderful emerging writer is Zimbabwean NoViolet Bulaweyo. Her debut novel, We Need New Names, was shortlisted for the 2013 Man Booker Prize. Her second novel, Glory, was shortlisted for the Man Booker Prize 2022. We spoke with her about Glory back in April 2022. We listen back to that conversation today. Coming up next week on Writer’s Voice, we talk about two terrific books for young (adult) readers of all ages. Devra Lehmann tells us about her philosophical biography, Socrates: A Life Worth Living. And Seema Yasmin teaches us how to inoculate ourselves against misinformation. Her book is What The Fact? : Finding The Truth In All The Noise.        

We talk with digital philosopher Douglas Rushkoff about his book, Survival of the Richest: Escape Fantasies of the Tech Billionaires. It’s about the Mindset of the richest and most powerful moguls on the planet and the destruction it’s leaving in its wake. Then, Survival of the Richest praises the work of Indigenous philosopher Tyson Yunkaporta. We air our 2020 interview with Yunkaporta about his book. Sand Talk: How Indigenous Thinking Can Save the World. Writers Voice— in depth conversation with writers of all genres, on the air since 2004. Like us on Facebook at Writers Voice with Francesca Rheannon, on Instagram @WritersVoicePodcast or find us on twitter @WritersVoice Love Writer’s Voice? Please rate us on your podcast app. It really helps to get the word out about our show. Douglas Rushkoff Six of the ten richest people in the world made their fortunes in the tech industry. And now the richest person in the world, Elon Musk, has joined the ranks of the Tech Overlords with his acquisition of Twitter. What is the mindset of these rarified members of the human community who rule our lives in so many ways? It’s something my guest Douglas Rushkoff began to uncover when five mysterious billionaires summoned him to a desert resort for a private talk. They wanted him to tell them how to they could survive the societal collapse they themselves are helping to bring about. Rushkoff came to understand that these men were under the influence of The Mindset, a Silicon Valley–style certainty that they and their cohort can break the laws of physics, economics, and morality to escape a disaster of their own making—as long as they have enough money and the right technology. Rushkoff has been in the tech space since the early 90s, when the Internet was supposed to unleash a decentralized democratic global open society. But in Survival of the Richest, Rushkoff describes an unholy marriage of the digital revolution and capitalism that transformed the dream of a democratic digital revolution into a nightmare of surveillance, disinformation, manipulation and erosion of democracy. Douglas Rushkoff is professor of media theory and digital economics at Queens/CUNY. He hosts the Team Human podcast and has written many award-winning books. Tyson Yunkaporta Douglas Rushkoff’s book Survival of the Richest gives a shout out to Australian aboriginal philosopher Tyson Yunkaporta, who is a proponent of the kind of thinking that Rushkoff says is an antidote to the Mindset of the tech billionaires. Writer’s Voice spoke with Yunkaporta in 2020 about his book, Sand Talk : How Indigenous Thinking Can Save the World. We re-play that interview on this episode.

We talk with Kirk Wallace Johnson about his book, The Fisherman And The Dragon: Fear, Greed, And A Fight For Justice On The Gulf Coast. It’s a gripping account of a small town set on fire by hatred, xenophobia, and ecological disaster—and the woman who fought to save it. Then, our 2005 interview with that very woman. We re-air our interview with Diane Wilson about her book, An Unreasonable Woman: A True Story of Shrimpers, Politicos, Polluters, and the Fight for Seadrift, Texas. Writers Voice— in depth conversation with writers of all genres, on the air since 2004. Like us on Facebook at Writers Voice with Francesca Rheannon, on Instagram @WritersVoicePodcast or find us on twitter @WritersVoice. Love Writer’s Voice? Please rate us on your podcast app. It really helps to get the word out about our show. Kirk Wallace Johnson They call it the Cancer Belt. The Texas Gulf Coast used to be home to some of the richest fishing grounds in America, but was laid waste by the toxic pollution pouring into its waters from chemical companies and oil refineries. As long ago as the 1970’s, the fishing industry began its decline. But instead of fighting the polluters who were taking their livelihood away, the local fishermen blamed the Vietnamese refugees who had recently begun moving to the area. They invited in the KKK to drive the Vietnamese out–except for one fisherman, or fisherwoman to be exact. Diane Wilson fought the chemical companies and made common cause with the Vietnamese. Eventually her heroism won over the white fisherman, too. Kirk Wallace Johnson tells the story with cinematic flair in his book, The Fisherman And The Dragon. Johnson is a screenwriter and an author of three books, including The Feather Thief and To Be a Friend is Fatal: the Fight to Save the Iraqis America Left Behind. In addition to being a writer, he is the founder of the List Project to Resettle Iraqi Allies, which resettled thousands Iraqi refugees who were imperiled as a result of working for the U.S. during the war. Listen to an excerpt from The Fishermen and the Dragon Diane Wilson Diane Wilson started shrimping on Texas Gulf Coast with her family at the age of eight and became a shrimp boat captain when she was twenty four. She’s been an environmental activist since 1989, when she took on Formosa Plastics, one of the biggest polluters in the US. Her 2005 book, An Unreasonable Woman: A True Story of Shrimpers, Politicos, Polluters, and the Fight for Seadrift, Texas (Chelsea Green Press), describes her struggle to preserve a way of life that is ever more endangered and may never recover. Writers Voice spoke to her in October of 2005. Francesca was joined by the much-missed Daisy Mathias, who was WV co-host at that time.

We talk with Laura Kaplan about her book, Jane: The women of the Legendary Underground Feminist Abortion Service. It’s about how a group of ordinary women worked together to create the women-centered, women-empowering organization called “Jane” that operated in Chicago from 1969 to 1973. But first, another Chicago story about organizing for justice. We talk with former Chicago Alderwoman and community activist Helen Shiller about her memoir, Daring To Struggle, Daring to Win: Five Decades of Resistance in Chicago’s Uptown Community. Writer’s Voice — in depth conversation with writers of all genres, on the air since 2004. Rate us on your favorite podcast app! It really helps others find our show. And like us on Facebook at Writers Voice Radio or find us on Twitter @WritersVoice. Helen Shiller Our first guest is someone Francesca first met in the Movement of the late 60’s and early 70s, when they were both student radicals at the University of Wisconsin in Madison, fighting against the Vietnam War and against racist policies on campus. After they graduated, Francesca lost touch with Helen Shiller, but later learned she had become an alderman on Chicago’s City Council. How Shiller continued her fights of social justice from Madison to the streets of Chicago’s working class Uptown community and then as an elected official forms the fascinating story she tells in her new book, Daring To Struggle, Daring To Win. Through her memoir, Shiller shows the way to building multiracial, working class solidarity in the face of a brutal political machine and a racist system. Its lessons are powerfully relevant for social justice activists today. Read a Review of Daring To Struggle, Daring To Win Laura Kaplan Nearly 50 years ago, women in America gained the constitutional right to abortion. In June of this year, they lost that right. What was it like before Roe v. Wade? It was a terrifying time to be a woman. As it is now, again. The women’s liberation movement of that earlier time organized abortion services all across the nation. The most legendary—and unique—was the Abortion Counseling Service Of Women’s Liberation in Chicago, AKA Jane. The service’s advertisements said, ““Pregnant? Don’t want to be? Call Jane.” One of Jane’s members was Laura Kaplan. Her 1995 book about the group, Jane, has just been reissued with a new introduction by the author. It comes at a time when you can view HBOs terrific new documentary, The Janes, but the book adds much more detail to that story.

Vulnerability. Could it be a writer’s greatest strength? We talk with poet Philip Schultz about his memoir/how-to book, Comforts Of The Abyss: The Art of Persona Writing. Then, we talk about paraquat and Parkinson’s disease. Newly revealed documents show that the maker of a common herbicide knew decades ago about the link. We catch up with former Writer’s Voice guest Carey Gillam about her blockbuster scoop on the chemical company Syngenta. Writers Voice— in depth conversation with writers of all genres, on the air since 2004. Like us on Facebook at Writers Voice with Francesca Rheannon, on Instagram @WritersVoicePodcast or find us on twitter @WritersVoice. Love Writer’s Voice? Please rate us on your podcast app. It really helps to get the word out about our show. Philip Schultz Throughout his long career as a poet, Philip Schultz has been battling a demon. It comes to him in the image of a black bird who perches on his shoulder telling him how unworthy he is. Sound familiar? Most of us have experienced that dark voice, which Schultz calls his “Shitbird.” (It especially afflicts writers.) But Schultz found a way around that dark voice. He calls it “persona writing,” a method he developed and teaches at the school he founded, The Writers Studio. Persona writing borrows the voice and temperament of other writers—maybe Ernest Hemingway or Elizabeth Bishop—someone who can offer a writer a way of creating enough distance so that truth and intimacy can emerge. Philip Schultz is the author of numerous poetry collections, among them Like Wings; the Pulitzer Prize–winning Failure; The God of Loneliness and Luxury. He’s been a guest before on Writer’s Voice in 2010 and 2018. Read poetry by Philip Schultz Carey Gillam Parkinson’s Disease is a global epidemic. Many researchers think the cause behind the epidemic lies in the more than 80,000 chemicals industry exposes us to every year. One of those chemicals is the herbicide paraquat—one of the most widely used. It’s been around for decades—since the 1970s. And it’s linked to Parkinsons. The company that makes it, Syngenta, denies the link. But journalist and author Carey Gillam recently got hold of secret company documents that proves Syngenta knew about the link from the beginning. She’s written about it in a series for The New Lede, a new journalism initiative begun by the Environmental Working Group. Gillam is managing editor. The third post in the series can be found here.

We talk with Emi Nietfield about her powerful memoir, Acceptance. It chronicles her struggles as a teenager and young adult to rise above the poverty and abuse she suffered as a child, despite a child protection system that was anything but protective of children. Then, PBS’s show Mystery has just begun a new series, Magpie Murders. We re-air our 2017 conversation with Magpie Murders author Anthony Horowitz. He adapted the book for the TV series. Writers Voice— in depth conversation with writers of all genres, on the air since 2004. Like us on Facebook at Writers Voice with Francesca Rheannon, on Instagram @WritersVoicePodcast or find us on twitter @WritersVoice. Love Writer’s Voice? Please rate us on your podcast app. It really helps to get the word out about our show. Emi Nietfield As a homeless teenager writing college essays in her rusty Toyota Corolla, Emi Nietfeld was convinced that the Ivy League was the only escape from her dysfunctional childhood. But upward mobility required crafting the perfect resilience narrative. She had to prove that she was an “overcomer,” made stronger by all that she had endured. The truth was more complicated. Nietfield’s mother was a hoarder who had her put on antipsychotics but also believed in her daughter’s brilliance. Her other parent vanished shortly after coming out as trans— a situation few understood in the mid-2000s. Her own past was filled with secrets: mental health struggles, Adderall addiction, and the unbecoming desperation of a teenager fending for herself. And though Nietfield would go on to graduate from Harvard and become a software engineer at Google, she found that success didn’t necessarily mean safety. Nietfield’s memoir Acceptance is both a chronicle of the American Dream and an indictment of it. It challenges our ideas of what it means to overcome—and find contentment on your own terms. In addition to Acceptance, Nietfield has written for the New York Times, Vice, and other venues. She’s been nominated for the Pushcart Prize, and noted in The Best American Essays 2021. Read an excerpt from Acceptance Anthony Horowitz Back in 2017, we spoke with celebrated British mystery writer Anthony Horowitz about his whodunit Magpie Murders. A kind of meta murder mystery with a tale within a tale, it was a hugely enjoyable read. Now, it’s been made into a TV series for the PBS show Mystery and it’s even more enjoyable. Horowitz wrote the screenplay; the actors are superb; and the direction inspired. To celebrate the series opening, we replay our 2017 conversation with Anthony Horowitz about Magpie Murders. Listen to our interview with Anthony Horowitz about the sequel to Magpie Murders, Moonflower Murders  

We talk with Antonio Padilla about his book, FANTASTIC NUMBERS AND WHERE TO FIND THEM: A Cosmic Quest From Zero To Infinity. Then, from science to poetry: we replay our 2009 interview with the late US Poet Laureate, Richard Wilbur. Writers Voice— in depth conversation with writers of all genres, on the air since 2004. Like us on Facebook at Writers Voice with Francesca Rheannon, on Instagram @WritersVoicePodcast or find us on twitter @WritersVoice. Love Writer’s Voice? Please rate us on your podcast app. It really helps to get the word out about our show. Antonio Padilla The abstract language of math seems to describe the real world and the universe. But what if math doesn’t just describe real phenomena, but actually underlies them? Is math not just a map but the actual territory? As you’ll hear in our conversation with theoretical physicist Anthonio Padilla, the answer to that question remains unknown. But Padilla’s book, Fantastic Numbers And Where To Find Them, is a dazzling exploration of the strange numbers that illuminate the ultimate nature of reality: numbers that are vanishingly small to unimaginably large, from zero to infinity. Padilla shows that the existence of the universe is highly improbable — but a teeny tiny number explains why it does, in fact, exist. In addition to showing how numbers are the key to understanding things like black holes and relativity, Fantastic Numbers entertains with charming portraits of some of the greatest mathematicians in history. It’s a mind-bending journey into places most strange and wonderful. Antonio Padilla teaches physics at the University of Nottingham in the UK and spreads popular awareness about math and physics on YouTube. Richard Wilbur When our second guest for this week canceled his appearance, we thought we would dip into our barrel of favorite episodes. We pulled up our 2009 conversation with former poet laureate, the late Richard Wilbur. Wilbur passed away in 2017. But in 2009, Francesca visited him along with writer Christian McEwan for a lovely hour listening to him read and talk about his poetry.

We talk with Steve Hendricks about his book The Oldest Cure in the World: Adventures in the Art and Science of Fasting. Then, we talk with wildlife conservation journalist and photographer Millie Kerr about her new book, Wilder: How Rewilding is Transforming Conservation and Changing the World. Writer’s Voice — in depth conversation with writers of all genres, on the air since 2004. Rate us on your favorite podcast app! It really helps others find our show. And like us on Facebook at Writers Voice Radio or find us on Twitter @WritersVoice. Steve Hendricks Fasting is a practice that goes back to ancient times. For centuries, it was followed as a religious practice—and continues as such today, for example during the Islamic observance of Eid. Then, in the 19th century, fasting gained greater currency as a cure for numerous ailments, although the medical profession scoffed at it as quackery. But in recent decades, scientific evidence has been growing that fasting indeed can be beneficial for many ailments, including diabetes, multiple sclerosis, auto-immune diseases and other illnesses. Author and journalist Steve Hendricks began his own investigations into and practice of fasting several decades ago, as a result of a bizarre neurological condition that left him exhausted all the time. His book The Oldest Cure in the World examines the history, the art and the science of fasting. He shows that there is a way of fasting for almost anyone, from eating within a time-restricted window every day to conducting weeks-long fasts at a fasting clinic. In addition to The Oldest Cure In The World, Steve Hendricks is the author of two other books, including the The Unquiet Grave: The FBI and the Struggle for the Soul of Indian Country, which we spoke with him about in 2007, and A Kidnapping in Milan: The CIA on Trial. He’s also the author of numerous articles for magazines and news sites. Steve Hendricks’ FAQs on fasting Millie Kerr The term “re-wilding” became famous when it was announced that a team of scientists had formed a company to bring back the wooly mammoth. That effort has been criticized by many as impractical. But re-wilding encompasses many different kinds of conservation efforts. They can range from converting your lawn to a meadow full of native wildflowers to taking animals out of zoos and re-introducing them to the wild where they had previously been extinct—and much more. In her book Wilder, wildlife journalist Millie Kerr considers the practicalities and possibilities of ecological restoration around the world, while exploring first-hand some of the most ambitious undertakings occurring today. She describes how growing re-wilding efforts around the world are transforming the field of conservation and with them, rekindling hope for a world on the brink of the Sixth Extinction. Millie Kerr’s wildlife photos