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04-17-09 : Agony Column Exclusive : Alan Cheuse : Three Books

Alan Cheuse is the nation's foremost radio book reviewer, and as it happens, one of our best novelists as well. Having interviewed Mr. Cheuse now and again, and having heard his reviews, I decided to see if he was up for a semi-regular feature here in the Agony Column Podcast. I proposed a simple format. I'd ring him on the phone and we'd talk about three books worth reading.

Because the heavens smile upon me, he agreed. This week, we're starting with three books that haven’t been in this column before; 'In Other Rooms, Other Wonders' by Daniyal Mueenuddin; 'The Stalin Epigram' by Robert Littel; and ' A Pocket History of Sex in the Twentieth Century' by Jane Vandenburgh. Worthy of your valuable time and money? You can find out by following this slink to the MP3 audio file.



04-16-09 : 'Private Midnight' Soundtrack CD : Kris Saknussemm and Clamon

The music starts early in Kris Saknussemm's 'Private Midnight.' "Wayward heart ... always leads me in danger ... of staring fondly at strangers ..." It's the sort of smoky jazzy thing you hear, "when you're weaving out of a fern bar." Writers use music as cues in their work at their peril; presume that someone has heard a song and if they haven't, you've lost them. Presume that a reader may like a song and if they don't, you've lost them. Kris Saknussemm takes care of that potential problem with a pre-emptive strike — a soundtrack CD for his novel 'Private Midnight.'

In case you were expecting something relatively normal on the 'Private Midnight' soundtrack CD, please allow me to dash those expectations. His band is Clamon, including Saknussemm himself, Paul Nunns, Nel Staite (Lead Vocals),John Davey (Saxophone), Evil Steve, Tortoiseshell Male, Stef Koumouris (Piano/Wayward Heart), David Picone (Drums/Wayward Heart) and Steve Wilfred (Guitar/Let the Creatures Loose). Do note that one of the chapters of 'Private Midnight' received First Prize in the 10 Minute Play Category of The Missouri Review's first Audio Competition.

While there are some standard songs on this CD, you're going to find stuff that's a lot stranger than you might imagine, just like the novel. You can download the entire CD from this link and hear for yourself.



04-15-09 : Agony Column Podcast News Report : Lou Anders on Steampunk, Victoriana and Elizabethan SF

It had been too song since I last spoke to Lou Anders, editor for Pyr Books. And as I dug through some titles that had been hastily moved out to the garage, I came across some work that jumped out at me as belonging in my Steampunk week. Chris Roberson's 'End of the Century,' for example. Once Lou got out of an apocalyptic traffic jam, I got him on the phone to talk about steampunk, Roberson and whatever else came to our minds.

As the editor of the Pyr imprint, Lou Anders is a busy guy. He's putting out some 30 books this year, and his mucky-mucks want more. And here's the big surprise, because as publishing seems to be collapsing around us, science fiction imprints are springing up all over, and doing quite well thank you very much. I talked to Lou about Pyr, some upcoming titles, steampunk and not-steampunk in a conversation you can hear by following this link to the mp3 audio file.



04-14-09 : Agony Column Radio Broadcast from February 8, 2009 : Nancy Chen and Sarah Powers

Some interviews really surprise me, and I must say that both Nancy Chen and Sarah Powers managed that. Nancy Chen's book' 'Food Medicine and the Quest for Good Health,' seemed like a book and interview that were destined to be. I've been heading down this path for along time, so to meet and speak with her about her synthesis of these three themes was almost like being re-incarnated.

Sarah Powers, on the other hand, offered the pleasures of the completely unknown. I'll admit that I was entirely and pretty much deliberately unfamiliar with yoga until I spoke with her. My wife had attended a yoga class, but that was the extent of my knowledge. So to sit down with Sarah Powers and just ask, straight out, "What's yoga?" was really refreshing. You can hear the MP3 of my broadcast Agony Column Radio show from February 8, 2009 by following this MP3 audio link.



04-13-09 : A 2009 interview with Phil Austin and Nick Danger : "That third eye is real"

It's just a little less than two weeks until the Firesign Theatre shows up here in Monterey to do a live show at the Monterey Golden State Theater, and I was fortunate enough o be able to get Nck Danger himself, AKA Phil Austin, on the phone to talk about the Firesign Theatre and his work as Nick Danger. I was delighted to learn the genesis of Nick Danger — Johnny Dollar.

When you talk to Austin or the rest of the group, it's really clear why the Firesign Theatre's work is amazing as it is. Listening to tracks like "The Further Adventures of Nick Danger" or "Everything You Know is Wrong," you start to wonder just how much background research was done. The flow of the audio is incredibly dense and layered, and on one hand, it sounds as if they made the whole thing up in one swell foop, live in the studio. That's because the alternative is that they spent months researching and rehearsing the work, performing it hundreds of times and doing thousands of takes then carefully assembling these from four track tapes to an audio experience that sounds like a big-budget movie sans visuals. And the best part is that, as when reading, the listener gets to put it all together in the listening experience. Hearing about the origins of their work, such as the story of Johnny Dollar, just makes it that much more interesting. In "Yours Truly, Johnny Dollar," Johnny Dollar was an insurance investigator who started the show with a phone call, and went on to solve the crime. But he didn't have the advantage of a Third Eye.

Turns out they did do all the research, for example, into world of flying saucer believers for 'Everything You Know is Wrong' and the world of 1930's radio detective serials for the Nick danger pieces. You can hear my conversation with Phil Austin in this MP3 audio link.

But wait — there's more! Following the interview, I'm podcasting the entire 28-plus minutes of 'The Further Adventures of Nick Danger' from 'Danger Box.' In a sense I should apologize, because as with some of the books I recommend, I suspect some listeners will find themselves compelled to dive into the Firesign Theatre's entire oeuvre. If you get a chance, see them live. If you do, just Don’t Crush That Dwarf — Hand Me the Pliers.


New to the Agony Column

04-21-15: Commentary : Kazuo Ishiguro Unearths 'The Buried Giant' : The Mist of Myth and Memory

Agony Column Podcast News Report : A 2014 Interview with Kazuo Ishiguro : ".... by the time I was writing this novel, the lines between what was fantasy and what was real had blurred for me..."

Agony Column Podcast News Report UPDATE: Time to Read Episode 202: Kazuo Ishiguro : The Buried Giant

04-17-15: Commentary : Erik Larson Follows a 'Dead Wake' : Countdown to Destiny

Agony Column Podcast News Report : A 2014 Interview with Erik Larson : " "...said to have been found in the arms of a dead German sailor..."

Agony Column Podcast News Report UPDATE: Time to Read Episode 201: Erik Larson : Dead Wake

04-15-15: Commentary : Peter Bell Reflects 'A Certain Slant of Light' : Strange Stories of Modern Scholars

Agony Column Podcast News Report : A 2014 Interview with Peter Bell : "...I looked up some of the old books..."

Agony Column Podcast News Report UPDATE: Time to Read Episode 200: Peter Bell : Strange Epiphanies and A Certain Slant of Light

03-14-15: Commentary : Marc Goodman Foresees 'Future Crimes' : Exponential Potential

Agony Column Podcast News Report : A 2015 Interview with Marc Goodman : "...every physical object around us is being transformed, one way or another, into an information technology..."

Agony Column Podcast News Report UPDATE: Time to Read Episode 199: Marc Goodman : Future Crimes: Everything Is Connected, Everyone Is Vulnerable and What We Can Do About It

03-01-15: Commentary : William Ury on Getting to Yes with Yourself: And Other Worthy Opponents : To the BATNA, Robin!

Agony Column Podcast News Report : A 2015 Interview with William Ury : ...he proceeded to shout at me for approximately 30 minutes..."

Agony Column Podcast News Report UPDATE: Time to Read Episode 198: William Ury : Getting to Yes with Yourself: And Other Worthy Opponents

02-22-15: Commentary : Jennifer Senior Experiences 'All Joy and No Fun: The Paradox of Modern Parenthood' : Reading Fun for the Whole Fambly!

Agony Column Podcast News Report : A 2015 Interview with Jennifer Senior : "...it becomes a source of enormous tension once a baby comes along..."

Agony Column Podcast News Report UPDATE: Time to Read Episode 197: Jennifer Senior : All Joy and No Fun: The Paradox of Modern Parenthood

02-09-15: Commentary : Stewart O'Nan Looks 'West of Sunset' : Twilight of the Great

Agony Column Podcast News Report : A 2015 Interview with Stewart O'Nan : "...we see him as a tragedian because is life is a tragedy..."

Agony Column Podcast News Report UPDATE: Time to Read Episode 196: Stewart O'Nan : West of Sunset

02-04-15: Commentary : Armistead Maupin Maps 'The Days of Anna Madrigal' : Swiftly Flow the Years

Agony Column Podcast News Report : A 2015 Interview with Armistead Maupin : "I could see what silliness was going on while it was happening..."

Agony Column Podcast News Report UPDATE: Time to Read Episode 195: Armistead Maupin : The Days of Anna Madrigal

01-31-15: Commentary : Christine Carter's Path to 'The Sweet Spot: How to Find Your Groove at Home and Work' : Neurohabits

Agony Column Podcast News Report : A 2015 Interview with Christine Carter, Ph.D. : "...a real tipping point..."

Agony Column Podcast News Report UPDATE: Time to Read Episode 194: Christine Carter, Ph.D. : The Sweet Spot: How to Find Your Groove at Home and Work

01-23-15: Commentary : Jake Halpern Pushes 'Bad Paper: Chasing Debt from Wall Street to the Underworld' : Non-Fiction 21st Century Noir

Agony Column Podcast News Report : A 2015 Interview with Jake Halpern : "...he goes to Las Vegas to this debt-buyers' convention..."

Agony Column Podcast News Report UPDATE: Time to Read Episode 193: Jake Halpern : Bad Paper: Chasing Debt from Wall Street to the Underworld

01-19-15: Commentary : David Shields and Caleb Powell Assert 'I Think You're Totally Wrong' : The Power to Bicker

Agony Column Podcast News Report : A 2015 Interview with David Shields and Caleb Powell : "I read no book reviews any more; the level of discussion is really pedestrian." David Shields "I'm just saying it's a conflict of interest!" Caleb Powell

Agony Column Podcast News Report UPDATE: Time to Read Episode 192: David Shields and Caleb Powell : I Think You're Totally Wrong

01-17-15: Commentary : Charles Todd Expects 'A Fine Summer's Day' : We Interrupt This Program...

Commentary : Charles Todd Engages In 'A Test of Wills' : The Politics of Passion and Policing

Agony Column Podcast News Report : A 2014 Interview with Charles and Caroline Todd : "...let them be themselves and sort it out..." Caroline Todd "...it's more on a personal level..." Charles Todd

Agony Column Podcast News Report UPDATE: Time to Read Episode 191: Charles Todd : A Fine Summer's Day

01-13-15: Commentary : Rosalie Parker Unearths 'The Old Knowledge' : The New Old World

Agony Column Podcast News Report : A 2014 Interview with Ray Russell and Rosalie Parker : "I thought I'd write something for fun.." Ray Russell "..there was a side of me of that was interested in the strangeness..." Ros Parker

01-12-15: Commentary : Richard Ford 'Let Me Be Frank with You' : The Default Years

Agony Column Podcast News Report : A 2014 Interview with Richard Ford : "...most of our politicians are morons..."

Agony Column Podcast News Report UPDATE: Time to Read Episode 190: Richard Ford : Let Me Be Frank with You

01-06-15: Commentary : Bessel van der Kolk 'The Body Keeps the Score' : Human Trauma

Agony Column Podcast News Report : A 2014 Interview with Bessel van der Kolk : "...being able to see what happens in the brain really helps us to understand certain things..."

Agony Column Podcast News Report UPDATE: Time to Read Episode 189: Bessel van der Kolk : The Body Keeps the Score

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