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01-23-15: A 2014 Interview with Jake Halpern

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"...he goes to Las Vegas to this debt-buyers' convention..."

—Jake Halpern

Listen to Jake Halpern for about a minute, and you'll see where the incredible energy in 'Bad Paper: Chasing Debt from Wall Street to the Underworld' comes from. This is one of those interviews where you'll hear his voice reading the book to you when you pick it up. If you wonder what exactly is meant by "coiled energy," Halpern's voice is a great definition.

Halpern combines that great voice with an equally great storytelling sensibility. His speaking and his prose voice are used to best advantage to take you on a journey to a world within our world that you might not ever have suspected could exist. I will warn readers that hearing this interview is very likely to make you want to buy and read the book. To me it has all the makings of a classic.

Jake and I talked about some of the nuts and bolts of the book, and some of the stories in the book, but as well we discussed the how and why of writing the book. In both cases, he's a great storyteller, offering insights into his characters as his means of creating them.

The story behind the book is nearly as wild as the story within the book. While you'd think all this reportage is just a bit (or really, a LOT) of pounding the pavements and knocking on door (and there is plenty of that), there is also a wild card in there that, well, just reeks of how we're doing crime in the 21st century. The Kinks have a good song about that; "Everybody's a dreamer / and everybody's a star /everybody's in showbiz / it doesn't matter who you are..."

Jake Halpern is really on to something in this book. I can't want for his next one. You can download your own personal file about stolen Excel files by following this link to the MP3 audio file.




01-23-15 UPDATE: Podcast Update: Time to Read Episode 193: Jake Halpern, 'Bad Paper: Chasing Debt from Wall Street to the Underworld'

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Here's the one-hundred ninety-third episode of my series of podcasts, which I'm calling Time to Read. Hitting the two-year mark, I'm going to make an effort to stay ahead, so that podcast listeners can get the same sort of "sneak preview" effect that radio listeners get each Friday morning. This week, I seem to be on top opf the game, but who knows what the hell might happen. I am hoping to stay back up and stumbling.

Stumbling is obviously the key word here, but I am trying to keep up with projects in the future as well as catch up with projects in the past. My apologies to Brian and the other Europe interviews that are taking so long to edit and get posted. I'm trying folks!

The podcasts/radio broadcasts will be of books worth your valuable reading time. I'll try to keep the reports under four minutes, for a radio-friendly format. If you want to run them on your show or podcast, let me know.

My hope is that in under four minutes I can offer readers a concise review and an opportunity to hear the author read from or speak about the work. I'm hoping to offer a new one every week.

The one-hundred ninety-third episode is a look at Jake Halpern and 'Bad Paper: Chasing Debt from Wall Street to the Underworld.'.

Here's a link to the MP3 audio file of Time to Read, Episode 193: Jake Halpern, 'Bad Paper: Chasing Debt from Wall Street to the Underworld.'.




01-19-15: A 2014 Interview with David Shields and Caleb Powell

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"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

I had so much fun talking with David Shields and Caleb Powell about their book, 'I Think You're Totally Wrong,' that it almost undermined the idea of the book being a quarrel And as an interviewer, these two made my job supremely easy when they weren't making it unexpectedly hard.

I'm just as lazy as the next guy, so one of the reasons that I dragged my heavy gear out to Union Square, parked in the bowels of the garage there, and then hauled the leaden cases up with me was that I was hoping for a snowball interview, which is to say that I hoped to be able to make a brief comment and then let the bickering begin.

This proved to work reasonably well, once, at least, the two of them built up a head of steam. It was also really, really fun; even while (here comes the dissonance) we were talking about abstract concepts and philosophies. But the interviewees started asking me questions, and in this format, my answers seemed a bit more relevant.

I certainly had a few bones to pick with their book. I run a website with all pretty positive reviews. a position that was dissed in the book. As so far as that goes, David Shields had a problem out of the box with my description of him as a polemicist. We had an argument out of the box, which was the point of both the interview and the book.

We also had more fun than we all expected, since we ran an easy hour. This is a dangerous interview. It will make you think strange thoughts and make you want to buy the book to craft stranger and stronger thoughts and disagreements with yourself and the world at large. Let me thank the authors for being so generous with the time and twitchiness. Prepare to quarrel by following this link to the MP3 audio file.




01-19-15 UPDATE: Podcast Update: Time to Read Episode 192: David Shields and Caleb Powell, 'I Think You're Totally Wrong'

Click image for audio link.
Here's the one-hundred ninety-second episode of my series of podcasts, which I'm calling Time to Read. these days I actually sort of perform them with the writers as a "lightning round" (thanks David Rich!) after the longer interview.

I try to keep these lighning round interviews under four minutes, for a radio-friendly format. If you want to run them on your show or podcast, let me know.

This edition of Time to Read includes two bits in one. It's entirely unedited, in keeping with the live format of the book. And it's 12 minutes long.

My hope is that (generally) in under four minutes I can offer readers a concise review and an opportunity to hear the author read from or speak about the work. I'm hoping to offer a new one every week.

The one-hundred ninety-second episode is a look at David Shields and Caleb Powell's book 'I Think You're Totally Wrong.'

Here's a link to the MP3 audio file of Time to Read, Episode 192: David Shields and Caleb Powell, 'I Think You're Totally Wrong'.



New to the Agony Column

09-18-15: Commentary : William T. Vollman Amidst 'The Dying Grass' : An Epic Exploration of Simultaneity

Agony Column Podcast News Report : A 2015 Interview with William T. Vollman : "...a lot of long words that in our language are sentences..."

09-05-15: Commentary : Susan Casey Listens to 'Voices in the Ocean' : Science, Empathy and Self

Agony Column Podcast News Report : A 2015 Interview with Susan Casey : "...the reporting for this book was emotionally difficult at times..."

Agony Column Podcast News Report UPDATE: Time to Read Episode 213: Susan Casey : Voices in the Ocean: A Journey into the Wild and Haunting World of Dolphins

08-24-15: Commentary : Felicia Day Knows 'You're Never Weird on the Internet (Almost)' : Transformative Technology

Agony Column Podcast News Report : A 2015 Interview with Felicia Day : "I think you have to be attention curators for audience in every way."

08-22-15: Agony Column Podcast News Report UPDATE: Time to Read Episode 212: Felicia Day : You're Never Weird on the Internet (Almost)

08-21-15: Agony Column Podcast News Report : Senator Claire McCaskill is 'Plenty Ladylike' : Internalizing Determination to Overcome Sexism [Incudes Time to Read EP 211: Claire McCaskill, Plenty Ladylike, plus A 2015 Interview with Senator Claire McCaskill]

Agony Column Podcast News Report : Emily Schultz Unleashes 'The Blondes' : A Cure by Color [Incudes Time to Read EP 210: Emily Schultz, The Blondes, plus A 2015 Interview with Emily Schultz]

08-10-15:Agony Column Podcast News Report : In Memory of Alan Cheuse : Thank you Alan, and Your Family, for Everything

07-11-15: Commentary : Robert Repino Morphs 'Mort(e)' : Housecat to Harbinger of the Apocalypse

Agony Column Podcast News Report : A 2015 Interview with Robert Repino : "...an even bigger threat. which is us, the humans..."

Agony Column Podcast News Report UPDATE: Time to Read Episode 208: Robert Repino : Mort(e)

07-05-15: Commentary : Dr. Michael Gazzaniga Tells Tales from Both Sides of the Brain : A Life in Neuroscience Reveals the Life of Science

Agony Column Podcast News Report : A 2015 Interview with Michael Gazzaniga : "We made the first observation and BAM there was the disconnection effect..."

Agony Column Podcast News Report UPDATE: Time to Read Episode 208: Michael Gazzaniga : Tales from Both Sides of the Brain: A Life in Neuroscience

06-26-15: Commentary : Neal Stephenson Crafts an Eden for 'Seveneves' : Blow It Up and Start All Over Again

Agony Column Podcast News Report : A 2015 Interview with Neal Stephenson : "...and know that you're never going to se a tree again..."

Agony Column Podcast News Report UPDATE: Time to Read Episode 207: Neal Stephenson : Seveneves

06-03-15: Commentary : Dan Simmons Opens 'The Fifth Heart' : Having it Every Way

Agony Column Podcast News Report : A 2015 Interview with Dan Simmons : "...yes, they really did bring those bombs..."

Agony Column Podcast News Report UPDATE: Time to Read Episode 206: Dan Simmons : The Fifth Heart

05-23-15: Commentary : John Waters Gets 'Carsick' : Going His Way

Agony Column Podcast News Report : A 2015 Interview with John Waters : "...you change how you would be in real life...”

Agony Column Podcast News Report UPDATE: Time to Read Episode 205: John Waters : Carsick

05-09-15: Commentary : Jeffrey A. Lieberman, MD and 'Shrinks' : A Most Fashionable Take on the Human Mind

Agony Column Podcast News Report : A 2015 Interview with Jeffrey A. Lieberman, MD : "..its influence to be as hegemonic as it was..."

Agony Column Podcast News Report UPDATE: Time to Read Episode 204: Jeffrey A. Lieberman, MD : Shrinks: The Untold Story of Psychiatry

04-29-15: Commentary : Barney Frank is 'Frank' : Interpersonally Ours

Agony Column Podcast News Report : A 2015 Interview with Barney Frank : "...while you're trying to change it, don't ignore it..."

Agony Column Podcast News Report UPDATE: Time to Read Episode 203: Barney Frank : Frank: A Life in Politics from the Great Society to Same-Sex Marriage

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

Agony Column Podcast News Report : A 2015 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 2015 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

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