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05-20-11: A 2011 Interview with Peter S. Beagle at SF in SF on April 16, 2011


"The fact that I was writing songs forced structure on me and forced economy on me..."

—Peter S. Beagle

It's an accident, this pairing of Peter S. Beagle and Alta Ifland. But it is not without justice, as Beagle works in a territory that is not so far from that of Ifland. Structure and economy are surely commonalities. But the way both writers use the elements of the fantastic connects them as well. Beagle is a masterful writer, and every chance to speak with him unearths some new and wildly intelligent insight.

Beagle's readings that night at SF in SF were superb, and in fact so superb that I recently broadcast his story "Up the Down Beanstalk" on my show "Talk of the Bay" for KUSP. Our conversation this time took him back to his roots as a singer and songwriter, as that is how a good friend first knew him. For me Beagle has always been the author of 'The Last Unicorn.' But when I first mentioned the name to my friend, he didn't say, "You mean the World Fantasy Award Winner?" He said, "You mean the guy who played guitar at my wedding?"

Beagle, as it happens, was living in Watsonville when he wrote the now-famous introductions to paperback versions of The Lord of the Rings trilogy that so many of us read in our impressionable youth. It's a real lesson in resourcefulness to hear this incredibly talented writer talking about making a living. To hear a tale of pre-Internet songwriting shot through with elements of the fantastic, just follow this link to the MP3 audio file.



05-18-11: The Agony Column Live, April 9, 2011


Behold the Power of Meg Wolitzer and Alta Ifland

Sometimes you just have to be there — literally. As much as I can record the proceedings of The Agony Column Live, as much as we can commit them to tape, it is no substitute for being there. There is a power in the presence of the writers. Of course, there is also generally an electric current flowing as well, which tends to help the whole recording aspect of the show.

I was lucky, and knew it, to have the honor of two such fine guests for The Agony Column Live last month. Meg Wolitzer is one of our premiere writers of American fiction, and her latest novel, 'The Uncoupling,' fits perfectly into the purview of my readers' and listeners' interests — literary fiction with a twist of the fantastic. Alta Ifland is a superb poet and prose writer of fables and the grotesque who spins out nuggets from another world that happens, more often than not, to be part of our world. In some ways they couldn't be more different, but somehow they fit together perfectly and created a unique air in the Capitola Book Café.

It had been raining off and on, but still we had a good crowd. And we even managed to keep that crowd when the power went out. Now, that meant that of necessity, we lost some of the recording, but it was really fun to simply plunge ahead, until it threatened to get so dark that there was some danger of customers tripping over chairs when the show was over. But we did manage to record 42 solid minutes, which you can hear by following this link to the MP3 audio file.



05-17-11: Two Books With Alan Cheuse


You Think That's Bad, Jim Shepard and Kurt Vonnegut: Novels & Stories, 1963-1973, Kurt Vonnegut and Sidney Offit

It's funny, how well seemingly disparate books can fit together. On the surface, what could be more different than a contemporary collection of short stories and a selection of classic novels from the 1960's and 1970's? You can rest assured, however, that Alan Cheuse is going to get under the surface to explore the themes and tropes of any work he reads. This week, we talked about 'You Think That's Bad,' by Jim Shepard and 'Kurt Vonnegut: Novels & Stories, 1963-1973,' by Kurt Vonnegut and with an introduction by Sidney Offit.

Perhaps it was the selection, or perhaps it was just years of talking about books, but this discussion with NPR'S Alan Cheuse seemed particularly enjoyable. Of course, it helps that we chose two books that we both really enjoyed.

Jim Shepard's collection of short stories is so packed and dense, with each story having so much back-story, that it is almost like a collection of novels. The stories are dense and funny, and there's a sort of bravado about all of them. Shepard takes readers everywhere and everywhen; from the ultra-violence of medieval France to the ultra-paranoia of the 21st century.

The Vonnegut collection is almost shockingly late, but I find it fascinating how, here in the 21st century, the Library of America is, in its own way, validating the science fiction of the 20th century. But the true virtue of the Library of America's work is that they offer readers (and reviewers!) a means of re-reading favorite titles in a different setting, something that does not get talked about much in these days of eternal invention and original release.

To hear an original discussion about 'You Think That's Bad,' by Jim Shepard and 'Kurt Vonnegut: Novels & Stories, 1963-1973,' by Kurt Vonnegut, you can follow this link to the MP3 audio file.



05-16-11: A 2011 Interview with Keith Thomson

Click image for audio link.

"...his family thought that he was just an aircraft engineer, but he was working for the CIA..."

—Keith Thomson

Photo by Steve Laufer.

Update: Here's a link to the Agony Column Radio Broadcast edit of the Keith Thomson interview, coming in at a sleek (or, depending on your perspective, gutted) 20-something minutes.

Yes, there is more than a nugget of truth to Keith Thomson's 'Once a Spy' and 'Twice a Spy.' In fact, there's an actual surveillance drone — which you can see Thomson holding in the photograph above. When he and I talked before the interview, he asked if I wanted him to bring along a surveillance drone. We got to launch the drone in the radio station, with KUSP's photographer, Steve Laufer on hand to record the events. Of course, there's an App for that.

Photo by Steve Laufer.

Thomson showed up at the station with an enormous burlap sack. Had he been so inclined, or had the morals of some of the less law-abiding characters he creates in his novels, he could probably have chopped up my body into pieces and carried it out to dump it in the Yacht Harbor next to KUSP. (That wouldn't have been a good idea, as the tsunami might have washed it up.) Inside the sack, however, was the drone — so no room for a bloody torso.


First, of course, we discussed his new novel, 'Twice a Spy,' in detail, but without revealing any plot points. If you haven't read 'Once a Spy' go buy it, read it, and then come back to this page. Now that you've been warned, I can say that for all the scientific research and tradecraft connections that Thomson has, he's a writer who mines his creative muse, not someone who plots by brand name. But there are a lot of stories behind the stories he writes, and those stories are not surprisingly just as interesting as those that end up in his novels.

Photo by Steve Laufer.

When we finished talking, we got to play with his drone, which was every bit as fun as I anticipated. I admit that I did not anticipate that it would literally be run by an iPhone app. You not only drive it from the iPhone, you also spy from the iPhone. You can see in the photos taken by Steve Laufer that the screen on the iPhone shows me taking a photo of the drone in the air. Of course, as tech like this gets cheaper and cheaper those who use it will be less and less under any sort of control. Your neighbor might use it to terrorize your dogs and make them bark all night. And that's just the tip of the iceberg.

Photo by Steve Laufer.

To get a feel for what the rest of the iceberg is like, you can follow this link to the MP3 audio file of our conversation.



New to the Agony Column

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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