The Bat Segundo Show was a long-running cultural radio program devoted to quirky and very thorough long-form interviews with contemporary authors, idiosyncratic thinkers, and other assorted artists. Guests included David Lynch, Octavia Butler, John Waters, John Updike, Stephen Fry, Marilynne Robinson, Karen Russell, Weird Al Yankovic, Robert A. Caro, and more than 500 others. There was also a program called Follow Your Ears, which was a thematic investigative counterpart, in which I pursued a specific subject through several angles. The entire archive of what I did from 2005 to 2014 is included here.
Mark Z. Danielewski is most recently the author of Only Revolutions. Condition of Mr. Segundo: Horrified by “misprinted” books. Author: Mark Z. Danielewski Subjects Discussed: The origins of Only Revolutions, Hailey’s appearance in House of Leaves, the use of obscure uncanonized words in Only Revolutions (and their various origins), hip-hop, Gene Wolfe, Anthony Burgess, teenagers […]
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MoreRichard Dawkins is most recently the author of The God Delusion. Condition of Mr. Segundo: Attempting to set up a tequila-faith based organization. Author: Richard Dawkins Subjects Discussed: The audience for The God Delusion, comparing an atheistic text to Satan, evolutionary biology and religion, charitable religious-based organizations, Mother Teresa, whether imaginary constructs are a bad […]
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MoreSam Savage is most recently the author of Firmin. Condition of Mr. Segundo: Still missing, wondering who this Champion character is. Guests: Sam Savage and Edward Champion Subjects Discussed: Having a rat as a protagonist, investigating rats, on being a late starter, poetry, exploring consciousness in fiction, the destruction of Scollay Square, collaborating on the […]
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MoreScott Smith is most recently the author of The Ruins. Author: Scott Smith Condition of Mr. Segundo: Still missing, replaced temporarily by a windbag. Subjects Discussed: The addictive nature of The Ruins, insecurity, writing without an outline, making a seemingly preposterous premise believable, Rupert Thomson, on taking things too far, how deadlines help, aborted 1,000 […]
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MoreGeorge Ilsley is most recently the author of ManBug. Condition of Mr. Segundo: Avoidant of infestations. Guests: Matt Cheney and George Ilsley Subjects Discussed: The “arc” of the LBC, small presses, Kinsey, entomological inspiration, language play, relationships, Dan Savage, Queer as Folk, Brokeback Mountain, unexpected audiences, unreliable narrators, insect collections, gall wasps, bed bugs, unique […]
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MoreSidney Thompson is most recently the author of Sideshow. Guests: Jeff Bryant and Sidney Thompson Condition of Mr. Segundo: Locked away by a Pittsburgh podcaster. Subjects Discussed: Faulkner vs. R.E.M., Southern fiction, how music influences fiction, observing unusual behavior, Thompson’s musical background, family as a starting point, taboos, the happy medium between shock value and […]
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MoreJoe Eszterhas is most recently the author of The Devil’s Guide to Hollywood. Author: Joe Eszterhas Condition of Mr. Segundo: Groping for borrowed salacious content. Subjects Discussed: Ambrose Bierce, the screenwriter as god, exclamation points, Robert McKee, the “twisted little man” inside Eszterhas, cynics in Hollywood, William Goldman, the reasons for writing Basic Instinct, Jagged […]
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MoreNora Ephron is most recently the author of I Feel Bad About My Neck. Author: Nora Ephron Condition of Mr. Segundo: Terse, but combative towards golden boys. Subjects Discussed: The side effects of eating cake, book tour provisos, Marie Antoinette, superthin models, anatomical parts as literary inspiration, ageism, hair dye, Botox, responding to the Cleveland […]
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MoreOur Correspondent conducted several odd interviews at Bouchercon 2006. Guests: Lee Goldberg, Robert S. Levinson, Alexandra Sokoloff, Sarah Weinman, Jon Jordan, Jennifer Jordan, Jim Winter, Russel McLean, Sandi Loper-Herzog, Steve Stillwell, and Duane Swierczynski. Condition of Mr. Segundo: Attemptnig to seek a spiritual path. Subjects Discussed: The Goldberg brothers, story limits and novelists, pi, Marie […]
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MoreTC Boyle is most recently the author of Talk Talk> Author: T.C. Boyle Condition of Mr. Segundo: Dubious of state lottery programs. Subjects Discussed: Multiple genders, Lawrence Durrell, on whether Talk Talk is a thriller, Anthony Burgess’ The Right to an Answer, Graham Greene, identity theft, Milton, paranoia, jail, Cassie Chadwick, biometrics, capitalist society, why […]
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MoreAnnalee Newitz is the author of Pretend We’re Dead> Author: Annalee Newitz Condition of Mr. Segundo: Looking for an unwholesome bargain. Subjects Discussed: Capitalist monsters, Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, brain movies, Birth of a Nation, the fear of white power being lost, class warfare, Sawny Beane, the individual impulses of serial killers, Jeffrey Dahmer, […]
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MoreAuthor: Tommy Chong Condition of Mr. Segundo: Recovering from a medical mishap. Subjects Discussed: Examining Title 21, Section 863, whether Clinton was in power in the 1980s, salsa dancing, the requirements for being an FBI special agent, plea bargaining, prison life, bodyguards, the Bush family, the advantages of celebrity status vs. a common offender being […]
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