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.
In the past few weeks, we’ve received several emails on the equipment we use for the show. Shure Beta 58A (x2): Our main recording mikes for the interviews. (You may have noticed a slight boost in audio quality with the last few shows. These mikes are one of the reasons why.) Shure SM-57s (x3): Backup […]
MoreAuthor: Jonathan Ames Condition of Bat Segundo: Too easily complaisant to charlatan announcers. Subjects Discussed: The controversial cover of I Love You More Than You Know, self-promotional footnotes, rules for writing, writing originating from unexpected requests, “tossed off” essays, depression and writing, essays which involve the penis, the somber and introspective feel of Ames’ latest […]
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MoreAuthor: Liz Perle Condition of Mr. Segundo: Vengeful and nostalgic for bad investment decisions. Subjects Discussed: The quiet contract, what power means, responding to Ariel Levy’s review, the emotional middle class, lying to partners about money, conspicuous consumption, status, the two tiers of women-centric economics, guilt, women not being allowed to talk about money, describing […]
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MoreAuthors: Dan Wickett and Kirstin Allio Condition of Mr. Segundo: Snubbed and pining for Beelzebub. Subjects Discussed: The ideal of the perfect sentence, Faulkner, research, New Hampshire, 1920s vernacular, the controversy of Mrs. Heald, drafting Garner, agents and literary fiction, literary influences, Wallace Stegner, naming names, cemeteries, the difficulties of writing about girlhood, and being […]
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MoreAuthors: Megan Sullivan, Rupert Thomson, Scott Esposito and Edward Falco. Condition of Mr. Segundo: Looking for answers in British science fiction. Subjects Discussed: How the idea came about, relentlessly cheery Swedish girlfriends, how Rupert Thomson processes his prodigious research, Ian McEwan, inspiration vs. craft, the trappings of being a “speculative fiction writer,” entertaining novels vs. […]
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MoreAuthors: Sam Jones, Ander Monson, C. Max Magee and Elizabeth Crane. Condition of Mr. Segundo: Snubbed and self-righteous. Subjects Discussed: Visceral voice vs. conceptual voice, the book’s origins, the Monson universe of stories, snow, self-help books, postmodernism, the war on ambitious fiction, John Barth, the original expansive form of Other Electricities, Twin Peaks, book design, […]
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MoreAuthor: Dave Barry Condition of Mr. Segundo: Reduced to second-string narrator. Subjects Discussed: Suze Orman, footnotes, Donald Trump, lawsuits, phone calls from Paul Anka, daily affirmations, indices, sex with ducks, buzz cuts (1960 vs. 2005), the boomerang generation, getting reviewed in the NYTBR, Dave Barry deconstructs our Young, Roving Correspondent’s baroque speaking style, snobbery, humor, […]
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MoreAuthor: Jay Ryan Condition of Mr. Segundo: Not savvy with current music but remarkably focused. Subjects Discussed: How Jay Ryan transforms a concept to music poster, whether or not squirrels attack astronauts, Shellac, Werner Herzog, hand-drawn typography, grumpiness, what happens when bands get an unexpected poster, printing on a mechanical press, smudge marks, bleeding, Rockwell […]
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MoreOkay, folks, bear with us. Lots of changes and developments. First off, we apologize for the temporary generic template. We’ve shifted over to WordPress and we’ve been trying to get the RSS stuff tweaked. By the end of the week, we’ll get things squared away. We’re also working on getting everything more compatible for you […]
MoreAuthor: Chris Elliott Condition of Mr. Segundo: Immersed in the past with a baseball bat cut from a tree. Subjects Discussed: Lack of sleep from both parties, the lure of money, the Chris Elliott persona vs. the real Chris Elliott, Jack the Ripper, parodies, Alan Moore’s From Hell, research, trying to read while acting, on […]
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MoreWe’re pleased to announce that our Young, Roving Correspondent will be talking with the five nominees for this quarter’s round of LBC goodness. The podcasts will first be released in five installments at the LBC site and will then be edited into two or three Segundo shows here. More information about what the LBC is […]
MoreAuthor: Mark Ames Condition of Mr. Segundo: Relaxed and possibly malingering. Subjects Discussed: Falling asleep during interviews, online terror threats, myspace.com, language as a source of enslavement, using linguistics to prove a thesis, the similarities between slavery and MBA management theory, the advantages of being both an expatriate and anthropologist, Hunter S. Thompson, conformity, rage […]
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