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.
Barry Gifford is most recently the author of Sailor & Lula: The Complete Novels. Condition of Mr. Segundo: Wilder than his heartburn. Author: Barry Gifford Subjects Discussed: [List forthcoming] EXCERPT FROM SHOW: Gifford: Well, the point is “Don’t be a victim.” I mean, I think I have another chapter somewhere that’s called “Victims.” But that’s […]
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MoreRobin Black is most recently the author of If I Loved You, I Would Tell You This. Condition of Mr. Segundo: If he could tell you, he’d have to love you. Author: Robin Black Subjects Discussed: Writing ten stories over eight years, rumination time and writing, Black discarding 75% of what she writes, the importance […]
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MoreNell Irvin Painter is most recently the author of The History of White People. Condition of Mr. Segundo: Drowning in David Coverdale’s noxious imperialism. Author: Nell Irvin Painter Subjects Discussed: Dred Scott, the Chinese Exclusion Act, Buck vs. Bell, Plessy vs. Ferguson, William Z. Ripley, racist intellectuals vs. racist legal decisions, Irish poverty and Emerson’s […]
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MoreMarisa Meltzer is most recently the author of Girl Power. Condition of Mr. Segundo: Wondering why Liz Phair is running away. Author: Marisa Meltzer Subjects Discussed: Mapping out what it means to be a woman, leveling patriarchal playing fields, identity and feminist consciousness, siblinghood fantasies, Sassy Magazine, riot grrls, Nirvana, Sonic Youth, Pavement, relying too […]
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MoreDavid Shields is most recently the author of Reality Hunger. Condition of Mr. Segundo: Settling for a quesadilla or some reality for lunch. Author: David Shields Subjects Discussed: The origins of the novel and the pretense of actuality, Shields’s dismissal of Myla Goldberg’s forthcoming novel based solely on a catalog description, the creative possibilities that […]
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MoreSam Lipsyte recently appeared on The Bat Segundo Show #325. Mr. Lipsyte is most recently the author of The Ask. Condition of Mr. Segundo: Looking to ask someone for something. Author: Sam Lipsyte Subjects Discussed: Milo Burke as the obverse to Home Land‘s Lewis Miner (and common personality qualities), Lipsyte’s early draft of The Ask […]
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MoreMarilyn Johnson is most recently the author of This Book is Overdue! Condition of Mr. Segundo: Hoping to avoid being arrested by Rusty the Bailiff. Author: Marlyn Johnson Subjects Discussed: Why libraries are little regarded by the American public, the preservation of blogs and websites, Josh Greenberg’s efforts at digital preservation, the Firefox extension Zotero, […]
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MoreJustin Taylor is most recently the author of Everything Here is the Best Thing Ever. Condition of Mr. Segundo: Fearful of sanguine book titles. Guest: Justin Taylor Subjects Discussed: Not naming protagonists until well into the stories, dissatisfaction with formality, how characters reveal themselves, gender confusion within “Weekend Away,” Taylor’s aversion to “bright neon signs” […]
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MoreKevin Sampsell is most recently the author of A Common Pornography. Condition of Mr. Segundo: Airing his dirty laundry. Guest: Kevin Sampsell Subjects Discussed: Maintaining an emotional spectrum within the two editions of A Common Pornography, balancing sweet material with darker installments, how the death of Sampsell’s father (and subsequent revelations) altered Sampsell’s perspective, the […]
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MoreSue Grafton is most recently the author of U is for Undertow. Condition of Mr. Segundo: Looking for a man named Snake to help him escape from Santa Teresa. Author: Sue Grafton Subjects Discussed: Kinsey Millhone’s early announcement to the readers regarding the bad guys, foreshadowing murder, not writing the same book twice, the ethics […]
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MoreGail Godwin is most recently the author of Unfinished Desires. Condition of Mr. Segundo: Combating an uncertain relationship with the faith. Author: Gail Godwin Subjects Discussed: A Mother and Two Daughters, allegorical personality change tied into a historical framework, characters who dictate into a tape recorder, sense of time and character motivation, saving up character […]
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MoreKatharine Weber is most recently the author of True Confections. She previously appeared on The Bat Segundo Show #130 with Levi Asher. Ms. Weber and Mr. Asher will be appearing at the Greenlight Bookstore on January 11, 2009 at 7:30 PM. (Please note: The Bat Segundo Show has discovered a rare and rather alarming remix […]
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