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.
Marilynne Robinson is most recently the author of Home. Condition of Mr. Segundo: Avoiding the relationship potential of malfunctioning XLR cables. Author: Marilynne Robinson Subjects Discussed: Revisiting the Gilead universe, Lawrence Durrell, Robinson’s aversion to sequels, the parable of the prodigal son, the role of letters and text within Gilead and Home, text as a […]
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MoreDaniel Levitin is most recently the author of The World in Six Songs. Condition of Mr. Segundo: Recalling a traumatic musical episode from his marriage. Author: Daniel Levitin Subjects Discussed: Songs that straddle multiple categories within Levitin’s taxonomy, neurological response vs. societal perception of a song, the original eight categories, oxytocin, “I Walk the Line,” […]
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MoreCourtney Humphries is the author of Superdove Condition of Mr. Segundo: Severely underestimating the carnivorous impulses of pigeons. Author: Courtney Humphries Subjects Discussed: Eating squab, pigeon dining options in restaurants, Robert Dunn’s pigeon paradox, urban forms of nature, pigeons as an ineluctable aspect of the city, people’s attitudes towards wildlife, the pigeon’s place in the […]
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MoreSarah Manguso is most recently the author of The Two Kinds of Decay. Condition of Mr. Segundo: Contemplating fifty-five additional states of decay. Author: Sarah Manguso Subjects Discussed: David Markson, sentences that originate in other formats, fan mail, whether a paragraph is truly a paragraph, problems with typesetting nomenclature, remembering personal moments at 1,000 words […]
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MorePaul Auster is most recently the author of Man in the Dark. Condition of Mr. Segundo: Opening himself up to explanation. Author: Paul Auster Subjects Discussed: Starting a novel from a title, the advance titles contained within The Book of Illusions, the working title of The Music of Chance, Mr. Blank, the relationship between Travels […]
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MoreJenny Davidson is most recently the author of The Explosionist. Condition of Mr. Segundo: Investigating the veracity of explosions. Author: Jenny Davidson Subjects Discussed: Coincidental run-ins, the necessity of war, Edmund Burke, philosophical asides, a novelist’s use of argument, Agatha Christie novels, John Buchan, ending chapters on cliffhangers, early 20th century British adventure fiction, alternate […]
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MoreRoss Raisin is the author of God’s Own Country (UK title)/Out Backward. (Please note: This discussion deals at length with many of the Yorkshire terms that Mr. Raisin uses within his novel. Please consult this lexicon if you’d like to know more.) Condition of Mr. Segundo: Abdicating to a helium-impaired fill-in host. Author: Ross Raisin […]
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MoreEthan Canin is most recently the author of America America. Condition of Mr. Segundo: Examining his miserable relationship with America. Author: Ethan Canin Subjects Discussed: Neil Diamond’s “America,” the stuttering titular impulse, the Corvair, journalists as heroes, intentional vs. unintentional symbols, the reporter’s instinct, “the ingenuity of the working man,” ideology, the politics of generosity, […]
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MoreKathryn Harrison is most recently the author of While They Slept. Condition of Mr. Segundo:: Grappling with death and emergencies. Author: Kathryn Harrison Subjects Discussed: Opening the novel with a stark transcript of a 9/11 call, exchange incongruities, differences between text and spoken word, lack of annotation, true crime as a writing choice, the Keddie […]
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MoreMike Edison is the author of I Have Fun Everywhere I Go. Condition of the Show: Reinvestigating the purported death of Bat Segundo. (See also Show #199.) Author: Mike Edison Subjects Discussed: Writing a memoir predicated upon shit-talking, sticking with the details, the lack of composite characters, compressed chronology, Heeb editor Josh Neuman vs. Screw […]
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MorePeter David is most recently the author of Tigerheart. Condition of the Show: Investigating claimed nemeses of Goliath. Author: Peter David Subjects Discussed: On being prolific, producing work quickly, writing stories set in expansive universe, reacting to a universal construct, working with mythos, the Fallen Angel universe, the Star Trek: New Frontier books, Joseph Campbell […]
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MoreFaye Flam is most recently the author of The Score. Condition of the Show: Attempting to contend with gender generalizations. Author: Faye Flam Subjects Discussed: Boot Seduction Camp as the prism with which to approach evolutionary science, the Mystery Method, crude philosophical rules vs. scientific rules, the SRY gene, masculinity’s backup gene, genetics and the […]
Listen: Play in new window | Download (Running Time: 43:05 — 39.4MB)
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