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.
James Lipton is most recently the author of Inside Inside. Condition of Mr. Segundo: Stepping away to preserve his dubious legacy. Author: James Lipton Subjects Discussed: Lipton’s balance between writing about Inside the Actors Studio and writing about himself, throwing actors out of the Actors Studio, whether or not Lipton is still perfecting aspects about […]
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MoreSteven Pinker is most recently the author of The Stuff of Thought. Condition of Mr. Segundo: He knows his first name is not Steven. Author: Steven Pinker Subjects Discussed: The Starbucks coffee cup size hierarchy, L.A. Story, “divorce project” and unusual noun phrase connotations, perceptive illusions in language, connotation and denotation, polysemy, campus slang and […]
Listen: Play in new window | Download (Running Time: 54:21 — 49.8MB)
MoreDanica McKellar is the author of Math Doesn’t Suck. [PROGRAM NOTE: For background on this podcast, see this post.] Condition of Mr. Segundo: Contemplating mathematical positions. Author: Danica McKellar Subjects Discussed: Whether the relationship between prime numbers and monkeys is equitable, metaphorical criteria, factor trees, teenage girls and shopping, “fun and friendly” math, relying upon […]
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MoreJeff Parker is most recently the author of Ovenman. Condition of Mr. Segundo: Contemplating memories in a pizzeria. Author: Jeff Parker Subjects Discussed: Growing up in Florida, working in a pizzeria, John Sheppard’s Small Town Punk, the working class in fiction, setting the book in the early ’90’s, unexpected parallels to current events, music references, […]
Listen: Play in new window | Download (Running Time: 45:53 — 42.0MB)
MoreDavid Peace is most recently of Tokyo Year Zero. [podpress] Condition of Mr. Segundo: Empathizing with surnames. Author: David Peace Subjects Discussed: Why it took so long to set a book in Japan, stereotypes, research, the occupation period, the effects of serial killers, language and repetition, dissociation, Japan vs. the UK, Zodiac, police investigation, the […]
Listen: Play in new window | Download (Running Time: 48:48 — 44.7MB)
MoreKatha Pollitt is most recently the author of Learning to Drive. Condition of Mr. Segundo: Dwelling on legal inconsistencies. Author: Katha Pollitt Subjects Discussed: The pragmatism in learning to drive, being lazy, observation as a strength and weakness, “webstalking” vs. Googling, responding to Toni Bentley’s review, what a feminist is supposed to be, whether or […]
Listen: Play in new window | Download (Running Time: 39:17 — 36.0MB)
MoreBrian Francis Slattery is most recently the author of Spaceman Blues. Condition of Mr. Segundo: Objecting to snobbish Manhattan types who use three names. Author: Brian Francis Slattery Subjects Discussed: Matt Cheney’s “leap of faith,” paranoia, the advantages of writing in Guatemala, secret economies, food as cultural shorthand, the underground world of Darktown, H.P. Lovecraft […]
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MoreChimamanda Adichie is most recently the author of Half of a Yellow Sun. [powerppress] Condition of Mr. Segundo: Finding uses for his Kleenex supply. Author: Chimamanda Adichie Subjects Discussed: Young novelists and ambitious war novels, horrible Nigerian critics, the novel as the ideal prism for the Biafra conflict, A Woman in Berlin, the advantages of […]
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MoreGeorge Saunders is most recently the author of The Braindead Megaphone. Condition of Mr. Segundo: Feeling a little dead down there. Author: George Saunders Subjects Discussed: Writing fragmentary travelogue pieces, trying not to pre-process experiences, observational criteria, Dubai, responding to Ben Ehrenreich’s claim of “pulled punches,” journalistic integrity, on taking people to task, writing comprehensive […]
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MoreRupert Thomson is most recently the author of Death of a Murderer. [This is the second of an in-depth, two-part conversation with Rupert Thomson, conducted over the course of two days. The first part, which can be heard in Show #137, details primarily with Death of a Murderer. The second part extends into his career. […]
Listen: Play in new window | Download (Running Time: 44:08 — 40.4MB)
MoreRupert Thomson is most recently the author of Death of a Murderer. [This is the first of an in-depth, two-part conversation with Rupert Thomson, conducted over the course of two days. The first part details primarily with Death of a Murderer. The second part, which can be heard in Show #138, extends into his career. […]
Listen: Play in new window | Download (Running Time: 48:22 — 44.3MB)
MoreAntoine Wilson is most recently the author of The Interloper. Condition of Mr. Segundo: Finding creative ways of using Photoshop. Author: Antoine Wilson Subjects Discussed: Tonal beacons within The Interloper, Martin Amis, stifling the Nabokovian influence, frisbees and sex, conformist thinking, allusions to Sisyphus, technical writing, emotional candor, psychological experiments, generic establishments, reflection vs. invention, […]
Listen: Play in new window | Download (Running Time: 43:15 — 39.6MB)
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