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.
Jennifer Weiner is most recently the author of Fly Away Home. Ms. Weiner previously appeared on The Bat Segundo Show #198 and The Bat Segundo Show #14. Condition of Mr. Segundo: Hoping to be frightened by The Motherland sometime soon. Author: Jennifer Weiner Subjects Discussed: [List forthcoming] EXCERPT FROM SHOW: Correspondent: It seems to me […]
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MoreDan Chaon is most recently the author of Await Your Reply. [PROGRAM NOTES: This conversation, conducted in May, was almost lost when a Seagate drive bit the dust. Considerable gratitude to data recovery specialist Wayman Ng, who managed to resuscitate this conversation from the grave. My apologies also to the very kind and patient Dan […]
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MoreDan Ariely is most recently the author of The Upside of Irrationality. Condition of Mr. Segundo: Looking about for Dichter’s egg. Author: Dan Ariely Subjects Discussed: [List forthcoming] EXCERPT FROM SHOW: Correspondent: The question is whether or not there is some kind of maximum threshold. An escalation of that one item that makes something unique […]
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MoreMarcy Dermansky is most recently the author of Bad Marie. Condition of Mr. Segundo: Misidentifying French landmarks and attempting to make peace with copy editors in sketchy motel rooms. Author: Marcy Dermansky Subjects Discussed: [List forthcoming] EXCERPT FROM SHOW: Correspondent: I want to touch upon coincidence. Because it does create possibly a problem for a […]
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MoreJohn Waters is most recently the author of Role Models. (Considerable gratitude to Wayman Ng, who resuscitated this conversation from the data grave.) Condition of Mr. Segundo: Comparing himself to unspecified reference groups in Mertonian social situations. Author: John Waters Subjects Discussed: [List forthcoming] EXCERPT FROM SHOW: Correspondent: You observe that listening to what Tennessee […]
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MoreReed Cowan appeared on The Bat Segundo Show #341. Mr. Cowan is most recently the director of 8: The Mormon Proposition, which opens in numerous theaters on June 18, 2010. Condition of Mr. Segundo: Conducting investigations on Dick Van Pattern’s possible Mormon connections. Guest: Reed Cowan Subjects Discussed: [List forthcoming] EXCERPT FROM SHOW: Correspondent: I […]
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MoreGary Rivlin is most recently the author of Broke USA: From Pawnshop to Poverty, Inc. — How the Working Poor Became Big Business. Condition of Mr. Segundo: Considering the advances of a seductive loan shark. Author: Gary Rivlin Subjects Discussed: [List forthcoming] EXCERPT FROM SHOW: Rivlin: One in every five customers is taking twenty or […]
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MoreKathryn Schulz is most recently the author of Being Wrong: Adventures in the Margin of Error. Condition of Mr. Segundo: Feeling wrong about whether or not he’s right. Author: Kathryn Schulz Subjects Discussed: [List forthcoming] EXCERPT FROM SHOW: Correspondent: I wanted to first of all start off with Thomas Kuhn, who you bring up a […]
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MoreAnder Monson appeared is most recently the author of Vanishing Point, as well as a poetry collection called The Available World, which nobody had thought to send to Mr. Segundo’s motel room. Contrary to photographic evidence, Mr. Monson does not have a beard. Mr. Monson previously appeared on The Bat Segundo Show #21, just before […]
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MoreDaniel Okrent is most recently the author of Last Call: The Rise and Fall of Prohibition. Condition of Mr. Segundo: Bombarded by too much bathtub gin and too many over-the-top movie trailers. Author: Daniel Okrent Subjects Discussed: [List forthcoming] EXCERPT FROM SHOW: Correspondent: I wanted to ask you about Walgreen’s. You point out that it […]
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MoreJoseph Wallace is most recently the author of Diamond Ruby. Condition of Mr. Segundo: Replacing his failed Atkins diet with three square squirrel meals each day. Author: Joseph Wallace Subjects Discussed: [List forthcoming] EXCERPT FROM SHOW: Correspondent: Radar guns were introduced in 1935 to measure a baseball’s speed. Before that, you had speed machines, which […]
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MoreBarry 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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