Based in Seoul, Colin Marshall hosts the podcast "Notebook on Cities and Culture." He authors the LARB Korea Blog and is currently at work on the book A Los Angeles Primer: Mastering the Stateless City.
CONTRIBUTOR ARTICLES
The Useless French Language and Why We Learn It
Colin Marshall examines English speakers’ relationship to the French language, which is the subject of a growing number of books....
Will We Ever Talk Pretty?: David Sedaris and the American Struggle with Foreign Languages
Colin Marshall contemplates David Sedaris’s experiences with language-learning....
Down with the English Language!
Colin Marshall looks at books by Minae Mizumura and Aamir R. Mufti that lament the rise of global English....
Music Meets Writing: On Haruki Murakami and Seiji Ozawa
Colin Marshall listens closely to “Absolutely on Music: Conversations with Seiji Ozawa” by Haruki Murakami....
Ways of Seeing Japan: Roland Barthes’s Tokyo, 50 Years Later
Colin Marshall looks back on Roland Barthes’s look at Japan in “Empire of Signs.”...
How Japan Invented Los Angeles — and Reinvented American Style
Colin Marshall takes the measure of “Ametora: How Japan Saved American Style” by W. David Marx....
In Search of the “Real” Japan
A review of Donald Richie’s classic book about Japan, “The Inland Sea”....
Radio Hour: Podcast Mogul Andy Bowers and Comedian Bonnie McFarlane
Podcasting mogul Andy Bowers, comedian Bonnie McFarlane, and a memorable interview with food writer Dana Goodyear....
PODCAST #90: David L. Ulin
Ulin's new book "Sidewalking: Coming to Terms with Los Angeles", deals directly with his nearly 25-year history in the city....
PODCAST #89: Brad Listi
Brad Listi is the author of the novel "Attention. Deficit. Disorder." and host of the literary podcast Other People....
PODCAST #88: J. Ryan Stradal
J. Ryan Stradal, fiction editor at "The Nervous Breakdown," talks about his debut novel "Kitchens of the Great Midwest."...
Radio Hour: Karina Longworth, Dana Johnson, and Farewell to Colin Marshall
Film critic Karina Longworth discusses her acclaimed podcast "You Must Remember This," about the politics, culture, and scandals of classic Hollywood icons....
PODCAST #87: Farley Elliott
nbsp; Colin Marshall talks with Farley Elliott, senior editor at Eater Los Angeles and author of Los Angeles Street Food: A ...
PODCAST #86: Amelia Gray
nbsp; Colin Marshall talks with Amelia Gray, author of AM/PM, Museum of the Weird, Threats, and the new short story ...
PODCAST #85: James Sie and Sungyoon Choi
nbsp; Colin Marshall talks with James Sie, voice actor, onscreen actor, and author of a new debut novel, Still Life Las ...
PODCAST #84: Jay Rubin
Colin Marshall talks to Jay Rubin, Takashima Research Professor of Japanese Humanities at Harvard University, translator of such books as Haruki ...
PODCAST #83: South Korean Novelists Bae Suah and Cheon Myeong-kwan
Colin Marshall talks with two of South Korea's best-known novelists, Bae Suah and Cheon Myeong-kwan....
PODCAST #82: Oliver Wang
Colin Marshall talks with Oliver Wang, a DJ, an associate professor of sociology at CSU Long Beach, and a former producer ...
PODCAST #81: Sam Sweet
Sam Sweet's latest project is 'All Night Menu', a series of five 64-page books on "the lost heroes and miniature histories of Los Angeles."...
PODCAST #80: Patricia Wakida
Colin Marshall talks with Patricia Wakida, editor of Heyday Books' new LAtitudes: An Angeleno's Atlas, a collection of cartographically organized essays ...
PODCAST #79: Grace Jung
Colin Marshall talks with Grace Jung, author of Deli Ideology, a new novel about a young woman's experience of the Great Recession in New York and Seoul....
PODCAST #78: Sam Quinones
Colin Marshall talks with reporter Sam Quinones, who covered gangs, drugs, and immigration at the Los Angeles Times for a decade. ...
PODCAST #77: Laila Lalami
Laila Lalami's latest novel tells the story of a 16th-century Spanish expedition in search of gold in modern-day Florida through the words of an unusually eloquent Moroccan slave....
PODCAST #76: Cynthia Kadohata
Interview with Cynthia Kadohata, author of award-winning Y.A. novels Kira-Kira & The Thing About Luck, & adult novels like In the Heart of the Valley of Love....
PODCAST #75: Alain Mabanckou
Colin Marshall speaks with Alain Mabanckou, whose latest book Letter to Jimmy takes the form of a letter to his writing "mentor" James Baldwin....
PODCAST #74: Scott Timberg
Colin Marshall talks with Scott Timberg, author of Culture Crash: The Killing of the Creative Class....
PODCAST #73: Tod Goldberg
Colin Marshall talks with Tod Goldberg, author of such novels as Fake Liar Cheat and Living Dead Girl, several books based ...
PODCAST #72: Mona Simpson
Colin Marshall talks with Mona Simpson, author of the novels Anywhere But Here, Off Keck Road and My Hollywood. Her latest ...
PODCAST #71: Craig Davidson
Craig Davidson is the author of Cataract City, a novel about two friends in Niagara Falls. Previously he wrote Rust and Bone, and also writes under his pen names, Nick Cutter and Patrick Lestewka....
PODCAST #70: Jim Ruland
Interview with Jim Ruland, founder of the So-Cal reading series Vermin on the Mount, columnist at Razorcake, and author of the new novel Big Lonesome....
PODCAST #69: Jonathan Lethem
An interview with author Jonathan Lethem....
PODCAST #68: Sean Wilsey
Interview with Sean Wilsey, author of the memoir Oh the Glory of It All. His latest volume of essays is called More Curious....
PODCAST #67: Edan Lepucki
Edan Lepucki is a staff writer at The Millions and author of California, a domestic relationship novel set in mid-21st century post-apocalyptic Los Angeles....
PODCAST #66: Krys Lee
Colin Marshall goes to Seoul, South Korea to talk with Krys Lee, author "Drifting House" and an upcoming novel on the lives of North Korean refugees....
PODCAST #65: Geoff Nicholson
Colin Marshall talks with Geoff Nicholson, author of nonfiction books like Day Trips to the Desert, The Lost Art of Walking, ...
PODCAST #64: Lisa See
Colin Marshall talks with Lisa See, author of novels at the intersection of Chinese history, American history, and women's history....
PODCAST #63: Geoff Dyer
COLIN MARSHALL TALKS with Geoff Dyer, author of books all across the spectrum between fiction and non-fiction on such subjects as ...
PODCAST #62: Dana Goodyear
COLIN MARSHALL talks to journalist and poet Dana Goodyear who, as a staff writer for the New Yorker, has profiled such ...
PODCAST #61: Michelle Huneven
Michelle Huneven is the author of Off Course, a novel about a grad-student setting off into self-imposed dissertation-writing exile....
PODCAST #60: David Grand
Colin Marshall talks with David Grand, author of Mount Terminus, a novel set at the intersection of the birth of cinema and modern Los Angeles....
The Consummate Writer of Place: Christopher Rand in Los Angeles, China, and Beyond, 1943-1968
Unearthing one of the most unjustly forgotten books on our city....
PODCAST #59: Leslie Jamison
Colin talks with Leslie Jamison, author of the novel The Gin Closet and the new essay collection The Empathy Exams, which ...
PODCAST #58: Mimi Pond
Acclaimed cartoonist Mimi Ponds talks about her new graphic memoir Over Easy, a story about an art school dropout coming of age in 1970's California....
PODCAST #57: Sandra Tsing Loh
Colin Marshall interviews Sandra Tsing Loh, author of The Madwoman in the Volvo: My Year of Raging Hormones. ¤...
Outsider: Donald Richie in Japan, 1947-2013
Colin Marshall looks at Donald Richie’s life in Japan through his works....
PODCAST #55: LARB Quarterly Special
Celebrating the second issue of the LARB Quarterly Journal, featuring contributors Geoff Nicholson and Colin Dickey....
PODCAST #54: Attica Locke
Colin Marshall sits down with Attica Locke, screenwriter and author of two novels: Black Water Rising (2009) and The Cutting Season (2012)....
PODCAST #53: Percival Everett
Colin Marshall interviews African-American poet and novelist Percival Everett, on the reprinting of his 1999 novel, Glyph....
PODCAST #50: A. Scott Berg, "Wilson"
Colin Marshall interviews Pulitzer Prize winner A. Scott Berg about Wilson, his new biography of Woodrow Wilson. ¤...
PODCAST #48: Jerry Stahl, "Bad Sex on Speed" / "Happy Mutant Baby Pills"
Host Colin Marshall speaks to JERRY STAHL about his latest books, Bad Sex on Speed and Happy Mutant Baby Pills. ¤...
PODCAST #47 Michael Krikorian, "Southside"
Colin Marshall talks to Michael Krikorian about the gangs of Los Angeles his latest novel Southside...
PODCAST #46: Keenan Norris, "Brother and the Dancer"
Colin Marshall interview Keenan Norris about his debut novel "Brother and the Dancer"...
PODCAST #45: Maria Bustillos, Cord Jefferson, and Ander Monson
Celebrating the inaugural issue of the LARB Quarterly Journal. Featuring Maria Bustillos, Cord Jefferson, and Ander Monson. The Journal is now ...
PODCAST #44: Nick Antosca, "The Girlfriend Game"
Colin Marshall chats with author NICK ANTOSCA about screenwriting, watching your significant other get hit on, insecurity, and his new short ...
PODCAST #43: Leslie Cockburn, "Baghdad Solitaire"
Host Colin Marshal speaks to journalist and filmmaker LESLIE COCKBURN (American Casino, The Peacemaker) about her latest novel Baghdad Solitaire and ...
PODCAST #42: Gabe Durham, "Fun Camp"
Host Colin Marshall talks to author GABE DURHAM about summer camp and his new book FUN CAMP. ¤ ...
PODCAST #41: James Greenberg & James Morrison
Host Colin Marshall discusses the life and career of Roman Polanski with authors JAMES GREENBERG, author of Roman Polanski: A Retrospective, ...
PODCAST #40: Richard Rayner
Richard Rayner discusses Los Angeles with Colin Marshall...
PODCAST #39: Robert Polito, Tom Healy, Adam Fitzgerald
Robert Polito, Tom Healy, Adam Fitzgerald...
PODCAST #38: Ken Baumann, "Solip"
Ken Baumann speaks to podcast host Colin Marshall about his latest novel, "Solip."...
PODCAST #37: Josh Kun and Songs in the Key of Los Angeles
Colin Marshall speaks with Josh Kun, professor in the USC Annenberg School and co-curator of the Central Library's "Songs in the ...
PODCAST #36: David Iserson, "Firecracker"
David Iserson works as a film and television writer and currently writes for Fox's New Girl. He has also written for ...
PODCAST #35: Loren Glass, "Counterculture Colophon"
Loren Glass is the Associate Professor of English at the University of Iowa and author of Authors Inc.: Literary Celebrity in ...
PODCAST #34: Tosh Berman, "Sparks-Tastic"
Tosh Berman is the founder of TamTam Books and the author of Sparks-Tastic: Twenty-One Nights with Sparks in London. Here, ...
PODCAST #33: David Shook, "Our Obsidian Tongues"
Host Colin Marshall speaks with poet and translator David Shook about his latest collection, Our Obsidian Tongues, and his translation of ...
PODCAST #32: Jeff Weiss & Evan McGarvey, "2pac vs. Biggie"
Jeff Weiss and Evan McGarvey speak with host Colin Marshall about their book 2pac vs. Biggie: An Illustrated History of Rap's ...
PODCAST #31: Marc Maron, "Attempting Normal"
Marc Maron is a comedian, host of the WTF podcast, author of Attempting Normal, and star of IFC's new TV series ...
PODCAST #30: Steph Cha, "Follow Her Home"
Steph Cha is a graduate of Stanford University and Yale Law School. She lives in her native city of Los Angeles, ...
PODCAST #29: Nathaniel Rich, "Odds Against Tomorrow"
Nathaniel Rich is an American novelist and essayist. He is the author of the 2008 novel, The Mayor's Tongue and the ...
Lost Causes: The Novels of Kim Young-ha
A primer on the South Korean novelist...
PODCAST #28: Anna Stothard, "The Pink Hotel"
Anna Stothard is a British novelist, journalist, and screenwriter. Here, she speaks with Colin Marshall about her latest novel, The Pink ...
PODCAST #27: Colin Dickey
Colin Dickey is the author of Cranioklepty: Grave Robbing and the Search for Genius, and Afterlives of the Saints: Stories from ...
PODCAST #26: Matthew Specktor, "American Dream Machine"
Matthew Specktor is the Senior Fiction Editor at Los Angeles Review of Books. He is the author of three ...
PODCAST #25: Jim Gavin on his collection "Middle Men"
Jim Gavin is a Stegner Fellow and New Yorker contributor. Here, LARB podcast host Colin Marshall speaks with ...
PODCAST #24: Margot Lachlan White on her latest "Waking Up in Tehran"
Margot Lachlan White speaks to host Colin Marshall about Waking Up in Tehran: The Untold Story of Iran's Revolution, coming this ...
Gabriela Jauregui
Gabriela Jauregui is the author of Controlled Decay (Akashic Books/Black Goat Press, 2008). She holds a PhD in Comparative Literature ...
Podcast #21: Richard Kramer on His New Novel "These Things Happen"
Richard Kramer began his career writing for The New Yorker. He has written and produced such television shows as thirtysomething, ...
Some Things are More Radioactive than Others
Colin Marshall interviews Eric Lax about his latest book, written with Robert Peter Gale, M.D., Radiation: What It Is, What ...
Podcast #17: Lani Hall Alpert on her new book "Emotional Memoirs"
Colin Marshall interviews Lani Hall in Santa Monica about her new book, Emotional Memoirs. "Artists are so insecure, and it doesn't ...
A Productive Obscurantism
Colin Marshall has been producing a deep archive of podcasts for several years now, available on his Notebook on Cities and ...
Colin Marshall Talks to Tom Lutz
This interview appeared on Colin Marshall's "Notebook on Cities and Culture"; Colin will be producing podcasts for LARB starting this month. ...
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