CONTRIBUTOR ARTICLES
LARB Radio Hour: Ai Weiwei on "Human Flow," Refugees, Art, History, Spirit, and Nature
Artist, architect, and activist Ai Weiwei discusses his new feature-length documentary film "Human Flow," and the on-going global refugee crisis that it documents....
LARB Radio Hour: Karen Tei Yamashita's "Letters to Memory"; Plus "Sylvia" by Leonard Michaels
Karen Tei Yamashita, one of the most celebrated American novelists of her generation, turns historian/archeologist with "Letters to Memory," an investigation into the lived experience of the World War Two Japanese Internment Camps....
LARB Radio Hour: "Orange County: A Literary Field Guide"; Plus Rebecca Tuhus-Dubrow's Age of the Walkman
Andrew Tonkovich discusses "Orange County: A Literary Field Guide" and Rebecca Tuhus-Dubrow talks about the Sony Walkman, and her history/memoir "Personal Stereo," part of the Bloomsbury Object Lessons....
LARB Radio Hour: Chiara Barzini's "Things that Happened Before the Earthquake"; Plus, "Play Dead" by Francine Harris
Award-winning Italian screenwriter and novelist Chiara Barzini discusses "Things that Happened Before the Earthquake."...
LARB Radio Hour: Natalie J. Graham, "Begin with a Failed Body"; Plus Russian Emigre Short Stories after October 1917
Cave Canem award winning poet Natalie J. Graham talks about her collection "Begin with a Failed Body."...
LARB Radio Hour: Dolores Huerta and Peter Bratt, La Lucha Continua at 87; Plus, David Plante's "Difficult Women"
Director Peter Bratt and Dolores Huerta, the subject of his new documentary "Dolores," talk with co-hosts Eric Newman and Medaya Ocher about the making of the film....
LARB Radio Hour: Lucy Ives "Impossible Views of the World"; plus Roxane Gay's "Hunger"
Author Lucy Ives discusses "Impossible Views of the World," her first novel, which centers on the life of a curator working in New York's greatest museum....
LARB Radio Hour: Bryan Fogel’s "Icarus" Has the Dope on Putin; Plus Tom Atwood’s LGBTQ Home Pics
Bryan Fogel discusses his astonishing new film "Icarus," a tale of friendship, heroism, and suspense, which also happens to prove beyond a reasonable doubt the dishonesty and corruption of Vladimir Putin’s regime....
LARB Radio Hour: Imani Tolliver "Runaway: A Memoir in Verse"; plus Elena Ferrante's "The Lost Daughter"
Cave Canem Award-winning Poet Imani Tolliver joins LARB's Janice Rhoshalle Littlejohn to read from, and talk about, her powerful new book, Runaway: A Memoir in Verse....
LARB Radio Hour: Danzy Senna's "New People": Race, Identity, Romance, and Jonestown; Plus Toni Cade Bambara
Danzy Senna discusses her novel "New People," a romantic "comedy" of manners that overflows with insight into race and identity in America....
LARB Radio Hour: Frank Gehry in Dialogue with Joseph Giovannini
Architect Frank Gehry sits down with critic Joseph Giovannini to discuss projects from across his career....
LARB Radio Hour: In Depth with Poet Douglas Kearney; Plus "The Healers" by Awi Kwei Armah
Co-hosts Janice Rhoshalle Littlejohn and Will Clark talk with the award-winning poet, librettest, and Cal Arts Professor Douglas Kearney....
LARB Radio Hour: Lorin Stein of "The Paris Review" in Dialogue with Tom Lutz; plus Jim Shepard's "The World to Come"
Paris Review Editor in Chief Lorin Stein in conversation with Tom Lutz....
LARB Radio Hour: Harmony Holiday's "Hollywood Forever"; plus Garth Greenwell on Yiyun Li
Poet, choreographer, and founder of the Mythscience artist collective Harmony Holiday's new collection of verse is titled Hollywood Forever....
LARB Radio Hour: Peter J. Harris' "Johnson Chronicles"; Plus Dick Gregory's Autobiography
LARB's Janice Rhoshalle Littlejohn talks with author Peter J. Harris about the new production of his work Johnson Chronicles: Truth and Tall Tales About My Penis, which opens in Los Angeles on July 21st.o...
LARB Radio Hour: Errol Morris on “The B-Side: Elsa Dorfman’s Portrait Photography”; Plus, Alison Lurie’s “The Nowhere City”
Legendary filmmaker Errol Morris discusses his new documentary "The B-Side: Elsa Dorfman's Portrait Photography."...
LARB Radio Hour: Jonathan Lethem is "More Alive and Less Lonely"; Plus "The Man Who Shot Out My Eye is Dead"
Jonathan Lethem discusses his collection of essays, reviews, and commentaries, "More Alive and Less Lonely."...
LARB Radio Hour: Deborah Nelson on "Tough Enough"; Plus Praise for "Motherest"
Author Deborah Nelson discusses "Tough Enough," about six iconic 20th-century women, and Amelia Gray recommends Kristen Iskandrian's novel "Motherest."...
LARB Radio Hour: Amelia Gray on Her New Novel "Isadora"; Plus "The Last Wolf" by László Krasznahorkai
Amelia Gray discusses her new novel "Isadora," about two years in the life of Isadora Duncan....
LARB Radio Hour: Jess Arndt on "Large Animals: Stories"; Plus Brian Blanchfield's "Proxies: Essays Near Knowing"
Los Angeles author Jess Arndt talks about her first collection of stories, "Large Animals: Stories."...
LARB Radio Hour: Mary Gaitskill in Dialogue with Tom Lutz and Laurie Winer
Mary Gaitskill, one of the most distinctive and celebrated contemporary American writers, spoke with Tom Lutz and Laurie Winer at a special LARB event in Silver Lake last month....
LARB Radio Hour: Joyce Carol Oates, Morgan Parker, and Fiona Maazel at the LA Times Festival of Books
Kate Wolf, Medaya Ocher, and Eric Newman spoke with authors Joyce Carol Oates, Morgan Parker, and Fiona Maazel at this year's LA Times Festival of Books....
LARB Radio Hour: Garth Greenwell, Marcy Dermansky, and Dana Spiotta at the LA Times Festival of Books
Kate Wolf, Medaya Ocher, and Eric Newman braved 90 degree heat to speak with authors Garth Greenwell, Marcy Dermansky, and Dana Spiotta at this year's LA Times Festival of Books....
LARB Radio Hour: Janet Sarbanes's "The Protester Has Been Released"; Plus Recent Chinese LGBT Literature
Author Janet Sarbanes speaks with Kate and Medaya about her new collection "The Protester Has Been Released," and LARB's Eric Newman drops in to recommend two books from the recent Chinese LGBT canon....
LARB Radio Hour: Laura Poitras on "Risk," Her New Film About Julian Assange; Plus, Russell Banks's America
Documentary filmmaker Laura Poitras joins Kate, Eric, and Medaya to discuss her new film, Risk, the product of filming Julian Assange and the Wikileaks team over the past seven years. ...
LARB Radio Hour: Abdellah Taia's "Another Morocco"; Gershom Scholem's "Mystical Messiah Sabbatai Sevi"
In a powerful show, author Abdellah Taia talks with co-hosts Kate Wolf and Eric Newman about his new collection from Semiotexte, ...
LARB Radio Hour: Kellie Jones "South of Pico": Black Artists in LA in the 60s & 70s; Plus Irene Nemirovsky Recommended
Art Historian Kellie Jones talks about her new book South of Pico, on the flourishing African-American Art scene in Los Angeles ...
LARB Radio Hour: George Prochnik on Gershom Scholem, Walter Benjamin, and Jerusalem; Elif Batuman, "The People in Trees"
George Prochnik discusses his latest book, "Stranger in a Strange Land: Gershom Scholem and Jerusalem," and Elif Batuman recommends Hanya Yanagihara's "The People in the Trees."...
LARB Radio Hour: Elif Batuman "The Idiot"; Donika Kelly "Bestiary"; Honoring Robert Silvers
Author Elif Batuman joins Kate and Medaya to discuss her new semi-autobiographical novel "The Idiot," Melissa Febos returns to recommend a book of poetry, and we honor the late Robert Silvers....
LARB Radio Hour: Melissa Febos "Abandon Me"; Plus "The Misadventures of Awkward Black Girl"
Melissa Febos joins Medaya and Kate to discuss Abandon Me, her new beautifully lyrical eight-chapter essay. In one of the most ...
LARB Radio Hour: Naima Keith & The California African American Museum
Host Janice Rhoshalle Littlejohn talks with Naima Keith, the award-winning deputy director of the California African American Museum in Los Angeles ...
LARB Radio Hour: Valeria Luiselli's Tale of Children Refugees Tell Me How It Ends; Sarah Manguso on 8
Award-winning novelist Valeria Luiselli joins Kate and Medaya to talk about her new book, Tell Me How it Ends: An Essay ...
LARB Radio Hour: Sarah Manguso's 300 Arguments (plus One Hundred Demons)
Essayist Sarah Manguso joins LARB's Kate Wolf and Medaya Ocher to read from and talk about her new book "300 Arguments," ...
LARB Radio Hour: Film Now Panel—Justin Chang, J D Connor, Gil Robertson, Cathy Schulman, Anna Shechtman
This week's podcast features audio from the Film Now panel held in late 2016 & moderated by LARB's Anna Shechtman. The ...
LARB Radio Hour: Vanessa Davis’s “Spaniel Rage”
Vanessa Davis talks with co-hosts Medaya Ocher and Kate Wolf about her autobiographical comics; in particular her collection Spaniel Rage, which ...
LARB Radio Hour: Karina Longworth ("You Must Remember This" Podcast) / Monica Coleman ("Bipolar Faith")
Karina Longworth talks with LARB's Medaya Ocher and Gustavo Turner about her phenomenally successful podcast about old Hollywood, "You Must Remember ...
LARB Radio Hour: Best Foreign Films of 2016 / Awards Season / Tom Lutz on TC Boyle & DH Lawrence
LARB’s resident film critic Anna Shechtman joins fellow cinephiles Medaya Ocher & Kate Wolf to talk about their favorite foreign ...
LARB Radio Hour: Ha Jin and Dr. Loco (Jose Cuellar) / Lena Dunham / Thomas Lux
In part two of LARB in SF, we feature Laurie Winer and Tom Lutz's dialogues with one of America's most celebrated ...
LARB Radio Hour: Rabih Alameddine & Jade Chang / Dian Hanson on Ren Hang / CP Cavafy Waits for Trump
This week's Podcast features interviews from LARB's recent event in San Francisco. Co-hosts Tom Lutz and Laurie Winer speak with Rabih ...
LARB Radio Hour: The Seventh Fire/Dian Hanson on Bob Mizer
Director Jack Pettibone and Producer Shane Slattery-Quintanilla join LARB's Gustavo Turner to discuss their exceptional new documentary "The Seventh Fire." Six ...
LARB Radio Hour: It's the Soviet Holiday Show!
Host Boris Dralyuk is joined by his fellow soviet-emigre Sasha Razor, and Slavic Scholar David MacFadyen, to conjure the spirit of ...
LARB Radio Hour: A Very Special Holiday Gift Show (with the ACLU, EFF, and Earth Justice)
Hosts Medaya Ocher and Kate Wolf decide that in a year unlike any other, it's time for a different approach to ...
LARB Radio Hour: Susan Kaiser Greenland Mindful Games; Bob Dylan, Leonard Cohen, & 9/11; Gerard Manley Hopkins
Author Susan Kaiser Greenland talks with Laurie Winer about her new best-selling book "Mindful Games: Sharing Mindfulness and Meditation with Children, ...
Radio Hour: Emily Witt Future Sex; Leo Braudy on Fame in Trump's America; plus Edna St Vincent Millay
Emily Witt, author of Future Sex, joins co-hosts Laurie Winer, Medaya Ocher, and Kate Wolf for a wide-ranging discussion of changing ...
Radio Hour: Leo Braudy Haunted in Trump's America; plus Michael Morpurgo, and Dorothy Parker's Love Song
Leo Braudy talks with host Laurie Winer about his new book Haunted: On Ghosts, Witches, Vampires, Zombies, and Other Monsters of ...
Radio Hour: Paul Crewes of Wallis Annenberg on LA Theater; plus Anne Sexton & Dinah Lenney
Paul Crewes, the new Artistic Director of the Wallis Annenberg Center in Beverly Hills, joins host Laurie Winer to discuss the ...
Radio Hour: John Romano on Adapting Philip Roth's American Pastoral; plus Colin Wilson & Mark Strand
Screenwriter John Romano joins Laurie Winer and co-host Dinah Lenney to talk about his adaptation of Philip Roth's 1997 classic novel ...
LARB Radio: Jessica Koslow's 'Everything I Want To Eat,' 'Gentlemen Prefer Blondes,' and a poem by ee cummings
Laurie Winer and co-host Medaya Ocher, managing editor of the LA Review of Books, are joined by Jessica Koslow, chef extraordinaire ...
Cameron Diaz discusses 'The Longevity Book'
We can't stop aging. But Cameron Diaz has discovered that there are ways we can do it well. In this interview ...
Radio Hour: Marcia Clark, Sonny Liew, and Steve Wasserman
Subscribe on iTunes - Listen Live on KPFK This week’s show is the first of several to feature interviews conducted at ...
Radio Hour: Deanne Stillman’s “Twentynine Palms” and Nora Ephron
Photo Credit: Mark Lamonica) Subscribe on iTunes - Listen Live on KPFK On this week’s show we talk with Deanne Stillman ...
Radio Hour: “Hamilton,” “City of Gold,” and “Our Mutual Friend”
Subscribe on iTunes - Listen Live on KPFK This week’s show features a recap of Laurie’s recent trip to Broadway, ...
The New Correct: Freedom of Expression on Campus
Earlier this month LARB co-sponsored a forum at UC Irvine: What Cannot Be Said: Freedom of Expression in a Changing World. ...
Edward Snowden in Conversation with Barton Gellman
Earlier this month LARB co-sponsored a forum at UC Irvine: What Cannot Be Said: Freedom of Expression in a Changing World. ...
Jérémie Guez’s “Eyes Full of Empty”
He has already been compared to literary heavyweights like Raymond Chandler and Albert Camus, and 27-year-old Jérémie Guez is ...
An Artist’s Intervention in the Ebola Crisis
Struck by medical staffers' alien-looking equipment in West African ebola clinics, artist Mary Beth Heffernan set on a course to do something about it....
Cartoonist Lalo Alcaraz
The La Cucaracha creator talks about the historical graphic novel A Most Imperfect Union and his role in Seth MacFarlane’s upcoming TV series Bordertown....
Radio Hour: The Success of Amy Schumer, Genre Fiction, and Russian Noir
This week's show features TV writer Betsy Borns on the success of comedian Amy Schumer, as well as Gary Phillips, Boris Dralyuk, and Meri Nana-Ama Danquah....
Interview with Octavia Spencer
Octavia Spencer talks about her Randi Rhodes children's mystery novels, and about growing up with dyslexia....
Annabelle Gurwitch’s “I See You Made an Effort” Adapted for Theater
LARB AV interviews writer and actress Annabelle Gurwitch, whose new play I See You Made an Effort, based on her book ...
Radio Hour: McSweeney’s Crowdfunding and Tommywood
On this week’s show, Tom, Laurie, and Seth talk about McSweeney’s campaign to raise $150,000 on Kickstarter and ...
Interview with Robert Putnam, Author of "Our Kids"
Robert Putnam, professor of Public Policy at Harvard and bestselling author, talks about his new book "Our Kids" and income inequality in the U.S....
First Takes Venice Beach: Part 3
Part three in a series of snapshots of people living, working, and playing on the Venice Beach boardwalk. A project by LARB intern Jared Zook....
Radio Hour: Nikki Giovanni, Ego Plum, and “Girl in a Band”
Tom Lutz's interview with legendary poet Nikki Giovanni, a discussion of Kim Gordon's memoir "Girl in a Band," and much more....
Shelf Help with Jonathan Lethem
Novelist and short story writer Jonathan Lethem gives us a tour of the new books he’s buying at Skylight Books in Los Feliz....
Inaugural Blk Grrrl Book Fair
Interviews and highlights from the first ever Blk Grrrl Book Fair in South Central....
Radio Hour: Günter Grass, Shame Reading, & Laurie's Apology
Günter Grass' recent death had us wondering whether we can read authors whose personal lives offend us, considering Grass' history ...
First Takes Venice Beach: Part 2
Part two in a series of snapshots of people living, working, and playing on the Venice Beach boardwalk. A project by LARB intern Jared Zook....
Interview with Author James Tadd Adcox
An interview with James Tadd Adcox, author of Does Not Love....
Radio Hour: Literary Immortality, “Wolf Hall,” and the LA Times Festival of Books
This week’s segments include discussions on William Giraldi’s New Republic essay “Immortal Beloved: Why writers want fans who last ...
Radio Hour: Humorist Ellis Weiner
Featuring Ellis Weiner, former writer and editor at National Lampoon, columnist at Spy magazine, and currently a contributor at The New Yorker....
First Takes Venice Beach: Jesús & Mary
A series of snapshots of people living, working, and playing on the Venice Beach boardwalk. A project by LARB intern Jared Zook....
Radio Hour: Meghan Daum’s “Selfish, Shallow, and Self-Absorbed”
Meghan Daum discusses a new collection of essays she edited titled "Selfish, Shallow, and Self-Absorbed: Sixteen Writers on the Decision Not to Have Kids."...
Radio Hour: “Satin Island,” Cultural References & Finding a Lost City
Tom McCarthy’s new experimental novel Satin Island celebrates the role of the anthropologist over the novelist; John McPhee’s latest ...
Radio Hour: Schmaltz, "Citizen Four" & Rachel Cusk's "Outline"
Tom Lutz is back this week and joins Laurie and Seth to discuss schmaltz (sentimental art, not rendered chicken fat), and ...
Radio Hour: ISIS propaganda; What is a public intellectual?
Cultural historian Leo Braudy joins to discuss ISIS propaganda videos; the role of public intellectuals. Also featuring Michael Tolkin....
Radio Hour: Oscar-worthy Acting & Literary Tourism
Cultural historian Leo Braudy talks trends among award-winning actors, and author Judith Freeman on literary tourism and her book The Long Embrace....
Radio Hour: Harper Lee, Literary Hub, & Fifty Shades of Grey
Tom Lutz, Laurie Winer, and Seth Greenland talk about literature, arts and politics, along with interviews and critiques from today's leading writers....
LARB Radio Hour: Episode 2
Tom Lutz, Laurie Winer, and Seth Greenland talk about literature, arts and politics, along with interviews and critiques from today's leading writers....
LARB Radio Hour: Episode 1
Tom Lutz, Laurie Winer, and Seth Greenland talk about literature, arts and politics, along with interviews and critiques from today's leading writers....
Two Authors Quarrel on a Ferris Wheel
David Shields and Caleb Powell, authors of "I Think You're Totally Wrong: A Quarrel", go extra rounds during a ride on the Santa Monica ferris wheel....
Kristiina Ehin, Author of Walker on Water
Estonian poet Kristiina Ehin shares from her new collection Walking on Water and performs traditional Estonian songs with her partner, musician Silver Sepp....
Interview with Lan Cao, author of "The Lotus and the Storm"
Lan Cao's 'The Lotus and the Storm' is a tale of personal tragedy amidst national tragedy, and the subtle effects of war over time....
[VIDEO] Interview with William T. Vollmann on 'Last Stories and Other Stories'
Author William T. Vollmann talks about sex, death and fantasy in his latest book, Last Stories and Other Stories....
[VIDEO] Surprise! is the 'Eyes Wide Shut' of comedy shows
Surprise! Comedy is a brave new comedy circuit with rotating venues, secret line-ups, and where the only sure thing is that things will get weird....
[VIDEO] Interview with Chris Kluwe, the former star punter who took a stand against the NFL
THIS INTERVIEW is part of an ongoing LARB A.V. series from this year's LA Times Festival of Books. Go to ...
[VIDEO] Austin Kleon, "Show Your Work"
Austin Kleon wrote Show Your Work as "a book about self promotion for people who hate the very idea of self promotion."...
Geoff Nicholson Maps the Territory: A journey into Hollywood with author, speculative urbanist
Los Angeles Review of Books teams up with Los Angeles Magazine to bring you a multimedia feast starring Geoff Nicholson and his favorite Hollywood haunts....
[VIDEO] Tahereh Mafi, on Writing in the Digital Age
This interview is part of an ongoing LARB A.V. series from this year's LA Times Festival of Books. Go to ...
[VIDEO] The Difference Between a Con Man and a Writer
Author Walter Kirn on the difference between a con man and a writer in "Blood Will Out."...
[VIDEO] Terry McMillan on Character, Legacy, and "Who Asked You?"
Terry McMillan discusses her career, her new book, and how she thinks about character. Part of LARB AV's series from the LA Times Festival of Books....
[VIDEO] The co-creator of Literary Death Match
Literary Death Match co-creator spoke with LARB A.V. about the show's genesis, its highlights, and about the genius of Stephen Tobolowsky....
[VIDEO] On Noir Literature and the Existential Dread of Being a Child
Daniel Handler chats with LARB A.V. about why gothic and noir fiction speak so well to the existential dread of being a child....
Leslie Jamison on Her Collection of Literary Essays, "The Empathy Exams"
Leslie Jamison discusses her latest collection, The Empathy Exams, and how she juggles dialogues with famous thinkers and powerful personal experiences....
[VIDEO] Mona Simpson on Love and Spying in "Casebook"
Mona Simpson discusses the inspiration for her new novel "Casebook" and why it is a different kind of love story....
[VIDEO] Daniel Chacon's "Hotel Juarez"
Acclaimed Latino author Daniel Chacon talks about his most recent work, Hotel Juarez, a portrait of a city written in its crime-ridden heyday....
[VIDEO] The Horrors of Fatherhood in Kearney's New Poetry Collection, "Patter"
Patter is about the pain of infertility, about imperfect fatherly role models, and the dreadful calculus involved in disciplining your children....
[VIDEO] MOCA's LA Art Book Fair 2014
Last month we visited the second annual LA Art Book Fair at the Geffen Contemporary in Little Tokyo and we were ...
[VIDEO] A Profile of Siglio Press, and their upcoming retrospective of artist Dorothy Iannone
Siglio Press is where art meets literature. Their titles include notable works like Sophie Calle's "The Address Book" and Karen Green's "Bough Down"....
[VIDEO] MOCA's LA Art Book Fair 2014
Book, art and fashion on display at the second annual LA Art Book Fair at Geffen Contemporary at the Museum of Contemporary Art....
