Podcast
The American Writers Museum Podcasts
Hosted by The American Writers Museum · EN
A National Museum Celebrating American Writers
26episodes
Episodes
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Episode 239: Annabelle Gurwitch
1w ago00:51:03Tap to summarizeThis week, actress and humorist Annabelle Gurwitch discusses her new book The End of My Life Is Killing Me: The Unexpected Joys of a Cancer Slacker. In this deftly comedic and deeply contemplative memoir, the New York Times bestselling author faces life’s biggest curveball only to find resilience in the most unlikely places. Gurwitch discusses [...]
Transcribe →Episode 238: Daniel Kraus & Susan Orlean
2w ago00:49:30Tap to summarizeThis week, acclaimed writers Daniel Kraus and Susan Orlean discuss the process of adapting books into film and television, as well as their latest releases. Kraus—who won the 2026 Pulitzer Prize in Fiction for his novel Angel Down—developed the story for the film The Shape of Water and co-wrote the novel with Guillermo del Toro. [...]
Transcribe →Episode 237: A Nation Wrestles with God
2w ago00:48:58Tap to summarizeThis week, religion scholars Reza Aslan and Ilan Stavans sit down with Emily D. Crews to discuss their new anthology, A Nation Wrestles with God: American Prophets, Philosophers, and Firebrands, a historic collection of the radicals and freethinkers that sparked a country’s journey through divinity—praising, challenging, and redefining the sacred. This book and conversation are [...]
Transcribe →Episode 236: Randall Sullivan
4w ago00:41:27Tap to summarizeThis week, acclaimed journalist Randall Sullivan talks about writing baseball and his new book The First All-Star Game: Babe Ruth, FDR, and America at the Crossroads. He is interviewed by comedian Joe Kilgallon. This program took place at the 2026 American Writers Festival. Co-hosted by the American Writers Museum and Chicago Public Library, the American [...]
Transcribe →Episode 235: America at 250: Untold Stories
Jul 600:46:15Tap to summarizeThis week, we explore America at 250 years old, through lenses of migration, Black history, and queer liberation. Darius Bost and C. Riley Snorton discuss their book A Black Queer History of the United States. And Anna O. Law discusses her book Migration and the Origins of American Citizenship: African Americans, Native Americans, and Immigrants. [...]
Transcribe →Episode 234: Rory O’Neill
Jun 3001:09:31Tap to summarizeThis week, the American Writers Museum and the Consulate General of Ireland, Chicago present a conversation with writer, entertainer, drag queen, LGBTQ+ rights activist and ‘Queen of Ireland’ Rory O’Neill, also known as Panti Bliss. O’Neill visited the AWM to celebrate Bloomsday—the annual global celebration on June 16 of Irish writer James Joyce that commemorates [...]
Transcribe →Episode 60: Isaac Bashevis Singer
May 2800:58:36Tap to summarizeIn this episode, we discuss the life and legacy of Isaac Bashevis Singer. An immigrant to the United States, Singer was an esteemed essayist, short story writer, novelist, translator, and children’s book author. As a young man in Poland, Singer initially pursued rabbinical studies, but the pull of literature was too strong. He worked as [...]
Transcribe →Episode 233: Jennifer Keishin Armstrong – “Parks and Rec”
May 1800:48:16Tap to summarizeThis week, pop culture historian Jennifer Keishin Armstrong stops by to discuss her latest book Parks and Rec: The Underdog TV Show That Lit’rally Inspired a Vision for a Better America. Armstrong tells the definitive story of the creation and legacy of the beloved television show Parks and Recreation, with exclusive interview content from its [...]
Transcribe →Episode 59: Henry David Thoreau
May 1800:55:57Tap to summarizeIn this episode, we discuss the life and legacy of Henry David Thoreau. An essayist and poet, Thoreau lived a provocative life in which he endeavored to escape the limitations of human society by exploring the wider, wilder natural world. He was a naturalist, land surveyor, pencil maker, abolitionist, and student of Indigenous American culture [...]
Transcribe →Episode 232: Naoko Fujimoto
May 1100:44:54Tap to summarizeThis week, we chat with poet Naoko Fujimoto, a senior editor at RHINO Poetry. She stopped by the AWM the other week to discuss the work of translation, her poetry process, and her forthcoming book titled: of Women: 20 Japanese Female Poets / 20 Waka Poems, a collection of translated Japanese waka-poems, including text collage [...]
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