fiction/non/fiction

Latest Episodes:

S9 Ep. 50 James Richardson on Within the Hour: Poems and Aphorisms, 1971-2026 Oct 01, 2026

Show notes

Poet James Richardson joins co-hosts Whitney Terrell and Christian Barter to talk about his collection of new and selected poetry, Within the Hour. Richardson discusses how his early fascination with science and his enjoyment of science fiction has influenced his poetry and considers the way his aphorisms counterbalance his more lyric poems. He reflects on the role that literary criticism has played in his career as a poet and gives listeners a rare glimpse into his process of inspiration and composition. He speculates on the increasing role that politics has played in his new work, particularly since 2016, and reads from Within the Hour.

This podcast is produced by Christian Barter, Whitney Terrell, Valen Williams, Ashley Holmes, Rylee Adamson, and Lucien Hockaday.

James Richardson

Others

“Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening” by Robert Frost

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S9 Ep. 49 Sam A. Miller on YouTube Storytelling and Choosing Science Fiction Sep 24, 2026

Show notes

Fiction writer and popular YouTuber Sam A. Miller joins co-hosts Christian Barter and V.V. Ganeshananthan to talk about his debut story collection, Still Lost: Tales from the Year 2080, as well as his educational and comedic videos. Miller reflects on how he got started on YouTube a decade ago, when he was an adolescent, and amassed 4.8 million followers by developing Sam O’Nella Academy, a channel with a scrappy, homemade feel and distinct illustrations. Miller discusses the genesis of the unusual aliens who set the stage for most of Still Lost’s human-centered stories by solving potentially world-ending problems like climate change right off the bat. He explains why he decided to self-publish the science fiction collection and how it found its way to a traditional publisher. He also shares his science fiction influences and talks about how his personal history with addiction shapes the book’s final story. He reads from Still Lost.

To hear the full episode, subscribe through iTunes, Google Play, Stitcher, Spotify, or your favorite podcast app (include the forward slashes when searching). You can also listen by streaming from the player below. Check out video versions of our interviews on the Fiction/Non/Fiction Instagram account, the Fiction/Non/Fiction YouTube Channel, and our show website: https://www.fnfpodcast.net/

This podcast is produced by Christian Barter, V.V. Ganeshananthan, AJ Abernathy, Grace Workman, and Sienna Hoopingarner.

Sam Miller

Still Lost: Tales from the Year 2080 by Sam A. Miller
Sam O'Nella Academy - YouTube

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Stories of Your Life and Others by Ted Chiang
Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir
Blindsight by Peter Watts
Wheelers by Ian Stewart & Jack Cohen

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S9 Ep. 48 Emily McBride on Maternal Mental Health and the Lindsay Clancy Trial Sep 17, 2026

Show notes

Fiction writer Emily McBride joins co-hosts V.V. Ganeshananthan and Whitney Terrell to discuss her debut novel, Queen Mab, and maternal mental health. McBride talks about the media frenzy around the trial of Lindsay Clancy, a Massachusetts woman charged with killing her three children, and considers how Clancy’s insanity defense has seized the public imagination, prompting new conversation about postpartum psychosis. McBride reflects on Queen Mab’s protagonist, a 23-year-old graduate student of Victorian and modernist literature, who struggles to bond with her baby and begins to fear that her child is a changeling. McBride explains the narrative shifts she uses to portray the character’s fluctuating reality and why literary allusions to changelings and fairies make sense in the context of the pressures of new motherhood. She also discusses how the most infamous “bad mothers” in folklore have skewed society’s perception of postnatal depression. She reads from Queen Mab.

This podcast is produced by Whitney Terrell, V.V. Ganeshananthan, Emily Farris, Sydney Perkins, and Emma Ware.

Emily McBride

Queen Mab by Emily McBride

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S9 Ep. 47 Robert Moor on Rethinking Environmentalism Tree by Tree Sep 10, 2026

Show notes

Nonfiction writer Robert Moor joins co-hosts Christian Barter and Jennifer Maritza McCauley to talk about his new book, In Trees, and the power of “tree thinking,” a concept developed by the evolutionary biologist Robert J. O’Hara. Moor explains how this form of thought emphasizes branching, growth, and pruning, as opposed to hierarchical ordering, and shows how these principles can be identified in the work of writers like Tolstoy and Wordsworth. He explores the role the giant sequoia played in founding modern conservatism and takes listeners on a tour of his own experiences in the trees from Papua New Guinea to Vancouver, Canada, where he participated in a tree sit with activists protesting an oil pipeline. He discusses the ethics of climate activism and how tree thinking might help us re-imagine the environmental movement for a new age. He reads from In Trees.

This podcast is produced by Whitney Terrell.

Robert Moor

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S9 Ep. 46 G’Ra Asim on 99 Problems Finding the 1 Sep 03, 2026

Show notes

Nonfiction writer G’Ra Asim joins co-hosts V.V. Ganeshananthan and Whitney Terrell to talk about his new book, 99 Problems Finding the 1: a love story (sort of). Asim discusses Afropessimism, heteropessimism, and their relationship to his pursuit of love as a cis straight black man; defines the idea of “thinkful wishing”; and recalls the ways in which black couples in his family, including his parents, have modeled relationships for him. He explains how—inspired by the viral New York Times essay “The 36 Questions That Lead to Love”— he came up with a series of inquiries that push two participants to reflect on their experiences of gender and race. He talks about how culture influences understanding of romance, mentioning Destiny’s Child, Dexter, and Minor Feelings. He reads from 99 Problems Finding the 1.

This podcast is produced by V.V. Ganeshananthan and Whitney Terrell.

G'Ra Asim

Others

“On the Necessity of Turning Oneself into a Character,” by Phillip Lopate from To Show and to Tell: The Craft of Literary Nonfiction
“Is Having a Boyfriend Embarrassing Now?” | Vogue
Dexter (TV Series 2006–2013) - IMDb
Atlanta (TV Series 2016–2022) - IMDb
Destiny's Child - Soldier ft. T.I., Lil' Wayne
“The 36 Questions That Lead to Love,” by Mandy Len Catron, The New York Times
Minor Feelings by Cathy Park Hong
Dreams from My Father by Barack Obama

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S9 Ep. 45 Aruni Kashyap on India’s Cockroach Youth Movement Aug 27, 2026

Show notes

Novelist Aruni Kashyap joins co-hosts V.V. Ganeshananthan and Jennifer Maritza McCauley to talk about the surprising surge of a new youth movement in India. Kashyap, the author of a new novel, How to Date a Fanatic, about young queer academics navigating the Indian campus protests of the mid-2010s, explains how the Chief Justice of India likening unemployed youth to “cockroaches and parasites” has prompted the rise of a wildly popular satirical group. He shares the history of the Cockroach Janta Party or Cockroach People’s Party, whose followers now number in the millions and whose political demands have become well known. Kashyap discusses those demands and the historical significance of campus politics in India, considers how a satirical organization is pushing real reform, and recalls his own experiences with campus protests in India, where he grew up and previously taught. Kashyap reflects on writing about political violence, love, and queer life in India. He reads from How to Date a Fanatic.

This podcast is produced by V.V. Ganeshananthan and Whitney Terrell.

Aruni Kashyap

Others

The rise of the Cockroaches - The Hindu

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S9 Ep. 44 Claudia Rankine on Triage, Antigone, and Collapse Aug 20, 2026

Show notes

Poet, essayist, and playwright Claudia Rankine joins co-hosts Christian Barter, Jennifer Maritza McCauley and Whitney Terrell to talk about her new book Triage. Rankine outlines the decades-long relationship between the book’s narrator and a character she names “the theorist,” who, as college students, develop the habit of collapsing whenever they greet each other. She talks about how each character interprets collapse differently, the theorist prescribing action while the narrator fights for her “silences, routines, and quietude.” Rankine discusses how their “conversation” echoes Antigone and is rooted in our current reactions to the war in Gaza and the second Trump Administration. She reflects on the role that visual imagery has in her work and reads from Triage.

This podcast is produced by Christian Barter, Jennifer Maritza McCauley, and Whitney Terrell.

Claudia Rankine

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Antigone | Sophocles
Fiction/Non/Fiction Season 8, Episode 51: Omar El Akkad on Gaza and Western Empire
Julia (1977) dir. Fred Zinnemann

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S9 Ep. 43 Dino Martins on Cyclospora, Screwworms, and Our Lives with Parasites Aug 13, 2026

Show notes

Entomologist Dino Martins joins co-host V.V. Ganeshananthan and Whitney Terrell to talk about the Cyclospora outbreak that has sickened thousands of people across the U.S., as well as the New World screwworm that has been affecting the cattle population. Martins, the author of a new book called Hidden Creatures: Luscious Leeches, Bashful Botflies, and the Wondrous, History-Shaping World of Parasites, discusses the benefits and dangers of parasites and reflects on his own lifelong interest in bugs, beginning with his childhood in Kenya. He explains how living alongside other animals has taught him to observe the world differently. Martins reads from Hidden Creatures.

This podcast is produced by V.V. Ganeshananthan and Whitney Terrell.

Dino Martins

Others

Fiction/Non/Fiction Season 7, Episode 45: Jasmin Graham on Understanding Sharks
Fiction/non/Fiction Season 9, Episode 7: Kathryn Nuernberger on Mutualism, Climate, and Finding Family at the End of the World
Alien (1979) dir. Ridley Scott
The Fly (1986) dir. David Cronenberg
Stand by Me (1986) dir. Rob Reiner

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S9 Ep. 42 Joshua Jelly-Schapiro on Harry Belafonte’s Extraordinary Art & Activism Aug 06, 2026

Show notes

Non-fiction writer Joshua Jelly-Schapiro joins co-hosts V.V. Ganeshananthan and Christian Barter to talk about the life of performer and activist Harry Belafonte, who died in 2023. Jelly-Schapiro, the author of a new biography of Belafonte, considers the entertainer’s distinctive combination of mainstream appeal and radical politics. He notes how Belafonte’s vault to stardom and success with the first LP to sell a million copies, Calypso, positioned him to speak across racial lines in a segregated society. Jelly-Schapiro discusses Belafonte’s nation-changing impact on the Civil Rights Movement, and his unique position as the only member of Martin Luther King’s inner circle who could also be asked to guest-host The Tonight Show. He reflects on how Belafonte, the son of Jamaican immigrants who grew up between Harlem and his parents’ country, navigated the performance of authenticity. Jelly-Schapiro reads from his book, Daylight Come: Harry Belafonte and the World He Made.

This podcast is produced by V.V. Ganeshananthan and Christian Barter.

Joshua Jelly-Schapiro

Daylight Come: Harry Belafonte and the World He Made
Names of New York: Discovering the City's Past, Present, and Future Through Its Place-Names
Island People: The Caribbean and the World
Nonstop Metropolis: A New York City Atlas with Rebecca Solnit
Pòtoprens: The Urban Artists of Port-au-Prince with Leah Gordon and Katelyne Alexis
Cuba Then, Cuba Now
Chris Ofili: Paradise Lost with Chris Ofili

Harry Belafonte

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S9 Ep. 41 Lupe Mendez on Texas Politics and the Killing of Lorenzo Salgado Araujo Jul 30, 2026

Show notes

Houston-based poet Lupe Mendez joins co-hosts Whitney Terrell and Jennifer Maritza McCauley to discuss ICE raids, the killing of Lorenzo Salgado Araujo, and the political climate in Texas heading into the midterms. Mendez details the last few minutes of Araujo’s life and talks about the government’s altered story of Araujo’s death. Mendez also explains why he decided to write about the Mexican community’s boycott of racist integration practices in Houston during the 1970s and his compulsion to write poetry in Spanish and English. Inspired by Ebony Stewart, Mendez talks about how his “artivism” intersected with his role as Texas Poet Laureate. Mendez reads from We Exist in the Whisper: Huelga School Verses and Prayer Holding Night: New & Selected Works.

This podcast is produced by Jennifer Maritza McCauley and Whitney Terrell.

Lupe Mendez

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