Free Library Podcast

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Daniel C. Dennett | From Bacteria to Bach and Back: The Evolution of Minds Jul 16, 2018

Show notes

Watch the video here. ''Perhaps America's most widely read (and debated) living philosopher'' (New York Times), Daniel C. Dennett is the author of a score of books that explore the intersection of human consciousness and evolutionary biology, including Consciousness Explained, Darwin's Dangerous Idea, and Intuition Pumps and Other Tools for Thinking. He is Co-Director of the Center for Cognitive Studies and Austin B. Fletcher Professor of Philosophy at Tufts University. Building on ideas from computer science and biology, From Bacteria to Bach and Back posits bold stances upon how we came to have conscious minds. A longtime writer for The New Yorker, Adam Gopnik is the author of Paris to the Moon and Angels and Ages: Lincoln, Darwin, and the Birth of the Modern Age, among other books. (recorded 2/9/2017)

George Saunders | Lincoln in the Bardo* Jul 16, 2018

Show notes

Watch the video here. Having garnered wide readership and critical praise for his surreal, darkly funny fiction, ''it's no exaggeration to say that short story master George Saunders helped change the trajectory of American fiction'' (The Wall Street Journal). He is the author of the New York Times notable books Pastoralia and CivilWarLand in Bad Decline; Story Prize finalist In Persuasion Nation; and Tenth of December, a National Book Award finalist. One of Time magazine's 100 most influential people, Saunders is the recipient of Guggenheim and MacArthur Fellowships and has been honored by the American Academy of Arts and Letters. Lincoln in the Bardo spins a kaleidoscopic tale of the 16th President's son's death and his bizarre purgatorial afterlife. (recorded 2/14/2017)

Mark Danielewski | The Familiar Volume 4: Hades Jul 16, 2018

Show notes

Watch the video here. Mark Danielewski is best known for his 2000 debut novel House of Leaves, a profoundly unconventional love story of terror, claustrophobia, and a house that's bigger on the inside than it is on the outside, and for the book's unusual page layout, scores of footnotes, and color-coded words. His 2006 follow-up, Only Revolutions, was a National Book Award finalist, and his novella The Fifty Year Sword was performed on three consecutive Halloweens at REDCAT. Hades is the fourth installment in the planned 27-volume novel The Familiar, a characteristically peculiar multi-narrative story told against unique visuals and book structure. (recorded 2/16/2017)

Leading Voices: Amanda Steinberg | Worth It: Your Life, Your Money, Your Terms* Jul 16, 2018

Show notes

Watch the video here. In conversation with longtime broadcaster and journalist, Tracey Matisak One of Forbes' 21 new American money masters, Amanda Steinberg is the founder and CEO of DailyWorth, a website devoted to helping women manage their financial lives. Launched from a Philadelphia attic office in 2009, its newsletter now reaches more than one million subscribers. She has discussed personal finance on a number of news outlets, including Good Morning America, CNN, Today, and MSNBC. In Worth It, Steinberg outlines the vital financial information women need to create a healthy financial future, and draws a direct line to the ways women can use money as a source of personal freedom and power. (recorded 2/21/2017)

Erica Armstrong Dunbar | Never Caught: The Washingtons' Relentless Pursuit of Their Runaway Slave, Ona Judge Jul 16, 2018

Show notes

Watch the video here. Named the first director of the Program in African American History at the Library Company of Philadelphia, Erica Armstrong Dunbar is a professor of Black American Studies and History at the University of Delaware. She has contributed commentary to several documentaries, including Philadelphia: The Great Experiment and The Abolitionists and is the author of A Fragile Freedom: African American Women and Emancipation in the Antebellum City. In her new book, Dunbar tells the story of the young slave who risked her life to escape servitude under the first American President. (recorded 2/23/2017)

Elizabeth LaBan and Melissa DePino | Pretty Little World Jul 16, 2018

Show notes

Watch the video here. In conversation with John Timpane Elizabeth LaBan is the author of The Restaurant Critic's Wife, The Tragedy Paper, and The Grandparents Handbook. She teaches fiction writing at the University of Pennsylvania and her work has appeared in The Philadelphia Inquirer, New York Newsday, and The Times-Picayune, among other publications. A former high school English teacher in Camden, New Jersey, Melissa DePino is the founder and editorial director of Leapfrog Group, a branding and marketing firm for nonprofits. Pretty Little World tells the story of three families who tear down the walls between each other's Philadelphia row homes and are forced to reimagine their relationships. (recorded 2/27/2017)

Christina Baker Kline | A Piece of the World Jul 16, 2018

Show notes

Watch the video here. Christina Baker Kline is the author of The Orphan Train, the no. 1 New York Times bestseller and 2015 One Book, One Philadelphia selection. Her other novels include Bird in Hand, The Way Life Should Be, and Sweetwater. She has taught writing at some of the country's most prestigious universities and contributed articles to the New York Times, the San Francisco Chronicle, and Psychology Today, among many other publications. A Piece of the World weaves fact and fiction into a portrait of the mysterious woman featured in Andrew Wyeth's iconic painting Christina's World. (recorded 2/28/2017)

Judy Collins | Cravings: How I Conquered Food Jul 16, 2018

Show notes

Watch the video here. In conversation with Laura Kovacs, associate director, author events Popularly beloved as ''Judy Blue Eyes,'' eclectic singer-songwriter Judy Collins has delighted audiences for decades with such albums as A Maid of Constant Sorrow and Wildflowers. The latter album's lead single, ''Both Sides, Now''-penned for her by friend Joni Mitchell-brought her worldwide fame. She is a four-time Grammy nominee, a documentary Oscar nominee, and is currently a UNICEF representative on the campaign for the abolition of landmines. In Cravings, Collins tells the story of her charged history with food, the countless diet plans and weight-loss gurus she encountered over the years, and the measured solution she found to her addiction. (recorded 3/1/2017)

Yiyun Li | Dear Friend, From My Life I Write to You in Your Life Jul 16, 2018

Show notes

Watch the video here. In conversation with Carmen Machado, author of the forthcoming story collection Her Body and Other Parties. Yiyun Li's ''remarkable'' (The Washington Post) debut fiction collection, A Thousand Years of Good Prayers, won the Frank O'Connor International Short Story Award, the PEN/Hemingway Award, and the Guardian First Book Award. She was a 2010 MacArthur Fellow, one of Granta's 21 best young American novelists under 35, and one of The New Yorker's top 20 writers under 40. She is also the author of the novel The Vagrants and the story collection Gold Boy, Emerald Girl. In her first nonfiction book, she weaves her identities as author, mother, and immigrant, and her treasured literary influences to confront questions about selfhood, art, and recovery. (recorded 3/2/2017)

James Rahn with Diane McKinney-Whetstone and Tom Teti | Rittenhouse Writers: Reflections on a Fiction Workshop Jul 16, 2018

Show notes

Watch the video here. The founder and head of the Rittenhouse Writers' Group for its nearly 30-year existence, James Rahn has made this venerable workshop one of America's longest running and most prestigious. His eponymous memoir of the group details not only his growth as a writer and teacher to hundreds of students, but also his life as a husband and father. This volume also includes 10 current and former members' short stories. This event will feature Rittenhouse luminaries Diane McKinney-Whetstone, author of the novels Lazeretto and Tumbling; and Tom Teti, a longtime member and former board member of the People's Light theatre. (recorded 3/7/2017)

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