The Literary Life with Mitchell Kaplan

Latest Episodes:

Investigative Journalist Julie Brown on Exposing Jeffrey Epstein Oct 08, 2021

Show notes

On today’s episode of The Literary Life, Mitchell Kaplan talks to Julie Brown about her new book, Perversion of Justice: The Jeffrey Epstein Story, out now from Dey Street Books.

Julie K. Brown is an investigative reporter with the Miami Herald. During her 30-year career, she has worked for a number of newspapers, focusing on crime, justice and human rights issues. As a member of the Herald’s prestigious Investigative Team, she has won dozens of awards, including a George Polk Award in 2018 for “Perversion of Justice,” a series that examined how a rich and powerful sex trafficker, Jeffrey Epstein, managed to arrange a secret plea deal and escape life in prison—even though he was suspected of sexually abusing more than 100 underage girls and young women. The series, and her subsequent dogged coverage of the case in 2019, led to the resignation of President Trump’s labor secretary, Alex Acosta, Epstein’s arrest on new federal charges in New York and reforms in the way that prosecutors treat victims of sex crimes.

Brown previously won acclaim for a series of stories about abuses and corruption in Florida prisons. The stories led to the resignations of top agency officials, firings of corrupt corrections officers and an overhaul in the treatment of inmates with mental and physical disabilities, as well as women in Florida prisons. That series also won a Polk Award. A native of Philadelphia, she is a graduate of Temple University.

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Jonathan Plutzik on Why a Hotel Should Be a Space for Creativity Oct 01, 2021

Show notes

On today’s episode of The Literary Life, Mitchell Kaplan talks to The Betsy hotel owner Jonathan Plutzik about its history in Miami Beach and why a hotel should be a space for comfort and healing through the arts.

Jonathan Plutzik retired as a Vice-Chairman of Credit Suisse First Boston (CSFB), in 2003, after a 25-year career. His responsibilities included oversight for the firm’s work with U. S. state and local governments, international privatization initiatives, investment banking activities in Washington, D.C. and global financial services. He also led the CSFB team that provided advisory services to the City of New York during the city's financial crisis. From 2003 to 2005 Jonathan served as Chairman of Firaxis Games, a leading computer game company and home of Civilization, the widely acclaimed strategy game. Jonathan’s philanthropic work is considerable. He has a long legacy of charitable leadership as Chairman of the Board of the CORO New York Leadership Center, with additional Executive Leadership service to UJA-Federation of NY (including having served as a member of the Board and Executive Committee and Director of the Caring Commission, and he was Chair of the UJA-Federations Connect to Caring initiative.) He also serves as a member of the Council on Foreign Relations, is on the Board of Directors of Fannie Mae and recently accepted a position on the founding board of Planet Word, a new Washington, D.C.-based museum that is dedicated to and focused on Language Arts. Jonathan received his B.A. from Brandeis University and his M.B.A. from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania. Jonathan is Co-President of the PG Family Foundation in NYC, and principal owner of The Betsy-South Beach, (www.thebetsyhotel.com), a hotel known for its community-based philanthropic work and its commitment to arts and culture.

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Sandra Cisneros on Opening Up the Dialogue With People We Love Sep 24, 2021

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On this weeks episode, Mitchell talks with renowned author Sandra Cisneros about her new book, Martita, I Remember You.

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Les Standiford on Why the Circus Is Key to Understanding Who We Are Sep 10, 2021

Show notes

On today's episode of The Literary Life, Mitchell Kaplan talks to Les Standiford about his new book, Battle for the Big Top, out now from PublicAffairs Books.

Les Standiford is the author of several critically acclaimed books, including Last Train to Paradise, Meet You in Hell, and Bringing Adam Home. His book, The Man Who Invented Christmas, was a New York Times 'Editors' Choice' and was made into a feature film starring Christopher Plummer and Dan Stevens in 2018. He is a Professor of English and Founding Director of the Creative Writing Program at Florida International University and holds a MA and PhD in literature and creative writing from the University of Utah. He attended the US Air Force Academy and Columbia School of Law and is a former screenwriting fellow and graduate of the American Film Institute in Los Angeles. He lives in Miami, Florida.

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Patricia Engel on the Natural Human Instinct to Migrate Aug 27, 2021

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On today's episode of The Literary Life>, Mitchell Kaplan talks to Patricia Engel about her new book, Infinite Country, out now from Avid Reader Press.

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Catherine Raven: Why We're More Like Animals Than We Think Aug 06, 2021

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On today’s episode of The Literary Life, Mitchell Kaplan talks to Catherine Raven about her book, Fox and I: An Uncommon Friendship, out now from Spiegel & Grau.

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Kathie Klarreich: How Working with Prisoners Has Changed My Life Jul 30, 2021

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On today’s episode of The Literary Life, Mitchell Kaplan talks to Kathie Klarreich, founder and executive director of Exchange for Change, a nonprofit that offers writing classes in South Florida correctional institutions, about the organization’s new anthology, HEAR US: Writings from the Inside During the Time of COVID.

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Ross King on the Man Who Changed Bookselling Jul 23, 2021

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On today's episode of The Literary Life, Mitchell Kaplan talks to Ross King about his new book, The Bookseller of Florence, out now from Grove Atlantic.

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Louis-Philippe Dalembert: "Migration Is Part of My Story" Jul 16, 2021

Show notes

On today's episode of The Literary Life, Mitchell Kaplan talks to Haitian poet Louis-Philippe Dalembert about his new novel, The Mediterranean Wall (tr. Marjolijn de Jager), out now from Schaffner Press.

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Louis-Philippe Dalembert (born December 8, 1962 in Port-au-Prince, Haiti) is a Haitian poet and novelist, who writes in both French and Haitian creole. His works have been translated into several languages. He now divides his home between Berlin, Paris and Port-au-Prince. He has received several prizes and awards for his work, among them, the Grand Priz de poésie de la Ville D'Angers for his poetry collection, Et le soleil se souvient, a residency at the Villa Medicis in Rome, and the Prix RFO du livre for his novel, L'Autre Face de la Mer. He is also known to be an avid soccer fan.

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Richard Flanagan on Writing (and Rewriting) Through the Devastating Bushfires in Tasmania and Australia Jul 09, 2021

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On today's episode ofThe Literary Life, Mitchell Kaplan talks to Richard Flanagan about his new novel, The Living Sea of Waking Dreams, out now from Knopf.

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