The American Writers Museum Podcasts
Episodes
Episode 230: Kati Curts
23 Mar 2026
Contributed by Lukas
This week, religious studies professor Dr. Kati Curts discusses her book Assembling Religion: The Ford Motor Company and the Transformation of Religio...
Episode 57: Sholem Asch
19 Mar 2026
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode, we discuss the life and legacy of Sholem Asch. Born in Poland to an Orthodox Jewish family, Asch was a novelist, playwright, and essa...
Episode 229: Oscar Brown, Jr.
17 Mar 2026
Contributed by Lukas
This week, Maggie and Africa Brown discuss the legacy of their father—Oscar Brown, Jr.—and perform some of his work. This conversation originally ...
Episode 56: Pauli Murray
05 Mar 2026
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode, we discuss the life and legacy of Pauli Murray. A poet, activist, lawyer, professor, and priest, Murray was a prolific and passionate...
Episode 228: Rima Vesely-Flad
16 Feb 2026
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode, Dr. Rima Vesely-Flad discusses her book The Fire Inside: The Dharma of James Baldwin and Audre Lorde. Black, queer, feminist, Buddhis...
Episode 227: Lisa Marie Gring-Premble & Martha Watson
10 Feb 2026
Contributed by Lukas
This week, scholars Lisa Marie Gring-Pemble and Martha Watson discuss their book Your Daughters Will Prophesy: Religion and Rhetoric in the Nineteenth...
Episode 226: Mary Ann Ahern
02 Feb 2026
Contributed by Lukas
This week, Emmy Award-winning journalist Mary Ann Ahern talks about covering religion, writing about Chicago’s Pope, and shaping the public̵...
Episode 225: Alan Light
15 Dec 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Music journalist Alan Light discusses spirituality and song, as well as his new book Don’t Stop: Why We (Still) Love Fleetwood Mac’s Rumours, whic...
Episode 224: Christopher W. Hunt
07 Dec 2025
Contributed by Lukas
This week, scholar Christopher W. Hunt discusses his recent book Jimmy’s Faith: James Baldwin, Disidentification, and the Queer Possibilities of Bla...
Episode 223: Divine Love
05 Dec 2025
Contributed by Lukas
This week, three writers of romance—Sajni Patel, Scarlett St. Clair, and Helene Wecker—discuss the role of religion in the romance genre. This con...
Episode 222: Thomas A. Tweed
24 Nov 2025
Contributed by Lukas
This week, scholar Thomas A. Tweed discusses his new book Religion in the Lands that Became America. A sweeping retelling of American religious histor...
Episode 221: Faith is Funny
18 Nov 2025
Contributed by Lukas
This week, we revisit our Faith is Funny program with four comedians—Gibran Saleem, Hari Kondabolu, Peter Sagal, and Kate Sidley—who discuss the r...
Episode 220: Susan Orlean
04 Nov 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Beloved author Susan Orlean discusses her new book Joyride, a masterful memoir of finding her creative calling and purpose that invites us to approach...
Episode 219: Horror Writing and Religion
27 Oct 2025
Contributed by Lukas
This week in honor of Halloween, we discuss the use of religion and spirituality in horror writing. We are joined by leading horror writers Tananarive...
Episode 218: Paul Elie
21 Oct 2025
Contributed by Lukas
This week, religious scholar Paul Elie discusses his latest book The Last Supper: Art, Faith, Sex, and Controversy in the 1980s. This enthralling grou...
Episode 217: Nicholas Meyer
14 Oct 2025
Contributed by Lukas
This week, screenwriter and author Nicholas Meyer discusses his latest mystery novel Sherlock Holmes and the Real Thing. In this latest book, Sherlock...
Episode 55: Gertrude Stein
06 Oct 2025
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode, we discuss the life and legacy of Gertrude Stein. A poet, novelist, and essayist, Stein was a towering literary figure in her time. S...
Episode 54: James Weldon Johnson
29 Aug 2025
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode, we discuss the life and legacy of James Weldon Johnson. A leader of the Harlem Renaissance, he wrote fiction, poetry, and nonfiction....
Episode 53: Nguyễn Quí Đức
06 Jun 2025
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode, we discuss the life and legacy of Nguyễn Quí Đức. Born in Da Lat, Vietnam in 1958, Đức arrived in the United States at 17 as...
Episode 216: Dave Barry
02 Jun 2025
Contributed by Lukas
How does the son of a Presbyterian minister wind up winning a Pulitzer Prize for writing a wildly inaccurate newspaper column read by millions of peop...
Episode 52: F. Scott Fitzgerald
16 May 2025
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode, we discuss the life and legacy of F. Scott Fitzgerald. Born in 1896 in St. Paul, Minnesota, Fitzgerald published his first novel, Thi...
Episode 215: Making New Gods
05 May 2025
Contributed by Lukas
This week, we kick off our new exhibit and content initiative American Prophets: Writers, Religion, and Culture with four writers of speculative ficti...
Episode 214: Thi Bui, Vu Tran & Rita Bullwinkel
21 Apr 2025
Contributed by Lukas
This week, we discuss McSweeney’s new quarterly issue: McSweeney’s 78: The Make Believers, featuring writers of the Vietnamese diaspora. We are jo...
Episode 51: Flannery O’Connor
04 Apr 2025
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode, we discuss the life and work of Flannery O’Connor. Born in Georgia in 1925, O’Connor wrote prolifically before her early ...
Episode 50: Studs Terkel
01 Apr 2025
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode, we discuss the life and work of Studs Terkel. A Chicago resident from age 10 until his death at age 96, Studs Terkel epitomized Chica...
Episode 213: Sash Bischoff
31 Mar 2025
Contributed by Lukas
This week, author Sash Bischoff discusses her hit debut novel Sweet Fury, a twisty, thought-provoking novel in conversation with the works of F. Scott...
Episode 212: Melvin Dixon & Black Queer Poetry
10 Mar 2025
Contributed by Lukas
This week, poets CM Burroughs and Adrian Matejka discuss the groundbreaking legacy of poet Melvin Dixon, who “wrote extensively about the comple...
Episode 211: Worlds and Words of Chicago – Immigrant Stories
03 Mar 2025
Contributed by Lukas
This week, writers from around the world discuss their journeys, finding community in creativity, and making a home in Chicago. Featuring multidiscipl...
Episode 210: The Next Phase of Representation in Children’s Literature
24 Feb 2025
Contributed by Lukas
This week, two acclaimed children’s book authors—Clothilde Ewing and Malcolm Newsome—discuss their visions and aspirations for children̵...
Episode 209: Eve L. Ewing
17 Feb 2025
Contributed by Lukas
This week, award-winning writer and scholar Eve L. Ewing discusses her new book Original Sins: The (Mis)education of Black and Native Children and the...
Episode 208: Writing Love Stories
10 Feb 2025
Contributed by Lukas
This week, in celebration of Valentine’s Day, three of America’s leading romance writers—Xio Axelrod, Swan Huntley, and Claire Legrand—talk ab...
Episode 207: Writing the Dark Testament – Black History
03 Feb 2025
Contributed by Lukas
This week, authors Charisse Burden-Stelly and Andrew W. Kahrl discuss their recent work and writing Black history with journalist Arionne Nettles. Thi...
Episode 206: Gail Crowther
27 Jan 2025
Contributed by Lukas
This week, writer and researcher Gail Crowther discusses her new book Dorothy Parker in Hollywood, an expansive and illuminating study of legendary wr...
Episode 205: YA Lit Today
20 Jan 2025
Contributed by Lukas
This week, acclaimed authors Samira Ahmed and Jas Hammonds discuss their recent books, the state of young adult literature today, and the importance o...
Episode 49: Nathaniel Hawthorne
17 Jan 2025
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode, we discuss the life and work of novelist and short story writer Nathaniel Hawthorne. Born in Salem, Massachusetts, Hawthorne’s pate...
Episode 204: Forms & Fissures
13 Jan 2025
Contributed by Lukas
This week, acclaimed poets Diana Khoi Nguyen and Cindy Juyoung Ok read selections of their work, followed by a discussion of their processes, themes, ...
Episode 203: Donna Seaman
08 Jan 2025
Contributed by Lukas
This week, acclaimed book critic and editor Donna Seaman discusses her new book River of Books: A Life in Reading, a memoir of reading and working wit...
Episode 48: Rod Serling
20 Dec 2024
Contributed by Lukas
This episode lies between the pit of man’s fears, and the summit of his knowledge. This is the dimension of imagination. It is an area which we call...
Best of 2024!
17 Dec 2024
Contributed by Lukas
This week, we take a look back at some of our top episodes of 2024 from both of our podcast series: AWM Author Talks and Nation of Writers. This is ou...
Episode 202: Writing the Story of Jazz
09 Dec 2024
Contributed by Lukas
This week, journalist Larry Tye discusses his recent book The Jazzmen: How Duke Ellington, Louis Armstrong, and Count Basie Transformed America with r...
Episode 201: Mike Thomas and Rick Kogan
02 Dec 2024
Contributed by Lukas
This week, Mike Thomas, co-author of the Johnny Carson biography Carson the Magnificent, sits down with Rick Kogan of the Chicago Tribune to discuss t...
Episode 200: Best of Episodes 101-199
25 Nov 2024
Contributed by Lukas
This is our 200th episode! To celebrate the occasion, we’ve gone back in the vault for highlights from the ten most listened-to episodes of the past...
Episode 47: James Welch
22 Nov 2024
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode, we discuss the life and work of poet and novelist James Welch. Part Blackfeet and part Gros Ventre, Welch grew up on the Blackfeet an...
Episode 199: Writing Memoir
18 Nov 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Two bestselling authors — Nicole Chung (A Living Remedy) and Lydia Millet (We Loved It All) — discuss the process and craft of writing a memoir wi...
Episode 198: Writing Family History
11 Nov 2024
Contributed by Lukas
This week, historian and biographer Paul Hendrickson discusses writing about his own family’s history and his recent book Fighting the Night: Iw...
Episode 197: Fake News & Media Literacy
04 Nov 2024
Contributed by Lukas
This week, author Rebecca Siegel offers media literacy advice and discusses her book Loch Ness Uncovered: Media, Misinformation, and the Greatest Mons...
Episode 196: Writing Literary Fiction
28 Oct 2024
Contributed by Lukas
This week, acclaimed writers Renée Watson and Jabari Asim talk about Watson’s novel, skin & bones, as well as writing Black history and moving ...
Episode 195: Toni Morrison and the Geopoetics of Place, Race, and Be/longing
21 Oct 2024
Contributed by Lukas
This week, scholar Marilyn Sanders Mobley visits the AWM to discuss her book Toni Morrison and the Geopoetics of Place, Race, and Be/longing, which He...
Episode 194: Indigenous History & Memory
14 Oct 2024
Contributed by Lukas
This week, in honor of Indigenous People’s Day, scholars Rose Miron and Jean O’Brien discuss the power and importance of indigenous storytelli...
Episode 193: Writing True Crime
07 Oct 2024
Contributed by Lukas
This week, investigative journalists Shawn Cohen and Philip Eil share insights into their reporting processes, interviewing techniques, and writing tr...
Episode 46: Yay Panlilio
04 Oct 2024
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode, we discuss the life and work of Filipina-American journalist and guerilla leader Yay Panlilio. Born in 1913 to a Filipina mother and ...
Episode 192: Level Up – Writing & Gaming
30 Sep 2024
Contributed by Lukas
This week, prominent writers and game designers discuss crafting game narrative and representation within gaming communities. Featured panelists are K...
Episode 45: Gloria E. Anzaldúa
24 Sep 2024
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode, we discuss the life and work of queer Chicana poet, essayist, and theorist Gloria E. Anzaldúa. Quoting from The Gloria Anzaldúa Rea...
Episode 191: Freedom to Read
23 Sep 2024
Contributed by Lukas
This week, we discuss the threat censorship poses to democracy as part of Banned Books Week, an annual event that highlights the value of free and ope...
Episode 190: Writing Latino History
16 Sep 2024
Contributed by Lukas
This week, to celebrate National Hispanic Heritage Month, hear from Marie Arana, the Literary Director of the Library of Congress. Joined by author Ju...
Episode 189: The Lasting Influence of Lorraine Hansberry
09 Sep 2024
Contributed by Lukas
This week, we celebrate the legacy of Lorraine Hansberry with J. Nicole Brooks, Natalie Y. Moore, and Ericka Ratcliff. This conversation originally to...
Episode 188: Writing Labor History
02 Sep 2024
Contributed by Lukas
This Labor Day, we take a look at writing labor history with Steve Watkins, author of The Mine Wars: The Bloody Fight for Workers’ Rights in the Wes...
Episode 187: Writing About Writers
26 Aug 2024
Contributed by Lukas
This week, biographers and novelists share what it is like to write about other writers. Mary V. Dearborn covers Carson McCullers, George Getschow cov...
Episode 44: Mike Royko
23 Aug 2024
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode, we discuss the life and work of journalist Mike Royko, a Chicago writing icon. Quoting from the Newberry Library’s current exhi...
Episode 186: New Fiction
19 Aug 2024
Contributed by Lukas
This week, dive into the New Fiction panel from the American Writers Festival, recorded live on May 19, 2024. Four novelists — Donna Hemans, Jessica...
Episode 185: Polarizing America – Chicago 1968
12 Aug 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Ahead of the 2024 Democratic National Convention in Chicago, media historian Heather Hendershot discusses her book When the News Broke: Chicago 1968 a...
Episode 184: Ardent Dance Company
06 Aug 2024
Contributed by Lukas
This week, we chat with members of the Ardent Dance Company about their upcoming ballet POE, based on the life and work of Edgar Allan Poe. Justine Ke...
Episode 43: Thomas Wolfe
31 Jul 2024
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode, we discuss the life and work of Thomas Wolfe, one of the country’s leading novelists of the early twentieth century. A contemporary...
Episode 183: Writing Other Worlds
30 Jul 2024
Contributed by Lukas
This week, speculative fiction writers Darcie Little Badger, Michi Trota, and Suzanne Walker discuss their work, crafting other worlds with writing, a...
Episode 182: Making Up True Stories
23 Jul 2024
Contributed by Lukas
This week, tune into the panel discussion Making Up True Stories: Novels and Books About Real People. Our featured writers are Amanda Flower, Sarah Ja...
Episode 181: John Berendt and Taylor Mac
15 Jul 2024
Contributed by Lukas
This week, writers John Berendt and Taylor Mac discuss the Goodman Theatre’s world-premiere stage musical adaptation of Midnight in the Garden of Go...
Episode 180: Writing Politics Today
08 Jul 2024
Contributed by Lukas
This week, journalist Mark Bowden discusses his new book The Steal: The Attempt to Overturn the 2020 Election and the People Who Stopped It, co-writte...
Episode 179: Writing Chicago Food & Comedy
01 Jul 2024
Contributed by Lukas
This week, we have the first of many programs from the 2024 American Writers Festival for you. In this episode, comedians Jamie Loftus and Chelsea Hoo...
Episode 178: Paul Tremblay
17 Jun 2024
Contributed by Lukas
This week, we get spooky. National bestselling author Paul Tremblay discusses his latest summer blockbuster Horror Movie: A Novel, a chilling twist on...
Episode 42: Rachel Pollack
13 Jun 2024
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode, we discuss the life and work of the multifaceted writer Rachel Pollack. She was the author of 41 books, including two award-winning n...
Episode 177: R. O. Kwon
11 Jun 2024
Contributed by Lukas
This week, bestselling author R. O. Kwon discusses her new novel Exhibit, an exhilarating, blazing-hot novel about a woman caught between her desires ...
Episode 176: Gods & Gaming
03 Jun 2024
Contributed by Lukas
This week, we present a panel discussion with a range of scholars exploring religion through narrative games. This is a special episode in conjunction...
Episode 41: Audre Lorde
22 May 2024
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode, we’ll discuss the life and work of poet and author Audre Lorde. Born in New York City in 1934, Lorde was the daughter of immigrants...
Episode 175: Sara Paretsky
22 Apr 2024
Contributed by Lukas
This week, acclaimed mystery writer Sara Paretsky discusses her new book Pay Dirt, the latest installment of her iconic V.I. Warshawski detective seri...
Episode 40: W. S. Merwin
10 Apr 2024
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode, we’ll discuss the life and work of poet W. S. Merwin. Appointed U.S. Poet Laureate in 2010, William Stanley Merwin had a career tha...
Episode 174: Daniel de Visé
25 Mar 2024
Contributed by Lukas
This week, we’re on a mission from God. Journalist and author Daniel de Visé discusses his book The Blues Brothers: An Epic Friendship, the Rise of...
Episode 39: Kate Chopin
20 Mar 2024
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode, we’ll discuss the life and work of fiction writer Kate Chopin, who dared to write about female sexuality, longing, and identity at ...
Episode 173: Jennifer Keishin Armstrong
11 Mar 2024
Contributed by Lukas
This week, pop culture historian Jennifer Keishin Armstrong discusses her new book So Fetch: The Making of Mean Girls (And Why We’re Still So Obsess...
Episode 38: Norman Lear
20 Feb 2024
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode, we’ll discuss the life and work of television pioneer Norman Lear. We are joined by pop culture historian Jennifer Keishin Arms...
Episode 172: Ed Zwick
19 Feb 2024
Contributed by Lukas
This week, award winning filmmaker Ed Zwick discusses his memoir Hits, Flops, and Other Illusions: My Fortysomething Years in Hollywood, a heartfelt a...
Episode 171: Tim Spofford
12 Feb 2024
Contributed by Lukas
This week, journalist and historian Tim Spofford discusses his book What the Children Told Us: The Untold Story of the Famous “Doll Test” and the ...
Episode 170: Laurence Leamer
05 Feb 2024
Contributed by Lukas
This week, bestselling author Laurence Leamer discusses Truman Capote and his book Capote’s Women: A True Story of Love, Betrayal, and a Swan Song f...
Episode 37: W. C. Heinz
11 Jan 2024
Contributed by Lukas
*Episode note: In the introduction, we incorrectly called the book co-written with Vince Lombardi Running into Daylight. The correct title is Run to D...
Best of 2023!
26 Dec 2023
Contributed by Lukas
In this special episode, we take a look back at some of our favorite moments from the top episodes of our two ongoing series – Nation of Writers and...
Episode 169: Gabriel Bump
11 Dec 2023
Contributed by Lukas
This week, award-winning author Gabriel Bump discusses his new novel The New Naturals, a touching, timely novel about an attempt to found an undergrou...
Episode 36: Joan Didion
05 Dec 2023
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode, we discuss the life and work of writing icon Joan Didion, a writer’s writer. Not only a groundbreaking journalist, essayist, noveli...
Episode 168: Clara Kumagai
04 Dec 2023
Contributed by Lukas
This week, author Clara Kumagai discusses her debut young adult novel Catfish Rolling, a wholly original and mind-bending debut YA novel about memory,...
Episode 167: Jonathan Taplin & Michi Trota
20 Nov 2023
Contributed by Lukas
This week, writers Jonathan Taplin and Michi Trota discuss the profound implications of AI for the future of writing and creative expression. They are...
Episode 35: William Apess
17 Nov 2023
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode, we’ll discuss the life and work of indigenous author and orator William Apess. In 1829 Apess published his memoir A Son of the Fore...
Episode 166: Curtis Chin
13 Nov 2023
Contributed by Lukas
This week, filmmaker and author Curtis Chin discusses his book Everything I Learned, I Learned in a Chinese Restaurant, a memoir about coming of age a...
Episode 165: Patti Hartigan
06 Nov 2023
Contributed by Lukas
This week, author and theater critic Patti Hartigan discusses her recent book August Wilson: A Life, the first authoritative biography of iconic playw...
Episode 34: Edna St. Vincent Millay
30 Oct 2023
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode, we’ll discuss the life and work of Edna St. Vincent Millay. The wildly popular Jazz Age poet ventured fearlessly beyond traditional...
Episode 164: Viet Thanh Nguyen
30 Oct 2023
Contributed by Lukas
This week, Pulitzer Prize winner Viet Thanh Nguyen discusses his new book A Man of Two Faces, a highly original, blistering, and unconventional memoir...
Episode 163: Sterling L. Bland Jr.
23 Oct 2023
Contributed by Lukas
This week, historian and author Sterling L. Bland Jr. discusses his book In the Shadow of Invisibility: Ralph Ellison and the Promise of American Demo...
Episode 162: Pearl Cleage
16 Oct 2023
Contributed by Lukas
This week, playwright, poet, and author Pearl Cleage discusses her life and career with Remy Bumppo Theatre Artistic Director Marti Lyons. Remy Bumppo...
Episode 161: Patty Lin with Zibby Owens
09 Oct 2023
Contributed by Lukas
This week, former television screenwriter Patty Lin discusses her new memoir End Credits: How I Broke Up with Hollywood. She is joined by author, podc...
Episode 160: Joanne Leedom-Ackerman & Sara Paretsky
02 Oct 2023
Contributed by Lukas
This week, writers Joanne Leedom-Ackerman and Sara Paretsky discuss their craft, the writing process, and the dangers of censorship and book bans. Thi...
Episode 159: Tom Piazza
25 Sep 2023
Contributed by Lukas
This week, author Tom Piazza discusses his novel The Auburn Conference with Booklist editor Donna Seaman. This conversation originally took place Sept...
Episode 158: Kathleen Rooney
18 Sep 2023
Contributed by Lukas
This week, author Kathleen Rooney discusses her new book From Dust to Stardust, a novel about Hollywood, the cost of stardom, and selfless second acts...
Episode 33: Betty Friedan
15 Sep 2023
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode, we’ll discuss the life and work of Betty Friedan. The feminist writer and activist acclaimed as the mother of second-wave feminism,...