The Virtual Memories Show
Episodes
Episode 345 - Frank Santoro
21 Oct 2019
Contributed by Lukas
A beautiful and subtle meditation on memory and his parents' marriage and divorce, Frank Santoro's 200-page graphic novel, Pittsburgh (New York Review...
Episode 344 - Liz Hand
13 Oct 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Transgression vs. transcendence: Elizabeth Hand's brand-new novel, Curious Toys (Mulholland Books), explores artistic and cultural taboos through the ...
Episode 343 - Kate Lacour
06 Oct 2019
Contributed by Lukas
With her new book, Vivisectionary (Fantagraphics), artist Kate Lacour has created a work of repulsive beauty (or beautiful revulsion). We get into the...
Episode 342 - Witold Rybczynski
03 Oct 2019
Contributed by Lukas
The great architecture writer Witold Rybczynski rejoins the show to talk about his wonderful new book, Charleston Fancy (Yale University Press). We ge...
Episode 341 - Chris Ware
30 Sep 2019
Contributed by Lukas
With the publication of part 1 of Rusty Brown (Pantheon), Chris Ware joins the show to talk about how he and his art changed over the 18 (on-and-off) ...
Episode 340 - Sylvia Nickerson
25 Sep 2019
Contributed by Lukas
With Creation (Drawn & Quarterly), Sylvia Nickerson explores the decay and renewal of the Rust Belt city of Hamilton, Ontario, wonderfully tying the p...
Episode 339 - Simon Critchley
24 Sep 2019
Contributed by Lukas
In his amazing new book, Tragedy, The Greeks, and Us (Pantheon), Simon Critchley explores how Ancient Greek tragedy captures the eternal crises and te...
Episode 338 - Simon Doonan
17 Sep 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Author, fashionista, creative ambassador, and recovering window-dresser Simon Doonan takes us on a guided tour of gender non-conformity with his lates...
Episode 337 - Amor Towles
17 Sep 2019
Contributed by Lukas
After a 20-year sojourn in the investment world, Amor Towles returned to his first love by writing the bestselling novels Rules of Civility and A Gent...
Episode 336 - Dawn Raffel
09 Sep 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Baby incubators and boardwalk sideshows: not exactly a natural fit nowadays, but once upon a time, the best way to save premature babies in America wa...
Episode 335 - David Shields
02 Sep 2019
Contributed by Lukas
He's just here so he won't get fined: David Shields joined the show earlier this year to talk about his book-length essay, The Trouble With Men. Now h...
Episode 334 - Caleb Crain
26 Aug 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Occupy, telepathy, the surveillance state, and poetic treatment of reversion in 16th/17th century English poetry: Caleb Crain's brand-new novel, Overt...
Episode 333 - Gil Roth
19 Aug 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Because of a last-minute guest cancellation, I had no show lined up for this week! Rather than take a second week off this summer, I decided it was ti...
Episode 332 - Christopher Brown
12 Aug 2019
Contributed by Lukas
He wowed us last year with Tropic of Kansas, and now Christopher Brown is back to talk about his brand-new dystopian legal thriller, Rule of Capture (...
Episode 331 - Liniers
05 Aug 2019
Contributed by Lukas
In a rollicking conversation at the Society of Illustrators 128 Bar & Bistro, Argentine comics star Liniers talks about making the jump from Buenos Ai...
Episode 330 - Milton Glaser
28 Jul 2019
Contributed by Lukas
He turned 90 a few weeks ago, but design legend Milton Glaser isn't slowing down. We got together to talk about moving to a new studio after nearly 55...
Episode 329 - Kate Maruyama
15 Jul 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Writer, teacher, and activist Kate Maruyama joins the show from Readercon 2019! We talk about her first novel, Harrowgate (47North), which managed to ...
Episode 328 - Emily Nussbaum
08 Jul 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Look! Up in the sky! Is it really more like a novel? Is it more like a 10-hour movie? No, it's TV! In her first book, I Like to Watch: Arguing My Way ...
Episode 327 - Karl Stevens
01 Jul 2019
Contributed by Lukas
It may be a fine line between comics and art, but Karl Stevens' fine line crosses effortlessly between them. Karl & I talk about how his realistic dra...
Episode 326 - Barbara Nessim
24 Jun 2019
Contributed by Lukas
With a career in illustration and art stretching back to 1960, Barbara Nessim has been a trailblazer in multiple ways (albeit unintentionally). We tal...
Episode 325 - Boris Fishman
17 Jun 2019
Contributed by Lukas
With his new memoir, Savage Feast: Three Generations, Two Continents, and a Dinner Table (a Memoir with Recipes), author Boris Fishman explores his fa...
Episode 324 - Bill Griffith
10 Jun 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Who can top the memoir of his mother's infidelity with the biography of a sideshow pinhead? Legendary cartoonist Bill Griffith, that's who! Bill rejoi...
Episode 323 - Hugh Ryan
03 Jun 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Let's celebrate Pride Month with a conversation with Hugh Ryan, author of When Brooklyn Was Queer: A History! We talk about Brooklyn's untold queer hi...
Episode 322 - Steven Guarnaccia
28 May 2019
Contributed by Lukas
On the eve of its New York City debut, illustrator/designer/author Steven Guarnaccia joins the show to talk about his Fatherland exhibition! We get i...
Episode 321 - Nina Bunjevac
21 May 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Back from her Fool's Journey in France, Nina Bunjevac returns to the show to celebrate her new book, Bezimena (Fantagraphics)! We talk about the graph...
Episode 320 - Seth
14 May 2019
Contributed by Lukas
After more than 20 years, Seth has completed Clyde Fans, his grand meditation on family, business, and art (Drawn & Quarterly), so let's celebrate wit...
Episode 319 - Katelan Foisy
06 May 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Her first crush was Nosferatu, she started reading Burroughs at 12, she's fused Roma and Santeria, and now Katelan Foisy joins the show to talk about ...
Episode 318 - Ersi Sotiropoulos
28 Apr 2019
Contributed by Lukas
How does an artist make The Leap into greatness? In Ersi Sotiropoulos' wondrous new novel, What's Left of the Night (New Vessel Press, tr. Karen Emmer...
Episode 317 - Frederic Tuten
23 Apr 2019
Contributed by Lukas
With My Young Life (Simon & Schuster), Frederic Tuten had to get over his notion that memoir is a cheap shot in order to look back at the beginning of...
Episode 316 - Michael Carroll
15 Apr 2019
Contributed by Lukas
The Village People tell us that Key West is the key to happiness, but is it also the key to a literary legacy? Michael Carroll joins the show to talk ...
Episode 315 - David Shields
08 Apr 2019
Contributed by Lukas
With his new book, The Trouble With Men (Mad Creek Books), essayist David Shields applies the literary microscope to his own marriage and explores --...
Episode 314 - Mark Alan Stamaty
31 Mar 2019
Contributed by Lukas
To celebrate the new 40th anniversary edition of MacDoodle St. (New York Review Comics), Mark Alan Stamaty joins the show for a conversation about ...
Episode 313 - Nathan Englander
25 Mar 2019
Contributed by Lukas
On the eve of his fifth book, the wonderful Kaddish.com: A Novel (Knopf), Nathan Englander looks back on 20 years of publishing. We get into how he wr...
Episode 312 - Bram Presser
18 Mar 2019
Contributed by Lukas
What sort of person breaks into Auschwitz? An author -- and semi-reformed punk rocker, recovering academic and occasional criminal lawyer -- in search...
Episode 311 - Martin Hägglund
11 Mar 2019
Contributed by Lukas
What if we treated our finite lives as a feature instead of a bug? How would we revalue our time and how could that shape our society? In his new book...
Episode 310 - James Sturm
04 Mar 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Cartoonist and educator James Sturm joins the show to talk about his new graphic novel, Off Season (Drawn & Quarterly), the story of a disintegrating ...
Episode 309 - Joe Ciardiello
25 Feb 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Illustrator/artist Joe Ciardiello returns to the show to talk about his brand-new book, A Fistful of Drawings (Fantagraphics Underground). We go into ...
Episode 308 - James Oseland
19 Feb 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Before Saveur, before Top Chef Masters, before all the National Magazine and James Beard awards, James Oseland was a punk-rock kid called Jimmy Neuros...
Episode 307 - Mort Gerberg
12 Feb 2019
Contributed by Lukas
On the eve of his exhibition at the New-York Historical Society (Feb. 15 to May 5, 2019), legendary cartoonist Mort Gerberg reflects on more than five...
Episode 306 - Eva Hagberg Fisher
04 Feb 2019
Contributed by Lukas
She got through brain surgery, heart surgery, and House-level chronic illness (oh, yeah, and addiction) and came out the other side with a brand-new m...
Episode 305 - Deborah Feingold
29 Jan 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Legendary photographer Deborah Feingold joins the show to talk about the inspiration for her new personal project: photographing illustrators (which i...
Episode 304 - Edmund White
22 Jan 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Novelist, memoirist, essayist and queer literary icon Edmund White joins the show to talk about his new memoir, The Unpunished Vice (Bloomsbury USA)! ...
Episode 303 - Peter Kuper
14 Jan 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Political artist/illustrator Peter Kuper rejoins the show to talk about these Kafkaesque times and his new graphic novel, Kafkaesque: 14 Stories (Nort...
Episode 302 - Jerome Charyn
10 Jan 2019
Contributed by Lukas
On the latest stop on his blog tour, author Jerome Charyn joins the show to talk about his new novel, The Perilous Adventures of the Cowboy King: A No...
Episode 301 - Kriota Willberg
01 Jan 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Recorded live at Cartoon Crossroads Columbus (CXC) in 2018, Kriota Willberg returns to the podcast to talk about the origins of her new book, Draw Str...
Episode 300 - Gary Clark
18 Dec 2018
Contributed by Lukas
Singer-songwriter-producer Gary Clark is my super-special guest for episode #300! We talk about his career, from his '80s band Danny Wilson (and their...
Episode 299 - The Guest List & Bill Kartalopoulos
12 Dec 2018
Contributed by Lukas
Comics scholar Bill Kartalopoulos joins the show to talk about editing the annual Best American Comics series. But first, nearly three dozen of the ye...
Episode 298 - Summer Pierre
04 Dec 2018
Contributed by Lukas
In her new graphic memoir, All The Sad Songs (Retrofit Comics), Summer Pierre uses the mix-tapes of her 20s and 30s to tell us the story of her life, ...
Episode 297 - Shachar Pinsker
26 Nov 2018
Contributed by Lukas
Jews have a long tradition with coffee (I can attest!). In A Rich Brew: How Cafés Created Modern Jewish Culture (NYU Press), Professor Shachar Pin...
Episode 296 - Cathy B Graham
20 Nov 2018
Contributed by Lukas
Who starts a career at an age when most people are looking at retirement? Coming off a divorce and a three-decade hiatus from professional life, award...
Episode 295 - Angela Himsel
13 Nov 2018
Contributed by Lukas
How did Angela Himsel make the transformation from rural Indiana and apocalyptic, fundamentalist Christianity to the Upper West Side of Manhattan and ...
Episode 294 - Mark Dery
05 Nov 2018
Contributed by Lukas
For his first biography, Mark Dery picked a doozy of a subject: the great, creepy, droll, mysterious artist and writer Edward Gorey. We talk about Mar...
Episode 293 - Michael Gerber
29 Oct 2018
Contributed by Lukas
The American Bystander magazine is a print-only humor magazine, and while that may seem like an anachronism in the internet era, editor Michael Ger...
Episode 292 - Eddie Campbell
23 Oct 2018
Contributed by Lukas
Legendary cartoonist Eddie Campbell joins the show to talk about his first (sorta) prose book, The Goat Getters: Jack Johnson, the Fight of the Centur...
Episode 291 - David Small
13 Oct 2018
Contributed by Lukas
With a Caldecott Award-winning career in writing and illustrating kids books already under his belt, David Small made a huge splash in the comics fiel...
Episode 290 - Jason Lutes
07 Oct 2018
Contributed by Lukas
For the third installment in our ad hoc Germany/fascism triptych, Jason Lutes joins the show to talk about completing his 22-year opus, the 550-page g...
Episode 289 - Nora Krug
01 Oct 2018
Contributed by Lukas
With the brand-new visual memoir Belonging (Scribner), writer/illustrator Nora Krug explores her family's history in World War II and her own struggl...
Episode 288 - Ken Krimstein
24 Sep 2018
Contributed by Lukas
With his new graphic biography The Three Escapes of Hannah Arendt: A Tyranny of Truth (Bloomsbury), Ken Krimstein combines his interests in comics, hi...
Episode 287 - Audrey Niffenegger
17 Sep 2018
Contributed by Lukas
In NYC for the Brooklyn Book Festival, author/artist Audrey Niffenegger joins the show to talk about her work and life. We get into her new collaborat...
Episode 286 - Moby
11 Sep 2018
Contributed by Lukas
Electronic dance musician Moby joins the show to talk about what he learned from writing his memoirs and what he learned from reading bad ones. We get...
Episode 285 - Glen David Gold
04 Sep 2018
Contributed by Lukas
How did Glen David Gold get over his Stalinist attitude against memoir to write his amazing new book, I Will Be Complete (Knopf)? Listen in as we talk...
Episode 284 - Richard Kadrey
27 Aug 2018
Contributed by Lukas
On the eve of the publication of his 10th (!) Sandman Slim novel, Hollywood Dead, Richard Kadrey joins the show to talk about discovering himself as a...
Episode 283 - Robert Andrew Parker
19 Aug 2018
Contributed by Lukas
At 91 years old, Robert Andrew Parker can't stop making art. We sat down in his studio to talk about his 7-decade career in painting, illustration and...
Episode 282 - Lance Richardson
14 Aug 2018
Contributed by Lukas
House of Nutter: The Rebel Tailor of Savile Row tells the story of two brothers who grew up above a trucker cafe in Wales and managed to achieve glamo...
Episode 281 - Bill Plympton
07 Aug 2018
Contributed by Lukas
Indie animation legend Bill Plympton joins the show to talk about his first short (the Oscar-nominated Your Face), his latest feature (Revengeance), a...
Episode 280 - David Lloyd
30 Jul 2018
Contributed by Lukas
UK comics legend David Lloyd joins the show to talk about his storied career, and how he made the shift from artist to publisher with the online comic...
Episode 279 - Hal Mayforth
23 Jul 2018
Contributed by Lukas
Illustrator-painter-cartoonist-musician Hal Mayforth joins the show to talk about making art out of the everyday. We get into his daily sketchbook pra...
Episode 278 - Dmitry Samarov
16 Jul 2018
Contributed by Lukas
After our pre-opening tour of the Milton Resnick and Pat Passlof Foundation museum, artist Dmitry Samarov and I repaired to a cafe where we recorded a...
Episode 277 - Nathaniel Popkin
08 Jul 2018
Contributed by Lukas
For a guy who calls himself a master of nothing, Nathaniel Popkin does an awfully good job for himself as a novelist, literary editor, critic, journal...
Episode 276 - Mark Ulriksen
02 Jul 2018
Contributed by Lukas
His art has graced the cover of The New Yorker 60 times (!), and now award-winning artist/illustrator Mark Ulriksen joins The Virtual Memories Show! W...
Episode 275 - Dave Calver
25 Jun 2018
Contributed by Lukas
Artist & illustrator Dave Calver joins the show to talk about Limbo Lounge, his first graphic novel! We discuss the ups and downs of his 40+-year care...
Episode 274 - Chris Reynolds
17 Jun 2018
Contributed by Lukas
The New World: Comics from Mauretania collects what artist Chris Reynolds describes as "Strange Adventure Stories About Dreams". We get into Chris' am...
Episode 273 - Alberto Manguel
10 Jun 2018
Contributed by Lukas
Author, editor, translator, and (most crucially) reader Alberto Manguel joins the show to talk about his new book, Packing My Library: An Elegy and Te...
Episode 272 - Irvin Ungar
03 Jun 2018
Contributed by Lukas
Arthur Szyk was once one of the most popular artists in America, but after his untimely death his art vanished from public discourse. How did Szyk ach...
Episode 271 - Christopher Brown
30 May 2018
Contributed by Lukas
Science fiction author Christopher Brown joins the show to talk about his first novel, Tropic of Kansas (Harper Voyager), and the redemptive possibili...
2018 Memorial Day Bonus Mini-Episode
26 May 2018
Contributed by Lukas
On the occasions of Philip Roth's death and Sandy McClatchy's memorial service, I ruminate on opportunities missed and taken in this bonus episode. •...
Episode 270 - Ilana C. Myer
22 May 2018
Contributed by Lukas
Fresh from her book tour, Ilana C. Myer joins the show to talk about her new novel, Fire Dance (Tor). We get into the jump she made for her second boo...
Episode 269 - Michael Kupperman
15 May 2018
Contributed by Lukas
Michael Kupperman rejoins the show to talk about his new book, All The Answers! We talk about his father Joel Kupperman's experience on the Quiz Kids ...
Episode 268 - Roz Chast
07 May 2018
Contributed by Lukas
Live from MoCCA 2018, Roz Chast rejoins the show to talk about her 40-year+ career as the "different-different-different" cartoonist at The New Yorker...
Episode 267 - JJ Sedelmaier
29 Apr 2018
Contributed by Lukas
Director/Producer JJ Sedelmaier has been in and around animation for nearly 40 years. We sat down to talk about the false choice of art and commerce, ...
Episode 266 - Steven Heller
24 Apr 2018
Contributed by Lukas
Design scholar Steven Heller joins the show to talk about writing and editing more than 182 books on design and its history (and lamenting the books h...
Episode 265 - Jaime Hernandez
16 Apr 2018
Contributed by Lukas
He's been on my list of dream-guests since I launched the podcast, and now Love & Rockets cartoonist Jaime Hernandez joins the show! We talk about his...
Episode 264 - Dean Haspiel
10 Apr 2018
Contributed by Lukas
Cartoonist and playwright Dean Haspiel joins the show to talk about his new play, The Last Bar At The End Of The World (running April 10-15, 2018!) an...
Episode 263 - Jonathan Ames
03 Apr 2018
Contributed by Lukas
On the eve of the premiere of You Were Never Really Here, writer Jonathan Ames returns to his stomping grounds of northern NJ to talk about crime nove...
Episode 262 - Jerry Moriarty
26 Mar 2018
Contributed by Lukas
Paintoonist (painter + cartoonist) Jerry Moriarty joins the show to talk about playing the Art Card for 80 years and counting. We get into the genesis...
Episode 261 - Robert Weil
20 Mar 2018
Contributed by Lukas
Liveright Publishing editor-in-chief Robert Weil joins the show on the eve of this year's Festival Neue Literatur to talk about editing translations, ...
Episode 260 - Jesse Sheidlower
12 Mar 2018
Contributed by Lukas
Time for a books & booze break! Lexicographer/bartender Jesse Sheidlower returns to the show to talk about bartending at The Threesome Tollbooth, a ve...
Episode 259 - Lavie Tidhar
06 Mar 2018
Contributed by Lukas
Science fiction author Lavie Tidhar joins the show to talk about the five topics that Israeli novelists are allowed to write about, his affinity for p...
Episode 258 - Willard Spiegelman
27 Feb 2018
Contributed by Lukas
Critic and essayist Willard Spiegelman returns to the show to talk about his new book, If You See Something, Say Something (SMU Press), collecting his...
Episode 257 - Jerry Beck
18 Feb 2018
Contributed by Lukas
Animation historian Jerry Beck joins the show to talk about his recent Museum of Modern Art screening, Cartoons You Won't See on TV (and the ongoing e...
Episode 256 - Lauren Weinstein
14 Feb 2018
Contributed by Lukas
Village Voice cartoonist Lauren Weinstein joins the show to talk about the balancing act of making comics. We get into how she integrates the politica...
Episode 255 - Henry Wessells
06 Feb 2018
Contributed by Lukas
Antiquarian book dealer Henry Wessells joins the show to talk about his new exhibition at the Grolier Club and its accompanying book, A Conversation l...
Episode 254 - Ann Hulbert
30 Jan 2018
Contributed by Lukas
Atlantic Monthly literary editor Ann Hulbert joins the show to talk about her new book, Off the Charts: The Hidden Lives and Lessons of American Ch...
Episode 253 - John Leland
23 Jan 2018
Contributed by Lukas
New York Times reporter John Leland joins the show to talk about his new book, Happiness Is a Choice You Make: Lessons from a Year Among the Oldest Ol...
Episode 252 - Seymour Chwast & Ann Rivera
16 Jan 2018
Contributed by Lukas
Legendary illustrator/designer/artist Seymour Chwast joins the show to talk about what it means to continue beyond "legendary" status. We get into his...
Episode 251 - Paul Karasik & Mark Newgarden
09 Jan 2018
Contributed by Lukas
How deep can deep reading go? Paul Karasik & Mark Newgarden talk about the 10-year project of exploring a single Nancy strip, for their new book How T...
Episode 250 - Dave McKean
02 Jan 2018
Contributed by Lukas
Dave McKean, artist, writer, illustrator, cartoonist, designer, director, composer, and all-around creative force, joins the show to talk about how th...
2017 Year-End Bonus Mini-Episode
26 Dec 2017
Contributed by Lukas
A bonus podcast? It's a Christmas miracle! No interview this time, but I talk about 2017, lament the loss of a past guest, and talk about what we're d...
Episode 249 - The Guest List 2017
19 Dec 2017
Contributed by Lukas
Three dozen of the year's Virtual Memories Show guests tell us about the favorite books they read in 2017 and the books they hope to get to in 2018! G...
Episode 248 - Cullen Murphy
11 Dec 2017
Contributed by Lukas
This podcast has been to Hicksville and Coconino, so why not Fairfield County, CT? Cullen Murphy's new book, Cartoon County: My Father and His Friends...