WYPL Book Talk

Brad Taylor - Shadow Strike

18 Apr 2026

Contributed by Lukas

  Brad Taylor is a retired U.S. Army Lt. Colonel who served in what is commonly known a Delta Force. Since his retirement, he's become a best-sellin...

David Wesley Williams - Come Again No More

04 Apr 2026

Contributed by Lukas

WYPL Programming Coordinator Andy Hunt hosts his first episode of Book Talk, and his guest is veteran journalist and novelist David Wesley Williams. ...

Mark Graney - The Hard Line

21 Mar 2026

Contributed by Lukas

Mark Greaney is a best-selling writer of thrillers. He co-authored several Jack Ryan novels with Tom Clancy, and even continued the series for severa...

Matthew Pearl - The Award

07 Mar 2026

Contributed by Lukas

Matthew Pearl is a best-selling historical novelist and writer of non fiction. His previous novels include The Dante Club and The Technologists. His ...

Austin McCoy - Living in a D.A.I.S.Y Age

01 Mar 2026

Contributed by Lukas

Dr. Austin McCoy is a professor of history at West Virginia University. Today we’ll be discussing his first book for a general readership about the...

Gayle Feldman - Nothing Random

21 Feb 2026

Contributed by Lukas

Gayle Feldman has been with the prestigious industry magazine Publisher’s Weekly for over forty years as a writer and a senior editor. She has pr...

Brian Earl - Of Christmases Long, Long Ago

13 Dec 2025

Contributed by Lukas

  Brian Earl to the program today. Brian is the host of the podcast Christmases Past and the author of two books about the holiday, Christmas Past...

Peter Brannen - The Story of CO2..., pt. 2

15 Nov 2025

Contributed by Lukas

We welcome Peter Brannen to the program for the final installment of our two-part interview. Peter is a journalist, and his work has appeared in publ...

Peter Brannen - The Story of CO2..., pt. 1

08 Nov 2025

Contributed by Lukas

We welcome Peter Brannen to the program for the first installment of our two-part interview. Peter is a journalist, and his work has appeared in pub...

Eli Cranor - Mississippi Blue 42

01 Nov 2025

Contributed by Lukas

  Eli Cranor is a former professional football player turned crime fiction novelist. His previous novels are Don’t Know Tough, which won the...

John T. Edge - House of Smoke

25 Oct 2025

Contributed by Lukas

  Food historian and host of TV's TrueSouth John T. Edge returns to Book Talk to discuss his memoir, House of Smoke.

Coltan Scrivener - Morbidly Curious

18 Oct 2025

Contributed by Lukas

  Dr. Coltan Scrivner is a scientist who studies morbid curiosity, or why death and injury demand our attention, ranging from biological instinct...

Prue Shaw - Dante - The Essential Commedia, pt. 2

11 Oct 2025

Contributed by Lukas

    We welcome Dr. Pue Shaw back to the program today for the final of a two-part interview. Dr. Shaw is a retired reader of Italian and Italian Li...

Prue Shaw - Dante: The Essential Commedia, pt. 1

04 Oct 2025

Contributed by Lukas

    We welcome Dr. Pue Shaw to the program today for the first of a two-part interview. Dr. Shaw is a retired reader of Italian and Italian Litera...

Eliana Ramage - To the Moon and Back

20 Sep 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Eliana Ramage earned her MFA in fiction at the Iowa Writer’s Workshop. Her debut novel is To the Moon and Back and is published by Avid Reader Pres...

Susan Gregg Gilmore - The Curious Calling of Leonard Bush

13 Sep 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Susan Gregg Gilmore has appeared on Book Talk for her three previous novels, Looking for Salvation at the Dairy Queen, The Improper Life of Bezellia ...

Nat Segaloff - Bogart and Huston

06 Sep 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Nat Segaloff has worked in show biz as a publicist, producer, writer and more. His previous titles include: Hurricane Billy: The Stormy Life and Film...

Mate Marvel - Human Nature - Part Two

30 Aug 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Dr. Kate Marvel is a climate scientist. She earned her PhD in theoretical physics from the University of Cambridge. She conducted post-doc research ...

Kate Marvel - Human Nature - Part One

23 Aug 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Dr. Kate Marvel is a climate scientist. She earned her PhD in theoretical physics from the University of Cambridge. She conducted post-doc research ...

Jerry Avorn - Rethinking Medications, Part 2

16 Aug 2025

Contributed by Lukas

  Jerry Avorn is a professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School and Chief Emeritus of the Division of Pharmacoepidemiology and Pharmacoeconomics ...

Jerry Avorn - Rethinking Medications, Part 1

11 Aug 2025

Contributed by Lukas

  Jerry Avorn is a professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School and Chief Emeritus of the Division of Pharmacoepidemiology and Pharmacoeconomics ...

Elizabeth Birkelund - A Northern Light in Provence

02 Aug 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Elizabeth Birkelund is a novelist whose previous works include The Runaway Wife and The Dressmaker. Prior to writing novels, Elizabeth was a personal...

Heather Clark - The Scrapbook

28 Jun 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Heather Clark is a biographer, literary critic and novelist. She is the author of Red Comet: The Short Life and Blazing Art of Sylvia Plath, The Grie...

Rickey Fayne - The Devil Three Times

21 Jun 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Rickey Fayne is a native of western Tennessee but currently makes his home in the upper Midwest. His fiction has appeared in publications such as The...

Michael Farris Smith - Lay Your Armor Down

14 Jun 2025

Contributed by Lukas

  Michael Farris Smith is a novelist who has appeared on Book Talk many times discuss his books, including Blackwood and Salvage this World. Today, ...

Roxane Gay - The Portable Feminist Reader

10 May 2025

Contributed by Lukas

  Dr. Roxane Gay is writer, editor, social commentator and a professor of media, culture and feminist studies at Rutgers University. She has writte...

Dolen Perkins Valdez - Happy Land

26 Apr 2025

Contributed by Lukas

  We are delighted to welcome Dr. Dolen Perkins Valdez back to the program today. Dolen is an associate professor of English literature at American ...

Amor Towles - Table for Two - Part Two

19 Apr 2025

Contributed by Lukas

We welcome Amor Towles back to the program today for the second of a two-part interview. Amor is a best-selling novelist known for his historical nov...

Amor Towles - Table for Two - Part One

12 Apr 2025

Contributed by Lukas

We welcome Amor Towles to the program today for the first of a two-part interview. Amor is a best-selling novelist known for his historical novels Th...

Anita Kopacz - The Wind on Her Tongue

05 Apr 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Today we welcome a new co-host to the program today, Miriam Oliphant. Miriam is a veteran of the publishing industry and recently joined WYPL on ...

Tova Mirvis - We Would Never

29 Mar 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Tova Mirvis, a native of Memphis, is an author, who has previously joined us on Book Talk to speak about her memoir The Book of Separation as well as...

Preston Lauterbach - Before Elvis

22 Mar 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Preston Lauterbach is a former Memphian who has written extensively about African-American music and history and has helped musicians tell their own ...

Mark Greaney - Midnight Black

15 Mar 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Mark Greaney is a New York Times best-selling author of international thrillers. He co-authored several Jack Ryan novels with Tom Clancy, and continu...

Manan Ahmed Asif - Disrupted City - Part 2

22 Feb 2025

Contributed by Lukas

  Guest host Dr. David Mason is back to conclude a special two-part interview with historian Dr. Manan Ahmed Asif. Dr. Ahmed is an associate profes...

Manan Ahmed Asif - Disrupted City - Part 1

15 Feb 2025

Contributed by Lukas

  Guest host Dr. David Mason is back to host a special two-part interview with historian Dr. Manan Ahmed Asif. Dr. Ahmed is an associate professor ...

Rachel Kushner - Creation Lake

08 Feb 2025

Contributed by Lukas

  We are honored to welcome Rachel Kushner to the program today. Rachel is an award-winning novelist, whose previous work includes the novels, Telex...

Russell Muirhead - Ungoverning - Part 2

25 Jan 2025

Contributed by Lukas

We welcome Dr. Russell Muirhead back to the program today for the second of a two-part interview. Russel is the Robert Clements Professor of Democrac...

Russell Muirhead - Ungoverning - Part 1

18 Jan 2025

Contributed by Lukas

We welcome Dr. Russell Muirhead to the program today for the first of a two-part interview. Russel is the Robert Clements Professor of Democracy and ...

Eugenia Bone - Have a Good Trip

11 Jan 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Eugenia Bone previously appeared on the show to talk about her books, The Kitchen Ecosystem: Integrating Recipes to Create Delicious Meals and Mycoph...

Charles Bock - I Will Do Better

21 Dec 2024

Contributed by Lukas

  Charles Bock was last on Book Talk for his debut novel, Beautiful Children, which won the 2009 Sue Kaufman Prize for First Fiction from the Americ...

Charles King - Every Valley - Part 3

14 Dec 2024

Contributed by Lukas

  We welcome Charles King back to the program today for the final segment of a special three-part interview. Charles is a professor of Internat...

Charles King - Every Valley - Part 2

07 Dec 2024

Contributed by Lukas

We welcome Charles King back to the program today for the second of a special three-part interview. Charles is a professor of International Affairs ...

Charles King - Every Valley - Part 1

30 Nov 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Charles King is a professor of International Affairs and Government at Georgetown University. He has written for academic audiences as well as the w...

Wright Thompson - The Barn

23 Nov 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Wright Thompson is a writer of non-fiction. His journalism has appeared in The New Orleans Times Picayune, The Kansas City Star and currently at ESPN...

Sonia Purnell - Kingmaker - Part 2

16 Nov 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Sonia Purnell is a former journalist and current author of non-fiction. She first appeared on Book Talk for her previous book, A Woman of No Importan...

Sonia Purnell - Kingmaker - Part 1

09 Nov 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Sonia Purnell is a former journalist and current author of non-fiction. She first appeared on Book Talk for her previous book, A Woman of No Importan...

Anne Byrn - Baking in the American South

02 Nov 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Guest host Linda Lloyd welcomes back best-selling cookbook author, Anne Byrn. Anne is known by millions as the Cake Mix Doctor, who has shown us ho...

Jessica Mills - The English Chemist

26 Oct 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Jessica Mills is a journalist who has written for The Wall Street Journal and The Independent. Today, we’ll be discussing her debut novel, The Engl...

Danica Nava - The Truth According to Ember

19 Oct 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Danica Nava's debut novel is The Truth According to Ember, a romantic comedy set in central Oklahoma, where a young woman fudges her resume’ hoping...

Hena Khan - We Are Big Time

12 Oct 2024

Contributed by Lukas

  Hena Khan is a prolific author of children’s books including Amina’s Voice and Amina’s Song, the second of which won the Asian/Pacific Ameri...

Lindsay Chervinsky - Making the Presidency pt. 2

05 Oct 2024

Contributed by Lukas

I’m delighted to welcome Dr. Lindsay Chervinsky back to the program for the concluding installment of our two-part interview. Dr. Chervinsky recent...

Lindsay Chervinsky - Making The Presidency pt. 1

28 Sep 2024

Contributed by Lukas

I’m happy to welcome Dr. Lindsay Chervinsky back to the program for the first of a two-part interview. Dr. Chervinsky recently was named the execut...

Amanda Bellows - The Explorers - Part 2

21 Sep 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Dr. Amanda Bellows teaches history at The New School in New York. In addition to many contributions to academic journals and scholarly books, her wri...

Amanda Bellows - The Explorers - Part 1

14 Sep 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Dr. Amanda Bellows teaches history at The New School in New York. In addition to many contributions to academic journals and scholarly books, her wri...

Steve Wynn - I Wouldn't Say It If It Wasn't True

07 Sep 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Steve Wynn is the founder and creative force behind the influential L.A. rock band The Dream Syndicate, which never quite made the leap to mainstream...

Eli Cranor - Broiler - Part 2

17 Aug 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Eli Cranor played college football, and even professionally in Sweden for a bit. He came back to Arkansas to teach high school and coach football. ...

Elic Cranor - Broiler - Part 1

10 Aug 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Eli Cranor played college football, and even professionally in Sweden for a bit. He came back to Arkansas to teach high school and coach football. ...

Paul Haddad - Inventing Paradise, Pt. 2

08 Aug 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Paul Haddad is a television producer as well as a writer, having published novels and non-fiction alike. Born in Hollywood, he has a keen interest ...

Paul Haddad - Inventing Paradise, Pt. 1

27 Jul 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Paul Haddad is a television producer as well as a writer, having published novels and non-fiction alike. Born in Hollywood, he has a keen interest ...

Boyce Upholt - The Great River, Pt. 2

20 Jul 2024

Contributed by Lukas

  Boyce Upholt is a writer whose work has been published in the Atlantic, National Geographic, and the Oxford American, among others, and he was awa...

Boyce Upholt - The Great River, Pt. 1

13 Jul 2024

Contributed by Lukas

  Boyce Upholt is a writer whose work has been published in the Atlantic, National Geographic, and the Oxford American, among others, and he was awa...

Mark Greaney - Sentinel

29 Jun 2024

Contributed by Lukas

  Mark Greaney is best known for his Grey Man series starring the burned CIA operator turned assassin Court Gentry. But today we’ll be discussing ...

Kathleen Duval - Native Nations, Part 3

22 Jun 2024

Contributed by Lukas

  Dr. Kathleen DuVal is a professor of history at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill. Her previous works include Independence Lost: Lives...

Kathleen Duval - Native Nations, Part 2

15 Jun 2024

Contributed by Lukas

    Dr. Kathleen DuVal is a professor of history at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill. Her previous works include Independence Lost: Li...

Kathleen Duval - Native Nations, Part 1

08 Jun 2024

Contributed by Lukas

    Dr. Kathleen DuVal is a professor of history at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill. Her previous works include Independence Lost: Li...

Hampton Sides - The Wide Wide Sea, Part 2

11 May 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Hampton Sides is a veteran journalist and non-fiction writer, with his work appearing in many publications, including National Geographic and Outside...

Hampton Sides - The Wide Wide Sea, Part 1

04 May 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Hampton Sides is a veteran journalist and non-fiction writer, with his work appearing in many publications, including National Geographic and Outside...

Sara Koffi - While We Were Burning

27 Apr 2024

Contributed by Lukas

  Sara Koffi is a native of Memphis, who currently calls western Pennsylvania home. We’ll be discussing her debut, a thriller called, While We Wer...

Alice Randall - My Black Country, Part 2

20 Apr 2024

Contributed by Lukas

  This is the second of a two-part interview with, Alice Randall, who is best known for her best-selling novels The Wind Done Gone, Rebel Yell, Bl...

Alice Randall - My Black Country, Part 1

13 Apr 2024

Contributed by Lukas

  Book lovers know Alice Randall for her best-selling novels including The Wind Done Gone, Rebel Yell, Black Bottom Saints and others. But before ...

Dr. SunAh Laybourn - Out of Place

30 Mar 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Dr. SunAh M. Laybourn is an assistant professor of sociology at the University of Memphis. Her research has been published in Ethnic & Racial St...

Kurt Wagner - Battle for the Bird, Part 2

23 Mar 2024

Contributed by Lukas

  We welcome Kurt Wagner back for the second of a two-part interview today. Kurt is an award-winning business and technology journalist covering soc...

Kurt Wagner - Battle for the Bird, Part 1

16 Mar 2024

Contributed by Lukas

  We happily welcome Kurt Wagner for the first of a two-part interview today. Kurt is an award-winning business and technology journalist covering s...

Mark Greaney - The Chaos Agent

09 Mar 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Mark Greaney is now best known for his long-running Grey Man series, starring the burned CIA op, Court Gentry. And as a special treat, Mark brought a...

Louis Ferrante - Borgata: Rise of Empire

02 Mar 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Guest host Matt Ward welcomes retired gangster and current historian Louis Ferrante on for an epic two-hour interview. Ferrante's new book is Borgat...

Brad Taylor - Dead Man's Hand

03 Feb 2024

Contributed by Lukas

  Prior to becoming a best-selling thriller writer, Brad Taylor served in the U.S. Army for twenty-one years retiring as a lieutenant colonel after ...

Vanessa Sasson - The Gathering: A Story of the First Buddhist Women

31 Jan 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Dr. David Mason is back today as guest host. Dave is a professor of religious studies at Rhodes College in Memphis, TN. This week he speaks with a ...

Avery Cunningham - The Mayor Maxwell Street

29 Jan 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Avery Cunningham joins me to discuss her debut novel, The Mayor of Maxwell Street which is published by Hyperion. A native of Jackson, TN and now a...

Fergus Bordewich - Klan War - Part 2

02 Dec 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Fergus M. Bordewich is a former journalist and now a longtime historian. His books include THE FIRST CONGRESS: How James Madison, George Washington, ...

Fergus Bordewich - Klan War - Part 1

25 Nov 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Fergus M. Bordewich is a former journalist and now a longtime historian. His books include THE FIRST CONGRESS: How James Madison, George Washington, ...

Martin Clark - The Plinko Bounce - Part 2

11 Nov 2023

Contributed by Lukas

    Martin Clark is a retired circuit court judge from Patrick County, Virginia and is the author of six novels, including Plain Heathen Mischief a...

Martin Clark - The Plinko Bounce - Part 1

04 Nov 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Martin Clark is a retired circuit court judge from Patrick County, Virginia and is the author of six novels, including Plain Heathen Mischief and The...

Laurence Leamer - Hitchcock’s Blondes

28 Oct 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Laurence Leamer is a journalist and author with quite an accomplished body of work under his belt. His journalism has appeared in publications inclu...

Maureen Corrigan - Banned Books, Burned Books: Forbidden Literary Works

21 Oct 2023

Contributed by Lukas

  Maureen Corrigan is the Nicky and Jamie Grant Distinguished Professor of the Practice in Literary Criticism at Georgetown University. She is perha...

Stephan Pastis - Looking Up

14 Oct 2023

Contributed by Lukas

  Stephan Pastis is best known as the writer and artist for the wildly successful daily comic strip Pearls Before Swine. The latest collection of st...

Hayley Arcenaux - Wild Ride: My Journey from Cancer Kid to Astronaut

10 Sep 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Hayley Arceneaux is a physician's assistant with St. Jude Children's Research Hospital in Memphis. Not only an employee, she is also a successful pat...

Jonathan Eig - King: A Life Pt. 2

05 Aug 2023

Contributed by Lukas

I’m happy to welcome Jonathan Eig back to the program today for the second of our two-part conversation about his new, exhaustive biography of the ...

Jonathan Eig - King: A Life Pt. 1

29 Jul 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Jonathan Eig is a best-selling and award-winning author of non-fiction. His titles are Luckiest Man: The Life and Death of Lou Gehrig, Opening Day: T...

Polly Stewart - The Good Ones

22 Jul 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Polly Stewart is an associate professor in the Department of English, Rhetoric, and Humanistic Studies at Virginia Military Institute. Her essays hav...

Julie Carr - Mud, Blood, and Ghosts - Part 2

15 Jul 2023

Contributed by Lukas

  This week we have the second of a two-part interview as Dr. David Mason speaks with Dr. Julie Carr about her book, Mud, Blood, and Ghosts: Populis...

Julie Carr - Mud, Blood, and Ghosts - Part 1

08 Jul 2023

Contributed by Lukas

  This week we have the first of a two-part interview as returning guest host Dr. David Mason speaks with Dr. Julie Carr about her book, Mud, Blood,...

Paul Kix - You Have to Be Prepared to Die Before You Can Begin to Live Pt. 2

01 Jul 2023

Contributed by Lukas

  We're happy to welcome Blake McVey back as guest host of the program today. Blake is the public services director of the historic Cossitt Library ...

Paul Kix - You Have to Be Prepared to Die Before You Can Begin to Live Pt. 1

24 Jun 2023

Contributed by Lukas

We're happy to welcome Blake McVey back as guest host of the program today. Blake is the public services director of the historic Cossitt Library in ...

Peter Cozzens - A Brutal Reckoning Pt. 2

03 Jun 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Peter Cozzens is on the program today for the second of a two-part interview. Peter is a former U.S. Foreign Service Officer and a historian. He has...

Peter Cozzens - A Brutal Reckoning Pt. 1

27 May 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Peter Cozzens is on the program today for the first of a two-part interview. Peter is a former U.S. Foreign Service Officer and a historian. He has ...

Elizabeth Passarella - It Was an Ugly Couch Anyway

20 May 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Memphis native Elizabeth Passarella is a writer and editor. Currently, she is a contributing editor for Southern Living, and previously worked as an ...

Michael Farris Smith - Salvage This World

13 May 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Michael Farris Smith is a novelist who has previously appeared on Book Talk for his books, Rivers, Desperation Road, The Fighter, and Blackwood. His ...

Rebecca Boggs Roberts - Untold Power - part two

29 Apr 2023

Contributed by Lukas

  Rebecca Boggs Roberts is a journalist and author, having been a correspondent for NPR, PRI, and the BBC, including the programs Morning Edition, T...

Rebecca Boggs Roberts - Untold Power - part one

22 Apr 2023

Contributed by Lukas

  Rebecca Boggs Roberts is a journalist and author, having been a correspondent for NPR, PRI, and the BBC, including the programs Morning Edition, T...

Eli Cranor - Ozark Dogs

15 Apr 2023

Contributed by Lukas

  Eli Cranor is a former pro football player and high school football coach. He’s now a writer with a column in the Arkansas Democrat Gazette and ...