Poet James Richardson joins co-hosts Whitney Terrell and Christian Barter to talk about his collection of new and selected poetry, Within the Hour. Richardson discusses how his early fascination with science and his enjoyment of science fiction has influenced his poetry and considers the way his aphorisms counterbalance his more lyric poems. He reflects on the role that literary criticism has played in his career as a poet and gives listeners a rare glimpse into his process of inspiration and composition. He speculates on the increasing role that politics has played in his new work, particularly since 2016, and reads from Within the Hour. This podcast is produced by Christian Barter, Whitney Terrell, Valen Williams, Ashley Holmes, Rylee Adamson, and Lucien Hockaday. James Richardson Within the Hour: Poems and Aphorisms, 1971-2026For NowDuringBy the NumbersInterglacial: New and Selected Poems and Aphorisms  Vectors:  Aphorisms and Ten-Second Essays Others“Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening” by Robert Frost See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Fiction writer and popular YouTuber Sam A. Miller joins co-hosts Christian Barter and V.V. Ganeshananthan to talk about his debut story collection, Still Lost: Tales from the Year 2080, as well as his educational and comedic videos.

Fiction writer Emily McBride joins co-hosts V.V. Ganeshananthan and Whitney Terrell to discuss her debut novel, Queen Mab, and maternal mental health.

Nonfiction writer Robert Moor joins co-hosts Christian Barter and Jennifer Maritza McCauley to talk about his new book, In Trees, and the power of “tree thinking,” a concept developed by the evolutionary biologist Robert J. O’Hara. Moor explains how this form of thought emphasizes branching, growth, and pruning, as opposed to hierarchical ordering, and shows how these principles can be identified in the work of writers like Tolstoy and Wordsworth. He explores the role the giant sequoia played in founding modern conservatism and takes listeners on a tour of his own experiences in the trees from Papua New Guinea to Vancouver, Canada, where he participated in a tree sit with activists protesting an oil pipeline. He discusses the ethics of climate activism and how tree thinking might help us re-imagine the environmental movement for a new age. He reads from In Trees.To hear the full episode, subscribe through iTunes, Google Play, Stitcher, Spotify, or your favorite podcast app (include the forward slashes when searching). You can also listen by streaming from the player below. Check out video versions of our interviews on the Fiction/Non/Fiction Instagram account, the Fiction/Non/Fiction YouTube Channel, and our show website: https://www.fnfpodcast.net/This podcast is produced by Whitney Terrell.Robert MoorIn Trees by Robert Moor | Moon Palace Books On Trails by Robert Moor | Moon Palace Books OthersThe Baron in the Trees by Italo Calvino“The Trouble with Wilderness” by William CrononOn the Origin of Species by Charles DarwinNature by Ralph Waldo EmersonHow to Blow Up a Pipeline by Andreas MalmWalden by Henry David ThoreauFiction/Non/Fiction Season 9, Episode 56: Matthew Wolfe on the Secret History of Radical Environmentalism See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Nonfiction writer G’Ra Asim joins co-hosts V.V. Ganeshananthan and Whitney Terrell to talk about his new book, 99 Problems Finding the 1: a love story (sort of). Asim discusses Afropessimism, heteropessimism, and their relationship to his pursuit of love as a cis straight black man; defines the idea of “thinkful wishing”; and recalls the ways in which black couples in his family, including his parents, have modeled relationships for him. He explains how—inspired by the viral New York Times essay “The 36 Questions That Lead to Love”— he came up with a series of inquiries that push two participants to reflect on their experiences of gender and race. He talks about how culture influences understanding of romance, mentioning Destiny’s Child, Dexter, and Minor Feelings. He reads from 99 Problems Finding the 1.To hear the full episode, subscribe through iTunes, Google Play, Stitcher, Spotify, or your favorite podcast app (include the forward slashes when searching). You can also listen by streaming from the player below. Check out video versions of our interviews on the Fiction/Non/Fiction Instagram account, the Fiction/Non/Fiction YouTube Channel, and our show website: https://www.fnfpodcast.net/This podcast is produced by V.V. Ganeshananthan and Whitney Terrell.G'Ra Asim99 Problems Finding the 1: : a love story (sort of)Boyz n the Void: a mixtape to my brotherOthers“On the Necessity of Turning Oneself into a Character,” by Phillip Lopate from To Show and to Tell: The Craft of Literary Nonfiction“Is Having a Boyfriend Embarrassing Now?” | VogueDexter (TV Series 2006–2013) - IMDbAtlanta (TV Series 2016–2022) - IMDbDestiny's Child - Soldier ft. T.I., Lil' Wayne“The 36 Questions That Lead to Love,” by Mandy Len Catron,  The New York TimesMinor Feelings by Cathy Park HongDreams from My Father by Barack Obama See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Novelist Aruni Kashyap joins co-hosts V.V. Ganeshananthan and Jennifer Maritza McCauley to talk about the surprising surge of a new youth movement in India. Kashyap, the author of a new novel, How to Date a Fanatic, about young queer academics navigating the Indian campus protests of the mid-2010s, explains how the Chief Justice of India likening unemployed youth to “cockroaches and parasites” has prompted the rise of a wildly popular satirical group. He shares the history of the Cockroach Janta Party or Cockroach People’s Party, whose followers now number in the millions and whose political demands have become well known. Kashyap discusses those demands and the historical significance of campus politics in India, considers how a satirical organization is pushing real reform, and recalls his own experiences with campus protests in India, where he grew up and previously taught. Kashyap reflects on writing about political violence, love, and queer life in India. He reads from How to Date a Fanatic.To hear the full episode, subscribe through iTunes, Google Play, Stitcher, Spotify, or your favorite podcast app (include the forward slashes when searching). You can also listen by streaming from the player below. Check out video versions of our interviews on the Fiction/Non/Fiction Instagram account, the Fiction/Non/Fiction YouTube Channel, and our show website: https://www.fnfpodcast.net/This podcast is produced by V.V. Ganeshananthan and Whitney Terrell.Aruni KashyapHow to Date a FanaticHow to Date a Fanatic excerpt from LitHubThe Way You Want to Be LovedThe House with a Thousand StoriesHow to Tell the Story of an Insurgency OthersThe rise of the Cockroaches - The Hindu See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Poet, essayist, and playwright Claudia Rankine joins co-hosts Christian Barter, Jennifer Maritza McCauley and Whitney Terrell to talk about her new book Triage.  Rankine outlines the decades-long relationship between the book’s narrator and a character she names “the theorist,” who, as college students, develop the habit of collapsing whenever they greet each other. She talks about how each character interprets collapse differently, the theorist prescribing action while the narrator fights for her “silences, routines, and quietude.” Rankine discusses how their “conversation” echoes Antigone and is rooted in our current reactions to the war in Gaza and the second Trump Administration. She reflects on the role that visual imagery has in her work and reads from Triage.To hear the full episode, subscribe through iTunes, Google Play, Stitcher, Spotify, or your favorite podcast app (include the forward slashes when searching). You can also listen by streaming from the player below. Check out video versions of our interviews on the Fiction/Non/Fiction Instagram account, the Fiction/Non/Fiction YouTube Channel, and our show website: https://www.fnfpodcast.net/This podcast is produced by Christian Barter, Jennifer Maritza McCauley, and Whitney Terrell.Claudia RankineTriageDon't Let Me Be Lonely: An American LyricCitizen: An American LyricJust Us: An American ConversationOthersAntigone | SophoclesFiction/Non/Fiction Season 8, Episode 51: Omar El Akkad on Gaza and Western EmpireJulia (1977) dir. Fred Zinnemann See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Entomologist Dino Martins joins co-host V.V. Ganeshananthan and Whitney Terrell to talk about the Cyclospora outbreak that has sickened thousands of people across the U.S., as well as the New World screwworm that has been affecting the cattle population. Martins, the author of a new book called Hidden Creatures: Luscious Leeches, Bashful Botflies, and the Wondrous, History-Shaping World of Parasites, discusses the benefits and dangers of parasites and reflects on his own lifelong interest in bugs, beginning with his childhood in Kenya. He explains how living alongside other animals has taught him to observe the world differently. Martins reads from Hidden Creatures.To hear the full episode, subscribe through iTunes, Google Play, Stitcher, Spotify, or your favorite podcast app (include the forward slashes when searching). You can also listen by streaming from the player below. Check out video versions of our interviews on the Fiction/Non/Fiction Instagram account, the Fiction/Non/Fiction YouTube Channel, and our show website: https://www.fnfpodcast.net/This podcast is produced by V.V. Ganeshananthan and Whitney Terrell.Dino MartinsHidden Creatures: Luscious Leeches, Bashful Botflies, and the Wondrous, History-Shaping World of ParasitesGrasses of East AfricaTurkana Basin InstituteOthersFiction/Non/Fiction Season 7, Episode 45: Jasmin Graham on Understanding SharksFiction/non/Fiction Season 9, Episode 7: Kathryn Nuernberger on Mutualism, Climate, and Finding Family at the End of the WorldAlien (1979) dir. Ridley Scott The Fly (1986) dir. David Cronenberg Stand by Me (1986) dir. Rob Reiner  See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Non-fiction writer Joshua Jelly-Schapiro joins co-hosts V.V. Ganeshananthan and Christian Barter to talk about the life of performer and activist Harry Belafonte, who died in 2023.

Houston-based poet Lupe Mendez joins co-hosts Whitney Terrell and Jennifer Maritza McCauley to discuss ICE raids, the killing of Lorenzo Salgado Araujo, and the political climate in Texas heading into the midterms. Mendez details the last few minutes of Araujo’s life and talks about the government’s altered story of Araujo’s death. Mendez also explains why he decided to write about the Mexican community’s boycott of racist integration practices in Houston during the 1970s and his compulsion to write poetry in Spanish and English. Inspired by Ebony Stewart, Mendez talks about how his “artivism” intersected with his role as Texas Poet Laureate. Mendez reads from We Exist in the Whisper: Huelga School Verses and Prayer Holding Night: New & Selected Works.To hear the full episode, subscribe through iTunes, Google Play, Stitcher, Spotify, or your favorite podcast app (include the forward slashes when searching). You can also listen by streaming from the player below. Check out video versions of our interviews on the Fiction/Non/Fiction Instagram account, the Fiction/Non/Fiction YouTube Channel, and our show website: https://www.fnfpodcast.net/This podcast is produced by Jennifer Maritza McCauley and Whitney Terrell.Lupe MendezWe Exist in the Whisper: Huelga School VersesPrayer Holding Night: New & Selected WorksWhy I Am Like TequilaOthersEbony Stewart Jasminne Mendez Librotraficante Tintero ProjectsLorenzo Salgado Araujo Chased the American Dream for 35 Years See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.