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, which examines the enduring relevance of Fleetwood Mac’s album Rumours 50 years after its release. He is interviewed by radio host Ryan Arnold. This conversation originally took place November 24, 2025 and was [...]
This week, scholar Christopher W. Hunt discusses his recent book Jimmy’s Faith: James Baldwin, Disidentification, and the Queer Possibilities of Black Religion. This conversation originally took place September 16, 2025 and was recorded live at the American Writers Museum. This episode is presented in conjunction with the American Writers Museum’s new special exhibit American Prophets: [...]
This week, three writers of romance—Sajni Patel, Scarlett St. Clair, and Helene Wecker—discuss the role of religion in the romance genre. This conversation originally took place July 10, 2025 and was recorded live at the American Writers Museum. This episode is presented in conjunction with the American Writers Museum’s new special exhibit American Prophets: Writers, [...]
This week, scholar Thomas A. Tweed discusses his new book Religion in the Lands that Became America. A sweeping retelling of American religious history, Tweed shows how religion has enhanced and hindered human flourishing from the Ice Age to the Information Age. Tweed is joined by fellow Indigenous Studies professor John N. Low. This conversation [...]
This week, we revisit our Faith is Funny program with four comedians—Gibran Saleem, Hari Kondabolu, Peter Sagal, and Kate Sidley—who discuss the role of religion in comedy. This conversation originally took place June 23, 2025 and was recorded live at the Studebaker Theater. This episode is presented in conjunction with the American Writers Museum’s forthcoming [...]
Beloved author Susan Orlean discusses her new book Joyride, a masterful memoir of finding her creative calling and purpose that invites us to approach life with wonder, curiosity, and an irrepressible sense of delight. Orlean is interviewed by journalist Chris Borrelli. This conversation originally took place October 24, 2025 and was recorded live at the [...]
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 Due, Juan Martinez, and Matt Ruff. This conversation originally took place October 10, 2025 and was recorded live at the University of Chicago Divinity School. We hope you enjoy entering [...]
This week, religious scholar Paul Elie discusses his latest book The Last Supper: Art, Faith, Sex, and Controversy in the 1980s. This enthralling group portrait brings to life a moment when popular culture became the site of religious strife—strife that set the stage for some of the most salient political and cultural clashes of our [...]
This week, screenwriter and author Nicholas Meyer discusses his latest mystery novel Sherlock Holmes and the Real Thing. In this latest book, Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson delve into the world of art forgery. Meyer is interviewed by Allison Sansone, Director of Programs at the American Writers Museum. This conversation originally took place September 18, [...]
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. She moved to Paris in 1902 with her partner Alice B. Toklas, where they would spend the remainder of their lives. Together they held regular salons in their apartment [...]
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. He also wrote lyrics for many songs, including “Lift Ev’ry Voice and Sing,” popularly regarded as the Black National Anthem. Johnson raised public awareness of lynching and fought Jim Crow [...]
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 a refugee of the Vietnam War. He would go on to become a journalist, translator, writer, and radio producer, working for the BBC in London, KALW-FM [...]
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 people? America’s most beloved wiseass, Dave Barry, finally tells his life story with all the humor you’d expect from a man who made a career out of making fun of [...]
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, This Side of Paradise, when he was 23. He would go on to become a Jazz Age celebrity and his short stories and novels captured the exuberance, excess, and irony [...]
This week, we kick off our new exhibit and content initiative American Prophets: Writers, Religion, and Culture with four writers of speculative fiction: N. K. Jemisin, Matthew J. Kirby, Nnedi Okorafor, and Nghi Vo. Moderated by Michi Trota, the panel of authors discuss religion in their writing, the importance of considering socio-spiritual systems when world-building, [...]
This week, we discuss McSweeney’s new quarterly issue: McSweeney’s 78: The Make Believers, featuring writers of the Vietnamese diaspora. We are joined by contributors and guest editors of the issue, Thi Bui and Vu Tran, as well as McSweeney’s Quarterly Editor Rita Bullwinkel. You can learn more about their work in the episode description below. [...]
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 death at age 39 due to lupus. She routinely wrote every morning until noon, and spent her afternoons and evenings tending to her domestic birds or entertaining visitors. Informed by the community [...]
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 Chicago. A charismatic presence, Terkel began his career as a radio actor and on-air interviewer before becoming the star of an unscripted local TV show called Stud’s Place. [...]
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 Fitzgerald. Bischoff is interviewed by author Kathleen Rooney. This conversation originally took place February 12, 2025 and was recorded live at the American Writers Museum. We hope you enjoy entering the [...]
This week, poets CM Burroughs and Adrian Matejka discuss the groundbreaking legacy of poet Melvin Dixon, who “wrote extensively about the complexities of being a gay Black man” (Poetry Foundation). Presented by the Poetry Foundation. This conversation originally took place May 19, 2024 and was recorded live at the American Writers Festival. We hope you [...]
This week, writers from around the world discuss their journeys, finding community in creativity, and making a home in Chicago. Featuring multidisciplinary writers Nestor Gomez, Lani T. Montreal, and Ugochi Nwaogwugwu; moderated by Jane Hseu. Presented by the Chicago Literary Hall of Fame. This conversation originally took place May 19, 2024 and was recorded live [...]
This week, two acclaimed children’s book authors—Clothilde Ewing and Malcolm Newsome—discuss their visions and aspirations for children’s literature. In particular, ways they have and will continue to both write and advocate for stories that feature BIPOC characters in settings and narratives that move beyond purely historical and overtly “cultural” experiences. This conversation originally took place [...]
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 Construction of American Racism. She is interviewed by AWM President Carey Cranston. This conversation originally took place February 10, 2025 and was recorded live at the American Writers Museum. We hope [...]
This week, in celebration of Valentine’s Day, three of America’s leading romance writers—Xio Axelrod, Swan Huntley, and Claire Legrand—talk about how they write love stories and the love stories that inspired them. Moderated by author Pamala Knight. This conversation originally took place May 19, 2024 and was recorded live at the American Writers Festival. We [...]
This week, authors Charisse Burden-Stelly and Andrew W. Kahrl discuss their recent work and writing Black history with journalist Arionne Nettles. This conversation originally took place May 19, 2024 and was recorded live at the American Writers Festival. Black Scare / Red Scare: Theorizing Capitalist Racism in the United States by Charisse Burden-Stelly is a [...]
This week, writer and researcher Gail Crowther discusses her new book Dorothy Parker in Hollywood, an expansive and illuminating study of legendary writer Dorothy Parker’s life and legacy in Hollywood. Crowther is interviewed by Allison Sansone, Program Director at the American Writers Museum. This conversation originally took place January 21, 2025 and was recorded live [...]
This week, acclaimed authors Samira Ahmed and Jas Hammonds discuss their recent books, the state of young adult literature today, and the importance of young people seeing themselves in the stories they read. Ahmed’s latest, This Book Won’t Burn, is a timely and gripping social-suspense novel about book banning, activism, and standing up for what [...]
In this episode, we discuss the life and work of novelist and short story writer Nathaniel Hawthorne. Born in Salem, Massachusetts, Hawthorne’s paternal ancestors were some of the first Puritans to arrive in America—one of his ancestors was even a judge who oversaw the Salem Witch Trials. He was educated at Bowdoin College where he [...]
This week, acclaimed poets Diana Khoi Nguyen and Cindy Juyoung Ok read selections of their work, followed by a discussion of their processes, themes, techniques, and more. Presented by the Poetry Foundation. This conversation originally took place May 19, 2024 and was recorded live at the American Writers Festival. AWM PODCAST NETWORK HOME About the [...]
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 with books by the renowned Booklist editor. Seaman is interviewed by AWM President Carey Cranston. This conversation originally took place December 16, 2024 and was recorded live at the [...]
