From the Archives : Richard Powers : The Overstory
In this intimate 2019 interview, Richard Powers discusses his Pulitzer‑winning novel *The Overstory*, exploring how he transformed trees from background material into central characters and structural metaphors. He explains the novel’s unconventional architecture—nine human protagonists paired with tree avatars, organized like a tree’s roots, trunk, crown, and seeds—to weave individual stories into a collective ecological narrative. Powers also reflects on the scientific inspirations behind the book, citing real‑world researchers such as Diana Beresford‑Kroger, Suzanne Simard, and Robin Kimmerer, and the challenges of portraying tree consciousness without resorting to anthropomorphism. The conversation highlights the novel’s blend of literary craft, environmental activism, and interdisciplinary science.
Saul Williams : Martyr Loser King
In this episode, poet‑musician‑filmmaker Saul Williams discusses his transmedia Afrofuturist universe that spans the graphic novel Martyr Loser King, the film Neptune Frost, several albums, poetry collections, and a dance performance. He explains how a chance observation of Senegalese kids using traditional talking drums alongside modern...
From the Archives : Zadie Smith : Grand Union
In this archival interview, Zadie Smith discusses her debut short‑story collection Grand Union, exploring how her awareness of mortality and the passage of time shapes her writing. She explains why she revisited and rewrote earlier stories, seeking forms that capture...
Molly Crabapple : Here Where We Live Is Our Country : The Story of the Jewish Bund
In this episode, host David Naiman talks with artist‑journalist Molly Crabapple about her new book *Here Where We Live Is Our Country: The Story of the Jewish Bund*, which rescues the erased history of early‑20th‑century Jewish socialist activists in Eastern...
Lily Brooks-Dalton : Ruins
In this episode, host David Naiman talks with author Lily Brooks-Dalton about her latest novel, *Ruins*, exploring its intricate plot, themes of apocalypse, solitude, and the value of knowledge, as well as her broader body of work that tackles climate...
Jordy Rosenberg : Night Night Fawn
In this episode, scholar and novelist Jordi Rosenberg discusses his new novel Night Night Fawn, a genre‑bending work that intertwines autofiction, queer theory, and historical critique while exploring trans identity, Jewish assimilation, and familial trauma. Rosenberg explains how the book...
Joan Naviyuk Kane : With Snow Pouring Southward Past the Window
In this two‑hour conversation, poet Joan Naviyuk Kane discusses her new collection *With Snow Pouring Southward Past the Window*, exploring themes of home, displacement, colonial erasure, and intergenerational trauma rooted in her Inuit heritage and Alaskan upbringing. She reflects on the...
From the Archives : Brandon Shimoda : The Grave on the Wall
In this archival episode, poet and writer Brandon Shimada discusses his memoir The Grave on the Wall, which traces his grandfather’s World War II internment at Fort Missoula and situates it within a broader history of U.S. detention sites—from Indian‑War forts...
Báyò Akómoláfé : Selah
In this episode of Between the Covers, host David Naiman interviews philosopher‑poet Bayo Akomolafe about his new aphoristic reader Selah, a collage of short pieces that disrupts linear thought and invites readers into a space of radical incompleteness. Akomolafe explains...