Podcast

The Free Library Podcast is an easy way to participate in the author events and lectures that take place at the Central Library. Visit Author Events to find upcoming events.

Recent Episodes

  • Gabriel Byrne | Walking with Ghosts

    • Recorded Jan 21, 2021

    In conversation with musician and novelist Wesley Stace, author of Misfortune , By George , Wonder Kid and most recently Out Loud with dancer and choreographer Mark Morris An actor renowned as much for his versatility as his depth, Gabriel Byrne… more

    Author Events  Biography and Autobiography   Movies & Television  Performing Arts 

  • Ijeoma Oluo | Mediocre: The Dangerous Legacy of White Male America

    • Recorded Jan 19, 2021

    In conversation with Tracey Matisak, award-winning broadcaster and journalist “A nuanced analysis of White male America” that “deftly combines history and sociological study with personal narrative” ( Washington Post ), Ijeoma Oluo’s So You Want… more

    African American  Author Events  Politics  Psychology  History 

  • George Saunders | A Swim in a Pond in the Rain: In Which Four Russians Give a Masterclass on Writing, Reading, and Life

    • Recorded Jan 18, 2021

    In conversation with Daniel Torday , Director of Creative Writing at Bryn Mawr College, author of The Last Flight of Poxl West,   Boomer1, and The Sensualist , and two-time winner of the National Jewish Book Award. “One of the most gifted,… more

    Author Events  Fiction  Literature 

  • Katherine May | Wintering: The Power of Rest and Retreat in Difficult Times

    • Recorded Dec 10, 2020

    In conversation with Tracey Matisak, award-winning broadcaster and journalist Katherine May ’s fiction and memoirs include The Electricity of Every Living Thing ,  Burning Out, a nd  No-Stress Meditation . She was also the editor of  The Best,… more

    Author Events  Biography and Autobiography   Body, Mind and Spirit  Environment and Nature  Family 

  • Jerald Walker | How to Make a Slave and Other Essays

    • Recorded Dec 9, 2020

    In conversation with author, essayist, and radio host Solomon Jones. Jerald Walker ’s recent How to Make a Slave and Other Essays was a finalist for the 2020 National Book Award. A “restless, brilliant” collection that “can alight on a truth… more

    African American  Author Events  Biography and Autobiography   Literature 

  • An Evening with Signe Wilkinson

    • Recorded Dec 3, 2020

    In celebration of thirty-five years of cartooning at the Philadelphia Daily News and Inquirer . The first woman to win the Pulitzer Prize for Editorial Cartooning, Signe Wilkinson is acclaimed for her distinctive and irreverent art. A widely… more

    Author Events  Biography and Autobiography   Free Library of Philadelphia  Humor  Newspapers, Magazines, & Journals  Philadelphia  Philadelphia History  General Research  History 

  • Catherine Coleman Flowers | Waste: One Woman’s Fight Against America’s Dirty Secret

    • Recorded Dec 2, 2020

    In conversation with Khaliah Ali Wertheimer Dubbed the “Erin Brockovich of Sewage,” Catherine Coleman Flowers is a hero of the environmental justice movement. She is the rural development manager at the Race and Poverty Initiative of the Equal… more

    African American  Author Events  Biography and Autobiography   Environment and Nature  Politics  General Research  Science 

  • Ngũgĩ wa Thiong’o | The Perfect Nine: The Epic of Gĩkũyũ and Mũmbi

    • Recorded Dec 1, 2020

    In conversation with Ketu H. Katrak, Professor in the Department of Drama at the University of California, Irvine, and author of the forthcoming book Jay Pather, Performance, and Spatial Politics in South Africa Acclaimed Kenyan scholar and… more

    Author Events  Fiction  Literature  General Research 

  • Eddie Glaude, Jr. | Begin Again: James Baldwin's America and Its Urgent Lessons for Our Own

    • Recorded Nov 24, 2020 Explicit Content

    In converation with Tamala Edwards, anchor, 6ABC Action News morning edition The chair of the Department of African American Studies and the James S. McDonnell Distinguished University Professor at Princeton University, Eddie S. Glaude Jr. is the… more

    African American  Author Events  Biography and Autobiography   Fiction  Literature  Politics  General Research  History 

  • André Gregory | This is Not My Memoir

    • Recorded Nov 23, 2020

    In conversation with co-author Todd London, Head of the MFA Playwriting Program at the New School, School of Drama A theater director in New York for more than 50 years, the legendary André Gregory has collaborated on film adaptations of his… more

    Author Events  Biography and Autobiography   Body, Mind and Spirit  Performing Arts  Philadelphia History  General Research 

Find More Episodes

20th & Vine - Backstage with Gish Jen.

This month we're featuring Gish Jen who visited the Free Library of Philadelphia to discuss her latest novel The Resisters. The author spoke backstage with Laura Kovacs about the roll books play in her life. 20th & Vine features behind-the-scenes conversations from the Free Library of Philadelphia's award-winning Author Events series. Subscribe now for more videos with your favorite authors.

Top 10 Podcasts for December 2020

  1. Signe Wilkinson Signe Wilkinson
  2. Katherine May Katherine May
  3. Jill Scott Jill Scott
  4. Jerald Walker Jerald Walker
  5. Catherine Coleman Flowers Catherine Coleman Flowers
  6. Trevor Noah Trevor Noah
  7. Barbara Kingsolver Barbara Kingsolver
  8. H. W. Brands H. W. Brands
  9. Ngũgĩ wa Thiong’o Ngũgĩ wa Thiong’o
  10. Eddie Glaude, Jr. Eddie Glaude, Jr.

Recent Videos from Author Events

  1. Eddie S. Glaude, Jr.
  2. André Gregory
  3. Karen Russell with Charles Yu
  4. Jess Walter
  5. Ayad Akhtar
  6. Alex Ross
  7. Tamara Payne
  8. Gabby Rivera
  9. Nicole Krauss
  10. H. W. Brands