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

  • Susan Orlean | The Library Book

    • Recorded Nov 14, 2019

    A staff writer for the New Yorker  since 1992, Susan Orlean won wide acclaim for the 1998  New York Times bestseller The Orchid Thief , the story of a renegade Florida swamp plant poacher that was adapted into an Academy Award–winning film by… more

    Author Events  General Research  History 

  • Saeed Jones | How We Fight for Our Lives with Clifford Thompson | What It Is: Race, Family, and One Thinking Black Man’s Blues

    • Recorded Nov 12, 2019 Explicit Content

    Saeed Jones is the author of the “hard and glaring and brilliant” ( NPR Book Review ) poetry collection Prelude to Bruise , winner of the 2015 Stonewall Book Award/Barbara Gittings Literature Award. He is also the co-host of BuzzFeed’s morning… more

    African American  Biography & Autobiography   LGBTQ  Literature  Poetry  Politics  General Research 

  • Carmen Maria Machado | In the Dream House

    • Recorded Nov 7, 2019 Explicit Content

    In conversation with Emma Eisenberg, author of the forthcoming book The Third Rainbow Girl: The Long Life of a Double Murder in Appalachia Carmen Maria Machado’s bestselling debut short story collection, Her Body and Other Parties , was a… more

    Author Events  Biography & Autobiography   Body, Mind & Spirit  Literature  General Research 

  • Erica Armstrong Dunbar | She Came to Slay: The Life and Times of Harriet Tubman

    • Recorded Nov 5, 2019

    In conversation with Lorene Cary , author of Black Ice , The Price of a Child , Ladysitting and the forthcoming Arden Theatre production of My General Tubman Erica Armstrong Dunbar is the author of the National Book Award finalist Never Caught,… more

    African American  Author Events  Biography & Autobiography   Philadelphia History  General Research  History 

  • Paul Hendrickson | Plagued by Fire: The Dreams and Furies of Frank Lloyd Wright

    • Recorded Nov 4, 2019

    Paul Hendrickson’s books include Hemingway’s Boat: Everything He Loved in Life, and Lost, 1934–1961 , a National Book Critics Circle Award finalist; Sons of Mississippi , winner of the National Book Critics Circle Award; and The Living and the… more

    Art  Author Events  Biography & Autobiography   General Research  Sports & Recreation  Technology  History 

  • Sally Field | In Pieces

    • Recorded Nov 1, 2019

    In conversation with Marty Moss-Coane, host of WHYY's Radio Times The winner of two Academy Awards and three Primetime Emmy Awards, screen icon Sally Field is acclaimed for roles including a flying nun, a Depression-era Texas widow, a… more

    Author Events  Biography & Autobiography   Movies & Television  General Research  History 

  • Gail Collins | No Stopping Us Now: A History of Older Women in America

    • Recorded Oct 29, 2019

    A columnist for the New York Times and a member of its editorial board since 1995, Gail Collins was the Gray Lady’s editorial page editor from 2001 to 2007, the first woman to hold that position. Her books include America’s Women: 400 Years of… more

    Author Events  History 

  • Sean Brock | South: Essential Recipes and New Explorations

    • Recorded Oct 29, 2019

    In conversation with author events editor and producer Jason Freeman Praised as “an absolutely transformative figure” by the late Anthony Bourdain, Sean Brock is the founding chef of the Husk restaurant group, which has four locations in South… more

    Author Events  Biography & Autobiography   Cooking & Nutrition  Environment & Nature  General Research  Self-Help 

  • Joey Baldino and Adam Erace | Dinner at the Club: 100 Years of Stories and Recipes from South Philly's Palizzi Social Club

    • Recorded Oct 28, 2019

    In conversation with Michael Klein, editor/producer of inquirer.com/food and @phillyinsider Originally a meeting place for South Philly’s Abruzzi-American community, the members-only Palizzi Social Club is now one of America’s hottest… more

    Author Events  Biography & Autobiography   Cooking & Nutrition  Philadelphia  Philadelphia History  General Research 

  • James B. Stewart | Deep State: Trump, the FBI, and the Rule of Law

    • Recorded Oct 23, 2019

    Pulitzer Prize–winning journalist James B. Stewart is the author of the number-one New York Times bestseller Den of Thieves , the story of the most notorious insider-trading ring in financial history; DisneyWar , the boardroom imbroglio about the… more

    Author Events  Politics  History 

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20th & Vine - Backstage with Adam Rippon

This month we're featuring Adam Rippon who recently visited the Free Library of Philadelphia to discuss his new memoir Beautiful on the Outside. Rippon spoke with Laura Kovacs backstage about some of the challenges that he faced writing the book. 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 Podcast Episodes October 2019

  1. Malcolm Gladwell Malcolm Gladwell
  2. Ta-Nehisi Coates Ta-Nehisi Coates
  3. Adam Rippon Adam Rippon
  4. Susan Rice Susan Rice
  5. James B. Stewart James B. Stewart
  6. Richard Vague Richard Vague
  7. Gabby Rivera Gabby Rivera
  8. Imani Perry Imani Perry
  9. Jonathan Safran Foer Jonathan Safran Foer
  10. Chris Hedges Chris Hedges

Ten Most Recent YouTube Videos October 2019

  1. Sean Brock
  2. Gail Collins
  3. Joey Baldino and Adam Erace
  4. James B. Stewart
  5. Hoda Kotb
  6. Adam Rippon
  7. Tim O'Brien
  8. Susan Rice
  9. Imani Perry
  10. Gabby Rivera