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

  • Amy Tan | Where the Past Begins: A Writer’s Memoir

    • Recorded Oct 17, 2017

    In conversation with Laura Kovacs, associate director, author events “Powerful” and “full of magic” ( Los Angeles Times ), Amy Tan is the author of the beloved novels  The Joy Luck Club , a finalist for the National Book Award and the National… more

    Author Events  Biography & Autobiography   Family  Literature  Psychology 

  • Van Jones | Beyond the Messy Truth: How We Came Apart, How We Come Together

    • Recorded Oct 12, 2017

    A CNN political contributor and host of a popular recurring primetime special bearing his name, Van Jones was a green-jobs advisor to the Obama administration, overseeing billions in environmental recovery spending. His two bestselling books are… more

    African American  Author Events  Politics  History 

  • James McBride | Five-Carat Soul

    • Recorded Oct 11, 2017

    “Absorbing and darkly funny” ( San Francisco Chronicle ), James McBride is the author of the National Book Award winner  The Good Lord Bird , in which a young boy born into slavery joins abolitionist John Brown’s doomed mission. His nonfiction… more

    African American  Author Events  Fiction  Literature 

  • E.J. Dionne, Jr. and Norman J. Ornstein | One Nation After Trump: A Guide for the Perplexed, the Disillusioned, the Desperate, and the Not-Yet Deported

    • Recorded Oct 10, 2017

    In conversation with Dick Polman , "Writer in Residence" at the University of Pennsylvania, and national political columnist at WHYY News E.J. Dionne Jr. is a syndicated columnist who appears twice weekly in  The Washington Post  and nearly 100… more

    Author Events  Citizenship  Politics  History 

  • Jeffrey Eugenides | Fresh Complaint: Stories

    • Recorded Oct 5, 2017

    “Lyrical and portentous” ( The New York Times ), Jeffrey Eugenides is the author of the Pulitzer Prize-winning novel  Middlesex; The Virgin Suicides , which was adapted into a feature film by Sofia Coppola; and The Marriage Plot , a National Book… more

    Author Events  Fiction  Literature 

  • Mervyn King | Brexit and the Future of the Global Economy

    • Recorded Oct 4, 2017

    The governor of the Bank of England and Chairman of its Monetary Policy Committee from 2003 to 2013, Lord Mervyn King steered the U.K.’s central banking institution through the financial crisis of 2008 and the ensuing recession. Currently a… more

    Author Events  Business & Economics  History 

  • Jennifer Egan | Manhattan Beach with Carmen Maria Machado | Her Body and Other Parties

    • Recorded Oct 3, 2017

    Jennifer Egan won the Pulitzer Prize and the National Book Critics Circle Award for the novel A Visit from the Goon Squad . Her other books of fiction include the National Book Award Finalist Look at Me , the bestselling The Keep , and The… more

    Author Events  Fiction  Literature  History 

  • Salman Rushdie | The Golden House with Claire Messud | The Burning Girl

    • Recorded Sep 28, 2017

    “A master of perpetual storytelling” ( The New Yorker ), Salman Rushdie is the author of a dozen novels, including Shame, The Satanic Verses , and Midnight’s Children , winner of the Booker Prize in 1981 and the “Booker of Bookers” Prize in 1993.… more

    Author Events  Fiction  Literature 

  • William Taubman | Gorbachev with Yuri Slezkine | House of Government

    • Recorded Sep 26, 2017

    William Taubman won the Pulitzer Prize and the National Book Critics Circle Award for Khrushchev: The Man and His Era , a portrait of the Soviet leader “unlikely to be surpassed any time soon in either richness or complexity” ( New York Times… more

    Author Events  Biography & Autobiography   Government Information  History 

  • Michael Solomonov and Steven Cook | Federal Donuts: The (Partially) True Spectacular Story

    • Recorded Sep 25, 2017

    Lauded for bringing the Middle Eastern, North African, Mediterranean, and Eastern European influences from Solomonov’s titular Philadelphia restaurant to readers’ home kitchens, Michael Solomonov and Steven Cook’s Zahav: A World of Israeli… more

    Author Events  Business & Economics  Cooking & Nutrition  Business & Entrepreneurs 

Find More Episodes

20th & Vine - Backstage with Loudon Wainwright III and Eileen Myles

This month we're featuring Loudon Wainwright III and Eileen Myles, who recently visited the Free Library of Philadelphia while on tour for their memoirs, Liner Notes: On Parents & Children, Exes & Excess, Death & Decay, & a Few of My Other Favorite Things and Afterglow (a dog memoir), respectively. Laura Kovacs spoke to them backstage about books, music, and creating a Cabinet of Culture. 20th & Vine is 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 September 2017

  1. Edward SnowdenEdward Snowden
  2. Tom PerrottaTom Perrotta
  3. Stephen GreenblattStephen Greenblatt
  4. Loudon Wainwright III with Eileen MylesLoudon Wainwright III with Eileen Myles
  5. Adam GopnikAdam Gopnik
  6. Nicole KraussNicole Krauss
  7. Michael Solomonov and Steven CookMichael Solomonov and Steven Cook
  8. Paula PoundstonePaula Poundstone
  9. William Taubman with Yuri SlezkineWilliam Taubman with Yuri Slezkine
  10. Jo NesbøJo Nesbø

Top 10 Livestream Videos September 2017

  1. Edward Snowden
  2. Nicole Krauss with Nathan Englander
  3. William Taubman with Yuri Slezkine
  4. Camille Paglia
  5. Cheech Marin
  6. Rich Landau and Kate Jacoby
  7. Michael Solomonov and Steven Cook
  8. Tom Perrotta
  9. Salman Rushdie with Claire Messud
  10. Stephen Greenblatt

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