Dialogue with Marcia Franklin
174 episodes - English - Latest episode: 10 days ago -Choose from dozens of illuminating conversations with some of the finest writers and thinkers in the world, interviewed over the past 25 years by Idaho Public Television host Marcia Franklin. Be sure to subscribe to receive the latest episodes!
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Episodes
Travel Writer Pico Iyer: Asking Questions of the World
February 21, 2021 05:30 - 29 minutes - 27.1 MBHost Marcia Franklin talks with author and world traveler Pico Iyer, whose books and essays about the far corners of the world explore not just the dynamics of those cultures, but also travel itself and its effect on an "outsider." Iyer's many books include: Video Night in Kathmandu, The Lady and the Monk, Falling off the Map and The Global Soul. His most recent book when Franklin interviewed him, The Open Road, is about the life and philosophy of the Dalai Lama, who was a friend of Iyer's...
Former Child Soldier Ishmael Beah: A Long Way Gone
February 14, 2021 05:30 - 28 minutes - 27.2 MBHost Marcia Franklin talks with former child soldier Ishmael Beah, whose bestselling book, A Long Way Gone, details his harrowing experiences in the 1990s when he fought with the government-backed army in Sierra Leone as a teenager during a brutal civil war. Beah fled attacking rebels in his homeland at age 12 and was later picked up and forced to serve in the government army. He was eventually released by the army and sent to a UNICEF rehabilitation center. Franklin and Beah talk about ho...
Writer Philip Gourevitch: Unspeakable, Unthinkable, Unimaginable
February 07, 2021 05:30 - 29 minutes - 27.2 MBHost Marcia Franklin talks with author and New Yorker magazine writer Philip Gourevitch about the stories he's covered, including the 1994 genocide in Rwanda and the abuses at Abu Ghraib prison. The two discuss what lessons Gourevitch thinks can be learned from these events, and why he is often drawn to subjects that make others look away. In The Ballad of Abu Ghraib, Gourevitch pieced together transcripts of interviews filmmaker Errol Morris conducted with soldiers who were accused of tor...
Dr. Abraham Verghese: Literature and Medicine
January 31, 2021 05:30 - 28 minutes - 27 MBHost Marcia Franklin talks with Dr. Abraham Verghese, a professor at the Stanford School of Medicine and an author of both fiction and non-fiction works. They discuss not only the themes of his work, but also his thoughts on healthcare reform and ways for doctors to establish better working relationships with their patients. Verghese's first book, My Own Country, was a poignant chronicle of how his life was changed by working with AIDS patients in rural Tennessee. It was a finalist for the...
Journalist Gretchen Morgenson: The Roots of the Financial Crisis
January 24, 2021 05:30 - 28 minutes - 27.1 MBHost Marcia Franklin talks with Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Gretchen Morgenson, then a financial editor and columnist at the New York Times who covered the country's financial crisis since its inception. They discuss the federal government's push to increase home ownership, which Morgenson sees as the underpinning of the financial collapse. The two also talk about various taxpayer-funded bailouts of companies such as AIG, and whether Morgenson sees any light at the end of the tunnel ...
Writer Ethan Watters: Found Families and Generational Change
January 17, 2021 05:30 - 28 minutes - 27.1 MBWriter Ethan Watters joins Marcia Franklin to discuss the themes in his book, Urban Tribes, which looks at the ways in which young, unmarried Americans create their own sense of family. Ethan Watters has written about psychiatry and social psychology for 20 years. He has also taught writing at Berkeley, Stanford, and California College of the Arts. In 1994 he co-founded the San Francisco Writers' Grotto. In addition to several books, he's written about social trends for publications from...
Former Diplomat Shashi Tharoor: India in the Global Economy
January 10, 2021 05:30 - 29 minutes - 27.3 MBMarcia Franklin talks with Indian politician, author and former U.N. Under-Secretary-General Dr. Shashi Tharoor. They discuss his revealing look at India's role in the global economy, The Elephant, The Tiger, and The Cell Phone: The Transformation of India in the 21st Century. After talking with Franklin, Tharoor was elected to the Indian Parliament in 2009 to represent the Thiruvananthapuram constituency in the Indian state of Kerala. Don’t forget to subscribe to the podcast and visit the...
Journalist John Hockenberry: War Zones and Wheelchairs
January 03, 2021 05:30 - 29 minutes - 27.5 MBMarcia Franklin talks with John Hockenberry, a longtime journalist who was the program director for the Sun Valley Writers’ Conference. They discuss his view on changes in the media world, as well as advances in adaptive technology for disabled people. Hockenberry became a paraplegic in an auto accident as a teenager, but that didn't keep him from reporting all over the world. He recorded those wheelchair-piloted adventures in his 1995 book, Moving Violations - War Zones, Wheelchairs and Dec...
Journalist George Packer: Covering the War in Iraq
December 27, 2020 05:30 - 28 minutes - 26.3 MBHost Marcia Franklin talks with New Yorker writer George Packer, who has been to Iraq six times. Packer discusses his book on the subject, The Assassins’ Gate: America in Iraq, which the New York Times named one of the ten best books of 2005. He also talks with Franklin about the changing political landscape at home in America. Don’t forget to subscribe to the podcast and visit the Dialogue website for more conversations that matter! Originally Aired: 10/05/2008 The interview is part ...
Journalist Haynes Johnson: McCarthyism to Terrorism
December 20, 2020 05:30 - 28 minutes - 26.6 MBIdaho Public Television host Marcia Franklin interviews Pulitzer Prize-winning reporter Haynes Johnson about his nonfiction book, The Age of Anxiety: McCarthyism to Terrorism, in which he examines the parallels between the McCarthy era of the 1950s and today's post 9-11 political arena. He also offers his views on Fidel Castro’s place in Cuba, and opines about the current states of journalism and education. Don’t forget to subscribe, and visit the Dialogue website for more conversations th...
Security Analyst Juliette Kayyem: Are We Safer Five Years After 9/11?
December 13, 2020 05:30 - 29 minutes - 27.4 MBAfter the 9/11 attacks, were Americans any safer five years later? Marcia Franklin asks that question of counterterrorism expert Juliette Kayyem, who also discusses the recommendations of a report she co-authored, "Preserving Security and Democratic Freedoms on the War in Terrorism." Don't forget to subscribe, and visit the Dialogue website for more conversations that matter! Originally Aired: 09/14/2006 The interview is part of Dialogue’s series, "Conversations from the Sun Valley Wr...
Author Thomas Cahill: The Hinges of Western History
December 06, 2020 05:30 - 28 minutes - 27 MBIdaho Public Television host Marcia Franklin talks with Thomas Cahill, the former director of religious publishing at Doubleday and the author of The Hinges of History, a seven-volume series that examines the transitional moments in Western civilization. They discuss several of the volumes, including How the Irish Saved Civilization, The Gift of the Jews, Why the Greeks Matter and The World Before and After Jesus, as well as the commonalities we have with ancient civilizations. Don't forge...
Writer Firoozeh Dumas: Growing Up Iranian in America
November 29, 2020 05:30 - 28 minutes - 27 MBFiroozeh Dumas, the Iranian-born humorist and author of Funny in Farsi: A Memoir of Growing Up Iranian in America, talks with Marcia Franklin about growing up as an Iranian immigrant in California after the Iranian Revolution, why she felt it was so important to write her memoir, and the role of humor in her life. Don't forget to subscribe, and visit the Dialogue website for more conversations that matter! Originally Aired: 12/22/2005 The interview is part of Dialogue’s series, "Conve...
Author David Macaulay: Space, Structure, and Creativity
November 22, 2020 05:30 - 29 minutes - 27.1 MBThe recipient of the coveted Caldecott Medal, David Macaulay is the creator of children’s books that explain how architectural wonders such as pyramids and cathedrals were built. He and host Marcia Franklin discuss his show, “Building Big,” his books Cathedral and Mosque, and his philosophy on modern architecture. Don't forget to subscribe, and visit the Dialogue website for more conversations that matter! Originally Aired: 12/15/2005 The interview is part of Dialogue’s series, "Conve...
Journalist Robert MacNeil: Becoming an American
November 15, 2020 05:30 - 28 minutes - 27 MBIdaho Public Television host Marcia Franklin talks with Robert MacNeil, the veteran journalist, author, and former co-host of the NewsHour on PBS. MacNeil, who was born in Canada, talks about becoming an American, how the news profession changed over the course of his career, and his love for the English language. Don't forget to subscribe, and visit the Dialogue website for more conversations that matter! Originally Aired: 12/08/2005 The interview is part of Dialogue’s series, "Conve...
Writer Thomas Keneally: Telling Schindler’s Story
November 08, 2020 05:30 - 28 minutes - 27 MBIdaho Public Television host Marcia Franklin talks with award-winning Australian author Thomas Keneally about his novel Schindler's Ark, which was the basis for the Oscar-winning movie, Schindler's List. They discuss his experiences researching and writing the book, as well as his thoughts on adapting the story to film with Steven Spielberg. They also take a peek at Keneally’s next book, The Commonwealth of Thieves: The Story of the Founding of Australia. Don't forget to subscribe, and vi...
Writer Jon Meacham: Presidential Character
October 25, 2020 04:30 - 28 minutes - 29.2 MBIn the lead-up to the November 2016 elections, Pulitzer Prize-winning author Jon Meacham joined Dialogue host Marcia Franklin to talk about presidential character. Meacham talks with Franklin about the qualities he believes are essential to being a successful president, and the unique nature of the 2016 presidential race. An executive editor at Random House, Meacham is well-known for his appearances on political discussion programs. He started his journalistic career at the Chattanooga Tim...
Investigative Journalist Jane Mayer: Dark Money
October 18, 2020 04:30 - 29 minutes - 29.2 MBHost Marcia Franklin talks with investigative journalist Jane Mayer, the author of Dark Money: The Hidden History of the Billionaires Behind the Rise of the Radical Right. Mayer, a staff writer for The New Yorker, worked for more than three years on the book, an expansion of an article she wrote on Charles and David Koch for The New Yorker in 2010. The two brothers, the scions of Koch Industries, have spent decades funding conservative candidates and causes. In her book, Mayer traces the h...
Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer: Active Liberty
October 11, 2020 04:30 - 29 minutes - 27.9 MBIn his book, Active Liberty: Interpreting Our Democratic Constitution, U.S. Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer lays out his judicial philosophy, that judges should decide cases in a way that allows the public to maximize participation in government through what he calls "active liberty." Marcia Franklin talks with Justice Breyer about the precepts of "active liberty, why he wanted to write the book, the values that guide him in his judicial decisions, and why it's important for judges to...
Historian Doris Kearns Goodwin: Lessons from Lincoln
September 27, 2020 09:00 - 28 minutes - 27.1 MBPulitzer Prize-winning historian Doris Kearns Goodwin talks about her book, Team of Rivals, which chronicles the sometimes fraught relationship between Abraham Lincoln and his cabinet members. The book was the basis for the 2012 movie, Lincoln, which was nominated for 12 Academy Awards. Goodwin talks about the lessons we can learn from Lincoln, who was the rare president who asked his main rivals to be a part of his cabinet, and what it was like to spend so much time researching such an ic...
Welcome to the Podcast!
September 13, 2020 16:00 - 1 minute - 4.34 MBWelcome to "Dialogue with Marcia Franklin." The podcast includes dozens of interviews that Marcia has conducted over the past 25 years with some of the most respected writers and thinkers in the world. Take a listen, and subscribe for more "conversations that matter!"
Welcome!
September 13, 2020 16:00 - 1 minute - 4.34 MBWelcome to "Dialogue with Marcia Franklin." The podcast includes dozens of interviews that Marcia has conducted over the past 25 years with some of the most respected writers and thinkers in the world. Take a listen, and subscribe for more "conversations that matter!"
Writer Thomas Keneally: Telling Schindler’s story
August 16, 2020 09:00 - 29 minutes - 56.3 MBIdaho Public Television host Marcia Franklin talks with award-winning Australian author Thomas Keneally about his novel Schindler's Ark, which was the basis for the Oscar-winning movie, Schindler's List. They discuss his experiences researching and writing the book, as well as his thoughts on adapting the story to film with Steven Spielberg. They also take a peek at Keneally’s next book, The Commonwealth of Thieves: The Story of the Founding of Australia. Don't forget to subscribe, and vis...
Welcome
July 28, 2020 05:37 - 1 minute - 4.1 MBWelcome to “Conversations The Matter!” In this clip, producer and host Marcia Franklin explains the podcast, which includes interviews she’s conducted over the past 25 years with some of the most respected writers and thinkers in the world.