Persistence of Vision: A book podcast
Join us for in-depth conversations with authors about their work and creative process.
Episode 34: Jody Seaborn on James Joyce's Ulysses
You know you should read James Joyce's Ulysses. But do you want to read it? Yes, yes you do. Or you will, after you hear Lance and L.B. interview journalist and master of English literature Jody Seaborn about the Irish masterpiece
Episode 33: Jason Neulander on Dostoevsky's Demons
Theater and film impresario Jason Neulander discusses his favorite book, Dostoevsky's masterpiece Demons. What has a novel of violent revolution set in 19th Century Russia to teach us about the United States in the 21st Century?
Episode 32: Olive Balla on Code Murder
Writer Olive Balla returns to talk to Lance and L.B. about her latest crime thriller, Code Murder, as well as her previous works.
Episode 31: Robert Faires onSomething Wicked This Way Comes
Lance and L.B. welcome Austin Chronicle arts editor and Texas legend Robert Faires to discuss a book he's loved since he was a kid: Ray Bradbury's Something Wicked This Way Comes
Episode 30: Jody Seaborn on Tristram Shandy
Arts and entertainment editor and book critic Jody Seaborn comes on board to discuss the Lawrence Stern masterpieceThe Life and Opinions of Tristram Shandy, Gentleman. It's a pre-modern postmodern novel of wit, style, humor and feeling.
Episode 29: Beth Burns on Arden of Faversham
The astonishing woman of the theater Beth Burns leads Lance and L.B. through the history and meaning ofArden of Faversham, an Elizabethan true-crime tragicomedy likely penned, at least in part, by none other than William Shakespeare.
Episode 28: Owen Egerton on Breakfast of Champions
Author, comic, filmmaker, showman and genius Owen Egerton comes on board for a live interview about Kurt Vonnegut's novelBreakfast of Champions.
Episode 27: L.B. Deyo on The God-Damn Fool
Guest hosts David Moses Fruchter and W. Joe Hoppe interview L.B. Deyo about his novel, The God-Damn Fool.
Episode 26: Web Jerome on A Song of Ice and Fire
Austin stage star Web Jerome shares her obsession with George R.R. Martin's A Song of Ice and Fire series, the books that inspired the HBO show Game of Thrones.
Episode 25: Kaci Beeler on her plays
Kaci Beeler isn't one to limit herself to a genre, a medium, or a subject. Lance and L.B. had her on to discuss her plays, includingKiller Girls and Subject to Control, but inevitably the interview touched on her painting, her design, her acting, improvisation, direction, and much more.
Episode 24: Daniel Mennega on The Silmarillion
The Silmarillion is the Bible of Middle Earth, and Daniel Mennega is our guide through the rarified heights and terrifying depths of Tolkien's mythology. L.B. is joined by special guest host Union Brooks.
Episode 23: Kelli Bland onThe Unbearable Lightness of Being
Philosophy, love, history, love, betrayal, tyranny, art, weight, and lightness. These and other themes, torn from the pages of Milan Kundera's The Unbearable Lightness of Being, animate Lance and L.B.'s discussion with theater star Kelli Bland.
Episode 22: Wild Bill on The Alchemist
Can a person evolve? Does true love ever stop a man from pursuing his destiny? Is there gold in them thar hills? Paulo Coelho'sThe Alchemist raises these and other questions. But for the answers, Lance and L.B. turn to none other than Wild Bill, Austin's preeminent rock 'n roll impresario, composer and performer.
Episode 21: Mocha Washburn onA Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius
Sometimes the hippest novel of the year is actually an innovative, devastating memoir. Philosopher, shoot fighter and rock hero Mocha Washburn talks about Dave Eggers' legendary debut,A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius.
Episode 20: Mike O'Connor on A Theory of Justice
President Bill Clinton called John Rawls "perhaps the greatest political philosopher of the twentieth century" because of the ideas contained in Rawls' book A Theory of Justice. Author, Legislative Director and master showman Mike O'Connor shares his expertise on the book and pulls back L.B. and Lance's veil of ignorance.
Episode 19: Elizabeth Doss on Independent People
Recorded live at the North Door Bar Lounge. Halldór Laxness' Nobel-prize winning novel Independent People is the subject of the Persistence of Vision Interview with actor, director and playwright Elizabeth Doss. How much fun can you have with a book about impoverished shepherds in the frozen wastes of Iceland? Plenty.
Episode 18: Brenner onThe Mystic Arts of Erasing All Signs of Death
Brenner, The Austin Chronicle's legendary Arts writer, joins Lance, L.B. and Union to discuss Charlie Huston's neo-noir showstopper,The Mystic Arts of Erasing All Signs of Death.
Episode 17: L.M. Elliott on Suspect Red
It's 1953, and the United States has just executed an American couple convicted of spying for the Soviet Union. Everyone is on edge as the Cold War standoff between communism and democracy leads to the rise of Senator Joe McCarthy and his zealous hunt for people he calls subversives or communist sympathizers. Suspicion, loyalty oaths, blacklists, political profiling, hostility to foreigners, and the assumption of guilt by association divide the nation. Lance and L.B. welcome L.M. Elliott to discuss the parallels with today's America.
Episode 16: Tim Stegall on Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas
"Every now and then when your life gets complicated and the weasels start closing in, the only cure is to load up on heinous chemicals and then drive like a bastard from Hollywood to Las Vegas ... with the music at top volume and at least a pint of ether."
Texas Punk musician and journalist Tim Stegall describes the epochal sensation that is Hunter S. Thompson'sFear and Loathing in Las Vegas, and also touches on his own personal journey into the heart of the American dream.
Episode 15: Olive Balla on Jillie
Jillie is a tale of horror-tinged high adventure, brought to life by Dickensian characters and high-velocity pacing. It's the story of an 11-year-old girl on the run from her brutal step-family in the New Mexico desert.
Novelist Olive Balla discusses her Jillie, and also the process of finding a publisher and releasing the book.
Episode 14: The creative process with Carl King
What's the next step after inspiration? How do you bridge the gap between a concept and its execution? Writer, filmmaker, musician and creative dynamo Carl King takes Lance and L.B. to school.
Episode 13: Our Band Could Be Your Life with Richard Guerrero
Our Band Could Be Your Life is a deep investigation into a cultural movement that swept the U.S. in the 80s and 90s and had influence far beyond its most immediate listenership: Hardcore punk rock. It tells the story of this movement through profiles of its leading artists, from Black Flag and Minor Threat to the Bad Brains, Fugazi, Mudhoney and many others. Richard Guerrero is a veteran punk fan and musician who loves the book and the world that inspired it.
Episode 12: Spooky Action at a Distance with George Musser
George Musser can explain any phenomenon, however seemingly illogical, as he demonstrates in his bookSpooky Action at a Distance. Learn about nonlocality and other head-scratchers with this Scientific American editor, journalist, planetary scientist and all-around swell guy.
Episode 11: The Illuminatus! Trilogy with David Moses Fruchter
David Moses Fruchter is a poet and expert commentator on that masterpiece of conspiracy fiction,The Illuminatus! Trilogy. The book is immensely complex and challenging, and Fruchter walks us through its mysteries, depths, and absurdities with characteristic charm.
Episode 10: Moby-Dick with Mike Saenz
Mike Saenz is a filmmaker whose work has appeared in the Sundance Festival. He was an assistant editor on Boyhood, which was nominated for a best picture Oscar. Very obviously, Lance and L.B. wanted to hear everything he had to say about the world's most notorious leviathan, the white whale Moby-Dick.
Episode 9: 50 Years After Vietnam with Bill Lord
Bill Lord came back from the Vietnam war and put it out of his mind for 50 years. Now in his new book he tells his firsthand account of life as a soldier in the notorious Mekong Delta.
Episode 8: David W. Peters on Christ Walk Crushed
Iraq War veteran, Episcopalian Priest and moral injury therapist David Peters talks about the book he co-authored with Anna Fitch Courie, Christ Walk Crushed. What are the personal consequences of guilt? What can we do to overcome shame? Peters brings vast personal experience and knowledge to the problems of war and peace.
Episode 7: Neal Pollack on The Night of the Gun
Author, media sensation and Jeopardy! champion Neal Pollack joins the Persistence of Vision podcast to discuss The Night of the Gun and other addiction memoirs, including his own forthcoming book.
Episode 6: Graham Reynolds on Nineteen Ways of Looking at Wang Wei
The Persistence of Vision Podcast is very proud to welcome Maestro Graham Reynolds to its latest episode, as he discusses poetry, history, art, music, language, and the philosophy of mind via one of his favorite books, Nineteen Ways of Looking at Wang Wei.
.Episode 5: Lewis Weil on Darwin and the Barnacle
Before he revolutionized the scientific world, Charles Darwin was a man obsessed with one of the least-regarded creatures in the world. Former Nerd Nite boss Lewis Weil guides us through Rebecca Stott's Darwin and the Barnacle.
Episode 4: Shannon McCormick on Infinite Jest
Actor, improviser, and writer Shannon McCormick talks to Lance and L.B. about the greatest of the postmodern novels, David Foster Wallace's Infinite Jest
.Episode 3, Writer Timothy Braun on the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy
Writer and writing professor Timothy Braun has been a Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy fan since he was five years old. In this episode, Lance and L.B. grill Timothy on Douglas Adams' comic-sci-fi masterpiece, touching on related works by Kurt Vonnegut, Woody Allen, and others.
Episode 2, Journalist and novelist Atia Abawi on her book A Land of Permanent Goodbyes
A Land of Permanent Goodbyes takes the reader on an odyssey from ISIS-controlled Syria through Turkey and across the Aegean sea. Atia Abawi, the daughter of refugees and a Middle East correspondent for CNN and NBC, leads us through the story of her novel and the reporting, research and imagination that produced it.
Episode 1, The Song of Troy: Poet W. Joe Hoppe on the Iliad
One of the peculiarities of Western literature is that one of its earliest works, dating back over three thousand years, has never since been excelled in its poetical and narrative genius. On the premiere episode of the Persistence of Vision podcast, hosts Lance Fever Myers and L.B. Deyo discuss the Iliad with poet and writing instructor W. Joe Hoppe.