LARB Radio's Kate Wolff, Medaya Ocher, Eric Newman spoke with authors Joyce Carol Oates, Morgan Parker, and Fiona Maazel at this year's LA Times Bookfest held recently on the USC campus. Morgan Parker is the author of There are More Beautiful Things than Beyonce. Fiona Maazel's latest novel is A Little More Human. Joyce Carol Oates remains one of the leading figures in contemporary American letters, a status she has held for many decades. All three reflect on their writing processes, on contemporary literature and culture, as well as our troubled political times.

LARB Radio's Kate Wolff, Medaya Ocher, Eric Newman braved 90 degree heat to speak with authors Garth Greenwell, Marcy Dermansky, and Dana Spiotta at this year's LA Times Bookfest held recently at USC's campus. Garth Greenwell is the author of the novel What Belongs to You. Marcy Dermansky's latest novel is The Red Car (which was recommended a few weeks ago on the LARB Radio hour). Dana Spiotta is a return guest on the show and author most recently of Innocents and Others: A Novel. All three offer spirited observations on contemporary literature, as well as our troubled political times.

Author Janet Sarbanes speaks with Kate and Medaya about her new collection The Protester Has Been Released. The wide-ranging conversation includes Soviet space dogs, humanity's betrayal of the planet, the relevance of Latin American literature in the era of Trump; and, of course, the reason this moment inspires protest. Also, LARB's Eric Newman drops in to recommend two books from the recent Chinese LGBT canon: Notes of a Crocodile by Qiu Miaojin from Taiwan and Beijing Comrade by Bei Tong - both of which brilliantly capture the spirit of romantic obsession.

Documentary filmmaker Laura Poitras joins Kate, Eric, and Medaya to discuss her new film, Risk; the product of filming Julian Assange and the Wikileaks team over the past seven years. The film is a companion piece to Poitras' Academy Award winning Citizen Four, about Edward Snowden. Both films place Poitras at the epicenter of two of the most significant politcal phenomena of our digital age; and, in both instances, she has crafted brilliant films. Also, Abdellah Taia returns to recommend Russell Banks' novel from the 1980's Continental Drift.