Lydia Davis | The Collected Stories of Lydia Davis with Jonathan Lethem | Chronic City
Recorded 11/12/2009
Listen to MP3 audio

The Los Angeles Times Book Review calls Lydia Davis "one of the quiet giants of American fiction." The author of ... More...

Jonathan Safran Foer | Eating Animals
Recorded 11/10/2009
Listen to MP3 audio

In Eating Animals Jonathan Safran Foer synthesizes philosophy, literature, science, and his own detective work in... More...

David Plouffe | The Audacity to Win
Recorded 11/5/2009
Listen to MP3 audio

Pine Tree Foundation Endowed Lecture

President Barack Obama's chief campaign manager David Plouffe ... More...

David Sax | Save the Deli
Recorded 11/3/2009
Listen to MP3 audio

From corned beef to knishes, Save the Deli is the story of David Sax's quest to observe and preserve a defining e... More...

Gordon S. Wood | Empire of Liberty: A History of the Early Republic, 1789-1815
Recorded 10/29/2009
Listen to MP3 audio

Ellis Wachs Endowed Lecture The Alva O. Way Professor of History Emeritus at Brown University, Gordon S. Wood won the P... More...

Sherman Alexie | War Dances
Recorded 10/28/2009
Listen to MP3 audio

(This recording contains explicit content.) Praised for his unsentimental portrayals of contemporary life among N... More...

Stephen J. Dubner | SuperFreakonomics: Global Cooling, Patriotic Prostitutes, and Why Suicide Bombers Should Buy Life Insurance
Recorded 10/27/2009
Listen to MP3 audio

Freakonomics by Steven D. Levitt and Stephen J. Dubner spent more than two years on the New York Times Bes... More...

Melvin Van Peebles | Confessions of a Ex-Doofus-ItchyFooted Mutha
Recorded 10/27/2009
Listen to MP3 audio

One of the godfathers of modern black cinema and theater, Melvin Van Peebles directed the legendary film Sweet Sweetb... More...

Jeannette Walls | Half Broke Horses: A True-Life Novel
Recorded 10/23/2009
Listen to MP3 audio

The Glass Castle, Jeannette Walls's memoir of growing up in an impoverished and nomadic family, is one of the b... More...

Richard Dawkins | The Greatest Show on Earth: The Evidence for Evolution
Recorded 10/22/2009
Listen to MP3 audio

Evolutionary biologist and unapologetic atheist Richard Dawkins taught for many years at Oxford University as the Charle... More...

Haleh Esfandiari | My Prison, My Home with Ali Eteraz | Children of Dust
Recorded 10/20/2009
Listen to MP3 audio

A distinguished Iranian-American intellectual, Haleh Esfandiari is the founding Director of the Woodrow Wilson Center's ... More...

Eoin Colfer | And Another Thing...
Recorded 10/19/2009
Listen to MP3 audio

Douglas Adams' comic space odyssey, The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, began as a BBC radio series in the 1970... More...

Andy Goodman | The Four Connecting Points: Communication That Leads to Action
Recorded 10/15/2009
Listen to MP3 audio

Sponsored by the Regional Foundation Center, with support from our Advisory Council.

There are four potentia... More...

Steve Poses | At Home By Steve Poses: A Caterer's Guide to Cooking and Entertaining
Recorded 10/15/2009
Listen to MP3 audio

Steve Poses is the founding chef of Frög (named Best Restaurant of the past 25 years by Philadelphia magazine in 1998) a... More...

Kay Redfield Jamison | Nothing Was the Same
Recorded 10/13/2009
Listen to MP3 audio

An international authority and researcher on mood disorders, Kay Redfield Jamison has unique insight into the world of m... More...

Max Cleland | Heart of a Patriot
Recorded 10/8/2009
Listen to MP3 audio

Max Cleland is a decorated Vietnam veteran who, after returning from his tour of duty and recovering from his extensive ... More...

Neil Sheehan | A Fiery Peace in a Cold War
Recorded 10/6/2009
Listen to MP3 audio

A war correspondent during the Vietnam War, Neil Sheehan won a Pulitzer Prize Gold Medal for breaking the story of the P... More...

Karen Armstrong | The Case for God
Recorded 10/1/2009
Listen to MP3 audio

A powerful voice for ecumenical understanding, Karen Armstrong is the author of many acclaimed books on religious affair... More...

Richard Russo | That Old Cape Magic with Peter Dexter | Spooner
Recorded 9/29/2009
Listen to MP3 audio

(This recording contains explicit content.) Richard Russo's novels are distinguished by their true-to-life depictions of... More...

James Ellroy | Blood's A Rover
Recorded 9/24/2009
Listen to MP3 audio

(This recording contains explicit content.) "Pick it up if you dare; put it down if you can," wrote Time magazine... More...

Howard Dean | Howard Dean's Prescription for Real Health Care Reform
Recorded 9/24/2009
Listen to MP3 audio

A physician and the former chairman of the Democratic National Committee, Howard Dean served six terms as Governor of Ve... More...

Ralph Nader | "Only the Super-Rich Can Save Us!"
Recorded 9/22/2009
Listen to MP3 audio

Ralph Nader is one of our country's greatest champions of consumer safety and rights--he is responsible for major federa... More...

Lorrie Moore | A Gate at the Stairs
Recorded 9/22/2009
Listen to MP3 audio

Lorrie Moore "writes with such psychological precision, such sharp, unsentimental knowledge of her characters' hopes and... More...

Jeffrey Ross | I Only Roast the Ones I Love
Recorded 9/17/2009
Listen to MP3 audio

(This recording contains explicit content.) One of the world's foremost insult comics, Jeffrey Ross is "a one-man... More...

Sam Tanenhaus | The Death of Conservatism
Recorded 9/15/2009
Listen to MP3 audio

Meelya Gordon Memorial Lecture Series Editor of the New York Times Book Review, Sam Tanenhaus is the author of t... More...

David Allen Sibley | The Sibley Guide to Trees
Recorded 9/13/2009
Listen to MP3 audio

David Allen Sibley, author of the popular Sibley Guide to Birds, began watching and drawing birds as a child and ... More...

Nicholson Baker | The Anthologist
Recorded 9/10/2009
Listen to MP3 audio

A quirky and compelling writer, Nicholson Baker is the bestselling author of seven novels (among them The Mezzanine... More...

Tom Ridge | The Test of Our Times
Recorded 9/3/2009
Listen to MP3 audio

After September 11, 2001, former Pennsylvania Governor Tom Ridge was appointed the first Secretary of the Department of ... More...

Brian Herbert and Kevin Anderson | The Winds of Dune
Recorded 8/11/2009
Listen to MP3 audio

Brian Herbert and New York Times bestselling writer Kevin Anderson collaborate on expanding the beloved Dune... More...

Chris Hedges | Empire of Illusion: The End of Literacy and the Triumph of Spectacle
Recorded 7/28/2009
Listen to MP3 audio

In Empire of Illusion, Chris Hedges, author of the bestseller War is a Force that Give Us Meaning, ... More...

Buzz Aldrin | Magnificent Desolation: The Long Journey Home from the Moon
Recorded 7/21/2009
Listen to MP3 audio

On the 40th anniversary of the historic moon landing, Buzz Aldrin tells the behind the scenes story of the Apollo 11 mis... More...

Stephen L. Carter | Jericho's Fall
Recorded 7/16/2009
Listen to MP3 audio

Stephen Carter's bestselling thrillers include The Emperor of Ocean Park, New England White, and Palace... More...

Jennifer Weiner | Best Friends Forever
Recorded 7/15/2009
Listen to MP3 audio

(This recording contains extensive use of potty language.) Philadelphian Jennifer Weiner is the author of the witty, sma... More...

Harold Varmus |The Art and Politics of Science
Recorded 7/14/2009
Listen to MP3 audio

A Nobel Prize-winning cancer biologist, former director of the National Institutes of Health, president of the renowned ... More...

Andrew Bacevich | The Limits of Power: The End of American Exceptionalism
Recorded 6/30/2009
Listen to MP3 audio

Author of The New American Militarism, Andrew Bacevich is a professor of history and international relations at B... More...

Farai Chideya | Kiss the Sky
Recorded 6/25/2009
Listen to MP3 audio

Journalist Farai Chideya anchored National Public Radio's News and Notes, has been a correspondent for ABC News, ... More...

James Lovelock | The Vanishing Face of Gaia: A Call to Action
Recorded 6/23/2009
Listen to MP3 audio

Elder statesman of the environmental movement and author of more than 200 scientific papers, James Lovelock is the origi... More...

Joseph O'Neill | Netherland
Recorded 6/16/2009
Listen to MP3 audio

Born in Ireland and raised in Holland, Joseph O'Neill writes regularly for The Atlantic Monthly and is the... More...

Seth | George Sprott (1894-1975) with Adrian Tomine | Shortcomings and A Drifting Life
Recorded 6/9/2009
Listen to MP3 audio

A celebrated cartoonist and illustrator for the New Yorker, Seth has earned Harvey, Eisner, and Ignatz awa... More...

Eduardo Galeano | Mirrors: Stories of Almost Everyone
Recorded 6/2/2009
Listen to MP3 audio

The works of Uruguayan journalist Eduardo Galeano, writes author Isabel Allende ''invade the reader's mind, to persuade ... More...

Lisa See | Shanghai Girls
Recorded 5/26/2009
Listen to MP3 audio

Lisa See is the New York Times bestselling author of Peony in Love, Snow Flower and the Secret Fan, Flower Net... More...

Michael Eric Dyson | Can You Hear Me Now?
Recorded 5/20/2009
Listen to MP3 audio

Described as a ''hip-hop intellectual,'' Michael Eric Dyson is an ordained Baptist minister, social analyst, and a Profe... More...

Simon Schama | The American Future: A History
Recorded 5/19/2009
Listen to MP3 audio

The author of many books, including The Embarrassment of Riches and National Book Critics Circle Award winner ... More...

Elmore Leonard | Road Dogs
Recorded 5/14/2009
Listen to MP3 audio

(This recording contains explicit content.) Elmore Leonard has been compared to prolific writers such as Balzac, Dostoe... More...

Andy Goodman Presents: Storytelling as Best Practice
Recorded 5/13/2009
Listen to MP3 audio

Andy Goodman will present his workshop 'Storytelling as Best Practice' in honor of the Regional Foundation Center's 35th... More...

Conversations with Frank Gehry | Frank Gehry and Barbara Isenberg
Recorded 5/12/2009
Listen to MP3 audio

Pickwick Salon 2009 Donor Event

Renowned architect Frank Gehry, recognized for his sculptural, deconstructiv... More...

Chuck Palahniuk | Pygmy
Recorded 5/8/2009
Listen to MP3 audio

(This recording contains explicit content.) Chuck Palahniuk is the author of nine previous novels, including bestselle... More...

Ruth Reichl | Not Becoming My Mother
Recorded 4/28/2009
Listen to MP3 audio

The editor-in-chief of Gourmet magazine, Ruth Reichl is the author of three bestselling memoirs: Comfort Me wi... More...

Donna Leon | About Face: A Commissario Guido Brunetti Mystery
Recorded 4/23/2009
Listen to MP3 audio

The Venice-based mysteries of Donna Leon are international bestsellers, winning awards including the CWA Macallan Silver... More...

Philadelphia DA Candidates Debate the Issues
Recorded 4/22/2009
Listen to MP3 audio

On Wednesday, April 22, 2009 at 7:30 pm, candidates for Philadelphia District Attorney debate the issues. Come out and m... More...