Carla Kaplan on A Novel Idea

Carla JESS Prize-winning biographer Carla Kaplan talks with host Suzanne Lang about her definitive new book, Trouble Maker: The Fierce, Unruly Life of Jessica Mitford. A Novel Idea can be heard every first, third, and fifth Saturdays at 5:00 am and Sundays at 10:00 am on KRCB, 104.9 FM. Streaming and podcasting at krcb.org.

A Novel Idea

January 31, 2026

Elene Catrakilis and Nancy Econome on A Novel Idea

Suzanne Lang talks with Elene Catrakilis on her novel, Under an African Sky, a story of profound friendship between a Greek woman and her Black South African maid, set in the waning days of South African apartheid. Nancy Econome talks with Suzanne on her novel of Greek identity and extended family…
January 17, 2026

Jo-Anne Berelowitz and Shivani Malik on A Novel Idea

Suzanne Lang talks with art historian and author Jo-Anne Berelowitz on her work of auto-fiction, Somewhere I Belong, a Story of Country, Family, Home, and Jewish Identity, her story of discovering her Jewish roots and leaving South Africa in the wake of apartheid. Shivani Malik brings us her novel…
January 03, 2026

Martyn Burke and Katrin Ciaffa on A Novel Idea

Peabody winning filmmaker, journalist, and author Martyn Burke joins Suzanne Lang in conversation on his latest novel The Gossip Columnist, set in Nazi era Berlin. Also featured is Katrin Ciaffa, translator of Hannelore Krollpfeiffer’s We Lived in Berlin: A Story from the End of the War.…
December 20, 2025

Steven Rowley and Julia Mary Gibson on A Novel Idea

Suzanne Lang talks with NYTs best selling author Steven Rowley on his latest book, The Dogs of Venice. Julia Mary Gibson joins Suzanne and talks about her novel The Copper Stone. It’s A Novel Idea, every first, third, and fifth Saturday at 5:00am, and first, third, and fifth Sundays at 10:00am on…
December 06, 2025

Benjamin Wood and Ian Leslie on A Novel Idea

Suzanne Lang talks with Booker Prize nominated and Merseyside writer Benjamin Wood on his book Seascraper. Plus, Ian Leslie joins Suzanne to talk about the quintessential Mersey boys in his book, John and Paul, a Love Story in Songs. It’s A Novel Idea, every first, second, and third Saturdays at…
November 29, 2025

Janet Kintner and Tina Davidson on A Novel Idea

In this episode, Suzanne Lang talks with Janet Kintner, who was appointed judge at the age of 31 and at a time when few women were even on the bench, let alone young and pregnant. Kintner’s memoir is A Judges Tale, A Trailblazer Fights for Her Place on the Bench. We also visit composer Tina…
Mar 02, 2025

CJ Cook on A Novel Idea

CJ Cook is an art collector, historian, publisher, rescuer of lost artists, and lover of the South Pacific. Suzanne Lang talks with CJ Cook on Edithe…
Oct 20, 2024

Iris Jamal Dunkle on A Novel Idea

Voices of writers, voices of creative, accomplished women have gotten lost in the fog of other people’s fame, and mostly by the conventions and…
Mar 03, 2019

Michael Morey – March 3, 2019

Author and independent historian Michael Morey’s book, Fagen: An African American Renegade in the Philippine-American War, unpacks American…
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Dec 02, 2018

Thomas E. Cochrane – December 2, 2018

Oil makes the world go round and geologist Thomas E. Cochrane delivers candid and lively remembrances of his life and experience in the American…
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Oct 24, 2018

Susan Hand Shetterly – October 7, 2018

Seaweed. It plays a vital role in ocean ecology, and also in our health and diet, and in our local and global economies. Seaweed Chronicles: A World…
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Sep 30, 2018

Gregory Couch – October 1, 2018

Gregory Crouch joins Suzanne M. Lang in conversation on his epic western history of California wealth and the Comstock Lode, bringing focus to one of…
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Aug 05, 2018

Jonah Raskin – August 5, 2018

Jonah Raskin has a large and ranging body of non-fiction books and articles and now has come out with a detective fiction of a different order, Dark…
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Jul 29, 2018

Bruce Holbert – July 30, 2018

San Francisco’s City Lights Bookstore, the landmark independent bookstore founded in 1953 by poet Lawrence Ferlinghetti and Peter D. Martin, recently…
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Jul 01, 2018

Brad Herzog – July 1, 2018

A timely encore presentation of Rosemary Manchester in conversation with Brad Herzog, collaborator on Carolyn Goodman’s memoir, My Mantelpiece: a…
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Apr 01, 2018

Bruce Holbert – April 1, 2018

To celebrate the release of Bruce Holbert’s third novel, Whiskey, here is a reprise of two previous conversations between Bruce and Suzanne M Lang on…
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Nov 13, 2017

Jeffrey Miller – January 31, 2016

This episode of KRCB’s A Novel Idea is an “encore” presentation of a favorite broadcast, originally broadcast in 2010, featuring Andre Codrescu and…
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Nov 13, 2017

Eva Rutland – March 6, 2016

To honor Black History Month and International Women’s Day (March 8th) we present Rosemary Manchester with an encore presentation of a show featuring…
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Nov 13, 2017

Abby Geni, Lewis deSoto – April 3, 2016

Big Nature, Big California The Farallon Islands, remote and mysterious, is the setting of Abby Geni’s novel of nature and mystery, The Lightkeepers.…
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Nov 13, 2017

Wendy E. Simmons – July 4, 2016

Wendy E. Simmons is a world traveler. Not a novice. Not a pushover. Her trip to North Korea challenged every bit of her perceptions of herself and…
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Nov 13, 2017

Kenneth Wishnia – August 7, 2016

Mystery writer Kenneth Wishnia joins Suzanne Lang in conversation on his latest novel, The Fifth Servant, which is set in 1592 Prague, where a young…
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Nov 13, 2017

William Luvaas – September 4, 2016

William Luvaas, NEA grant recipient who has been recognized for his short stories and novels alike, joins Suzanne Lang in conversation on his third…
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Nov 13, 2017

Meg Waite Clayton – October 2, 2016

New York Time’s bestselling author Meg Waite Clayton joins Suzanne M. Lang in conversation about The Race for Paris, Clayton’s compelling novel of…
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Nov 13, 2017

Heather Lyn Mann – April 3, 2017

15,000 nautical miles, six years, and a world of insight ….Heather Lyn Mann joins Suzanne Lang in conversation about Heather’s journey as expressed…
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Nov 13, 2017

Peter Afrasiabi – October 1, 2017

Top intellectual property and entertainment lawyer Peter Afrasiabi joins Suzanne Lang in conversation on his recent book Burning Bridges, America’s…
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Nov 13, 2017

J. Jaye Gold – October 29, 2017

J. Jaye Gold has been a hustler and gambler in his life, but sought a new way of being in his that lead him on a journey around the globe, and
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