Season 1

John Green plays the piano for Connie Martinson. Green plays pieces such as: “Coquette,” “I Wanna Be Loved,” “I Cover the Waterfront,” “You’re Mine, You,” “Loved,” and “Body and Soul.” His parents were well-trained pianists and that he idolized George Gershwin. Green talks about “An American in Paris” and Conrad Salinger and Arthur Freed. He also talks about his lecturing and sharing with students.

Barack Obama discusses his book, “Dreams from My Father: A Story of Race and Inheritance.” Obama shares his family’s background and its influence in his life. He tells of his mother’s emphasis of instilling a strong African and African American self-image and his father’s struggles of bridging a traditional African society with a “modern” age. Obama then discusses his reasons for becoming a community organizer and his desire to bring disparate stands in America together. He continues by stating that progress can come from the grassroots and community level.

Andrei Codrescu discusses his book, “The Blood Countess,” which is about the life of his ancestor, Elizabeth Bathory, known as the Blood Countess. Andrei weaves two stories together, one that takes place in the 1590s, and another that is more contemporary. It unravels with the contemporary story, in which a journalist must return to his native country, Hungary, only to discover the horrific crimes of his ancestor Elizabeth Bathory. Codrescu goes into very explicit and accurate details of Elizabeth, who was responsible for the deaths of many young virgin women. Andrei believes that we cannot ever escape or play with history, and he reveals this through the characters of his book.

Iranian Azdaeh Moaveni discusses her book, “Lipstick Jihad.” She begins by sharing her experiences and memories of growing up as an Iranian in Palo Alto, California during the shadow of the Iranian hostage crisis. She then discusses her experiences traveling back to Iran and her impressions of Iran and America. Moaveni then discusses her and her mother’s religious beliefs. She goes on to share that she was a Fulbright Scholar in Egypt and studied classical and colloquial Arabic. After her studies she became a journalist and covered events in Iran for “Time” magazine. Later in the interview she shares her experiences working in Beirut and reads aloud from her work.

American author Steve Erickson discusses his ninth novel "These Dreams of You" with Connie Martinson.