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

May 02, 2026

Zeeva Bukai, plus Stephanie Dray and Laura Kamoie on A Novel Idea

Suzanne Lang is joined by Zeeva Bukai with her book The World Between, the tale of an aging actress of the Yiddish Theatre who inexplicably finds herself in a Jaffa sanitorium run by nuns. Also featured are best-selling authors Stephanie Dray and Laura Kamoie with their book A Founding Mother, a…
April 18, 2026

Peter Coyote live on stage with Suzanne Lang on A Novel Idea

Peter Coyote — actor, author, influential thinker, and Zen Buddhist Priest joined Suzanne Lang on stage at the Tomales Town Hall for this ranging conversation on his life and work. A Novel Idea, Saturday at 5am and Sunday at 10am. Streaming and podcasting at krcb.org.
April 04, 2026

Dena Moes and Priya Hutner on A Novel Idea

This week Suzanne Lang is joined by Dena Moes, author of The Buddha Sat Right Here, A Family Odyssey Through India and Nepal. Also on the show, Priya Hutner with her book, Chasing Nirvana: A Seeker’s Story of Love, Loss and Liberation. Both authors talk about their journey’s toward enlightenment,…
March 21, 2026

Caroline Paul and Cecilia Aragon on A Novel Idea

Longtime adventurer Caroline Paul joins Suzanne Lang in conversation on her latest book Why We Fly: Seeking Awe, Healing, and Our True Selves in the Sky. Scientist and aerobatic flyer Cecilia Aragon joins Suzanne to talk about her book Flying Free: My Victory Over Fear to Become the First Latina…
March 07, 2026

Elizabeth Buchanan and Andrea Pitzer on A Novel Idea

So You want to Own Greenland? Lessons from the Vikings to Trump is Arctic strategic policy advisor Elizabeth Buchanan’s latest book and she joins Suzanne Lang in conversation. Also featured is journalist Andrea Pitzer with her book on Arctic exploration, Icebound, Shipwrecked at the Edge of the…
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…
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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Oct 29, 2017

J. Jaye Gold on A Novel Idea

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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