Thomas Cahill, author of "Mysteries of the Middle Ages: The Rise of Feminism, Science, and Art from the Cults of Catholic Europe," explains how some wanted him to remove the word 'feminism' from his book title, and why he refused to do so. The full interview from a 2006 episode of "Conversations On The Coast with Jim Foster" can be heard now wherev…

Carolyn Burke, author of "No Regrets: The Life of Edith Piaf," talks about the night that Edith Piaff was discovered by a night club owner. The full interview from a 2011 episode of "Conversations On The Coast with Jim Foster" can be heard now wherever you get your podcasts.Von Jim Foster: Conversations On The Coast

D.W. Buffa, author of "Breach of Trust," discusses what happened when one of the main characters in the novel decided to resign the Vice Presidency and run for President against the incumbent, and then also shares a brief true story about United States Senator Phil Hart. The full interview from a 2004 episode of "Conversations On The Coast with Jim…

Elizabeth Brundage, author of "A Stranger Like You," talks about the part of her book that delves into the challenges in Hollywood for women screenwriters. The full interview from a 2010 episode of "Conversations On The Coast with Jim Foster" can be heard now wherever you get your podcasts. Photo: Edward Acker/elizabethbrundage.com…

Jessica Bruder, author of "Burning Book: A Visual History of Burning Man," talks about how several participants in the 2005 Burning Man event headed south into the Hurricane Katrina disaster area to help people rebuild. The full interview from a 2007 episode of "Conversations On The Coast with Jim Foster" can be heard now wherever you get your podc…

Rita Mae Brown, author of "Full Cry," reads a short comical passage from her book where two foxhounds speak to each other about their 72-year-old master "Sister" Jane. The full interview from a 2005 episode of "Conversations On The Coast with Jim Foster" can be heard now wherever you get your podcasts.…

Sonny Brewer, author of "The Poet of Tolstoy Park," talks about what the main charater in the book, Henry Stuart, did after being told by his doctor that he was dying and how it transformed his community. This full interview from a 2006 episode of "Conversations On The Coast with Jim Foster" can be heard now wherever you get your podcasts.…

T.C. Boyle, author of "The Women," talks about how architect Frank Lloyd Wright seemed to thrive on tumult in order to work. This full interview from a 2009 episode of "Conversations On The Coast with Jim Foster" can be heard now wherever you get your podcasts.Von Jim Foster: Conversations On The Coast

Raymond Bonner, author of "Anatomy of Injustice: A Murder Case Gone Wrong," talks about why the purpose of the book changed to a more broad look at the death penalty, the law, and wrongful convictions. This full interview from a 2012 episode of "Conversations On The Coast with Jim Foster" can be heard now wherever you get your podcasts.…

Sarah Blake, author of "The Postmistress," reads a short passage from the book in which a broadcast dispatcher named Frankie Bard broadcast a very emotional moment from overseas in London during World War 2, alongside Edward R. Murrow. This full interview from a 2011 episode of "Conversations On The Coast with Jim Foster" can be heard now wherever …

Nichole Bernier, author of "The Unfinished Work of Elizabeth D.," talks about how the main character Kate was anxious ahead of a rare planned dinner with her husband without their kids, and how solitude with another person is an art. This full interview from a 2012 episode of "Conversations On The Coast with Jim Foster" can be heard now wherever yo…

Dane Huckelbridge, author of "Bourbon: A History of the American Spirit, explains how Bourbon whiskey was the American experience. This full interview from a 2014 episode of "Conversations On The Coast with Jim Foster" can be heard now wherever you get your podcasts.Von Jim Foster: Conversations On The Coast

On this special episode, host and producer Jim Foster speaks with technical producer Robert Costa about how "Conversations On The Coast with Jim Foster" became a long-running program airing on various radio stations in the San Francisco Bay Area for several decades, and also speaks about how the book publishing world has changed over the years, whe…

In "The Whole World Over," author Julia Glass writes a novel about all the little accidents in life that come together to determine our choices in love and connections to others in the world. This second discussion about the book took place on a 2007 episode of "Conversations On The Coast with Jim Foster" originating in San Francisco, California. P…

In "Perfidia," author James Ellroy writes a historical novel and the first volume of his second L.A. Quartet series, set in Los Angeles in 1941 that follows the story of several very different people who come together to investigate the murder of a Japanese family as America is at the brink of World War II. This discussion with the author took plac…

In "The Death of Innocents: An Eyewitness Account of Wrongful Executions," author Sister Helen Prejean talks about her first-hand experiences witnessing the execution of Dobie Gillis Williams in 1999 and Joseph Roger O'Dell in 1997, how poor people are primarily affected by wrongful executions, and why the execution of Michael Morales was postponed…

In "Dorchester Terrace: A Charlotte and Thomas Pitt Novel," the late author Anne Perry writes the next novel in a series in which Thomas Pitt is now the head of Britain's Special Branch, and follows the story of him and his wife trying to get information from two women in order to prevent an international catastrophe. This conversation took place o…

In "Her Wild Oats," the late author Kathi Kamen Goldmark writes a novel about two people at very different points in their lives who develop an unlikely friendship, a thirteen-year-old boy who plays the harmonica, and a young woman who recently discovered her husband was having an affair. In this discussion, the late author's husband Sam Barry talk…

In "And the Dark Sacred Night," author Julia Glass writes a novel about a man's quest to find his biological father and what he discovered along the journey about himself and the world. This discussion took place on a 2014 episode of "Conversations On The Coast with Jim Foster" originating in San Francisco, California. Photo: Robert Costa.…

In this episode, Jim Foster shares his thoughts on the publishing scandal surrounding James Frey's memoir "A Million Little Pieces" and why a memoir by Heather King entitled "Parched" is more meaningful surrounding the subject of alcoholism and addiction, especially considering the fact that many things written as personal experiences in Frey's mem…