Episodes

  • The Probabilities Archive: Jack Arnold (1916-1992), film director, “Creature from the Black Lagoon” and others, 1980ish

    The Probabilities Archive: Jack Arnold (1916-1992), film director, “Creature from the Black Lagoon” and others, 1980ish
    Dec 21 2025
    Jack Arnold (1916-1992), who died at the age of 75 in 1992, was the 1950s master of the science fiction film. Among the films he directed were It Came From Outer Space, The Creature from the Black Lagoon, Revenge of the Creature, Tarantula, and The Incredible Shrinking Man. The Probabilities crew – Richard A. Lupoff, Lawrence Davidson and Richard Wolinsky – received a small stipend from a science fiction convention and flew to Los Angeles to interview Jack Arnold in his office at Universal Studios. The interview is undated but was recorded in around 1980, give or take a year. Arnold’s memory was fuzzy on when films were released. IMDb lists It Came from Outer Space, along with two film noirs in 1953, Creature from the Black Lagoon in 1954 and Revenge of the Creature in 1955. The first western, The Man from Bitter Ridge along with Tarantula and his work on This Island Earth also came from 1955. The rest of the westerns, along with The Incredible Shrinking Man and the Peter Sellers classic The Mouse That Roared, came between 1956 and 1959. After that, he directed a couple more A pictures, as he called them, but his primary work moved to television, and from then until his retirement in 1984, he was constantly working on projects for the small screen, interspersed with the occasional film. At the end of the interview, he discusses a remake of Conan Doyle’s The Lost World, complete with storyboards. That project never did get off the ground, though it’s possible later versions used some of Arnold’s pre-planning. And, not to forget, he helped turn Gilligan’s Island into a cultural (for better or worse) icon. Digitized, remastered and edited by Richard Wolinsky in July 2021, and originally posted on August 1, 2021. The post The Probabilities Archive: Jack Arnold (1916-1992), film director, “Creature from the Black Lagoon” and others, 1980ish appeared first on KPFA.
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    2 hrs and 30 mins
  • Joe Lansdale, Prolific Genre Writer, Part Two: 2025

    Joe Lansdale, Prolific Genre Writer, Part Two: 2025
    Dec 14 2025
    Joe R. Lansdale, in conversation with Richard Wolinsky f, recorded November 12, 2025, discussing his latest Hap & Leonard book, “Hatchet Girls,” his recent collections, and his life as a writer. Joe R. Lansdale writes a broad spectrum of fiction, from his successful Hap and Leonard series of noir mysteries, to fantasy and horror short fiction, to western novels and short stories, as well as a variety of genre mash-ups. His latest Hap and Leonard mystery, Hatchet Girls, according to Wikipedia, is the 27th in that series. There are forty books in the series, plus over forty short story collections, including the most recent to date, In the Mad Mountains, stories inspired by H.P. Lovecraft. There are five books in his Drive-In series, three in his Ned the Seal series, plus various chapbooks. He’s also written for television and film, including episodes of Love, Death and Robots, and a Hap and Leonard TV three-season series, which ran originally on AMC+ and later on Netflix, starting in 2016. The post Joe Lansdale, Prolific Genre Writer, Part Two: 2025 appeared first on KPFA.
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    1 hr and 52 mins
  • Malcolm Margolin (1940-2025), Legendary Publisher of Heyday Books in Berkeley

    Malcolm Margolin (1940-2025), Legendary Publisher of Heyday Books in Berkeley
    Dec 7 2025
    Malcolm Margolin (1940-2025), the long-time publisher of Heyday Books in Berkeley, who died on August 20, 2025 at the age of 84, in conversation with Richard Wolinsky in the KPFA Studios on November 21, 2014. Malcolm Margolin founded Heyday Books, the renownedy non-profit publishing house located in Berkeley, in 1974 and stayed until he retired in 2015. He was the author and editor of several books, most notably The Ohlone Way: Indian Life in the San Francisco – Monterey Bay Area, along with magazines and other periodicals. This interview was recorded November 21, 2014 upon the publication of his memoir/history, The Heyday of Malcolm Margolin: The Damned Good Times of a Fiercely Independent Publisher. Malcolm Margolin retired in 2015 but continued to work until his death. His final book, Deep Hanging Out: Wanderings and Wonderment in Native California. was published by Heyday in 2021. The post Malcolm Margolin (1940-2025), Legendary Publisher of Heyday Books in Berkeley appeared first on KPFA.
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    1 hr and 8 mins
  • Lauren Gunderson, Noted Contemporary Playwright, the “Christmas in Pemberley” series

    Lauren Gunderson, Noted Contemporary Playwright, the “Christmas in Pemberley” series
    Nov 30 2025
    Lauren Gunderson, recognized as the most produced contemporary playwright in America four of the last five years, including 2025, in conversation with host Richard Wolinsky. Lauren Gunderson is a prolific playwright whose plays are produced all over North America and in Britain and Europe. She is best known for such plays as “The Book of Will” and the “Christmas at Pemberley” series of three plays (co-written by Margot Malcon). She also worked on the script for the Pixar film “Lightyear,” and her book for the musical version of “The Time Traveler’s Wife” recently played in London. As of the first week in December, two plays are currently being produced in the San Francisco Bay Area. Georgiana and Kitty: Christmas at Pemberley, runs December 5-28 at TheatreWorks Lucie Stern Theatre in Palo Alto, and Ada and the Engine plays at the Pear Theatre in Mountain View through December 7th. A third play, Louisa Alcott’s Little Women played earlier in 2025 at TheatreWorks in Mountain View, and plays at Portland Center Stage through December 21st. In this interview, she discusses those plays and others, with emphasis on Muse of Fire, in which she performs, directed by Evren Odcikin, which wil be produced by the Magic Theatre from September 22nd through October 11th. Among upcoming plays in 2026 are Silent Sky in Bethesda Maryland in February. The Book of Will in Wisconsin in January and Raleigh, North Carolina in April, The Revolutionists in Rhode Island in May and Raleigh in August, Louisa May Alcott’s Little Women at the Guthrie in Minnesota next April through June. The Half Life of Marie Curie will be in Eureka California iwill be performed in February, 2026 in Eureka, California. The post Lauren Gunderson, Noted Contemporary Playwright, the “Christmas in Pemberley” series appeared first on KPFA.
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    1 hr and 26 mins
  • The Bookwaves Archive: John Banville, Irish Literary Master, 2007

    The Bookwaves Archive: John Banville, Irish Literary Master, 2007
    Nov 23 2025
    John Banville, Booker Prize winning novelist, in conversation with host Richard Wolinsky in the KPFA studios, on March 19, 2007 while on tour for the novel, “Christine Falls,” written under the pseudonym Benjamin Black. John Banville is a giant of Irish literature, winner of the Booker Prize for his novel, The Sea, and the Franz Kafka Prize in 2011. A literary novelist of the first order, he took a turn in 2007 with a mystery novel, Christine Falls, featuring a detective named Quirke, under the pseudonym Benjamin Black. Since that time there have been ten Quirke mysteries, three written under his own name, and four novels under the pseudonym. He continues to write literary and noir fiction. His most recent novel is “Venetian Vespers,” published in October, 2025. This is the first posting of this interview, which never aired in its entirety. The post The Bookwaves Archive: John Banville, Irish Literary Master, 2007 appeared first on KPFA.
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    1 hr and 35 mins
  • The Bookwaves Archive: Amy Bloom, Award-Winning Literary Novelist, 2007

    The Bookwaves Archive: Amy Bloom, Award-Winning Literary Novelist, 2007
    Nov 16 2025
    Amy Bloom, award-winning novelist and short-story writer, in conversation with Richard Wolinsky in the KPFA studios, on October 4, 2007 while on tour for her second novel, “Away.” Amy Bloom, says the New Yorker, gets more meaning into individual sentences than most authors manage in whole books. The author of five short story collections and two works of non-fiction, including a memoir, she has only written five novels since she debuted in 1997 with Love Invents Us. She would be interviewed again on Bookwaves for her third novel, Lucky Us, Her most recent novel, I’ll Be Right Here, was published in June 2025. This is the first posting of this interview, which never aired in its entirety. The post The Bookwaves Archive: Amy Bloom, Award-Winning Literary Novelist, 2007 appeared first on KPFA.
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    1 hr and 8 mins
  • Joe R. Lansdale, Prolific Genre Author (Part One: 1994 Interview)

    Joe R. Lansdale, Prolific Genre Author (Part One: 1994 Interview)
    Nov 9 2025
    From the Probabilities Archive: Joe R. Lansdale, in conversation with Richard Wolinsky and Richard A. Lupoff, recorded August 2, 1994 during the author tour for the Hap and Leonard novel, “Mucho Mojo,” recorded in the KPFA Studios. Joe R. Lansdale writes a broad spectrum of fiction, from his successful Hap and Leonard series of noir mysteries, to fantasy and horror short fiction, to western novels and short stories, as well as a variety of genre mash-ups. His latest Hap and Leonard mystery, Hatchet Girls, according to Wikipedia, is the 27th in that series. There are forty non-series novels, plus over forty short story collections, including the most recent to date, In the Mad Mountains, stories inspired by H.P. Lovecraft. There are five books in his Drive-In series, three in his Ned the Seal series, plus various chapbooks. He’s also written for television and film, including episodes of Love, Death and Robots, and a Hap and Leonard TV series, which ran on AMC+ for three seasons, starting in 2016. A new interview coming soon. The post Joe R. Lansdale, Prolific Genre Author (Part One: 1994 Interview) appeared first on KPFA.
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    1 hr and 18 mins
  • The Probabilities Archive: Clive Barker, Master of Horror and Fantasy, “Hellbound: Hellraiser II,” 1988

    The Probabilities Archive: Clive Barker, Master of Horror and Fantasy, “Hellbound: Hellraiser II,” 1988
    Nov 2 2025
    Clive Barker in conversation with Richard Wolinsky, Richard A. Lupoff and Lawrence Davidson, recorded at Dark Carnival Bookstore in Berkeley October 21, 1988 while promoting the film “Hellbound: Hellraiser II.” Digitized, remastered and lightly edited October 25-26, 2025 and not heard for over thirty-five years. Clive Barker burst on the horror scene in 1985 with his collection of short stories, Books of Blood. He cemented his reputation in the years that followed with horror and fantasy novels, and with the films Hellraiser and Candyman and their sequels. His career stopped dead in its tracks in 2012 after a visit to his dentist’s office resulted in a coma. While he recovered and is still alive, no new books have seen the light of day since a novella, Chiliad, a Meditation was published in a limited edition in 2014. The Probabilities crew, Richard A. Lupoff, Lawrence Davidson and Richard Wolinsky interviewed Clive three times. The first interview, conducted in the KPFA studios in September 1987 was digitized and uploaded to Radio Wolinsky in October 2022. This, the second interview, was recorded on October 21, 1988 in front of a small audience at Dark Carnival Bookstore in Berkeley. Clive was in town to promote his film Hellbound: Hellraiser II, and the interview, which feels more like a modern day podcast, focuses on his troubles avoiding an X rating for his film, along with discussing his most recent book, Cabal, which featured a novella of the same name plus a handful of short stories. No complete version of this interview has ever aired. The third interview with Clive Barker, from 1992, has yet to be digitized. 1987 interview with Clive Barker NOTES: Clive Barker’s film Hellbound: Hellraiser II was followed by Hellraiser III: Hell on Earth, several video games and eventually a remake in 2022, in which he is listed as producer. Several of his other stories were later adapted. His book The Art was eventually published as the two volume Books of the Art, The Great and Secret Show, often considered his finest work, and Everville. The film Nightbreed came out in 1989 and flopped, so no sequels were made. While no books have been published since 2014, he was interviewed in 2024 saying that he was working on several projects that are still forthcoming. IMDb says that a Nightbreed television series is in the works. The post The Probabilities Archive: Clive Barker, Master of Horror and Fantasy, “Hellbound: Hellraiser II,” 1988 appeared first on KPFA.
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    1 hr and 40 mins