Michael Hardwick had no idea that when a police officer stood at his bedroom door on August 3, 1982, he would become a face of the gay rights movement. Arrested for sodomy, Hardwick sued for his right to privacy to the Supreme Court, even as the HIV/AIDS epidemic began to take its toll. When he lost, his era-defining case inspired a half-million people to protest, and the ruling became one of the most reviled of its time.

The Fantasies of Future Things is set in the rapidly changing landscape of Atlanta on the eve of the 1996 Olympics. On this episode of Narrative Edge, Peter and Orlando delve into this powerful debut novel, which tells the story of two Black men working for a real estate development firm that is responsible for uprooting the very communities they call home.

In this episode, Peter Biello and Orlando Montoya dive into Seven Islands of the Ocmulgee: River Stories by Gordon Johnston, a haunting collection of short stories set along Georgia’s Ocmulgee River. With themes of mystery, class, and transformation, the river becomes both setting and character in tales that linger long after they end.

LISTEN: In this episode of Narrative Edge, Peter and Orlando explore the Georgia story at the heart of Brad Snyder’s book You Can’t Kill a Man Because of the Books He Reads. The book follows Angelo Herndon, a Black labor activist arrested in Atlanta during the 1930s for possessing political literature. His case, rooted in Georgia law and courtroom drama, helped shape the national understanding of First Amendment rights.

In this episode, Peter Biello and Orlando Montoya dive into In the Rhododendrons: A Memoir with Appearances by Virginia Woolf by Heather Christle. The memoir blends personal trauma, family history, and literary obsession, as Christle explores her past through the lens of Virginia Woolf’s life and work. The hosts discuss Christle’s emotional journey, from revisiting the site of a childhood assault to breaking into the grounds of a historic house tied to Woolf’s novel Orlando. It’s a thoughtful, surprising read about healing, memory, and the power of art to make sense of pain.

Peter Biello and Orlando Montoya explore The Way You Want to Be Loved by Aruni Kashyap, a short story collection that tackles identity, displacement, and resilience. Through conversations about folklore, campus life, and queer love, the episode highlights how Kashyap’s writing confronts cultural blind spots with depth and sensitivity.

Pulitzer Prize-winning historian David Levering Lewis turns his lens inward in The Stained Glass Window, tracing his family's journey from slavery to the Great Migration and beyond. Hosts Peter Biello and Orlando Montoya explore how personal history and public record intertwine to reveal the deeper currents of the American story.

In this episode, Peter Biello and Orlando Montoya explore Love Sick Century, a poetry collection by Atlanta writer Elly Bookman that finds meaning in life’s everyday contrasts. Through poems that blend the personal and political, the hosts reflect on how Bookman’s work captures both the beauty and complexity of being human.