Writer's Voice with Francesca Rheannon Francesca Rheannon

Are child protection service (CPS) agencies doing more harm than good?







Join us for an in-depth conversation with sociologist Kelly Fong about her book, Investigating Families: Motherhood in the Shadow of Child Protective Services. We explore the inner workings of Child Protection Services (CPS), the impact on families, and the need for systemic change.







Plus, we replay a segment from our 2022 interview with Emi Nietfield, author of the memoir Acceptance, about overcoming childhood trauma and the foster care system.







And we recommend a new children’s book for Father’s Day!







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Key Words: Child Protective Services, CPS, child welfare, family separation, poverty, social inequality, family policy, Emi Nietfield, Kelly Fong, podcast, book podcast, author interview















Kelly Fong, Investigating Families Interview Highlights















* The disproportionate impact of CPS on low-income mothers and mothers of color







* The fear and destabilization caused by CPS investigations







* The vagueness of child abuse and neglect definitions







* The need for alternative approaches to child protection







* The importance of economic support and social infrastructure in preventing child maltreatment







* Personal stories from mothers impacted by CPS









About The Author







Kelly Fong teaches sociology at the University of California, Irvine. Investigating Families: Motherhood in the Shadow of Child Protective Services (Princeton University Press) is her first book.







Key Quote









“The challenges that families face are not limited to…clinical or therapeutic challenges. For the vast majority of families entangled in the system, the root of many of the needs that they have is poverty, is adversity.” — Kelly Fong















Emi Nietfield, ACCEPTANCE













In the Fall of 2022, we spoke with Emi Nietfield about her powerful memoir, Acceptance. It chronicles her struggles as a teenager and young adult to rise above the poverty and abuse she suffered as a child, despite a child protection system that was anything but protective of children. We play an extended excerpt from that conversation.







Listen to the full interview

























A Book for Father’s Day













Father’s Day is coming up and we have just the book to recommend: LIKE FATHER, LIKE SON.







It’s from the prolific, award-winning children’s book author,  Lesléa Newman, with charming illustrations by A.G. Ford. Featuring fathers who are strong in a gentle way, it’s a celebration of what fathers and sons do together — like cooking, camping and gardening. It also models what a good dad is like.

We talk with Abrahm Lustgarten about his book, On The Move: The Overheating Earth and the Uprooting of America. It’s about how climate chaos means a humanity on the move.







Then, we catch up with journalist and author Ross Barkan about his recent article in New York Magazine, “The Most Endangered Democrat in America: Jamaal Bowman might lose his job over Israel.”







Writers Voice— in depth conversation with writers of all genres, on the air since 2004.







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Key Words: climate migration, climate refugees, climate justice, Abrahm Lustgarten, On the Move book, Ross Barkan, Jamaal Bowman, George Latimer, Gaza ceasefire, New York primary















Climate Chaos Means Humanity on the Move













Guest: Abrahm Lustgarten, investigative reporter on climate change







Book: On the Move: The Overheating Earth and the Uprooting of America







Key Topics:









* Climate Migration: The massive displacement of populations due to climate change, both globally and within the United States.







* Human Habitability Niche: The ideal climate zone for human habitation is shifting, displacing billions.







* U.S. Impacts: Wildfires, floods, extreme heat, and droughts will reshape the country.







* Heat and Humidity: Rising temperatures and humidity levels will make parts of the U.S. uninhabitable.







* Sea Level Rise: Coastal communities are facing rapid land loss and increased flooding.Inequality: Climate change disproportionately affects poor communities and communities of color.







* Economic Impacts: Climate change will cause significant economic disruption, particularly in the southern U.S.







* Food Security: Agricultural yields are declining due to heat and water scarcity.







* Global Perspective: The impacts of climate migration will be far greater in the developing world.







* Loss and Damage: The U.S. and other wealthy nations have a responsibility to aid countries suffering from climate-related losses.







* Economic Opportunities: Addressing climate change can create economic benefits, but requires investment and policy changes.







* Solutions: Reducing emissions, investing in adaptation, and providing foreign aid are crucial steps.









Read an Excerpt from On The Move







Keywords: climate change, migration, displacement, heat, floods, drought, inequality, economics, food security, loss and damage, foreign aid, solutions







Additional Notes: Lustgarten’s book provides a detailed and personal look at the impacts of climate migration. The interview highlights the urgency of addressing climate change and the need for immediate action. The discussion emphasizes the interconnectedness of climate change, migration, and social justice issues.















The Most Endangered Democrat in America: Jamal Bowman’s Battle Against AIPAC







Congressmember Jamal Bowman of New York is facing a tough challenge in the upcoming June primary,

Was 2020 the year Americans finally lost faith in their government? We talk with Eric Klinenberg about his acclaimed new book, 2020: One City, Seven People, And The Year Everything Changed.







The book follows seven New Yorkers as they try to cope with the pandemic. Among them, a transit worker, a bar owner, a retired lawyer who organizes a mutual aid network and a Black Lives Matter protester. Their stories and those of the others illustrate how our leaders and institutions failed us — and how some citizens stepped into the breach.







Then, in February 2021 we spoke with journalist John Nichols about why President Biden’s bold plan for Covid relief was defeated by the Republicans, joined by a few centrist Dems. We listen back to that conversation.







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2020: Covid, Black Lives Matter, Culture Wars













2020 was a momentous year in our nation’s history. The worst pandemic in a century was raging. The country saw the largest protest movement ever, with people of all races uniting in support of Black Lives Matter. The economy plummeted and the government spent trillions trying to keep people afloat.







It was also the year that many Americans lost the last shred of faith they had in our institutions. Yet, you hardly hear anybody talking about what happened that year.







That’s why Eric Klinenberg’s book is so important. He follows seven New Yorkers whose experiences illuminate how Americans reckoned with 2020. The book vividly captures these stories, casting them against the backdrop of a high-stakes presidential election, a surge of misinformation, rising distrust, and raging protests.







Klinenberg’s book 2020 not only helps us reckon with what we lived through, but also with the challenges we face before the next crisis arrives.







About The Author







Eric Klinenberg is an American sociologist and a scholar of urban studies, culture, and media. He teaches Social Science at NYU and is Director of the Institute for Public Knowledge. In addition to 2020 Klinenberg is the author of several books, including Fighting For Air and Going Solo, both of which we spoke to him about on this show.







Listen to an audio excerpt from 2020

Larry Tye tells us about his new book, The Jazzmen: How Duke Ellington, Louis Armstrong, and Count Basie Transformed America. It’s a fresh look at three titans of the Jazz Age. Then, we re-air our 2020 interview with Larry Tye about his biography of Senator Joe McCarthy, Demagogue.







Writers Voice— in depth conversation with writers of all genres, on the air since 2004.







Find us on Facebook at Writers Voice with Francesca Rheannon, on Instagram @WritersVoicePodcast or find us on X/Twitter @WritersVoice.







Key words: Jazz Age, Larry Tye, Count Basie, Louis Armstrong, Satchmo, Duke Ellington, author interview, book podcast, podcast





















Titans of The Jazz Age







Among the greatest jazz musicians of all time were Duke Ellington, Louis Armstrong, and Count Basie. These titans of jazz, born within a few years of each other, rose from the depths of racial adversity to become global icons of music.







Today, we talk with biographer Larry Tye, bestselling author of Satchel and Bobby Kennedy, about his new book, The Jazzmen. It paints a sweeping portrait of this triumvirate of the Jazz Age, men who not only entertained the world but also broke through the barriers of segregation and violence with their artistry.







Ellington, a grandson of slaves, rose above the confines of his time, crafting music that defied categorization. Armstrong, emerging from a rough New Orleans neighborhood known as The Battlefield, began his musical journey with a humble tin horn at the age of seven. Count Basie, born to a coachman and a laundress, saw his future in the sounds of a traveling carnival, eventually paving his way to fame with a little help from Fats Waller.







Their legacy of challenging and overcoming racial boundaries opened America’s eyes to the power of their art, and, in some ways, set the stage for the civil rights movement.







Listen to an excerpt from The Jazz Men.







About The Author







Larry Tye is the author of numerous books, including biographies of Bobby Kennedy and Senator Joe McCarthy. Listen to our interviews with him about those books.

A bestselling novelist took a job at a big box store, was shocked by what she found, and decided to write a novel about it.







We talk with Adelle Waldman about her new novel, Help Wanted. It’s about what happens when a group of workers at a big box store scheme to get their overbearing manager promoted out of their department. Along the way, it reveals what work life is really like for millions of low wage workers in today’s economy.







Then, we remember novelist Paul Auster, who died on April 30 at the age of 77. We air our 2008 conversation with Auster about his novel, Man In The Dark.







Writers Voice— in depth conversation with writers of all genres, on the air since 2004. Find us on Facebook at Writers Voice with Francesca Rheannon, on Instagram @WritersVoicePodcast or find us on X/Twitter @WritersVoice.







Key Words: author interview, podcast, book podcast, author interview, Writer’s Voice, Francesca Rheannon, fiction, Adelle Waldman, Paul Auster















A Novel About The Real Lives of Low-wage Workers













Adelle Waldman always thought she would dedicate her writing career to penning fiction about the love affairs of the upper middle class, like her literary hero, Jane Austen. Her bestselling first novel, The Love Affairs of Nathaniel P., published in 2014, fit that mold.







But her new novel, Help Wanted, breaks it. Instead of skewering the absurdities of the Brooklyn literati, it shines a light on the odds low-wage workers are up against in today’s economy.







And those odds are daunting, as Waldman discovered when she took a job at a Target store to find out how those workers really live.







Despite the success of the Fight For Fifteen movement, which moved many major retailers like Walmart and Target to raise their hourly wage to $15 dollars an hour or even a few dollars more, real yearly wages are worse than they were 20 years ago. That’s because most non-management retail jobs are now part time without benefits.







Not only that, work hours are erratic, as corporate management fiddles with schedules to “maximize efficiency.” One week, a “Team Member” could be working 40 hours; the next week, 5, and on a different shift. It’s hard to plan, keep food on the table, pay rent or even manage a second job under those conditions.







With a richly drawn cast of characters, Waldman’s novel Help Wanted is a funny, moving tale of ordinary people trying to make a living.















Remembering Paul Auster







by Writer’s Voice Host Francesca Rheannon













I opened the New York Times on May 1 to the headline: “Paul Auster, the Patron Saint of Literary Brooklyn, Dies at 77.”







I was immediately transported back to the dimly lit studio at WMUA 91.1 FM in Amherst, Massachusetts where, in 2008, I spoke with Auster via phone about his novel Man In The Dark. Writer’s Voice was only four years old then and I was thrilled to have scored an interview with an author the Times obit called “one of the signature New York writers of his generation.”







After 9/11, Paul Auster said that “writing is no longer a matter of free will for him–it’s a matter of survival.” Man In The Dark deals with issues of survival in a post 9/11 America — the survival of ...

We talk with Greg Wrenn about his book Mothership: A Memoir of Wonder and Crisis. It’s about healing the maladaptive imprinting of childhood trauma with Nature — and psychedelics.







Then, a climate journalist tries a new tack to craft a narrative about the climate emergency. We talk with Elizabeth Kolbert about her illustrated alphabet book, H Is For Hope: Climate Change From A To Z.







Writers Voice— in depth conversation with writers of all genres, on the air since 2004.







Find us on Facebook at Writers Voice with Francesca Rheannon, on Instagram @WritersVoicePodcast or find us on X/Twitter @WritersVoice.







Key Words: author interview, memoir, podcast, book podcast, author interview, Writer’s Voice, Francesca Rheannon, climate change, climate crisis, ayahuasca, Greg Wrenn, Elizabeth Kolbert















Greg Wrenn’s Journey of Healing













When Greg Wrenn was growing up, he loved to snorkel in the Florida coral reefs. They were still beautiful, but already threatened from pollution.







Threat was also something Wrenn experienced nearly every day of his life. As a child, he was the victim of emotional and physical abuse that deeply scarred him.







His love of Nature led Wrenn to become an environmental educator teaching writing about the environment to college students. But the complex PTSD resulting from his childhood trauma crippled his relationships and his sense of self.







Then, Nature provided him with a cure — in this case in the form of the psychedelic preparation, ayahuasca.







Bringing together the personal and transpersonal, Wrenn’s memoir Mothership charts his journey from trauma to healing. It’s an eloquent testament to how connecting to Nature can make us whole, not only as individuals but as members of our planetary community.















Elizabeth Kolbert Talks Climate From A to Z













There are 26 letters in the alphabet. That fact gives Elizabeth Kolbert 26 ways to talk about the climate emergency, possible solutions and obstacles to deploying them.







In her new book, H Is For Hope, Kolbert tells a nuanced story, one that holds the truth of fierce hope and daunting challenges in the same embrace.







Beautifully illustrated by Wesley Allsbrook, H Is For Hope is a complicated story told with elegant simplicity. This alphabet book for grownups is an innovative way to teach about the most existential threat we face with charm, humor and accessablity.







Kolbert has been a guest on Writer’s Voice stretching back to 2008, when we first interviewed her about her New Yorker article about the world’s first wind farm to provide 100% renewable energy to its community, “The Island In The Wind.” We spoke with her also about her books, The Sixth Extinction and Under A White Sky.







Read An Excerpt