“ Be a better person.” David, Torie and journalist Kate Andersen Brower try to make sense of what’s happening in Washington.   Kate’s best sellers, including The Residence, First Women, First in Line and Team of Five take us inside 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue in happier times.   Chatter alum and NYT best selling author Joe Drape returns.   Not with race horses this time but with an inspirational war hero, a behind the scenes look at the Church and an authentic address of his own spiritual journey.

Chatter on Books

Joe Drape – The Saint Makers: Inside the Catholic Church and How a War Hero Inspired a Journey of Faith

“What am I talking about?” 2021 is off to a flying start!   David Aldridge and Lorraine Voles join Torie and featured author (and Pulitzer Prize winner) Connie Schultz.  They talk new year’s resolutions (we’re for and against them).   Connie crushes the pop quiz on books that changed the lives of famous people.   We love Walter Tevis (he wrote Queen’s Gambit, The Hustler and more) and didn’t know it.   Connie shares her “…voice for the underdog and unprivileged.”   Her novel “The Daughters of Erietown” compellingly shares the hopes and dreams and heartaches of one very real family.

Connie Schultz: The Daughters of Erietown

“Internet Sensation“ Chatter winds up the craziest of years with one of the pandemic’s best stories. David, Torie and Washington Post Book Critic Ron Charles debate the latest Woods to stun the golf world.  Ron breaks down highs and lows of books and authors in 2020.  UK broadcaster Andrew Cotter stays up late to share the back stories of Olive and Mabel, his spectacular Labrador Retrievers who charmed the internet during a very dark 2020.

Andrew Cotter - Olive, Mabel and Me: Life and Adventures with Two Very Good Dogs

 “Respect” Chatter rolls on with David, Torie and Jamie McIntyre.  Listeners gang up on Torie’s Steelers love.  Jamie gives a heads up on national security challenges that lie ahead.   Award winning author Bill Buford takes us deep inside formidable French kitchens.  They’re filled with endless hours, rigeur and a shared passion for great culinary culture.  Not to mention flying pots and artichokes.   Deserted Island is everyone’s “last meal.” 

Bill Buford – Dirt: Adventures in Lyon as a Chef in Training, Father and Sleuth Looking for the Secret of French Cooking

“The alchemy we bring together…” If you can’t go home, go Zoom.  Chatter goes live with Susan Hans O’Connor of The Penguin Bookshop and two of Pittsburgh”s  best – Yona Harvey and Deesha Philyaw.  Torie gets David to admit his love for the three rivers.  Going strong for 90 years, The Penguin keeps selling since 1929. Yona Harvey moves easily from Marvel comics to stunning poetry.  Finalist for the National Book Award, Deesha Philyaw’s The Secret Lives of Church Ladies breaks through with stories of love and family and faith when they’re needed most.

Yona Harvey, Deesha Philyaw and The Penguin Bookshop You Don’t Have to Go to Mars for Love and Secret Lives of Church Ladies

 “Sappy is okay“ It’s Chatter’s Annual Turkey Palooza show – sort of about books.   COB alum Nevin Martell joins David and Torie.  They talk presidential memoirs, Dolly Parton love and Chatter reflected glory.  And they talk turkey, of course, what makes a good cookbook and answering the question everyone asks:  whatever happened to Michael’s smelly turkey? Books for which we’re thankful take center stage in Deserted Island. 

Nevin Martell: Red Truck, Founding Farmers, writer, photographer, Dad and more!

 “....where the moles are.”  Chatter rocks with alums Louis Bayard and Hannah Depp Oliver of Loyalty Books joining David and Torie.   Tapped as a judge for this week’s National Book Awards, Hannah dishes but keeps the winner secret.  Speaking of secrets, award winning author and documentarian Chris Whipple Zooms in to talk about his latest – The Spymasters: How the CIA Directors Shape History and the Future.  He answers all the big questions.  Who succeeds/fails as Director?  How do they serve (or not) their Presidents? What’s the mission, anyhow?  Force for good or evil?  The gang closes with aspirational spy novels for Deserted Island.  And, of course, they talked Kennerly! 

Chris Whipple: The Spy Masters – How the CIA Directors Shape History and the Future

“With malice toward none…“ It’s election eve, and the watch word is context.   Mike Croley, Chatter alum and author of Any Other Places, returns as a panelist and to talk his latest work, Midland: Reports From Flyover Country.  The gang is horrified by anthropodermic bibliopegy and inspired by Oprah’s idea of “comfort books.”  Historian David S. Reynolds joins to share new and meaningful insights into the 16th President with his remarkable Abe: Abraham Lincoln in His Times.  Think you know everything about Lincoln?  Think again.

David S. Reynolds Abe: Abraham Lincoln in His Times

“Lawn darts!” Jamie McIntyre returns to Chatter to talk foreign hacking -- it’s more than elections.  On the lighter side, who knew Pat Conroy wrote a cookbook?   Matthew McConaughey’s memoir Greenlights gets a red light from the gang.   Jess Walter, author of NYT best seller Beautiful Ruins, joins Chatter to talk about his new book The Cold Millions.  Set in Spokane in the early 1900s, the intimate look at family, class, loss and hope eerily echos modern times.

Jess Walter – The Cold Millions

 “What do we excuse because of fear?” Noir thriller and Chatter alum E.A. Aymar (aka E.A. Barres) joins David and Torie to talk about his upcoming book They’re Gone. Email for David – he’s a popular guy.  October 19 is a big day in literature and focus of the pop quiz -- everyone wins.   Famous in Cedarville author Erica Wright comes back, too, this time with Snake, the addictive and deep dive into these “crawling contradictions.”  Phobias large and small take center stage in Deserted Island. 

Erica Wright - Snake

 "I wish I knew how to quit you  “  Outstanding journalists, podcast hosts and authors Jessica Luther and Kavitha Davidson join David and Torie. Kavitha wins the pop quiz (she knows her Truman Capote).  They debate the best of the worst in literature.  Kavitha and Jessica talk fans and the ethical/moral/legal issues that imbue just about every sport. 

Jessica Luther and Kavitha A. Davidson – Loving Sports When They Don’t Love You Back: Dilemmas of the Modern Fan

 “....the difference between a marriage and a fabulous first date.” Chatter alum Kathleen Barber joins David and Torie to talk babies and awards in the time of pandemics. Best selling author Barbara Kingsolver shares her thoughts on life, society and her latest work, How to Fly, a “can’t put down”  collection of poems covering everyday to universal. 

Barbara Kingsolver – How to Fly (In Ten Thousand Easy Lessons)

"My dad was an activist.“ RBG love flows on Chatter.   David, Liz Clarke and Torie share favorite stories about Ruth Bader Ginsburg. Liz updates on the WFT.   Torie gets her Steeltown girl on as Jim Rooney talks about his book “A Different Way to Win” that chronicles Dan Rooney’s life as NFL owner and diplomat.

Jim Rooney – A Different Way to Win: Dan Rooney’s Story From the Super Bowl to the Rooney Rule.

“The truth and how you know what it is.” Terrific special edition of Chatter on Books with David and Torie.  Legendary author and international best seller Ken Follett joins to talk about his craft, meticulous research and his latest -- The Evening and the Morning -- stunning prequel to Pillars of the Earth.

Ken Follett – The Evening and the Morning

This weekly podcast will be hosted by Torie Clarke with co-hosts David Aldridge, Jeanne McManus and Michael Kornheiser. Each week, they'll have entertaining interviews with authors, plus lively discussions about what they are reading, what they love and what they hate! This show will be many things, but boring won't be one of them!

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Chatter on Books

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