Best Alan Rifkin Podcasts (2024)

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S3 E13 - The Celebrity by Catherine Hein: Episode 12, Don't Spit On the Stars 1:07:22

1M ago1:07:22

1:07:22

Send us a text Using acting-school chops to conquer her deeply ingrained instinct to run away, Wanda finally phones for the directions to St. Jude's Hospital. But the flickering world at Sunset and Vine floods her with memories--from golden visits to the Hollywood Ranch Market, to the high-rise vistas behind casting couches where she used to fight …

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S3 E12 - The Celebrity by Catherine Hein: Episode 11, The Broken Clock 1:07:01

3M ago1:07:01

1:07:01

Send us a text Achieving a moment's peace between mind and body in the bathroom of June's trailer after the aborted three-way, Wanda staggers off toward a darker reality ...fully reassembled, although, yes, forgetting her horse ... But in the shelter of her own Daytalk dressing room, teen memory is rounding the corner from summer's sewing with the …

1
S3 E11 - Natalie Goss Reads and Discusses "The Playwright" 32:03

4M ago32:03

32:03

Send us a text This week's episode: "The Playwright,” a remarkable new short story by first-year talent Natalie Goss, about the subdued heart of a young Los Angeles theater reviewer-turned-dramatist who's losing the script. Goss is a Child Development and Family Studies major now contemplating a minor or possible double major in English. She dreams…

1
S3 E10 - The Celebrity by Catherine Hein: Episode 10, What If She Was Wrong About Everything? 1:11:38

6M ago1:11:38

1:11:38

Send us a text It's production as usual in Hotchkiss's office, despite the fact Sparks has landed in Good Samaritan, Wally Cleaver is sneaking cigarettes in fear of his dad, and Wanda's fixations lurch from suicide by graham crackers to the long-ago memory of a then-dark-haired actor at Sardi's (so she HAD slept with Chase McSteve!) to the sweaty t…

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S3 E9 - The Celebrity by Catherine Hein: Episode 9, Hotch's Hideaway 50:56

9M ago50:56

50:56

Send us a text Somehow surviving an equestrian gauntlet of obstacles capped by an AWOL 14-year-old Wally Cleaver (“Will you go out with me when I get my license?”), Wanda has finally managed to dial out and hear the terrifying news about her grandmother. But her stage presence is nearly shot when the rotund, legendary fright maestro who directed Th…

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S3 E8 - The Celebrity by Catherine Hein: Episode 8, Making the Beast with Six Legs 1:19:12

10M ago1:19:12

1:19:12

Send us a text This was nothing like being a lamp ray glued to the back of Chase McSteve. Still, the weird-looking horse seems safe, until an explosion on the set of Abilene sends both Wanda and panicked beast off course--close enough to the home of television's Cleaver family that she could practically raid the fridge, while no closer to a word fr…

1
S3 E7 - The Celebrity by Catherine Hein: Episode 7, Man, Woman, Food, Bird, Insanity 32:14

1y ago32:14

32:14

Send us a text "In a couple days, either this would all prove to be a huge comedy of errors, or nothing would ever be the same...." It's existential overload for Wanda, as sex life, pet care, family catastrophe and unanswered phones collide with an all-powerful tub of vanilla ice cream. In what one listener describes as "Once Upon a Time in Hollywo…

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S3 E6 - The Celebrity by Catherine Hein: Episode 6, "You're a Celebrity, Somebody Will Come Rescue You" 59:22

1y ago59:22

59:22

Send us a text [UPDATE TO LISTENERS: Recordings for Catherine Hein's The Celebrity are on pause for a few weeks while she gets through some health procedures and related tsuris. Wanda will be back! Correspondence and well wishes may be sent via info@alanrifkin.com. Thanks for your understanding.] This week: Some people are the type to jump on a mes…

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S3 E5 - The Celebrity, by Catherine Hein: Episode 5, "Do I Look to You Like Someone Who Can’t Hold on from Behind?" 43:59

1+ y ago43:59

43:59

Send us a text Half-buzzed from a night of more sex than rest with Howard the Ex, and done dirty by Dexatrim, Wanda is about to get even higher when the après le bain interview with Chase McSteve leads to deep kissing and a motorcycle date in the works. In what one listener describes as "Once Upon a Time in Hollywood" if it were written by a woman,…

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S3 E4 - The Celebrity, by Catherine Hein: Episode 4, "This Never Happened, Unless It Happens Again" 52:59

1+ y ago52:59

52:59

Send us a text Wanda's moonlit drive on Mulholland turns into a hillside sleep-it-off, causing her to miss a big production meeting; then Howard somehow gets a foot in her door on the eve of her location swim with Chase McSteve. In what one listener describes as "Once Upon a Time in Hollywood" if it were written by a woman, Catherine Hein's histori…

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S3 E3 - The Celebrity, by Catherine Hein: Episode 3, Wanda's Debut (or How It All Goes Wrong at the Tail O' the Cock) 38:47

1+ y ago38:47

38:47

Send us a text Wanda survives her first appearance on the new show, but careful what song you perform afterward with a broken heart. In what one listener describes as "Once Upon a Time in Hollywood" if it were written by a woman, Catherine Hein's historical novel of early '60s Hollywood traces the journey of Wanda Fleming, the tenacious, calamity-p…

1
S3 E2 - The Celebrity, by Catherine Hein: Episode 2, A Run-In with the Ex at Schwab's 59:27

1+ y ago59:27

59:27

Send us a text There goes Wanda's diet after encountering ex-boyfriend Howard on the eve of her Daytalk debut. Catherine Hein's historical novel of early '60s Hollywood traces the journey of Wanda Fleming, the tenacious, calamity-prone co-host fatale of TV's Daytalk in the spring of 1962. Called to her grandmother's funeral in Orange County, the he…

1
S3 E1 - The Celebrity, by Catherine Hein: Episode 1, The Party at Leonard Freeberg's 48:37

1+ y ago48:37

48:37

Send us a text Season 3's novel, THE CELEBRITY, by Catherine Hein, traces the Hollywood journey of Wanda Fleming, the tenacious, calamity-prone co-host fatale of TV's Daytalk in the spring of 1962. Called to her grandmother's funeral in Orange County, the heroine must face life without her closest ally, settle on one lover, conquer her eating disor…

1
Season 3 Trailer 3:35

1+ y ago3:35

3:35

Send us a text Season 3's original novel, THE CELEBRITY, by Catherine Hein, traces the Hollywood journey of Wanda Fleming, the tenacious, calamity-prone co-host fatale of TV's "Daytalk" in the spring of 1962. Called to her grandmother's funeral, the heroine must face life without her closest ally, settle on one lover, conquer her eating disorder, a…

1
S2 E19 - Lisa Cupolo Reads and Discusses "Whisper Screaming" 38:33

1+ y ago38:33

38:33

Send us a text For this Season 2 finale, Lisa Cupolo reads her story "Whisper Screaming," about a Long Beach mother and actor whose inner question won't let her go, then talks with Alan Rifkin about the ghostly buffalo of Catalina Island. Cupolo's debut volume, HAVE MERCY ON US, recently won the W.S. Porter Prize for short-story collections. Her wo…

1
S2 E18 - Richard Bausch Reads and Discusses PLAYHOUSE 1:01:15

1+ y ago1:01:15

1:01:15

Send us a text Richard Bausch (“A master of the novel as well as the story ” —Sven Birkerts, The New York Times) previews a chapter of his 13th novel, PLAYHOUSE, scheduled for release by Alfred A. Knopf on February 14, then talks with Alan Rifkin about the book and his craft. Bausch’s works have appeared in The Atlantic Monthly, Esquire, Harper’s, …

1
S2 E17 - Gary Commins Reads and Discusses "Priest and Victim" 54:26

2y ago54:26

54:26

Send us a text Retired Episcopal priest Gary Commins shares a new short story, "Priest and Victim," in which a pastoral meeting with a childhood rape victim turns over secrets both buried and not. Commins is the author of Spiritual People, Radical Lives as well as Becoming Bridges: The Spirit and Practice of Diversity and If Only We Could See: Myst…

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S2 E16 - Fanny Koelbl Reads and Discusses "Le Weekend" 28:44

2y ago28:44

28:44

Send us a text Four-time TEXTE.WIEN https://texte.wien/ Junge Literatur competition finalist Fanny Koelbl reads and discusses her new story, “Le Weekend,” then talks with Alan Rifkin about the fathomless collusion between love, biology, and the willingness to drown. Koelbl has previously studied in Vienna and Paris.…

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S2 E15 - Cameron Gomez Reads and Discusses "Volcanoes, from Above: Oil on Canvas" 34:41

2y ago34:41

34:41

Send us a text Cameron Gomez reads his vision-filled but deeply human short story "Volcanoes, from Above: Oil on Canvas," then talks with Alan Rifkin about amusement parks out of season, risky career choices, and stories that decide not to be snarky and ironic. Gomez is a third-year English major at California State University, Long Beach, who drea…

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S2 E14 - Brooke Prado Reads and Discusses "The Hollow Book" 34:52

2y ago34:52

34:52

Send us a text Writer Brooke Prado reads her macabre, symbolically rich but never quite implausible modern parable, "The Hollow Book," developed this fall in an upper-division fiction workshop at California State University, Long Beach, then talks with Alan Rifkin about the perils of reading in the dark. Prado's work has been published in multiple …

1
S2 E13 - Rafael Zepeda Reads and Discusses DESPERADOS and "A Descent into Baja" 1:01:23

2y ago1:01:23

1:01:23

Send us a text Long Beach's Rafael Zepeda (Horse Medicine & Other Stories, The Yellow Ford of Texas, Can This Wolf Survive, Tao Driver), whose deadpan prose style across many books has earned praise from authors like Jim Harrison and Edward Field, reads from his 2012 novel Desperados and his narrative poem "A Descent into Baja," then chats with hos…

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S2 E12 - Sunland, Episode 12, by Charlie Haas 38:50

2y ago38:50

38:50

Send us a text The finale of SUNLAND, by screenwriter, journalist and novelist Charlie Haas, about the brief desert flowering of a group of German artists, musicians, and free spirits who voyage to Southern California, “the America of America,” in 1914 to start the world over. They’re fleeing cops, city life, sexual norms, the oncoming world war, a…

1
S2 E11 - Sunland, Episode 11, by Charlie Haas 58:22

2y ago58:22

58:22

Send us a text Episode 11 of SUNLAND, by screenwriter, journalist and novelist Charlie Haas, about the brief desert flowering of a group of German artists, musicians, and free spirits who voyage to Southern California, “the America of America,” in 1914 to start the world over. They’re fleeing cops, city life, sexual norms, the oncoming world war, a…

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S2 E10 - Sunland, Episode 10, by Charlie Haas 41:49

2y ago41:49

41:49

Send us a text Episode 10 of SUNLAND, by screenwriter, journalist and novelist Charlie Haas, about the brief desert flowering of a group of German artists, musicians, and free spirits who voyage to Southern California, “the America of America,” in 1914 to start the world over. They’re fleeing cops, city life, sexual norms, the oncoming world war, a…

1
S2 E9 - Sunland, Episode 9, by Charlie Haas 39:19

2y ago39:19

39:19

Send us a text Episode 9 of SUNLAND, by screenwriter, journalist and novelist Charlie Haas, about the brief desert flowering of a group of German artists, musicians, and free spirits who voyage to Southern California, “the America of America,” in 1914 to start the world over. They’re fleeing cops, city life, sexual norms, the oncoming world war, an…

1
S2 E8 - Sunland, Episode 8, by Charlie Haas 48:30

2y ago48:30

48:30

Send us a text Episode 8 of SUNLAND, by screenwriter, journalist and novelist Charlie Haas, about the brief desert flowering of a group of German artists, musicians, and free spirits who voyage to Southern California, “the America of America,” in 1914 to start the world over. They’re fleeing cops, city life, sexual norms, the oncoming world war, an…

1
S2 E7 - Sunland, Episode 7, by Charlie Haas 48:06

2y ago48:06

48:06

Send us a text Episode 7 of SUNLAND, by screenwriter, journalist and novelist Charlie Haas, about the brief desert flowering of a group of German artists, musicians, and free spirits who voyage to Southern California, “the America of America,” in 1914 to start the world over. They’re fleeing cops, city life, sexual norms, the oncoming world war, an…

1
S2 E6 - Sunland, Episode 6, by Charlie Haas 1:00:36

2y ago1:00:36

1:00:36

Send us a text Episode 6 of SUNLAND, by screenwriter, journalist and novelist Charlie Haas, about the brief desert flowering of a group of German artists, musicians, and free spirits who voyage to Southern California, “the America of America,” in 1914 to start the world over. They’re fleeing cops, city life, sexual norms, the oncoming world war, an…

1
S2 E5 - Sunland, Episode 5, by Charlie Haas 33:26

2y ago33:26

33:26

Send us a text Episode 5 of SUNLAND, by screenwriter, journalist and novelist Charlie Haas, about the brief desert flowering of a group of German artists, musicians, and free spirits who voyage to Southern California, “the America of America,” in 1914 to start the world over. They’re fleeing cops, city life, sexual norms, the oncoming world war, an…

1
S2 E4 - Sunland, Episode 4, by Charlie Haas 50:30

2y ago50:30

50:30

Send us a text Episode 4 of SUNLAND, by screenwriter, journalist and novelist Charlie Haas, about the brief desert flowering of a group of German artists, musicians, and free spirits who voyage to Southern California, “the America of America,” in 1914 to start the world over. They’re fleeing cops, city life, sexual norms, the oncoming world war, an…

1
S2 E3 - Sunland, Episode 3, by Charlie Haas 55:02

2y ago55:02

55:02

Send us a text Episode 3 of SUNLAND, by screenwriter, journalist and novelist Charlie Haas, about the brief desert flowering of a group of German artists, musicians, and free spirits who voyage to Southern California, “the America of America,” in 1914 to start the world over. They’re fleeing cops, city life, sexual norms, the oncoming world war, an…

1
S2 E2 - Sunland, Episode 2, by Charlie Haas 47:09

2y ago47:09

47:09

Send us a text Episode 2 of SUNLAND, by screenwriter, journalist and novelist Charlie Haas, about the brief desert flowering of a group of German artists, musicians, and free spirits who voyage to Southern California, “the America of America,” in 1914 to start the world over. They’re fleeing cops, city life, sexual norms, the oncoming world war, an…

1
S2 E1 - Sunland, Episode 1, by Charlie Haas 38:29

2y ago38:29

38:29

Send us a text Season 2's original novel, titled SUNLAND, by screenwriter, journalist and novelist Charlie Haas, unfolds the brief desert flowering of a group of German artists, musicians, and free spirits who come to Southern California, “the America of America,” in 1914 to start the world over. They’re fleeing cops, city life, sexual norms, the o…

1
Season 2 Trailer 2:31

2+ y ago2:31

2:31

Send us a text Season 2's original novel, titled SUNLAND, by screenwriter, journalist and novelist Charlie Haas, unfolds the brief desert flowering of a group of German artists, musicians, and free spirits who come to Southern California, “the America of America,” in 1914 to start the world over. They’re fleeing cops, city life, sexual norms, the o…

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S1 E18 - Dina Villegas Reads and Discusses "The 100 Melodies of Dan Van" 36:42

2+ y ago36:42

36:42

Send us a text In this Season 1 finale, Dina Villegas reads and discusses her graceful, arresting, uplifting and disturbing ballad of ambition and imperfection, “The 100 Melodies of Dan Van,” which she developed in a lower-division fiction workshop at California State University, Long Beach. A first-year student majoring in Political Science, Ville…

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S1 E17 - Catherine Hein Reads and Discusses THE CELEBRITY 47:05

2+ y ago47:05

47:05

Send us a text Catherine Hein's former life took her from 20 years in the entertainment industry to two years in a homeless women's shelter. That's where Wanda Fleming--the tenacious, calamity-prone TV co-host fatale of Hein's historical novel, THE CELEBRITY--was born. Called to her grandmother's funeral in the spring of 1962, the novel's heroine m…

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S1 E16 - Joe Donnelly Reads and Discusses "Bonus Baby" 47:30

2+ y ago47:30

47:30

Send us a text As baseball season takes hold, award-winning journalist, writer and editor Joe Donnelly reads his short story “Bonus Baby,” which was selected for the O. Henry Prize Stories collection of 2016. Donnelly’s features, fiction and essays have appeared in such publications as the Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Review of Books, LA Weekly, …

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S1 E15 - Rich Ferguson Reads "The Los Angeles Book of the Dead" and Other Works 30:10

2+ y ago30:10

30:10

Send us a text State of California Beat Poet Laureate and novelist Rich Ferguson shares a playlist of his unique and prophetic LA works, each set to music and largely recorded during the Covid lockdown months of 2020-21. A winner in Opium Magazine’s Literary Death Match L.A., Ferguson has shared the stage with such poets and musicians as Patti Smit…

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S1 E14 - Meg Pokrass Reads and Discusses “Cash Register Tape” and “Her Own Music” 27:14

2+ y ago27:14

27:14

Send us a text Flash fiction author and editor Meg Pokrass presents a Los Angeles trilogy titled "Her Own Music" and a standalone story, "Cash Register Tape," set in the San Fernando Valley, then chats with host Alan Rifkin about low points that promise everything. Pokrass's work is featured in three Norton Anthologies of the flash fiction form, an…

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S1 E13 - Charlie Haas Reads and Discusses SUNLAND 1:07:19

2+ y ago1:07:19

1:07:19

Send us a text Novelist (THE ENTHUSIAST), screenwriter (OVER THE EDGE, TEX, GREMLINS 2, MATINEE), and feature writer (ESQUIRE, NEW YORKER, NEW WEST) Charlie Haas presents a sneak preview of his new novel, SUNLAND--about the brief desert flowering of a group of German artists, musicians, and free-love bohemians who voyage to Southern California, “th…

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S1 E12 - Double Parking at the St. Germain (reprise) 39:46

2+ y ago39:46

39:46

Send us a text Episode 12 of “The Drift That Follows Will Be Gradual,” a novel-in-stories that threads together a reporter's cherished past—1980s, Los Angeles—and his mentally ill millennial son’s determination to claim his own season in the sun. Part father-son drama, part roman a clef of a changing LA, the twelve linked episodes—bittersweet, some…

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S1 E11 - Museum of Art 24:39

2+ y ago24:39

24:39

Send us a text Episode 11 of “The Drift That Follows Will Be Gradual,” a novel-in-stories that threads together a reporter's cherished past—1980s, Los Angeles—and his mentally ill millennial son’s determination to claim his own season in the sun. Part father-son drama, part roman a clef of a changing LA, the twelve linked episodes—bittersweet, some…

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S1 E10 - There You Stood on Your Feather, Part III 29:14

2+ y ago29:14

29:14

Send us a text Episode 10 of “The Drift That Follows Will Be Gradual,” a novel-in-stories that threads together a reporter's cherished past—1980s, Los Angeles—and his mentally ill millennial son’s determination to claim his own season in the sun. Part father-son drama, part roman a clef of a changing LA, the twelve linked episodes—bittersweet, some…

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S1 E9 - There You Stood on Your Feather, Part II 1:01:12

2+ y ago1:01:12

1:01:12

Send us a text Episode 9 of “The Drift That Follows Will Be Gradual,” a novel-in-stories that threads together a reporter's cherished past—1980s, Los Angeles—and his mentally ill millennial son’s determination to claim his own season in the sun. Part father-son drama, part roman a clef of a changing LA, the twelve linked episodes—bittersweet, somet…

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S1 E8 - There You Stood on Your Feather, Part I 45:27

2+ y ago45:27

45:27

Send us a text Episode 8 of “The Drift That Follows Will Be Gradual,” a novel-in-stories that threads together a reporter's cherished past—1980s, Los Angeles—and his mentally ill millennial son’s determination to claim his own season in the sun. Part father-son drama, part roman a clef of a changing LA, the twelve linked episodes—bittersweet, somet…

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S1 E7 - The Drift That Follows Will Be Gradual 41:03

2+ y ago41:03

41:03

Send us a text Episode 7 of “The Drift That Follows Will Be Gradual,” a novel-in-stories that threads together a reporter's cherished past—1980s, Los Angeles—and his mentally ill millennial son’s determination to claim his own season in the sun. Part father-son drama, part roman a clef of a changing LA, the twelve linked episodes—bittersweet, somet…

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S1 E6 - The Chanteuse 51:22

2+ y ago51:22

51:22

Send us a text Episode 6 of “The Drift That Follows Will Be Gradual,” a novel in stories that threads together a magazine writer’s cherished past—1980s, Los Angeles—and his millennial son’s anguished determination to have his own season in the sun. Jeffrey Leviton is a fading romantic, twice divorced, redeemed by a real, if slightly grandiose, gift…

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S1 E5 - The Hopeful Twin Brother Wolf, Part II 35:25

2+ y ago35:25

35:25

Send us a text Episode 5 of “The Drift That Follows Will Be Gradual,” a novel-in-stories that threads together a reporter's cherished past—1980s, Los Angeles—and his mentally ill millennial son’s determination to claim his own season in the sun. Part father-son drama, part roman a clef of a changing LA, the twelve linked episodes—bittersweet, somet…

1
S1 E4 - The Hopeful Twin Brother Wolf, Part I 33:20

2+ y ago33:20

33:20

Send us a text Episode 4 of “The Drift That Follows Will Be Gradual,” a novel-in-stories that threads together a reporter's cherished past—1980s, Los Angeles—and his mentally ill millennial son’s determination to claim his own season in the sun. Part father-son drama, part roman a clef of a changing LA, the twelve linked episodes—bittersweet, somet…

1
S1 E3 - Zealots 44:16

2+ y ago44:16

44:16

Send us a text Part Three of “The Drift That Follows Will Be Gradual,” a novel-in-stories that threads together a reporter's cherished past—1980s, Los Angeles—and his mentally ill millennial son’s determination to claim his own season in the sun. Part father-son drama, part roman a clef of a changing LA, the twelve linked episodes—bittersweet, some…

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