Best Howard Altarescu Podcasts (2024)

1
Ep. #52 Jeffrey Gurock - Marty Glickman -The Life of an American Sports Legend 41:32

6M ago41:32

41:32

Jeffrey Gurock is the author of a great new comprehensive biography of the premier voice of New York sports from the 1940s through the 1990s. The book is Marty Glickman, The Life of an American Jewish Sports Legend. I loved the book and our podcast discussion. It's a sweet, sweet, bittersweet biography. Romania, the Bronx and Brooklyn, the example …

1
Ep. #51 Elizabeth Lesser: Broken Open/ Marrow/ Our Town / Tom Lake/ Omega Institute 40:58

7M ago40:58

40:58

Elizabeth Lesser discussed on my Podcast the founding of Omega Institute - internationally recognized for its wellness, spirituality, creativity, and social change workshops and conferences - as well her beautiful and inspiring books about finding protection and blessings in the broken moments of our lives; enjoying the passage of time; realizing w…

1
Ep. #50 Amy Shearn and Hannah Oberman-Breindel - To the Lighthouse 50:32

8M ago50:32

50:32

I enjoyed talking with Amy Shearn and Hannah Oberman-Breindel this summer when they were in the Artist-in-Residence writing program at Woodstock’s Byrdcliffe Arts Colony, and even more so on our recent podcast discussion of Virginia Woolf’s To The Lighthouse, which is considered to be one of the great literary masterpieces of the twentieth century.…

1
Ep. # 49 Carol Graham: Passion! In Park Slope, a “cozy” murder mystery 21:03

9M ago21:03

21:03

Our Woodstock friend Carol Graham recently told me that her new book was just about to be published. She said something like, “Howard, this is not like one of the big, great fiction books you read, this is a ‘cozy’“. I had no idea at the time what a “cozy” was. but I do now. British crime novelist and detective fiction writer, P. D. James has been …

1
Ep. #48 David Gordon commemorates Cormac McCarthy and The Road 30:50

9M ago30:50

30:50

On an Upper Byrdcliffe Road walk in Woodstock this past summer, I noted to my friends, Perry Beekman and David Gordon, the recent death of Robert Gottlieb, the most acclaimed book editor of the last 50+ years. I’ve previously mentioned on the podcast, Gottlieb’s really great memoir, Avid Reader.David noted that writer Cormac McCarthy had also then …

1
Ep. #47 An Ecotopia Conversation with Artist Kelly M O’Brien 42:45

10M ago42:45

42:45

1
Ep. #46 Steph Kent: Hamnet - A Novel of the Plague + The Call Me Ishmael Project 31:54

11M ago31:54

31:54

Steph Kent, co-founder, with her husband Logan Smalley, of the Call Me Ishmael project joined me to discuss Hamnet, by Maggie O’Farrell, the book I have recommended more than any other over the last few years. Hamnet is a work of fiction, but it’s based in part on certain core facts on which O’Farrell builds this beautiful, devastatingly sad story,…

1
Ep. #45 Tony Wolf: “Tales From The Wolf” 1:11:34

1y ago1:11:34

1:11:34

My friend Tony Wolf and I discussed “Tales From The Wolf”, Tony’s memoir about his years living in Greenpoint, and including a compilation of his New York Times “food cartoon” features, his superhero stories, a moving 9/11 tribute, and Trump era political cartoons. “Tales From The Wolf” can be purchased here. Tony is a cartoonist, an actor (includi…

1
Ep. #44: Erica Obey - The Brooklyn North Murder 32:19

1+ y ago32:19

32:19

Our discussion about Erica Obey’s mystery novel, the Brooklyn North Murder, turned into a discussion of The Typology of Detective Fiction, by Bulgarian-French historian, philosopher, and literary theorist Tzvetan Todorov, a discussion about AI bots, their invasion into the publishing industry, plagiarism charges, and what it means for a book to be …

1
Ep. #43: Tom Vartanian: The Unhackable Internet: How Rebuilding Cyberspace Can Build Real Security and Prevent Financial Collapse 49:24

1+ y ago49:24

49:24

Tom pulls no punches in his new book as he vividly and colorfully, and also convincingly, describes our cyber security vulnerabilities. As he explains, we are living on the razor’s edge between prosperity and devastation; the possibility of a digital Pearl Harbor, of a geopolitical D-day, of a technological and geopolitical tsunami, and of systemic…

1
Ep. #42: Katharine L. McKenna - The Paleontologist's Daughter 42:57

1+ y ago42:57

42:57

Carol and I recently attended a lovely dinner party hosted by Abigail Sturges and other supporters of the Woodstock Byrdcliffe Guild. On its website, the Guild describes itself as “a vibrant center for arts and crafts in the beautiful and unique rural community of Woodstock, New York, while preserving the historic and natural environment of one of …

1
Ep. #41: Alison Gaylin/ Wendy Corsi Staub - domestic psychological thrillers, etc. 19:13

1+ y ago19:13

19:13

My podcast guests are Alison Gaylin , a bestselling mystery writer who has been nominated for the Edgar Award four times, and has won the award in the category of Best Paperback Original for If I Die Tonight, and New York Times bestseller, and Wendy Corsi Staub, the award-winning author of more than ninety novels, best known for her psychological s…

1
Ep. #40: Todd Spire of Esopus Creel 45:34

2y ago45:34

45:34

Todd Spire is a licensed fly fishing guide and instructor, and is the owner of Esopus Creel, a company devoted to fly fishing in the Catskill Mountains, where he’s lived since 2008. Todd’s on the board of the local Trout Unlimited chapter, which helps to protect the Esopus Creek, which feeds into the Ashokan reservoir, which provides New York City …

1
Ep. #39: Jen Maxfield - More After the Break: A Reporter Returns to Ten Unforgettable News Stories 30:16

2y ago30:16

30:16

Jen Maxfield is an Emmy® Award winning correspondent for NBC 4 New York. She covers breaking news and general assignment stories in New Jersey, and is a fill-in anchor on all of NBC 4 New York’s newscasts.Jen has covered many of the Tri-State area’s most memorable and powerful stories throughout her long career. More After the Break describes her i…

1
Ep. #38: A Midsummer Night’s Dream: Discussion with the Woodstock Shakespeare Festival directors 53:48

2y ago53:48

53:48

Our friend Maxine Davidowitz recently introduced me to Hank Neimark, telling me that Hank was getting ready to work on the Summer 2022 Woodstock Shakespeare Festival production of A Midsummer Night’s Dream. After talking with Hank for just a short time, I asked if he would like to talk about the play on the podcast, and he agreed. At Hank’s suggest…

1
Ep. #37: L. Mark Weeks - Bottled Lightning; Moby Dick; the writing process; etc. 45:43

2y ago45:43

45:43

My guest for this episode is Mark Weeks, a friend and former colleague at Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe. Mark has practiced law at Orrick in New York and Tokyo for more than 30 years and after many years as a Partner and head of Orrick’s Tokyo office, Mark is now a Senior Counsel at the firm. Mark is also a world class, award winning, internationa…

1
Ep. #36: Trinh Q. Truong - The Sympathizer, by Viet Thanh Nguyen 37:10

2+ y ago37:10

37:10

My guest for this episode is Trinh Q. Truong. Trinh came to the U.S. from Vietnam with her mother about 20 years ago. During what we in the U.S. refer to as the Vietnam War, Trinh’s grandfather worked for the governments of the Republic of Vietnam and the United States doing intelligence work, mainly mapping the Ho Chi Minh Trail. Most of the rest …

1
Ep. #35: Tom Vartanian - 200 Years of American Financial Panics - Crashes, Recessions, Depressions, and the Technology That Will Change It All. 32:01

2+ y ago32:01

32:01

Tom Vartanian discusses his recent book, 200 Years of American Financial Panics - Crashes, Recessions, Depressions, and the Technology That Will Change It All. Tom is the former head of the financial institutions practice at two major law firms; the former General Counsel of the Federal Home Loan Bank Board and at the Federal Savings and Loan Insur…

1
Ep . #16 Kate McGloughlin - Requiem for Ashokan - The Story Told in Landscape 24:54

3y ago24:54

24:54

1
Ep. #34: Brian E. Denton - War and Peace (Tolstoy) 27:52

3y ago27:52

27:52

My guest for this episode is Brian E. Denton. Brian has been reading Tolstoy’s great novel War and Peace every year for the last ten years, one chapter a day, which results in a year long read of the 361 chapters. Brian has also produced an e-book titled “War and Peace and A Year of War and Peace”, which includes the full text of the novel as well …

1
Ep. # 33: Jim Finnegan (Again): Shuggie Bain, by Douglas Stuart; etc. 37:00

3y ago37:00

37:00

My friend Jim Finnegan (who was my guest on episode #3 of our podcast) discusses Shuggie Bain, by Douglas Stuart; a tough book but a great read. An unfortunate tale of growing up gay in working class poor Glascow with an alcoholic mother; anger, sadness, lack of hope, despair and dependence. Jim and I also discuss Milkman, Ironweed, The Vanishing H…

1
Evelyn Lerman - A Tribute. Discussing “A Dressmaker's Threads: The Life and The Legacy of My Russian Immigrant Mother"; and discussing the life and legacy of Evelyn as well 51:56

3+ y ago51:56

51:56

Special Edition (March 31, 2021) Our friend Evelyn Lerman wrote a loving biography titled “A Dressmaker's Threads: The Life and The Legacy of My Russian Immigrant Mother", which was published in 2013. In July 2018, I sat down with Evelyn in her cabin in Winslow Maine to discuss the biography she wrote about her mother. As you will hear, I use the e…

1
No. 31: Charlotte Cross - Reading to write, and novels about "marginalized characters" (The Brides of Dracula, etc.) 22:10

3+ y ago22:10

22:10

Charlotte Cross of Oxford, England is working on a tale of the “Brides of Dracula”, following in the footsteps of other novels that have given voice to “marginalized characters”, characters (usually women) who haven't been given the chance to speak in the originals. These others include The Silence of the Girls, by Pat Barker and Wide Sargasso Sea,…

1
Ep. #29: Andrew Wilcox - Richard Ravitz and Paul Volcker memoirs, Lewis’ The Fifth Risk, JFK, Nixon, and Lepore’s masterpiece, These Truths, A History of the United States 27:47

3+ y ago27:47

27:47

Andrew Wilcox discusses So Much to Do: A Full Life of Business, Politics, and Confronting Fiscal Crises, a memoir by Richard Ravitz, former head of the New York State Urban Development Corporation and of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority; Keeping At It, by former Federal Reserve Board Chairman Paul Volcker; The Fifth Risk by Michael Lewis; …

1
Ep #28: Andrew Rice - Ladies and Gentlemen, The Bronx is Burning 1977, Baseball, Politics, and the Battle for the Soul of a City 44:56

4y ago44:56

44:56

Andrew Rice discusses Jonathan Mahler's book, Ladies and Gentlemen, The Bronx is Burning 1977, Baseball, Politics, and the Battle for the Soul of a City, which includes stories of New York City in 1977, the mayoralty race, Cuomo, Koch (Bess Meyerson), Bella, Giuliani, Bloomberg, LaGuardia, The Daily News, The New York Post, New York Magazine, Murdo…

1
Ep #27: Rob Chesnut - Intentional Integrity - How Smart Companies Can Lead an Ethical Revolution— and Why That’s Good for All of Us 25:45

4y ago25:45

25:45

Rob Chesnut discusses his new book Intentional Integrity - How Smart Companies Can Lead an Ethical Revolution— and Why That’s Good for All of Us, and explains how intentional integrity and intentional inclusion make companies more attractive to employees and to customers, and make such companies out-performers as well.Rob began his journey in the U…

1
Ep. #26 Allen Guy Wilcox – A Gentleman in Moscow 24:56

4+ y ago24:56

24:56

1
Ep. #25: Camilla Calhoun - The White Moth 27:58

4+ y ago27:58

27:58

1
Ep. # 24: 2020 Book Club - Kendra Dodson Breitsprecher, owner/editor of Dayton Leader newspaper in Iowa, discusses bios written by Dem Pres. caucus candidates. 37:12

4+ y ago37:12

37:12

1
Ep. #23 Uli Beutter Cohen: Mona Eltahawy, Alexander Chee, Ocean Vuong, Erin Williams, Lauren Duca 22:37

4+ y ago22:37

22:37

1
Ep. #22 Subway Book Review: Uli Beutter Cohen 20:57

4+ y ago20:57

20:57

1
Ep. #21 Tracy Sidesinger - What My Mother and I Dont Talk About 28:43

4+ y ago28:43

28:43

Tracy Sidesinger, a clinical psychologist and psychoanalytic psychotherapist in New York City, discusses “What My Mother and I Don't Talk About: Fifteen Writers Break the Silence”, edited by Michele Filgate. (“Some of these essays are harrowing, some heartwarming, some — like a lot of mother-child relationships — a mix of both. All of them suggest,…

1
Ep. # 20 The Call Me Ishmael Project; Steph Kent and Logan Smalley 24:40

4+ y ago24:40

24:40

Call Me Ishmael is a New York City-based project that invites readers to call and leave a voicemail message about their favorite book. Thousands of readers have already called and over a million readers have listened to this library of stories. Steph Kent and Logan Smalley are the founders of the Call Me Ishmael project and they are privy to the re…

1
Ep. #19 Visiting Days, by Gretchen Primack 30:58

5y ago30:58

30:58

While visiting the Golden Notebook bookstore in Woodstock last summer, my daughter Melanie and I met and struck up a conversation with bookseller, author and poet, Gretchen Primack. It turns out that Gretchen is also an educator in a more formal sense. Gretchen has taught and/or administrated with prison education programs (mostly college) in maxim…

1
Ep. #18 Pride Month/ Stonewall 50: The Great Believers by Rebecca Makkai 32:56

5y ago32:56

32:56

In connection with the celebration by my law firm, @Orrick, of Pride Month and the commemoration of the 50th anniversary of the Stonewall riots, I discussed with Alvin Lee and Amy Pasacreta of Orrick The Great Believers, by Rebecca Makkai, which is a very moving, beautiful and at the same time devastating, award winning novel about the AIDs epidemi…

1
Ep. #17 Josh Raff discusses four sets of "paired" books, and more. 39:41

5y ago39:41

39:41

A discussion by a serious and thoughtful,reader of four sets of "paired" books - Song of a Captive Bird + The Age of Light/ Churchill & Orwell: The Fight for Freedom + East West Street: On the Origins of Crimes Against Humanity and Genocide/ Chefs, Drugs and Rock & Roll + Fasting and Feasting/ Golden Hill + His Bloody Project - and also Solitary; T…

1
Ep. #15 Sophie McManus: The Art of Time in Fiction 37:27

5y ago37:27

37:27

Sophie McManus (master's degree in fiction writing/ teaching writing at Sarah Lawrence College; author of critically acclaimed novel, The Unfortunates) discusses The Art of Time in Fiction by Joan Silber, and a variety of books written in Classic Time, Long Time, Slowed Time, Switchback Time and Fabulous Time.…

1
Ep. #14 Nick Lyons: Fly fishing and other lit.; flys, tiers; joy, intensity and solitude of fishing. 34:37

5y ago34:37

34:37

Nick Lyons is a lifelong fisherman and has also written 20 highly regarded books about his passion for the outdoors and fly fishing, has edited and published many more, and Nick also for 25 years wrote the Seasonable Angler column for “Fly Fisherman” magazine. Nick’s memoir, Spring Creek, is a love letter to a creek in Montana. In it, Nick writes t…

1
Ep. #13 Keith Grossman: Bad Blood, American Kingpin and Red Notice - “You Can’t Make This Stuff Up!” 33:27

5y ago33:27

33:27

Keith discusses three astounding and true tales, as well as internet privacy and manners, and audio books + Springsteen

1
Ep. #12 Alexis Coe on history, research and writing and the tale of Alice + Freda Forever 44:16

5+ y ago44:16

44:16

Alexis Coe discusses Alice + Freda Forever, the book, podcast and movie; also the research and writing process + her forthcoming bio of George Washington.

1
Ep. #11 Dylan Marron: Educated, by Tara Westover + Dylan’s “softness as strength”, etc. 37:04

5+ y ago37:04

37:04

Dylan Marron discusses “Educated”, the momentous memoir by Tara Westover + wielding softness as strength, empathy on the internet, online and offline personalities and reading audibly.

1
Ep. #10 Joe Polizzotto - Strout, Barry, etc. 25:58

5+ y ago25:58

25:58

Joe Polizzotto discusses the works of Elizabeth Strout, Sebastian Barry and other great novelist.

1
Ep. #9: Children’s Books . . . Follow-up to Youngna Park discussion 38:07

5+ y ago38:07

38:07

Parents of young children tell me what they are reading and, no surprise, it’s books they read to and with their children.

1
Ep. #8: Youngna Park on children’s books 37:16

5+ y ago37:16

37:16

Conversation with Youngna Park, Executive Director of Parenting at The New York Times - Children’s Books; what to read to your kids!

1
Ep. #7: Payton Turner - Women’s anger and, sometimes, rage 26:21

5+ y ago26:21

26:21

Payton discusses The Blazing World and Now My Heart is Full, and also her own experiences as an art student, and the meaningfully ways she has responded to anger and rage.

1
Ep. #6: Catskills Potpourri - Marty’s Mercantile 23:16

5+ y ago23:16

23:16

Conversations at Marty’s Mercantile in West Shokan - our geological beginnings, Of Mice and Men and Moby Dick, dystopian tales and sobering memories of war.

1
Ep. #5: Maya Prohovnik - Stephen King!, Detectives & Sci-fi 22:38

6y ago22:38

22:38

Maya Prohovnik - a Stephen King “Superfan”! + Detective tales and Maya’s “favorite book of all time”, Adrian Tchaikovsky’s sci-fi adventure tale, Children of Time.

1
Ep. #4: Reading for the words, with Emma Holland 27:24

6y ago27:24

27:24

Emma Holland discusses what she is reading as well as how she reads, highlights and rereads, her love for words, and also her favorite book in the last decade, Too Much and Not the Mood by Durga Chew-Bose.

1
Ep. #3: An impressive tour of 30 + books in about 35 minutes 1:13:55

6y ago1:13:55

1:13:55

Tell Me What You’re Reading #3: Jim Finnegan on a literary tour de force, from Haruki Murakami to Joe Ide, Jennifer Egan, Stephen King and many others

1
Ep.#2: Understanding the Nation & Finding Common Ground with Dr. Hardin Coleman 41:54

6y ago41:54

41:54

Dr. Hardin Coleman discusses the 11 distinct regions of the country and their particular political, social and emotional traits, President Grant’s pardon of the Confederate generals after the Civil War in order to preserve national unity and the need to find the right balance between acting locally and globally in order to have an impact on the iss…

Podcasts Worth a Listen

Howard Altarescu Podcasts

Podcasts Worth a Listen

Quick Reference Guide