Podcast appearances and mentions of Michael Connelly

American author of detective novels

  • 375PODCASTS
  • 862EPISODES
  • 42mAVG DURATION
  • 1EPISODE EVERY OTHER WEEK
  • Jun 15, 2026LATEST
Michael Connelly

POPULARITY

20192020202120222023202420252026

Categories



Best podcasts about Michael Connelly

Show all podcasts related to michael connelly

Latest podcast episodes about Michael Connelly

Fiction Old and New
Fiction Old and New to discuss The Proving Ground DB133660 by Michael Connelly. 06/05/2026

Fiction Old and New

Play Episode Listen Later Jun 15, 2026 57:19


My review The Proving Ground DB133660 by Michael Connelly brings back Mickey Haller in a fast moving, gripping, and suspenseful legal thriller that will not let you sit still as you experience this compelling drama. This time, Mickey has stepped away from criminal law and is now working in civil court. If you are already a fan of the  Lincoln Lawyer series, then you already know that these books deliver nonstop tension, sharp courtroom drama, and stories that feel current and real, almost as if they were pulled straight from today's headlines. If you are new to the series, you are in for a real treat because this novel easily stands on its own. From the very first page, the story pulls you into the courtroom and makes you feel as if you are sitting there watching the lawyers argue right in front of you. At the center of the case is Aaron Colton, a sixteen year old boy who spends most of his time alone in his room talking to an AI companion named Clair. Over time, Clair becomes the voice he trusts most. One morning, Aaron takes his father's gun to school and shoots his girlfriend, killing her instantly. The tragedy sets off a lawsuit that raises difficult questions and keeps the tension high from beginning to end. Carrying her grief to the point of tears, Brenda Randolph, the murdered girl's mother, hires Mickey Haller to sue Tidalwaiv Technologies, the company that created the chatbot. What makes her character especially interesting is that she is not interested in becoming rich from the lawsuit. She wants the company to publicly admit that the chatbot is defective and dangerous for children. Aaron's parents, Bruce and Trisha Colton, are also devastated by what happened to their son and believe the company should be held accountable for selling a harmful product. They want the company punished financially because they believe that is the only language a corporation that large will understand. In court, Mickey approaches the lawsuit like a battlefield, believing every case is a fight for survival. As the trial unfolds, he must convince the jury that the AI companion made Aaron believe that drastic actions were normal. Standing against him are the Mason brothers, the defense attorneys for Tidalwaiv Technologies. At first, they try to make the case disappear completely. When that fails, they delay the proceedings and later offer a large settlement to avoid trial. But once they begin to think they might actually win, they withdraw the offer and push forward aggressively. The legal arguments from both sides become increasingly fascinating as the trial moves forward. The defense insists that the chatbot never explicitly encouraged violence. Instead, they argue that it only suggested Aaron should find another girlfriend so he could move on from the relationship and be happy again. Mickey, however, argues that the AI companion manipulated the boy into believing harmful actions were justified. Judge Margaret Ruhlin stands between the two battling sides, keeping order in the courtroom. Her presence adds another layer of realism to the legal proceedings. Rikki Patel, a longtime Tidalwaiv Technologies employee, takes the stand and changes the entire feel of the trial. His explosive testimony raises the stakes dramatically and completely shifts the direction of the case. What makes The Proving Ground especially compelling is that it is about much more than winning or losing a lawsuit. The novel explores whether the law can keep pace with rapidly changing technology and asks difficult questions about accountability in a world where artificial intelligence is becoming more and more a part of everyday life. No matter what people think about AI today, it is here to stay. For our children and grandchildren, it will become as natural to talk to an AI companion as it once was for us to turn on the television and watch I Love Lucy. In this book, Michael Connelly once again proves why he remains one of the best writers of courtroom suspense. I highly recommend it to readers who enjoy legal drama.

Team Deakins
MICHAEL CONNELLY - Author

Team Deakins

Play Episode Listen Later Jun 10, 2026 59:26


SEASON 2 - EPISODE 197 Michael Connelly - Author In this episode of the Team Deakins Podcast, we speak with author Michael Connelly. Michael is best known for the Harry Bosch, Lincoln Lawyer, and Renée Ballard series, and many of his novels have been adapted for film and television. During our conversation, we learn what inspired Michael to become a crime novelist, how the character of Harry Bosch came together, and why he gravitated to television for adapting the bulk of his work for screens. Michael discusses his involvement in his shows, and we discuss the creative and practical decisions behind adapting some novels in the series over others. Michael also spent over a dozen years as a crime reporter in Florida and in Los Angeles, and he shares why he made the career decision and how it helped build the foundation for the crime stories he went on to write. As huge BOSCH fans, we were thrilled to be able to talk to Michael about his work. - Recommended Viewing: BOSCH

Geektown Radio - TV News, Interviews & UK TV Air Dates
Obsession, Spider-Noir, Tip Toe & PONIES | Geektown Radio Episode 499

Geektown Radio - TV News, Interviews & UK TV Air Dates

Play Episode Listen Later Jun 2, 2026 70:10


Dave is joined by Matt for Geektown Radio Episode 499, with this week's show led by chat about breakout horror film Obsession, the opening episodes of Spider-Noir, Russell T Davies drama Tip Toe, and spy series PONIES.Matt kicks things off with Obsession, which he calls one of the best films of 2026, praising its slow-burn setup, sharp horror concept and one scene that completely floored him. He also dives into Spider-Noir, with Nicolas Cage leading the live-action series, and talks about why the black-and-white presentation feels like the right way to watch it. There is also chat about finishing the 9-1-1 space episodes and a lot of love for Shrinking Season 3, which he reckons just keeps getting better.On Dave's side, he checks out the new James Bond game 007 First Light, which feels like playing through a Bond movie, and reviews PONIES, the Moscow-set 1970s spy drama starring Emilia Clarke and Haley Lu Richardson. He also talks about Tip Toe, Russell T Davies' new Channel 4 drama led by Alan Cumming and David Morrissey, the For All Mankind finale, and the Jack Ryan movie event on Prime Video.In the news section, they cover endings for Euphoria, Pointless Celebrities, Cold Water, Piglets and Emily in Paris, plus renewals for Daddy Issues, The Weakest Link, Balamory, Saint-Pierre and The Testaments. There is also chat about the Baywatch reboot heading to Sky, X-Men '97 Season 2 getting a July date, a new Grey's Anatomy spin-off, The Witcher 3's surprise third expansion, Doctor Who Christmas special rumours, Hudson & Rex bringing back Charlie Hudson, and David E. Kelley developing Michael Connelly's Welcome To Catalina for HBO Max.Plus, they round up what is coming to TV next week, including Allegiance Season 2, Clarkson's Farm Season 5, The Legend of Vox Machina Season 4, Will Trent Season 4, Cape Fear, Mock the Week, Alice and Steve, and Best Medicine.Listen now for horror, superheroes, spy drama, prestige TV, gaming chat and the usual Geektown mix of enthusiasm, side tangents and entertainment news.Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/geektown. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Poisoned Pen Podcast
Michael Connelly discusses Ironwood

Poisoned Pen Podcast

Play Episode Listen Later May 31, 2026 64:29


Barbara Peters and Patrick Millikinin conversation with Michael Connelly

Saturday Morning with Jack Tame
Catherine Raynes: Ironwood and The Bookshop of Buried Pasts

Saturday Morning with Jack Tame

Play Episode Listen Later May 23, 2026 3:46 Transcription Available


Ironwood by Michael Connelly Sworn to protect a scenic island meant to be far from the evils of the mainland, Detective Sergeant Stilwell can feel danger closing in. Stilwell knows that his posting on Catalina Island is no paradise, but to most residents, it seems blissfully separated—by twenty-two miles of ocean—from the troubles of Los Angeles County. But now a threat is coming to his safe haven. Acting on a tip from a confidential informant, Stilwell and his deputies watch a plane land in the middle of the night at the Airport in the Sky, a remote airstrip in the mountains. A duffel bag of drugs is dropped and the deputies move in, but things quickly go sideways. While Stilwell chases the fleeing pickup man into the mountainside brush, shots are fired on the runway and the plane flies off. An internal inquiry follows, putting Stilwell on the bench until he is cleared of responsibility for the disastrous operation. But he is determined to find out who brought deadly violence to his island, and begins his own secret investigation into the drug deal gone wrong. While under orders to remain in the sheriff's substation, he finds in the lost and found a valuable backpack that was never claimed. He traces it to a woman who disappeared while hiking on the island four years ago. But then why was the pack only turned in two months back? Now thoroughly intrigued, he follows the mystery all the way to the LAPD's Open-Unsolved Unit and Detective Renée Ballard. Stilwell and Ballard work the case from both sides of the channel, and soon realize they are on the trail of a criminal who revels in taunting the authorities. Meanwhile, frustrated at being shut out of an investigation on his own island, Stilwell risks his already shaky standing in the department to pursue a case whose reach is wider than he ever imagined. The Bookshop of Buried Pasts by Sarah Clutton Phyllida Banks is adored in the tiny village of Brookbank, nestled in the Southern Highlands outside Sydney. Admired for her curiosity and wisdom, her antiquarian bookshop is the hub of the community. So, when Phyllida is suddenly gone, leaving her granddaughter, Lottie, a letter requesting she 'Find Francis', friends and neighbours rally as Lottie grapples with her grandmother's inexplicable actions and her enigmatic past. Uncovering a fortune of unknown origin, Lottie discovers a trail that leads to Cambridgeshire, England, and another village bookshop with eerie similarities to their own. As the decades unravel, she stumbles upon the key to a mystery that has baffled police for fifty years. Several people have gone to great lengths to keep the past buried, and it seems Phyllida is at the heart of everything. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Kobo Writing Life Podcast
Kobo ReWriting Life - #35 - My Approach to Writing with Michael Connelly

Kobo Writing Life Podcast

Play Episode Listen Later May 19, 2026 53:57


Welcome to the Kobo ReWriting Life Podcast! Alongside your regularly scheduled Kobo Writing Life podcast episode releases, we will also be featuring some highlights from our backlist. In this episode, Kobo held a special event in downtown Toronto, and part of the event involved this live interview with author Michael Connelly, hosted by Johanna Schneller! Johanna Schneller interviewed Michael about his writing career, his journalism experience, his best-selling mystery series starring detective Harry Bosch, and much more. For more information, visit Michael's website.

toronto rewriting kobo michael connelly harry bosch kobo writing life johanna schneller
Strategy with Jason
Train Your Staff to Connect with Customers | Shift into Profit Podcast

Strategy with Jason

Play Episode Listen Later May 19, 2026 29:09


Gone are the days of "controlling" the customer. We must train our staff on a process that connects with customers. I had the opportunity to sit down with Michael Connelly and Dale Pattern from Wise F&I at Agent Summit 2026 for an incredibly insightful conversation on the training and process opportunities dealers are missing in F&I to increase their profitability in 2026. For more on Wise F&I, visit: https://www.wisefandi.com/ #dealership #automotive

Publixing - Slovenské a české audioknihy

Mickey Haller sa púšťa do svojej prvej občianskoprávnej žaloby a zastupuje matku zavraždeného dievčaťa. Vrahom stredoškoláčky je jej mladý priateľ - AI četbot ho zrejme naviedol, aby ju zastrelil. Podarí sa Hallerovi dokázať, že firma zaoberajúca sa umelou inteligenciou, ktorá četbota stvorila, vedela o jeho nástrahách a nebezpečnosti? Aby to Haller dosiahol, spojí s novinárom Jackom McEvoyom, ktorý chce o tomto súdnom procese napísať knihu. Haller však nedovolí aby sa Jack len prizeral a naplno ho zapojí do práce. Našťastie! Pretože McEvoyovo pátranie v situácii, kedy sú v stávke miliardy a tiež ľudské životy prinesie to najdôležitejšie - kľúčového svedka. Podarí sa technickým titánom napriek všetkému uniknúť zo slučky? „Bestsellerový autor Connelly vytvoril strhujúci ôsmy prípad pre advokáta Mickeyho Hallera... Connelly sa tu efektívne púšťa do aktuálnych tém, dotýka sa osamelosti dospievajúcich chlapcov a nebezpečenstiev umelej inteligencie, pričom nešetrí na dynamickom deji, pre ktorý je známy. Nováčikovia aj fanúšikovia série budú tento rýchly právnický thriller považovať za nesmierne uspokojivý.“ —Publishers Weekly „Aréna je najrelevantnejší a najpútavejší právnický thriller desaťročia a Michael Connelly opäť dokazuje, že nikto nedokáže zachytiť súdne drámy a balansovanie na hrane spravodlivosti tak ako on.“ —Ryan Steck, The Real Book Spy Audiokniha: Aréna Autor: Michael Connelly Interpret: Marek Koleno Dĺžka: 11:45 hod Vydavateľstvo: Publixing a Slovart Audiokniha Aréna na webe Publixing (MP3 na stiahnutie) Audiokniha Aréna na webe Audiolibrix (MP3 na stiahnutie)

The EO Business Podcast for APAC
Ep. 176 - Michael Connelly | The Truth About Nonprofits No One Talks About

The EO Business Podcast for APAC

Play Episode Listen Later Apr 29, 2026 46:06


Guest: Michael Connelly, Managing Director of CPR Group, EO Queensland Member since 2024Host: Linh Podetti, EO Sydney Member since 2022 and Owner of Outsourcing AngelWhat if the biggest problem with nonprofits… is how they think about money?In this episode of the EO Business Podcast, Linh Podetti sits down with Michael Connelly, Managing Director of CPR Group, to unpack the truth about nonprofit business models — and why so many purpose-driven organisations struggle to grow.Michael shares his journey from starting a music school as a young entrepreneur to helping thousands of nonprofits become stronger, more sustainable businesses. From governance and strategy to mindset and leadership, this conversation is packed with practical insights for anyone building a purpose-driven organisation.You'll also hear:  • Why “not for profit” doesn't mean you shouldn't make money  • The real reason nonprofits stay stuck in survival mode  • How to shift from doing everything yourself to true leadership  • The surprising human impact behind poorly run organisations  • Why Michael wants to “die with nothing in the tank”This episode is for entrepreneurs, leaders, and anyone who wants to build a business that creates real impact.ABOUT MICHAELMichael Connelly is the Managing Director of CPR Group and a specialist in helping not-for-profits become stronger, more sustainable businesses. With nearly 30 years of experience, he works with councils, universities, and community organisations to improve governance, strategy, and performance. Passionate about purpose-driven impact, Michael is known for challenging the misconception that nonprofits shouldn't make money, and for empowering leaders to think more entrepreneurially so they can better serve their communities.CONNECT WITH MICHAELWebsite: https://cprgroup.com.au/LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nfpmichael/Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nfpmichael/--------------------ABOUT EO Entrepreneur's Organization (EO) is a global business network of 18,000 + influential business owners in over 220 chapters across 76 countries. We offer world-class events that encompass engaging entrepreneur and business stories, skills-specific workshops, and exciting social gatherings.Our mission is to drive both business and personal growth through peer-to-peer learning, providing support for the holistic entrepreneur experience covering business, family, community, and personal aspects. As a not-for-profit organization, all our funds directly contribute to member benefits.If you're a business owner with revenues ranging from US$250k to US$1m, you can join our Accelerator Program. If your revenues exceed US$1m, you can join the main EO Program in your nearest local chapter. To join or find out more about your nearest chapter, visit https://www.eonetwork.org/why-join/apply-for-membership-form.For further information, please contact:Podcast Host Linh Podetti: linh@outsourcingangel.com.au General Inquiries: support@eonetwork.org.au EO Sydney: www.eosydney.com.au EO Global: https://hub.eonetwork.org/

How I Write
Michael Connelly: How to Write Unforgettable Characters | How I Write

How I Write

Play Episode Listen Later Mar 11, 2026 71:37


This episode is presented by Mercury, the banking platform that makes this show possible. I can't imagine trying to run my business without them. Learn more at https://mercury.com Michael Connelly is a crime novelist famous for series like 'Harry Bosch' and 'The Lincoln Lawyer'. Combined, his series have sold more than 100 million books, and they've become TV shows on Netflix, MGM, and Amazon Prime, where he's not just writing but is also the executive producer. His fingerprints are all over the work. I wanted to ask him how he dreams up vivid characters and how he writes about a city, a town, or a place. If you want to write, come up with stories, imagine worlds and put them onto the page, you're in the right place. About the host Hey! I'm David Perell and I'm a writer, teacher, and podcaster. I believe writing online is one of the biggest opportunities in the world today. For the first time in human history, everybody can freely share their ideas with a global audience. I seek to help as many people publish their writing online as possible. Follow me Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/how-i-write/id1700171470 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@DavidPerellChannel Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/2DjMSboniFAeGA8v9NpoPv X: https://x.com/david_perell Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Le Club Le Figaro Culture
Michael Connelly, Stephen King, Don Winslow : c'est qui le patron ?

Le Club Le Figaro Culture

Play Episode Listen Later Feb 19, 2026 53:46


Michael Connelly, Stephen King, Don Winslow : c'est qui le patron ? Retrouvez Le Club Le Figaro Culture présenté par Jean-Christophe Buisson. Il reçoit Philippe Blanchet, Julie Malaure, Bruno Corty et Alexandra Schwartzbrod.Hébergé par Ausha. Visitez ausha.co/politique-de-confidentialite pour plus d'informations.

Studio B - Lobpreisung und Verriss (Ein Literaturmagazin)

So hart gesellschaftliche Umbrüche für die direkt Betroffenen sind: Kämpfer, Bürger, Mitläufer, Täter, gibt es zusätzlich Kollateralgeschädigte, die wir nicht vergessen wollen: die Connaisseure der im Umbruch unvermeidlich untergehenden Kulturprodukte, der originären Kunst der überwundenen Verhältnisse. Hechelte man als Zoni Prä-89 noch jedem Hauch subversiven Kunstwerks hinterher: das nur im Westen erschienene Buch, der Film, der es gerade so durch die Zensur geschafft hatte und als kompromittiertes und meist ziemlich langweiliges Stück Zelluloid mit den immer gleichen Schauspielern deutlich braver war als erwartet, interessierte all das 1990 niemanden mehr. Dreißig Jahre später bekommt mich selbst ein guter Kundera kaum hinter dem Ofen hervor, sorry, Radim, zu viel Neues, Interessantes ist zu lesen, zu verstehen.Das gleiche Phänomen könnten wir nun, fünfunddreißig Jahre nach dem Mauerfall in den USA beobachten, wo aus einer fehlerhaften Demokratie ein waschechter Polizeistaat gemacht werden soll und keinen Redneck, keine Bluestate-Intellektuelle oder gar oppositionelle Politiker scheint es groß zu interessieren und wenn sie mal den Anschein erwecken, bleiben sie ratlos im Angesicht der Faschisten, als ob es keine Erfahrungen gäbe, wie mit solcherlei Vandalismus umzugehen sei.Das ist furchtbar für alle, die nicht weiß genug sind und von frisch angeheuerten Schergen der Ausländerbehörde ICE auf offener Straße entführt werden, furchtbar für die Angehörigen der Engagierten, die beim Versuch, das zu verhindern, erschossen oder schwer verletzt werden.Wie bekomme ich jetzt bloß die Kurve zur Kunst?Fangen wir noch mal an: War es das mit der liberalen Demokratie in den USA? Kommt jetzt der Polizeistaat von New Hampshire über Minnesota bis San Francisco? Und: war der nicht schon immer? Fing es nicht mit dem Sheriff an, damals, vor zweihundert Jahren, der den Bandenführer eigenhändig aufknüpfte, statt auf den Friedensrichter zu warten, der den Schänder am Ende freispricht? Und ließ zur selben Zeit nicht sein Kollege in den Südstaaten die Rollos runter, weil vor seinem Fenster der Plantagenbesitzer einen Sklaven teeren und federn ließ, weil sich seine Tochter in ihn verknallt hatte und die beiden abhaun wollten? “Was ist neu an Polizeiwillkür?”, kann man fragen.Neu ist die Haltung, vertreten von der amtierenden Regierung, dass das alles genau so in Ordnung war und gerne wieder so sein soll. Selbst im grimmigsten Western der die Geschehnisse verarbeitet, kommt am Ende der Friedensrichter und tadelt den Sheriff, damit der Zuschauer weiß, wo law her- und order hinkommt. Und 1861 wurde vom Norden ein ganzer Bürgerkrieg losgetreten, damit die Lynchjustiz im Süden ein Ende habe. Heute korrumpiert die Regierung die Justiz und erklärt zur Legende, dass es im Amerikanischen Bürgerkrieg um die Abschaffung der Sklaverei ging, erklärt stattdessen in Republikanischen Bundesstaaten eine Mindeheitenmeinung zum Curriculum, die versucht den Bürgerkrieg zum Kampf um die Rechte von Bundesstaaten zu machen.“Ok,” so die Frage, “wir sehen den Umbruch, aber was hat das mit der amerikanischen Kultur zu tun?”Die Antwort: “Rambo I - First Blood.”Der Vietnamrückkehrer Sylvester Stallone wird dort von einer Horde selbstgerechter Dorfbullen mit viel Munition und wenig Skill in Grund und Boden geschossen und es ist von Anfang an klar, auf wessen Seite man steht, wer der Gute ist, wer die Bösen sind. Und das wäre heute anders! Denn da bezeichnen Trump & Co. den auf offener Straße hingerichteten Krankenpfleger im Veteranenkrankenhaus, Alex Pretti, als Aufständigen, als Unruhestifter, als “would-be assassin“ gar. Nichts davon ist wahr. Die dummen Bullen aus Rambo I sind an der Macht. Das versaut den Filmgenuss, zu krass ist das Umkippen der Realität und kein Happy End in Sicht.Nun ist der Spin des ersten Rambo-Films - Hero: gut, Bullen: böse - ja eher ungewöhnlich. Normalerweise sind die FBI-Beamten clever, der Sheriff gutmütig mit Schmerbauch und großem Herz, und der Anwalt gewieft, wie er das Justizopfer raushaut. Aber, leider, auch so herum funktioniert die Kulturverlusttheorie: der ganze s**t ist vor dem Hintergrund von ICE-Konzentrationslagern und dem sinnlosen Erschießen von Bürgern einfach nicht mehr konsumierbar. Zumindest geht mir das so. Denn selbst wenn sich Kunstschaffende nicht dem Diktat der gesellschaftlichen Stimmung beugen (wie sie es im Allgemeinen wenigstens versuchen) und weiterhin die Heldenepen von Law und Order singen, die nötige kognitive Dissonanz, um das vergnügt zu konsumieren, kann ich nicht aufbringen.Ein paar Beispiele:Der letzte Reacher war nicht nur schlecht geschrieben, auch inhaltlich ist er nicht mehr haltbar. Wie kann man dem Buch die Story abnehmen, dass die Korruption im militärisch-industriellen Komplex durch den heldenhaften Einsatz moralisch aufrecht gehender Muskelpakete gestoppt werden kann, im Angesicht von Oracle, einem Privatunternehmen, das über die Jahre fast eine halbe Milliarde Dollar an die aktuelle Regierung spendete und im Gegenzug der US Air Force ihre Cloud verkauft? (Wer denkt, das sei ein Verlustgeschäft, hat das mit dem Technofeudalismus noch nicht verstanden.)Und selbst der letzte Michael Connelly, ein Lincoln Lawyer Thriller, der sich um die Verantwortlichkeit von AI Firmen für ihre Produkte und deren Konsequenzen kümmert und bei dem natürlich der gute Anwalt gewinnt, wirkt unglaubhaft, wenn sich die vorbildgebenden Firmen mit Millionenspenden an ihren Tanzbär passende Gesetze kaufen, die genau das im richtigen Leben verhindern. (Immerhin ist das Buch gut geschrieben und für ein solches Thema exzellent recherchiert).Gefühlt rutschen hier zwei Drittel der amerikanischen Popkultur in die Spalte “unlesbar”. Was bleibt da noch zu konsumieren? Vielleicht sowas:Oberflächlich nicht ganz so Fun wie ein brainless thriller von Lee Child wäre da zum Beispiel dieser Klassiker von Joseph Wambaugh: “Hollywood Station“. Erschienen in 2006, erzählt er als Episodenroman aus dem Alltag im titelgebenden Revier stationierter Streifenpolizisten. Das Ganze spielt Anfang der 2000er und die LAPD steht immer noch unter Beobachtung, nach den Misshandlungen Rodney Kings und den anschließenden Unruhen im Jahr 1992. Wir sagen zunächst “richtig so” und lernen sofort, dass nichts im Leben so eindeutig ist, wie man es auf dem Plenum, respektive am Tresen, postuliert, selbst hier in Germany. Die Lebensrealität so manchen Fußballfans jeglicher Vereinsaffilität ist das zustimmende Hochhalten der A.C.A.B.-Tapete samt obligatorischem Unvergessensgesang, um auf dem Weg vom Auswärtsspiel zum Bahnhof dann doch ganz froh zu sein, dass zwischen ihr und den Hansa-Idioten eine Hundertschaft steht. In dieser Hundertschaft steht dann so mancher gewaltbereite Neonazi, ein einzelnes schwarzes Schaf, keine Frage, absolut, das sagt ja auch die Polizeigewerkschaft, und neben dem faulen Apfel so mancher Idealist, der einfach der Fußballoma den unversehrten Nachhauseweg garantieren will. Dieses Spektrum, in letaler, erlebt die Los Angeleser Streifenpolizistin mit ihrem Partner in den seedy Hinterhöfen des Hollywood Boulevard und wir aufgeklärten Linksversifften müssen ein bisschen hart im Nehmen sein, wenn wir die Meinung der “boots on the ground” so ganz ungefilter zu lesen bekommen: Meinungen, nein: Urteile, man könnte fast sagen: Vorurteile, zu Minderheiten, zu Politikern, zu politischen Aktivistinnen, die wir glattweg als “rassistisch” abtun können, aber wenn die Meinungshabende dann vom schwarzen Pimp ein Auge ausgeschlagen bekommt und wir das alle haben kommen sehen, hinterfragen wir uns dann doch ein bisschen ergebnisoffener und exakt das ist es doch, was Literatur leisten soll. Ich als erklärter Todfeind der Kurzgeschichte bin natürlich gehandicapt ob der Struktur des Buches, aber da sich die Ministories am Ende zusammenfinden, ist das annehmbar. Es war die Zeit von “Smoke” und “Coffee and Cigarettes”, da konnte Joseph Wambaugh gar nicht anders.Deutlich neuer ist das (fast) Erstlingswerk des in den USA lebenden Tschechoslowaken Alexander Boldizar: “The man who saw seconds...”. Es ist noch nicht ins Deutsche übersetzt (er schreibt auf Englisch), aber das wird kommen, das Ding hat Preise gewonnen, es ist prädestiniert dafür, in einen erstklassigen Hollywoodthriller portiert zu werden und es ist frappierend aktuell, beginnt es doch mit einer klassischen Episode von Polizeiwillkür und endet in… man darf nicht spoilern, man darf nie spoilern, aber hier bei diesem Buch ist es noch verbotener als sonst. Nie wurde ein Buch geschrieben, welches von einem unrechtmäßigen Polizeistop in der New Yorker U-Bahn so exponentiell eskaliert. Man fragt sich alle Absätze, wie weit der S**t noch gehen soll, was denkt sich Boldizar als nächste Eskalationsstufe aus und man liegt immer daneben. Es ist ein “blast” in allen Wortsinnen und es ist, wie gesagt, hochaktuell.Hoffen wir, dass diese beiden Beispiele nicht die letzten einer untergegangenen Kultur sein werden. Ja, die, nennen wir sie: “Polizeikultur” in beiden Wortsinnen, als gelebte Handlung und als geschriebene Verarbeitung derselben, war nie frei von Dingen, die man kritisieren konnte, musste und vielleicht haben wir, und, wichtiger, die Amerikaner das nicht getan, was zweifellos zum heutigen Klima in den USA führt. Aber, sie war fun, sie war spannend, sie war interessant und man hatte als Europäer immer den bequemen Platz im Ohrensessel, von dem man aus sagen konnte “Ne... diese Amis, das könnte hier nie passieren!” und vielleicht nehmen wir die Ereignisse im beschriebenen und realen “Dort” zum Anlass, dass das “hier” auch so bleibt. Wenn der Preis dafür ist, dass man mal wieder ein anderes Genre lesen muss, bezahle ich den traurig grummelnd. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit lobundverriss.substack.com

united states hollywood man law film germany san francisco war story partner fun western minnesota coffee leben thema ice cloud weg erfahrungen smoke gef macht alltag grund skill new hampshire oracle seite anfang buch meinung beispiel herz sicht kunst platz nun neues kommt vielleicht sheriffs kultur stra dort realit selbst kampf einsatz verh curriculum preis dingen europ ding stimmung anlass hintergrund gute auge produkte drei haltung sylvester stallone meinungen cigarettes ereignisse beispiele ordnung klima nie deutsche struktur konsequenzen tochter versuch preise politiker norden us air force ausl demokratie abs klassiker lapd firmen zumindest pimp vorurteile literatur fenster regierung rechte westen zuschauer fing englisch nehmen neu betroffenen legende angeh allgemeinen gesetze oberfl rednecks buches amis geschehnisse drittel immerhin ausw handlung umbruch happy end anwalt das ganze beobachtung popkultur amerikaner korruption normalerweise reacher horde justiz ofen bahnhof kurve kollege politikern verarbeitung abschaffung hoffen apfel umbr zensur deutlich hauch munition urteile mauerfall angesicht schaf mitl sklaverei komplex minderheiten interessantes bullen unruhen idealist schauspielern sklaven lee child gegenzug anschein hollywood boulevard revier fangen kurzgeschichte michael connelly tapete diktat tresen aktivistinnen krankenpfleger erschienen vandalismus aufst faschisten bundesstaaten radim plenum verantwortlichkeit dissonanz kundera rollos hinterh kunstschaffende erstlingswerk spalte milliarde dollar erschie eskalationsstufe schergen nachhauseweg engagierten kunstwerks ohrensessel unruhestifter verlustgesch privatunternehmen lynchjustiz tanzb polizeistaat polizeiwillk connaisseure
Airtalk
How much do genetics play a role in longevity?, An interview with author Michael Connelly, and more

Airtalk

Play Episode Listen Later Feb 4, 2026 99:20


What do the Washington Post layoffs say for the rest of news media? (0:30) AMC theaters in Burbank were the highest-grossing in the nation last year (19:13) Aging through the eyes of motivation. How do we stay active? (37:32) How much do genetics play a role in longevity? Here’s what recent research tells us (51:53) Forty novels in, Michael Connelly keeps writing and we keep watching (1:06:54) What’s your favorite legal or legal-ish piece of television? (1:29:46) Visit www.preppi.com/LAist to receive a FREE Preppi Emergency Kit (with any purchase over $100) and be prepared for the next wildfire, earthquake or emergency

Anthony Metivier's Magnetic Memory Method Podcast
A Thriller That Teaches Memory: The Science Behind Vitamin X

Anthony Metivier's Magnetic Memory Method Podcast

Play Episode Listen Later Dec 28, 2025 55:15


Imagine for a second that Eckhart Tolle wasn't a spiritual teacher, but a deep cover operative with a gun to his head. And just for a second, pretend that Tolle’s Power of Now wasn't a way to find peace, but a survival mechanism used to slow down time when your reality is collapsing. And your memory has been utterly destroyed by forces beyond your control. Until a good friend helps you rebuild it from the ground up. These are the exact feelings and sense of positive transformation I tried to capture in a project I believe is critical for future autodidacts, polymaths and traditional learners: Vitamin X, a novel in which the world’s only blind memory champion helps a detective use memory techniques and eventually achieve enlightenment. It’s also a story about accomplishing big goals, even in a fast-paced and incredibly challenging world. In the Magnetic Memory Method community at large, we talk a lot about the habits of geniuses like Benjamin Franklin and Thomas Jefferson. We obsess over their reading lists and their daily routines because we want that same level of clarity and intellectual power. But there's a trap in studying genius that too many people fall into: Passivity. And helping people escape passive learning is one of several reasons I’ve studied the science behind a variety of fictional learning projects where stories have been tested as agents of change. Ready to learn more about Vitamin X and the various scientific findings I’ve uncovered in order to better help you learn? Let’s dive in! Defeating the Many Traps of Passive Learning We can read about how Lincoln sharpened his axe for hours before trying to cut down a single tree. And that's great. But something's still not quite right. To this day, tons of people nod their heads at that famous old story about Lincoln. Yet, they still never sharpen their own axes, let alone swing them. Likewise, people email me every day regarding something I've taught about focus, concentration or a particular mnemonic device. They know the techniques work, including under extreme pressure. But their minds still fracture the instant they're faced with distraction. As a result, they never wind up getting the memory improvement results I know they can achieve. So, as happy as I am with all the help my books like The Victorious Mind and SMARTER have helped create in this world, I’m fairly confident that those titles will be my final memory improvement textbooks. Instead, I am now focused on creating what you might call learning simulations. Enter Vitamin X, the Memory Detective Series & Teaching Through Immersion Because here's the thing: If I really want to teach you how to become a polymath, I can't just carry on producing yet another list of tips. I have to drop you into scenarios where you actually feel what it's like to use memory techniques. That's why I started the Memory Detective initiative. It began with a novel called Flyboy. It’s been well-received and now part two is out. And it’s as close to Eckhart Tolle meeting a Spy Thriller on LSD as I could possibly make it. Why? To teach through immersion. Except, it's not really about LSD. No, the second Memory Detective novel centers around a substance called Vitamin X. On the surface, it's a thriller about a detective named David Williams going deep undercover. In actuality, it's a cognitive training protocol disguised as a novel. But one built on a body of research that shows stories can change what people remember, believe, and do. And that's both the opportunity and the danger. To give you the memory science and learning research in one sentence: Stories are a delivery system. We see this delivery system at work in the massive success of Olly Richards’ StoryLearning books for language learners. Richards built his empire on the same mechanism Pimsleur utilized to great effect long before their famous audio recordings became the industry standard: using narrative to make raw data stick. However, a quick distinction is necessary. In the memory world, we often talk about the Story Method. This approach involves linking disparate pieces of information together in a chain using a simple narrative vignette (e.g., a giant cat eating a toaster to remember a grocery list). That is a powerful mnemonic tool, and you will see Detective Williams use short vignettes in the Memory Detective series. But Vitamin X is what I call ‘Magnetic Fiction.’ It's not a vignette. It's a macro-narrative designed to carry the weight of many memory techniques itself. It simulates the pressure required to forge the skill, showing you how and why to use the story method within a larger, immersive context. So with that in mind, let's unpack the topic of fiction and teaching a bit further. That way, you'll know more of what I have in mind for my readers. And perhaps you'll become interested in some memory science experiments I plan to run in the near future. Illustration of “Cafe Mnemonic,” a fun memory training location the Memory Detective David Williams wants to establish once he has enough funds. Fiction as a Teaching Technology: What the Research Says This intersection of story and memory isn't new territory for me. Long before I gave my popular TEDx Talk on memory or helped thousands of people through the Magnetic Memory Method Masterclass, live workshops and my books, I served as a Mercator award-winning Film Studies professor. In this role, I often analyzed and published material regarding how narratives shape our cognition. Actually, my research into the persuasion of memory goes back to my scholarly contribution to the anthology The Theme of Cultural Adaptation in American History, Literature and Film. In my chapter, “Cryptomnesia or Cryptomancy? Subconscious Adaptations of 9/11,” I examined specifically how cultural narratives influence memory formation, forgetting, and the subconscious acceptance of information. That academic background drives the thinking and the learning protocols baked into Vitamin X. As does the work of researchers who have studied narrative influence for decades. Throughout their scientific findings, one idea keeps reappearing in different forms: When a story pulls you in, you experience some kind of “transportation.” It can be that you find yourself deeply immersed in the life of a character. Or you find your palms sweating as your brain tricks you into believing you're undergoing some kind of existential threat. When such experiences happen, you stop processing information like you would an argument through critical thinking. Instead, you start processing the information in the story almost as if they were really happening. As a result, these kinds of transportation can change beliefs and intentions, sometimes without the reader noticing the change happening. That's why fiction has been used for: teaching therapy religion civic formation advertising propaganda Even many national anthems contain stories that create change, something I experienced recently when I became an Australian citizen. As I was telling John Michael Greer during our latest podcast recording, I impulsively took both the atheist and the religious oath and sang the anthem at the ceremony. All of these pieces contain stories and those stories changed how I think, feel and process the world. Another way of looking at story is summed up in this simple statement: All stories have the same basic mechanism. But many stories have wildly different ethics. My ethics: Teach memory improvement methods robustly. Protect the tradition. And help people think for themselves using the best available critical thinking tools. And story is one of them. 6 Key Research Insights on Educational Fiction Now, when it comes to the research that shows just how powerful story is, we can break it down into buckets. Some of the main categories of research on fiction for pedagogy include: 1) Narrative transportation and persuasion As these researchers explain in The Role of Transportation in the Persuasiveness of Public Narratives, transportation describes how absorbed a reader becomes in a story. Psychologists use transportation models to show how story immersion drives belief change. It works because vivid imagery paired with emotion and focused attention make story-consistent ideas easier to accept. This study of how narratives were used in helping people improve their health support the basic point: Narratives produce average shifts in attitudes, beliefs, intentions, and sometimes behavior. Of course, the exact effects vary by topic and the design of the scientific study in question. But the point remains that fiction doesn't merely entertain. It can also train and persuade. 2) Entertainment-Education (EE) EE involves deliberately embedding education into popular media, often with pro-social aims. In another health-based study, researchers found that EE can influence knowledge, attitudes, intentions, behavior, and self-efficacy. Researchers in Brazil have also used large-scale observational work on soap operas and social outcomes (like fertility). As this study demonstrates, mass narrative exposure can shape real-world behavior at scale within a population. Stories can alter norms, not just transfer facts from one mind to another. You’ll encounter this theme throughout Vitamin X, especially when Detective Williams tangles with protestors who hold beliefs he does not share, but seem to be taking over the world. 3) Narrative vs expository learning (a key warning) Here's the part most “educational fiction” ignores: Informative narratives often increase interest, but they don't automatically improve comprehension. As this study found, entertainment can actually cause readers to overestimate how well they understood the material. This is why “edutainment” often produces big problems: You can wind up feeling smarter because you enjoyed an experience. But just because you feel that way doesn't mean you gain a skill you can reliably use. That’s why I have some suggestions for you below about how to make sure Vitamin X actually helps you learn to use memory techniques better. 4) Seductive details (another warning) There's also the problem of effects created by what scientists call seductive details. Unlike the “luminous details” I discussed with Brad Kelly on his Madness and Method podcast, seductive details are interesting but irrelevant material. They typically distract attention and reduce learning of what actually matters. As a result, these details divert attention through interference and by adding working memory demands. The research I’ve read suggests that when story authors don't engineer their work with learning targets in mind, their efforts backfire. What was intended to help learners actually becomes a sabotage device. I've done my best to avoid sabotaging my own pedagogical efforts in the Memory Detective stories so far. That's why they include study guides and simulations of using the Memory Palace technique, linking and number mnemonics like the Major System. In the series finale, which is just entering the third draft now, the 00-99 PAO and Giordano Bruno's Statue technique are the learning targets I’ve set up for you. They are much harder, and that’s why even though there are inevitable seductive details throughout the Memory Detective series, the focus on memory techniques gets increasingly more advanced. My hope is that your focus and attention will be sharpened as a result. 5) Learning misinformation from fiction (the dark side) People don't just learn from fiction. They learn false facts from fiction too. In this study, researchers found that participants often treated story-embedded misinformation as if it were true knowledge. This is one reason using narrative as a teaching tool is so ethically loaded. It can bypass the mental posture we use for skepticism. 6) Narrative “correctives” (using story against misinformation) The good news is that narratives can also reduce misbelief. This study on “narrative correctives” found that stories can sometimes decrease false beliefs and misinformed intentions, though results are mixed. The key point is that story itself is neither “good” or “bad.” It's a tool for leverage, and this is one of the major themes I built into Vitamin X. My key concern is that people would confuse me with any of my characters. Rather, I was trying to create a portrait of our perilous world where many conflicts unfold every day. Some people use tools for bad, others for good, and even that binary can be difficult for people to agree upon. Pros & Cons of Teaching with Fiction Let’s start with the pros. Attention and completion: A good story can keep people engaged, which is a prerequisite for any learning to occur. The transportation model I cited above helps explain why. The Positive Side of Escapism Entering a simulation also creates escapism that is actually valuable. This is because fiction gives you “experience” without real-world consequences when it comes to facing judgment, ethics, identity, and pressure-handling. This is one reason why story has always been used for moral education, not just entertainment. However, I’ve also used story in my Memory Detective games, such as “The Velo Gang Murders.” Just because story was involved did not mean people did not face judgement. But it was lower than my experiments with “Magnetic Variety,” a non-narrative game I’ll be releasing in the future. Lower Reactance Stories can reduce counterarguing compared with overt persuasion, which can be useful for resistant audiences. In other words, you’re on your own in the narrative world. Worst case scenario, you’ll have a bone to pick with the author. This happened to me the other day when someone emailed to “complain” about how I sometimes discuss Sherlock Holmes. Fortunately, the exchange turned into a good-hearted debate, something I attribute to having story as the core foundation of our exchange. Compare this to Reddit discussions like this one, where discussing aspects of the techniques in a mostly abstract way leads to ad hominem attacks. Now for the cons: Propaganda Risk The same reduction in counterarguing and squabbling with groups that you experience when reading stories is exactly what makes narratives useful for manipulation. When you’re not discussing what you’re reading with others, you can wind up ruminating on certain ideas. This can lead to negative outcomes where people not only believe incorrect things. They sometimes act out negatively in the world. The Illusion of Understanding Informative narratives can produce high interest but weaker comprehension and inflated metacomprehension. I’ve certainly had this myself, thinking I understand various points in logic after reading Alice in Wonderland. In reality, I still needed to do a lot more study. And still need more. In fact, “understanding” is not a destination so much as it is a process. Misinformation Uptake People sometimes acquire false beliefs from stories and struggle to discount fiction as a source. We see this often in religion due to implicit memory. Darrel Ray has shown how this happens extensively in his book, The God Virus: How Religion Infects Our Lives and Culture. His book helped explain something that happened to me after I first started memorizing Sanskrit phrases and feeling the benefits of long-form meditation. For a brief period, implicit memory and the primacy effect made me start to consider that the religion I’d grown up with was in fact true and real. Luckily, I shook that temporary effect. But many others aren’t quite so lucky. And in case it isn’t obvious, I’ll point out that the Bible is not only packed with stories. Some of those stories contain mnemonic properties, something Eran Katz pointed out in his excellent book, Where Did Noah Park the Ark? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zhQlcMHhF3w The “Reefer Madness” Problem While working on Vitamin X, I thought often about Reefer Madness. In case you haven’t seen it, Reefer Madness began as an “educational” morality tale about cannabis. It's now famous largely because it's an over-the-top artifact of moral panic, an example of how fear-based fiction can be used to shape public belief under the guise of protection. I don’t want to make that mistake in my Memory Detective series. But there is a relationship because Vitamin X does tackle nootropics, a realm of substances for memory I am asked to comment on frequently. In this case, I'm not trying to protect people from nootropics, per se. But as I have regularly talked about over the years, tackling issues like brain fog by taking memory supplements or vitamins for memory is fraught with danger. And since fiction is one of the most efficient way to smuggle ideas past the mind's filters, I am trying to raise some critical thinking around supplementation for memory. But to do it in a way that's educational without trying to exploit anyone. I did my best to create the story so that you wind up thinking for yourself. What I'm doing differently with Vitamin X & the Memory Detective Series I'm not pretending fiction automatically teaches. I'm treating fiction as a delivery system for how various mnemonic methods work and as a kind of cheerleading mechanism that encourages you to engage in proper, deliberate practice. Practice of what? 1) Concentration meditation. Throughout the story, Detective Williams struggles to learn and embrace the memory-based meditation methods of his mentor, Jerome. You get to learn more about these as you read the story. 2) Memory Palaces as anchors for sanity, not party tricks. In the library sequence, Williams tries to launch a mnemonic “boomerang” into a Memory Palace while hallucinatory imagery floods the environment. Taking influence from the ancient mnemonist, Hugh of St. Victor, Noah's Ark becomes a mnemonic structure. Mnemonic images surge and help Detective Williams combat his PTSD. To make this concrete, I've utilized the illustrations within the book itself. Just as the ancients used paintings and architectural drawings to encode knowledge, the artwork in Vitamin X isn’t just decoration. During the live bootcamp I’m running to celebrate the launch, I show you how to treat the illustrations as ‘Painting Memory Palaces.’ This effectively turns the book in your hands into a functioning mnemonic device, allowing you to practice the method of loci on the page before you even step out into the real world. Then there’s the self-help element, which takes the form of how memory work can help restore sanity. A PTSD theme runs throughout the Memory Detective series for two deliberate reasons. First, Detective Williams is partly based on Nic Castle. He's a former police officer who found symptom relief for his PTSD from using memory techniques. He shared his story on this episode of the Magnetic Memory Method Podcast years ago. Second, Nic's anecdotal experience is backed up by research. And even if you don't have PTSD, the modern world is attacking many of us in ways that clearly create similar symptom-like issues far worse than the digital amnesia I've been warning about for years. We get mentally hijacked by feeds, anxiety loops, and synthetic urgency. We lose our grip on reality and wonder why we can't remember what we read five minutes ago. That's just one more reason I made memory techniques function as reality-tests inside Vitamin X. 3) The critical safeguard: I explicitly separate fiction from technique. In Flyboy's afterword, I put it plainly: The plot is fictional, but the memory techniques are real. And because they're real, they require study and practice. I believe this boundary matters because research shows how easily readers absorb false “facts” from fiction. 4) To help you practice, I included a study guide. At the end of both Flyboy and Vitamin X, there are study guides. In Vitamin X, you'll find a concrete method for creating a Mnemonic Calendar. This is not the world's most perfect memory technique. But it's helpful and a bit more advanced than a technique I learned from Jim Samuels many years ago. In his version, he had his clients divide the days of the week into a Memory Palace. For his senior citizens in particular, he had them divide the kitchen. So if they had to take a particular pill on Monday, they would imagine the pill as a giant moon in the sink. Using the method of loci, this location would always serve as their mnemonic station for Monday. In Vitamin X, the detective uses a number-shape system. Either way, these kinds of techniques for remembering schedules are the antidote to the “illusion of understanding” problem, provided that you put them to use. They can be very difficult to understand if you don't. Why My Magnetic Fiction Solves the “Hobbyist” Problem A lot of memory training fails for one reason: People treat it as a hobby. They “learn” techniques the way people “learn” guitar: By watching a few videos and buying a book. While the study material sits on a shelf or lost in a hard drive, the consumer winds up never rehearsing. Never putting any skill to the test. And as a result, never enjoying integration with the techniques. What fiction can do is create: emotional stakes situational context identity consistency (“this is what I do now”) and enough momentum to carry you into real practice That's the point of the simulation. You're not just reading about a detective and his mentor using Memory Palaces and other memory techniques. You're watching what happens when a mind uses a Memory Palace to stay oriented. And you can feel that urgency in your own nervous system while you read. That's the “cognitive gym” effect, I'm going for. It's also why I love this note from Andy, because it highlights the exact design target I'm going for: “I finished Flyboy last night. Great book! I thought it was eminently creative, working the memory lessons into a surprisingly intricate and entertaining crime mystery. Well done!” Or as the real-life Sherlock Holmes Ben Cardall put it the Memory Detective stories are: …rare pieces of fiction that encourages reflection in the reader. You don’t just get the drama, the tension and the excitement from the exploits of its characters. You also get a look at your own capabilities as though Anthony is able to make you hold a mirror up to yourself and think ‘what else am I capable of’? A Practical Way to Read These Novels for Memory Training If you want the benefits without the traps we've discussed today: Read Vitamin X for immersion first (let transportation do its job). Then read it again with a simple study goal. This re-reading strategy is important because study-goal framing will improve comprehension and reduce overconfidence. During this second read-through, actually use the Mnemonic Calendar. Then, test yourself by writing out what you remember from the story. If you make a mistake, don't judge yourself. Simply use analytical thinking to determine what went wrong and work out how you can improve. The Future: Learning Through Story is About to Intensify Here's the uncomfortable forecast: Even though I’m generally pro-AI for all kinds of outcomes and grateful for my discussions with Andrew Mayne about it (host of the OpenAI Podcast), AI could make the generation of personalized narratives that target your fears, identity, and desires trivial. That means there’s the risk that AI will also easily transform your beliefs. The same machinery that can create “education you can't stop reading” can also create persuasion you barely notice. Or, as Michael Connelly described in his novel, The Proving Ground, we might notice the effects of this persuasion far more than we’d like. My research on narrative persuasion and misinformation underscores why this potential outcome is not hypothetical. So the real question isn't “Should we teach with fiction?” The question is: Will we build fiction that creates personal agency… or engineer stories that steal it? My aim with Flyboy, Vitamin X and the series finale is simple and focused on optimizing your ability: to use story as a motivation engine to convert that motivation into deliberate practice to make a wide range of memory techniques feel as exciting for you as they are for me and to give your attention interesting tests in a world engineered to fragment it. If you want better memory, this is your challenge: Don't read Vitamin X for entertainment alone. Read it to see if you can hold on to reality while the world spins out of control. When you do, you'll be doing something far rarer than collecting tips. You'll be swinging the axe. A very sharp axe indeed. And best of all, your axe for learning and remembering more information at greater speed will be Magnetic.

Saturday Morning with Jack Tame
Michael Connelly: Author on his AI and his new Mickey Haller novel 'The Proving Ground'

Saturday Morning with Jack Tame

Play Episode Listen Later Nov 8, 2025 12:03 Transcription Available


An extremely prolific author, Michael Connelly has published more than 40 books. He's created in-depth universes surrounding well-known characters like Mickey Haller in the Lincoln Lawyer and Harry Bosch, who's appeared in 24 of Connelly's novels. His universes continue to grow with a new addition to the Lincoln Lawyer series, ‘The Proving Ground', which sees Haller team up with a journalist to take on big tech, AI, and uncover a whistleblower in hiding, all with billions on the line. Connelly professes to be a fan of technological innovation, exploring things like the internet, DNA analytics, and data storage in previous novels. “AI was kinda like, primed for me.” “For every great discovery and invention, and move forward with technology, there's always somebody out there who is looking to turn it against is,” Connelly told Jack Tame. “And there were a couple of cases that really caught my eye, that made me, you know, say, yeah I know AI is gonna change the world for the better, but are we moving too fast?” Every week there's some new development with AI, whether it's a new problem, a new use, or a new integration into an already existing platform. “The Proving Ground is an exploration of it,” he says. “I don't wanna say it's didactic, or tells anyone how to think, but it does, you know, maybe raise a flag and say, ‘take a look at this.'” LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Saturday Morning with Jack Tame
Full Show Podcast: 08 November 2025

Saturday Morning with Jack Tame

Play Episode Listen Later Nov 7, 2025 116:56 Transcription Available


On the Saturday Morning with Jack Tame Full Show Podcast for Saturday 8 November 2025, an author who is very familiar with bestseller lists, Michael Connelly joins Jack to discuss being an unofficial voice for Los Angeles, and how the devastating fires changed his perspective on the city and prompted him to start over for his new book ‘The Proving Ground'. Jack considers what makes a good meal, and how much a Michelin Star means. Strawberries are here and Nici Wickes shares her favourite way to serve them while the season is still early. Kevin Milne champions a humble tool: the clothes peg. Clinical psychologist Dougal Sutherland delves into a condition in which people are unable to see mental images. And music correspondent Chris Schulz is vibe checking live from Sydney as Oasis get ready to perform the final gig of their reunion world tour. Get the Saturday Morning with Jack Tame Full Show Podcast every Saturday on iHeartRadio, or wherever you get your podcasts. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Dedicated with Doug Brunt
Michael Connelly

Dedicated with Doug Brunt

Play Episode Listen Later Nov 4, 2025 46:41


Michael Connelly: Old Fashioned (2 1/2 ounces rye, bitters and sugar over large ice cube with cherry and orange peel) Michael Connelly describes his first meeting with Clint Eastwood who was playing piano throughout their discussion of an upcoming movie project, reveals the biggest difference between working with Netflix and Amazon, remembers the strange and unsolved crime he witnessed when only 16 years-old that that helped inspire him to become a crime novelist, names the novels and movies that most influenced him, offers a terrific piece of advice. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Quick Book Reviews
Alex Hay & Alison Barrow - book publicity & bridgerton/hustle fiction

Quick Book Reviews

Play Episode Listen Later Nov 3, 2025 55:37


I interview author Alex Hay and chat to PR Director Alison barrowYou can buy The Queen Of Fives by Alex Hay here: https://uk.bookshop.org/a/16356/9781035414338Books reviewed are :The Proving Ground by Michael Connelly To Love A Liar by L V MatthewsThe Girl Who Left by Jenn Blackhurst You can buy The Proving Ground by Michael Connelly here: https://uk.bookshop.org/a/16356/9781398719064You can buy To Love A Liar by L V Matthews here:https://uk.bookshop.org/a/16356/9781405974707You can contact Philippa at: Email quickbookreviews@outlook.comInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/quick_book_reviewsThreads: @quick_book_reviewsTikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@quickbookreviewsX: https://x.com/quickbookrevie3Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/quickbookreviews.bsky.social Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Running: A FEVER
RAF423: Probiotics

Running: A FEVER

Play Episode Listen Later Oct 1, 2025 7:01


Recently, I started hearing about probiotics. How I heard about them was through some advertisements, probably on YouTube or Amazon Prime. A particular actress, Maggie Q, was promoting them. Maggie Q is known for playing the lead role in the action/spy TV series Nikita. She's also currently playing LAPD detective Renee Ballard in the Amazon Prime series Ballard, based on the novels of Michael Connelly. Q founded a company called ActivatedYou. They sell a wide variety of supplements, many of which focus on digestive health, including at least two probiotic products. Read the full post at http://RunningAFEVER.com/423 Image by Alicia Harper https://pixabay.com/users/alicia_harper-16897639/?utm_source=link-attribution&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=image&utm_content=5308379  

Fascination Street
Titus Welliver - Actor (Bosch / Bosch: Legacy / Ballard / Deadwood)

Fascination Street

Play Episode Listen Later Sep 29, 2025 48:04


Titus WelliverTake a walk with me down Fascination Street as I get to know actor Titus Welliver. In this episode, we chat about his growing up with a father who was very well know and well respected in the academic & artist community, and how that led to Titus meeting some of the most influential people on the planet. Then we talk about the new television series he is working on called The Westies (MGM+) alongside J.K. Simmons, and others. Then we discuss his playing the title character of Bosch for ten years on the Amazon series Bosch & Bosch: Legacy, as well as reprising that role in Amazon's Ballard. Titus loves this character so much, that when the creator & writer Michael Connelly asked him to read the audiobooks, he jumped at the opportunity. Titus still voices the audiobooks to this day. Along the way, we talk about why Titus decided to study with ALL of the great acting teachers & playwrights of New York, why he has so many tattoos, and of course, the CADS. Titus is the third member of the Character Actors Dinner Society to appear on the show. The CADS is a group of character actors in Los Angeles that occasionally, and in various configurations, have dinner and tell stories to each other; as friends often do. Titus is also part of The Funky Homo Sapiens; a New York based group of likeminded individuals who do roughly that same thing on the East Coast. This episode is a ton of fun, and I can't wait to have Titus on for round 2. Keep your eyes peeled for Titus' new series The Westies on MGM+ sometime in 2026.

Authors on the Air Global Radio Network
Gene Koon—ANOTHER TRY

Authors on the Air Global Radio Network

Play Episode Listen Later Sep 9, 2025 18:51


Today in the interrogation chair, it's debut author Gene Koon with his book, ANOTHER TRY. Find out why Jeffery Deaver said, "I love this novel!" and why Michael Connelly called it, "Wonderful." Hear about Gene's work in The Hague working on the Slobodan Milošević trial and how he grew up with an airplane wing in his bedroom. Welcome, to The Dossier Podcast! genekoon.com | thewritersdossier.com | Voice credit: Hillary Huber

Publixing - Slovenské a české audioknihy

Harry Bosch je nielenže dávno na dôchodku, navyše ho čoraz väčšmi trápi zdravie. Jeho dcéra Maddie však usilovne pokračuje v otcových šľapajach a snaží sa vypracovať na detektívku LAPD. Začne pracovať na dvoch prípadoch s Renée Ballardovou. Získajú horúcu stopu DNA spojenia medzi nedávno zatknutým mužom a sériovým násilníkom a vrahom, ktorý sa odmlčal pred dvadsiatimi rokmi. Zatknutý muž má len dvadsaťštyri rokov, takže genetická súvislosť musí byť rodinná. Keď sa však Ballardová a jej tím presunú za podozrivým, narazia na mätúcu sieť tajomstiev a právnych prekážok. Stopy vedú do nebezpečne vysokých kruhov, a tak im Harryho skúsenosti a odvaha celkom isto ešte prídu vhod. „Nedá sa odložiť... prináša napätie takmer na prasknutie, zaručene poteší jeho fanúšikov. Patrí medzi Connellyho najlepšie knihy.“ — Publishers Weekly „...Čakanie je Michael Connelly vo svojej najlepšej forme, opäť potvrdzuje, prečo je nepopierateľným majstrom moderného kriminálneho románu.“ — The Real Book Spy „Verdikt: Meno Connelly na obálke je zárukou skvelého čítania; a ani táto novinka nie je výnimkou. Príbeh sleduje prípady metodicky a realisticky, postavy sa ďalej vyvíjajú.“ — Library Journal Audiokniha: Čakanie Autor: Michael Connelly Interpret: Zuzana Kyzeková Dĺžka: 12:40 h Vydavateľstvo: Publixing a Slovart Audiokniha Čakanie na webe Publixing (MP3 na stiahnutie) Audiokniha Čakanie na webe Audiolibrix (MP3 na stiahnutie)

#AmWriting
Writing Thrilling People & Places: Jess and Sarina talk with Tess Gerritsen

#AmWriting

Play Episode Listen Later Aug 22, 2025 44:31


Jess here! A while back, Sarina and KJ talked about how much they enjoyed Tess Gerritsen's novel, The Spy Coast, and Sarina reassured KJ she'd enjoy book two of the series even more. I had never read a Tess Gerritsen novel, and while I'd heard her name before and vaguely understood she wrote thrillers, I was starting from square one when I downloaded the audio version of The Spy Coast. Now, I'm not an international spy thriller kind of gal. In the abstract, I understand the allure of books like Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy or Six Days of the Condor. Spies! Intrigue! International [almost exclusively men] of mystery! But they have never really floated my proverbial boat. That said, I loved Tess Gerritsen's spies and the world they inhabit. There's a sense of place - nay, a downright LOVE of place - and a retiring, rural New England domesticity that spoke to this retiring, rural New England reader. Book two, The Summer Guests, is even more rooted in Maine, on its history and the social dynamics of its natives and its summer people. Once I tore through those first two books, I went back to Gerritsen's first book, The Surgeon, one of Time Magazine's top 100 thriller/mystery books of all time and the first in the Rizzoli & Isles series, consequently made into a long-running television series. Gerritsen has a fascinating career trajectory, lots to talk about regarding pantsing and plotting, where the ideas come from, and lots of other geeky details about the writing life. I hope you enjoy it as much as we did. Find Tess at Tessgerritsen.com, or on Bluesky, @TessGerritsen Transcript below!EPISODE 462 - TRANSCRIPTJennie NashHey everyone, it's Jennie Nash, founder and CEO of Author Accelerator, the company I started more than 10 years ago to lead the emerging book coaching industry. In October, we'll be enrolling a new cohort of certification students who will be going through programs in either fiction, nonfiction, or memoir, and learning the editorial, emotional, and entrepreneurial skills that you need to be a successful book coach. If you've been curious about book coaching and thinking that it might be something you want to do for your next career move, I'd love to teach you more about it, you can go to bookcoaches.com/waitlist to check out the free training I have—that's bookcoaches.com/waitlist. The training is all about how to make money, meaning, and joy out of serving writers. Fall is always a great time to start something new. So if you're feeling called to do this, go check out our training and see if this might be right for you. We'd love to have you join us.Multiple SpeakersIs it recording? Now it's recording, yay. Go ahead. This is the part where I stare blankly at the microphone. I don't remember what I'm supposed to be doing. All right, let's start over. Awkward pause. I'm going to rustle some papers. Okay, now—one, two, three.Jess LaheyHey, this is Jess Lahey, and this is the Hashtag AmWriting Podcast. This is the podcast about writing all the things—short things, long things, poetry, prose, narrative nonfiction, fiction, creative nonfiction, queries, proposals. This is the podcast about writing all the things. More than anything else, this is the podcast about the writing life and about getting the work done. I am Jess Lahey. I'm the author of The Gift of Failure and The Addiction Inoculation. And you can find my journalism at The Atlantic and The Washington Post, and my bi-weekly (formerly bi-weekly) column at The New York Times, The Parent-Teacher Conference, ran for about three years I am joined today by Sarina Bowen, who has written 50-odd books. She has written lots and lots of romance, and her most recent addition to the world of publishing has been her thrillers, Dying to Meet You and The Five Year Lie. And she has a book coming out this fall called Thrown for a Loop. The reason I am recording this intro on my own—which, as you may know if you've been listening, is highly unusual for us—is because I know myself. And I know when I'm really excited to talk to someone on the podcast; I'm going to flub the intro. I'm going to forget something. I'm going to forget to introduce them altogether. So today, I'm doing that first, so I don't mess it up. A while ago on the podcast, you may have heard Sarina and KJ read some books by an author named Tess Gerritsen. I had heard of Tess Gerritsen, but I had never read any of her books. I just hadn't yet. I haven't read Nora Roberts yet. I haven't read—there are lots of authors I haven't read yet. And sometimes you don't even know where to start. So when Sarina and KJ recommended Tess Gerritsen's new series set in Maine—the first one being The Spy Coast and the second one being The Summer Guests—I figured I had a good place to start. And you know, as a New Englander, I love a good book about New England, and that was the start of my interest in Tess Gerritsen's work. I have gone back to the beginning and started with her book The Surgeon, which was her first book in the series that became the Rizzoli and Isles Series, as well as a television show. Tess Gerritsen has a—she's written through 33 books at this point. And as I now know, she has also directed a documentary called Magnificent Beast about pigs, which I listened to this morning while I was vacuuming the house. I loved it. She also—she has a lot to say about genre, about publishing, about second careers, about a writing place, and about process. So let's just jump right into it. I am so excited to introduce to you today, Tess Gerritsen. So from the perspective of what our listeners love—this podcast, the Hashtag AmWriting Podcast —is super geek. People who love the nuts and bolts and the dorky details of the writing life. Sarina has a past life in finance, and so she tends to be, like, our “no, but let's talk about the numbers” kind of person. I'm just the research super dork, which is why I spent my morning watching your documentary about pigs.Tess GerritsenOh my god! (Laughing)Jess LaheyMagnificent Beast. I—I've joked in the past that if I could, I would probably just research things in—in, you know, maybe there'll be a book out there, maybe there won't, but I would research things and—and just learn as much as I could. And so I loved—loved—your Magnificent Beast documentary. I thought it was fantastic. But one of the reasons that we wanted to talk to you, just from the very beginning, is that we feel like you do some pretty incredible world-building and relationship-building with your places and your characters. And so I just—I would love to start there, mainly with the idea of starting with the real nuts and bolts stuff, which is, like, what does an average writing day look like for you? And how do you, sort of—how do you set that up? What does it look like, if you have an average writing day? Maybe you don't.Tess GerritsenWell, it's hard to describe an average writing day, because every day is—there are days when you sit at your desk and you just, you know, pull your hair. And there are days when you get distracted by the news. And there are many days when I just do not want to write. But when I'm writing, the good days are when my characters are alive and talking to me. And it's—it's—you talked about world-building and character-building. That is really key to me. What are they saying to me? Can I hear their voices? And it sounds a little—a little crazy, because I am hearing voices. But it's those voices that really make characters come alive.Jess LaheyI—You have said in other interviews that you are very much—sorry to those of you who hate the terms—that you are very much a pantser. And you are sitting on this interview with a consummate plotter. Sarina is our consummate plotter. So could you talk a little bit about how those character—how those voices—influence, you know, the pantsing of the—of the book, and—and how that works for you?Tess GerritsenWell, I mean, it is weird that I am a pantser. And it's funny—I think that people who are plotters tend to be people who are in finance or in law, because they're used to having their ducks lined up, you know. They—they want everything set up ahead of time, and it makes them feel comfortable. And I think a large part of becoming a pantser is learning to be comfortable with unpredictability. Learning to just let things happen, and know you're going to take wrong turns, know you're going to end up in blind alleys—and yet just keep on forging ahead and change direction. So I suppose that what helps me become a pantser, as I said, is hearing a character's voice. If, for instance, when I wrote The Spy Coast, the first thing I heard about that book was Maggie Bird's voice. And she just said, “I'm not the woman I used to be.” And that's an opening there, right? Because you want to find out, Maggie, who did you used to be? And why do you sound so sad? So a lot of it was just—just getting into her head and letting her talk about what a day-to-day life is, which is, you know, raising chickens and collecting eggs and becoming—and being—a farmer. And then she does something surprising in that very first chapter. There's a fox that's killing her chickens, so she grabs her rifle and kills it with one shot. And that opens up another thing, like—how are you, a 62-year-old woman, able to take out a rifle and kill a fox with one shot? So it's—it's those things. It's those revelations of character. When they come out and they tell you something, or they show you they—they have a skill that you weren't aware of, you want to dig deeper and find out, you know, where did they get that skill?Sarina BowenAnd that is a really fun way to show it. I mean, you're talking today with two people who have also kept chickens.Multiple Speakers(All laughing)Jess LaheyAnd had foxes take their chickens, actually.Sarina BowenOh yes, because the two go together.Tess GerritsenYes.Sarina BowenBut yes, I admit I have never shot a fox, and maybe wouldn't.Jess LaheyI have yelled very loudly at a fox, and he actually—I have to say—really mad respect for the fox, because he took one look at me—he did drop the chicken that I was yelling at him for grabbing—and then he went across the street, around the neighbor's house, around the back of the other neighbor's house, and came at the exact same chicken from the other side of the house, where I couldn't see him out the window.Tess GerritsenOh, they are so smart. They are so smart.Jess LaheySo smart. Sarina, it sounded like you had something— you had something you wanted to add, and I interrupted you when we were talking about pantsing and we were talking about world-building and characters speaking to you.Sarina BowenWell, I just had thought that it was a lovely moment to explain why I was so excited to read this book after I heard Tess speak at Thriller Fest 2024, in a packed room where there was nowhere to sit except on the floor. You told the audience a little bit of a story from your real life that—that made you want to write that book. And I wonder if you could tell us what that was, because for me—I mean, we were only five minutes into your talk, and I'm like, oh, I'm—I'm going to download that tonight.Tess GerritsenWell, yes, it was. A lot of my books come from ideas that I've been stewing over for years. I have a folder called the ideas folder. It's an actual physical manila folder. And if I see something in an article or a newspaper or a magazine, I'll just rip it out and stick it in there, and it sometimes takes a long time before I know how to turn this into a book. So the idea for The Spy Coast is a little bit of obscure knowledge that I learned 35 years ago, when I first moved to Maine. My husband is a medical doctor. He opened up a practice, and when he would bring in new patients, he would always get an occupational history. And he used to get this answer—this very strange answer—from his new patients. They would say, “I used to work for the government, but I can't talk about it.” And after he heard that three times, he thought, what town did we land in? And who are these people? And we later found out that on our very short street, on one side of us was a retired OSS person, and on the other side was retired CIA. A realtor told us that our town was full of CIA retirees. So, I mean, of course you want to ask, why did they get here? What are they doing here? What are their lives like? I knew there was a book in there, but I didn't know what that book was. I needed 35 years to come up with the idea. And what I really needed to do was become old and—and realize that as you get older, especially women, we become invisible. People don't pay attention to us. We are over the hill. You know, everybody looks at the young, pretty chicks, but once you start getting gray hair, you fade into the background. And with that experience myself; I began to think more and more about what it's like to be retired. What is it like to be retired from a job that was maybe dangerous, or exciting, or something that you really risked your life to—to achieve? So that was—that was the beginning of The Spy Coast. What happens to CIA retirees—especially women—who are now invisible? But that makes them the best spies of all.Jess LaheyYeah, and we have—we did this really cool thing, this really fun thing for us on the Hashtag AmWriting Podcast. It's like a supporter-only thing, where we call First Pages, where very brave authors—very brave writers—submit their first page to us, and we talk about it and decide whether or not we'd want to turn the page. And you have an incredible skill on your first pages. You're very, very good at first pages. And I was thinking about The Summer Guests, that you had this wonderful line that I'm going to read now:Purity, Maine, 1972. On the last day of his life, Purity police officer Randy Pelletier ordered a blueberry muffin and a cup of coffee at the Marigold Café,Which immediately reminded me of my very, very favorite line from all of literature—my very favorite first line—which is Irving's first line from A Prayer for Owen Meany, in which he ruins the story for you right there in the first line:I am doomed to remember a boy with a wrecked voice—not because of his voice, or because he was the smallest person I ever knew, or even because he was the instrument of my mother's death, but because he is the reason I believe in God.There is this incredible power to first lines. And I'm sort of wondering where—how first lines happen for you. Do they happen first? Do they happen last? Do they happen along the way?Tess GerritsenFirst lines usually happen last. I—it's—I will write the whole book, and I'll think, something's missing in that first chapter. How do I open this up? And, you know, there are things that make lines immediately hypnotic, and one of those things is an inherent contradiction—something that makes you think, wait, okay, you start off this way, but then all of a sudden, the meaning of that line switches. So, yeah, it starts off with, you know, this guy's going to die. But on that last day of his life, he does something very ordinary. He just orders coffee at the local café. So I think it's that contradiction that makes us want to read more. It's also a way to end chapters. I think that—that if you leave your reader with a sense of unease—something is about to go wrong, but they don't know what it is yet—or leave them with an unanswered question, or leave them with, as I said, a contradiction—that is what's page-turning. I think that a lot of thriller writers in particular mistake action for—for being—for being interesting. A car chase on the page is really very boring. But what's interesting is something that—you could feel that tension building, but you don't know why.Sarina BowenI have joked sometimes that when I get stuck on a plot, sometimes I will talk at my husband and—and say, “you know, I'm stuck here.” And he always says, “And then a giant squid attacked.” And it—of course I don't write books that take place where this is possible, so—but it never fails to remind me that, like, external action can sometimes be just, you know, totally pointless. And that if you're stuck, it's because one of your dominoes isn't leaning, you know, in the right spot. So...Tess GerritsenYeah, it's—it's not as much fun seeing that domino fall as seeing it go slowly tilting over. You know, I really learned this when I was watching a James Bond movie. And it starts off—you know, the usual James Bonds have their cold open to those action and chasing and death-defying acts. I found that—I find that really, in that movie anyway—I was like, Ho hum. Can we get to the story? And I found the time when I was leaning forward in my theater seat, watching every moment, was really a very quiet conversation aboard a train between him and this woman who was going to become his lover. That was fascinating to me. So I think that that transfers to book writing as well. Action is boring.Jess LaheyYou and Sarina do something that I feel, as a writer; I would probably not be very good at, which is creating that unease. I—Sarina in particular does this thing... I've read every one of Sarina's books, as a good friend is supposed to do. And I text her, and I say, Why don't they just talk about it and just deal? Get it out in the open! And she's like, you know, we just got to make these people uncomfortable. And you both have this incredible talent for helping—keeping the reader, uh, along with you, simply because there is this sense of unease. We're slightly off-kilter the whole time. And yet in me, as a people pleaser, that makes me very uncomfortable. I want people to be happy with each other. So how do you—if you get to a place where you feel like maybe things aren't off-kilter enough, or things aren't off-balance enough—how do you introduce a little bit of unease into your—into your story?Tess GerritsenWell, I think it comes down to very small points of conflict—little bits of tension. Like, we call it micro-tension. And I think those occur in everyday life all the time. For instance, you know, things that happen that really don't have any big consequence, but are still irritating. We will stew about those for—for a while. And, you know, I used to write romance as well, so I understand entirely what Sarina is doing, because romance is really about courtship and conflict. And it's the conflict that makes us keep reading. We just—we know this is the courtship. So there's always that sense of it's not quite there, because once the characters are happy, the story is over, right?Sarina BowenYeah.Multiple Speakers(All laughing)Sarina BowenAlso, writing the ends of romance novels is the least interesting part. Like, what...? Once the conflict is resolved, like, I cannot wait to get out of there.Tess GerritsenRight, exactly. You know, I—I pay attention to my feelings when I'm reading a book, and I've noticed that the books that I remember are not the books with happy endings, because happiness is so fleeting. You know, you can be happy one second, and then something terrible will happen. You'll be unhappy. What lasts for us is sadness, or the sense of bittersweet. So when I read a book that ends with a bittersweet ending—such as, you know, Larry McMurtry Lonesome Dove—I ended up crying at the end of that book, and I have never forgotten that ending. Now, if everybody had been happy and there had been nobody to drag all those miles at the end, I would have forgotten that book very quickly. So I think—I try—I always try to leave the end of the book either bittersweet—I mean, you want to resolve all the major plot points—but also leave that sense of unease, because people remember that. And it also helps you, if you have a sequel.Sarina BowenThat's so interesting you've just brought up a couple of really interesting points, because there is a thriller—I actually write suspense now—and one of the books that so captured my attention about five years ago was killing it on the charts. And I thought it was actually a terrible book, but it nailed the bittersweet ending. Like, the premise was solid, and then the bittersweet ending was perfect, and the everything between the first chapter and the last chapter was a hot mess, but—but—um, that ending really stuck with me. And I remember carrying it around with me, like, Wow, they really nailed that ending. You know, and—and maybe that has, like, legs in terms of, like, talking about it. And, you know, if it—if—if it's irritating enough, like, the tension is still there—enough to, like, make people talk about it—it could actually affect the performance of that book. But also, um, one thing that I really love about this series—you have—what is the series title for the...?Tess GerritsenMartini—The Martini Club.Sarina BowenThe Martini Club, right? So The Martini Club is two books now. I inhaled the first one last summer, and I inhaled the second one this summer. And The Martini Club refers to this group of friends—these retired spies. And of course, there are two completely different mysteries in book one and book two. And I noticed a couple of things about the difference between those mysteries that was really fun. So in the first case—or in one of the two cases, let's see—in one of them, the thing that happens in their town is actually, like, related to them. And in the other one, it's kind of not. So to me, that felt like a boundary expansion of your world and your system. But also, I just love the way you leaned into the relationship of these people and their town in such a way. And how did you know to do that? Like, how—what does your toolbox say about how to get that expansiveness in your character set? Like, you know, to—to find all the limits of it?Tess GerritsenThat—you know, so much is like—it's like asking a pole-vaulter how they do it. They just—they have just—I guess its muscle memory. You don't really know how you're doing it, but what I did know was—with age, and because I love these characters so much—it really became about them and about what is going to deepen their friendship? What kind of a challenge is going to make them lean into each other—lean on each other? That's really what I was writing about, I think, was this circle of friends, and—and what you will do, how much you will sacrifice, to make sure your friends are safe. No, you're right—the second book is much more of a classic mystery. Yeah—a girl disappears. I mean, there was—there were—there were CIA undertones in that, because that becomes an important part of the book. But I think that what people are—when people say they love this book—they really talk about the characters and that friendship. And we all want friends like this, where we can go and—and—and have martinis together, and then if we—one of us needs to—we'll go help them bury a body.Multiple Speakers(All laughing)Tess GerritsenThat's—they all have shovels, and they're willing to do it. That's the kind of friendship—friends—we want.Jess LaheyWell, and that's funny you mention that—I had an entire question—it wasn't even a question, it was a statement—in here about friendships and being grateful to you for the reminder about the importance of relationships. And this entire podcast was born out of the fact that we were talking writing all the time, and we just wanted an official way to sit down once a week and actually talk about the work. And your work is suffused with just these incredible relationships—whether that's the Rizzoli and Isles—you know, in your first—in the one of your other series—and I'm just—I'm very grateful for that, because we—especially—I think I re—I really crave books about female relationships, especially about older female relationships. And I have been loving your books, and I've—like, as I may have mentioned to you in my initial email—I had—I'm so sorry—never read your books before. And I admitted in the introduction that there are lots of very, very famous authors whose books I have never read. And it's always so exciting to me to dive into someone's series and realize, oh, this person really touches on themes that mean a lot to me, and I can already tell that I'm going to be enjoying a lot of their books to come forward. So thank you for all of the great descriptions of relationships and how we do rely on each other for various aspects of just how we get through all of this stuff.Tess GerritsenYeah—get through life. But you know what's funny about it is that it didn't start that way. For instance, let's go back to Rizzoli and Isles. The very first time they both appear in a book is in The Apprentice. And they don't start off being friends. They start off being—they're so different. As the TV producer once said, “you've really written about Captain Kirk and Mr. Spock.” That's okay—they are—in the books. They are not natural friends. But like real-life friendships, sometimes—just kind of develop slowly, and—and they have their ups and downs. So there are times when—when Jane and Maura are barely speaking to each other because of conflicts they have. But by the time book twelve comes around—or maybe book seven comes around—you know that they would risk their lives for each other. So I think that if you're writing a series like Rizzoli and Isles, or like The Martini Club, it really helps to develop the friendship on the fly and see how they react to certain stresses. The next book, which I just turned in, called The Shadow Friends—it even put—pushes them even further, and it really—it really strains a marriage, because it's—it's more about Ingrid, and an old lover comes back into her life. She used to—they were both spies—and he is, like, hot, hot, hot—Antonio Banderas kind of guy. And here's Ingrid, married to Lloyd, you know, who's just a sweet analyst who cooks dinner for her every night. And I—when I was coming up with that story, I thought, I want to write a book about their marriage. So it wasn't—the plot wasn't about, oh, you know, international assassinations, even though that does occur in the book. It's really about the story of a marriage.Jess LaheyAnd it gives you, it gives you added unease. You know, if you have your two characters not speaking to each other, and you know your readers love those characters and crave those characters to be getting along at some point, then that's just another reason that we're following along. I was just thinking about, uh, Michael Connelly, uh, book the other day, because I really, really like the series he did with Renée Ballard and her relationship with the Bosch character, and how that series is totally about crime, but yet it's also very much about the relationship. And I think I follow—I continue to read those because of the relationship between those two human beings, and less so because of the murder mystery sort of stuff.Tess GerritsenI think it really becomes important if you're dealing also with Hollywood television series. I still remember what the producer first said when he called me up about Rizzoli and Isles. He said, "I love your girls, and I think they belong on TV.” He didn't say, I love your plots. He didn't say, I love your mysteries, you know, all your intricate ups and downs. It was really about the girls. So if you hope to sell to a television series, really, it's about characters again.Jess LaheyAbsolutely.Sarina BowenI was going to ask about longevity, because you have so many books, and you're so obviously still invigorated by the process, or there wouldn't be a book three that you just turned in. So how have you been able to avoid just being sick to death of—of writing suspense novel after suspense novel?Tess GerritsenI refused. That's what it is. You know, I—I don't—I guess I could say that I have a little bit of ADHD when it comes to—to the books I write. I cannot—after 13 books of Rizzoli and Isles, I just had a different idea. And it takes—it takes a certain amount of backbone to say no to your publisher, to your editor, to people who are going, well, when's the next one in this series coming out? And to be able to say, I need a break. I need to do something completely different. So over—how many years I've been a writer—almost 40 now—I've written science fiction and historicals and a ghost story and romantic suspense and spy novels and medical thrillers and crime novels. I've been all over the place, but each one of those books that took me out of what I was expected to do was so invigorating. It was a book that I needed to write. As an example, I wrote a book called Playing with Fire. Nobody wanted that book. Nobody expected that book. It was a historical about World War II, and about music—about the power of music—and having to do with the death camps. I remember my publisher going, "What are you doing?" And, you know, it's—it's true—they're—they—they are marketers, and they understood that that book would not sell as well, and it didn't. But it still remains one of my favorite books. And when you want to write a book, you need to write that book. That's all—even—even if nobody wants it.Jess LaheyI actually was—I'm so pleased that this came up, because that was actually going to be my question, because both you and Sarina have done this—done, you know, 90 degrees—whether it's out of, you know, one genre into another—and that, to me, requires an enormous amount of courage. Because you know you have people expecting things from you. And you in particular, Tess, have people saying, "No, I want the next one. I love this relationship. I want the next one." And—and dealing—you're not just dealing with the disappointment of whether it's an agent or an editor, but the disappointment of fans. And that's a pressure as well. So when I used to do journalism, I remember a question I asked of another journalist was, "How do you continue to write without fear of the comment section?" And essentially, for us, that's our—you know, those are our readers. So how do you find that thing within yourself to say, no, this really is the thing that I need to be writing now?Tess GerritsenWell, that is a really—it's a really tough decision to buck the trend or buck what everybody's expecting, because there's a thing in publishing called the death spiral. And if your book does not sell well, they will print fewer copies for the next one. And then that won't sell well. So you start—your career starts to go down the drain. And that is a danger every time you step out of your tried and true series and do something out of—you know, completely out of the ordinary. I think the reason I did it was that I really didn't give a damn. It was—it was like, Okay, maybe this will kill my career, but I've got to write this book. And it was always with the idea that if my publisher did not want that, I would just self-publish. I would just, you know, find another way to get it out there. And I—I was warned, rightly so, that your sales will not be good for this book, and that will—it will hurt the next contract. And I understood that. But it was the only way I could keep my career going. Once you get bored, and you're—you're trapped in a drawer, I think it shows up in your writing.Jess LaheyI had this very conversation with my agent. The—my first book did well. And so then, you know, the expectation is, I'll write like part two of that, or I'll write something for that exact same audience again. And when I told my agent—I said, "You know, this book on substance use prevention and kids—I—it's—I have to write it. And I'm going to write it even, you know, if I have to go out there and sell it out of the trunk of my car." And she said, "Okay, then I guess we're doing this." And yes...Tess Gerritsen(Laughing) They had their best wishes at heart.Jess LaheyAnd honestly, I love—I loved my book that did well. But The Addiction Inoculation is the book I'm most proud of. And, you know, that's—yeah, that's been very important to me.Tess GerritsenI often hear from writers that the book that sold the fewest copies was one that was—were their favorites. Those are the ones that they took a risk on, that they—I mean, they put their heart and soul into it. And maybe those hurt their careers, but those are the ones that we end up being proud of.Jess LaheyI like to remind Sarina of that, because I do remember we text each other constantly. We have a little group, the three of us, a little group text all day long. And there was—I remember when she first wrote a male-male romance, she was scared. She was really scared that this was going to be too different for her readers. And it ended up being, I think, my favorite book that she's ever written, and also a very important book for her in terms of her career development and growth, and what she loves about the work that she does. And so I like to remind her every once in a while, remember when you said that really scared you and you weren't sure how your readers were going to handle it?Sarina BowenRight? Well, I also did that in the middle of a series, and I went looking for confirmation that that is a thing that people did sometimes, and it was not findable. You know, that was...Jess LaheyWhat? Change things up in terms of—change things up in the middle of a series?Sarina BowenIn the middle of a series. And anyway, that book still sells.Tess GerritsenThat is a great act of courage, but it's also an act of confidence in yourself as a writer. There are ways to do it. I think some writers will just adopt a different pen name for something that's way out there.Jess LaheyIt's funny you should say... it's funny you should say that.Sarina BowenWell, no, and I never have done that, but, um—but anyway, yeah, that's hard. I, uh...Jess LaheyYeah.Sarina BowenIt's hard to know. Sometimes...Jess LaheyWe entertain it all the time. We do talk about that as an option all the time. Shouldn't we just pick up and do something completely different? One of the things that I also—I mentioned at the top of the podcast about, you know, you went off—not only have you done lots of different things in terms of your writing—but you went off and you did an entire documentary about pigs. I have—I have to ask you where on earth that came from and why. And it is a total delight, as I mentioned, and I have already recommended it to two people that I know also love the topic. But, you know, to go off—and especially when you usually, as some of us have experienced—our agents saying, so when am I going to see more pages? or when am I going to see the next book? And you say, I'm really sorry, but I have to go off and film this documentary about pigs.Tess GerritsenYes. Well, you know, I was an anthropology major in college, and I've always been interested in the pig taboo. You know, back then, everybody just assumed it was because, yeah, it was disease or they're dirty animals—that's why they're forbidden food. It never quite convinced me, because I'm Chinese-American. Asia—you know, Asia loves pork. Why aren't they worried about all that? So I was in Istanbul for a book tour once, and I remember I really wanted bacon, and, you know, I couldn't get bacon. And then I thought, okay, I really need to find out why pork is forbidden. This is a—this is a cultural and historical mystery that never made sense to me. The explanations just never made sense to me. It cannot be trichinosis. So I told my son that—my son is—he does—he's a filmmaker as well. And he just said, "Well, let's do it. Let's—we will pose it as a mystery," because it is a mystery. So it took us probably two years to go and—you know, we interviewed anthropologists and pet pig owners and archaeologists, actually, just to find out, what do they say? What is the answer to this? And to us, the answer really just came down to this cultural desire for every—every tribe—to define us versus them. You know, they eat pigs. They're not us, so therefore they're the enemy. And it was fascinating because we—we ended up finding out more about pigs than I was expecting, and also finding out that people who have pet pigs can sometimes be a little unusual.Jess LaheyAnd the people who purchase the clothes for the pigs are also crazy.Tess GerritsenYes. Sew outfits for their pigs and sleep with their pigs. And there was—there was one woman who had—she slept on the second floor of her house, so she had an elevator for her pig who couldn't make it up the stairs, and, you know, ramps to get up onto the bed because they've gotten so fat—they've been overfed. But it was—for me, at the heart of it was a mystery.Jess LaheyAs a nonfiction author whose whole entire reason for being is, "I don't know—let's find out," I think that's just the most delightful thing. And I loved your framing as, "I don't know, we have this question, let's go out there and just ask people about it and find the experts." And that's—oh, I could just live on that stuff. So...Tess GerritsenSo could I. You know, research is so enticing. It's enticing. It is—it can get you into trouble because you never write your book. Some of us just love to do the research.Jess LaheySarina actually has taken skating lessons, done glass blowing—what else have you done? Yoga classes and all—all kinds of things in the pursuit of knowledge for her characters. And I think that's a delight.Sarina BowenYes. If you can sign up for a class as part of your research, like, that is just the best day. Like, you know, oh, I must take these ice skating lessons twice a day for five months, because—yeah—or twice a week, but still.Tess GerritsenYou must be a good ice skater then.Sarina BowenI'm getting better.Tess GerritsenSo you never gave them up, I see.Jess LaheyWell, it's fun because she usually writes about hockey, but she has a figure skater coming up in this book that's coming out this fall. And she's like, "Well, I guess I'm just going to have to learn how to figure skate."Tess GerritsenYeah.Sarina BowenI also—one time I went to see Rebecca Skloot speak about her big nonfiction The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks.Tess GerritsenOh, okay.Sarina BowenAnd she said that all her best ideas had come from moments in her life when she went, "Wait, what?!"Tess GerritsenYes. Yep.Sarina BowenIncluding for The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks. Like, she learned about the cells in high school—she was in high school biology class—and the teacher said, like, "This woman died in the '60s, but we're still using her cells," and she said, "Wait, what?!" And that's—that's what you made me think of with the pigs. Like, I think...Jess LaheyWell, and also your folder of ideas. I mean, I immediately texted Sarina after listening to a podcast where I heard an ad, and the ad made me go, "Oh that could be creepy." And then I'm like, "Okay, this is—this is a plot. This is going in the folder somewhere." And so you have to just think about how those things could unfold over time. And I love the idea of—and even in journalism—there are articles that I've written where I said, this just isn't their time. And then, like, five years later, I'll hear something out there, and I'm like, okay, finally, it's the time for this thing. And there's a reason you put that article in your idea—in your paper—manila folder of ideas.Tess GerritsenWell, I think writers are—we have to be curious. We have to be engaged in what's going on around us, because the ideas are everywhere. And I have this—I like to say I have a formula. It's called "two plus two equals five." And what that means is, sometimes you'll have a—you'll have a piece of information that, you know, there's a book here, but you haven't figured out what to do with it. And you wait for another piece of information from some completely different source, and you put them together, and they end up being like nuclear fusion—bigger than the…Sarina BowenYes!Jess LaheyYes!Tess GerritsenSome of the parts.Sarina BowenMost every book I've ever written works like that. Like, I have one idea that I drag around for, like, five years, and then I have this other idea, and one day I'm like, oh, those two things go together.Tess GerritsenYep.Jess LaheyYeah, absolutely. I think Stephen King mentioned that about Carrie. I think it was like, telekinesis, and that usually starts about the time of menstruation, and it was like, boom, there was Carrie. You know, those two things came together. I love that so much. So you mentioned that you have just handed in your next book, and we don't—we do not, as a rule, ask about what's next for an author, because I find that to be an incredibly intimidating and horrifying question to be asked. But I would love to hear; you know, is this—is this series one that you hope to continue working on? The main series, mainly because we have quite fallen in love with your little town in Maine—in Purity, Maine. Fantastic name for your town, by the way. It's really lovely. It creates such a nice dichotomy for these people who have seen and heard things during their careers that maybe are quite dark, and then they retire to a place called Purity. Is this a place where we can hopefully spend a little bit of time?Tess GerritsenWell, I am thinking about book number four now. I have an idea. You know, it always starts with—it starts with an idea and doodling around and trying to figure out what—you know, you start with this horrible situation, and then you have to explain it. So that's where I am now. I have this horrible situation, I have to explain it. So, yeah, I'm thinking about book four. I don't know how—you never know how long a series is going to go. It's a little tough because I have my characters who are internationally based—I mean, they've been around the world—but then I can't leave behind my local cop who is also a part of this group as well. So I have to keep an eye out on Maine being the center of most of the action.Sarina BowenRight, because how many international plots can you give Purity, Maine?Tess GerritsenThat's right, exactly. Well, luckily…Jess LaheyLook, Murder, She Wrote—how many things happened to that woman in that small town?Tess GerritsenExactly, exactly. Well, luckily, because I have so many CIA retirees up here, the international world comes to us. Like the next book, The Shadow Friends, is about a global security conference where one of the speakers gets murdered. And it turns out we have a global security conference right here in our town that was started by CIA 40 years ago. So I'm just—I'm just piggybacking on reality here. And—not that the spies up here think that's very amusing.Sarina BowenThat is fantastic, because, you know, the essential problem of writing a suspense novel is that you have to ground it in a reality that everyone is super familiar with, and you have to bring in this explosive bit of action that is unlikely to happen near any of us. And those two things have to fit together correctly. So by, um, by putting your retired spies in this tiny town, you have sort of, like, gifted yourself with that, you know, precise problem solver.Tess GerritsenYeah, reminding us.Sarina BowenYeah.Tess GerritsenBut there's only so far I can take that. I'm not sure what the limits... I think book four is going to take them all overseas, because my local cop, Jo, she's never been out of the country—except for Canada—and it's time for her dad to drag her over to Italy and say, "Your dead mom wanted to come to Italy, so I'm taking you." And, of course, things go wrong in Italy for Jo.Jess LaheyOf course, of course. Well, we're going to keep just banging on about how much we love these books. I think we've already mentioned it in three podcast episodes so far in our “What have you been reading lately that you've really loved?” So we're—we're big fans. And thank you so much for sitting down to talk with us and to—you know, one of the whole points of our podcast is to flatten the learning curve for other authors, so we hope that that's done a little bit of that for our listeners. And again, thank you so much. Where can people find you and your work if they want to learn a little bit more about Tess Gerritsen—her work?Tess GerritsenYou can go to TessGerritsen.com, and I try to post as much information there as I can. But I'm also at Bluesky, @TessGerritsen, and what is now called “X”—a legacy person on X—@TessGerritsen, yes.Jess LaheyThank you so, so much again. And for everyone out there listening, keep your butt in the chair and your head in the game.The Hashtag AmWriting Podcast is produced by Andrew Perella. Our intro music—aptly titled Unemployed Monday—was written and played by Max Cohen. Andrew and Max were paid for their time and their creative output, because everyone deserves to be paid for their work. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit amwriting.substack.com/subscribe

Mark McNease Mysteries
Mark McNease Mysteries Podcast #74: Michael Connelly's 'Nightshade' Launches New Series with a Bang

Mark McNease Mysteries

Play Episode Listen Later Aug 10, 2025 9:26


Welcome to my newest recommendation. I won't call these reviews, at least not technically, because I won't be offering anything I didn't like! These are books I've read and think you'll enjoy, too. We're starting out with a brand new series and character from Michael Connelly, a maestro in the detective genre whose crime novels I've been devouring for thirty years. I couldn't put this one down, which is almost always true for me with a new Michael Connelly. Listen in and see what I think of the author, his writing, and his new must-read 'Nightshade.'

History & Factoids about today
July 21-Junk Food, Robin Williams, Don Knotts, Hooters, Bull Run, Jesse James, Ernest Hemingway, Coldest temp ever

History & Factoids about today

Play Episode Listen Later Jul 21, 2025 13:36


National Junk Food day.  Entertainment from 1998. First major battle of civil war, Coldest temperature on the planet, Frank & Jesse James rob first train.  Todays birthdays - Ernest Hemingway, Kay Starr, Don Knotts, Robin Williams, Eric Brazilian, Michael Connelly, Jon Lovits.  Alan Sheppard died.Intro - God did good - Dianna Corcoran    https://www.diannacorcoran.com/Junk Food - Kids ChannelThe boy is mine - Brandy  MonicaI can still feel you - Collin RayeBirthdays - In da club - 50 Cent    https://www.50cent.com/Wheel of fortune - Kay StarrAndy Griffith TV themeThrees Company TV themeAnd we danced - The HootersExit - Truckstop Betty - Jason Lee wIlson    Jason Lee Wilsoncountryundergroundradio.comHistory & Factoids webpage

Killer Psyche
Real Crime, Real Stories: The Making of Amazon's 'Ballard' with Michael Connelly and LAPD Veteran Mitzi Roberts

Killer Psyche

Play Episode Listen Later Jul 15, 2025 35:49


Retired FBI agent and criminal profiler Candice DeLong sits down with bestselling author Michael Connelly and veteran LAPD detective Mitzi Roberts to discuss Ballard, the new Prime Video series expanding Connelly's gritty “Harry Bosch” universe. The show's lead, Renee Ballard, is inspired by Mitzi's real-life work tracking down killers – like the infamous Samuel Little – and shaped by her decades-long career on the force. Candice explores how Mitzi's pursuit of justice and Connelly's storied career as an author merged to bring Ballard to life, and how truth and fiction can collide to tell gripping stories on the screen.Be the first to know about Wondery's newest podcasts, curated recommendations, and more! Sign up now at https://wondery.fm/wonderynewsletterNeed more Killer Psyche? With Wondery+, enjoy exclusive episodes, early access to new ones, and they're always ad-free. Start your free trial in the Wondery App or visit wondery.app.link/TI5l5KzpDLb now.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Below the Line
S24 - Ep 5 - Bosch: Legacy

Below the Line

Play Episode Listen Later Jul 13, 2025 70:46


Running a tight, emotionally grounded procedural is no small feat — especially when you're steering a beloved franchise into new territory. On this week's Below the Line, Skid sits down with Director Patrick Cady, 1st Assistant Director/Producer Trey Batchelor, Cinematographer Jason Andrew, and Gaffer Derrick Kolus to go behind the scenes of Bosch: Legacy, the three-season Amazon series that extended the universe of Michael Connelly's iconic detective — and pushed the crew into new creative and logistical territory. We cover: How Bosch: Legacy balanced a fresh tone with the DNA of the original series The shift to a 5-act structure, network oversight, and more “advertiser-friendly” creative mandates How tight prep schedules, minimal standing sets, and constant location moves shaped every department's workflow Jason's transition from Key Grip to Cinematographer, and how his background informed his pacing and shot planning The challenges of lighting on the move — and how Derrick's rigging strategy kept the crew ahead of schedule Trey's insight into cast performances, unexpected rewrites, and what it really means to “make the day” Keeping continuity between DPs and episodes while balancing stylistic differences The collaborative bond this crew built across 10+ years and two Bosch series Along the way, they reflect on the show's emotional arc, where it fits within the Bosch universe, and how Bosch: Legacy became a proving ground for tight collaboration, creative flexibility, and below-the-line excellence.

Writers, Ink
Discovering literary gold with the managing editor of the Strand, Andrew Gulli.

Writers, Ink

Play Episode Listen Later Jul 8, 2025 60:36


Join hosts J.D. Barker, Christine Daigle, JP Rindfleisch, and Kevin Tumlinson as they discuss the week's entertainment news, including stories about influencers, AI, and BookBub. Then, stick around for a chat with Andrew Gulli!Andrew Gulli's The Strand Magazine: The Strand Mystery Magazine is a quarterly which offers the best of both worlds—publishing previously unpublished works by literary masters such as John Steinbeck, Ernest Hemingway,  Rod Serling,  Louisa May Alcott, Shirley Jackson, Agatha Christie, Dashiell Hammett, Raymond Chandler , Tennessee Williams, and H.G.Wells . The Strand Magazine also features new works by today's bestselling authors including Alexander McCall Smith, R.L. Stine, Michael Connelly, Faye Kellerman, Craig Johnson, Ruth Ware, Joseph Finder, and Jeffery Deaver, as well as engaging interviews. Our reviews section looks at the latest mystery/thriller offerings, Sherlock Holmes pastiches, and anthologies, in addition to audiobooks and DVDs. The Strand Mystery Magazine has been featured several times in The New York Times, NPR, PBS, USA Today, and the Associated Press.Our current issue features Ian Fleming, Graham Greene, C.J. Box, Denise Mina and John Floyd. We also have an interview with Amor Towles.

Le masque et la plume
Les critiques littéraires du Masque & la Plume depuis le festival "Quai du Polar" à Lyon

Le masque et la plume

Play Episode Listen Later Jun 29, 2025 48:07


durée : 00:48:07 - Le Masque et la Plume - par : Rebecca Manzoni - Nos critiques partagent leurs avis concernant les nouveautés littéraires, depuis le festival international "Quai du Polar" : les nouveaux livres de Michael Connelly, Séverine Chevalier, Jacky Schwartzman, Aslak Nore et Marin Ledun. - invités : Arnaud Viviant, Elisabeth Philippe, Patricia Martin, Bernard Poirette - Arnaud Viviant : Critique littéraire (Revue Regards), Elisabeth Philippe : Critique littéraire (L'Obs), Patricia Martin : Journaliste, critique littéraire et productrice chez France Inter, Bernard Poirette : Journaliste et critique (Podcast C'est à lire) - réalisé par : Guillaume Girault Vous aimez ce podcast ? Pour écouter tous les autres épisodes sans limite, rendez-vous sur Radio France.

Nerdtropolis
COURNTEY TAYLOR: Ballard, Shrinking & Abbott Elementary

Nerdtropolis

Play Episode Listen Later Jun 27, 2025 4:43


In this Reel Insights episode, Sean Tajipour, the Mayor of Nerdtropolis, chats with Ballard star Courtney Taylor to talk about her thrilling new role in the Bosch universe.Courtney shares what it's like stepping into Michael Connelly's world of gritty crime stories, working alongside legends like Maggie Q and John Carroll Lynch, and how she brings her own comedic background into a dramatic role. From subtle levity to high-stakes cold cases, she teases what fans can expect from this bold new chapter.Plus, she dishes on her favorite moments from the season, what it was like to fan out over Maggie Q, and why Ballard is perfect for both new viewers and longtime Bosch fans.Ballard will stream on Prime Video on July 9.Visit Nerdtropolis.comFacebookInstagramTwitterTikTok

Popzara Podcast
Article: Never Flinch (2025)

Popzara Podcast

Play Episode Listen Later Jun 26, 2025 6:28


Since 2014's Mr. Mercedes Stephen King has treated fans to an unexpected turn in his sizable oeuvre; sausage-factory fiction, the kind pumped out on the regular by literary superstars James Patterson, Michael Connelly, Lee Child and others, applying his gift for characters, dialogue, and Hail Mary horror to the rather predictable world of these soap opera serials.

Popzara Podcast
Article: Nightshade (2025)

Popzara Podcast

Play Episode Listen Later Jun 4, 2025 4:56


There's a new addition to Michael Connelly's literary family in Nightshade, Detective Sergeant Stilwell, a smart investigator who butted heads with the wrong brass and is now trying to rebuild his life - and career - miles away from the mean streets of Los Angeles. Unlike those of favorites like Harry (and, increasingly, his daughter Maddy) Bosh, Renée Ballard, and Mickey “Lincoln Lawyer” Haller, this adventure is laser-focused on the mystery itself, though Connelly brings the same focused intensity and eye for minute details that's made him a favorite among crime fiction writers.

Bestsellers
Michael Connelly NightShade

Bestsellers

Play Episode Listen Later May 21, 2025 64:07


The Master Crime Writer and Phil's all time favourite writer, Michael Connelly, returns to Bestsellers to talk about his 40th novel. NightShade features a brand new character, Detective Stilwell, whom Michael loves so much, he's going to return to in future books. We chat to him about the challenges of creating a brand new series when you're forty books in; where Stilwell fits into the Connelly Universe that already includes Bosch, Ballard and The Lincoln Lawyer and why his characters who all work around law enforcement, seem to be Anti Establishment!We love Mike here at Bestsellers and wish him well with the unforeseen medical procedures his doctors have ordered, which have led to the cancellation of his UK and US tour. This information was not in the public domain at time of recording, hence why we don't talk about it.

One Degree of Scandalous with Kato Kaelin and Tom Zenner
Michael Connelly on True Crime, Harry Bosch & Wonderland KILLINGS!

One Degree of Scandalous with Kato Kaelin and Tom Zenner

Play Episode Listen Later Apr 24, 2025 75:20


Le masque et la plume
Les critiques littéraires du Masque & la Plume depuis le festival "Quai du Polar" à Lyon

Le masque et la plume

Play Episode Listen Later Apr 6, 2025 48:07


durée : 00:48:07 - Le Masque et la Plume - par : Rebecca Manzoni - Nos critiques partagent leurs avis concernant les nouveautés littéraires, depuis le festival international "Quai du Polar" : les nouveaux livres de Michael Connelly, Séverine Chevalier, Jacky Schwartzman, Aslak Nore et Marin Ledun. - invités : Arnaud Viviant, Elisabeth Philippe, Patricia Martin, Bernard Poirette - Arnaud Viviant : Critique littéraire (Revue Regards), Elisabeth Philippe : Critique littéraire (L'Obs), Patricia Martin : Journaliste, critique littéraire et productrice chez France Inter, Bernard Poirette : Journaliste et critique (Podcast C'est à lire) - réalisé par : Guillaume Girault

Le masque et la plume
"À qui sait attendre" de l'américain Michael Connelly : un livre lent et très paresseux selon les critiques du Masque

Le masque et la plume

Play Episode Listen Later Apr 6, 2025 6:52


durée : 00:06:52 - Le Masque et la Plume - Les critiques du Masque n'ont pas été séduits par cet énième polar de Michael Connelly à l'écriture paresseuse et qui n'honore pas la mystérieuse affaire du Dahlia Noir.

The Mo'Kelly Show
‘Bosch: Legacy with Titus Welliver' & Local Movie Theaters Fight to Survive

The Mo'Kelly Show

Play Episode Listen Later Apr 1, 2025 35:54 Transcription Available


ICYMI: Hour Three of 'Later, with Mo'Kelly' presents an in-depth conversation with actor Titus Welliver, who joins the program to preview the 3rd and final season of 'Bosch: Legacy.' Spinning off from 'Bosch,' the longest-running franchise on Prime Video, in 'Bosch: Legacy,' Welliver stars as Harry Bosch, the tough and damaged retired LAPD detective turned private investigator. Based on the popular book series by bestselling author Michael Connelly, Bosch is on "One Final Case, One Final Fight, One Final Season," with two new episodes dropping every Thursday until the finale on April 17th…PLUS – A look at what local theaters need to do to survive the box-office lull – on KFI AM 640…Live everywhere on the iHeartRadio app

KFI Featured Segments
@MrMoKelly & ‘Bosch: Legacy with Titus Welliver'

KFI Featured Segments

Play Episode Listen Later Apr 1, 2025 14:43 Transcription Available


ICYMI: 'Later, with Mo'Kelly' presents an in-depth conversation with actor Titus Welliver, who joins the program to preview the 3rd and final season of 'Bosch: Legacy.' Spinning off from 'Bosch,' the longest-running franchise on Prime Video, in 'Bosch: Legacy,' Welliver stars as Harry Bosch, the tough and damaged retired LAPD detective turned private investigator. Based on the popular book series by bestselling author Michael Connelly, Bosch is on "One Final Case, One Final Fight, One Final Season," with two new episodes dropping every Thursday until the finale on April 17th – on KFI AM 640…Live everywhere on the iHeartRadio app

Arroe Collins
Season 3 Of Bosch Legacy Has Hit Amazon Prime Titus Welliver Is Harry Bosch

Arroe Collins

Play Episode Listen Later Apr 1, 2025 7:27


Season Three of Bosch: Legacy is based on Michael Connelly's best-selling novels Desert Star (2022) and The Black Ice (1993). The murder investigation of Kurt Dockweiler brings dangerous secrets to light and threatens to ruin the lives of our three principal characters. The disappearance of a family haunts Harry Bosch and forces him to confront the limits of justice. In a hotly contested race, Honey “Money” Chandler is poised to become the next District Attorney of Los Angeles. And Maddie Bosch gets entangled in a series of violent follow-home robberies.Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/arroe-collins-unplugged-totally-uncut--994165/support.

Poisoned Pen Podcast
Rick Jackson and Matthew McGough discuss Black Tunnel, White Magic. Special guest host - Michael Connelly

Poisoned Pen Podcast

Play Episode Listen Later Mar 30, 2025 76:34


Barbara Peters in conversation with Rick Jackson, Matthew McGough, and Michael Connelly

The Jacked Up Review Show Podcast
Bosch & Lincoln Lawyer Books Retrospect with Liam & Dave (Watch It If You Can)

The Jacked Up Review Show Podcast

Play Episode Listen Later Mar 19, 2025 44:06


Liam & Dave (Watch It If You Can Podcast) join me to sum up Michael Connelly's BOSCH and LINCOLN LAWYER books, how they complement the hit shows of the same name & the other respectable characters who've had their own fascinating spin-off novels. Does crime fiction still fascinate or is it just for select crowds?  Is this one of the few sagas where both the fans and non-fans can agree on the adapation's merit? All that and some additional predictions so come watch the detectives discuss!     SONG USED:  "Can't Let Go" by Caught a Ghost (Theme from BOSCH)                       MAIN LINKS:  LinkTree: https://linktr.ee/JURSPodcast Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/JackedUpReviewShow/ Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/2452329545040913 Twitter: https://twitter.com/JackedUpReview  Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jacked_up_podcast/        SHOW LINKS: YouTube: https://m.youtube.com/channel/UCIyMawFPgvOpOUhKcQo4eQQ   iHeartRadio: https://www.iheart.com/podcast/269-the-jacked-up-review-show-59422651/   Podbean: https://jackedupreviewshow.podbean.com   Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/7Eg8w0DNympD6SQXSj1X3M   Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-jacked-up-review-show-podcast/id1494236218   RadioPublic: https://radiopublic.com/the-jacked-up-review-show-We4VjE   Overcast: https://overcast.fm/itunes1494236218/the-jacked-up-review-show-podcast   Google Podcasts: https://podcasts.google.com/?feed=aHR0cHM6Ly9hbmNob3IuZm0vcy9hNDYyOTdjL3BvZGNhc3QvcnNz   Anchor:  https://anchor.fm/s/a46297c/podcast/rss   PocketCasts: https://pca.st/0ncd5qp4   CastBox:  https://castbox.fm/channel/The-Jacked-Up-Review-Show-Podcast-id2591222   Discord:  https://discord.com/channels/796154005914779678/796154006358851586         #MovieReview #FilmTwitter #PodFamily #PodcastersOfInstagram #Movies #Film #Cinema #Music #Reviews #Retrospect #Podcasts #MutantFam #MutantFamily #actionmystery #bmovies #scifihorror #truecrime #historydramas #warmovies #podcastcollabs #hottakes #edgy #cultmovies #nsfw #HorrorFam #badass 

True Murder: The Most Shocking Killers
BLACK TUNNEL, WHITE MAGIC-Rick Jackson and Matthew McGough

True Murder: The Most Shocking Killers

Play Episode Listen Later Mar 3, 2025 68:06


Detective Rick Jackson, a decorated LAPD detective and a key inspiration in the development of Harry Bosch, delivers a shocking and immersive look into the one case he could never let go. In June 1990, Ronald Baker, a straight-A UCLA student, was found repeatedly stabbed to death in a tunnel near Spahn Ranch, where Charles Manson and his followers once lived. Shortly thereafter, Detective Rick Jackson and his partner, Frank Garcia, were assigned the case. Yet the facts made no sense. Who would have a motive to kill Ron Baker in such a grisly manner? Was the proximity to the Manson ranch related to the murder? And what about the pentagram pendant Ron wore around his neck? Jackson and Garcia soon focused their investigation on Baker's two male roommates, one black, and one white. What emerges is at once a story of confounding betrayal and cold-hearted intentions, as well as a larger portrait of an embattled Los Angeles, a city in the grip of the Satanic Panic and grappling with questions of racial injustice and police brutality in the wake of Rodney King. Rick Jackson, the now-retired police detective who helped inspire Michael Connelly's beloved Harry Bosch, along with co-writer, Matthew McGough, take us through the events as he and his partner experienced them, piecing together the truth with each emerging clue. Black Tunnel White Magic is the true story of a murder in cold blood, deception and betrayal, and a city at the brink, set forth by the only man who could tell it. BLACK TUNNEL, WHITE MAGIC: A Murder, a Detective's Obsession, and 90's Los Angeles on the Brink-Rick Jackson and Matthew McGoughFollow and comment on Facebook-TRUE MURDER: The Most Shocking Killers in True Crime History   https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100064697978510 Check out TRUE MURDER PODCAST @ truemurderpodcast.com 

Currently Reading
Season 7, Episode 28: Books As Equalizers + Losing Momentum In Our Reading

Currently Reading

Play Episode Listen Later Feb 17, 2025 56:52


On this episode of Currently Reading, Kaytee and Meredith are discussing: Bookish Moments: books as equalizers and kiddos who love books as much as we do Current Reads: all the great, interesting, and/or terrible stuff we've been reading lately Deep Dive: what we do to keep momentum in our reading lives The Fountain: we visit our perfect fountain to make wishes about our reading lives Show notes are time-stamped below for your convenience. Read the transcript of the episode (this link only works on the main site) .  .  .  .  1:33 - Our Bookish Moments Of The Week 6:35 - Grassrootz Bookstore  8:08 - Our Current Reads 8:21 - Witness 8 by Steve Cavanagh (Meredith) 10:26 - The Lincoln Lawyer by Michael Connelly 11:44 - Thirteen by Steve Cavanagh 11:55 - Bury Your Gays by Chuck Tingle (Kaytee) 12:21 - Pounded by the Pound by Chuck Tingle (amazon link) 12:31 - Taken by the Gay Unicorn by Chuck Tingle (amazon link) 12:41 - Aardvark Book Club 16:30 - The Great Hunt by Robert Jordan (Meredith) 17:41 - The Eye of the World by Robert Jordan 22:13 - Revenge of the Tipping Point by Malcolm Gladwell (Kaytee) 22:35 - The Tipping Point by Malcolm Gladwell 26:16 - Come Closer by Sara Gran (Meredith) 27:42 - 101 Horror Books to Read Before You're Murdered by Sadie Hartmann 31:08 - It Came from the Trees by Ally Russell (Kaytee) 35:19 - Deep Dive: Losing Momentum In Our Reading 49:21 - Meet Us At The Fountain 49:27 - I wish to ask if you can find actual smutty books on the shelves in bookstores (like monster romance etc with the wild covers). (Meredith) 50:01 - The Dragon's Bride by Katee Robert 50:32 - Neon Gods by Katee Robert 51:07 - Open Door Romance via Novel Neighbor 51:08 - The Novel Neighbor 51:15 - The Ripped Bodice Bookstore 52:04 - Still Life by Louise Penny (special edition w/sprayed edges, releases Sep. 30, 2025) 52:27 - I wish it was easier to get pretty versions of our favorite books. (Kaytee) 52:35 - The Hunger Games box set by Suzanne Collins (special edition with sprayed edges) 53:23 - Ember in the Ashes by Sabaa Tahir 53:53 - Quicksilver by Callie Hart (special edition, pre order, releases Aug 19, 2025) 55:11 - The Beautiful Mystery by Louise Penny Support Us: Become a Bookish Friend | Grab Some Merch Shop Bookshop dot org | Shop Amazon Bookish Friends Receive: The Indie Press List with a curated list of five books hand sold by the indie of the month. February's IPL comes to you from Fables and Fairy Tales in Marinsville, Indiana! Love and Chili Peppers with Kaytee and Rebekah - romance lovers get their due with this special episode focused entirely on the best selling genre fiction in the business.  All Things Murderful with Meredith and Elizabeth - special content for the scary-lovers, brought to you with the behind-the-scenes insights of an independent bookseller From the Editor's Desk with Kaytee and Bunmi Ishola - a quarterly peek behind the curtain at the publishing industry The Bookish Friends Facebook Group - where you can build community with bookish friends from around the globe as well as our hosts Connect With Us: The Show: Instagram | Website | Email | Threads The Hosts and Regulars: Meredith | Kaytee | Mary | Roxanna Production and Editing: Megan Phouthavong Evans Affiliate Disclosure: All affiliate links go to Bookshop unless otherwise noted. Shopping here helps keep the lights on and benefits indie bookstores. Thanks for your support!

Mike Garrigan Podcast
Production Lab: Experiment 10 - Black Echo

Mike Garrigan Podcast

Play Episode Listen Later Feb 1, 2025 28:31


www.mikegarrigan.com - Singer/songwriter Mike Garrigan shares the tenth experiment from his Production Lab.  Given the prompt "Create a song imagined as an outtake from The Downward Spiral" and a month in which to work, Mike produced "Black Echo." Hear the song and a detailed description of the entire creative process.Notes:The featured song is inspired by the Michael Connelly novel of the same name.Correction: Adrian Belew, not Alan Moulder, played the ring mod guitar on The Downward Spiral.Send me a Text Message.

Broadcasting House
Nurses demand action on 'unsafe' corridor care

Broadcasting House

Play Episode Listen Later Jan 12, 2025 50:58


As the NHS struggles to meet demand, the Royal College of Nursing warns treating patients in corridors puts lives at risk. Plus Lord Kinnock on Elon Musk's attacks on the Prime Minister, and Michael Connelly chronicles LA's fire disaster.

Simon Mayo's Books Of The Year
Michael Connelly Q&A

Simon Mayo's Books Of The Year

Play Episode Listen Later Dec 18, 2024 18:01


Michael Connelly joins Simon and Matt for a bonus Q&A episode. He talks about his writing processes, inspirations, favourite authors -and who he would invite to his fantasy dinner party. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Simon Mayo's Books Of The Year
Michael Connelly

Simon Mayo's Books Of The Year

Play Episode Listen Later Dec 11, 2024 41:30


Simon and Matt welcome international bestselling author Michael Connelly to Books Of The Year. They discuss his new book The Waiting, as well as his inspirations, Los Angeles basements, the constant nagging of an author's head and how he feels about Bosch getting older. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Grey Matter with Michael Krasny
Michael Connelly - Over Eighty-Five Million Detective and Crime Fiction Novels Sold Plus Movies and TV

Grey Matter with Michael Krasny

Play Episode Listen Later Nov 21, 2024 53:12


The latest episode of Grey Matter with Michael Krasny featured best-selling crime and detective novelist Michael Connelly, creator of Harry Bosch and Mickey Haller, and author of his 39th novel, "The Waiting." The conversation began with Krasny asking Connelly how he decides which character to feature, since "The Waiting" stars Renée Ballard, though Bosch plays a major role. Connelly discussed the important advisory role of Ballard's prototype, Mitzi Roberts, the recently retired head of the Los Angeles cold case unit. He explained how the journalist in him uses real and current events as undergirdings to his fiction. Connelly explored several real cases that influenced his latest novel, including two "pillowcase rapist" cases and the unsolved Black Dahlia murder. He also discussed the similarities between Miami and Los Angeles as destination cities, his role as executive producer in TV and movies, and his female characters, including Maddie Bosch. He shared his emotional connection to his characters and how he feels when they die or are killed, his literary and maternal influence, and what drew him to hard-boiled fiction. The discussion then turned to why jazz is central to the Bosch novels and the challenges Connelly faces when writing about music. They explored how Bosch and Haller became half-brothers, the origin of Haller's Lincoln, and the important role new technologies play in many of Connelly's novels. The conversation concluded with insights into his writing style, work habits, advice for aspiring writers, and details about his current work in progress.

Creative Principles
Ep586 - Ted Humphrey, Writer & Producer ‘The Lincoln Lawyer' & ‘The Good Wife'

Creative Principles

Play Episode Listen Later Nov 7, 2024 24:16


Ted Humphrey is an accomplished writer, producer, director, and showrunner. He's earned acclaim for his work as a producer on the CBS hit show THE GOOD WIFE in which he was honored with multiple Emmy, Golden Globe, and Writers Guild nominations for Best Drama Series. For his episode “Boom,” he received a Writers Guild nomination for Best Episodic Drama Script. In his latest series, THE LINCOLN LAWYER, based on the beloved novels by Michael Connelly and developed for television by Humphrey, Mickey Haller runs his law practice out of his Lincoln, and he's ready to hit the gas. Moving through Los Angeles, he takes cases while balancing a private life that includes being a father and having two ex-wives. In this interview, we talk about his early influences and how he transitioned to the entertainment industry, concerns about the current state of television production and writer development, his show THE LINCOLN LAWYER, the impact of streaming services on television production and storytelling, and more. Want more? Steal my first book, INK BY THE BARREL - SECRETS FROM PROLIFIC WRITERS right now for free. Simply head over to www.brockswinson.com to get your free digital download and audiobook. If you find value in the book, please share it with a friend as we're giving away 100,000 copies this year. It's based on over 400 interviews here at Creative Principles. Enjoy! If you enjoy the podcast, would you please consider leaving a short review on Apple Podcasts? It only takes about 60 seconds and it really helps convince some of the hard-to-get guests to sit down and have a chat (simply scroll to the bottom of your iTunes Podcast app and click “Write Review"). Enjoy the show!

Melissa Rivers' Group Text Podcast
True Hollywood Crime with Michael Connelly & Alison Ellwood

Melissa Rivers' Group Text Podcast

Play Episode Listen Later Sep 13, 2024 42:21


Author Michael Connelly and Director Alison Ellwood have created a new four-part docuseries, “The Wonderland Massacre and the Secret History of Hollywood” (now streaming on MGM+) and it proves that truth is stranger than fiction. In the summer of 1981, five people were found beaten in an apartment in the Hollywood Hills. Four were already dead when the cops arrived, including two members of the “Wonderland Gang,” which often stole drugs from rival dealers to sell or use themselves. Alison and Michael explain what drew them to this tale of modern noir, how the crime played out and was eventually (mostly) solved, and which celebrities were swept up into its macabre and twisted orbit. The only way “Group Text” happens is with YOUR support and support from mm amazing sponsors! I LOVE these gummies! No joke! Head to Viiahemp.com and use the code GROUPTEXT to receive 15% off + one free sample of their award-winning gummies. (21+). Thanks for supporting Group Text Looking to lose mare than 10 lbs? Let's get you started with 15% off and free rush shipping so you can add LEAN to you healthy diet and exercise plan. Visit TakeLean.com and enter GROUPTEXT for your discount. That's promo code GROUPTEXT at TakeLean.com Feeling drained and ready to get your energy and health back on track? Try Field of Greens! Use promo code GROUPTEXT at FieldOfGreens.com to get 15% off your first order and FREE rush shipping! This is another Hurrdat Media Production. Hurrdat Media is a podcast network and digital media production company based in Omaha, NE. Find more podcasts on the Hurrdat Media Network by going to HurrdatMedia.com or the Hurrdat Media YouTube channel! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices