Podcast appearances and mentions of Porochista Khakpour

A quick Sunday episode wherein I share some exciting news: Later this year, I will be launching a new company called DeepDive, which specializes in the creation of long-form educational audio. The debut course from DeepDive will be 'How to Write a Novel,' and it will feature more than 50 hours of never-before-heard conversations with dozens of today's leading writers, including Emily St. John Mandel, Porochista Khakpour, Melissa Broder, Steve Almond, V.V. Ganeshananthan, Lynn Steger Strong, Vauhini Vara, Lydia Kiesling, Madelaine Lucas, Matt Bell, Jerry Stahl, Hannah Pittard, Kimberly King Parsons, Gina Frangello, Stephen Graham Jones, and many more. The official DeepDive website is www.deepdive.audio. And please follow DeepDive on Instagram and on BlueSky. You can sign up for the official DeepDive newsletter right here. And you can read my Substack announcement here. *** Otherppl with Brad Listi is a weekly podcast featuring in-depth interviews with today's leading writers. Available where podcasts are available: Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, etc. Subscribe to Brad Listi's email newsletter. Support the show on Patreon Merch Twitter Instagram  TikTok Bluesky Email the show: letters [at] otherppl [dot] com The podcast is a proud affiliate partner of Bookshop, working to support local, independent bookstores. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Eurydice and Porochista discuss the phenomenon of Luigi Mangione, currently the most popular and most photographed killer in the world. LUIGI MANGIONE pleaded not guilty to the murder of United Healthcare CEO Brian Thompson, but the police and news media claim that he is the man we saw on camera shoot the CEO in the back in NYC outside the Hilton Hotel. There is a direct ideological line from Occupy Wall Street to Black lives Matter to Bernie, MAGA, the election results of 2016 and of 2024 to Luigi Mangione. The same DOJ that abused the justice system to criminalize Trump and Penny has indicted this alleged shooter on “terrorism” charges and both state and federal murder charges in a judicial overkill that those of us who despise the authoritarian state should protest.‬ --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/speaksex/support

Show Notes and Links to Porochista Khanpour's Work   For Episode 258, Pete welcomes Porochista Khakpour, and the two discuss, among other topics, her harrowing departure from Iran to the US at a young age, her voracious reading and writing and storytelling, amazing life experiences that have fed her writing, her love of contemporary stan culture and KPop, how her latest book's release is different, seeds for Tehrangeles, modern wellness and conspiracy theory cultures, her experiences with the real Tehrangeles, the role of the outsider as a writer, and so much about themes and topics related to her novel, like celebrity worship, assimilation, cancel culture, and racism.      Porochista Khakpour was born in Tehran and raised in the greater Los Angeles area. She is the critically acclaimed author of two previous novels, Sons and Other Flammable Objects and The Last Illusion; a memoir, Sick; and a collection of essays, Brown Album. Her writing has appeared in The New York Times, The Washington Post, the Los Angeles Times, The Wall Street Journal, Bookforum, Elle, and many other publications. Her latest book is Tehrangeles. She lives in New York City.   Buy Tehrangeles  Porochista's Official Website Porochista's Wikipedia Page “Writing Iranian America…”-2020 Interview from Columbia Journal   At about 1:45: Pete gets the wrong vegetable in remembering his first exposure to Porochista's excellent work   At about 2:45, Porochista talks about the year in publishing and the ways in which this year's tragedies have been in juxtaposition to careful and affectionate feedback for her novel   At about 7:30, Porochista and Pete discuss some politicians' cowardice and Porochsta's book as a “weird distraction”   At about 10:20, Pete asks Porochista about writing satire in an increasingly off-its-hinges world   At about 13:20, Porochista talks about the 1%, richest of the richest, and how “this sort of madness of wealthy people during the beginning of the pandemic”   At about 15:10, Porochsta gives background on the acquisition of her novel    At about 17:25, The two highlight Danzy Senna's great work   At about 18:20, Porochista cites examples of “dark humor” that at times run through Persian cultures    At about 20:10, Porochista reflects on the idea of “perpetual outsiders” and the effect on writing   At about 21:40, Porochista details her family's fleeing Iran and the traumas and memories that came with her odyssey to arriving in the US   At about 24:30, Porochista traces the way that Iran was often viewed by Americans at the time in which her family arrived in the US   At about 25:15, Porochista responds to Pete's questions about her early reading and writing and language life, both in English and Persian    At about 31:45,    At about 32:50, Porochista talks about she's been described as a “maximalist” and the connection to Persian as her first language   At about 34:35, Porochista talks about representation in the texts she read growing up and her early love of particular works that allowed her to learn about the Western canon in order to enjoy it and resist it   At about 37:30, Porochista charts her reading journey from Faulkner to Morrison to Sartre to the Beat Poets and describes her self-designed silent book reading “retreat”   At about 40:20, Porochista describes her reading and writing as responses to her life experiences and her identity revolving around writing   At about 41:35, Porochista describes transformative and formative texts and mentors and her time at Sarah Lawrence College and Oxford   At about 43:50, Porochista talks about the ways in which her reading was affected by how women writers are often limited, and how this connects to her seeking out adventure and life experience in living as a writer, including her going to William Faulkner Country   At about 49:45, The two make appreciations of James Joyce's work    At about 50:55, Porochista makes a case for contemporary writing as comprising a “golden era”   At about 52:00, Pete wonders if and how Porochsta has been influenced by Bret Easton Ellis and David Foster Wallace   At about 54:45, Porochista talks about ways in which Less than Zero and American Psycho and Donna Tartt's work have affected the sensibility of Tehrangeles and especially its ending   At about 59:15, Porochista talks about “dream” casting in case the novel becomes a movie, including Tara Yummy   At about 1:01:00, Porochista talks about the “twisted logic” found on many of the chat rooms/forums she spent time in for book research    At about 1:04:15, Porochista talks about how Louisa May Alcott's Little Women and Alcott's experience informed the writing of Tehrangeles   At about 1:07:55, The two discuss how Shahs of Sunset affected the novel   At about 1:10:00, Porochista explains her rationale in making the book's reality show producers a collective   At about 1:10:45, Porochista responds to Pete's question about the book's epitaphs     At about 1:13:55, Porochista talks about the book's untranslated Persian section and “progress” in people's understanding   At about 1:15:20, Pete cites and quotes the book's opening litany and the exposition of Book I   At about 1:16:20, Porochista describes a raucous scene where Roxana, a main character, goes through a “zodiac reassignment”   At about 1:17:50, Porochista digs into Roxana's “Secret”   At about 1:19:10, The two lament Kanye West's horrible recent behavior and other misogynists and abusers, in connection with the setting of the book   At about 1:22:30, The two discuss the world of influencers and their effect on younger generations in line with the characters of the book   At about 1:24:20, Pete recounts the Milani family members and their views of the    At about 1:26:00, Porochista recounts inspiration for Violet's sweets diet from an interview with Momofuku's Christina Tosi and Porochista's time at Sarah Lawrence   At about 1:28:00, The two discuss Violet's experience with a racist and demeaning model shoot that plays on her Iranian heritage    At about 1:29:30, Porochista reflects on Tehrangeles culture and its connection to religion    At about 1:30:35, Porochista discusses KPop and “stan culture” and how Mina “found her voice” through these online forums    At about 1:34:20, Porochista talks about purposely focusing on realistic and empathetic portrayals of gender identity    At about 1:38:30, The two discuss Hailey as representative of the intersections between Covid conspiracy theories and racism and “hidden” CA racism and wellness culture   At about 1:40:00, Porochista talks about her own experiences with the “dark wu wu” of the wellness cultures during her own fragile    At about 1:44:00, The two discuss Ali (Al) and his leaving Iran behind and how he seeks Americanization and how he makes his fortune   At about 1:46:15, Porochista likens events of the book, “The World of Al” to the DJ Khaled song    At about 1:48:05, The two discuss Roxana's desire to have a blowout early Covid-era party and how the physical “wings” of the house connect to the sisters' different growing pains and goals and ethics   At about 1:50:40, The two riff on some beautifully absurd scenes in the book, including a pet psychic's appearance    At about 1:51:50, Porochista gives background on deciding to do untranslated Persian in the book and about Homa and the ways she doesn't want to be part of Tehrangeles; also Editor Maria Goldberg Love   At about 1:55:10, Pete asks about the rationale and background for the book's ending using stream of consciousness   At about 1:57:15, Porochista shouts out Golden Hour Books and City of Asylum Books, and other places to buy her book, including Shawnee, Kansas' Seven Stories, run by 17 yr old Halley Vincent   At about 1:59:45, Porochista shouts out the stellar Deep Vellum and Verso and writers like   At about 2:01:05, Porochista talks about exciting upcoming projects    You can now subscribe to the podcast on Apple Podcasts, and leave me a five-star review. You can also ask for the podcast by name using Alexa, and find the pod on Stitcher, Spotify, and on Amazon Music. Follow me on IG, where I'm @chillsatwillpodcast, or on Twitter, where I'm @chillsatwillpo1. You can watch this and other episodes on YouTube-watch and subscribe to The Chills at Will Podcast Channel. Please subscribe to both my YouTube Channel and my podcast while you're checking out this episode.       I am very excited to have one or two podcast episodes per month featured on the website of Chicago Review of Books. The audio will be posted, along with a written interview culled from the audio. A big thanks to Rachel León and Michael Welch at Chicago Review.     Sign up now for The Chills at Will Podcast Patreon: it can be found at patreon.com/chillsatwillpodcastpeterriehl      Check out the page that describes the benefits of a Patreon membership, including cool swag and bonus episodes. Thanks in advance for supporting my one-man show, my DIY podcast and my extensive reading, research, editing, and promoting to keep this independent podcast pumping out high-quality content! This month's Patreon bonus episode features segments from conversations with Deesha Philyaw, Luis Alberto Urrea, Chris Stuck, and more, as they reflect on chill-inducing writing and writers that have inspired their own work. I have added a $1 a month tier for “Well-Wishers” and Cheerleaders of the Show.    This is a passion project of mine, a DIY operation, and I'd love for your help in promoting what I'm convinced is a unique and spirited look at an often-ignored art form.    The intro song for The Chills at Will Podcast is “Wind Down” (Instrumental Version), and the other song played on this episode was “Hoops” (Instrumental)” by Matt Weidauer, and both songs are used through ArchesAudio.com.     Please tune in for Episode 259 with Jessica Whipple. Jessica writes for adults and children, and her poetry has been published recently in Funicular, Door Is a Jar, and many more. She has published two children's picture books in 2023: Enough Is… and I Think I Think a Lot.  The episode will air on October 29. Lastly, please go to ceasefiretoday.com, which features 10+ actions to help bring about Ceasefire in Gaza.

Notes and Links to Mirin Fader's Work      For Episode 257, Pete welcomes Mirin Fader for her second Chills at Will visit, and the two discuss, among other topics, her love of contemporary fiction, how her second book's release is different than that of her first, seeds for her latest book-Dream, about the great Hakeem Olajuwon-coming from her previous blockbuster about Giannis Antetokounmpo, her finding stories within stories while researching the book, and the wonders and legends of Hakeem Olajuwon, from his start in handball and soccer to the ignorant and racist ways he was often viewed, to the role that discipline, creativity, and his faith play in his daily life.       Mirin Fader is a senior staff writer for The Ringer. Her first book, Giannis: The Improbable Rise of an NBA Champion, was a New York Times Bestseller, Los Angeles Times Bestseller, Wall Street Journal Bestseller, USA Today Bestseller, Publishers Weekly Bestseller. She has profiled some of the NBA's biggest stars, including Giannis Antetokounmpo, Ja Morant, DeMar DeRozan, and LaMelo Ball, telling the backstories that have shaped some of our most complex, most dominant, heroes. Fader wrote for Bleacher Report from 2017 to 2020 and the Orange County Register from 2013 to 2017. Her work has been featured in the “Best American Sports Writing” series and honored by the Pro Basketball Writers Association, the Associated Press Sports Editors, the U.S. Basketball Writers Association, the Football Writers Association of America, and the Los Angeles Press Club.    Buy Dream   Mirin Fader's Website   See Mirin on Tour!   At about 2:50, Mirin discusses her love of fiction and beloved contemporary texts, including Tommy Orange's latest, and Sudanese writer, Rania Mamoun's latest At about 4:40, Mirin responds to Pete's question about any sort of competitiveness within writers in Mirin's cohort, and Pete and Mirin stan Wright Thompson  At about 6:30, Pete highlights Demar Derozan's recent book and Mirin's profile of him for The Ringer At about 9:45, Mirin gives background on her profile of Bronny James and what “lane” she focused on for the piece At about 12:30, Some all-time NBA rankings! At about 14:45, Pete cites the book about Giannis and its lasting greatness At about 15:05, Pete asks Mirin about the run-up to her second book and feedback At about 16:10, Mirin mentions the nostalgia associated with Hakeem Olajuwon At about 17:30, Mirin talks about the “unheralded” nature of Hakeem, as well as the emergence of international basketball players, particularly with African players, for which he was a “prequel” At about 19:25, Mirin gives background on Ben Okri's quote for her epigraph and its connection to Hakeem and devotion and creativity At about 20:10, The two discuss the book's Prologue and LeBron James famous trip to train with Hakeem in 2011 At about 22:40, Henri Yranndo and his importance to Hakeem and his spiritual resurgence is referenced At about 24:00, Mirin discusses her wonderful experiences in going to Hakeem's mosque in Houston At about 25:00, Pete asks Mirin to expand on Hakeem as a “hidden one,” and connections to a hadith quoted from the Koran At about 26:30, The two discuss the book's beginning, and Mirin talks about the bustling city of Lagos, Hakeem's childhood (and later American media racism in describing his youth), and how his father taught him to be proud of his size At about 29:10, Mirin talks about Hakeem's early athletic feats outside of basketball, and how he was “recruited” to finally give in and play basketball At about 31:20, Pete and Mirin reflect on the sad fact that so many interviewees for the book have died recently and how this affects her urgency to get stories on paper At about 32:35, Mirin responds to Pete's wondering about how Hakeem's 1980 Nigerian National Team appearance affected his growth At about 34:10, The “Dream Shake” and Yomi Sangodeyi's greatness and tutoring are explored At about 35:00, Christopher Pond and the supposed origin story of Hakeem's Univ. of Houston landing, as well as problematic parts of the story are probed At about 38:50, Mirin talks about Hakeem's time in Houston and the city's growing Nigerian population  At about 40:10, Mirin expands upon the ignorant and racist ways in which Hakeem was written about, especially in his earlier years, and she shares the story of how him “changing his name” Was emblematic of his humble nature At about 42:55, Mirin highlights how Hakeem was never seen as a draft mistake, even though he was drafted over Michael Jordan, and Pete cites Frank Guidry's book on Houston and how the Forde Center helped Hakeem improve greatly as a Rocket At about 44:15, Pete cites Hakeem's moving letter referenced in the book, and how Mirin charts his rediscovering his faith through some amazing and makes it clear that he never “converted” to Islam At about 46:45, The two reflect on and express the amazement and respect for Hakeem's Ramadan fasting during his playing days At about 47:45, Pete and Mirin stan Hakeem's unforgettable series against David Robinson  At about 48:45, Mirin talks about how Hakeem's faith calls for him to not display iconography and show humility and how the book's cover satisfied the requirements of being respectful  At about 50:45, Mirin shouts out Brazos Bookstore and Skylight Books as good places to buy her book, and shouts out her first tour        You can now subscribe to the podcast on Apple Podcasts, and leave me a five-star review. You can also ask for the podcast by name using Alexa, and find the pod on Stitcher, Spotify, and on Amazon Music. Follow me on IG, where I'm @chillsatwillpodcast, or on Twitter, where I'm @chillsatwillpo1. You can watch this and other episodes on YouTube-watch and subscribe to The Chills at Will Podcast Channel. Please subscribe to both my YouTube Channel and my podcast while you're checking out this episode.       I am very excited to have one or two podcast episodes per month featured on the website of Chicago Review of Books. The audio will be posted, along with a written interview culled from the audio. A big thanks to Rachel León and Michael Welch at Chicago Review.     Sign up now for The Chills at Will Podcast Patreon: it can be found at patreon.com/chillsatwillpodcastpeterriehl      Check out the page that describes the benefits of a Patreon membership, including cool swag and bonus episodes. Thanks in advance for supporting my one-man show, my DIY podcast and my extensive reading, research, editing, and promoting to keep this independent podcast pumping out high-quality content! This month's Patreon bonus episode features segments from conversations with Deesha Philyaw, Luis Alberto Urrea, Chris Stuck, and more, as they reflect on chill-inducing writing and writers that have inspired their own work. I have added a $1 a month tier for “Well-Wishers” and Cheerleaders of the Show.    This is a passion project of mine, a DIY operation, and I'd love for your help in promoting what I'm convinced is a unique and spirited look at an often-ignored art form.    The intro song for The Chills at Will Podcast is “Wind Down” (Instrumental Version), and the other song played on this episode was “Hoops” (Instrumental)” by Matt Weidauer, and both songs are used through ArchesAudio.com.     Please tune in for Episode 258 with Porochista Khakpour, the critically acclaimed author of two previous novels, Sons and Other Flammable Objects and The Last Illusion; a memoir, Sick; and a collection of essays, Brown Album. Her writing has appeared in The New York Times, The Washington Post, the Los Angeles Times, The Wall Street Journal, Bookforum, Elle, and many other publications. Her latest book, a chaotic and satirical stellar work, is Tehrangeles. This episode will air on October 22. Lastly, please go to ceasefiretoday.com, which features 10+ actions to help bring about Ceasefire in Gaza.

Listen to series host and podcasts contributor Megan Vahdat sit down with author Porochista Khakpour to discuss her experiences growing up Iranian in LA, her journey as a writer and her latest novel, "Tehrangeles."

Porochista and Eurydice talk literature, uniparty, America's reality TV politics, celebrity culture, pop culture, rape culture, Jeffrey Epstein and P. Diddy. They discuss feminism from the 90s to now, Hamptons “white parties” and NYC clubs and Palm Beach society. Porochista Khakpour is a refugee from Iran , whose family fled the Iran-Iraq War and the Islamic Revolution , and the author of the books Sons and Other Flammable Objects, The Last Illusion, Sick, and Tehrangeles, her satirical, polyphonic, campy third novel, a tragicomic saga about the high-functioning dysfunctional Milani family of Iranian multimillionaires in LA who have a McMansion, a snack food empire, and four young daughters who live a reality TV lifestyle. The book is a critique of the untruth of social media, and the challenge of living an authentic life online. For more on Porochista's work, go to https://porochistakhakpour.com. @pkhakpourFor more on Eurydice's work, go to https://Eurydice.net or https://SpeakwithEve.com or https://youtube.com/@EveEurydice. @EurydiceEvePlease support this podcast at https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/speaksex/support or donate at https://www.paypal.me/Eurydice. We are 100% listener supported.Enjoy.Solstice Episode --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/speaksex/support

Mikaela Hoover performs Porochista Khakpour's wildly delightful novel about Iranian American fast-food heiresses and wannabe reality television stars. Host Jo Reed and AudioFile's Kendra Winchester discuss this story about four sisters at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, which toppled their dreams of a reality series focused on their family. The Milani family is forced to spend all of their time together and tensions rise. Hoover gives each dramatically different viewpoint character a distinct narrative voice, highlighting the charming and unique qualities of each character. Read our review of the audiobook at our website. Published by Random House Audio. Discover thousands of audiobook reviews and more at AudioFile's website. Support for our podcast comes from Hachette Audio, the publisher of CONNIE, this behind the scenes look into Connie Chung's life, read by Connie Chung herself. Find out more at Hachette Audio. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Masterful novelists Rebecca Makkai and Porochista Khakpour on her latest, Tehrangeles, plus parodies, parables, short attention spans, diaspora drama, K-pop, and more.

Porochista Khakpour is the author of the novel Tehrangeles, available from Pantheon. Khakpour was born in Tehran and raised in the Greater Los Angeles area. She is the critically acclaimed author of two previous novels, Sons and Other Flammable Objects and The Last Illusion; a memoir, Sick; and a collection of essays, Brown Album. Her writing has appeared in The New York Times, The Washington Post, the Los Angeles Times, The Wall Street Journal, Bookforum, Elle, and many other publications. She lives in New York City. *** Otherppl with Brad Listi is a weekly podcast featuring in-depth interviews with today's leading writers. Available where podcasts are available: Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, etc. Subscribe to Brad Listi's email newsletter. Support the show on Patreon Merch Twitter Instagram  TikTok Bluesky Email the show: letters [at] otherppl [dot] com The podcast is a proud affiliate partner of Bookshop, working to support local, independent bookstores. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

A conversation with my favorite social media influencer.

Once upon a time, author Porochista Khakpour worked as a shop girl in the luxury stores lining Rodeo Drive. She tells NPR's Ailsa Chang how excited she would get when Iranian-American customers came in — but how poorly those interactions would pan out to be. Her new novel, Tehrangeles, explores the story of one such powerful family in LA on the cusp of getting their own reality TV show. And as Khakpour and Chang discuss, it opens a whole lot of questions about whiteness, assimilation and cultural definitions of success. To listen to Book of the Day sponsor-free and support NPR's book coverage, sign up for Book of the Day+ at plus.npr.org/bookoftheday Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

In 1991, America's sweetheart Sally Field starred in a movie about an American woman's desperate escape from her abusive Iranian husband. For Susie, and a generation of other Iranian-American kids, this was the only representation they saw of themselves in pop culture – and it was not great. It was essentially a horror film – and the horror was Iran. In this episode, best-selling author (and fellow Iranian-American) Porochista Khakpour joins Susie to talk about what it was like growing up in the shadow of ‘Not Without My Daughter' and its comically dark view of their homeland.  GUESTS:   Porochista Khakpour, best-selling author  FOR MORE: The Not Without My Daughter Problem: How a Sally Field Movie Became an Iranian-American Headache (New York Magazine) Iranians Moving Past Negative Depictions In Pop Culture (by Porochista Khakpour, LA Times)  Order Porochista's book Tehrangeles See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Hello from British Columbia! This week, [4:15] we start with the latest concerning video of Mitch McConnell and whether the conversation around fitness for office can (and should) cut across party lines. [21:45] Next, we talk about the Korean fine-dining wave in NYC, the effect of soft power, and why you won't see us at Naro anytime soon. [45:05] In our final segment, we discuss the Serial podcast “The Retrievals,” which explores questions of gendered pain and corrupt healthcare through the true stories of women deprived of pain medication during IVF. Jay takes us BTS of this caliber of narrative podcast. In this episode, we ask: Is it reasonable to expect basic verbal competency from our elected officials?If you're a leftist, are there some luxuries (like dining at $$$$$ restaurants) that should be off-limits? Or is that a needlessly moralistic stance? Why is women's pain continually dismissed, and what's the right punishment for the infliction of non-lethal harm? For more, see: * The older and more recent videos of Mitch McConnell, and some doctors' hypotheses about the cause* Pete Wells's article about How Korean Restaurants Remade Fine Dining in New York * The Times investigation into A Deadly Epidural, Delivered by a Doctor With a History of Mistakes * Books on pain and how it's addressed: Sick: A Memoir, by Porochista Khakpour, and The Body in Pain, by Elaine Scarry* Past TTSG episodes we refer to: * A recent discussion on Asian food trends in the U.S., from June* Lux magazine and lockdowns with Sarah Leonard, from December 2020We'll be off next week as our hosts attend to other business (their full-time jobs), but watch out for a non-audio note! Subscribe on Patreon or Substack to join our Discord community to chat about “authentic” Asian food, and to see footage of the noraebang you heard at the end of today's episode! You can also follow us on Instagram, TikTok, and X (Twitter), and email us at timetosaygoodbyepod@gmail.com. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit goodbye.substack.com/subscribe

Deforestation in the Brazilian Amazon fell by 66% in July 2023 compared to a year earlier. The news comes as leaders from eight South American countries are gathering in Belem to discuss how to protect the rainforest. The BBC's South America Correspondent Katy Watson is in Brazil and tells us what she's been hearing. We also look at Lyme disease following Bella Hadid's recent Instagram post that details her struggles with the disease. Our Health and Science Correspondent James Gallagher explains the cause and symptoms. And our friends at BBC Reel speak to Iranian-American novelist Porochista Khakpour, whose memoir “Sick” describes the difficulties and expense of living with the condition. Email: whatintheworld@bbc.co.uk WhatsApp: +44 0330 12 33 22 6 Presenter: Hannah Gelbart Producers: Benita Barden, Adam Chowdhury, William Lee Adams Editors: Verity Wilde and Rachael Akidi Okwir

Today's podcast episode surrounds the concept of imagining and one particular genre: science fiction. Although the conversation focuses on one specific genre, the subject elicits questions about what writing within a particular genre does for your work. Which genres do you write in and what ways do they help you imagine? Does writing in a particular genre open doors to reimagine reality?   Questions 1. How do you learn craft between workshops, writing classes/seminars, reading and practice? What do you think the right balance when it comes to learning craft? Do you ever feel out of balance and why? 2. The question Octavia Butler was often asked: What good is science fiction to Black people?”    Show Notes Octavia Butler, Positive Obsession essay can be found here: https://www.loa.org/news-and-views/1779-octavia-e-butler-positive-obsession  Samuel R Delaney, The Motion of Light and Water, https://www.eileenmcginnis.com/blog/2018/10/19/turn-and-face-the-strange-samuel-delany-queering-science-fiction-queering-fatherhood Check out the wonderful world of Helen Oyeyemi here: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/80808.Helen_Oyeyemi  Robert Jordan, Wheel of Time, https://www.goodreads.com/series/41526-the-wheel-of-time  Crystal Wilkinson again! - https://www.crystalewilkinson.net/ Hurston-Wright Foundation (https://www.hurstonwright.org/) has some upcoming workshops for emerging Black writers definitely worth checking out  Lighthouse Writers Workshop - https://www.lighthousewriters.org/  Neil Gaiman, American Gods, https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/30165203-american-gods  Deep Reading taught by Michael Duszat, The Reader Berlin, https://www.thereaderberlin.com/weekend-workshop/the-deep-reading-workshop-with-michael-duszat/ - sign up for this class whenever it is on next! E.M. Forrester, A Passage to India (not voyage!), https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/45195.A_Passage_to_India  Toni Morrison, Paradise, https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/5198.Paradise?ref=nav_sb_ss_1_14 - "They shoot the white girl first. With the rest they can take their time." - what a line! Eimear McBride, A Girl Is a Half-Formed Thing,  https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/18218630-a-girl-is-a-half-formed-thing?from_search=true&from_srp=true&qid=69SsZIKOJh&rank=1  Experimental Writing for Non-Experimental Writers  was facilitated by Porochista Khakpour  (https://porochistakhakpour.com/) via The Center for Fiction  (https://centerforfiction.org/groups-workshops-all/)  Brittany's amazing VONA instructor for Fiction, Mathangi Subramanian,  https://www.mathangisubramanian.com/  VONA- https://www.vonavoices.org/ Rooted and Written Poetry Cohort - https://rooted-written.org/ led by Tonya Foster (https://tonyafosterpoet.com/)

Live from ASU California Center at the historic Herald Examiner Building: Iran analyst Holly Dagres, artist Sahar Ghorishi, and anthropologist Pardis Mahdavi joined Zócalo to discuss if young women hold the key to a just future for Iran. This event was recorded on December 6, 2022 and was moderated by Porochista Khakpour, author of "Brown Album" Visit https://www.zocalopublicsquare.org/ to read our articles and learn about upcoming events. Follow along on Twitter: https://twitter.com/thepublicsquare Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thepublicsquare/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/zocalopublicsquare LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/z-calo-public-square

Novelist and essayist Porochista Khakpour joins Fiction/Non/Fiction hosts V.V. Ganeshananthan and Whitney Terrell to discuss the current wave of protests for women's rights in Iran, and the government's brutal crackdown in response. Khakpour laments the deaths of young women who have lost their lives speaking out against compulsory hijab. She also reflects on and celebrates multiple generations of human rights protests in the country of her birth. Finally, she talks about what it means to be Iranian in the United States and reads from her essay “Revolution Days,” which is included in her latest book, Brown Album: Essays on Exile and Identity. To hear the full episode, subscribe through iTunes, Google Play, Stitcher, Spotify, or your favorite podcast app (include the forward slashes when searching). You can also listen by streaming from the player below. Check out video versions of our interviews on the Fiction/Non/Fiction Instagram account, the Fiction/Non/Fiction YouTube Channel, and our show website: https://www.fnfpodcast.net/. This podcast is produced by Anne Kniggendorf. Selected Readings: Porochista Khakpour Brown Album: Essays on Exile and Identity The Last Illusion Sons and Other Flammable Objects  Sick Shirin Ebadi: 'Almost a fourth of the people on Earth are Muslim. Are they like each other? Of course not' | Working in development | The Guardian (April 25, 2017) “What I Saw at the Revolution,” The Daily Beast (Feb. 11, 2009) Others: “Iranian President Orders Enforcement of Hijab and Chastity Law for Women” by Ardeshir Tayebi, RadioFreeEurope / RadioLiberty's Radio Farda (July 7, 2022) “In Iran, Woman's Death After Arrest by the Morality Police Triggers Outrage,” by Farnaz Fassihi, The New York Times (Sept. 16, 2022) “Nika Shakarami: Iran protester's family forced to lie about death,” by Parham Ghobadi, BBC Persian (Oct. 6, 2022) “Another teenage girl dead at hands of Iran's security forces, reports claim,” by Deepa Parent and Annie Kelly, The Guardian, (Oct. 7, 2022) “Unity In Diversity: On Overcoming the Erasure of Kurdistan and Jina,” by Ala Riani and Rezan Labady, Los Angeles Review of Books, (Oct. 13, 2022) “Protest Chants, a Riot and Gunshots: How a Prison Fire Unfolded in Iran,” by Farnaz Fassihi, The New York Times (Oct. 21, 2022) Jasmin Darznik and Dina Nayeri on the 40th Anniversary of the Iranian Revolution (Fiction/Non/Fiction Season 2, Episode 23)  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Welcome to "How To Be...", exploring how to gain life skills, whilst attempting to gain some myself. American writer, feminist, womanist, librarian, and civil rights activist Audre Lorde once said: “There is no thing as a single-issue struggle because we do not live single-issue lives.” Looking at identity, it is thought to be important to approach it from an intersectional perspective because it deepens the understanding that there is diversity and nuance in the ways in which people hold power. So how do become more inclusive of different identities for others and ourselves? Looking into what the 'experts' say about identity and intersectionality and whether it is truly helpful? And also hearing from others who have gained some mastery over themselves. Please hit subscribe to hear the whole series on life skills! It should be short and sweet. I look forward to journeying with you through this maze of hacks.TW: References to slavery, racism, and sexual violence

What does K-Pop, Shinee, and the Ghost of Bumpy Johnson have in common? Find out in this extraordinary episode of Are You There, Ghost? It's Me, Chiwan. This week's guest is Porochista Khakpour who's book SICK  (HarperCollins) was “a memoir of chronic illness, misdiagnosis, addiction, and the myth of full recovery, chronicling the long, arduous discovery of her late-stage Lyme Disease.” Her debut novel Sons and Other Flammable Objects (Grove/Atlantic, 2007) was a New York Times “Editor's Choice.” #Kpop #Shinee #BumpyJohnson #Jonghyun #Haunted #Ghosts #PorochistaKhakpour

Booker Prize-winning author Ben Okri launches his timely new collection of stories, Prayer for the Living, in conversation with novelist and essayist Porochista Khakpour. Their passionate and poetic conversation touches on the spiritual, political, aesthetic and emotional aspects of writing fiction, and in particular the tension for non-white writers between the freedom to write about universal human ideas and the demand that they represent their specific cultural context. Their conversation unveils the power and necessity of storytelling in our time; as Okri says, "We as the human race are in the Last Chance Saloon of our great narrative... we're holding the bowl of the future in our hands and it's very, very fragile." (Recorded February 4, 2021)

Originally published on: July 9, 2020.As Rodeo Drive reopens its doors to the world, we invite you to join host Bronwyn Cosgrave to revisit the unique story of clothing designer Bijan Pakzad and the ultra-luxury menswear store he created. Four decades after young Bijan Pakzad packed his bags and left Iran, he had become the “world’s most expensive designer”, sought after by presidents and basketball stars. Join his son, Nicolas, CEO and co-owner of the House of Bijan as he takes listeners on a tour of the storied, by-appointment only yellow boutique while recounting his late father’s past, explaining the secrets to his success, and what he meant to generations of Persian Americans who decamped to Los Angeles during the Iranian Revolution. Listen back to fashion influencer Pari Ehsan; and author Porochista Khakpour weighing in on Bijan’s extraordinary story. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Born in Tehran in 1978, Porochista Khakpour is the award-winning author of the novels 'The Last Illusion' and 'Sons and Other Flammable Objects', as well as the memoir 'Sick' and the essay collection 'Brown Album'. A frequent New York Times contributor, here she shares with Emma the traumatic experiences that have shaped her creative process: from the refugee experience in '80s California, to US health care failings, to having to have dinner with Marilyn Manson. For levity, there's also at least fifteen minutes about Porochista's passions for Freddie Mercury and the ending of 'The Breakfast Club'.

Porochista Khakpour was struggling with an undiagnosed case of late-stage Lyme Disease, having to go through medical treatments every day. As a suggestion to help Porochista get through her disease recovery, her doctor encouraged her to consider an emotional support dog. He said there could be a positive impact on her health as a result, and he was right. She got a poodle puppy and never looked back. That dog, Cosmo, helped motivate her to take hikes outside, focus on someone else by taking him to puppy school, and bring a level of unconditional love that has led to them being an inseparable pair ever since. It's clear that Cosmo was crucial to her recovery and finding a new, positive way forward in her life. - SOCIAL MEDIA - Website - https://www.dogsavethepeople.com - Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/dogsavethepeople - Twitter - https://twitter.com/dogsavetheppl - Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/dogsavethepeople - FEATURED LINKS - Porochista Khakpour on Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/pchza - Porochista Khakpour on Twitter - https://twitter.com/PKhakpour - Porochista Khakpour on Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/PorochistaKhakpourAuthor - Porochista Khakpour’s book about her illness, SICK (2018) - https://www.amazon.com/Sick-Memoir-Porochista-Khakpour/dp/006242873X - Porochista Khakpour’s latest book, Brown Album: Essays on Exile and Identity (2020) - https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/598265/brown-album-by-porochista-khakpour/

In the early 1970s a young clothing designer named Bijan Pakzad packed his bags and left Iran, dreaming of conquering America. Four decades later the building that housed the original Bijan boutique on Rodeo Drive was purchased by LVMH for $122 million, and Bijan had become the “world’s most expensive designer,” sought after by presidents and basketball stars. Bijan’s son Nicolas, CEO and co-owner of the House of Bijan, takes listeners on a tour of the storied, by-appointment-only boutique, and explains how he is redefining the Bijan brand for tomorrow’s customers. He also revisits his late father’s past, explaining the secrets to Bijan’s success, his love of yellow, and what he meant to generations of Persian Americans who decamped to Los Angeles during the Iranian Revolution. “He just did the most unbelievable, controversial things that people wanted to know ‘What's the story here?’,” says Nicolas Bijan.Weighing in on Bijan’s “story” is Pari Ehsan, the Instagram fashion influencer who runs the online platform Pari Dust; and Porochista Khakpour, author of Brown Album: Essays on Exile and Identity. Podcast CreditsHost, Bronwyn Cosgrave.Editors, Frances Anderton and Avishay Artsy.Theme music by Brian Banks.Production Coordinators, Livia Mandoul and Guthrie McCarty-Vachon.Executive Producer, Lyn Winter.Rodeo Drive - The Podcast is presented by the Rodeo Drive Committee with the support of the City of Beverly Hills.Rodeo Drive CommitteeFounded in 1972, Rodeo Drive, Inc., also known as The Rodeo Drive Committee is a 501 C (6) non-profit organization, that provides a forum where its members—consisting of retailers, hoteliers, and landowners—can engage, share a dialogue, and help shape the present and future of the iconic, world-famous shopping destination. For further information about Rodeo Drive -The Podcast, please contact:Lyn Winter, Inc., 213 446 0788, rodeodrive@lynwinter.com See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Eve Eurydice speaks with Porochista Khakpour, author of Sick, Brown Album, The Last Illusion, Sons and Other Flammable objects, intellectual valley girl recipient of a 2012 NEA. She’s a girl after my own heart—plus we both have Persian last names, similar moms, experimental prose writer creds, mold survival expertise, & sexual fluidity. We talk about divesting ourselves of the Patriarchy Aesthetic & the Addiction to Materialism which is America’s fundamentalism. If we no longer equate good with profitable, we can evaluate our choices & the choices of others in socially meaningful, impactful ways. Profit drove Americans to sell kidnapped humans to each other & profit is keeping social equality & health care limited to those who can afford it & privatized. Are we committed to freedom or to profitability? If we choose Freedom, we must learn to speak truth, & this is when we speak sex. Find Porochista’s work at www.PorochistaKhakpour.com ⚡️Want to Speak Sex? Go to https://Speaksexpodcast.com ⚡️ --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/speaksexpodcast/message

Novelist Porochista Khakpour's family moved to Los Angeles after fleeing the Iranian Revolution, giving up their successes only to be greeted by an alienating culture. Growing up as an immigrant in America means that one has to make one's way through a confusing tangle of conflicting cultures and expectations. And Porochista is pulled between the glitzy culture of Tehrangeles, an enclave of wealthy Iranians and Persians in LA, her own family's modest life and culture, and becoming an assimilated American. Porochista rebels--she bleaches her hair and flees to the East Coast, where she finds her community: other people writing and thinking at the fringes. But, 9/11 happens and with horror, Porochista watches from her apartment window as the towers fall. Extremism and fear of the Middle East rises in the aftermath and then again with the election of Donald Trump. Porochista is forced to finally grapple with what it means to be Middle-Eastern and Iranian, an immigrant, and a refugee in our country today. Brown Album is a stirring collection of essays, at times humorous and at times profound, drawn from more than a decade of Porochista's work and with new material included. Altogether, it reveals the tolls that immigrant life in this country can take on a person and the joys that life can give. Khakpour is in conversation with Myriam Gurba, a writer, spoken-word artist, and visual artist. _______________________________________________ Produced by Maddie Gobbo & Michael Kowaleski Theme: "I Love All My Friends," a new, unreleased demo by Fragile Gang.

SHOW LINKS EPISODE TRANSCRIPT Hey guys and welcome BACK to the Creatives And Designcast; the show by a creative, for creatives. I’m your host Taron Joyner and this is the SECOND episode of this show. Thank you to everyone who tuned in to listen. I am super excited to continue to connect with some cool creatives and talk about subjects that we ALL want more insight or advice on. This is the second episode that I decided not to feature guests but for those of you who are new listeners, know that you CAN expect to hear guests who are fellow creatives on future episodes. On this week’s episode, we will talk about Creatives & PRICING, BILLING & The MONEY MINDSET! Ready? Let’s talk turkey! “If your quote doesn’t make you nervous, it’s not high enough. Meditate on your goals and how money can get you there. Also, [meditate] on your ideal clients, because money is great but working with nightmare clients is not.Melissa Alam, Alam Digital SEGMENT 1 Money. Moolah. Dinero. Pesos. Dough. Cheddar. Paper. The many different names or shall I say terms of endearment for money is a list that could go on for several days at best. Before I get into the pricing and billing, I want to talk about money in general. Any issues regarding how an individual navigates pricing and billing for their business, often tends to evolve around our persona relationship with money.  Money is at the heart of capitalism and capitalism is the fuel for the machine better known as the United States of America. Actually, pretty much any modernized country depends on money to operate. As citizens of our respective countries, we are all introduced into a relationship with money, oftentimes before we reach the age of maturity. With most of us having first dealt with money in our mid-late teenage years and into our ongoing adult lives, it’s so strange that we get antsy and nervous when talking about it. For some odd reason, it’s more comfortable to hear someone tell you how much they are going to give you than for you to tell them how much they should give you, despite your experience, years of knowledge, investments in yourself and other factors.  This is called “The Money Taboo” which speaks to the fear behind speaking about money. Porochista Khakpour, a novelist and journalist in NYC believes that the money taboo means  “people are going to get cheated over and over, and it tends to be women, people of color, people in marginalized positions…if people are silent about problems, things can be perpetuated.  And she is completely correct. When you don’t discuss money in the way that it benefits you, then you leave yourself wide open to being fucked over in the process. But what is the WHY? Why do we as humans subject ourselves to being bullied by money that we actually have the power to control? Anthropologist Caitlin Zaloom states that we have to consider a few factors to understand why. She says, “Your value as a human being is somehow made material in your pay and in your accounts”. Furthermore, if people were to be more honest about forthright about their income, they’d be “exposing how they are valued by their employer and others.” Since there is no standard of measurement for financial metrics, people find it hard to know where we fall on the spectrum in comparison to our family members, friends, coworkers, etc.  Being intimidated, embarrassed and silent about money only holds us back from breaking the silence and asking for the money we deserve. TaRon Joyner All of this can be a hard pill to swallow…considering. This is an issue that can be fixed and that’s the bright side of it. After all, most of you listening now are freelancers, entrepreneurs, and/or artists so surely, this won’t be the toughest thing you’ve done or will do.  So, let’s start with reversing how you view money. Growing up, most of us have probably heard the age-old adage, “money is the root of all evil.” Personally,

Porochista Khakpour is a writer whose debut novel Sons and Other Flammable Objects was a New York Times Editor's Choice. Her subsequent books have received similar accolades, and her nonfiction work has appeared in many sections of The New York Times, the Los Angeles Times, Elle, Slate, and many others. In this episode, Porochista shares her story of chronic Continue Reading…

Porochista Khakpour is a writer whose debut novel Sons and Other Flammable Objects was a New York Times Editor’s Choice. Her subsequent books have received similar accolades, and her nonfiction work has appeared in many sections of The New York Times, the Los Angeles Times, Elle, Slate, and many others. In this episode, Porochista shares her story of chronic Continue Reading…

EP 3 GUESTS Amanda Duarte Porochista Khakpour Jean Grae Kembra Pfahler Join comedian and New Yorker cartoonist Emily Flake and Kat Burdick as they talk to the funniest and most interesting people around about what messed up things go through their heads at night. They’ll poke around looking for deeper meaning behind that dream where you’re still in high school somehow even though you know you graduated years ago and oh god, you’ve been blowing off first period all semester – and then Emily will present each guest with artwork based on their worst nightmare, suitable for framing or ritual burning! Cats, Kids, Kanye, Birds, JoCo Cruise, Slavery Drawings by Emily Flake are posted on Good Orbit site and social media. Recorded Dec 15, 2019. Live show monthly (first Thursdays!) at KGB Bar in NYC. Produced and edited by Shannon Manning for Good Orbit. Amanda Duarte’s Nightmare Porochista Khakpour’s Nightmare Jean Grae’s Nightmare Kembra Pfahler’s Nightmare https://good-orbit.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/decnightmare.mp4

EP 3 GUESTS Amanda Duarte Porochista Khakpour Jean Grae Kembra Pfahler Join comedian and New Yorker cartoonist Emily Flake and Kat Burdick as they talk to the funniest and most interesting people around about what messed up things go through their heads at night. They’ll poke around looking for deeper meaning behind that dream where you're still in high school somehow even though you know you graduated years ago and oh god, you've been blowing off first period all semester – and then Emily will present each guest with artwork based on their worst nightmare, suitable for framing or ritual burning! Cats, Kids, Kanye, Birds, JoCo Cruise, Slavery Drawings by Emily Flake are posted on Good Orbit site and social media. Recorded Dec 15, 2019. Live show monthly (first Thursdays!) at KGB Bar in NYC. Produced and edited by Shannon Manning for Good Orbit. Amanda Duarte’s Nightmare Porochista Khakpour’s Nightmare Jean Grae’s Nightmare Kembra Pfahler’s Nightmare https://good-orbit.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/decnightmare.mp4

In our season 3 finale, we take a listen back through three seasons full of fascinating women.  Episode sponsors:  StoryWorth - visit storyworth.com/tellme for $20 off Zola - visit zola.com/tellme to start your free website and get $50 off your registry completion

Porochista Khakpour's debut novel Sons and Other Flammable Objects was a New York Times Editor's Choice, one of the Chicago Tribune's Fall's Best, and the 2007 California Book Award winner in the 'First Fiction' category. Her second novel The Last Illusion was a 2014 "Best Book of the Year" according to NPR, Kirkus, Buzzfeed, Popmatters, Electric Literature, and many more. Among her many fellowships is a National Endowment for the Arts award. Her nonfiction has appeared in many sections of The New York Times, the Los Angeles Times, Elle, Slate, Salon, and Bookforum, among many others. Sick is Khakpour's grueling, emotional journey - as a woman, an Iranian-American, a writer, and a lifelong sufferer of undiagnosed health problems - in which she examines her subsequent struggles with mental illness and her addiction to doctor prescribed benzodiazepines, that both aided and eroded her ever-deteriorating physical health. A story of survival, pain, and transformation, Sick candidly examines the colossal impact of illness on one woman's life by not just highlighting the failures of a broken medical system but by also boldly challenging our concept of illness narratives.Mattilda Bernstein Sycamore is the author of a memoir and three novels, and the editor of five nonfiction anthologies. Her memoir, The End of San Francisco, won a Lambda Literary Award, and her most recent anthology, Why Are Faggots So Afraid of Faggots?: Flaming Challenges to Masculinity, Objectification, and the Desire to Conform, was an American Library Association Stonewall Honor Book. Mattilda's new novel, Sketchtasy, is out in October. Sketchtasy brings 1990s gay culture startlingly back to life, as Alexa, an incisive twenty-one-year-old queen, and her friends grapple with the impact of growing up at a time when desire and death are intertwined. With an intoxicating voice and unruly cadence, this is a shattering, incandescent novel that conjures the pain and pageantry of struggling to imagine a future. Writers LIVE programs are supported in part by a bequest from The Miss Howard Hubbard Adult Programming Fund. Recorded On: Wednesday, November 7, 2018

Porochista Khakpour's debut novel Sons and Other Flammable Objects was a New York Times Editor's Choice, one of the Chicago Tribune's Fall's Best, and the 2007 California Book Award winner in the 'First Fiction' category. Her second novel The Last Illusion was a 2014 "Best Book of the Year" according to NPR, Kirkus, Buzzfeed, Popmatters, Electric Literature, and many more. Among her many fellowships is a National Endowment for the Arts award. Her nonfiction has appeared in many sections of The New York Times, the Los Angeles Times, Elle, Slate, Salon, and Bookforum, among many others. Sick is Khakpour's grueling, emotional journey - as a woman, an Iranian-American, a writer, and a lifelong sufferer of undiagnosed health problems - in which she examines her subsequent struggles with mental illness and her addiction to doctor prescribed benzodiazepines, that both aided and eroded her ever-deteriorating physical health. A story of survival, pain, and transformation, Sick candidly examines the colossal impact of illness on one woman's life by not just highlighting the failures of a broken medical system but by also boldly challenging our concept of illness narratives.Mattilda Bernstein Sycamore is the author of a memoir and three novels, and the editor of five nonfiction anthologies. Her memoir, The End of San Francisco, won a Lambda Literary Award, and her most recent anthology, Why Are Faggots So Afraid of Faggots?: Flaming Challenges to Masculinity, Objectification, and the Desire to Conform, was an American Library Association Stonewall Honor Book. Mattilda's new novel, Sketchtasy, is out in October. Sketchtasy brings 1990s gay culture startlingly back to life, as Alexa, an incisive twenty-one-year-old queen, and her friends grapple with the impact of growing up at a time when desire and death are intertwined. With an intoxicating voice and unruly cadence, this is a shattering, incandescent novel that conjures the pain and pageantry of struggling to imagine a future. Writers LIVE programs are supported in part by a bequest from The Miss Howard Hubbard Adult Programming Fund.

FFR #47: Top Gun On this week’s FFR, we fly into the danger zone with Maverick, Iceman, Goose and the rest of the best of the best with the cultural juggernaut that is Top Gun. Is it a film carefully calculated to represent masculinity in such a way as to maximize navy recruitment efforts? Is it a film dripping with queer subtext? Can it be both? Join us for a conversation about the acting, the imagery, and questions about what really constitutes the film’s central love story. Also, Anita announces that she’s had a lifetime’s fill of a certain pop star and never needs to hear another one of their songs again, much to Carolyn’s dismay. And Carolyn time-warps into the episode to bring you pop culture news from the future! Segment Timestamps: :00 Intro 3:10 Entertainment News: The link between Kavanaugh and Gamergate. Bette Midler makes a bad tweet. Lady Gaga on sexual assault and trauma on Colbert. 11:35 Top Gun 44:05 What’s Your FREQ-Out? Ebony on Veep, Carolyn on Life Is Strange 2, Anita on the books of Porochista Khakpour 53:50 Wrap-up Relevant Links: We Hunted the Mammoth story on Mark Judge and Gamergate: http://www.wehuntedthemammoth.com/2018/10/03/mark-judge-gamergater-kavanaugh-pals-creepy-2015-attacks-on-anita-sarkeesian-look-even-creepier-in-retrospect/ Lady Gaga discussing Kavanaugh and Dr. Ford on Colbert: https://youtu.be/f2ldzqrvEk4 Sick by Porochista Khakpour: https://porochistakhakpour.com/books/sick/ The Last Illusion by Porochista Khakpour: https://porochistakhakpour.com/books/the-last-illusion/

Author Porochista Khakpour joins co-hosts Medaya Ocher and Kate Wolf to talk about her new book Sick: A Memoir, which chronicles her struggle with Lyme disease. Porochista discusses how she identified the illness, how it has affected her career and day to day life and how she navigates the experience of being a young sick woman in contemporary society. Also, LARB's Medaya Ocher recommends Ali Smith's novel Autumn.

Author Porochista Khakpour joins co-hosts Medaya Ocher and Kate Wolf to talk about her new book Sick: A Memoir, which chronicles her struggle with Lyme disease. Porochista discusses how she identified the illness, how it has affected her career and day to day life and how she navigates the experience of being a young sick woman in contemporary society.  Also, LARB's Medaya Ocher recommends Ali Smith's novel Autumn.

Sick is Porochista Khakpour’s arduous, emotional journey—as a woman, a writer, and a lifelong sufferer of undiagnosed health problems—through the chronic illness that perpetually left her a victim of anxiety, living a life stymied by an unknown condition. With candor and grace, she examines her subsequent struggles with mental illness, her addiction to the benzodiazepines prescribed by her psychiatrists, and her ever-deteriorating physical health. A story about survival, pain, and transformation, Sick is a candid, illuminating narrative of hope and uncertainty, boldly examining the deep impact of illness on one woman’s life. Khakpour is in conversation with Mira Gonzalez, a writer and illustrator from Los Angeles.

For as far back as she can remember, writer Porochista Khakpour has been sick. She was recently diagnosed with late-stage Lyme disease and has written her first memoir about her illness, Sick. Khakpour sat down with one of her literary heroes Eileen Myles for a conversation about her experience with the disease and how it has affected her as a writer, activist, and lover of New York City. Khakpour says "it's a diaristic book and I wanted there to be a lot of honesty... a lot of capturing myself, not at my best but at my worst." The best way to support this podcast is with a gift to The New York Public Library. Click here to donate.

Porochista Khakpour is a novelist and the author of Sick: A Memoir. She talks with Isaac Chotiner about how she was diagnosed with Lyme disease, why people who suffer from Lyme are often ignored or disbelieved, and how Americans still don’t understand how to communicate with people suffering from serious illnesses. Email: ask@slate.comTwitter: @IHaveToAskPod Podcast production by Max Jacobs. Listen to I Have to Ask via Apple Podcasts, Overcast, Spotify, Stitcher, or Google Play"  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Porochista Khakpour is a novelist and the author of Sick: A Memoir. She talks with Isaac Chotiner about how she was diagnosed with Lyme disease, why people who suffer from Lyme are often ignored or disbelieved, and how Americans still don’t understand how to communicate with people suffering from serious illnesses. Email: ask@slate.comTwitter: @IHaveToAskPod Podcast production by Max Jacobs. Listen to I Have to Ask via Apple Podcasts, Overcast, Spotify, Stitcher, or Google Play"  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this episode of AAWW Radio, authors Yiyun Li and Porochista Khakpour discuss how depression and chronic illness have transformed their existence not only as writers, but as people. Author Elif Batuman guides us in a conversation exploring the relationship between trauma and physical illness, the authors’ influences, and for who they tell their stories.   Link to the video of this event on our YouTube channel: https://youtu.be/Epj7kP7gWKA 

Salman Rushdie in conversation with Porochista Khakpour; readings by poets Dawn Lundy Martin and Nicole Sealey and essayist Lina Maria Ferreira Cabeza-Vanegas; and more.

Porochista Khakpour is a highly acclaimed author. Her fiction books, Sons and Other Flammable Objects and The Last Illusion, have received and been nominated for various awards and she also contributes essays frequently to a variety of outlets. Her forthcoming memoir, Sick, chronicles her journey in dealing with late-stage Lyme disease. Porochista also teaches writing at Columbia University and has also taught at Bard College. She immigrated to the United States as a refugee from Iran as a child. In this episode she tells us about navigating the Iranian and American identities with her mother, and how her mother dealt not only with raising an "American" daughter, but also with raising her daughter in far worse financial circumstances than she herself was raised. For more on Porochista and her work, visit her website at http://porochistakhakpour.com/. 

Porochista Khakpour is an artist, a journalist, an Iranian-American and an academic, and that makes her story as relevant and resonant today as it's ever been. She talks about leaving Tehran at age three, her extreme Type-A childhood reaction to the immigrant experience, and what it's like to try and break down misperceptions about being "The Other" in today's America. Notes:  Follow Porochista - @PKhakpour For more on Porochista - porochistakhakpour.com Check out Chris's new novel - WarOnSoundbook.com Follow The Juggernaut - @JuggernautPod Find the Juggernaut on Facebook - www.facebook.com/groups/1792363834316273 THREE OF A KIND Mohsin Hamid: "The Reluctant Fundamentalist" Helen Oyeyemi: "Boy, Snow, Bird" Yiyun Li: "The Vagrants"  

In part one of the TK One Year Anniversary Jubilee, Mike Scalise discusses his phenomenal memoir, THE BRAND NEW CATASTROPHE. He talks with James about being diagnosed with the hormonal disorder acromegaly, the difficulties he encountered writing about it, the blind spots of memoir, what it's like to be a public representative of a rare condition, and the complexities of ordering middle grade Bobby "The Brain" Heenan bios through university inter-library loan. Will they discuss Mike's beloved Steelers? (Spoiler: No)   - Mike Scalise: http://mikescalise.tumblr.com/bnc Mike and James Discuss:  Sarabande Books  THE TWO KINDS OF DECAY by Sarah Manguso Eddie Carmel  Rondo Hatton Andre the Giant  Tony Robbins   Agni  Yaddo  Ninth Letter  George Mason University  Bucknell University  Susan Orlean  Michael Paterniti  SEEK: REPORTS FROM THE EDGES OF AMERICA & BEYOND by Denis Johnson American Short Fiction  One Story  BEST AMERICAN ESSAYS  ANDRE THE GIANT: LIFE AND LEGEND by Box Brown  AS YOU WISH: INCONCEIVABLE TALES FROM THE MAKING OF THE PRINCESS BRIDE by Cary Elwes  Philip Roth  Bobby "The Brain" Heenan  Rick Flair  The Fabulous Moolah  Porochista Khakpour  G.C. Waldrep  AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF A FACE by Lucy Grealy HAPPY: A MEMOIR by Alex Lemon  PATRIMONY: A TRUE STORY by Philip Roth   STOP-TIME: A MEMOIR by Frank Conroy  SPEAK, MEMORY: AN AUTOBIOGRAPHY REVISITED by Vladimir Nabokov  Laura van den Berg Jim Shepard   HALF A LIFE: A MEMOIR by Darin Strauss  -   http://tkpod.com / tkwithjs@gmail.com / Twitter: @JamesScottTK Instagram: tkwithjs / Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/tkwithjs/

Porochista Khakpour moved to an apartment with large picture windows in downtown Manhattan shortly before September 11, 2001, giving her a painfully perfect view of the terrorist attacks. “The big event of my life was of course 9/11,” Khakpour says. “I experienced a lot of post traumatic stress from it and think about it constantly.” It’s no surprise that the assault on the Twin Towers features prominently in her writing. Through non-fiction essays and two novels, the Iranian-born writer has tried to understand the tragedy’s impact on her, the nation, and the world. But while her essays are rooted in facts, her fiction takes flight. In The Last Illusion (Bloomsbury USA, 2014) there are, in fact, multiple references to flight. The main character, an albino man named Zal, is raised by his abusive mother in a cage among a balcony full of birds. Although he cannot fly, he yearns to. Rescued by an American and brought to New York in the years before 9/11, he tries to unlearn his feral ways and finds himself drawn to visionaries–an artist who claims to see the future and a famous magician who aspires, in a feat of illusionist virtuosity, to make the then still-standing World Trade Center disappear. The character of Zal is based on a Persian myth and Khakpour infuses the story with fabulous twists and turns. “My biggest challenge was doing a mythic retelling of a summer before 9/11 and not just any summer but Y2K to the summer before 9/11… Luckily, what was great about the realism was that the realism was quite surreal. If you look at the Y2K narrative, not to mention the 9/11 narrative, it’s full of the magical, full of the fabulist, full of the kind of impossible.” In her New Books interview, Khakpour discusses the impact of 9/11 on “everyone”: “I’m kind of amazed when I meet people who think it didn’t really affect them or the event wasn’t that big a deal in their life. Maybe the actual day wasn’t but their lives have completely been altered, even just economically. Anyone who has a job today has been affected by it.” She speculates about the trepidation publishers might have had about a book that uses myth and fantasy modes to tell a story about 9/11: “It took over two and half years to sell this book whereas my first book only took a few months…. If I’d done a purely realistic take from say a Middle Eastern woman’s perspective, my guess is it would have sold faster but this idea that I was using a fabulous mode, a sort of speculative mode, and addressing this sensitive world event and then add to the fact that here I am, you know, a brown person addressing this–that caused I think some complications. About her connection to her protagonist Zal, who, like her is an Iranian-born immigrant: “I don’t think I’ve ever written a character that I’ve identified with more.” Related links: * Khakpour’s magician in The Last Illusion was inspired by the real life example of David Copperfield, who made the Statue of Liberty “disappear” in a television special in the 1970s. Here’s a clip on YouTube. * Follow Porochista Khakpour on Twitter. Rob Wolf is the author of The Alternate Universe and Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Porochista Khakpour moved to an apartment with large picture windows in downtown Manhattan shortly before September 11, 2001, giving her a painfully perfect view of the terrorist attacks. “The big event of my life was of course 9/11,” Khakpour says. “I experienced a lot of post traumatic stress from it and think about it constantly.” It’s no surprise that the assault on the Twin Towers features prominently in her writing. Through non-fiction essays and two novels, the Iranian-born writer has tried to understand the tragedy’s impact on her, the nation, and the world. But while her essays are rooted in facts, her fiction takes flight. In The Last Illusion (Bloomsbury USA, 2014) there are, in fact, multiple references to flight. The main character, an albino man named Zal, is raised by his abusive mother in a cage among a balcony full of birds. Although he cannot fly, he yearns to. Rescued by an American and brought to New York in the years before 9/11, he tries to unlearn his feral ways and finds himself drawn to visionaries–an artist who claims to see the future and a famous magician who aspires, in a feat of illusionist virtuosity, to make the then still-standing World Trade Center disappear. The character of Zal is based on a Persian myth and Khakpour infuses the story with fabulous twists and turns. “My biggest challenge was doing a mythic retelling of a summer before 9/11 and not just any summer but Y2K to the summer before 9/11… Luckily, what was great about the realism was that the realism was quite surreal. If you look at the Y2K narrative, not to mention the 9/11 narrative, it’s full of the magical, full of the fabulist, full of the kind of impossible.” In her New Books interview, Khakpour discusses the impact of 9/11 on “everyone”: “I’m kind of amazed when I meet people who think it didn’t really affect them or the event wasn’t that big a deal in their life. Maybe the actual day wasn’t but their lives have completely been altered, even just economically. Anyone who has a job today has been affected by it.” She speculates about the trepidation publishers might have had about a book that uses myth and fantasy modes to tell a story about 9/11: “It took over two and half years to sell this book whereas my first book only took a few months…. If I’d done a purely realistic take from say a Middle Eastern woman’s perspective, my guess is it would have sold faster but this idea that I was using a fabulous mode, a sort of speculative mode, and addressing this sensitive world event and then add to the fact that here I am, you know, a brown person addressing this–that caused I think some complications. About her connection to her protagonist Zal, who, like her is an Iranian-born immigrant: “I don’t think I’ve ever written a character that I’ve identified with more.” Related links: * Khakpour’s magician in The Last Illusion was inspired by the real life example of David Copperfield, who made the Statue of Liberty “disappear” in a television special in the 1970s. Here’s a clip on YouTube. * Follow Porochista Khakpour on Twitter. Rob Wolf is the author of The Alternate Universe and Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Porochista Khakpour moved to an apartment with large picture windows in downtown Manhattan shortly before September 11, 2001, giving her a painfully perfect view of the terrorist attacks. “The big event of my life was of course 9/11,” Khakpour says. “I experienced a lot of post traumatic stress from it and think about it constantly.” It’s no surprise that the assault on the Twin Towers features prominently in her writing. Through non-fiction essays and two novels, the Iranian-born writer has tried to understand the tragedy’s impact on her, the nation, and the world. But while her essays are rooted in facts, her fiction takes flight. In The Last Illusion (Bloomsbury USA, 2014) there are, in fact, multiple references to flight. The main character, an albino man named Zal, is raised by his abusive mother in a cage among a balcony full of birds. Although he cannot fly, he yearns to. Rescued by an American and brought to New York in the years before 9/11, he tries to unlearn his feral ways and finds himself drawn to visionaries–an artist who claims to see the future and a famous magician who aspires, in a feat of illusionist virtuosity, to make the then still-standing World Trade Center disappear. The character of Zal is based on a Persian myth and Khakpour infuses the story with fabulous twists and turns. “My biggest challenge was doing a mythic retelling of a summer before 9/11 and not just any summer but Y2K to the summer before 9/11… Luckily, what was great about the realism was that the realism was quite surreal. If you look at the Y2K narrative, not to mention the 9/11 narrative, it’s full of the magical, full of the fabulist, full of the kind of impossible.” In her New Books interview, Khakpour discusses the impact of 9/11 on “everyone”: “I’m kind of amazed when I meet people who think it didn’t really affect them or the event wasn’t that big a deal in their life. Maybe the actual day wasn’t but their lives have completely been altered, even just economically. Anyone who has a job today has been affected by it.” She speculates about the trepidation publishers might have had about a book that uses myth and fantasy modes to tell a story about 9/11: “It took over two and half years to sell this book whereas my first book only took a few months…. If I’d done a purely realistic take from say a Middle Eastern woman’s perspective, my guess is it would have sold faster but this idea that I was using a fabulous mode, a sort of speculative mode, and addressing this sensitive world event and then add to the fact that here I am, you know, a brown person addressing this–that caused I think some complications. About her connection to her protagonist Zal, who, like her is an Iranian-born immigrant: “I don’t think I’ve ever written a character that I’ve identified with more.” Related links: * Khakpour’s magician in The Last Illusion was inspired by the real life example of David Copperfield, who made the Statue of Liberty “disappear” in a television special in the 1970s. Here’s a clip on YouTube. * Follow Porochista Khakpour on Twitter. Rob Wolf is the author of The Alternate Universe and Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Porochista Khakpour is the guest. Her novel The Last Illusion is now available from Bloomsbury.  Claire Messud says “Utterly original and compelling, Porochista Khakpour's The Last Illusion weaves Iranian myth with very contemporary American neurosis to create a bittersweet poetry all its own. This ambitious, exciting literary adventure is at once grotesque, amusing, deeply sad—and wonderful, too.” And Kirkus, in a starred review, calls it "An audaciously ambitious novel that teeters along a tightrope but never falls off." Monologue topics:  big news, superstition, not wanting to be dominated by superstition despite demonstrably being dominated by superstition by knocking wood repeatedly.      Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In the last episode for 2014 Bev and Jenn discuss recurring themes and comments that came up with guests over the past seven episodes, "slush pile" topics (items that were not broached with guests), fave books by POC authors read in 2014, and do another mini bookclub, this time for Porochista Khakpour's novel The Last Illusion from Bloomsbury. 

Merritt Tierce is the guest. Her debut novel Love Me Back is now available from Doubleday. The Oxford American says “What’s so compelling about this compulsively readable yet highly literary novel is not the 'unflinching' depiction of Marie’s behavior—though it’s crafted so carefully that readers want to consume each detail—but instead the beautifully plain and unsentimental access Tierce gives us to her protagonist’s interior…How rare it is to find a writer who can encapsulate a character’s sweeping motivation in a page or paragraph or single sentence…Tierce’s magnetic portrayal of a woman whose behavior is conventionally allowed only of men announces Tierce as a writer we’ve been waiting for for much too long." And Carrie Brownstein says “Tierce's prose possesses the force, bluntness and surprise of a sucker punch. Love Me Back is an unflinching and galvanic novel full of heart and heartache; one of my favorite books of the last few years.” Monologue topics:  the darkness of the past week, literary media, Ed Champion, Stephen Tully Dierks, Tao Lin, Emily Gould, Porochista Khakpour, Twitter, ambivalence, flailing. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this wide-ranging 79 minute conversation, Porochista Khakpour discusses how she fused the romantic with the grotesque for her second novel, THE LAST ILLUSION, birds as an inevitable cultural symbol, growing up as an Iranian immigrant, quirky and pragmatic attitudes to death, Kafka and Kierkegaard, and academics who misinterpret authenticity,