Julie Rehmeyer was so sick she sometimes couldn’t turn over in bed. The top specialists in the world were powerless to help, and scientific research on her disease was at a near standstill. She was running out of money. And she was all alone, with no one to care for her. This is the beginning… Read more »
Is Sonia Taitz’s new novel, Great With Child, a well-crafted summer read about an aspiring lawyer, who happens to be single and pregnant, involved in a love triangle while engaged in an intriguing sub-plot? Or, is Sonia Taitz presenting a shrewd observation on the hurdles of being a working mother dealing with rampant misogyny and… Read more »
He is one of the few NPR stars who has left his mark without saying a word. He is the award-winning composer of some of the best-known Public Radio themes you’ve been listening to for decades, including Morning Edition, Weekend Edition, Marketplace, Science Friday, Wait, Wait, Don’t Tell Me! And the “Stump The Chumps” theme on Car Talk. In the… Read more »
Eleanor Oliphant struggles with appropriate social skills and tends to say exactly what she’s thinking. Nothing is missing in her carefully timetabled life of avoiding social interactions, where weekends are punctuated by frozen pizza, vodka, and phone chats with Mummy. This is the set-up for Gail Honeyman’s remarkable debut novel, Eleanor Oliphant Is Completely Fine…. Read more »
With a catalog that includes titles such as President Trump Unveiled: Exposing the Bigoted Billionaire, The Animals’ Vegan Manifesto, Kingdom Of The Unjust: Behind the U.S.–Saudi Connection, The United States Vs. Pvt. Chelsea Manning, and At The Tea Party plus controversial authors like Julian Assange, Patrick Cockburn, Sue Coe, and Clark Stoeckley, you know OR… Read more »
The last Saturday in April is Independent Bookstore Day. In a world of tweets and algorithms and pageless digital downloads, bookstores are not a dying anachronism. They are living, breathing organisms that continue to grow and expand. In fact, there are more of them this year than there were last year. Take a look at… Read more »
In the Vegan Manifesto, Sue Coe, human champion of rights for those whose voice most humans do not hear, has crafted a masterpiece: at once visually stunning and spiritually invigorating.” – Dr. Michael Greger, author of How Not to Die “Sue Coe is the most important and prolific political artist of our time. Her work… Read more »
Tallahassee Tries to Limit Local Government Power to Decide Transportation Future In recent days you may have been stuck in long traffic jams on the interstate highway system here in the Bay area. First there was a grassfire that shut down I-275 in Pinellas County during Friday afternoon rush hour. Then there was the multi… Read more »
“Billy, my cross-eyed Siamese cat had an unusual habit. Before he would settle in to enjoy a nice meal of whatever ridiculously expensive gourmet cat food I provided, he would clamber up to the top of a dresser in my bedroom. Once perched on top, he would skillfully reach down with a paw and open… Read more »
The U.S. has access to 94,000 miles of coastline, and nearly half the population lives less than ten miles from the sea. Yet 91 percent of the seafood Americans eat comes from abroad. In contrast, a third of all the fish and shellfish we catch are sold to foreign countries. What is keeping us from… Read more »
Siv Jakobsen first made an appearance on Life Elsewhere in the summer of 2015. At that time, Norman B predicted we would be hearing more from, “An artist who displays a maturity, way beyond her years.” Siv is back with a new single, a wonderful primer for her forthcoming album, expected later this year. All the enthusiastic… Read more »
“Never before in the history of the human species has climate set so many spine-chilling new records as last year, 2016.” The opening line from the latest commentary in Counterpunch by Robert Hunziker. The environmental journalist and frequent contributor to Life Elsewhere goes on to liken the Trump administration’s behavior and policies to America’s 19th… Read more »
Next at Life Elsewhere we take a look at us…the Exceptional Species. First, we’ll go back in time to discover our ancestors. Dr. Lydia Pyne has drawn from archives, museums, and interviews to build a cultural history of seven celebrity fossils, the enterprising result is collated in her new book, Seven Skeletons: The Evolution of… Read more »
Comedian, writer, musician, actor and radio host, Dave Hill returns to Life Elsewhere along with his good friend and fellow comedian, Greg Barris, who is a staple of New York’s downtown stand-up scene. The two young funny guys have been performing recently together and as they were in the neighborhood, we asked them to take… Read more »
How easy is it to generate fake news? We’re going to find out in a moment when we talk with the founder of a fake news website which already has been visited by a million people—just three weeks after it was created. A former Clearwater resident began generating fake news last month; news that was… Read more »
We had three different guests on today’s program. Jon Sherman, Senior Counsel for the Fair Elections Legal Network, spoke about his organization’s lawsuit against Rick Scott and other states officials on attempting to automatically restore former felons’ voting rights and eliminate Florida’s “arbitrary and opaque process for re-enfranchisement.” Also, Penn State University professor Sophia McClennan on why the media isn’t doing… Read more »
“Rock ’n’ Roll began when I was born…in 1947!” A bold, challenging proclamation if uttered by anyone else, other than Ronny Elliott. Often referred to as a cult artist, Ronny has many-a-story to back up his claim. The fact that he has played on bills with Van Morrison, The Allman Brothers, Wilco, Sly & The… Read more »
Two regular contributors to Life Elsewhere join Norman B to chat about everything from the extraordinary mess-up at the Oscars to pissing off Martha Stewart. Noted film and media critic, Bob Ross weighs in with his take on the relevance of the Oscars and asks, “Do movies cause social ills?” Esteemed political caricaturist and social… Read more »
“I consider myself an American patriot. I write this with no irony, although with plenty of outrage, a new outrage.” The stirring words of David Ulin in a vibrant essay titled, How To Be A Patriot In America for Literary Hub. David uses his well-honed literary skills to take us on a journey of discovery…. Read more »
Josh Idehen of Hugh wrote to us a few days ago, he wanted to let us know about his band’s new single, This Is How It Starts. The title, he says of their first single for 2017, is deliberate. Hugh wants to alert their past and new fans they’re starting the new year as they… Read more »
