It’s 1910 when 30-year-old redhead and Scottish socialite Olive MacLeod defies all wisdom, packs her bags, and travels to Africa to find her missing fiance. Author Brad Ricca tells the true story of Olive the Lionheart based on her own journals and photographs, the lost journals of her fiance — naturalist Boyd Alexander — and the many letters that crossed continents between them.
Olive’s adventure of the heart sweeps her across deserts, cities, swamps, and jungles. We discuss what was at the heart of the journey, and what drove her. Because while some define her as a hero, Olive realizes in Africa that her journey’s not just about finding her fiance. It’s also about facing her demons and finding herself.
Norma Jean Bauerschmidt lived a quiet northern Michigan life for 90 years, never even crossing a state line. It took the death of her husband of 67 years, followed by her own diagnosis of a terminal illness two days later, for Norma to stop existing and start living. Refusing a hospital bed, she told her doctor, “I’m 90-years-old. I’m hitting the road.”
Also today, being the last remaining child of Angela of Angela’s Ashes fame, coupled with being Irish, Malachy McCourt has a certain expertise on death. His latest book, Death Need Not Be Fatal, is of course about the rituals of death … for instance, why do we keep our lights on in funeral processions … but it also is about laughing, tears, brotherhood, poverty, the famous, and living life to the fullest.
Malachy McCourt is an actor, writer, politician, and younger brother of famed writer Frank McCourt. He was the 2006 Green Party candidate for Governor of New York, has appeared in numerous television shows and movies, and authored several books.
From the Biblical parting of the Red Sea to the science behind the mutant X-Men, Matt Kaplan has studied it all. Discovering the truths associated with legendary myths, fantasies, and magic are all in a day’s work for Matt, and he shares his fascinating findings in Science of the Magical: From the Holy Grail to Love Potions to Superpowers.
Matt Kaplan is a science correspondent with The Economist and has written for National Geographic, Nature, and The New York Times. In his free time, he travels the world exploring our most cherished myths and legends.
Also today, Jonathan Franklin chronicles the astonishing true story of Salvador Alvarenga, who survived a 14 month ordeal at sea after his boat’s motor went out and heavy winds carried him and his partner far from shore. 438 Days: An Extraordinary True Story of Survival at Sea inspires the unbreakable will to live of the human spirit.
Jonathan Franklin regularly reports for GQ, The Guardian, and Esquire with a focus on Latin America. He also produces documentaries broadcast by The New York Times.
Conversations Live regular and NY Times and USA Today bestseller Hazel Gaynor is back to discuss her latest historical fiction novel, The Girl From the Savoy. Hazel takes us back to the roaring 20’s with the tale of a humble chambermaid who gets the opportunity to face the ultimate decision… choosing between everything she knows, and everything she dreams of.
Jungle of Stone: The Extraordinary Journey That Uncovered the Lost Civilization of the Maya is journalist William Carlsen’s definitive account of how two intrepid explorers changed the prevailing view of human history in the Western Hemisphere. It chronicles the daring journey of John Lloyd Stephens and Frederick Catherwood’s to uncover, document, and contextualize for the world what would come to be known as the remains of the Maya civilization.
While you enjoy this encore presentation of Conversations Live with Vicki St. Clair, don’t forget that for exclusive updates throughout the rest of the week, you can like us on Facebook, and follow Vicki St. Clair on Twitter! Vicki returns live next Monday at noon on KKNW 1150AM or 94.9FM HD.
The Girl From the Savoy by returning guest Hazel Gaynor introduces Dolly Lane, a chambermaid at London’s grandest hotel, The Savoy, who dreams to live alongside the Bright Young Things who thrive on champagne, jazz, and rebellion. When she responds to an ad to become a ‘muse’ for a struggling songwriter, she finds herself thrust into London’s exhilarating theatre scene. At the precipice of the life she has and the one she longs for, she must make a difficult choice: between two men; between two classes; between everything she knows and everything she dreams of. The Girl From the Savoy is Hazel’s third novel in the growing genre of historical fiction, with her first two becoming USA Today and NY Times bestsellers.
When John Lloyd Stephens, the U.S. Charge d’affaires appointed by President Martin Van Buren, set out for Guatemala City in 1839, his official mission was to broker a trade agreement with the leaders of the recently formed United Provinces of Central America. But he and Frederick Catherwood, an English artist and architect, had a separate and more personal goal for the excursion – to explore the Central American jungle in search of hidden, unknown worlds. William Carlsen fleshes out a rollicking account of their expeditions, and their quest to make sense of their findings for the rest of the world in Jungle of Stone: The Extraordinary Journey That Uncovered the Lost Civilization of the Maya. William has been a journalist for thirty years, a finalist for the 1999 Pulitzer Prize for explanatory reporting and a winner of numerous journalism awards.
It’s 1910 when 30-year-old redhead and Scottish socialite Olive MacLeod defies all wisdom, packs her bags, and travels to Africa to find her missing fiance. Author Brad Ricca tells the true story of Olive the Lionheart based on her own journals and photographs, the lost journals of her fiance — naturalist Boyd Alexander — and the many letters that crossed continents between them.
