Special Program

Today on Word of Mouth, a conversation with Margaret Atwood, recorded live at the Music Hall in Portsmouth as part of the “Writers on a New England Stage” series.  Virginia spoke with the award winning author of the dystopian novel The Handmaid’s Tale. They talked about pessimism, hope for the future, and learning survival skills in Canada. 

Today on Word of Mouth, a conversation with Isabel Allende, live from the series. Allende is the best selling Latin-American author in the world. Beginning with her 1982 debut, House of the Spirits, Ms. Allende’s novels have been praised for their historical accuracy, deep sensuality and what critics call "magical realism." She has written 17 more books including novels, memoirs and young adult stories since she was forced to leave her native Chile. She and her family fled after a military coup toppled the presidency of her father’s cousin, Salvador Allende.

The author of Liar’s Poker, Moneyball, and The Blind Side joined NHPR's Jon Greenberg at the most recent installment of Writers on a New England Stage to discuss his latest work of nonfiction, The Big Short: Inside the Doomsday Machine. It's a character-rich and darkly humorous account of how the US economy “was driven over the cliff” by a collection of professionals entrenched in the financial world.

Today on Word of Mouth, a conversation with Jodi Picoult, live from the "Writers on a New England Stage" series. The prolific novelist’s 17th book, House Rules, recently debuted at the #1 spot on the New York Times bestsellers list for hardcover fiction. We spoke to her about her work and her life as a mother of three here in Hanover, New Hampshire. But first, we hear Jodi Picoult reading from her new book.

In 1993, Greg Mortenson had hoped to climb K2, the world’s second highest mountain in memory of a sister who had recently passed away. He never made it to the top, and got lost on his way down, but when he finally stumbled into the town of Korphe, Pakistan his life would change forever. A promise to the villagers of Korphe embarked Greg Mortenson on a mission to build schools, especially for girls, in Pakistan. He recounts this mission in the bestselling book Three Cups of Tea.

The acclaimed author of The Poisonwood Bible, The Bean Trees, and Animal, Vegetable, Miracle was at the Music Hall in Portsmouth to take part in our Writers On A New England Stage series. Kingsolver reads from her new book The Lacuna, talks with Laura Knoy and takes questions from the audience. Today we play back the highlights from the evening’s event.