Ayelet Waldman, author of "Bad Mother: A Chronicle of Maternal Crimes, Minor Calamities, and Occasional Moments of Grace," talks about how all mothers need an identity separate from mothering their children and how 'attachment parenting' can be problematic. The full interview from a 2009 episode of "Conversations On The Coast with Jim Foster" can b…

Annie Barrows, co-author of "The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society," talks about how the author within the story asks three questions: why a roast pig dinner had to be kept secret, how a pig could spark the beginning of a literary society, and what exactly a potato peel pie is. The full interview from a 2008 episode of "Conversations On…

Kim Barnes, author of "A Country Called Home," talks about how the state of Idaho became a character in itself within the novel and how starting a new simpler life in the country can be a lot more complicated than one might expect. The full interview from a 2008 episode of "Conversations On The Coast with Jim Foster" can be heard now wherever you g…

Dr. Neal Barnard, author of "Dr. Neal Barnard's Program for Reversing Diabetes," talks about what a typical day might look like on his diet plan and what suggestions he gave to California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger on how to battle the growing diabetes crisis. The full interview from a 2007 episode of "Conversations On The Coast with Jim Foster…

Blue Balliett, author of "Chasing Vermeer," talks about how illustrator Brett Helquist was able to make the paintings in the book so real, the puzzles interwoven throughout the story, and the power art can have. The full interview from a 2004 episode of "Conversations On The Coast with Jim Foster" can be heard now wherever you get your podcasts.…

Kate Atkinson, author of "One Good Turn," talks about how everything is connected in the world as illustrated in the book when all the main characters meet as bystanders to a crime of road rage. The full interview from a 2006 episode of "Conversations On The Coast with Jim Foster" can be heard now wherever you get your podcasts.…

Nancy Atherton, author of "Aunt Dimity and the Family Tree," talks about how becoming a writer happened out of nowhere and where Aunt Dimity of the long-running series came from. The full interview from a 2011 episode of "Conversations On The Coast with Jim Foster" can be heard now wherever you get your podcasts.…

Jennifer Arnold, author of "In a Dog's Heart: What Our Dogs Need, Want, and Deserve--and the Gifts We Can Expect in Return," calls upon several decades of raising and training service dogs and explains how Choice Teaching can be an effective way to teach dogs about doing the right thing. The full interview from a 2011 episode of "Conversations On T…

Karen Armstrong, author of "The Bible: A Biography," talks about how the story of The Exodus was written deliberately as a myth. The full interview from a 2008 episode of "Conversations On The Coast with Jim Foster" can be heard now wherever you get your podcasts.Oleh Jim Foster: Conversations On The Coast

Samina Ali, author of "Madras on Rainy Days," talks about how important it is for Muslim-American women to learn how to claim a feminism for themselves. The full interview from a 2005 episode of "Conversations On The Coast with Jim Foster" can be heard now wherever you get your podcasts. Photo: saminaali.net…

Monica Ali, author of "In the Kitchen," talks about the prevalence of indentured labor in the restaurant industry within the context of her novel. This full interview from a 2009 episode of "Conversations On The Coast with Jim Foster" can be heard now wherever you get your podcasts. Photo credit: Yolande De Vries/monicaali.com…

Cristina Alger, former analyst at Goldman Sachs and author of "The Darlings," talks about what it was like during the financial disaster of 2008 in New York. This full interview from a 2012 episode of "Conversations On The Coast with Jim Foster" can be heard now wherever you get your podcasts.Oleh Jim Foster: Conversations On The Coast

On this special episode, host and producer Jim Foster speaks with technical producer Robert Costa about how "Conversations On The Coast with Jim Foster" became a long-running program airing on various radio stations in the San Francisco Bay Area for several decades, and also speaks about how the book publishing world has changed over the years, whe…

In "The Whole World Over," author Julia Glass writes a novel about all the little accidents in life that come together to determine our choices in love and connections to others in the world. This second discussion about the book took place on a 2007 episode of "Conversations On The Coast with Jim Foster" originating in San Francisco, California. P…

In "Perfidia," author James Ellroy writes a historical novel and the first volume of his second L.A. Quartet series, set in Los Angeles in 1941 that follows the story of several very different people who come together to investigate the murder of a Japanese family as America is at the brink of World War II. This discussion with the author took plac…

In "The Death of Innocents: An Eyewitness Account of Wrongful Executions," author Sister Helen Prejean talks about her first-hand experiences witnessing the execution of Dobie Gillis Williams in 1999 and Joseph Roger O'Dell in 1997, how poor people are primarily affected by wrongful executions, and why the execution of Michael Morales was postponed…

In "Dorchester Terrace: A Charlotte and Thomas Pitt Novel," the late author Anne Perry writes the next novel in a series in which Thomas Pitt is now the head of Britain's Special Branch, and follows the story of him and his wife trying to get information from two women in order to prevent an international catastrophe. This conversation took place o…

In "Her Wild Oats," the late author Kathi Kamen Goldmark writes a novel about two people at very different points in their lives who develop an unlikely friendship, a thirteen-year-old boy who plays the harmonica, and a young woman who recently discovered her husband was having an affair. In this discussion, the late author's husband Sam Barry talk…

In "And the Dark Sacred Night," author Julia Glass writes a novel about a man's quest to find his biological father and what he discovered along the journey about himself and the world. This discussion took place on a 2014 episode of "Conversations On The Coast with Jim Foster" originating in San Francisco, California. Photo: Robert Costa.…

In this episode, Jim Foster shares his thoughts on the publishing scandal surrounding James Frey's memoir "A Million Little Pieces" and why a memoir by Heather King entitled "Parched" is more meaningful surrounding the subject of alcoholism and addiction, especially considering the fact that many things written as personal experiences in Frey's mem…