Set on the South Side of Chicago in 1971, Cyrus Colter's novel, "The River of Eros," is the story of Clotilda and her two grandchildren. Colter said Clotilda was very similar to the matriarchal roles of the women living in the deep South. *Please note: some sections have been edited out from the original recording due to copyright considerations 

With his book, "Hunting Mr. Heartbreak: A Discovery of America," Jonathan Raban wanted to see if, in the 20th century, a man could have a new life in America. Raban traveled to New York City, to the deep south in Alabama, to Seattle and finally to the Florida Keys.

Living in Montana in the early 20th century had many hardships, as covered in Jonathan Raban's book, "Bad Land: An American Romance". Raban said people were looking for new lives in the west but they encountered prairie fires, hail storms and grasshopper plagues.

Jimmy Breslin discusses and reads excerpts from “The Gang That Couldn't Shoot Straight,” his novel about a Brooklyn Mafia boss. Content Warning: This conversation has the presence of outdated, biased, offensive language. Rather than remove this content, we present it in the context of twentieth-century social history to acknowledge and learn from its impact and to inspire awareness and discussion.

Jimmy Breslin discusses and reads excerpts from “The Gang That Couldn't Shoot Straight,” his novel about a Brooklyn Mafia boss.

There are 23 stories in Isabel Allende's book, "The Stories of Eva Luna". "Revenge," "Tosca," and "The Judge's Wife" are among the stories discussed. Recalling her upbringing, Allende believed all her stories came from a place of community.

Robert Coover's "John's Wife" is about a made-up town, with its various townspeople and their interactions with one another and with John. What's also brought up is the fact that the wife has no name, mostly because John's wife does not exist.*Please note: some sections have been edited out from the original recording due to copyright considerations 

James Baldwin discusses his book "Another Country" and his trip to Africa. Mr.Baldwin and Studs speak about his place in social reform and his fight for civil rights for all.

Eric Bogosian discusses and displays acting techniques he picked up throughout his career. He also performs readings from his book “Notes from Underground.” Content Warning: This conversation has the presence of outdated, biased, offensive language. Rather than remove this content, we present it in the context of twentieth-century social history to acknowledge and learn from its impact and to inspire awareness and discussion.

The blues and jazz are topics covered by Ralph Ellison. Ellison himself started to play the trumpet at the age of seven. Ellison said for him, when hearing classical music, he then had to go and find classical literature.