Persistence of Vision

Episode 24: Daniel Mennega on The Silmarillion

The Silmarillion is the Bible of Middle Earth, and Daniel Mennega is our guide through the rarified heights and terrifying depths of Tolkien's mythology. L.B. is joined by special guest host Union Brooks. 

Episode 23: Kelli Bland on the Unbearable Lightness of Being

Philosophy, love, history, love, betrayal, tyranny, art, weight, and lightness. These and other themes, torn from the pages of Milan Kundera's The Unbearable Lightness of Being, animate Lance and L.B.'s discussion with theater star Kelli Bland.

Episode 22: Wild Bill on The Alchemist

Can a person evolve? Does true love ever stop a man from pursuing his destiny? Is there gold in them thar hills? Paulo Coelho's The Alchemist raises these and other questions. But for the answers, Lance and L.B. turn to none other than Wild Bill, Austin's preeminent rock 'n roll impresario, composer and performer. 

Episode 21: Mocha Washburn on A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius

Sometimes the hippest novel of the year is actually an innovative, devastating memoir. Philosopher, shoot fighter and rock hero Mocha Washburn talks about Dave Eggers' legendary debut, A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius.

Episode 20: Mike O'Connor on A Theory of Justice

President Bill Clinton called John Rawls "perhaps the greatest political philosopher of the twentieth century" because of the ideas contained in Rawls' book A Theory of Justice. Author, Legislative Director and master showman Mike O'Connor shares his expertise on the book and pulls back L.B. and Lance's veil of ignorance. 

Episode 19: Elizabeth Doss on Independent People

Recorded live at the North Door Bar Lounge. Halldór Laxness' Nobel-prize winning novel Independent People is the subject of the Persistence of Vision Interview with actor, director and playwright Elizabeth Doss. How much fun can you have with a book about impoverished shepherds in the frozen wastes of Iceland? Plenty. 

Persistence of Vision Episode 18: Brenner on The Mystic Arts of Erasing All Signs of Death

The Austin Chronicle's legendary arts editor Brenner joins Lance, L.B. and Union to discuss Charlie Huston's neo-noir showstopper, The Mystic Arts of Erasing All Signs of Death. 

Persistence of Vision Episode 17: L.M. Elliott on Suspect Red

It's 1953, and the United States has just executed an American couple convicted of spying for the Soviet Union. Everyone is on edge as the Cold War standoff between communism and democracy leads to the rise of Senator Joe McCarthy and his zealous hunt for people he calls subversives or communist sympathizers. Suspicion, loyalty oaths, blacklists, political profiling, hostility to foreigners, and the assumption of guilt by association divide the nation. Lance and L.B. welcome L.M. Elliott to discuss the parallels with today's America.

Persistence of Vision Episode 16: Tim Stegall on Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas

"Every now and then when your life gets complicated and the weasels start closing in, the only cure is to load up on heinous chemicals and then drive like a bastard from Hollywood to Las Vegas ... with the music at top volume and at least a pint of ether."

Texas Punk musician and journalist Tim Stegall describes the epochal sensation that is Hunter S. Thompson's Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, and also touches on his own personal journey into the heart of the American dream. 

Persistence of Vision Episode 15: Olive Balla on Jillie

Jillie is a tale of horror-tinged high adventure, brought to life by Dickensian characters and high-velocity pacing. It's the story of an 11-year-old girl on the run from her brutal step-family in the New Mexico desert.

Novelist Olive Balla discusses her Jillie, and also the process of finding a publisher and releasing the book.