Athens resident Rebecca McCarthy creates an intimate portrait of Norman Maclean, drawing on her long friendship with the author from when she became a student at the University of Chicago through the rest of his life. Norman Maclean: A Life of Letters and Rivers is a well-researched glimpse into the life of a compelling author that benefits from the insights provided by the author's personal accounts and interactions.  

The coming-of-age story of Philbet, gay and living with a disability, battles bullying, ignorance, and disdain as he makes his way in life as an outsider in the Deep South—before finding acceptance in unlikely places. Fueled by tomato sandwiches and green milkshakes, and obsessed with cars, Philbet struggles with life and love as a gay boy in rural Georgia. Join Peter, Orlando, and author Jeffrey Dale Lofton as they share some personal insights and reflections on this impactful story. 

On stage, Former Governor Nathan Deal has been delighting statewide audiences using an assortment of voices representing the characters in "Veto, the Governor's Cat." GPB's Jeff Hullinger got to experience them all, up close.

Jessica Leigh Lebos describes herself as a writer, adopted Southerner, anti-socialite and Camellia Thief. On this episode of Narrative Edge, Orlando introduces Peter to the award-winning local columnist and community builder who has published two popular books, Savannah Sideways and The Camellia Thief & Other Tales.

In this epic novel, New York Times bestselling author Denene Millner explores the lives of three generations of women tied together by love, hope, dreams, ambition — and family secrets. Potent, poetic, powerful, told with deep love, and spanning from the Great Migration to the civil unrest of the 1960s to the quest for women’s equality in the early 2000s, Denene Millner’s beautifully wrought novel explores three women’s intimate, and often complicated, struggle with what it truly means to be family.

Violence haunts 1915 Atlanta and so does the golem a group of girls creates. A dark, lyrical blend of historical fiction and magical realism, The Curators examines an underexplored event in American history through unlikely eyes. All of Atlanta is obsessed with the two-year-long trial and subsequent lynching of Jewish factory superintendent Leo Frank in 1915. None more so than thirteen-year-old Ana Wulff and her friends, who take history into their own hands—quite literally—when they use dirt from Ana’s garden to build and animate a golem in Frank’s image. 

Join hosts Orlando Montoya and Peter Biello as they dive into the fascinating life of Asa 'Buddy' Candler Jr., the eccentric son of Coca-Cola founder Asa Candler, in this episode of Narrative Edge. Discover the bizarre yet captivating story of Buddy Candler, whose life of inherited wealth led to a series of spectacular ventures and notorious failures, from racing cars and airplanes to launching a prep school on a ship and contributing to Atlanta's major institutions. Sara Butler, author of Fortune and Folly: The Weird and Wonderful Life of an Eccentric Millionaire, shares insights into Buddy’s audacious ideas and the lasting impact of his unconventional legacy. 

Part coming-of-age romance, part thriller, Bomb Island is a funny and fast-paced Southern summer novel exploring sub-culture communities, survival, and found family set on an island near an unexploded atomic bomb. Join Peter and Orlando as they discuss this journey through the weirds and wilds of Coastal Georgia.  

The Rabun County of 1972 is long gone, supplanted by luxury homes, expensive SUVs, fancy boats, sophisticated dining and stylish Orvis outdoor wear—still Deliverance resonates through the woods and rapids.

In this episode, Orlando and Peter explore the life and legacy of celebrated Southern writer Carson McCullers. Drawing from the new biography "Carson McCullers: A Life" by Mary Dearborn, they discuss McCullers' journey from Columbus, Georgia, to literary fame in New York City, her groundbreaking works like "The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter," and delve into McCullers' personal challenges, including health issues, struggles with alcohol, and her complicated relationships, as well as her bold approach to race and gender in the mid-20th century. With insights from Dearborn's book, this episode offers a compelling glimpse into the life of a groundbreaking author whose influence on Southern literature remains profound. 

Harper Lee's "To Kill A Mockingbird" has become a classic of modern American literature, winning the Pulitzer Prize. The plot and characters are loosely based on Lee's observations of her family, her neighbors and an event that occurred near her hometown of Monroeville, Alabama. In 2006, British librarians ranked the book ahead of the Bible as one "every adult should read before they die." If you haven't, perhaps this past week's anniversary is occasion to make a trip to Chamblee.

In this episode, we unravel the complex story of Alvin Ridley, the "Zenith Man," a television repairman from a small town in Georgia who was accused of murdering his wife in 1997. Despite his eccentric behavior and a town's suspicion, the truth behind his wife's death revealed a different narrative. Join Orlando Montoya and Peter Biello as they discuss the new book, Zenith Man: Death, Love, and Redemption in a Georgia Courtroom, written by McCracken Poston Jr., the lawyer who defended Alvin Ridley. This episode explores the unique life of Ridley, his struggles with autism, and the courtroom drama that ultimately led to his acquittal.

When a massive asteroid hurtles toward Earth, humanity braces for annihilation—but the end doesn’t come. In fact, it isn’t an asteroid but a three-mile-tall alien that drops down, seemingly dead, outside Little Springs, Nebraska. Dubbed “the giant,” its arrival transforms the red-state farm town into a top-secret government research site and major metropolitan area, flooded with soldiers, scientists, bureaucrats, spies, criminals, conspiracy theorists—and a murderer.

Utilizing more than two decades of meticulous research, fresh historical analysis, and compelling storytelling, Michael L. Thurmond rewrites the prehistory of abolitionism and adds an important new chapter to Georgia’s origin story. Can he change the hearts and minds of those who were taught Georgia history years ago? Can he change the hearts and minds of our hosts, Peter and Orlando? Listen and judge for yourself. 

For generations, upwardly mobile white families have extracted opportunity from the nation’s heavily subsidized suburbs, then moved on before the bills for maintenance and repair came due, leaving the mostly Black and brown families who followed to clean up the ensuing mess. Peter and Orlando are joined by author Benjamin Herold to discover the vicious cycle undermining the dreams upon which American suburbia was built. 

Michael Jordan's path to greatness was shaped by race, politics, and the consequences of fame. To become the most revered basketball player in America, it wasn't enough for Michael Jordan to merely excel on the court. He also had to become something he never intended: a hero. In this episode, Peter and Orlando delve into a conversation about His Airness with author and Georgia Tech professor, Johnny Smith. 

The Allman Brothers Band's Brothers and Sisters is iconic. In this episode, Peter and Orlando discuss Alan Paul's deep dive into the time before and after 1973’s Brothers and Sisters. It was not only the band’s best-selling album, at over seven million copies sold, but it was also a powerfully influential release, both musically and culturally.  And this book has converted one of the hosts into a fan. 

Famed NPR reporter Mary Louise Kelly comes to grips with the reality every parent faces: childhood has a definite expiration date.  Peter and Orlando share their thoughts and opinions of Mary Louise Kelly's chronicle of her eldest child’s final year at home.  Plus, we'll hear from Mary Louise herself. 

Mary Louise Kelly: It. Goes. So. Fast. The Year of No Do-Overs

Sally Sierer Bethea was one of the first women in America to become a “riverkeeper”—a vocal defender of a specific waterway who holds polluters accountable. In Keeping the Chattahoochee, she tells stories that range from joyous and funny to frustrating—even alarming—to illustrate what it takes to save an endangered river. In this episode, Peter and Orlando discuss the Hooch, an important water source for so many people.

At the height of the John Birch Society’s activity in the 1960s, critics dismissed its members as a paranoid fringe. After all, “Birchers” believed that a vast communist conspiracy existed in America and posed an existential threat to Christianity, capitalism, and freedom. But as historian Matthew Dallek reveals, the Birch Society’s extremism remade American conservatism. After a discussion with Dallek, Peter and Orlando share some of their thoughts and insights on Birchers, a deeply researched account of the rise of extremism in the United States.