As part of the HEC Media Books series where US and international touring authors come through St. Louis and speak to audiences of the St. Louis County Library, Rod has both interviewed and produced packages with a variety of writers with differing backgrounds. Brain scientists, children’s authors, and historians…fiction and non-fiction…it doesn’t matter. Here are some of the in-depth on-camera interviews that he’s edited and presented.
“Half American: The Epic Story of African Americans Fighting World War II at Home and Abroad” by Matthew Delmont
Distinguished Professor of History at Dartmouth College, Dr. Matthew Delmont, has researched and penned his fifth book, “Half American”. There, he brings light to the purposely hidden history of much of the Black American struggle at home for the opportunity to fully participate in the Second World War, the struggle while prosecuting that same war, and how that two front fight led to the Civil Rights Movement of the 1950s and 60s in the US. In this interview, he talks with Rod Milam about the book and his research process. This interview was conducted in October of 2022.
The Mosquito Bowl: A Game of Life and Death in World War II by Buzz Bissinger
Pulitzer Prize winner and journalist for “The New York Times Magazine”, “Vanity Fair” and other publications, Buzz Bissinger has penned a true story profiling the lives of some of the Allied fighters in World War II and tells the story of a football game that took place before one of the bloodiest battles in the war. His book, “The Mosquito Bowl” is not a book about sports like his creation “Friday Night Lights”. Even though college football players, their backgrounds, and a Big Game played on Guadalcanal before the battle of Iwo Jima is part of the setting, this book is very much a profile of how the US entered and prosecuted WWII in the Pacific Ocean. In this interview, he talks about the book and his research process. This interview was conducted in September of 2022.
The Helpers: Profiles from the Front Lines of the Pandemic by Kathy Gilsinan
Writer and journalist for “The Atlantic” and “Politico”, Kathy Gilsinan, has penned a reminder of the first year or so of the COVID-19 pandemic as seen in the United States. Her book, “The Helpers: Profiles from the Front Lines of the Pandemic” tells that story via the accounts of six people that she feels went above and beyond the call of duty to try to aid their neighbors, the country and the world during an unprecedentedly difficult time in the nation’s history. She weaves together the stories of a CEO of a small ventilator manufacturer, a country crossing paramedic, a devoted son, a chef and culinary teacher, a vaccine researcher, and an ICU nurse that take place from early 2020 until the first inoculations were being distributed to the whole country and ready to be injected into arms. In this interview, she talks with Rod Milam about her process and in detail about two of her subjects. This interview was conducted in April of 2022.
Immortal Valor: The Black Medal of Honor Winners of World War II by Robert Child
The Medal of Honor is the highest military decoration awarded to US soldiers. During World War II, upwards of 450 Medals of Honor were awarded. It wasn’t until more than 50 years after V.E. Day that the names of Charles L. Thomas, Vernon J. Baker, Willy James Jr., Edward A. Carter Jr., George Watson, Ruben Rivers, & John Fox were added to the list. Why? Because these men were Black. In the still racially segregated American military of the early 1940s, there was a silent policy of never allowing any Black soldiers to be recommended for a Medal of Honor. The new book by Robert Child, “Immortal Valor” explores the WW II lives of 7 black men that only came to light after a special 1993 commission combed through half a century of old records. This interview was conducted in January of 2022.
God and Race: A Guide for Moving Beyond Black Fists & White Knuckles by John Siebeling & Wayne Francis
Christian pastors John Siebeling and Wayne Francis lead branches of their racially diverse congregations at “The Life Church”. From the Memphis and New York City areas, respectively, they wanted to add to the national racial dialogue from the perspective they knew best. They were already doing a podcast called "Leadership in Black and White". Then they decided to write, “God and Race: A Guide for Moving Beyond Black Fists & White Knuckles”. In their book, they present concrete, road-tested examples of how their churches have gone about fostering a racially mixed environment where churches, historically, have been some of the most racially divided spaces in the land. They also hope that anyone from any walk of life can take points from their book to practice a more racially mixed and harmonious lifestyle. This interview was conducted in March of 2022.
Brainscapes: The Warped, Wondrous Maps Written in Your Brain — And How They Guide You by Dr. Rebecca Schwartzlose
Neuroscientist Dr. Rebecca Schwarzlose discusses her first general audience book, “Brainscapes: The Warped, Wondrous Maps Written In Your Brain - And How They Guide You” with HEC’s Rod Milam. In the book, the doctor talks about how the neural pathways in the human brain are actually hard written maps that can be measured electrically and occupy specific physical spaces in all brains. After about 6 months of age to one year, most of the parts of the brain map have crystallized for life for each person, and can’t be rewritten. Dr. Schwarzlose holds a Ph.D from MIT, is a researcher at Washington University in St. Louis and is the past chief editor of the journal “Trends in Cognitive Science”. This interview was conducted in November of 2021.
Pump: A Natural History of the Heart by Bill Schutt
Author, zoologist, and Research Associate at the American Museum of Natural History Bill Schutt has a conversation about his latest book "Pump: A Natural History of the Heart". In his three part book, Shutt first discusses the physiology of the heart and pump structures of the whole animal kingdom, large and small, and how they've evolved over time. Next, he talks about how the human heart was studied and perceived in ancient times. And, finally, he dives into how past misconceptions of the heart and circulatory system have only recently been scientifically debunked and how the dismissal of old myths and practices is leading to greater possibilities of dealing with heart function and ailments of the future. Interview conducted in September of 2021.
Stop Saving the Planet: An Environmentalist Manifesto by Jenny Price
In this edition of First Person One on One, author, environmentalist, and artist Jenny Price discusses her new book, “Stop Saving the Planet!: An Environmentalist Manifesto,” with host Rod Milam. She talks about how she sees an urgent need to change the thinking of corporations, government, self-identifying environmentalists, and everyday people when it comes to dealing with global climate change. In her book, she addresses what she calls "out-there-environmentalism" and how it's detrimental to progress and change that needs to be made by large institutions to get global temperature change under control. She says we know how to do this on a large scale, but asks if the political will can be built to get it done as soon as possible. This interview was conducted in June of 2021.
Mars! : Earthlings Welcome by Stacy McAnulty
As part of the St. Louis County Library "Saturday Virtual Author Series for Young Readers", HEC's Rod Milam interviews children's book author and winner of the 2017 Ezra Jack Keats New Writer Honor, Stacy McAnulty. Stacy discusses everything about her newest book, "Mars! Earthlings Welcome"...from how she came up with the idea, to how she works with her illustrators (Stevie Lewis & David Litchfield), and what other books about planets and the universe she hopes to write in the future. She also talks about how she went from being a practicing mechanical engineer to a writer of books for young people. And Stacy goes into how she went from a child that had difficulty reading in school, to a person that loves the printed word and makes it accessible to current young readers. This interview was conducted in March of 2021 via Zoom because of the global pandemic. Rod Milam conducted the interview, produced the piece and did the sound design.