Narrative Edge Narrative Edge from Georgia Public Broadcasting highlights books with Georgia connections. Hosted by two of your favorite public radio book nerds who also happen to be your hosts of All Things Considered on GPB radio, Peter Biello and Orlando Montoya . In this podcast Peter and Orlando will introduce you to authors, their writings, and the insights behind their stories mixed with their own thoughts and ideas on just what gives these works the Narrative Edge.
Narrative Edge

Narrative Edge

From Georgia Public Broadcasting

Narrative Edge from Georgia Public Broadcasting highlights books with Georgia connections. Hosted by two of your favorite public radio book nerds who also happen to be your hosts of All Things Considered on GPB radio, Peter Biello and Orlando Montoya . In this podcast Peter and Orlando will introduce you to authors, their writings, and the insights behind their stories mixed with their own thoughts and ideas on just what gives these works the Narrative Edge.

Most Recent Episodes

One Blood by Denene Millner

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.

The Curators by Maggie Nye

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.

Fortune and Folly: The Weird and Wonderful Life of the South's Most Eccentric Millionaire ...

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.

Fortune and Folly: The Weird and Wonderful Life of the South's Most Eccentric Millionaire ...

Bomb Island by Stephen Hundley

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.

Josh Green's Secrets of Ash: A Novel of War, Brotherhood, and Going Home Again

Secrets of Ash is a riveting, fast-paced, and suspenseful novel of fraternal love and dark memories, told from the alternating points of view of two brothers who cross a lifetime, and a rugged mountain, to come to terms with themselves and each other. Peter and Orlando discuss the characters, the struggles, and a surprising ending with Georgia Author of the Year nominee Josh Green.

Josh Green's Secrets of Ash: A Novel of War, Brotherhood, and Going Home Again

Carson McCullers: A Life by Mary V. Dearborn

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.

Zenith Man: Death, Love, and Redemption in a Georgia Courtroom

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 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.

Godfall by Van Jensen

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.

Rahad Abir's Bengal Hound: A Novel

A city is hellbent on revolution. Passionate and impetuous, Shelley is a university student at a time of political discord in Dhaka in the late 1960s. Frustrated by the oppression of West Pakistani rulers, the Bengali people are rising up, taking Shelley with them. As he is forced to navigate the chaos of an uprising, where his every choice and action weighs heavy with consequence, Shelley's life is thrown further into disarray when he elopes with his childhood sweetheart.

The Book of James: The Power, Politics, and Passion of LeBron by Valerie Babb

One of the world's greatest basketball players is the hero in two very American tales: one, a success story the nation loves; the other, the latest installment in an ongoing chronicle of American antiblackness. Author Valerie Babb joins Peter and Orlando to discuss the power, politics, and passion of LeBron James.

The Book of James: The Power, Politics, and Passion of LeBron by Valerie Babb