Shows / The Write Question
The Write Question
The Write Question is a weekly literary program hosted by Lauren Korn that features authors from the American West—and beyond—including James Lee Burke, Kate Lebo, Anne Helen Petersen, Robert Wrigley, Jess Walter, Stephen Graham Jones, Hoa Nguyen, Maggie Shipstead, Elissa Washuta, and others.
Episodes
- The Write Question
“Pandemonium on a frolic”: Nathaniel Philbrick writes about the California Gold Rush, the long fuse to the Civil War
This week on ‘The Write Question,’ host Lauren Korn speaks with Nathaniel “Nat” Philbrick about ‘The Rush: California Gold, the Civil War, and the Making of…
- The Write Question
“I am Idaho”: Emily Ruskovich reflects on mountains and magic, joy and sorrow, and birds falling from the sky
This week on ‘The Write Question,’ host Lauren Korn speaks with Emily Ruskovich about her short story collection, ‘Nightjar’ (Penguin Random House). Join the…
- The Write Question
Live from the Ravalli County Museum: Kevin Fedarko takes ‘A Walk in the Park’ (Part Two)
This week on ‘The Write Question,’ the second of a two-part conversation with journalist Kevin Fedarko, author of ‘A Walk in the Park: The True Story of a…
- The Write Question
Extended conversation: Daniel Blake Smith joins his subject, Wilmot Collins, to discuss new biography, ‘RUN’
For this extended ‘Write Question’ conversation, host Lauren Korn is joined remotely by author Daniel Blake Smith, author of ‘RUN: The Wilmot Collins…
- The Write Question
Live from the Ravalli County Museum: Kevin Fedarko takes ‘A Walk in the Park’ (Part One)
This week on ‘The Write Question,’ the first of a two-part conversation with journalist Kevin Fedarko, author of ‘A Walk in the Park: The True Story of a…
- The Write Question
TWQ Mini: Allison Aubrey takes the tired out of retirement with ‘Your Turn’
Host Lauren Korn speaks with NPR Health & Science correspondent Allison Aubrey, author of ‘Your Turn: How to Create a Midlife You Love’ (Avid Reader Press…
- The Write Question
Manoush, Scott, Alex, and Sarah: NPR hosts discuss their books on movement, animals, and economics
Earlier this spring, host Lauren Korn had the pleasure of chatting with some of NPR’s most notable podcast and news magazine hosts about recently published…
- The Write Question
James Welch Native Lit Fest returns to Missoula July 15-18, 2026
For this episode of ‘The Write Question,’ host Lauren Korn speaks with Sterling HolyWhiteMountain, Executive Director of the James Welch Native Lit Fest…
- The Write Question
‘The Negroes Send Their Love’: Sean Hill’s far-ranging homes, Black futures
This week on ‘The Write Question,’ host Lauren Korn speaks with poet Sean Hill about ‘The Negroes Send Their Love: Poems, Perspectives, and Possible Futures’…
- The Write Question
The swivel and startle of language: Long-time “horse girl” Emily Haworth-Booth discusses her debut novel, ‘Mare’
This week on ‘The Write Question,’ host Lauren Korn speaks with Emily Haworth-Booth about motherhood and language in her debut novel, ‘Mare’ (Farrar, Straus…
- The Write Question
‘Make Believe’: Mac Barnett writes first book for adults, widens the aperture of what children’s books can be
This week on ‘The Write Question,’ host Lauren Korn speaks with Mac Barnett, National Ambassador for Children’s Literature and the author of ‘Make Believe: On…
- The Write Question
“Art witch and pragmatist” Courtney Maum publishes anti-capitalist romp, ‘Alan Opts Out’
This week on ‘The Write Question,’ host Lauren Korn speaks with Courtney Maum, author of ‘Alan Opts Out’ (Little, Brown & Company).
- The Write Question
‘A Truce That Is Not Peace’: Miriam Toews on language, silence, and pop-up wind museums
This week on ‘The Write Question,’ host Lauren Korn speaks with Miriam Toews, author of the memoir ‘A Truce That Is Not Peace’ (Bloomsbury Publishing). Note…
- The Write Question
A “Climate Solutions Week” encore: Mark Easter serves up ‘The Blue Plate’
This week on ‘The Write Question,’ for NPR’s “Climate Solutions Week,” in 2026 leaning into local lessons, the TWQ team returns to Lauren Korn’s conversation…
- The Write Question
Don’t fence me in: Hillary Rosner explores global wildlife connectivity and movement in ‘Roam’
This week on ‘The Write Question,’ in anticipation of her tour in Montana (Missoula, Bozeman, and Livingston), and in anticipation of NPR’s Climate Solutions…
- The Write Question
Preeti Vangani returns to the body in her sophomore collection, ‘Fifty Mothers’
This week on ‘The Write Question,’ a celebration of mothers in all forms—a conversation with poet Preeti Vangani, author of ‘Fifty Mothers’ (River River Books).
- The Write Question
Uncanny valley: Kim Fu’s venue of post-COVID horror, ‘The Valley of Vengeful Ghosts’
This week on ‘The Write Question,’ host Lauren Korn speaks with Kim Fu, author of ‘The Valley of Vengeful Ghosts’ (Tin House Books; Zando Projects).
- The Write Question
Sally Thompson’s ‘Black Robes Enter Coyote’s World,’ Part Two: Chief Charlo’s speech
This week on ‘The Write Question,’ host Lauren Korn speaks to anthropologist Sally Thompson, author of ‘Black Robes Enter Coyote’s World: Chief Charlo and…
- The Write Question
Sally Thompson’s ‘Black Robes Enter Coyote’s World,’ Part One: Father Pierre-Jean De Smet
This week on ‘The Write Question,’ host Lauren Korn speaks to anthropologist Sally Thompson, author of ‘Black Robes Enter Coyote’s World: Chief Charlo and…
- The Write Question
On civics and memory: Jule Banville and Jad Abumrad reimagine the obituary with ‘The Obit Project’ (Extended)
During this episode of ‘The Write Question,’ host Lauren Korn speaks with University of Montana journalism professor Jule Banville and audio producer Jad…
- The Write Question
Nina McConigley’s ‘How to Commit a Postcolonial Murder’: Exploring race and eighties girlhood in the American West
This week on ‘The Write Question,’ host Lauren Korn speaks with Wyoming-based author Nina McConigley about her novel, ‘How to Commit a Postcolonial Murder’…
- The Write Question
Live! Pledge week episode: Allison De Jong is the voice behind many of your favorite ‘Field Notes’
This week on ‘The Write Question,’ for a live, pledge week episode, host Lauren Korn speaks with Allison De Jong: the Montana Natural History Center’s…
- The Write Question
Fred Haefele returns to “vehicular memoir” with ‘The Essential Book of Pickup Trucks’
This week on ‘The Write Question,’ host Lauren Korn speaks with memoirist Fred Haefele, author of ‘The Essential Book of Pickup Trucks’ (Bison Books).
- The Write Question
Growing up with Andrew Martin: In ‘Down Time,’ the author creates avatars of mourning, quest for happiness
This week on ‘The Write Question,’ host Lauren Korn speaks with University of Montana alum Andrew Martin (MFA ‘13), author of ‘Down Time,’ published by Farrar…
- The Write Question
Maya Jewell Zeller publishes unfurling, rhizomatic memoir-in-essays, ‘Raised by Ferns’
This week on ‘The Write Question,’ host Lauren Korn speaks with poet, author, and educator Maya Jewell Zeller about her memoir-in-essays, ‘Raised by Ferns’…
- The Write Question
“We’re all susceptible to cult ways of thinking”: Leah Sottile’s ‘Blazing Eye Sees All’ (Part Two)
In this episode of ‘The Write Question,’ host Lauren Korn speaks to journalist Leah Sottile about ‘Blazing Eye Sees All: Love Has Won, False Prophets, and the…
- The Write Question
“Far left meets far right, finds common cause”: Leah Sottile’s ‘Blazing Eye Sees All’ (Part One)
In this episode of ‘The Write Question,’ host Lauren Korn speaks to journalist Leah Sottile about ‘Blazing Eye Sees All: Love Has Won, False Prophets, and the…
- The Write Question
On blood and belonging: Morgan Talty’s ‘Fire Exit,’ now available in paperback!
This week on ‘The Write Question,’ host Lauren Korn speaks with Penobscot writer Morgan Talty, author of ‘Fire Exit’ (Tin House Books; Zando Projects), now…
- The Write Question
“One trip was about fleeing; the other about pilgrimage ‘toward the self’”: Joanna Pocock’s ‘Greyhound’
This week on ‘The Write Question,’ host Lauren Korn speaks with Joanna Pocock, author of ‘Greyhound’ (Soft Skull Press).
- The Write Question
TWQ Mini: Crystal Koosman becomes an “amateur archivist,” opens Last Best Books
This mini episode of ‘The Write Question’ features used bookseller Crystal Koosman, owner of Last Best Books in Missoula, Montana. What does her used book…
- The Write Question
Acclaimed novelist David Guterson on the “lineages of lamas” (and more) in ‘Evelyn in Transit’
In advance of his appearance in Helena at MT Book Co. on Monday, February 2, 2026, novelist David Guterson, author of ‘Snow Falling on Cedars’ (Vintage Books)…
- The Write Question
Cable guy Colum McCann on connectivity, brokenness, and things left unsaid in ‘Twist’
In advance of his appearance in Livingston, Montana—as a guest of Elk River Arts & Lectures on January 23, 2026, at the Livingston Elks Lodge—novelist Colum…
- The Write Question
Tami Haaland investigates ancestry and inheritance in ‘If I Had Said Beauty’
In this episode of ‘The Write Question,’ host Lauren Korn speaks with former Montana Poet Laureate Tami Haaland about her collection, ‘If I Had Said Beauty’…
- The Write Question
Beyond words: Brian Buckbee writes, dictates ‘We Should All Be Birds’ (with Carol Ann Fitzgerald)
This week on ‘The Write Question,’ host Lauren Korn speaks with Missoula, Montana-based writer Brian Buckbee, author of ‘We Should All Be Birds’ (Tin House…
- The Write Question
Interrogating systems of power with raft guide Bridget Crocker, author of ‘The River’s Daughter’
This week on ‘The Write Question,’ host Lauren Korn speaks with memoirist and renowned whitewater rafting guide Bridget Crocker, author of ‘The River’s…
- The Write Question
Alice Bolin’s ‘Culture Creep,’ a “gut-churning ride” into Millennial girl- and boyhood (Part Two)
This is the second part of a two-part conversation with University of Montana alumna Alice Bolin (MFA , ‘11), author of ‘Culture Creep: Notes on the Pop…
- The Write Question
Seductive narratives and Alice Bolin’s ‘Culture Creep: Notes on the Pop Apocalypse’ (Part One)
This is the first part of a two-part conversation with University of Montana alumna Alice Bolin (MFA , ‘11), author of ‘Culture Creep: Notes on the Pop…
- The Write Question
TWQ Mini: Juicy stories, beautiful sentences, and NPR’s 2025 ‘Books We Love’
Host Lauren Korn speaks with Andrew Limbong about NPR’s 2025 interactive book list of staff favorites, “Books We Love.”
- The Write Question
Where science meets storytelling: Traveling to ‘To the Moon and Back’ with novelist Eliana Ramage
On this episode of ‘The Write Question,’ host Lauren Korn speaks with debut novelist Eliana Ramage, author of ‘To the Moon and Back’ (Avid Reader Press, Simon…
- The Write Question
Encore: Christine Wu on a shared language of food and her debut collection, ‘Familial Hungers’
This week on ‘The Write Question,’ host Lauren Korn returns to her conversation with poet Christine Wu, author of ‘Familial Hungers’ (Brick Books). This…
- The Write Question
“The only way you can know a person’s gender is [to] ask them”: Abi Maxwell, author of ‘One Day I’ll Grow Up and Be a Beautiful Woman’
This week on ‘The Write Question,’ host Lauren Korn speaks with novelist and memoirist Abi Maxwell, author of ‘One Day I’ll Grow Up and Be a Beautiful Woman’…
- The Write Question
On rivers, mouths, and memory: Shobha Rao discusses ‘Indian Country’ in advance of Montana tour
This week on ‘The Write Question,’ host Lauren Korn speaks with novelist Shobha Rao, author of ‘Indian Country’ (Crown Publishing Group). Shobha will be in…
- The Write Question
Live from the Ravalli County Museum: Chris Whitaker, “‘Sliding Doors’ moments,” and ‘All the Colors of the Dark’ (Part Two)
This week on ‘The Write Question,’ the second of a two-part conversation with novelist Chris Whitaker, author of ‘All the Colors of the Dark’ (Crown Publishing…
- The Write Question
TWQ Mini with Lorissa Rinehart: Jeannette Rankin, “a North star,” and ‘Winning the Earthquake’
This mini episode of ‘The Write Question’ is actually an excerpt of a much longer conversation with Lorissa Rinehart, author of ‘Winning the Earthquake: How…
- The Write Question
Live from the Ravalli County Museum: Chris Whitaker has learned to paint with ‘All the Colors of the Dark’ (Part One)
This week on ‘The Write Question,’ the first of a two-part conversation with novelist Chris Whitaker, author of ‘All the Colors of the Dark’ (Crown Publishing…
- The Write Question
Live! Pledge week episode: Chapter One Bookstore’s Marisa Neyenhuis
This week on ‘The Write Question,’ host Lauren Korn speaks with co-owner of Hamilton’s Chapter One Bookstore, Marisa Neyenhuis—about her parents’ pledge…
- The Write Question
River River poets Corrie Williamson and Joe Wilkins discuss landscape, safety, form, and history
This week on ‘The Write Question, host Lauren Korn speaks with poets Corrie Williamson, author of ‘My Mother’s Bear Gun,’ and Joe Wilkins, author of ‘Pastoral…
- The Write Question
“I’ve always loved a love story”: Sally Blakely on her debut romance, ‘Friends to Lovers’
This week on ‘The Write Question,’ host Lauren Korn speaks with Helena, Montana-based novelist Sally Blakely, author of ‘Friends to Lovers’ (Canary Street…
The Write QuestionKevin Barry on his novel, ‘The Heart in Winter,’ “a western with County Cork accents”
This week on ‘The Write Question,’ host Lauren Korn speaks with Irish author Kevin Barry, author of ‘The Heart in Winter’ (Doubleday Books; Penguin Random…
The Write QuestionEncore: Laura Marris on absence and archive
This week on ‘The Write Question,’ host Lauren Korn returns to her conversation with writer and translator Laura Marris, author of ‘The Age of Loneliness’…
The Write QuestionEncore: Keetje Kuipers on her poetics of humility, the danger in love poems about marriage, and bumping around in the dark
This week on ‘The Write Question,’ host Lauren Korn returns to her conversation with poet Keetje Kuipers, author of ‘Lonely Women Make Good Lovers’ (BOA…
The Write QuestionEncore: Wildlife biologist Diane K. Boyd is ‘A Woman Among Wolves’ (Part Two)
This week on ‘The Write Question,’ host Lauren Korn returns to the second and final part of a two-part conversation with world-renowned wildlife biologist…
- The Write Question
Encore: Wildlife biologist Diane K. Boyd is ‘A Woman Among Wolves’ (Part One)
This week on ‘The Write Question,’ host Lauren Korn returns to the first part of a two-part conversation with world-renowned wildlife biologist Diane K. Boyd…
The Write QuestionEncore: Amy Gamerman’s ‘The Crazies’ (Part Two)
This week on ‘The Write Question,’ host Lauren Korn returns to her conversation with journalist Amy Gamerman, author of ‘The Crazies: The Cattleman, the Wind…
- The Write Question
Encore: Amy Gamerman’s ‘The Crazies’ (Part One)
This week on ‘The Write Question,’ host Lauren Korn returns to her conversation with journalist Amy Gamerman, author of ‘The Crazies: The Cattleman, the Wind…
The Write QuestionEncore: Ben Goldfarb’s interspecies imagination in ‘Crossings’
This week on ‘The Write Question,’ host Lauren Korn returns to her conversation with conservation journalist Ben Goldfarb, author of ‘Crossings: How Road…
The Write QuestionEncore: Hanif Abdurraqib’s urgent meditations on time, success, and witness in ‘There’s Always This Year’
Host Lauren Korn returns to her conversation with poet, essayist, and cultural critic Hanif Abdurraqib, author of ‘There’s Always This Year: On Basketball and…
The Write QuestionEncore: Sarah Capdeville on her debut, ‘Aligning the Glacier’s Ghost: Essays on Solitude and Landscape’
This week on ‘The Write Question,’ host Lauren Korn returns to her conversation with Sarah Capdeville, author of ‘Aligning the Glacier’s Ghost: Essays on…
- The Write Question
Encore: Julia Phillips discusses womanhood, trust, and miraculous animals in her sophomore novel, ‘Bear’
This week on ‘The Write Question,’ host Lauren Korn returns to her conversation with novelist Julia Phillips, author of ‘Bear’ (Hogarth Press), her second…
- The Write Question
Encore: Chris La Tray on ‘Becoming Little Shell’ (Part Two)
This week on ‘The Write Question,’ host Lauren Korn returns to the second part of her two-part conversation with Chris La Tray, Métis storyteller and Montana…