Louise Erdrich and the Art of the Seminal Moment

The Book Case

ABC News

Fiction, Arts, Society & Culture, Books

4.7 • 913 Ratings

🗓️ 26 March 2026

⏱️ 33 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Louise Erdrich is one of the most important writers of our time. Her award-winning words have created modern classics such as Love Medicine, The Night Watchman and The Sentence. Her newest release, Python’s Kiss, is a collection of short stories, illustrated by Aza Erdrich Abe, her daughter. Each one speaks to turning points…moments that change us and shape us. Louise talks about how her writing shapes her and how she shapes her writing. Aza then joins us to talk about how she brought her mother’s stories to life through her art. Find books mentioned on The Book Case: https://www.goodmorningamerica.com/shop/story/book-case-podcast-reading-list-118433302 Books mentioned in this week's episode: Python’s Kiss by Louise Erdrich, illustrated by Aza Erdrich Abe The Mighty Red by Louise Erdrich The Sentence by Louise Erdrich The Night Watchman by Louise Erdrich Love Medicine by Louise Erdrich The Round House by Louise Erdrich The Master Butchers Singers Club by Louise Erdrich The Plague of Doves by Louise Erdrich LaRose by Louise Erdrich The Painted Drum by Louise Erdrich The Bingo Palace by Louise Erdrich The Antelope Wife by Louise Erdrich The Birchbark House by Louise Erdrich The Parable of the Sower by Octavia Butler The City We Became by NK Jemison Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	9-1-1, where is the emergency?
0:02.7	It's the middle of the night in a small town on the Jersey shore.
0:06.7	Someone reports an abandoned car on a bridge.
0:10.0	A search gets underway for the missing driver, 19-year-old Sarah Stern.
0:14.9	Is it a missing person? Is it a suicide?
0:17.6	At this point, nobody knows.
0:19.6	Old friendships, buried cash, and a sinister plot that was once pitched as a movie, plays out in real life.
0:29.0	I'm Jiu Chang from 2020 and ABC Audio.
0:33.4	Listen now to Bridge of Lies, wherever you get your podcasts.
0:46.6	Music Listen now to Bridge of Lies, wherever you get your podcasts. Welcome, book nerds.
0:48.0	It's Thursday, Thursday, Thursday again, and that means one thing.
0:51.8	Nothing else on your Thursday.
0:53.4	Nothing.
0:53.9	Just one thing, which is that you're listening to us, the bookcase with the Kate part of the Kate and Charlie, and you are. I'm the Charlie part, and Kate's right. This is the only thing you need to do on a Thursday. If you listen to us later in the week, well, then you can have other activities going on. But if it's Thursday, don't cook
1:11.7	anything. Don't go anywhere. Don't get out of bed. Just listen to the bookcase. And if you have to
1:18.0	call DoorDash or something for food, go ahead. If you have to eat. Anyway, we have Louise
1:24.0	Erdrich with us. And I want to tell you a story. When we started this five years ago, I said to Kate, who would be your ideal guest?
1:32.6	Who would you most like to have?
1:34.7	Well, number one, she said Stephen King.
1:36.4	Who's still turning us down if you're listening?
1:38.2	That's right.
1:38.6	Stephen King, get off the dime.
	...

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