S5 Ep. 37: Fascism Past and Present: Anthony Marra on What the Censorship of 1940s Hollywood and Italy Can Teach Us

fiction/non/fiction

Fiction writer Anthony Marra joins Fiction/Non/Fiction hosts V.V. Ganeshananthan and Whitney Terrell to discuss how his new historical novel, Mercury Pictures Presents, echoes the right’s current embrace of authoritarianism in the U.S. and globally. By looking at censorship in 1940s Hollywood and the fascist regime of Italy during that same period, Marra teases out truths about conservatives’ current interest in controlling popular opinion.

To hear the full episode, subscribe through iTunes, Google Play, Stitcher, Spotify, or your favorite podcast app (include the forward slashes when searching). You can also listen by streaming from the player below. Check out video versions of our interviews on the Fiction/Non/Fiction Instagram account, the Fiction/Non/Fiction YouTube Channel, and our show website: https://www.fnfpodcast.net/.

This podcast is produced by Anne Kniggendorf.

Selected Readings:

Anthony Marra

• Mercury Pictures Presents
• The Tsar of Love and Techno
• A Constellation of Vital Phenomena

Others:

• Frankenstein
• Psycho
• Lightyear
• S5 Episode 13: Farah Jasmine Griffin: Censoring the American Canon
• S5 Episode 12: Intimate Contact: Garth Greenwell on Book Bans and Writing About Sex
• Doctor Faustus by Thomas Mann
• Billy Wilder
• Three Days of the Condor
• Jason Bourne franchise
• Ban on 52 Books in Largest Utah School District is a Worrisome Escalation of Censorship - PEN America

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices