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Welcome to Light On Light Through episode 422, in which I interview Paul Kaplan about his book of poetry for people of all ages, The Thingy That's Stringy.  Relevant links: get The Thingy That's Stringy here my review of The Thingy That's Stringy here or here

Welcome to Light On Light Through episode 421, in which I interview Mitt Witten about his new novel 51%.  In all seriousness, I consider this cyberpunk novel in the same league as Aldous Huxley's Brave New World and George Orwell's 1984. Relevant links: my written review of 51% get the novel here Cass Sunstein about Orwell's 1984  Rob Sawyer's novel Flashforward my novelette "The Chronology Protection Case"

Welcome to Light On Light Through episode 420, in which I interview Deana Weibel about her new book, The Ultraview Effect.  I consider Deana the Margaret Mead of outerspace -- find out why in this interview. Relevant links: More about The Ultraview Effect here Touching the Face of the Cosmos -- the anthology with Deana's Weibel's "Pennies from Heaven" Paul Levinson's reviews of For All Mankind and Star City Interview with Lance Strate in which we discuss his and Neil Postman's views of the space program

Welcome to Light On Light Through episode 419, in which I review Solvej Balle's On the Calculation of Volume (Vols 1-4). Relevant links: written review of Solvej Balle's On the Calculation of Volume (Vols 1-4) It's Real Life: An Alternate History of The Beatles McLuhan in an Age of Social Media

Welcome to Light On Light Through episode 418, in which I interview Dan Abella about The Philip K. Dick Film Festival to take place in New York City, March 13-14, 2026. Relevant links: Philip K. Dick Film Festival details my interview with Rufus Sewell about The Man in the High Castle TV series my novelette The Chronology Protection Case ... short film adapatation of The Chronology Protection Case by Jay Kensinger ... Edgar-nominated radio play adaptation by Mark Shanahan

Welcome to Light On Light Through episode 417, in which Sarah Clarke Stuart and her husband Jonathan Oakes join me and my wife Tina Vozick in a conversation about Sarah's debut novel, Song of the Unsung Mushroom, published January 15, 2026 by Connected Editions (a boutique publisher that I and Tina created and operate).  At times joining our conversation are Alexis Stuart (who created the cover for Sarah's novel), Susan Clarke, Molly Vozick-Levinson, Elizabeth Clarke, Chryssi Steven, Meghan Vickers, Bud Gundy, and Edwin Stepp (thanks to the last three for providing blurbs for the novel). Relevant links: Kindle, paperback, hardcover, audiobook (read by Sarah for Listen and Live Audio) of the novel here trailer for Song of the Unsung Mushroom here More about Connected Editions here YouTube video of this conversation  here

Welcome to Light On Light Through episode 416, in which I review the The Beatles Anthology 2025 documentary. Relevant links: my written review of Anthology 2025 my 2024 podcast review of Beatles '64 my 1972 article in The Village Voice: Murray the K in Nostalgia's Noose my 1971 article in The Village Voice: A Vote for McCartney my 1972 song Murray the K's Back In Town my 2024 novel It's Real Life: An Alternate History of The Beatles 2023 radioplay It's Real Life on Killerwatt Radio adapted from first chapter of my novel (audiobook of radioplay here) my 2025 written review of One to One: John & Yoko my 2017-2018 written reviews of Rob Sheffield's book Dreaming the Beatles (I review every chapter!) my 2016 review of Billy J. Kramer's book Do You Wanna Know a Secret? my thoughts about The Beatles' Now and Then "The Beatles and Podcasts" my Fall 2023 essay in the Journal of Beatles Studies my 2023 written review of John Lennon: Murder Without a Trial my 2021 podcast reviews of Peter Jackson's The Beatles: Get Back Chris Willman's interview with Oliver Murray in Variety Note added at February 10, 2026: Ten-Minute Take on Current Beatles Books and Documentaries on Rock Talk Studio podcast with Big Rick

Welcome to Light On Light Through episode 415, in which I interview Brooklyn Demme about Paul Thomas Anderson's movie One Battle After Another, in which Brooklyn played a minor role.  But in a movie this great, every role is important. Relevant links: my review of One Battle After Another Simon Vozick-Levinson's A Guide to the Revolutionary Music in 'One Battle After Another' in Rolling Stone, September 29, 2025 screening of That Kid (produced by Brooklyn Demme) in Nyack, NY November 1, 2025 at 12 Noon

Welcome to Light On Light Though episode 414, the complete "radio documentary" on WFDU-FM from 1977 -- "Life & Death of a 20th Century Troubadour" -- in which Josh Meyrowitz and I discuss the life, death, and timeless impact of Phil Ochs and his music.

Welcome to Light On Light Through episode 413, in which I interview Mike Grynbaum about his book Empire of the Elite: Inside Condé Nast, the Media Dynasty That Reshaped America, which was just published today. Condé Nast is the publisher of The New Yorker, Vanity Fair, Vogue, GQ, Wired, and other iconic magazines, so we had a lot to talk about. order Empire of the Elite Maureen Dowd interviews Mike Grynbaum at the 92nd Street Y tonight! Mike Grynbaum's "Mangia Mafia! Food, Punishment, and Cultural Identity in The Sopranos" in The Essential Sopranos Reader, eds. David Lavery, Douglas Howard, and Paul Levinson; University Press of Kentucky, 2011 Excerpt from Empire of the Elite in The Hollywood Reporter

Welcome to Light On Light Through, Episode 412, in which I interview Tom Cooper about his new book Wisdom Weavers: The Lives and Thought of Harold Innis and Marshall McLuhan published on May 1, 2025 by Connected Editions. A group of 51 scholars from the US, Canada, Mexico, Brazil, Australia, and Poland gathered on May 1 via Zoom -- a mini global village -- to see this interview with Tom Cooper. The interview and subsequent Q&A is presented here in audio its entirety. We started off with some casual conversation ... Transcript of the complete Zoom Chat that took place after the interview Get the book in Kindle, paperback, and hardcover here Other audio interviews about Wisdom Weavers:  Captain Phil interviews Paul Levinson about Wisdom Weavers on WUSB Radio ... Frank LoBuono interviews Paul Levinson and Tom Cooper about Wisdom Weavers on the Being Frank podcast Watch the entire interview on video

Welcome to Light On Light Through, Episode 411: I returned to Captain Phil's Planet on WUSB (Stony Brook University) Radio the other day to talk to  Captain Phil about Tom Cooper's new book, Wisdom Weavers: The Lives and Thought of Harold Innis and Marshall McLuhan, to be pubished by Connected Editions (my publishing company) on May 1.   As we discussed in the interview, I'll be interviewing Tom about his book via Zoom on the evening of Wisdom Weavers' publication -- 8pm (New York time), May 1.  If you'd like to attend, email me at Levinson at Fordham dot edu and I'll be happy to send the Zoom URL to you. In the meantime, check out my Marshall McLuhan playlist on YouTube for 50 of my lectures, interviews, etc about McLuhan over the past 20 years.  Here are my two books about McLuhan: Digital McLuhan and McLuhan in an Age of Social Media.  You'll also find numerous essays about McLuhan on my Academia.edu page.  And, if you're a fan of audio podcasts, just search on "McLuhan" on my Light On Light Through podcast page.

Welcome to Light On Light Through, Episode 410, in which I interview Kingsley Marin and Massimo Seriale, two freshmen at Fordham University, who have created and edit a new publication (independent of the University), The Polar. More about The Polar here.

Welcome to Light On Light Through, Episode 409, in which I interview Simon Vozick-Levinson, Deputy Editor of Rolling Stone, about the magazine's list of the 100 Best Protest Songs of All Time.  We talk in particular about Bob Dylan, Phil Ochs, and Sam Cooke, and also discuss the importance of publications like Rolling Stone standing up for democracy in these politically troubling times. As a special treat, at the end of this interview, I play a song, "Dance with Destiny," from James Harris's new LP, The Moons of Jupiter.  This is consistent with Phil Ochs' view that we needs works of beauty especially in troubled times. Relevant links: Rolling Stone's list of the 100 Best Protest Songs of All Time The science fantasy story I wrote, "Sam's Requests," inspired by Sam Cooke's song "Having a Party" ... read the story here ... or here (free) My review of Trupa Trupa at the Bowery Electric, Manhattan, 1 March 2025 My Light On Light Through interview with David Browne about his book, Talkin' Greenwich Village NY Times listing of the three-hour show Joshua Meyrowitz and I did about Phil Ochs, after his death in 1976, on WFDU-FM Radio My Light On Light Through interview with Sarah Seltzer about her novel The Singer Sisters The Moons of Jupiter on Bandcamp (soundscapes by Nicky Rowe, vocals by James Harris)

Welcome to Light On Light Through, Episode 408, and my in-depth interview with Lance Strare about his new book, Not A, Not Be &C. Relevant links: Get a copy of Not A, Not Be &C Come see Lance, Thom Gencarelli, and me talking about Lance's book at The Players in Manhattan on 19 February 2025 at 6pm.  More information about this book launch, including FREE registration, here Frank LoBuono's Facebook page -- where he will be live streaming the dramatic reading from my novel, It's Real Life: An Alternate History of The Beatles, taking place at Big Red Books in Nyack, NY, 23 February 2025.