Prolific author, illustrator, and graphic novelist Dan Santat chats with The Lambert Center’s Jason Blitman about his process of writing and illustrating picture books, how writing graphic novels is his way of creating his own movies, and the catharsis of writing his memoir, A First Time for Everything. 

Dan Santat is the Caldecott Medal-winning and New York Times-bestselling author and illustrator of The Adventures of Beekle: The Unimaginary Friend and the road trip/time travel adventure Are We There Yet? His artwork is also featured in numerous picture books, chapter books, and middle-grade novels, including Dav Pilkey's Ricky Ricotta series. Dan lives in Southern California with his wife, two kids, and many, many pets.

51. From Falling in Love with Comics to Writing Graphic Novels—Dan Santat, Author + Illustrator

Jenny Jackson, executive editor at Knopf, talks The Lambert Center’s Jason Blitman through the book publishing process, from acquiring a title to hitting the shelf. Jenny also talks about her experience on the other side as an author—her upcoming debut novel, Pineapple Street, will be released in March.

Jenny Jackson is a vice president and executive editor at Alfred A. Knopf. A graduate of Williams College and the Columbia Publishing Course, she lives in Brooklyn Heights with her family. Pineapple Street is her first novel.

52. What is the Value of a Story?—Jenny Jackson, editor and author

Ahead of a Community Recycling Day at the Marlene Meyerson JCC Manhattan on April 23, The Lambert Center’s Jason Blitman talks to Christine Datz-Romero, co-founder and executive director of the Lower East Side Ecology Center. Christine talks about the history of the center, how e-waste works, and what it takes to compost at home.

53. Electronic Waste + Composting with Christine Datz-Romero, LES Ecology Center

Climate change has impacted the world since the beginning of time, which Peter Frankopan (The Silk Roads) details in his newest book, The Earth Transformed: An Untold History. A professor of global history at Oxford University, Peter shares his unique perspective on climate change with The Lambert Center’s Jason Blitman, including how our society suffers from a soundbite version of history and how small lifestyle changes can have mighty impacts.

54. The Earth Transformed: A History of Climate Change with Peter Frankopan

From the clothes we wear to the sheets we sleep in, textiles are part of daily life, but have you ever really thought about how they’re made? In this episode, The Lambert Center’s Jason Blitman talks to Preeti Gopinath, the head of the textiles program at Parsons School of Design at The New School. Jason and Preeti talk about what textiles are, how they’re made, and the impact they have on the world around us.

55. Textiles + Sustainability with Preeti Gopinath, Parsons School of Design

Bestselling author of Station Eleven, Emily St. John Mandel, talks to The Lambert Center’s Jason Blitman as her final event for the paperback release of her latest novel, Sea of Tranquility. They also talk about why we’re drawn to post-apocalyptic fiction, what it’s like imagining the future of our world, and what she’s working on next. 

Emily St. John Mandel’s five previous novels include The Glass Hotel, which has been translated into 25 languages, and Station Eleven, which was a finalist for a National Book Award and the PEN/Faulkner Award for Fiction, was the basis of a limited series on HBO Max, and has been translated into 37 languages. She lives in New York City and Los Angeles.

56. Emily St. John Mandel, Sea Of Tranquility

Bestselling author of The Guncle Steven Rowley talks to The Lambert Center’s Jason Blitman about all sorts of things, including working as a gay author and, of course, his newest book, this month’s TODAY Show #ReadWithJenna pick, The Celebrants.

Steven Rowley is the bestselling author of Lily and the Octopus, a Washington Post Notable Book of 2016; The Editor, named by NPR as one of the Best Books of 2019; The Guncle, a Goodreads Choice Awards finalist for 2021 Novel of the Year and winner of The 22nd Thurber Prize for American Humor; and The Celebrants, a TODAY Show #ReadWithJenna pick. His fiction has been published in twenty languages, and all of his books are in development for feature film or television adaptation. Originally from Portland, Maine, he is a graduate of Emerson College and currently resides in Palm Springs with his husband, writer Byron Lane.

57. Steven Rowley, The Celebrants

First-time author Camille Kellogg talks to The Lambert Center’s Jason Blitman about her novel, Just As You Are, a queer rom-com inspired by Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice. 

Camille Kellogg is a queer writer based in New York City, where she works as an editor for children’s and young adult books. She studied English and creative writing at Middlebury College and attended the Bread Loaf Writers’ Conference on a fiction scholarship. She’s passionate about queer stories, cute dogs, and bad puns.

58. Camille Kellogg, Just As You Are

Caldecott winner Brian Selznick (The Invention of Hugo Cabret) talks to the Lambert Center’s Jason Blitman about how his latest book, Big Tree, started as a Steven Spielberg film, and about the legacy of gay and Jewish children’s book authors.

Brian Selznick is the author and illustrator of many books for children, including The Invention of Hugo Cabret, winner of the Caldecott medal and the basis for the Oscar-winning movie Hugo, directed by Martin Scorsese. Kaleidoscope, a novel in short stories, was called a "lockdown masterpiece" by the New York Times, and his newest book Big Tree, inspired by an idea from Steven Spielberg.

59. Brian Selznick, Big Tree

Tony Award winner J. Harrison Ghee talks to The Lambert Center’s Jason Blitman about their experience as the first nonbinary performer to win Best Actor in a Musical, living life as your most authentic self, and performing in a hit musical on Broadway. 

J. Harrison Ghee Broadway/International Tour: Some Like it Hot, Kinky Boots, Mrs. Doubtfire. Regional: The Color Purple, The Sting. Television: “High Maintenance” (Charles), “Raising Dion” (Kwame). Industrial: Tokyo Disney Sea’s Big Band Beat, Norwegian Cruise Line.

60. J. Harrison Ghee, Some Like It Hot

Welcome to 76West, the podcast of the JCC's Lambert Center for Arts + Ideas. 

76West meets at the intersection of arts and ideas. Revamped and reimagined, this new series hosted by arts producer Jason Blitman will feature conversations with today’s leading authors, artists, culture makers, and thinkers.

Previous guests include Alan Cumming, Roxane Gay, Colson Whitehead, and more.

You can find us wherever you get your podcasts. 76West is produced by Jason Blitman and Udi Urman, with original music written and performed by Perl Wolfe and mastering by Matt Temkin.

60. J. Harrison Ghee, Some Like It Hot

76West: A Podcast from the Marlene Meyerson JCC

Related tracks