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About Daniel Moran

Daniel Moran earned his B.A. and M.A. in English from Rutgers University and his Ph.D. in History from Drew University. The author of Creating Flannery O’Connor: Her Critics, Her Publishers, Her Readers, he teaches research and writing at Rutgers and co-hosts the podcast Fifteen Minute Film Fanatics.

Interests: Film, Literary Studies, Music, History, Biography, and the American West.

Daniel Moran earned his B.A. and M.A. in English from Rutgers University and his Ph.D. in History from Drew University. The author of Creating Flannery O’Connor: Her Critics, Her Publishers, Her Readers, he teaches research and writing at Rutgers and co-hosts the podcast Fifteen Minute Film Fanatics.

NBN Episodes hosted by Daniel:

Literary Studies September 21, 2023

Godzilla and Godzilla Raids Again

The Original Novellas by Shigeru Kayama

Shigeru Kayama

Hosted by Daniel Moran
Listen:
Godzilla emerged from the sea to devastate Tokyo in the now-classic 1954 film, produced by Tōhō Studios and directed by Ishirō Honda, creating a global sensation and launching one of …
Music August 30, 2023

Live Dead

The Grateful Dead, Live Recordings, and the Ideology of Liveness

John Brackett

Hosted by Daniel Moran
Listen:
The Grateful Dead were one of the most successful live acts of the rock era. Performing over 2300 shows between 1965 and 1995, the Grateful Dead’s reputation as a …
Film August 9, 2023

Bogie and Bacall

The Surprising True Story of Hollywood's Greatest Love Affair

William J. Mann

Hosted by Daniel Moran
Listen:
From the noted Hollywood biographer comes this celebration of the great American love story—the romance between Lauren Bacall and Humphrey Bogart—capturing its complexity, contradictions, and challenges as never before …
American West July 20, 2023

Becoming Colorado

The Centennial State in 100 Objects

William Wei

Hosted by Daniel Moran
Listen:
In Becoming Colorado: The Centennial State in 100 Objects (UP of Colorado, 2021), historian William Wei paints a vivid portrait of Colorado history using 100 of the most compelling …
Music June 11, 2023

Blood in the Tracks

The Minnesota Musicians Behind Dylan's Masterpiece

Paul Metsa and Rick Shefchik

Hosted by Daniel Moran
Listen:
The story of the Minneapolis musicians who were unexpectedly summoned to re-record half of the songs on Bob Dylan's most acclaimed album. When Bob Dylan recorded Blood on the Tracks …
Film May 17, 2023

The Cinema of Barbara Stanwyck

Twenty-Six Short Essays on a Working Star

Catherine Russell

Hosted by Daniel Moran
From The Lady Eve, to The Big Valley, Barbara Stanwyck played parts that showcased her multidimensional talents but also illustrated the limits imposed on women in film and television …
Film April 18, 2023

Killin' Generals

The Making of The Dirty Dozen, the Most Iconic WW II Movie of All Time

Dwayne Epstein

Hosted by Daniel Moran
An explosive inside look at The Dirty Dozen, the star-studded war film that broke the rules, shocked the critics, thrilled audiences, and became an all-time classic. The year was 1967 …
Film March 29, 2023

The Cinema of Paul Thomas Anderson

American Apocrypha

Ethan Warren

Hosted by Daniel Moran
Paul Thomas Anderson’s evolution from a brash, self-anointed “Indiewood” auteur to one of his generation’s most distinctive voices has been one of the most remarkable career trajectories in recent …
American West March 22, 2023

Rim to River

Looking Into the Heart of Arizona

Tom Zoellner

Hosted by Daniel Moran
Tom Zoellner walked across the length of Arizona to come to terms with his home state. But the trip revealed more mountains behind the mountains. Rim to River: Looking …
Literary Studies March 4, 2023

Reading Novels During the Covid-19 Pandemic

Ben Davies, Christina Lupton, and Johanne Gormsen Schmidt

Hosted by Daniel Moran
Drawing on an ethnographic study of novel readers in Denmark and the UK during the Covid-19 pandemic, Reading Novels During the Covid-19 Pandemic (Oxford UP, 2022) provides a snapshot of …
General History February 11, 2023

The Oxford Illustrated History of the Book

James Raven

Hosted by Daniel Moran
In 14 original essays, The Oxford Illustrated History of the Book (Oxford UP, 2022) reveals the history of books in all their various forms, from the ancient world to the …
Biography January 20, 2023

Tough Guy

The Life of Norman Mailer

Richard Bradford

Hosted by Daniel Moran
Twice winner of the Pulitzer Prize, firstly in 1969 for The Armies of the Night and again in 1980 for The Executioner's Song, Norman Mailer's life comes as close as …
Film January 7, 2023

Nothing to Fear

Alfred Hitchcock and the Wrong Men

Jason Isralowitz

Hosted by Daniel Moran
In 1956, Alfred Hitchcock focused his lens on an issue that cuts to the heart of our criminal justice system: the risk of wrongful conviction. The result was The Wrong …
Language December 25, 2022

Take My Word for It

A Dictionary of English Idioms

Anatoly Liberman

Hosted by Daniel Moran
Three centuries of English idioms—their unusual origins and unexpected interpretations. To pay through the nose. Raining cats and dogs. By hook or by crook. Curry favor. Drink like a fish …
American West December 7, 2022

Cheap Land Colorado

Off-Gridders at America's Edge

Ted Conover

Hosted by Daniel Moran
Today I talked to Ted Conover, author of Cheap Land Colorado: Off-Gridders at America's Edge (Knopf, 2022) In May 2017, Conover went to Colorado to explore firsthand a rural way of …
Film November 25, 2022

Truly, Madly

Vivien Leigh, Laurence Olivier, and the Romance of the Century

Stephen Galloway

Hosted by Daniel Moran
A sweeping and heartbreaking Hollywood biography about the passionate, turbulent marriage of Laurence Olivier and Vivien Leigh. In 1934, a friend brought fledgling actress Vivien Leigh to see Theatre …
Film November 21, 2022

The Godfather, Part II

Jon Lewis

Hosted by Daniel Moran
Francis Ford Coppola's "The Godfather, Part II" (1974) is a magisterial cinematic work, a gorgeous, stylized, auteur epic, and one of the few sequels judged by many to be greater …
Psychology October 6, 2022

Happiness in Action

A Philosopher's Guide to the Good Life

Adam Adatto Sandel

Hosted by Daniel Moran
A young philosopher and Guinness World Record holder in pull-ups argues that the key to happiness is not goal-driven striving but forging a life that integrates self-possession, friendship, and …
Film September 21, 2022

Ernest Lehman

The Sweet Smell of Success

Jon Krampner

Hosted by Daniel Moran
A Hollywood screenwriting and movie-making icon, Ernest Lehman penned some of the most memorable scenes to ever grace the silver screen. Hailed by Vanity Fair as “perhaps the greatest screenwriter …
Biography September 15, 2022

The Pale-Faced Lie: A True Story

David Crow

Hosted by Daniel Moran
A violent ex-con forces his son to commit crimes in this unforgettable memoir about family and survival. Growing up on the Navajo Indian Reservation, David Crow and his three …
Economics August 31, 2022

Understandable Economics

Because Understanding Our Economy Is Easier Than You Think and More Important Than You Know

Howard Yaruss

Hosted by Daniel Moran
Incomes are stagnating, middle-class jobs are disappearing, economic growth is slowing, and the meager gains are mostly going to those who are already wealthy. More Americans than ever are frustrated …
Music August 31, 2022

Cruel to Be Kind

The Life and Music of Nick Lowe

Will Birch

Hosted by Daniel Moran
This is the definitive biography of singer-songwriter Nick Lowe, best known for "Cruel To Be Kind,” “I Love the Sound of Breaking Glass,” and "(What's So Funny ‘Bout) Peace …
Music August 10, 2022

Have a Little Faith

The John Hiatt Story

Michael Elliott

Hosted by Daniel Moran
A journey through an artist's quest for success, deep dive into substance abuse, family tragedy, and ultimate triumph. By the mid-1980s, singer-songwriter John Hiatt had been dropped from three record …
Film August 10, 2022

Competing with Idiots

Herman and Joe Mankiewicz, a Dual Portrait

Nick Davis

Hosted by Daniel Moran
A fascinating, complex dual biography of Hollywood's most dazzling—and famous—brothers, and a dark, riveting portrait of competition, love, and enmity that ultimately undid them both. One most famous for having …