What makes a plantation more than just a historic mansion? In this episode, Peter and Orlando explore In the Shadow of the Great House: A History of the Plantation in America with University of Georgia historian Daniel Rood. From sugar plantations on São Tomé to cotton fields in Georgia, this episode examines how systems of labor, land use, and profit shaped American history and continue to influence the world around us.

This episode of Narrative Edge explores Leave Your Mess at Home, the debut novel from Atlanta-based author Tolani Akinola. Peter Biello and Orlando Montoya unpack the book’s layered story of a Nigerian American family in Chicago as they navigate estrangement, identity, immigration, romance, sexuality, and generational pressures. From a tense Thanksgiving reunion to questions about what families owe one another, this conversation explores why the novel resonates with readers seeking emotionally charged contemporary fiction.

Poet Sean Hill joins Narrative Edge to discuss his collection The Negroes Send Their Love: Poems, Perspectives, and Possible Futures. In this conversation, Hill reflects on race, memory, fatherhood, and Afrofuturism while exploring how poetry, prose, and speculative storytelling can work together in a single collection. From Georgia history to imagined futures, this episode examines how literature creates space for feeling, reflection, and hope.

In this episode, Peter and Orlando explore Momma May Be Mad, a powerful memoir by Kerry Neville that examines mental health, addiction, and recovery. They discuss her journey through anorexia, alcoholism, bipolar disorder, and electroconvulsive therapy, and how writing became her anchor. This conversation highlights resilience, the complexity of healing, and the possibility of hope after crisis.

Explore the harsh realities of Civil War prison camps, including Andersonville, in this episode featuring historian Fitzhugh Brundage and his book A Fate Worse Than Hell. Hosts Peter Biello and Orlando Montoya examine how prisoner exchanges broke down, why Black Union soldiers were excluded, and how these decisions reshaped the war. This episode reveals the human cost of incarceration during the Civil War and its lasting political and emotional impact.

In this episode, Peter Biello and Orlando Montoya explore In the Days of My Youth I Was Told What It Means to Be a Man by Tom Junod. They discuss the author’s complex relationship with his charismatic and deeply flawed father, and how family secrets shape identity. This conversation examines masculinity, memory, and the lasting influence of fathers across generations.

In this episode, Peter and Orlando explore Kin by Tayari Jones. They discuss how the friendship between Annie and Niecy anchors the novel, along with Jones’ ideas about story “budget,” point of view, and why the first pages of a novel are the most valuable real estate. Plus, Author Tayari Jones shares practical creative writing advice about storytelling, character building, and narrative structure. If you love literary fiction or want insight into how great novels are crafted, this conversation offers both.

Author Ace Atkins joins us to discuss Everybody Wants to Rule the World, a Cold War spy novel set in 1985 Atlanta. We explore how real espionage history, including the story of KGB defector Vitaly Yurchenko, inspired this coming-of-age thriller about a teenager who believes his mother’s boyfriend is a Russian spy. If you love spy fiction, 1980s nostalgia, and Atlanta history, this episode reveals the surprising secrets behind the novel.