Episode 401

with Jami Attenberg, James Kim, Bonnie Morales, and Federale

Host Luke Burbank and announcer Elena Passarello describe their family crests; author Jami Attenberg struggles to feel compassion for the patriarch in her new book "All This Could Be Yours;" producer James Kim explains how language barriers and silence are used as narrative tools in his fictional podcast Moonface; chef Bonnie Morales discusses how her Belarusian background inspired the celebrated restaurant Kachka; and psychedelic rock group Federale perform the title track from their album "No Justice."

Jami Attenberg
Author

Jami Attenberg makes the hard work of writing look easy in The Big Easy. The author of seven novels, her latest book All This Could Be Yours, tracks a New Orleans family grappling with their patriarch and themselves as he nears the end of his life. Attenberg’s pitch-perfect characters complement what Marie Claire called her “sparkling prose.” Her books The Middlesteins and All Grown Up were best sellers, and her essays have been published widely in outlets like The Sunday Times, Longreads, and The New York Times Magazine. Website • Twitter

James Kim
Producer

James Kim is devoted to opening up the lines of communication. He's the creator of the fiction podcast "Moonface," which beautifully explores language and love through the multicultural experience of a mother and son. Starring actor and comedian Joel Kim Booster as Paul and Esther Moon as his mother, "Moonface" puts the listener in Paul's shoes as he struggles to understand both his mother and himself. Kim is a development producer at Gimlet, and previously worked as a producer at The Dinner Party Download, Marketplace, Strangers, and KPCC. Website • Twitter

Bonnie Morales
Chef

As a child, Bonnie Morales (née Frumkin) watched her parents prepare elaborate, traditional dinner parties as members of her family emigrated to the United States from the former Soviet Union. As Bonnie grew up and studied French cooking techniques at culinary school, she felt distanced from the Belarusian cuisine of her childhood. She opened Kachka, a restaurant considered by many to be the best Russian restaurant in the country, and is the only Portland restaurant to be included in America’s Essential Restaurants of 2015, 2016, 2017 and 2018 by Eater, inducted into their restaurant “Hall of Fame.” Twitter

Federale
Band

Federale has always told stories of breathtaking scope through their cinematic, western-tinged soundscapes – but as they’ve evolved, what began as a purely instrumental project has started to incorporate more and more words. With their most recent album, “No Justice,” all the songs except two contain stunning, precise lyrics, backed by members of the Oregon Symphony. The fifth album by the group feels like a fully realized expression of their music – music that serves as the soundtrack to the most captivating spaghetti westerns that never were. Listen • Twitter