How I Library

Episode 33: Daniel Kraus

In episode 33, show host Phil Morehart from the American Library Association speaks with author Daniel Kraus about his latest book, “Partially Devoured: How ‘Night of the Living Dead’ Saved My Life and Changed the World.” Filmmaker George A Romero’s 1968 horror masterpiece, “Night of the Living Dead,” was a cultural and artistic gamechanger. It gave the world the modern zombie—the slow, shambling, reanimated corpse with a hunger for human flesh. It also changed the nature of independent cinema, especially horror, showing what can be accomplished with little money but massive amounts of talent, support, and luck. And it’s incredibly frightening. In “Partially Devoured: How ‘Night of the Living Dead’ Saved My Life and Changed the Word,” Kraus (author of “Whalefall,” “The Shape of Water,” and the winner of the 2026 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction, “Angel Down”) examines Romero’s film with an unparallelled precision, dissecting it scene-by-scene, minute-by-minute, second-by-second, and sometimes frame-by-frame to uncover its secrets. Kraus dives into the film’s actors and their histories and tragedies, copyright woes that plagued “Night” after its release, the socio-political and racial realities of the 1960s that are reflected in the film, and so much more. “Partially Devoured” also details how “Night of the Living Dead” has carved a place into Kraus’s life; how it’s been a constant companion through joys and sadness since childhood, helping him become who he is today. Kraus joins the show to discuss “Partially Devoured” and its writing, revelations about “Night of the Living Dead,” the power of discovering and embracing horror at a young age, and how he libraries.

Episode 32: Historian Wayne Wiegand on ALA and Library History

In this special episode of How I Library, show host Phil Morehart from the American Library Association (ALA) speaks with library historian and author Wayne Wiegand about the beginnings of ALA as the Association celebrates its 150th anniversary. In 1876, 103 librarians gathered in Philadelphia to create a new association for librarians. One hundred and fifty years later, the American Library Association has endured to help shape both the library profession and American history. In this first in a series of four bonus How I Library episodes on ALA history, Morehart and Wiegand explore the rich, fascinating early years of ALA and its complicated founders, ALA’s impact on librarianship, the role of ALA and librarians during WWI, and much more.

Episode 31: Roddy Bottum

In episode 31, show host Phil Morehart from the American Library Association speaks with musician and author Roddy Bottum from the band Faith No More about his recent memoir, “The Royal We.” As cofounder and keyboard player for Faith No More, Roddy was center stage for a music revolution that germinated and grew in underground clubs and bars in the 1980s only to explode into the mainstream in the early 1990s. It was an exciting time for music, but the often-homophobic music industry was another beast, especially if you were a young gay man like Roddy. It led to a personal and professional life that blazed bright with success but also darkened with recklessness, including heroin addiction. In his exceptional, poetic memoir, “The Royal We,” Roddy details this life, from his childhood in Los Angeles, coming-of-age as a young gay man in 1980s punk San Francisco, and musical journeys with Faith No More and other bands to his battles with addiction, friendships with people like Courtney Love and Kurt Cobain, and eventual self-acceptance and becoming a queer icon. Roddy joins the show to discuss “The Royal We” and its writing, his incredible life story, book bans and censorship, and, of course, how he libraries.

Episode 30: Jon King

In episode 30, show host Phil Morehart from the American Library Association speaks with musician and author Jon King from the legendary post-punk band Gang of Four about his new memoir, “To Hell with Poverty! A Class Act: Inside the Gang of Four.” Gang of Four burst out of England in the years following the first punk rock explosion in the late 1970s with a unique, angular sound that owed as much to funk, dub, art, politics, and philosophy as it did to its punk contemporaries. Gang of Four created a sound unlike any other that would influence REM, Nirvana, Nine Inch Nails, The Afghan Whigs, Red Hot Chili Peppers, St. Vincent, Rage Against the Machine, Sleater Kinney, and countless other bands. At the forefront of Gang of Four was Jon King, the band’s vocalist and lyricist, whose memoir, “To Hell with Poverty! A Class Act: Inside the Gang of Four,” charts King’s youth and the band’s volatile trajectory, as well as the socio-political environments and circumstances that birthed British punk and Gang of Four. King joins the show to discuss his book and its writing, the history of Gang of Four, life in post-WWII Britain, the birth of punk and post-punk in England, art, philosophy, book bans, and how he libraries.

Episode 29: Thien Ho

In episode 29, host Phil Morehart from the American Library Association speaks with Thien Ho, the district attorney of Sacramento County, California, whose new book, “The People vs. the Golden State Killer,” documents the hunt for and prosecution of serial killer Joseph DeAngelo, aka the Golden State Killer. Thien was the lead prosecutor who led a team of law enforcement from six California prosecutor's offices in the hunt for DeAngelo. "The People vs. the Golden State Killer" is the first official account of how the Golden State Killer was apprehended and put behind bars for life. The book also details Thien’s fascinating personal journey—escaping communist Vietnam on a fishing boat as a child, working his way up from an internship to an elite homicide division, and eventually becoming Sacramento District Attorney. Thien joins the show to discuss his book and the Golden State Killer case, our collective fascination with true crime, his inspiring life story, and of course how he libraries.