John Sayles on Henry Ford, Detroit and his new historical novel 'Crucible'

In the new novel Crucible , director and author John Sayles turns his attention to Henry Ford, Detroit, and automotive labor in the 1920s through World War II. The historical novel focuses less on Ford’s story and more on the cast of characters whose lives were changed by the businessman: Ford workers, labor organizers, young radicals, and many others. Here & Now’s Robin Young recently spoke with Sayles at the West Newton Cinema outside Boston in front of an audience of the author and filmmaker’s fans. They discussed Henry Ford’s top enforcer, cameos by figures like Joe Louis and Diego Rivera in the novel, and how Sayles’ upbringing in Synecdoche, New York has shaped his work. To listen to Book of the Day sponsor-free and support NPR's book coverage, sign up for Book of the Day+ at plus.npr.org/bookoftheday See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsorship and to manage your podcast sponsorship preferences. NPR Privacy Policy

You can listen to John Sayles on Henry Ford, Detroit and his new historical novel 'Crucible' online on Radio and Podcast. Open the player on this page to stream the available audio.

John Sayles on Henry Ford, Detroit and his new historical novel 'Crucible' is an episode from NPR's Book of the Day by NPR.

This episode is 11:08 long.

This episode was published on Apr 14, 2026.

Yes. Use the heart button on the episode page to add it to your favorite episodes list.

Yes. This page shows related episodes from NPR's Book of the Day when more episodes are available from the podcast feed.