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(Long post) Michael Silverblatt, ‘genius’ host of KCRW literary show ‘Bookworm,’ dies at 73​ize​Feb. 15, 2026 Michael Silverblatt, host of KCRW-FM’s “Bookworm,” tapes the syndicated literary show on Sept. 30, 1999, in the basement offices at Santa Monica College. (Damian Dovarganes / Associated Press)Michael Silverblatt, the longtime host of the KCRW radio show “Bookworm” — known for interviews of authors so in depth that they sometimes left his subjects astounded at his breadth of knowledge of their work — has died. He was 73. Silverblatt died Saturday at home after a protracted illness, a close friend confirmed. Although Silverblatt’s 30-minute show, which ran from 1989 to 2022 and was nationally syndicated, included interviews with celebrated authors including Gore Vidal, Kazuo Ishiguro, David Foster Wallace, Susan Orlean, Joan Didion and Zadie Smith, the real star of the show was the host himself, the nasal-voiced radio personality who more than once in life was told he did not have a voice for his medium.His show represents one of the most significant archives of conversations with major literary powerhouses from the late 20th and early 21st centuries.