Writer Julia Heaberlin joins guest host Courtney Collins to discuss her new novel, featuring a cast of characters trying to solve the disappearance of a missing child, and the prominent role Texas plays in her writing.
Read more
What’s a fishwife, anyway? A history of words about women
Jenni Nuttall teaches medieval literature at the University of Oxford, and she joins host Krys Boyd to discuss how words have influenced how we view female roles in society.
Read more
In a YA novel, a Black girl navigates Jim Crow
Lesa Cline-Ransome, author of the YA novel “For Lamb,” joins guest host Courtney Collins to talk about the story, which follows a girl named Lamb navigating the friendships and dangers of the Jim Crow South for a young Black girl.
Read more
Kidnapped: A Black boy’s story of surviving his white family
Poet and author Shane McCrae joins host Krys Boyd to discuss his harrowing tale of abuse and neglect, why he was told his father never wanted him, and how he’s found moments of joy in his adult life.
Read more
Not every movie needs a moral
Adam Kotsko joins host Krys Boyd to discuss our tendency to judge a movie or book on how it reflects our personal values rather than as something existing outside of our personal experiences.
Read more
Never let a story get in the way of good facts
New Yorker staff writer Parul Sehgal discusses why narrative style is so attractive to contemporary readers, and what we must look out for if we want to see the whole story.
Read more
The maestro of mystery
Best-selling author Brenden Slocum discuss themes of authorship, authenticity and art from his novel about uncovering the truth about a composer’s legacy.
Read more
In a Texas town, cops ask a psychic for help
Writer Julia Heaberlin joins guest host Courtney Collins to discuss her new novel, featuring a cast of characters trying to solve the disappearance of a missing child, and the prominent role Texas plays in her writing.
Read more
The eternal allure of old books
Antiquarian bookseller Oliver Darkshire discusses one of the world’s oldest bookshops and a profession that makes more memories than it does money.
Read more
Why fictional villains are often portrayed as disabled
Professor Jan Grue, who is disabled himself, joins host Krys Boyd to discuss villains from Disney to 007 – and how these portrayals of people with disabilities spread harmful ideas.
Read more
Joy is made sweeter because we know pain
Author and poet Ross Gay joins us to share his essay collection about finding meaning in bleak times to create compassion, hope, and to better connect to our shared humanity.
Read more
Untangling the true story of a scandalous shipwreck
New Yorker staff writer David Grann joins us to discuss a British warship called the Wager, which wrecked in Patagonia in the 1740s, and the conflicting stories of its surviving castaways.
Read more