Best Caleb Baldwin Podcasts (2025)

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S9 Ep. 4 Ben Passmore on the History of Black Resistance 47:37

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6d ago47:37

47:37

Graphic novelist Ben Passmore joins co-hosts Whitney Terrell and V.V. Ganeshananthan to discuss his new graphic novel Black Arms To Hold You Up: A History of Black Resistance. Passmore explains the mix of personal reflection and historical storytelling in the book which follows the main character, a version of himself, time-traveling through a cent…

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S9 E3: Jelani Cobb on Race, Politics and the ‘Trayvon Martin Generation’ 54:29

14d ago54:29

54:29

New Yorker staff writer Jelani Cobb joins co-hosts Whitney Terrell and V.V. Ganeshananthan to discuss his new essay collection, Three or More is a Riot: Notes on How We Got Here: 2012-2025. Cobb recalls how he began the project by trying to understand how George Zimmerman’s killing of unarmed black teenager Trayvon Martin in 2012 set the tone for t…

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S9 Ep. 2: Edwidge Danticat on Haiti and Trump, Past and Present 48:52

21d ago48:52

48:52

Acclaimed fiction writer and essayist Edwidge Danticat joins co-hosts Whitney Terrell and V.V. Ganeshananthan to discuss her new essay collection We’re Alone. Danticat reflects on misinformation and xenophobic rhetoric, such as Trump’s false 2024 debate claim about Haitian immigrants eating pets in Springfield, Ohio, and how that type of language a…

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S9 Ep 1: Yiming Ma on the Future of Censorship 43:13

28d ago43:13

43:13

Fiction writer Yiming Ma joins co-hosts Whitney Terrell and V.V. Ganeshananthan to discuss his new novel These Memories Do Not Belong To Us. Ma, who was born in Shanghai and visited China frequently after immigrating to the U.S. and Canada, talks about how terrifyingly easy it can be to live in a society in which censorship is the default, and the …

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S8 Ep 52: Caleb Gayle on Black Settlers in the American West 43:58

1M ago43:58

43:58

Journalist Caleb Gayle joins co-hosts Whitney Terrell and V.V. Ganeshananthan to discuss his new book Black Moses: A Saga of Ambition and the Fight for a Black State, which recounts the efforts of Edward McCabe, a Black settler who became a prominent politician in the late 1800s and spearheaded a mission to establish a majority-Black state in the A…

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S8 Ep. 51: Omar El Akkad on Gaza and Western Empire 56:24

1M ago56:24

56:24

Writer Omar El Akkad joins co-hosts Whitney Terrell and V.V. Ganeshananthan to discuss his recent nonfiction book, One Day, Everyone Will Have Always Been Against This, which was just nominated for the National Book Award in nonfiction. El Akkad talks about developing the arc of the book, which addresses how Israel’s genocide in Gaza led to his “br…

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S8 Ep 50: Jessica Francis Kane on Penelope Fitzgerald in Mexico 47:16

2M ago47:16

47:16

Novelist Jessica Francis Kane joins co-hosts Whitney Terrell and V.V. Ganeshananthan to discuss her new novel Fonseca, which fictionalizes writer Penelope Fitzgerald’s 1952 trip to Mexico. Kane talks about imagining Fitzgerald in her mid-thirties, before she had become a novelist, when she was living a financially precarious life and editing a jour…

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S8 Ep. 49: Patrick Ryan on ‘The Good Heart’ of Buckeye 47:19

2M ago47:19

47:19

Fiction writer and editor Patrick Ryan joins co-hosts Whitney Terrell and V.V. Ganeshananthan to discuss his debut novel, Buckeye, which traces two generations of two Midwestern families connected by a secret. Ryan recalls the coincidental conversation that informed his portrayal of one character’s experiences with disability in World War II-era Oh…

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S8 Ep. 48: Jennifer Szalai and Alexandra Jacobs on Great American Road Trip Books 49:25

2M ago49:25

49:25

New York Times book critics Jennifer Szalai and Alexandra Jacobs join co-hosts Whitney Terrell and V.V. Ganeshananthan to discuss their recent article, “Love Jack Kerouac? Read These Great American Road Trip Books Next,” which they co-authored with their fellow critic Dwight Garner, and which includes books published after Kerouac's On the Road. Th…

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S8 Ep. 47: Nicholas Boggs on James Baldwin’s Love Stories 51:43

2M ago51:43

51:43

Biographer Nicholas Boggs joins co-hosts Whitney Terrell and V.V. Ganeshananthan to discuss his groundbreaking new book, Baldwin: A Love Story, the first major biography of James Baldwin to be published in three decades. Boggs recalls how finding Baldwin’s only children’s book in a Yale library as a college student led him to track down the volume’…

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S8 Ep. 46: Will Bardenwerper on Baseball’s Betrayal of Its Minor League Roots 44:41

3M ago44:41

44:41

Journalist Will Bardenwerper joins co-hosts Whitney Terrell and V.V. Ganeshananthan to discuss his new book, Homestand: Small Town Baseball and the Fight for the Soul of America, which explores the consequences of Major League Baseball cutting 40 affiliated minor league teams, each one only as expensive as an average Major League salary. He explain…

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S8 Ep. 45: Barbara Kingsolver on Supporting Appalachian Women Recovering from Addiction 57:28

3M ago57:28

57:28

Pulitzer Prize-winning novelist Barbara Kingsolver joins co-hosts Whitney Terrell and V.V. Ganeshananthan to discuss her support of Higher Ground, a long-term residence for women recovering from addiction. Kingsolver talks about Lee County, Virginia, which is both Higher Ground’s location and the setting for her wildly successful novel Demon Copper…

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S8 Ep. 44: Vanity Fair’s Dan Adler on Jeffrey Epstein and What Ghislaine Maxwell Knows 46:37

3M ago46:37

46:37

Vanity Fair journalist Dan Adler joins co-hosts Whitney Terrell and V.V. Ganeshananthan to discuss his coverage of Ghislaine Maxwell, who was convicted in 2021 of facilitating Jeffrey Epstein’s sexual abuse of minors. Adler explains how Maxwell, who is currently serving a 20-year sentence and was just interviewed by the Department of Justice, has r…

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S8 Ep. 43: Gary Shteyngart on Vera, or Faith and American Authoritarians 40:24

3M ago40:24

40:24

Acclaimed novelist Gary Shteyngart joins co-hosts Whitney Terrell and V.V. Ganeshananthan to discuss his new novel, Vera, or Faith, which explores American identity, politics, and immigrant experiences in the near future through the eyes of the eponymous 10-year-old protagonist. Shteyngart talks about the novel’s speculative “Five-Three” amendment,…

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S8 Ep. 42: Ed Park on An Oral History of Atlantis 52:57

3M ago52:57

52:57

Pulitzer Prize finalist Ed Park joins co-hosts Whitney Terrell and V.V. Ganeshananthan to discuss his debut short story collection, An Oral History of Atlantis. Park talks about writing the stories in the book over a period of about 25 years, during which he was frequently asked to read in New York and crafted work for specific venues, audiences, a…

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S8 Ep. 41: Raina Lipsitz on Mamdani, DSA, and the Rise of a New Left 47:43

4M ago47:43

47:43

Writer Raina Lipsitz joins co-hosts V.V. Ganeshananthan and Whitney Terrell to discuss Zohran Mamdani’s surprise win in the Democratic primary for New York City mayor. Lipsitz explains how Mamdani, a 33-year-old Muslim politician supported by the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA), appealed to a wide swath of voters to upset three-term governor…

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S8 Ep. 40: Dina Nayeri on Iranian Life Under Attack 53:17

4M ago53:17

53:17

Prize-winning Iranian American author Dina Nayeri joins co-hosts Whitney Terrell and V.V. Ganeshananthan to discuss the complicated reality of survival on the ground during Israel’s recent bombing of Iran. Nayeri talks about the destruction leveled on Ardestoon, where her father’s family lives; her memories of running for bomb shelters during the I…

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S8 Ep. 39: Ernesto Londoño on the Personal Cost of Minnesota’s Political Killings 49:21

4M ago49:21

49:21

New York Times reporter Ernesto Londoño joins co-hosts V.V. Ganeshananthan and Whitney Terrell to discuss the recent murder of Minnesota state representative Melissa Hortman, which has made headlines as local politicians in the U.S. are rarely targeted for assassination. Londoño describes how a gunman posing as law enforcement went to the homes of …

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S8 Ep. 38: Geoff Dyer on His New Memoir, Homework 50:32

4M ago50:32

50:32

Writer Geoff Dyer joins co-hosts Whitney Terrell and V.V. Ganeshananthan to discuss his new memoir Homework, which covers Dyer’s working-class youth in England during the 1960s and ’70s. He recollects his early passion for reading and film and reflects on writing about his parents, as well as the intensity of childhood play and collecting in the wa…

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S8 Ep. 37: Jess Walter on the American Family Unplugged 45:08

5M ago45:08

45:08

Fiction writer Jess Walter joins co-hosts Whitney Terrell and V.V. Ganeshananthan to discuss his new novel So Far Gone, in which a former environmental reporter living off the grid is jolted back onto it by the surprise arrival of his two grandchildren and news of his missing daughter. Walter talks about developing the character of his protagonist’…

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S8 Ep. 36: Susan Choi on Flashlight 45:41

5M ago45:41

45:41

Acclaimed fiction writer Susan Choi joins co-hosts Whitney Terrell and V.V. Ganeshananthan to discuss her new novel, Flashlight. Choi talks about the opening incident, in which a girl goes for a walk on the beach in Japan with her father only for him to disappear, presumably drowned. Choi explains the novel’s relationship to a short story she publi…

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S8 Ep. 35: Paul Elie on Art, Faith, and Sex in 1980s America–and the New Pope 48:17

5M ago48:17

48:17

Nonfiction writer Paul Elie joins co-hosts Whitney Terrell and V.V. Ganeshananthan to discuss his new book The Last Supper: Art, Faith, Sex, and Controversy in the 1980s and Pope Leo XIV. Elie compares the new pope to John Paul II, whose conservative views shaped the 1980s. He explains how and why ’80s artists like Andy Warhol, U2, and Bob Dylan pr…

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S8 Ep. 34: Julia Elliott on Small-Town Voters and Trump’s Tariff Trap 1:03:04

5M ago1:03:04

1:03:04

Fiction writer Julia Elliott joins co-hosts Whitney Terrell and V.V Ganeshananthan to talk about why President Trump’s tariff policy appeals to voters in small towns in the Midwest and South, which have been economically devastated for the past couple of decades following the North American Free Trade Agreement. Elliott considers Democrats’ failure…

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S8 Ep. 33: Mirza Waheed on India, Pakistan, and the Literature of Partition 59:58

6M ago59:58

59:58

Novelist and journalist Mirza Waheed joins co-hosts Whitney Terrell and V.V Ganeshananthan to talk about brewing tensions between two nuclear powers: India and Pakistan. Waheed, who was born in Kashmir and previously worked as a journalist, explains how the recent massacre of Indian tourists there at the hands of militants connects to a broader con…

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S8 Ep. 32: Hamilton Nolan on DIY Opinion Writing 48:09

6M ago48:09

48:09

Writer Hamilton Nolan joins co-hosts Whitney Terrell and V.V Ganeshananthan to talk about opinion journalism. Nolan, who writes frequently about labor and politics, discusses how and why he entered journalism, the myth of objectivity, and how he views the relationship between activism and journalism. He explains how long it took for him to make mon…

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S8 Ep. 31: Rešoketšwe Manenzhe on Trump’s South African Connection 53:03

6M ago53:03

53:03

South African writer Rešoketšwe Manenzhe joins co-hosts Whitney Terrell and V.V. Ganeshananthan to talk about the influence that wealthy South African immigrants like Elon Musk and Peter Thiel are having on the Trump administration and conservative U.S. politics in general. Manenzhe talks about how growing up under apartheid may have shaped these m…

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S8 Ep. 30: Jodie Hare on the Politics of Neurodiversity 38:44

6M ago38:44

38:44

Following Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s widely publicized and false claims about autism, writer Jodie Hare joins co-hosts Whitney Terrell and V.V Ganeshananthan to talk about the politics of neurodiversity and the importance of autistic communities. Hare, who was diagnosed as autistic in adulthood, explains how the …

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S8 Ep. 29: Vauhini Vara on AI, Art, and Memory 56:01

7M ago56:01

56:01

Acclaimed novelist and journalist Vauhini Vara joins co-hosts Whitney Terrell and V.V Ganeshananthan to discuss her new essay collection, Searches: Selfhood in the Digital Age. Vara talks about the rise of the loser tech bro, internet privacy, Google search logs, the power and limits of turning one’s collected personal data into art, and whether a …

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S8 Ep. 28: Sheila Sundar on International Scholars 47:12

7M ago47:12

47:12

Following ICE’s detention of Columbia University graduate student Mahmoud Khalil and the sudden revocation of hundreds of student visas across the country, professor and novelist Sheila Sundar joins co-hosts Whitney Terrell and V.V. Ganeshananthan to talk about the targeting of international university students, especially those involved in pro-Pal…

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S8 Ep. 27: Meghan O’Rourke on The End of the University 57:48

7M ago57:48

57:48

Essayist, poet, and Yale Review editor Meghan O’Rourke joins co-hosts Whitney Terrell and V.V. Ganeshananthan to talk about her recent New York Times piece, “The End of the University as We Know It.” O’Rourke discusses the situation at Columbia University; the Trump administration’s attacks on other universities, including the threats to deport int…

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S8 Ep. 26: Alex Higley on True Failure and Shark Tank 45:16

7M ago45:16

45:16

Novelist Alex Higley joins host V.V. Ganeshananthan to talk about his new novel, True Failure, in which a man fired from his job decides not to tell his wife what happened and attempts to change his fortunes by applying to join the cast of a Shark Tank-like show. Higley discusses how he experiences the news in Trump 2.0; lying as avoidance and as e…

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S8 Ep. 25: Edmund White on The Loves of My Life 42:03

7M ago42:03

42:03

Novelist, memoirist and biographer Edmund White joins co-hosts Whitney Terrell and V.V. Ganeshananthan to talk about his recent book, The Loves of My Life: A Sex Memoir. White talks about the changes he has witnessed the LGBTQ+ community go through over the years and the hostility the transgender population faces under the Trump-Vance regime. He di…

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S8 Ep. 24: Curtis Sittenfeld on Show Don’t Tell 48:28

8M ago48:28

48:28

Bestselling fiction writer Curtis Sittenfeld joins co-hosts Whitney Terrell and V.V. Ganeshananthan to talk about her new collection of stories, Show Don’t Tell. Sittenfeld discusses the title story, which depicts graduate students in creative writing competing for funding, and its connections to her time at the Iowa Writers’ Workshop, when that pr…

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S8 Ep. 23: Karen Weingarten/Abortion Stories Before Roe v. Wade 47:58

8M ago47:58

47:58

Professor Karen Weingarten joins co-hosts Whitney Terrell and V.V. Ganeshananthan to talk about a new anthology she has edited, Abortion Stories: American Literature Before Roe v. Wade. Weingarten reflects on the complicated history of abortion, the varied use of abortifacients, abortion’s ties to eugenics and state control of bodies, and the rise …

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S8 Ep. 22: Novelists Suzette Mayr and Kai Thomas on Canada Versus Trump 50:45

8M ago50:45

50:45

Canadian authors Suzette Mayr and Kai Thomas join co-hosts V.V. Ganeshananthan and Whitney Terrell to discuss the repercussions of President Trump’s recent threats to annex and tax Canada. They talk about the possible empowerment of the Canadian right as a result of Trump’s extreme remarks, as well as measures their communities are taking to unify …

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S8 Ep. 21: Nicholas Fandos on New York Politics, Eric Adams, and Trump 46:17

8M ago46:17

46:17

New York Times reporter Nicholas Fandos, author of a recent article titled “An Emboldened Trump Seeks to Bend New York City to His Will,” joins co-hosts Whitney Terrell and V.V. Ganeshananthan to talk about why President Trump wants to dismiss corruption charges against New York City Mayor Eric Adams. Officials in Trump’s Department of Justice say …

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S8 Ep. 20: Journalists Michael Scherer and Ashley Parker on Trump and his Tech Oligarchs. 46:08

9M ago46:08

46:08

New Atlantic staff writers Ashley Parker and Michael Scherer, authors of a recent article called “The Tech Oligarchy Arrives,” join host Whitney Terrell to talk about tech oligarchs’ influence over President Trump’s administration. They discuss the significance of prominent billionaires like Mark Zuckerberg and Jeff Bezos attending Trump’s inaugura…

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S8 Ep. 19: Thomas Dai on Mapping, Naming, Borders, and Immigration 46:31

9M ago46:31

46:31

Essayist Thomas Dai joins co-hosts V.V. Ganeshananthan and Whitney Terrell to discuss his new collection, Take My Name But Say It Slow, in which he writes about place and identity. Dai talks about the imperialist impulse behind Trump’s attempt to turn the Gulf of Mexico into the “Gulf of America,” the power of naming, and the appeal and uncertainty…

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S8 Ep. 18: Lan Samantha Chang on the Risks and Rewards of Literary Personas 49:22

9M ago49:22

49:22

Acclaimed novelist and Director of the Iowa Writers’ Workshop Lan Samantha Chang joins Fiction/Non/Fiction hosts V.V. Ganeshananthan and Whitney Terrell to discuss the role that literary personas may–or may not–have played in recent revelations about Alice Munro, Neil Gaiman, and Cormac McCarthy. Chang discusses how writers often develop literary p…

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S8 Ep. 17: Sarah S. Grossman on the Los Angeles Wildfires 46:15

9M ago46:15

46:15

Novelist and former Huffington Post climate reporter Sarah S. Grossman joins Fiction/Non/Fiction co-hosts V.V. Ganeshananthan and Whitney Terrell to talk about the Los Angeles wildfires. Grossman, who lives in Los Angeles and whose 2024 novel A Fire So Wild centers on a wildfire in Northern California, discusses how communities are coming together …

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S8 Ep. 16: Charles Baxter on the Dangers of Knowing the Future 51:53

10M ago51:53

51:53

Acclaimed novelist Charles Baxter joins Fiction/Non/Fiction hosts V.V. Ganeshananthan and Whitney Terrell to discuss his recent novel Blood Test: A Comedy. Baxter talks about turning to humor in dark times, the burden of expectations, and writing a protagonist, Brock Hobson, who some readers love and others detest. He discusses how seeing websites …

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S8 Ep. 15: Ream Shukairy on Syria After Assad 41:50

10M ago41:50

41:50

Following the ouster of former Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, novelist Ream Shukairy joins Fiction/Non/Fiction co-hosts V.V. Ganeshananthan and Whitney Terrell to discuss the country’s future. Shukairy, who grew up in California and spent summers in Syria, reflects on the long history of Syrian resistance to oppression, as well as how parts of h…

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S8 Ep. 14 REBROADCAST: Jacinda Townsend and James Bernard Short on Percival Everett and American Fiction 49:00

10M ago49:00

49:00

Novelist Jacinda Townsend and writer James Bernard Short join co-hosts Whitney Terrell and V.V. Ganeshananthan to talk about the movie American Fiction, which is based on the novel Erasure by Percival Everett. Townsend and Short discuss how the film addresses race in the publishing industry via its central character, Black author Thelonious “Monk” …

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S8 Ep. 13: Ellie Palmer and Elle Everhart on the Rise of Romance 46:50

10M ago46:50

46:50

In this holiday re-broadcast, Romance novelists Elle Everhart and Ellie Palmer join co-hosts V.V. Ganeshananthan and Whitney Terrell to talk about the genre’s increasing popularity. Everhart, the London-based author of the new book Hot Summer, featuring a protagonist who joins the cast of a reality show only to realize she’s interested in a fellow …

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S8 Ep. 12: Journalists Tetyana Ogarkova and Volodymyr Yermolenko on Trump and Ukraine 57:42

10M ago57:42

57:42

Nearly three years after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, journalists and podcasters Tetyana Ogarkova and Volodymyr Yermolenko return to Fiction/Non/Fiction to tell hosts V.V. Ganeshananthan and Whitney Terrell how Ukrainians view Donald Trump’s return to power in the U.S. They talk about the situation at the frontlines, the consequences of delayed ai…

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S8 Ep. 11: Molly Redden on Trump’s Plan to Seize Spending Power 44:13

11M ago44:13

44:13

ProPublica reporter Molly Redden joins co-hosts V.V. Ganeshananthan and Whitney Terrell to discuss her recent piece on impoundment, Donald Trump’s strategy to thwart Congressional spending priorities. Redden talks about how the presidential budget and Congressional appropriations work now, Trump’s claim that he has the authority to ignore what Cong…

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S8 Ep. 10: Carvell Wallace on Love, Survival, and Endings 45:43

11M ago45:43

45:43

Writer and podcaster Carvell Wallace joins co-hosts V.V. Ganeshananthan and Whitney Terrell to discuss finding his way to the understanding that life is lived on a continuum and is not made up of neat endings and beginnings. He talks about how his childhood experiences with poverty, housing insecurity, and a frustrated creative genius of a single m…

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S8 Ep. 9: REBROADCAST: The Best and Worst Dinner Parties in Literature: Mar-A-Lago Edition, Featuring Michael Knight 45:30

11M ago45:30

45:30

Following Donald Trump’s dinner at Mar-A-Lago with Ye (formerly Kanye West) and white supremacist Nick Fuentes, novelist Michael Knight joins hosts V.V. Ganeshananthan and Whitney Terrell to talk about the best and worst dinner parties in literature. They discuss the pressures of hosting, what makes someone a great guest, signature dishes, post-par…

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S8 Ep. 8: Ruben Reyes Jr. on Trump's Plans for Mass Deportation 45:00

11M ago45:00

45:00

Writer Ruben Reyes Jr. joins co-hosts V.V. Ganeshananthan and Whitney Terrell to discuss the Trump administration’s plans for mass deportation. Reyes explains how deportation could affect families or households with different immigration statuses, including those here through Deferred Action Childhood Arrival (commonly known as DACA) and with Tempo…

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S8 Ep. 7: Maggie Tokuda-Hall on Project 2025’s Plans For Book Bans 42:20

12M ago42:20

42:20

In the wake of the election, writer Maggie Tokuda-Hall joins co-hosts V.V. Ganeshananthan and Whitney Terrell to discuss what Project 2025 has in store for authors and book bans. Tokuda-Hall explains Project 2025’s misuse of terms like “critical race theory” and “pornography” and how these will be used to attack mainstream content, especially mater…