Best Librarytalks Podcasts (2025)

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Joshua Miele with Andrew Leland: Connecting Dots: A Blind Life 1:05:31

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2d ago1:05:31

1:05:31

In this episode of Library Talks, Research scientist Joshua Miele joins Library Talks to discuss his memoir Connecting Dots: A Blind Life. He is joined by Andrew Leland, author of the memoir The Country of the Blind. Throughout his life, Miele has found increasingly inventive ways to succeed in a world built for the sighted, and to help others to d…

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Eloghosa Osunde with Jake Morrissey: Necessary Fiction 59:29

9d ago59:29

59:29

In this episode of Library Talks, award-winning writer and multidisciplinary artist Eloghosa Osunde joins the podcast for a conversation about their new novel Necessary Fiction with the editor of Necessary Fiction Jake Morrissey. Necessary Fiction takes place across Lagos, one of Africa's largest urban areas and one of the world's most dynamic citi…

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Raquel Willis with Mecca Jamilah Sullivan: The Risk It Takes to Bloom: On Life and Liberation 54:55

16d ago54:55

54:55

In this episode of Library Talks, writer, activist, and speaker Raquel Willis joins Library Talks to discuss her memoir The Risk It Takes to Bloom: On Life and Liberation. She’s joined by fellow writer Mecca Jamilah Sullivan. In The Risk It Takes to Bloom, Raquel Willis recounts with passion and candor her experiences straddling the Obama and Trump…

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Malcolm D. Lee and Jayne Allen with Bevy Smith: The Best Man: Unfinished Business 1:01:16

23d ago1:01:16

1:01:16

In this episode of Library Talks, Writer and director Malcolm D. Lee Joins Library Talks to discuss his debut novel The Best Man: Unfinished Business. He’s joined by his coauthor Jayne Allen in a discussion moderated by radio and television host Bevy Smith. The beloved characters from Malcom D Lee’s The Best Man movies and hit television series reu…

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Kevin Nguyen with Chris Gayomali: Mỹ Documents 57:39

1M ago57:39

57:39

In this episode of Library Talks, Novelist and features editor at The Verge Kevin Nguyen joins Library Talks to discuss his second novel Mỹ Documents Mỹ Documents follows four Vietnamese cousins whose lives are upended after a terrorist attack incites a government crackdown that targets their community through mass internment of Vietnamese-American…

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Jeremy Tiang with Reuben Gelley Newman: State of Emergency 54:09

1M ago54:09

54:09

In this episode of Library Talks, Acclaimed translator and playwright Jeremy Tiang joins Library Talks to discuss his debut novel and winner of the Singapore Literature Prize State of Emergency. Jeremy Tiang is a novelist and playwright, and the translator of over thirty books from Chinese. His debut novel State of Emergency follows an extended fam…

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Jonas Hassen Khemiri with Tess Gunty: The Sisters 57:55

1M ago57:55

57:55

In this episode of Library Talks, National book award finalist Jonas Hassen Khemiri talks to Tess Gunty about his latest book, The Sisters. Narrated in six parts, each spanning a period ranging from a year to a day to a single minute, Jonas Hassen Khemiri's The Sisters is a big, vivid family saga of the highest order Jonas Hassen Khemiri worked on …

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Bobby Hankinson: Kweendom: A Night of Queer Stand-Up 1:15:02

2M ago1:15:02

1:15:02

In this episode of Library Talks, New York’s funniest LGBTQ performers take the stage for a one-night-only celebration of queer comedy, community, and joy. Hosted by Bobby Hankinson, Kweendom is an all-LGBTQ comedy show featuring some of the city’s sharpest queer comedians and storytellers. Born from Hankinson’s frustration with lineups lacking aut…

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John B. King, Jr. with Lisette Nieves: Teacher by Teacher 42:57

2M ago42:57

42:57

Former U.S. Secretary of Education John B. King, Jr talks to Lisette Nieves about his latest book, Teacher by Teacher.

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Kate Marvel and Friends, ‘Human Nature’ 55:42

2M ago55:42

55:42

In this episode of Library Talks, author and climate scientist Kate Marvel explores her latest book, Human Nature, with David Wallace-Wells, Monica Youn, and Lauren Kurtz through talks, performances, and more Each chapter of Kate Marvel’s new book, Human Nature, employs a different emotion to explore the science and stories behind climate change. K…

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Stephanie Burt with Special Guests: Super Gay Poems: LGBTQIA+ Poetry after Stonewall 1:01:14

2M ago1:01:14

1:01:14

In this episode of Library Talks, poets and critics read from and discuss the new anthology, Super Gay Poems: LGBTQIA+ Poetry after Stonewall. In Super Gay Poems, Stephanie Burt curates a boundary-pushing anthology of 51 poems by LGBTQIA+ writers, tracing the evolution of queer poetry since the Stonewall Riots. From sonnets to shaped poems, elegies…

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Barbara Demick with Jessica Bruder: Daughters of the Bamboo Grove 1:00:09

3M ago1:00:09

1:00:09

In this episode of Library Talks, acclaimed journalist and National Book Award finalist Barbara Demick talks to Jessica Bruder about her latest book, Daughters of the Bamboo Grove: From China to America, a True Story of Abduction, Adoption, and Separated Twins Barbara Demick investigates the origins, shocking cruelty, and legacy of China’s one-chil…

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Madeleine Thien with Jiayang Fan: The Book of Records 55:46

3M ago55:46

55:46

In this episode of Library Talks, author Madeleine Thien talks to Jiayang Fan about her latest book, The Book of Records. The Book of Records is a novel that leaps across generations, ideas, and centuries, as if different eras were separated by only a door. Madeleine Thien worked on The Book of Records during her 2021-2022 Fellowship at the Library…

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Claire Hoffman with Jelani Cobb: Sister, Sinner 1:01:41

3M ago1:01:41

1:01:41

In this episode of Library Talks, Author and Journalist Claire Hoffman sits down with fellow journalist Jelani Cobb to talk about her latest book, Sister, Sinner: The Miraculous Life and Mysterious Disappearance of Aimee Semple McPherson Sister, Sinner chronicles the dramatic rise, disappearance, and near-fall of Aimee Semple McPherson. A pioneer o…