Best Penguin Random House Podcasts (2025)

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Christopher Kemp, "Dark and Magical Places: The Neuroscience of Navigation" (Norton, 2022) 50:51

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4d ago50:51

50:51

Inside our heads we carry around an infinite and endlessly unfolding map of the world. Navigation is one of the most ancient neural abilities we have―older than language. In Dark and Magical Places: The Neuroscience of Navigation (Norton, 2022), Christopher Kemp embarks on a journey to discover the remarkable extent of what our minds can do. Fueled…

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Ep 137: Amazon Ads for Authors Made Simple - FAQs 35:54

8d ago35:54

35:54

Click Here to ask your book writing and publishing questions! Amazon ads don’t have to be complicated (or eat up your entire marketing budget) to actually sell books. In this episode, I’m sharing my approach to making Amazon ads simple(r) without endless spreadsheets, confusing dashboards, or the kind of budget that makes you wonder if you should’v…

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James Kimmel, Jr., "The Science of Revenge: Understanding the World's Deadliest Addiction—and How to Overcome It" (Random House, 2025) 52:29

14d ago52:29

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There is a hidden addiction plaguing humanity right now: revenge. Researchers have identified retaliation in response to real and imagined grievances as the root cause of most forms of human aggression and violence. From vicious tweets to road rage, murder-suicide, and armed insurrection, perpetrators almost always see themselves as victims seeking…

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Frances Egan, "Deflating Mental Representation" (MIT Press, 2025) 1:02:21

18d ago1:02:21

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The human mind has the curious, even mysterious, ability to generate thoughts about things with which we are not in causal contact, such as when we think about yesterday’s tennis final, or Aristotle, or unicorns. Naturalizing mental content has usually meant explaining how this is possible in terms that eliminate the mystery while retaining commitm…

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Paul Thagard, "Bots and Beasts: What Makes Machines, Animals, and People Smart?" (MIT Press, 2021) 59:54

19d ago59:54

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Octopuses can open jars to get food, and chimpanzees can plan for the future. An IBM computer named Watson won on Jeopardy! and Alexa knows our favorite songs. But do animals and smart machines really have intelligence comparable to that of humans? In Bots and Beasts: What Makes Machines, Animals, and People Smart? (MIT Press, 2021), Paul Thagard l…

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Ep 136: Writing a Novel While Raising Kids with Jill Beissel 30:20

22d ago30:20

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Click Here to ask your book writing and publishing questions! Writers dream of the day they’ll hold their finished book, but few warn you about how intense the editing phase can be. In this episode, debut novelist Jill Beissel gets real about the messy, magical process of turning a rough draft into a polished novel readers will love. Jill’s upcomin…

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Judith Grisel, "Never Enough: The Neuroscience and Experience of Addiction" (Doubleday, 2019) 1:00:13

24d ago1:00:13

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Not a lot of authors go from spending their early twenties homeless and addicted to cocaine to becoming one of the world’s leading researchers on the neuroscience of addiction. But Dr. Judith Grisel, in her new book Never Enough: The Neuroscience and Experience of Addiction (Doubleday, 2019), uses her personal story to illuminate the ways in which …

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Ep 135: Q&A: Kirkus Reviews, Writing with AI, and Bestseller Status 23:11

29d ago23:11

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Click Here to ask your book writing and publishing questions! Ever feel like everyone has some secret book marketing hack? Most of those “shortcuts” are just expensive detours. In this episode, I’m calling out three distractions that keep indie authors spinning their wheels. First up: Kirkus Reviews. Are they legit? Yes. Are they worth the price fo…

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Ep 188: Unlocking Climate Resilience: Insurance, Investment & Innovation with Howden 46:41

1M ago46:41

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In this episode, BritCham Singapore’s Executive Director David Kelly is joined by Howden’s leadership team—Anthony Hobley (Deputy Chair, Climate Risk and Resilience), Daniel Fairweather (Head of Food Security Systems and Biodiversity), and Charlie Pool (Head of Carbon Insurance)—for a compelling conversation on the role of insurance in advancing cl…

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Ep 134: Crafting Complex Narratives with Lauren Oliver 29:53

1M ago29:53

29:53

Click Here to ask your book writing and publishing questions! If you’re the kind of person who devours psychological thrillers but also wants to be emotionally sucker-punched (in the best way), Lauren Oliver’s What Happened to Lucy Vale needs to be on your radar. In this episode, Lauren takes us behind the scenes of what might be her most structura…

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Ep 133: Living Proof with Tiffany Graham Charkosky 35:54

1M ago35:54

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Click Here to ask your book writing and publishing questions! In this episode, I sit down with Tiffany Graham Charkosky to talk about her forthcoming memoir, Living Proof (October 21, Little A), a book written and shaped over years of writing and rewriting. At just 11 years old, Tiffany lost her mother. For decades, she believed it was an unexplain…

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Your Mom Talks Newsletters and Street Teams 48:02

1M ago48:02

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In today's episode, we discuss (AKA Charlie talks at Caitlyn) newsletters, ARC teams and street teams. A little bit of marketing 101 for trad and indie authors alike. This may or may not have been recorded in March. Whoops. If you would like to donate to Your Mom Writes Books, please go to charlienholmberg.com/podcast (or check out the link in our …

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Kevin J. Tracey, "The Great Nerve: The New Science of the Vagus Nerve and How to Harness Its Healing Reflexes" (Penguin, 2025) 30:55

2M ago30:55

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The vagus nerve is fundamental to our health and vitality, coordinating critical functions from the precise heartbeat we need to exercise or rest to the balance of appetite and digestion. Made up of 200,000 fibers, the vagus nerve sends thousands of electrical signals every second between your brain and your most important organs. Yet despite its e…

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Rebecca Lemov, "The Instability of Truth: Brainwashing, Mind Control, and Hyper-Persuasion" (Norton, 2025) 36:42

2M ago36:42

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Because brainwashing affects both the world and our observation of the world, we often don’t recognize it while it’s happening—unless we know where to look. As Rebecca Lemov writes in The Instability of Truth, “Brainwashing erases itself.” What we call brainwashing is more common than we think; it is not so much what happens to other people as what…

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Ep 132: What Nobody Tells You About Making Your Book "Take Off" 22:59

2M ago22:59

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Click Here to ask your book writing and publishing questions! If you’ve been chasing the magical marketing strategy that will finally make your book “take off,” welcome to the club. In this episode, I’m addressing the question nearly every author eventually asks: What does it actually take to make a book successful? Spoiler: there’s no guaranteed f…

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Pooja Agarwal, Cynthia Nebel, Veronica Yan, "Smart Teaching Stronger Learning: Practical Tips From 10 Cognitive Scientists" (Unleash Learning Press, 2025) 1:10:22

2M ago1:10:22

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How can I help my students not only learn my course material but also retain and transfer that information? This is a question that has plagued and intrigued teachers for centuries. In Smart Teaching Stronger Learning: Practical Tips for 10 Cognitive Scientists, the authors provide their readers with evidence-based practices for immediate classroom…

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Ep 131: The Paper Palace and Beyond with Miranda Cowley Heller 55:26

2M ago55:26

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Click Here to ask your book writing and publishing questions! Miranda Cowley Heller's father was a book editor; her grandfather edited Jack Kerouac and was friends with Hemingway. That legacy, while inspiring, left her frozen when it came to pursuing her own writing. Instead, she built a thriving career in publishing and TV, eventually heading up d…

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Ep 130: When Fiction Meets AI with Lori Gold 46:02

2M ago46:02

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Click Here to ask your book writing and publishing questions! Author Lori Gold is pulling back the curtain on publishing, in both this interview and her newest novel, Romantic Friction. INSIDE THE EPISODE • Yet another reason bestseller lists aren’t what you think (I didn't know this until I read her book!) • A great tip for handing reviews without…

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Ep. 187: In Conversation with Nick Magnus MBE, Founding Head of College, Dulwich College (Singapore) 37:23

2M ago37:23

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What does it take to build one of Singapore’s most successful international schools—from scratch? In this special episode, BritCham's Executive Director, David Kelly, sits down with Nick Magnus MBE, Founding Head of College at Dulwich College (Singapore). Nick shares his remarkable journey, from landing in a hotel room during the 2012 Olympics with…

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Jeremy Stolow, "Picturing Aura: A Visual Biography" (MIT Press, 2025) 1:15:58

2M ago1:15:58

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Picturing Aura: A Visual Biography (MIT Press, 2025) by Dr. Jeremy Stolow is the first book of its kind: an extended historical, anthropological, and philosophical study of modern efforts to visualize the hidden radiant force encompassing the living body known as our aura. This rich, interdisciplinary study by Dr. Stolow chronicles the rise and glo…

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Ep 129: From LinkedIn to Penguin Random House with Gigi Robinson 36:40

2M ago36:40

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Click Here to ask your book writing and publishing questions! What started as sharing her story online about living with chronic illness turned into a book deal with Penguin Random House. In this episode, Gigi Robinson shares how she leveraged consistency, relationships, and a clear vision to go from content creator to published author. Here’s what…

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Ep 128: Book Publicity with Emily Florence 1:02:20

3M ago1:02:20

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Click Here to ask your book writing and publishing questions! This week, I’m joined by publicist Emily Florence, and we’re talking about how to set publicity goals before you start chasing them, why a Today Show appearance might not sell nearly as many books as you think, and how to make your marketing feel less like shouting into the void and more…

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Your Mom Reuses Elements in a Series 35:45

3M ago35:45

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Was this recorded two months ago? Yes. Listen, life happens. ;) Today Caitlyn and Charlie discuss reusing elements in a series, such as the same climax, same villains, and same premises between books. As a side note, Charlie doesn't understand ASMR videos. CHECK OUT CAITLYN'S NEW BOOK HERE. It's finally BIRTHED! (And spicy, be warned.) You can also…

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Ep 127: On Writing...Everything, with Melissa de la Cruz 42:37

3M ago42:37

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Click Here to ask your book writing and publishing questions! Bestselling author Melissa de la Cruz has published nearly 80 books (yes, 80), and in this episode, she shares what it really takes to build and sustain a long-term writing career. From surviving the shifting tides of publishing to protecting what gets you "in the mood" to write, she sha…

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Ep 126: Murder on the Page with N.L. Blandford 43:45

3M ago43:45

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Click Here to ask your book writing and publishing questions! Thriller author N.L. Blandford isn't afraid to go dark—like, murder scene dark—and she absolutely loves it. In this episode, she talks about writing gritty thrillers with complex villains you’ll root for and recoil from. Natasha never planned to become an author. She just wanted to cross…

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Ep. 186: In Conversation with Morgan Stark, Head of Asia, S-RM 35:55

3M ago35:55

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In this episode, BritCham Singapore’s Executive Director David Kelly sits down with Morgan Stark, Head of Asia at SRM, for a deep dive into reputational due diligence, geopolitical risk, and the realities of doing business across Asia’s diverse markets. Drawing from over 15 years of experience in corporate intelligence, Morgan unpacks how businesse…

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Laura Otis, "Banned Emotions: How Metaphors Can Shape What People Feel" (Oxford UP, 2019) 33:21

3M ago33:21

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Who benefits and who loses when emotions are described in particular ways? How do metaphors such as "hold on" and "let go" affect people's emotional experiences? Banned Emotions: How Metaphors Can Shape What People Feel (Oxford UP, 2019), written by neuroscientist-turned-literary scholar Laura Otis, draws on the latest research in neuroscience and …

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Ep 125: The Business of Being a Writer with Jane Friedman 55:58

3M ago55:58

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Click Here to ask your book writing and publishing questions! In this no-fluff episode, publishing powerhouse Jane Friedman speaks to the aspects of writing and publishing that every aspiring author needs to hear about. WE'RE TALKING ABOUT: The myth of the full-time writer dream—and why your day job might be your secret weapon How to build an autho…

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Nicole C. Nelson, "Model Behavior: Animal Experiments, Complexity, and the Genetics of Psychiatric Disorders" (U Chicago Press, 2018) 27:44

3M ago27:44

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Mice are used as model organisms across a wide range of fields in science today--but it is far from obvious how studying a mouse in a maze can help us understand human problems like alcoholism or anxiety. How do scientists convince funders, fellow scientists, the general public, and even themselves that animal experiments are a good way of producin…

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Ep 124: From Attorney to Romance Author with Audrey Ingram 45:47

4M ago45:47

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Click Here to ask your book writing and publishing questions! In this episode, author Audrey Ingram spills the tea on what inspired her newest novel, The Summer We Ran (coming June 3, 2025). Think: teenage love, political ambition, and a dual-timeline structure that spans 25 years and manages to hit you right in the gut and makes you think. We also…

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Ep 123: Reality TV and Romance with Neely Tubati-Alexander 44:41

4M ago44:41

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Click Here to ask your book writing and publishing questions! She’s back! One of my all-time favorite guests, Neely Tubati-Alexander, returns to talk about her third novel, Courtroom Drama. As always, she brings a refreshing, no-nonsense take on staying creative and productive in the unpredictable world of publishing. INSIDE THE EPISODE 📚 Why Neely…

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Ep. 185: In Conversation with Ian Murray, Secretary of State for Scotland of the United Kingdom 13:40

4M ago13:40

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In this special episode recorded in London, BritCham Singapore’s Executive Director David Kelly sits down with the Right Honourable Ian Murray, Secretary of State for Scotland, to explore Scotland's international strategy and growing global footprint. Secretary Murray shares insights from his recent trade mission to Singapore, where he launched Bra…

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Ep 122: From Nanny Diaries to The Best We Could Hope For, A Conversation with Nicola Kraus 50:18

4M ago50:18

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Click Here to ask your book writing and publishing questions! What happens when your first novel becomes a global sensation, and your next one takes nearly a decade? In this episode, bestselling author Nicola Kraus (of The Nanny Diaries fame) gets delightfully honest about what it really takes to write, edit, and publish a book in today’s ever-shif…

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Ep. 184: Sustainability Through The Eyes of Tomorrow's Leaders 19:28

4M ago19:28

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Could a new generation of business leaders be the key to solving our climate crisis? Join us as we chat with two remarkable students whose fresh thinking on green financing, policy development and sustainability might just give us the much-needed optimism we've been searching for. Stephen Skalecki, member of the Chamber’s Sustainability and Resilie…

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Ep 121: Lights, Camera, Book Launch with Noël Stark 47:53

4M ago47:53

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Click Here to ask your book writing and publishing questions! This week, I sat down with debut author Noël Stark, who went from wrangling chaos behind the scenes in the TV and film world to wrangling words on the page, often in 15-minute bursts. Her novel, Love Camera Action, flips the script on Hollywood romance by spotlighting the crew, not the s…

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Ep 120: Writing a Novel (While Your House Falls Apart) with A. Morini 49:52

4M ago49:52

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Click Here to ask your book writing and publishing questions! What do a flooded house, a nine-month (and still going) renovation, and a debut novel have in common? Angelika Morini. In this episode, Angelika shares what it actually looked like to finish her first novel, Do You See Me Now?—while living in chaos (read: house stripped to the studs). We…

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Yellowlees Douglas, "Writing for the Reader's Brain: A Science-Based Guide" (Cambridge UP, 2024) 58:55

4M ago58:55

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What makes one sentence easy to read and another a slog that demands re-reading? Where do you put information you want readers to recall? Drawing on cognitive neuroscience, psychology and psycholinguistics, Writing for the Reader’s Brain (Cambridge University Press, 2025) provides a practical, how-to guide on how to write for your reader. It introd…

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Ep 119: Inside Hybrid Publishing with Naren Aryal 49:11

5M ago49:11

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Click Here to ask your book writing and publishing questions! You’ve probably heard the phrase “your book is your business card.” While it sounds cute for a Canva graphic, it totally downplays the blood, sweat, and editing tears that go into creating a book that actually matters. We’re not here for books that gather dust—we’re here for books that m…

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Ciara Greene and Gillian Murphy, "Memory Lane: The Perfectly Imperfect Ways We Remember" (Princeton UP, 2025) 42:05

5M ago42:05

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Today I’m speaking with Ciara Greene, co-author with Gillian Murphy of the new book, Memory Lane: The Perfectly Imperfect Ways We Remember (Princeton UP, 2025). Ciara is associate professor in the School of Psychology at University College Dublin, where she leads the Attention and Memory Laboratory. The scientific study of human memory has become e…

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News: 2024 Financials [EN] 8:11

5M ago8:11

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Bertelsmann Again Generates Billions in Profits in 2024, Invests Over €2 BillionBy Bertelsmann Podcast Kreativität & Unternehmertum

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News: Geschäftsjahr 2024 [DE] 9:09

5M ago9:09

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Bertelsmann erzielt 2024 erneut Milliardengewinn und investiert mehr als 2 Milliarden EuroBy Bertelsmann Podcast Kreativität & Unternehmertum

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Ep 118: Jordan Roter on her Journey From TV Writer to Novelist 1:13:53

5M ago1:13:53

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Click Here to ask your book writing and publishing questions! Have you ever sat through a back-to-school night and thought, Wow, this could be a novel? Jordan Roter did—and then she actually wrote it. Moms Like Us (coming May 2025 from Little A) hilariously unpacks the cutthroat social hierarchy of LA moms, complete with all the messy, cringey, and…

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Your Mom Dissects Why We Like "Bad" Books 44:22

5M ago44:22

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Why is it that the most popular, well-loved books are also the most hated? Today Caitlyn and Charlie dig into why people criticize "bad" books and why we love them so much. If you would like to donate to Your Mom Writes Books, please go to charlienholmberg.com/podcast (or check out the link in our Instagram bio @yourmomwritesbooks).…

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Ep 117: Unconventional Ways to Promote Your Book (Without Breaking the Bank) 28:17

5M ago28:17

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Click Here to ask your book writing and publishing questions! Ever walked past one of those cute Little Free Libraries and thought, Wonder if I could sneak my book in there? Spoiler alert: you totally can. And that’s just one of the brilliantly simple, low-cost book marketing strategies I dish out in this episode—ideas so simple many authors never …

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Peter D. Hershock, "Consciousness Mattering: A Buddhist Synthesis" (Bloomsbury, 2023) 1:53:53

5M ago1:53:53

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Consciousness Mattering (Bloombury, 2023) presents a contemporary Buddhist theory in which brains, bodies, environments, and cultures are relational infrastructures for human consciousness. Drawing on insights from meditation, neuroscience, physics, and evolutionary theory, it demonstrates that human consciousness is not something that occurs only …

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Grace Lindsay, "Models of the Mind: How Physics, Engineering and Mathematics Have Shaped Our Understanding of the Brain" (Bloomsbury, 2021) 49:54

5M ago49:54

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Models of the Mind: How Physics, Engineering and Mathematics Have Shaped Our Understanding of the Brain (Bloomsbury, 2021) provides a multifaceted and approachable introduction to theoretical neuroscience. It discusses some major topics of the field, including both the milestones from their history and the currently open questions. It's accessible …

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Ep 116: Beta Readers, Plot Twists, and Audiobook Magic with Nanda Reddy 52:36

5M ago52:36

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Click Here to ask your book writing and publishing questions! This week, I had a really fun conversation with Nanda Reddy about her journey from "secret writer" to novelist (her debut novel, A Girl Within a Girl Within a Girl, just hit the USA Today bestseller list!). Inside this Episode: Writing without being "formally trained" (read: no MFA) and …

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Unlocking the Secrets of the Nervous System: A Deep Dive with Dr. George S. Thompson and Patrick Ney 38:08

5M ago38:08

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Parenting is an emotional rollercoaster – filled with moments of joy, stress, and everything in between. But what if there was a scientific way to understand and navigate these emotions more effectively? In a compelling new podcast episode, Patrick Ney, Lead Trainer at All About Parenting, sits down with Dr. George S. Thompson to explore the fascin…

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Ep. 183: In Conversation with Byron Sharp, Research Professor (Marketing Science), Director, Ehrenberg-Bass Institute, University of South Australia 49:29

5M ago49:29

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How do businesses grow in an ever-changing market landscape? How can marketers apply evidence-based insights to drive success? We put world-leading marketing expert, Professor Byron Sharp, Director, Ehrenberg-Bass Institute, University of South Australia, in the hot seat. Speaking to David Kelly, Executive Director of the British Chamber of Commerc…

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Ep 115: The Tortoise Strategy-How Slow and Steady Wins the Publishing Race 27:11

6M ago27:11

27:11

Click Here to ask your book writing and publishing questions! Publishing a book requires long-term strategy, patience, and flexibility, not magic bullets or gimmicky shortcuts. The long game is the shortcut when it comes to building a sustainable author career. In this episode, I answer some of the questions that have come my way recently via email…