Megan Abbott: gimlet (2 1/2 ounces gin, 1/2 ounce lime juice, dash simple syrup, garnish with lime wheel) Megan names Detroit’s best quality, shares her love and analysis of the hard boiled crime fiction of Raymond Chandler and Dashiell Hammett, discusses the differences between writing for film and writing a novel, describes her first encounter with novelist James Ellroy, reveals her fandom of Dateline and Keith Morrison, and hints at some upcoming projects.
Jun 24, 2025•1 hr 4 min•Season 3Ep. 26
Megan Marshall: Caipirinha (lime, sugar, cachaca) Winner of the Pulitzer Prize for biography, Megan discusses the distinctions between biography and narrative history, her frustration with historical fiction that is irresponsible and inconsistent with the historical record, her own transition from poetry to biography and the mentors who helped along the way, the evolving notion of feminism, and her favorite book from childhood that she often rereads.
Jun 17, 2025•56 min•Season 3Ep. 25
Jennifer Egan, Jay McInerney, David Grann: (Crystal) Jenny, Jay and David create the Best List of the best books, discuss the stylistic and structural reasons why they love these books, and tell insider stories connected to the books on the list and the authors who wrote them.
Jun 10, 2025•46 min•Season 3Ep. 24
Montel Williams: sparkling water with cranberry juice Montel reveals the worst thing about being deployed on a submarine, explains how Tom Clancy angered the US Navy with his book THE HUNT FOR RED OCTOBER, describes some of the riveting naval scenes in his book that involve the aircraft carrier INTREPID as well as the much earlier US Navy ship INTREPID (1798) that fought Barbary pirates, recounts the guest he finds most memorable from the Montel Williams Show.
Jun 03, 2025•59 min•Season 3Ep. 23
Carl Hiaasen: gin & tonic (Barr Hill gin, tonic, lime wedge) Carl discusses the talented Vince Vaughn and how he will forever more inhabit the character Yancy, tells how his surroundings in Florida have changed so much since the time of his youth and why that has inspired him to make Florida a recurring ‘character’ in his novels, reveals a time that he was nearly eaten by an alligator while floating on an inner tube, shares incredible personal stories with Jimmy Buffett and Warren Zevon, nam...
May 27, 2025•1 hr 4 min•Season 3Ep. 22
Chris Pavone: Americano (Campari, sweet vermouth, club soda, orange twist) Chris discusses his early career experiences in publishing meetings with Jaqueline Kennedy Onassis and what her work meant to him and other colleagues, the gifts his wife possesses that made her a great CEO for Penguin Random House and that also guided him to a writing career upon recognizing he did not possess those gifts, how his life as an expat inspired his debut novel THE EXPAT, how the first drafts of his novels mig...
May 20, 2025•1 hr 15 min•Season 3Ep. 21
J.D. Barker: White Russian (2 ounces vodka, 1 ounce Kahlua, 1 ounce heavy cream) J.D. talks about how he stalked and then connected with Stephen King, how his partnership with James Patterson has changed his writing method, the way he has turned his Asperger Syndrome into his secret weapon for writing novels, the landmark publishing imprint of his own within Simon & Schuster and how he worked with CEO Jonathan Karp and the private equity firm KKR to establish the business model for it, the p...
May 06, 2025•57 min•Season 3Ep. 20
David Baldacci: sparkling water David names the two most underrated thriller writers, describes the way that planning-then-writing a novel can be similar to Tom Brady practicing-then-playing a football game, reveals the mystery books from his childhood that made him love reading, tells of a peak moment of dejection when he doubted he could ever become a writer, shares the story of a bizarre book signing event, talks about the fragile ‘ecosystem of literature’ and offers a terrific piece of advic...
Apr 22, 2025•46 min•Season 3Ep. 19
Marcy Dermansky: House of Balloons (2 ounces vodka, 1 ounce Aperol, 1/2 ounce lemon juice, 1/2 ounce grapefruit juice, simple syrup, top with club soda) Marcy talks about the struggles of a working writer including waiting in an unemployment line in New York while holding her newborn baby the week of publication of her novel, her isolating move to Germany and her return to New York where she was a more productive writer, how publishing short fiction can in some ways be more difficult than publis...
Apr 08, 2025•37 min•Season 3Ep. 18
Gregory Maguire: Ginger Mojito Mocktail (grated ginger, grated cucumber, mint, lime juice, ginger ale, sparkling water) Gregory reveals the one book that he later realized had subconsciously guided his reimagining of Oz for his novel WICKED, shares his thoughts on the departures that the adaptations (both stage and film) have taken in reimagining WICKED, names the one children’s book that made him want to be a writer, names 3 books every kid should read by age 10, talks about the blurred line be...
Apr 01, 2025•1 hr 1 min•Season 3Ep. 17
Elizabeth Staple: Old Fashioned (water, sugar, bitters with 2 1/2 ounces whiskey, garnish with orange and cherry) After working in media relations for the NFL's New York Giants and the New England Patriots, Elizabeth delivers her debut crime thriller THE SNAP that takes us behind the scenes of an NFL franchise. She discusses the many points of overlap between her fictional character and her real-life work experiences that include fraught office politics, coaching NFL players to handle the press,...
Mar 18, 2025•43 min•Season 3Ep. 16
Alissa Wilkinson: Gibson (3 ounces gin, 1/2 ounce dry vermouth, onion) Film Critic for the New York Times, Alissa gives her take on the Oscars, shares some insider info on Siskel and Ebert, discusses the beginning and end of the Golden Age of TV along with some of her favorites from the era, reflects on Joan Dideon’s admiration for John Wayne and Barry Goldwater along with her surprising takes on their present day closest equivalents, and identifies why 9-11 was a before-and-after moment for Ame...
Mar 11, 2025•1 hr 2 min•Season 3Ep. 15
David Grann: Mojito (2 ounces white rum, 1 ounce lime juice, sugar, mint, topped with club soda) David discusses his early years covering politics on Capitol Hill, how his mother paved the way for women executives in publishing as the first woman CEO of a major publisher and how she eventually agreed that writing was a good career choice for David, describes conversations with Leonardo DiCaprio and Martin Scorsese to review details of KILLERS OF THE FLOWER MOON, mentions other authors of narrati...
Feb 25, 2025•1 hr 27 min•Season 3Ep. 14
Capt. Karl Anderson: Spanish Manhattan (2 1/2 ounces Pilar rum, 1 ounce sweet vermouth, bitters, garnish with orange rind) Karl tells of the assignment that his parents gave him when he was a young boy that instilled in him the discipline to become a writer, reminisces about the stories of Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig fishing and gunning the same territory that he has, shares the process by which he translates the magical moments he’s had in nature to film and print, assesses whether Michael Jordan ...
Feb 04, 2025•47 min•Season 3Ep. 13
Wendy Walker: Greyhound (1 1/2 ounces vodka, 2 1/2 ounce grapefruit juice) Wendy shares the meticulous approach she took to becoming a bestselling author that began with learning what kind of fiction works for the market, describes what she likes about James Patterson's "winning structural formula", describes her early careers as an investment banker with Goldman Sachs and then as a corporate attorney, tells how motherhood brought her out of the workforce then returned her to a career as a novel...
Jan 28, 2025•1 hr•Season 3Ep. 12
Alafair Burke: Vesper Martini (2 ounces gin, 3/4 ounce vodka, 1/2 ounce Lillet Blanc) Alafair reveals the haunting impressions of growing up in Kansas during the active period of the BTK serial killer and how that time influenced her path to practicing law and writing crime novels, how she applies her experience as a DA to the pages of her crime thrillers, the differences between writing the novel and writing for film and TV, how she might pick the perfect writers' room, how her very successful ...
Jan 21, 2025•57 min•Season 3Ep. 11
Spencer Klavan: scotch Spencer discusses the brimming culture of intolerance during his years at Yale, art and morality, the inherently required translation in all communication as concepts move from the soul to the page, the varied interplay between science and religion through the millennia, the different types of scotch, makes some amazing book recommendations and chooses a favorite between C.S. Lewis and J.R.R. Tolkien.
Jan 14, 2025•1 hr 13 min•Season 3Ep. 10
David Coggins: Pilar rum David Coggins discusses Hemingway’s escapades on his fishing boat Pilar, the secret history of New York’s 21 Club, his process for travel writing and for his Substack: The Contender, what his dad taught him about writing, how there are few Hollywood endings in fishing, the most sought after fishing spot in the world.
Jan 07, 2025•1 hr 20 min•Season 3Ep. 9
Jim Rutenberg: mango spritzer (equal parts mango and club soda) Jim discusses the Murdoch family dynastic succession, the slow decline of the Big 3 News anchors and the rise of digital media, the unsteady state of CNN, MSNBC and Fox News, his time as a reporter for Page 6 during it’s zenith, and offers a helpful reminder as we all enter 2025.
Dec 17, 2024•1 hr 10 min•Season 3Ep. 8
Lili Anolik: gimlet (2 1/2 ounces gin, squeezed lime juice, sugar) Lili shares some of the scoop from her terrific biography DIDION & BABITZ including Harrison Ford supplying drugs to much of the 1960s Los Angeles literary scene, Steve Martin's slightly awkward early romantic life, sex with Jim Morrison and Jackson Browne. She also discusses how we can come to understand the identity of a decade retroactively, why some writers continue to be read for many decades while others fade from popul...
Dec 10, 2024•1 hr 2 min•Season 3Ep. 7
Neal Stephenson: mezcal margarita (2 ounces mezcal, 1 ounce Cointreau, lime juice) Neal identifies the two greatest threats to the future of humanity, the most compelling inflection points for alternative history, his process for writing his novels (and shares that he writes by hand), the best sci fi book ever written, the best sci fi movie ever made, and discusses a new philosophy he’s started to practice that could save the world.
Dec 03, 2024•1 hr 7 min•Season 3Ep. 6
Maureen Callahan: vodka martini (3 ounces vodka, 1/2 ounce dry vermouth, olives) Maureen names the four worst hypocrites in the world today then we debate the world champion from this Final Four (with a special honorable mention), discusses her first job at MTV, describes what it was like to encounter one of the subjects of her “vitriolic” columns at an event in NYC, mentions some shocking facts from her book ASK NOT that have gone unreported about the Kennedy family, and reflects on the debate ...
Nov 26, 2024•1 hr 7 min•Season 3Ep. 5
Ken Burns: green tea Ken names the three people from history that he’d invite to dinner, discusses the responsibility of a documentary filmmaker to remain factual and objective- and how this responsibility is often violated, offers a humanizing view of Hemingway, reflects on the many qualities of da Vinci that have made him a titan among titans through the ages, reveals his process for creating his films.
Nov 18, 2024•1 hr 19 min•Season 3Ep. 4
Tom Turcich: Old Fashioned (bitters, sugar, whiskey with cherry and orange rind garnish) Tom walked 28,000 miles around the world with his dog and a converted stroller filled with supplies, then wrote a book that records his adventures and reflections. In terrific travel-writing style he reveals his encounter with a pervert before he managed even to walk outside the USA, his strange difficulty at the border with Mexico (going south), his experience with COVID on the Caspian Sea, his favorite mom...
Nov 12, 2024•52 min•Season 3Ep. 3
Linda discusses founding the sex crimes unit of the Manhattan DA’s office - first in the nation - and when Mariska Hargitay and Dick Wolf shadowed her to help develop the concept for the new show Law & Order: SVU, recounts writing her first novels while still working more than full time as a prosecutor, her writing process for her bestselling Alex Cooper novels, addresses the responsibility of filmmakers of the growing number of docu-series that are often fictionalized for dramatic effect an...
Oct 29, 2024•1 hr•Season 3Ep. 2
Jay McInerney: Cristal Jay discusses cocaine and a proposition from Truman Capote (spoiler alert: he escaped), his pioneering use of the 2nd-person in BRIGHT LIGHTS, BIG CITY, his best moment ever with a glass of wine, the perfect 3-course meal with wine pairing, what Raymond Carver taught him about writing, getting fired from The New Yorker, squatting in George Plimpton’s house, waking up in December 2023 with his home covered in his own blood and remembering nothing.
Oct 21, 2024•1 hr 12 min•Season 3Ep. 1
Nelson DeMille: Dewar's on the rocks Nelson talks about John Travolta on the set of General's Daughter, the importance of getting characters right even if not PC, the value of a mentor, how he has managed the loss of his wife Sandy with the help of friends and family.
Sep 19, 2024•51 min
Gregg Hurwitz: gin & tonic Gregg discusses how Evan Smoak (aka Orphan X) stacks up against Reacher and Bourne, the virtues of Batman and Wolverine, the remaining advantages of humanity over artificial intelligence, how the Shakespearean formula applies to the modern thriller, and which thriller writer he considers his North Star.
Jun 11, 2024•1 hr•Season 2Ep. 37
Erika Robuck: Bahama Queen (2 1/2 ounces bourbon barreled gin, 1 ounce Grand Marnier, 1 ounce lemon juice, 1/2 ounce pineapple juice, 1/2 ounce passion fruit, 1/2 ounce simple syrup, mint, orange peel) Erika discusses the line between historical fiction and nonfiction in the context of her own books as well as other works of historical fiction like Netflix’s THE CROWN, how Roald Dahl made her want to be a writer, how she finds women from the “shadows of history” to write about, and how she succe...
Jun 04, 2024•46 min•Season 2Ep. 36
Lea Carpenter: Heineken Lea tells what it was like working alongside JFK Jr at George Magazine in the 1990s, her other formative experiences working at Francis Ford Coppola’s Zoetrope and then for The Paris Review, her discovery upon her father’s death that he’d had a career in espionage, how recruiting an asset in espionage is like a marriage proposal, the 4 reasons people work in espionage, what she means by “the crystal meth of purpose.”
May 21, 2024•1 hr 9 min•Season 2Ep. 35
