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The Book Review

The New York Timeswww.nytimes.com
The world's top authors and critics join host Gilbert Cruz and editors at The New York Times Book Review to talk about the week's top books, what we're reading and what's going on in the literary world. Unlock full access to New York Times podcasts and explore everything from politics to pop culture. Subscribe today at nytimes.com/podcasts or on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. Listen to this podcast in New York Times Audio, our new iOS app for news subscribers. Download now at nytimes.com/audioapp

Episodes

James Comey and Truth in Government

James Comey’s “Saving Justice,” arrives three years after his first book, “A Higher Loyalty.” Joe Klein reviews it for us , and visits the podcast this week to discuss, among other subjects, how the new book is different from the first. “It doesn’t differ very much at all, actually,” Klein says, “except for one thing: He rehearses all of the confrontations he had with Donald Trump in both books, but in the second book he places that in the context of the need for truth and transparency in govern...

Jan 15, 20211 hr 4 minEp. 330

Charles Yu Talks About ‘Interior Chinatown’

Charles Yu’s “Interior Chinatown,” which won the National Book Award for fiction in November, is a satire about Hollywood’s treatment of Asian-Americans. It features an actor named Willis Wu, who has a very small role in a TV show. On this week’s podcast, Yu, himself a writer for TV as well as a novelist, discusses the book and why he wrote it. David S. Brown visits the podcast to discuss his new biography of Henry Adams, “The Last American Aristocrat.” Adams was the great-grandson of John Adams...

Jan 08, 202155 minEp. 329

Fareed Zakaria on Life After the Pandemic

The author and CNN host Fareed Zakaria calls the coronavirus pandemic “the most transformative event of our lifetimes.” He says: “What has happened over the last 50 years is, we have gotten increasingly confident about the power of science and medicine, so we’ve kind of lost sight of the effect that something like a plague, a pandemic, has. And I think this was a mistake." The historian Margaret MacMillan visits the podcast to discuss her most recent book, “War: How Conflict Shaped Us,” one of t...

Jan 01, 202158 minEp. 328

The Listeners’ Episode: Editors and Critics Answer Your Questions

We respond to questions about criticism, reading habits, favorite stories and more.Unlock full access to New York Times podcasts and explore everything from politics to pop culture. Subscribe today at nytimes.com/podcasts or on Apple Podcasts and Spotify.

Dec 25, 20201 hr 14 minEp. 327

Agents of Change

Kerri Greenidge discusses two books about African-Americans in the years before the Civil War, and Neal Gabler talks about “Catching the Wind,” his biography of Edward Kennedy.Unlock full access to New York Times podcasts and explore everything from politics to pop culture. Subscribe today at nytimes.com/podcasts or on Apple Podcasts and Spotify.

Dec 18, 202049 minEp. 326

Jo Nesbo Talks About 'The Kingdom'

Nesbo discusses his latest novel, and David Michaelis talks about his new biography of Eleanor Roosevelt.Unlock full access to New York Times podcasts and explore everything from politics to pop culture. Subscribe today at nytimes.com/podcasts or on Apple Podcasts and Spotify.

Dec 11, 20201 hrEp. 325

David Sedaris on a Career-Spanning Collection

Sedaris talks about “The Best of Me” and his life as an essayist. Unlock full access to New York Times podcasts and explore everything from politics to pop culture. Subscribe today at nytimes.com/podcasts or on Apple Podcasts and Spotify.

Dec 04, 20201 hr 4 minEp. 324

Talking About the 10 Best Books of 2020

On a special episode of the podcast, taped live, editors from The New York Times Book Review discuss this year's outstanding fiction and nonfiction. Unlock full access to New York Times podcasts and explore everything from politics to pop culture. Subscribe today at nytimes.com/podcasts or on Apple Podcasts and Spotify.

Nov 27, 20201 hr 10 minEp. 323

Joy Williams and Unique Views of America

A.O. Scott talks about Williams’s fiction, and Nicholas Christakis discusses his new book about the coronavirus, “Apollo’s Arrow.” Unlock full access to New York Times podcasts and explore everything from politics to pop culture. Subscribe today at nytimes.com/podcasts or on Apple Podcasts and Spotify.

Nov 20, 20201 hr 2 minEp. 322

David Byrne on Turning 'American Utopia' Into a Book

Byrne talks about his work with the artist Maira Kalman on his latest book, and Brittany K. Barnett discusses "A Knock at Midnight." Unlock full access to New York Times podcasts and explore everything from politics to pop culture. Subscribe today at nytimes.com/podcasts or on Apple Podcasts and Spotify.

Nov 13, 202049 minEp. 321

The Birth of the Animal Rights Movement

Ernest Freeberg talks about “A Traitor to His Species,” and the illustrator Christian Robinson discusses his career in picture books. Unlock full access to New York Times podcasts and explore everything from politics to pop culture. Subscribe today at nytimes.com/podcasts or on Apple Podcasts and Spotify.

Nov 06, 202050 minEp. 320

A Writing Career Among Trailblazing Music Stars

Peter Guralnick talks about “Looking to Get Lost,” and Alex Ross discusses “Wagnerism.” Unlock full access to New York Times podcasts and explore everything from politics to pop culture. Subscribe today at nytimes.com/podcasts or on Apple Podcasts and Spotify.

Oct 30, 202059 minEp. 319

Real-Life Political Violence Fuels Fiction in ‘The Abstainer’

Ian McGuire talks about his new novel, and Elisabeth Egan discusses Romy Hausmann’s “Dear Child.” Unlock full access to New York Times podcasts and explore everything from politics to pop culture. Subscribe today at nytimes.com/podcasts or on Apple Podcasts and Spotify.

Oct 23, 202054 minEp. 318

The Ottoman Empire’s Influence on the Present Day

Alan Mikhail talks about “God’s Shadow,” and Benjamin Lorr discusses “The Secret Life of Groceries.” Unlock full access to New York Times podcasts and explore everything from politics to pop culture. Subscribe today at nytimes.com/podcasts or on Apple Podcasts and Spotify.

Oct 16, 20201 hr 3 minEp. 317

The Fate of Refugees After World War II

David Nasaw talks about “The Last Million,” and Carlos Lozada discusses “What Were We Thinking.” Unlock full access to New York Times podcasts and explore everything from politics to pop culture. Subscribe today at nytimes.com/podcasts or on Apple Podcasts and Spotify.

Oct 09, 20201 hr 3 minEp. 316

Hari Kunzru on Writing ‘Red Pill’

Kunzru talks about his new novel, and Ben Macintyre discusses “Agent Sonya,” his latest real-life tale of espionage. Unlock full access to New York Times podcasts and explore everything from politics to pop culture. Subscribe today at nytimes.com/podcasts or on Apple Podcasts and Spotify.

Oct 02, 20201 hr 5 minEp. 315

C.I.A. Operatives in the Early Years of the Cold War

Scott Anderson discusses “The Quiet Americans,” and Peter Baker and Susan Glasser talk about “The Man Who Ran Washington.” Unlock full access to New York Times podcasts and explore everything from politics to pop culture. Subscribe today at nytimes.com/podcasts or on Apple Podcasts and Spotify.

Sep 25, 20201 hr 7 minEp. 314

Ayad Akhtar on Truth and Fiction

Akhtar discusses "Homeland Elegies," and Marc Lacey talks about "Cry Havoc," by Michael Signer, and "The Violence Inside Us," by Chris Murphy. Unlock full access to New York Times podcasts and explore everything from politics to pop culture. Subscribe today at nytimes.com/podcasts or on Apple Podcasts and Spotify.

Sep 18, 20201 hrEp. 313

Brian Stelter on Fox News and Reed Hastings on Netflix

Stelter talks about "Hoax: Donald Trump, Fox News and the Dangerous Distortion of Truth" and Reed Hastings discusses "No Rules Rules: Netflix and the Culture of Reinvention." Unlock full access to New York Times podcasts and explore everything from politics to pop culture. Subscribe today at nytimes.com/podcasts or on Apple Podcasts and Spotify.

Sep 11, 202058 minEp. 312

Jeffrey Toobin on Writing About Trump

Toobin talks about “True Crimes and Misdemeanors,” and Dayna Tortorici discusses Elena Ferrante’s “The Lying Life of Adults.” Unlock full access to New York Times podcasts and explore everything from politics to pop culture. Subscribe today at nytimes.com/podcasts or on Apple Podcasts and Spotify.

Sep 04, 202057 minEp. 311

Kurt Andersen on ‘Evil Geniuses’

Andersen talks about his new book, and Lesley M.M. Blume discusses “Fallout.” Unlock full access to New York Times podcasts and explore everything from politics to pop culture. Subscribe today at nytimes.com/podcasts or on Apple Podcasts and Spotify.

Aug 28, 202058 minEp. 310

The Life of a Brilliant, Suffering Scientist

Samanth Subramanian discusses “A Dominant Character,” his biography of J. B. S. Haldane, and Patrik Svensson talks about “The Book of Eels.” Unlock full access to New York Times podcasts and explore everything from politics to pop culture. Subscribe today at nytimes.com/podcasts or on Apple Podcasts and Spotify.

Aug 21, 202048 minEp. 309

The Fictional World of Edward P. Jones

A.O. Scott talks about Jones’s work and the American experience, and Eric Jay Dolin discusses “A Furious Sky.” Unlock full access to New York Times podcasts and explore everything from politics to pop culture. Subscribe today at nytimes.com/podcasts or on Apple Podcasts and Spotify.

Aug 14, 20201 hr 2 minEp. 308

Isabel Wilkerson Talks About 'Caste'

Wilkerson describes the ideas about race in America that fuel her new book, and David Hill discusses “The Vapors.” Unlock full access to New York Times podcasts and explore everything from politics to pop culture. Subscribe today at nytimes.com/podcasts or on Apple Podcasts and Spotify.

Aug 07, 202055 minEp. 307

The 'Seductive Lure' of Authoritarianism

Anne Applebaum discusses "Twilight of Democracy," and Barbara Demick talks about "Eat the Buddha." Unlock full access to New York Times podcasts and explore everything from politics to pop culture. Subscribe today at nytimes.com/podcasts or on Apple Podcasts and Spotify.

Jul 31, 202054 minEp. 306

The Yearning for the Unexplained

Colin Dickey talks about “The Unidentified,” and Miles Harvey discusses “The King of Confidence.” Unlock full access to New York Times podcasts and explore everything from politics to pop culture. Subscribe today at nytimes.com/podcasts or on Apple Podcasts and Spotify.

Jul 24, 202052 minEp. 305

Newt Gingrich and the Start of an Era

Julian E. Zelizer talks about "Burning Down the House," and Lacy Crawford talks about "Notes on a Silencing." Unlock full access to New York Times podcasts and explore everything from politics to pop culture. Subscribe today at nytimes.com/podcasts or on Apple Podcasts and Spotify.

Jul 17, 20201 hr 5 minEp. 304

David Mitchell's Vast and Tangled Universe

Daniel Mendelsohn discusses Mitchell's career and new novel, "Utopia Avenue," and Maria Konnikova talks about "The Biggest Bluff." Unlock full access to New York Times podcasts and explore everything from politics to pop culture. Subscribe today at nytimes.com/podcasts or on Apple Podcasts and Spotify.

Jul 10, 20201 hr 2 minEp. 303

Jules Feiffer on His Long, Varied Career

Feiffer talks about his new picture book and more, and Steve Inskeep discusses "Imperfect Union." Unlock full access to New York Times podcasts and explore everything from politics to pop culture. Subscribe today at nytimes.com/podcasts or on Apple Podcasts and Spotify.

Jul 02, 202056 minEp. 302

A Short Guide to 'The World'

Richard Haass talks about his new primer on global affairs, and Abhrajyoti Chakraborty on new novels in translation. Unlock full access to New York Times podcasts and explore everything from politics to pop culture. Subscribe today at nytimes.com/podcasts or on Apple Podcasts and Spotify.

Jun 26, 20201 hr 6 minEp. 301