In this episode, we speak with acclaimed journalist and author Elaine Sciolino about her book Adventures in the Louvre . From the mystery of the Mona Lisa to hidden galleries and insider tips for avoiding the crowds, Sciolino shares her deep love of Paris, the Louvre, and the stories behind its treasures . Elaine Sciolino is author of several books, including Adventures in the Louvre (now in paperback) and Persian Mirrors: The Elusive Face of Iran Why everyone lines up to see the Mona Lisa—and w...
Mar 25, 2026•31 min•Ep. 46
A conversation about refuge, dreams, desert skies, and finding grace in uncertain times. In this episode of Women, Books & More , we talk with acclaimed author and environmentalist Terry Tempest Williams, the New York Times bestselling writer of more than seventeen books, including the modern classic Refuge: An Unnatural History of Family and Place. Our conversation begins with Refuge and its unforgettable final chapter: “The Clan of the One-Breasted Women,” before turning to Williams’s newe...
Mar 18, 2026•31 min•Ep. 45
Award-winning Irish storyteller Maria Gillen joins Women, Books & More from Cork, Ireland, to share the magic and cultural power of Irish storytelling. A fourth-generation storyteller, Maria explores the enduring legends of St. Patrick and St. Brigid (Ireland’s matron saint) and why storytelling remains central to Irish identity. Maria also co-hosts the podcast From Cork to New York with author and storyteller Jim Brulé, where ancient stories meet modern lives and cultures across continents....
Mar 11, 2026•32 min•Ep. 44
As the United States approaches its 250th anniversary, we look beyond the Founding Fathers to the formidable woman who helped shape a nation from behind the scenes — Abigail Adams. Often remembered for urging her husband to “remember the ladies,” Abigail Adams was far more than a presidential spouse. She was an early advocate for women’s rights, a critic of slavery, a manager of family finances and farmland during wartime, and a trusted political advisor during the American Revolution and the fo...
Mar 04, 2026•29 min•Ep. 43
Can travel actually help you live longer? What if the secret to longevity isn’t just what you eat or how often you exercise but where you go? In this episode, we explore the growing movement of wellness travel, slow travel, solo travel and the transformative power of journeys, especially for women over 50. We’re joined by Carolyn Ray, CEO and Editor of JourneyWoman, a global resource founded in 1994 to support and inspire solo women travelers. It has grown into one of the most trusted platforms ...
Feb 25, 2026•29 min•Ep. 42
Once upon a Monday, before clothes dryers hummed behind closed doors, the world of women paused for laundry day. A rope stretched across a backyard became a stage for white sheets lifting like sails, overalls drying in the noonday sun, aprons whispering in the breeze. Whether it was truly a simpler time or simply feels that way in memory, the clothesline has come to symbolize a gentler pace. Neighbors chatting over fences. Children running between fluttering towels. The scent of soap and sunshin...
Feb 18, 2026•10 min•Ep. 41
THE HARD LINE—the 15th in this best-selling series—starts with a blown safe house in Tunis. Then…the Gray Man barely escapes from an ambush in the jungles of Nicaragua. Now key members of the U.S. counterintelligence community are being assassinated—one by one—in their own neighborhoods. With the feds compromised, it’s up to the Gray Man and his team to stop the hit squads. But eliminating professional kill teams may be the least of the Gray Man’s worries when he finds himself targeted by a lege...
Feb 11, 2026•27 min•Ep. 40
Darla Worden is the Editor-in-Chief of Mountain Living magazine and Colorado Homes & Lifestyles magazine . She joins us to talk about Cockeyed Happy, her book about Ernest Hemingway’s summers in Wyoming with his second wife, Pauline. This story is not well known. I mean…we can picture Hemingway in Paris. Fishing in Key West. Drinking rum at his favorite bar (The Floridita) in Havana. But…Wyoming? From the book jacket: “In March 1928, after the phenomenal success of The Sun Also Rises , Ernes...
Feb 04, 2026•30 min•Ep. 39
Many of us have read and enjoyed The Paris Wife , a fictionalized account of Ernest Hemingway’s marriage to the first of his four wives, Hadley Richardson. It was a New York Times bestseller. Now, Paula has written Skylark, another Paris-based book—two parallel stories, one taking place in 1664 and the other in 1940s Nazi-occupied Paris. It is an uplifting book about the strength and resistance of the human spirit—and a page-turner and a really good read. It is Good Morning America’s Book Club p...
Jan 28, 2026•32 min•Ep. 38
The American West is a geographical location—thick forests of pine and aspen, snowy mountains, alpine lakes, and sweeping vistas. But there is also the almost-mythical version of the American West—a vision of wide-open spaces where the “call of the wild” has resonated for centuries. This passion for living in the west is as strong ever. Chase Reynolds Ewald (writer) and Audrey Hall (photographer) have collaborated on seven books—including American Rustic and Cabin Style. www.gibbs-smith.com As t...
Jan 21, 2026•30 min•Ep. 37
Here’s the story: The culinary world imagined by Churchill is full of closely guarded recipes and secrets that can create powerful spells. We are taken inside the Brindille School of Culinary Arts and Magic where we are enchanted by magic, mystery…and recipes. About the author: Marisa Churchill (an award-winning pastry chef) was a contestant on Top Chef (Season 2), constructed the city of San Francisco out of Rice Krispies and chocolate for the Food Network’s Edible Cities Challenge, and hosted ...
Jan 14, 2026•28 min•Ep. 35
I don’t normally interview business leaders. There are plenty of podcasts that do. But… I was introduced to Garry Ridge by a mutual friend who said I’d love reading his new book— Any Dumb-Ass Can Do It . I was intrigued, read the book and could hardly wait to talk with Garry. It did not hurt that Garry had served as CEO of the WD-40 Company for 25 and made it a household brand. I mean everyone knows WD-40 now. I also learned that he served on the board of Gorilla Glue. Why am I so impressed by t...
Jan 07, 2026•29 min•Ep. 34
The Inn Crowd: Artistic Getaways and The Modern Innkeepers who Crafted Them is a gorgeous coffee table book—written and photographed by the incomparable Jackie Caradonio. Each of the images gives us a privileged peek into more than 20 unique and stylish inns. The accompanying stories describe each of the innkeepers, every one passionate about creating memorable experiences in a beautiful setting—from quaint escapes to luxurious retreats. For more about The Inn Crowd: phaidon.com For more about J...
Dec 31, 2025•30 min•Ep. 33
As dusk descends on Christmas Eve, my family gathers to hear a recording of Dylan Thomas reading, A Child’s Christmas in Wales . His baritone transports us—though time and across distance—to his childhood Christmases in Swansea, Wales. It gives me great pleasure to share my story with you. Thank you for listening and supporting my podcast. I wish you an abundance of peace and joy in 2026. You can see photos and read more of my story at Everett Potter’s Travel Report https://www.everettpotter.com...
Dec 24, 2025•13 min•Ep. 32
I am thrilled to talk with Don George. National Geographic calls him “a legendary travel writer and editor.” And he certainly is. He’s also the author of How to Be a Travel Writer and the founder of the annual (in August) Book Passage Travel Writers and Photographers Conference held in Corte Madera, California. It is a great conference for beginning travel writers to meet editors and for veteran travel writers to catch up with old friends. Here are links for more information about topics we talk...
Dec 17, 2025•30 min•Ep. 31
It all happens at Gaylord Rockies Resort—now through January 2, 2026. The sugarplum dreams of childhood rolled into one. Andrea Lawley, Public Relations Manager at the Gaylord Rockies Resort—joins us to talk about Christmas at Gaylord Rockies. Always magical. Always fun. ICE! Christmas is an immersive experience…much anticipated every year. The resort’s signature 17,000-square-foot attraction carved from more than 2 million pounds of ice by 30 master artisans from Harbin, China. Hand-carved icy ...
Dec 10, 2025•20 min•Ep. 30
Stranahan's Whiskey Distillery & Cocktail Bar is having a big party—Stranahan’s Snowflake Village Festival—December 5th and December 6th to celebrate the release of Snowflake 2025. The party is at the distillery in Denver. (200 S. Kalamath Street). Hundreds of Strana-fans from across the country come to Denver for this event. They camp outside at the distillery to secure a bottle of the coveted Snowflake whiskey—released on Saturday morning and sells out in just hours. It may be cold outside...
Dec 03, 2025•27 min•Ep. 29
The lowly apron is making a comeback. The Guardian (British daily newspaper) notes: Emma Corrin wore a pink apron to a recent premiere, while Richard E Grant looked like a kinky fishmonger in a leather apron on the Miu Miu catwalk. Everyone on The Bear wears aprons. Younger generations have embraced the Cottagecore aesthetic—gardening, bee keeping, pie baking—and that usually involves wearing an apron. Best-selling author of The Apron Book and ultimate apron collector, EllynAnne Geisel (she’s an...
Nov 26, 2025•28 min•Ep. 28
Beloved chef Jacques Pepin joins us. He’s 90 and still cooking up a storm. And he has a gorgeous new cookbook THE ART OF JACQUES PEPIN—full of his favorite recipes and his own artwork. He likes to paint chickens…and to cook chickens and eggs. When asked “Which came first…the chicken or the egg?” He doesn’t hesitate. “The egg, of course.” We caught up with him in his kitchen. He was sitting in front of a wall of pots and pans—all different sizes and shapes. There must have been 30. As a young man...
Nov 19, 2025•27 min•Ep. 27
Recipes written on tombstones. Who knew this was even a thing? Most headstones list names and dates, in rare cases they include something much more personal: beloved family recipes permanently etched in stone. Rosie Grant traveled the world to research and write a cookbook full of culinary epitaphs from across the globe—spritz cookies from Brooklyn, chicken casserole from Wisconsin, tea biscuits from Nova Scotia, fudge from Salt Lake City, meatloaf from Texas…. The list goes on—40 recipes--from ...
Nov 12, 2025•29 min•Ep. 26
I love trains and travel by train at every opportunity. The Canadian from Toronto to Vancouver, the Eurostar from London to Paris, the mighty Indian Pacific from Adelaide to Perth. So…I was thrilled to hear that Everett Potter had just written a big and comprehensive book about trains, 100 Train Journeys of a Lifetime: The World’s Ultimate Rides. Let me tell you a little about Everett Potter. He writes for numerous A-list publications like The Wall Street Journal , Conde Nast Traveler , Forbes ,...
Nov 05, 2025•29 min•Ep. 25
Caroline Alexander is the author of internationally best-selling Skies of Thunder, The Endurance, The Bounty, and other works of literary non-fiction. In 2015, she published an acclaimed translation of Homer's Iliad , the first English translation (form the original Greek) of a Homeric poem by a woman. Skies of Thunder: The Deadly World War II Mission Over the Roof of the World is a tale about the pilots who flew fickle, untested aircraft through monsoons and enemy fire, with inaccurate maps and...
Oct 29, 2025•32 min•Ep. 24
Since the moment I chatted with Lisa Genova about her new book, More or Less Maddy, I’ve been getting messages from you all, asking me to air the interview we did a few years ago when Lisa wrote Still Alice. Here it is—by popular demand. For those who don’t know Still Alice, here’s the story: Dr. Alice Howland is a renowned linguistics professor at Columbia University. When words begin to escape her and she starts becoming lost on her daily jogs, Alice must come face-to-face with a devastating d...
Oct 22, 2025•28 min•Ep. 23
Here’s what we think we know about arguably the most famous Native American women who ever lived: she was interpreter and guide for Lewis & Clark; she traveled 1000s of miles from North Dakota to the Pacific Ocean and she died tragically young. But…what if everything we know about Sacagawea is wrong…including how we pronounce her name… Sandra and Dennis Fox sit down to talk with us. They are married scholars, now retired from the educations division at the Bureau of Indian Affairs. Dennis is...
Oct 15, 2025•27 min•Ep. 21
Today, we sit down with Black Tomato’s Carolyn Addison to talk about travel. Black Tomato is one of the world’s leading luxury travel companies. Carolyn is one of the standout female leaders at Black Tomato and is the driving force behind some of Black Tomato’s most imaginative and compelling travel experiences. She’s been called an “experience architect.” She tells us about solo travel, mother-daughter travel, generational travel, and how to travel like James Bond or follow in the footsteps of ...
Oct 08, 2025•29 min•Ep. 20
Margie Goldsmith is one of the most accomplished women I know. She has traveled to more than 150 countries on seven continents and written more than 1,000 award-winning articles about her adventures. You can read them in Forbes, National Geographic, the New York Times and many other publications. She is a film maker, a former marathoner and triathlete. She plays blues harmonica and jams with some of the most celebrated jam bands in New York City. She’s recorded two blues albums. You can listen h...
Oct 01, 2025•23 min•Ep. 22
Casting for Recovery (a national nonprofit) delivers healing for women diagnosed with breast cancer that traditional medicine alone can’t offer — powerful, oncology-informed weekend retreats held on a river, not in a hospital room. CfR celebrates its 30th anniversary and currently hosts 60 free fly-fishing retreats in all 50 states, serving over 800 women each year. Women at any age and any stage off breast cancer treatment or recovery, are eligible to apply. Susan Gaetz, CfR’s Executive Directo...
Sep 24, 2025•32 min•Ep. 19
Darla Worden is the Editor-in-Chief of Mountain Living magazine and Colorado Homes & Lifestyles magazine. She joins us to talk about Cockeyed Happy , her book about Ernest Hemingway’s summers in Wyoming with his second wife, Pauline. This story is not well known. I mean…we can picture Hemingway in Paris. Fishing in Key West. Drinking rum at his favorite bar (The Floridita) in Havana. But…Wyoming? From the book jacket: “In March 1928, after the phenomenal success of The Sun Also Rises, Ernest...
Sep 17, 2025•29 min•Ep. 18
Maybe you want to write a book. A children’s book. A children’s picture book. Maybe about a wee hedgehog who wants to be a ballerina. Or an alligator who dreams of becoming an astronaut. Maybe about learning to cook in Nona’s kitchen. Or a nonfiction book about the secret language of spiders I mean…how difficult can it be to write a book for children? The answer is…not as easy you might think. But help is on the way. Julie Hedlund, the founder of 12 x 12 Picture Book Writing Challenge, explains ...
Sep 08, 2025•34 min•Ep. 17
This one’s out of the vault and one of my favorite vampire stories. It is the second (in a series of five) President’s Vampire books by Christopher Farnsworth. It is about a vampire that works for the president of the United States. The book was published in 2011 so the president referenced could have been President Obama or it could have been West Wing’s President Bartlet. The story is paranormal but with a lot of buddy-cop action—if you can be buddies with a 140-year-old vampire. The plot is s...
Sep 03, 2025•29 min•Ep. 16
