In celebration of movie director Sarah Polley and the two Oscar nominations she just received for her drama film Women Talking (Best Picture and Best Adapted Screenplay), we are re-releasing her podcast episode from last year! Zibby interviewed Sarah about her memoir Run Towards the Danger. Sarah shared how the title came from advice her doctor gave her as she treated a years-long concussion and why that experience shifted her entire approach to life. She also talked about the things her body ha...
Feb 05, 2023•25 min
Zibby interviews debut author Jessica George about Maame, which is a B&N Discover Pick, a Book of the Month pick, a #ReadWithJenna Book Club Pick, and will be adapted into a TV series by Jenna! Maame is a charming, vividly drawn, and poignant coming-of-age tale about a twenty-something “later bloomer" navigating online dating, a nightmarish job, grief, racism, an overbearing mother, and a father who suffers from advanced stage Parkinson’s. Jessica talks about her journey to becoming a writer...
Feb 04, 2023•17 min•Season 16Ep. 23
Zibby is joined by molecular biologist, NYU professor, and leading public health advocate Dr. Marion Nestle to discuss her engrossing and deeply moving new memoir S low Cooked: An Unexpected Life in Food Politics . Marion describes the challenges she faced as a woman working in a science lab in the 50s, and the career sacrifices she made to raise her children. She also talks about her late-in-life successes – from pivoting to teaching and navigating exclusionary academic environments to falling ...
Feb 03, 2023•23 min•Season 16Ep. 22
Zibby interviews debut author Belinda Huijuan Tang about A Map for the Missing, a mesmerizing and propulsive intergenerational mystery about a math professor who, after ten years in America, returns to rural China to search for his missing father. Belinda reveals that the novel is based on her own great-grandfather’s disappearance and explains how each element of the story draws on her own family’s history. She also talks about the publishing process and how she became a writer in the first plac...
Feb 02, 2023•23 min•Season 16Ep. 21
Zibby speaks to creative director and former bookseller Annette Dauphin Simon about her charming, clever, and beautifully-illustrated new book Spine Poems: An Eclectic Collection of Found Verse for Book Lovers, which was inspired by a rainy day at a bookstore in Neptune Beach, Florida, where randomly stacked books formed funny poems. Annette discusses her love of found verse, her career in graphic design and advertising, and the stunning photography in her book. Then, she talks about the beautif...
Feb 01, 2023•19 min•Season 16Ep. 20
Peggy Orenstein is the author of many books including her latest UNRAVELING. She and Zibby met in person in L.A. to discuss everything from loss and motherhood to sheep and writer advice. Peggy opened up about the loss of her father and how she experienced the poignant moments she wrote about in her book. She also discussed the loss of her mother and how much she wished she could chat with her mother at the same age to get advice. Their conversation was soulful, meaningful and original. Zibby sa...
Jan 31, 2023•32 min•Season 16Ep. 19
Zibby is joined by OB/GYN, breast cancer survivor, and author Dr. Suzanne Gilberg-Lenz to discuss her honest, empowering, and joyful new guide Menopause Bootcamp: Optimize Your Health, Empower Your Self, and Flourish as You Age. Suzanne talks about going gray (and receiving backlash for it), her popular Menopause Bootcamp retreats, the most common menopause misconceptions (it’s not all bad!!), and what women should really be doing when they reach it – throwing a party. Purchase on Bookshop: http...
Jan 30, 2023•27 min•Season 16Ep. 18
In this special episode (a live event during publication week!), Zibby interviews former actress and author Deborah Goodrich Royce about Reef Road , a brilliant, absorbing, and expertly-paced psychological thriller about two women whose lives collide when a severed hand washes ashore in Palm Beach, Florida. Deborah talks about the real crime that impacted her personal life and inspired the story, her love of dual timelines and shocking twists (and her tricks for accomplishing them), her best adv...
Jan 29, 2023•33 min•Season 16Ep. 17
Zibby interviews comedian, award-winning screenwriter, and debut author Monica Heisey about Really Good, Actually , a hilarious, big-hearted, and astutely observed novel about a young divorcee’s search for joy (and it's this week's GMA Buzz Pick and just became an international bestseller!). Monica describes her protagonist Maggie, whose experiences are based on her own. She also talks about her exciting career in comedy, her life in London, her experiences screenwriting on the Schitt’s Creek te...
Jan 28, 2023•22 min•Season 16Ep. 16
Zibby speaks to Hindu priest, entrepreneur, renowned international speaker, and former monk Dandapani about his enriching new book The Power of Unwavering Focus. Dandapani talks about his fascinating life trajectory from an engineering degree and ten years as an ordained monk to leaving the monastery and opening a spiritual sanctuary in Costa Rica with his family. Then, he discusses his invaluable message: we must identify the people and things that bring us joy and focus our limited, finite ene...
Jan 27, 2023•33 min•Season 16Ep. 15
Zibby interviews Meenal Lele, a medical researcher and the founder of Lil Mixins (the #1 pediatrician-recommended allergy-prevention product), about her revolutionary new parenting book The Baby and the Biome: How The Tiny World Inside Your Child Holds the Secret to Their Health . Meenal talks about immune systems, revealing that ages 0 to 3 are the most critical and listing the best things we can do to strengthen and protect a baby’s microbiome. She also talks about the power of early allergen ...
Jan 26, 2023•29 min•Season 16Ep. 14
Zibby interviews author, psychotherapist, and former Google on-site therapist Katherine Morgan Schafler about her rigorously researched, empathetic, and empowering new book The Perfectionist’s Guide to Losing Control: A Path to Peace and Power – a love letter to all ambitious, high-achieving women. Katherine describes the five types of perfectionism (classic, intense, Parisian, messy, and procrastinator), the actionable steps all perfectionists can take to build self-compassion, and how her care...
Jan 25, 2023•27 min•Season 16Ep. 13
Humor writer Wendi Aarons, whose work appears frequently in The New Yorker and McSweeney's , joins Zibby to discuss her hysterical, honest, and moving new memoir I’m Wearing Tunics Now: On Growing Older, Better, and a Hell of a Lot Louder. Wendi talks about her witty and unique clothes-themed essays, explaining how each article of clothing (from chunky heels to maternity pants to cooling cloths) connected meaningfully to an important time in her life. The two also discuss motherhood, aging, weig...
Jan 24, 2023•25 min•Season 16Ep. 12
Zibby speaks to teacher, swim coach, and writer Ryan Rae Harbuck about When I Grow Up I Want to Be a Chair, a raw, humorous, and profound new memoir about her paralyzing car accident in her teens and the decision to live a life of courage, ambition, and adventure after it. Ryan shares the gut-wrenching details of her accident–the school dance and midnight bowling, the crash on the highway, the spinal cord injuries and broken bones, the loss of her boyfriend, the disintegration of her family, and...
Jan 23, 2023•24 min•Season 16Ep. 11
Zibby interviews digital media personality Mary Lawless Lee about her stunning photographic memoir Happily Grey: Stories, Souvenirs, and Everyday Wonders from the Life In Between. Mary shares the inspiration behind her book’s unique visual format, the story behind the messy bun (which she invented!), and some of the vulnerable details she shares in her memoir, from living with an eating disorder to her first unsuccessful marriage at 21 to finally finding the perfect life partner and having the c...
Jan 22, 2023•25 min•Season 16Ep. 10
Zibby speaks to New York Times bestselling author Marie Benedict about The Mitford Affair, a spellbinding and immersive new book about the notoriously glamorous Mitford sisters and the high-ranking fascist company one of them keeps in the lead-up to World War II. Marie talks about her fascination with the real-life Mitford sisters (the “it” girls of the 1930s) and the way Nazism and Hitler entranced a couple of them (along with many British aristocrats). After analyzing each sister, Marie descri...
Jan 21, 2023•33 min•Season 16Ep. 9
Zibby interviews #1 New York Times bestselling author Yung Pueblo (Diego Perez) about Lighter , a compassionate, humble, and wise guidebook for self-healing that is beautifully entwined with his personal experiences. Yung Pueblo shares his story–his family’s immigration from Ecuador to Boston, the trauma of living in poverty, the escape he found in parties and drugs, and how hitting rock bottom forced him to change. He describes the power of meditation and self-love not only as drivers in his ow...
Jan 20, 2023•22 min•Season 16Ep. 8
Guest host Alisha Fernandez Miranda interviews New York Times bestselling author Allison Winn Scotch about The Rewind, an endearing 90s rom-com about two exes who wake up next to each other on New Year’s Day with wedding rings on their fingers and no recollection of how they got there. Allison talks about the joys and frustrations of the traditional publishing process, the difficulties of writing this book mid-pandemic, and her love of the 90s. She also shares her own Y2K New Year’s story (it in...
Jan 19, 2023•34 min•Season 16Ep. 7
Zibby interviews Aashna Shah, a high school student and the first Indian American Miss Florida's Outstanding Teen, about Dynamic Diya - Dyslexia is her Superpower , one of the three children's books she has written about learning disabilities (all of which she has been diagnosed with!). Aashna talks about her experiences in the pageant and describes how she is using her voice to break the stigma of learning disabilities and fight for legislative change in Florida. She also shares how she navigat...
Jan 18, 2023•27 min•Season 16Ep. 6
Zibby is joined by Sheila Heti (bestselling author of Pure Colour ) and acclaimed illustrator Esmé Shapiro to discuss A Garden of Creatures, a tender new picture book that reflects beautifully on death and what happens after it. Sheila and Esmé talk about the personal losses that brought them together and inspired this project, the artistic vision behind the color palette and illustrations, and the positive response they have received from parents. The two also share their fascinating journeys i...
Jan 17, 2023•29 min•Season 16Ep. 5
Zibby interviews debut author Oindrila Mukherjee about The Dream Builders, a kaleidoscopic and arresting new novel that is written from ten different perspectives and explores class, gender, secrets, ambition, and dashed dreams in a booming, shimmery Indian city. Oindrila describes her book’s memorable elements–the astonishing Americanization of India, her fascinating cast of characters, and the agonizing disappointment felt by all of them. She also talks about herself–her immigrant family and n...
Jan 16, 2023•25 min•Season 16Ep. 4
Zibby speaks to Emmy award-winning ESPN SportsCenter co-anchor and Atlantic contributing writer Jemele Hill about her beautiful and radically honest new memoir Uphill. Jemele describes the childhood traumas she revisited when writing this book, like her near-fatal car accident, her parents’ drug addictions, and her mother’s sexual assaults. She also talks about her early love of books (thanks to her story-reading stepfather), shares brilliant book recommendations, and reveals the projects she is...
Jan 15, 2023•26 min•Season 16Ep. 3
Zibby interviews former antitrust lawyer, New York Times opinion writer, and debut author Kashana Cauley about The Survivalists , a darkly funny and thrilling new doomsday novel about a successful Black lawyer who moves in with her coffee entrepreneur boyfriend and his Hurricane Sandy-traumatized, illegal-gun-stockpiling, bunker-building roommates. Kashana talks about the real-life survivalists who inspired this story (like her parents!), her obsession with coffee, and her publishing journey (it...
Jan 14, 2023•20 min•Season 16Ep. 2
Zibby is joined by bestselling author and repeat MDHTTRB guest Laura Zigman to discuss Small World, a tender and quirky novel about two newly divorced sisters who move back in together and finally confront a tragedy of their past–the death of their disabled sister. Laura reveals how her own life experiences inspired this story, sharing the intimate details of her sister’s passing, her childhood in a sad household, the stigma around therapy in the 70s, and her recent desire to learn more about he...
Jan 13, 2023•28 min•Season 16Ep. 1
Zibby interviews debut author Sarah Levy about Drinking Games, a candid and poignant new memoir in essays about her journey to sobriety. Sarah shares the details of her story–it involves blackouts, forgotten hookups, eating disorders, debilitating perfectionism, and ultimately, the decision to get sober. She also talks about what it has been like to put her darkest secret into words and share them with the world, from an article in The Cut to a published memoir. Finally, she talks about her rece...
Jan 12, 2023•23 min•Season 15Ep. 100
Zibby is joined by New York Times bestselling authors James Patterson and Mike Lupica to discuss The House of Wolves, an unforgettable thriller about Jenny Wolf, her murdered father, and the billion-dollar empire he left her with. The three discuss the book’s most memorable elements–its powerful female protagonist, intricate sibling rivalries, and sports. They also share the (quirky) details of their writing partnership (it involves late-night phone calls and finishing each other's sentences) an...
Jan 11, 2023•33 min•Season 15Ep. 99
Zibby speaks to Paris-based author Rachel Kapelke-Dale about The Ingenue, an exhilarating new suspense novel about a former piano prodigy who returns to her hometown for her mother’s funeral and discovers her massive family estate will be given to someone else. Rachel talks about her journey to becoming a writer, from Brown University to a Ph.D. in London to life in Paris, and the themes she enjoyed exploring in her book–mother-daughter relationships, real estate, and the darkness in her protago...
Jan 10, 2023•28 min•Season 15Ep. 98
Zibby interviews New York Times and USA Today bestselling author Isaac Fitzgerald about his gritty and humorous memoir-in-essays Dirtbag, Massachusetts: A Confessional. Isaac talks about his book’s unexpected but incredible reception across the country (thanks to indie booksellers!), his arduous, months-long writing process, and his story’s most memorable moments, like his childhood in a Catholic Worker community and the boarding school that saved him from a self-destructive path. The two also t...
Jan 09, 2023•30 min•Season 15Ep. 97
Zibby speaks to Pulitzer and Pushcart Prize-nominated writer, poet, playwright, and teacher Faleeha Hassan about her remarkable, heartfelt, and harrowing new memoir War and Me. Faleeha talks about the unimaginable hardship of living through several wars, the memories that still haunt her today, and how her past experiences inevitably infiltrate her life and writing. She also describes what it was like to move to the United States and teach herself English and how her life has changed since being...
Jan 08, 2023•25 min•Season 15Ep. 96
Author Kara Forney joins guest host Julianna Goldman to discuss her heartwarming and honest 46-essay anthology Boy Moms: Collective Tales of Mothers and Sons , which she describes as chicken soup for the boy mom soul. Kara discusses the deliberate decision to find talented and diverse writers that were not already household names and the themes that permeated many of their essays (such as mom guilt, social media facades, and raising sensitive boys). She also talks about The Bump, the company she...
Jan 07, 2023•30 min•Season 15Ep. 95
