British-American actress, writer, and podcaster Sonya Walger joins Zibby to discuss LION, a stunning autobiographical novel full of drama, love, and tragedy. Together, they explore the blurred line between fiction and reality, with Sonya describing her book as “a work of fiction in which everything happened.” She shares poignant stories of her charismatic, risk-taking father—once a Formula One driver, polo player, and skydiver—and reflects on how he shaped her own parenting, choices, and identit...
Mar 27, 2025•28 min•Season 23Ep. 63
Emmy Award-winning television host, veteran journalist, and bestselling author Tamron Hall returns to the podcast to discuss her delightful children’s book, HARLEM HONEY: The Adventure of a Curious Kid. Inspired by Tamron’s real-life son and his adventure visiting Harlem’s most iconic spots, the book’s protagonist navigates a bustling new neighborhood. Zibby and Tamron discuss the themes of patience, presence, curiosity, and the power of slowing down and appreciating first-time experiences. Purc...
Mar 26, 2025•28 min•Season 23Ep. 62
Emmy award-winning journalist, documentary filmmaker, and menopause advocate Tamsen Fadal joins Zibby to discuss her must-read guide, HOW TO MENOPAUSE. Tamsen opens up about her unexpected health crisis during a live news broadcast in 2019, which led to her shocking discovery that she was in menopause. She talks about her pivot from decades of TV journalism to creating a documentary, The End Factor: Shredding the Silence on Menopause , and writing this book to help women navigate this often misu...
Mar 25, 2025•25 min•Season 23Ep. 61
Zibby is joined by New York Times bestselling author Charlotte McConaghy to discuss her enthralling and tense new novel, WILD DARK SHORE, a gripping mystery set on a remote, storm-battered island near Antarctica. Charlotte shares the inspiration behind this exploration of grief, love, sacrifice, and the natural world. Together, they dive into the novel’s environmental focus, from a humpback whale’s surprising empathy to the harsh legacy of human exploitation of wildlife. Zibby describes her own ...
Mar 24, 2025•25 min•Season 23Ep. 60
Zibby welcomes prominent blind scientist Dr. Joshua A. Miele and award-winning journalist Wendell Jamieson to discuss their extraordinary, captivating, and unexpectedly funny new memoir, CONNECTING DOTS: A Blind Life. Joshua, who became blind at a young age, shares how he has navigated the world around him, from the NYC public school system to teenage rebellion to finding purpose as a thought leader and advocate for accessible technology. Wendell and Josh also discuss how they balanced recountin...
Mar 21, 2025•27 min•Season 23Ep. 59
New York Times bestselling author Georgia Hunter returns to the podcast to discuss ONE GOOD THING, a stunning and deeply meaningful story of hardship and hope that follows one young woman’s journey through war-torn Italy during the Holocaust. Georgia reflects on her connection to Italy, her family’s history, and the extensive research that shaped this novel—including a trip through the towns where her story unfolds. She also touches on the novel’s themes of friendship and resilience, the impossi...
Mar 20, 2025•27 min•Season 23Ep. 58
Zibby chats with author Jennifer Lang about her lyrical, poignant, and funny memoir, LANDED: A Yogi’s Memoir in Pieces & Poses. Jennifer describes how her book is a reckoning—both on and off the yoga mat—with her adopted country of Israel, her cross-cultural marriage to a Frenchman, her merciless midlife hormones, and her imminent empty next. She opens up about the emotional toll of navigating home and belonging and also about releasing a book amid rising antisemitism and the ongoing war. Pu...
Mar 19, 2025•30 min•Season 23Ep. 57
Jill Santopolo returns to the podcast to discuss THE LOVE WE FOUND, the long-awaited follow-up to the Reese’s Book Club pick, and New York Times bestselling global phenomenon, THE LIGHT WE LOST. Jill shares the inspiration behind revisiting Lucy’s story, the emotional themes of love, loss, and second chances, and how her own experiences with grief and motherhood influenced the novel. They also talk about the novel’s evocative settings, including Italy’s Lampedusa, the challenges of writing roman...
Mar 18, 2025•27 min•Season 23Ep. 56
Award-winning author Samina Ali joins Zibby to discuss her harrowing and redemptive memoir, PIECES YOU’LL NEVER GET BACK. Samina describes her near-fatal childbirth complications: unchecked eclampsia led to a major brain injury and coma as she gave birth. She delves into the long and painful recovery, her struggles with memory loss, and what it was like to write this book—structuring it in short, fragmented chapters to mirror how her brain now processes information. Samina also touches on the sy...
Mar 17, 2025•22 min•Season 23Ep. 55
Zibby is joined by Best American Essayist Nicole Graev Lipson to discuss her searingly intelligent, revealing, and nourishing memoir-in-essays, MOTHERS AND OTHER FICTIONAL CHARACTERS. She explores the ways in which women are often reduced to societal archetypes and how they, at times, internalize and perform these roles. She also shares insights on beauty standards, motherhood, marriage, authenticity, and self-acceptance, weaving together personal experience with cultural critique. Purchase on B...
Mar 14, 2025•22 min•Season 23Ep. 54
OPRAH’S BOOK CLUB PICK! Zibby interviews her friend, accomplished investor and talented writer, Amy Griffin, about THE TELL, an astonishing and courageous memoir that explores how far we’ll go to protect ourselves, and the healing made possible when we finally face our past. Amy reflects on her buried childhood trauma and what it was like to finally confront her secrets. She delves into the process of healing through writing, the misconception of seemingly perfect lives, the power of vulnerabili...
Mar 13, 2025•27 min•Season 23Ep. 53
Bestselling author Rochelle B. Weinstein returns to the podcast to discuss her intricate, suspenseful, and completely redemptive new book, WE ARE MADE OF STARS. Rochelle shares the grueling but rewarding process of writing this book (she calls it her "bad boyfriend book"), as it features six points of view and interwoven character arcs. She dives into the novel’s premise—eight strangers spend a transformative week at an idyllic North Carolina inn—and explores the themes of connection, reinventio...
Mar 12, 2025•20 min•Season 23Ep. 52
Award-winning Korean American eco-entrepreneur and author Michelle Jungmin Bang joins Zibby to discuss her charming, life-changing new guide, SUN & SSUKGAT: The Korean Art of Self-Care, Wellness & Longevity—which also includes Michelle’s gorgeous, hand-drawn illustrations. Michelle describes the severe burnout she experienced while launching a startup that led her to explore traditional East Asian health practices. She reflects on the urgency of preserving cultural health traditions—touc...
Mar 11, 2025•27 min•Season 23Ep. 51
Gen X icon Ione Skye joins Zibby to discuss SAY EVERYTHING, her achingly vulnerable memoir about chasing fame, desire, and true love in the shadow of her famous, absent father. Ione opens up about coming of age in the 80s and 90s, her high-profile romances with the Red Hot Chili Peppers’ Anthony Kiedis and Beastie Boy Adam Horovitz, her struggles with identity and fidelity, and how she ultimately found love and stability. She and Zibby also talk about fame, parenting, aging, and personal growth,...
Mar 10, 2025•34 min•Season 23Ep. 50
New York Times bestselling author Ada Calhoun joins Zibby to discuss CRUSH, a visceral, intelligent, revolutionary romance about the dissolution of a marriage and a new midlife romance—inspired by the author’s personal experiences. Ada talks about her novel’s exploration of love, desire, and (open) marriage. She and Zibby delve into the unruliness of love, how people try (and often fail) to control it, and the myths surrounding relationships—especially the idea that they can be managed with rule...
Mar 07, 2025•21 min•Season 23Ep. 49
Zibby interviews author Angelica Baker about WHEN WE GROW UP, an electrifying novel about six longtime friends whose tropical vacation is interrupted by an unexpected crisis, forcing them to ask how strong their bonds really are. Angelica describes the false missile alert she experienced in Hawaii, a harrowing moment that sparked this book’s premise and shaped its themes of fear, self-discovery, and the messy dynamics of adult friendships. Angelica also reflects on how writing this book made her...
Mar 06, 2025•22 min•Season 23Ep. 48
Reese’s Book Club Pick! Zibby chats with Clare Leslie Hall about BROKEN COUNTRY, a completely immersive and unforgettable love story that is simmering with passion, impossible choices, and explosive consequences. Clare shares the inspiration behind her book, which blends a love triangle, a murder trial, and a deep sense of place in the English countryside. They discuss Clare’s journey from journalist to novelist, the challenges of weaving suspense into love stories, the novel's themes of grief a...
Mar 05, 2025•28 min•Season 23Ep. 47
Zibby Publishing author alert! Zibby chats with debut author Nanda Reddy about A GIRL WITHIN A GIRL WITHIN A GIRL, a riveting and redemptive story of a young Guyanese trafficking victim and her journey to build and protect her life in the United States. Nanda shares how her personal experiences as an immigrant shaped this narrative, and then talks about her protagonist, who has hidden her past from her family for decades—until her sister’s reappearance forces her to confront the truth. She also ...
Mar 04, 2025•23 min•Season 23Ep. 46
Zibby welcomes back award-winning reporter and author Matt Gutman to discuss his firsthand experience covering the devastating California wildfires. Matt, who previously opened up about his struggles with anxiety in NO TIME TO PANIC, shares how high-stakes reporting in crisis zones—from Gaza to LA—puts him in a rare state of clarity. He explains why, in moments of real danger, his anxiety dissipates, replaced by hyperfocus and adrenaline. Matt recounts the harrowing days spent on the ground as e...
Mar 03, 2025•27 min•Season 23Ep. 45
Bestselling author Tova Mirvis joins Zibby to discuss WE WOULD NEVER, a thrillingly plotted, provocative, fever dream of a novel about a close-knit Florida family whose all-consuming love for each other turns sinister. Tova shares how her own divorce and Orthodox Jewish upbringing influenced this story—though she emphasizes that the plot is fictional! She also delves into complex family dynamics (from overbearing mothers to custody disputes to fears of empty-nesting) and the lengths parents will...
Feb 28, 2025•27 min•Season 23Ep. 44
New York Times bestselling author and poet Maggie Smith returns to the podcast to discuss DEAR WRITER: Pep Talks & Practical Advice for the Creative Life. Maggie shares the long journey of writing this book (she drew from twenty years of teaching experience and her popular Substack newsletter!), her love of craft books, and her desire to demystify the creative process for writers and readers alike. She also talks about how delicate ideas are, the importance of staying open and receptive to c...
Feb 27, 2025•31 min•Season 23Ep. 43
New York Times bestselling author Marie Benedict returns to the podcast to discuss THE QUEENS OF CRIME, a smart, biting, page-turning delight about the lengths to which five talented women writers (including Agatha Christie and Dorothy L. Sawyers) will go to be taken seriously in the male-dominated world of letters—and how they solve a mystery torn from the pages of their own novels. Marie explains how these real-life literary icons banded together to solve an actual murder, delving into the mas...
Feb 26, 2025•21 min•Season 23Ep. 42
Writer, comedian, producer, TV host, activist, and author of six consecutive New York Times bestsellers, Chelsea Handler, chats with Zibby about her latest book, I’LL HAVE WHAT SHE’S HAVING, a surprisingly vulnerable, utterly hilarious, and always outrageous essay collection that captures her exhilarating, antic-filled, and joyful life. Chelsea delves into her unique takes on relationships, independence and solitude, and handling criticism. She also shares unforgettable life moments, from a tran...
Feb 25, 2025•24 min•Season 23Ep. 41
Bestselling author Charmaine Wilkerson returns to the podcast to discuss her engrossing, beautifully imagined new family saga, GOOD DIRT. Charmaine delves into the story of Ebby Freeman, a woman seeking solace in France after a personal tragedy, only to find that her past is inescapable. Charmaine reveals how history, heirlooms, and identity shape Ebby’s journey and how the novel intertwines multiple perspectives—including those of ancestors, neighbors, and unexpected voices. She and Zibby also ...
Feb 24, 2025•24 min•Season 23Ep. 40
Luxury fashion mogul and social activist Rebecca Minkoff joins Zibby to celebrate the paperback release of her USA Today bestseller, FEARLESS: The New Rules for Unlocking Creativity, Courage, and Success. Rebecca shares her journey as an entrepreneur, from near business failures to unexpected triumphs, and the constant evolution required to stay afloat. She reflects on her resilience, risk-taking, and adaptability—not just in business but in relationships, parenting, and life, touching on her un...
Feb 21, 2025•28 min•Season 23Ep. 39
Zibby is joined by writing duo 'Taylor Hutton' (the pseudonym used by bestselling authors Adele Griffin and Julie Buxbaum!) to discuss STRIKE AND BURN, a seductive, devastating, and unputdownable dark romance. The two share how their friendship—originally set up by author Sarah Mlynowski—evolved into a collaborative writing partnership and an unexpected dive into dark romance (or… “traumantasy”). They delve into their unique writing process, the freedom of writing under a pseudonym, and how thei...
Feb 20, 2025•23 min•Season 23Ep. 38
Bonny Reichert—chef, award-winning journalist, and daughter of a Holocaust survivor—joins Zibby to discuss HOW TO SHARE AN EGG, a transformative, beautifully written culinary memoir about the relationship between food, family, sustenance, and survival. Bonny shares how growing up in the shadow of her father’s Holocaust survival shaped her identity and how food became the vehicle for telling his story. She describes the power of recreating lost family recipes, the emotional challenges of writing ...
Feb 19, 2025•25 min•Season 23Ep. 37
Zibby interviews debut author Cynthia Weiner about A GORGEOUS EXCITEMENT, a dazzling, chillingly compelling coming-of-age story about 18-year-old Nina Jacobs’ summer of infinite possibility in 1980s Manhattan, inspired by the author’s teen years and real-life acquaintance with the Preppy Killer. Cynthia talks about her personal connection to the case, her experiences growing up in the preppy Upper East Side social scene, and how she wove themes of longing, identity, and vulnerability into her no...
Feb 18, 2025•21 min•Season 23Ep. 36
Acclaimed filmmaker and human rights activist Rabbi Raphael Shore chats with Zibby about WHO’S AFRAID OF THE BIG, BAD JEW, a bold, eye-opening exploration of the world’s oldest consistent form of hatred: antisemitism. Rabbi Shore shares his personal journey—from growing up in a secular Jewish family in Canada to discovering a profound connection to Judaism in Israel. He challenges conventional explanations of antisemitism, explores Hitler’s ideology, and flips the narrative to highlight the stre...
Feb 17, 2025•29 min•Season 23Ep. 35
Dr. Alexandra Sowa, a trailblazer in obesity medicine, joins Zibby to discuss her groundbreaking new book, THE OZEMPIC REVOLUTION, and the life-changing impact of GLP-1 medications on weight loss, metabolic health, and overall well-being. They dive into the history of these drugs, their growing list of medical applications, and the challenges of affordability and accessibility. Zibby shares her personal experience with the medication, and they explore the psychological shifts that come with appe...
Feb 14, 2025•28 min•Season 23Ep. 34
