It’s no secret that stories stay with you long after you’ve read the final chapter and set the book away. Helping you find closure or find meaning and context behind what you’ve just read or might want to read in the future, are these five podcasts. Happy listening!
Slate Audio Book Club
Can’t get your friends to stick to your book club reads? Check in with Slate Audio Book Club to get the latest on the newest and hottest books to hit the bookshelves every month. Pick a book from their recommended list, read it at your time and pace and then listen to the hosts pick apart the plot and characters in an engaging and accessible roundtable talk.
Best episode to start: Audio Book Club: The Martian
The OTPodcast
A multi-fandom podcast that exclusively focuses on fan-fiction, this one’s a treasure trove for people who like to immerse themselves into their favourite characters’ universes. The OTPodcast discusses fan-fiction writers, story recommendations, writing advice and in-depth studies of the fan-fic world, from generation gaps and sexuality to cross-overs and the problematic relationships fandoms share with its villains.
Best episode to start: Episode 20 – 2016 in Fic and Fandom
New Yorker: Fiction
Ever wondered what your favourite authors might enjoy reading? Check out the New Yorker: Fiction podcast. Host Deborah Treisman, fiction editor of The New Yorker, invites an author to select and read a piece of fiction published in The New Yorker. After the reading, Treisman and the guest have a little chat about the reading.
Best episode to start: Salman Rushdie reads Italo Calvino
The Poetry Gods
“The Poetry Gods are here to show you how to not be whack,” says the intro on this relatively new podcast’s page. Hosted by poets Aziza Barnes, Jon Sands and Jose Olivarez, each episode includes an interview with a poet and a reading. The podcast also includes an intimate discussion between the hosts and the guest about current events and on more general topics about life. What The Poetry Gods does best is that it introduces listeners to new writers and poets, and most of them are people of colour, which is great for those who are trying to diversify their reading habits.
Best episode to start: Episode 3 featuring Hanif Willis-Abdurraqib
Longform Podcast
Longform Podcast is a weekly podcast that celebrates non-fiction literature. Each week, hosts Aaron Lammer, Max Linsky and Evan Ratliff talk to a non-fiction author about the art of writing and journalism, and closely discuss the author’s work. Whether you’re a fan of non-fiction writing or are planning to get into it or are a non-fiction writer or journalist yourself, Longform Podcast is a must-listen. Guests have included Ezra Klein, Hrishikesh Hirway, Lena Dunham, Ira Glass, Cheryl Strayed and Ta-Nehisi Coates.
Best episode to start: Cheryl Strayed
