Podcasts!
I always ask everyone what podcasts they’re listening to, and…it’s time for me to pay up 😅🫡.
These are 9 of the podcasts that have recently captured my attention. Some of them are on a long hiatus, or are no longer updating (marked with a ✧), but I found great inspiration from their archives.
Good Moms on Paper
This is a great parent-writer podcast, a combination of interviews with parents who write (as well as a random recent book club where the hosts read Spare). It skews literary, but it’s fun to pick up the little bits of commiseration (like, the challenges of keeping a big project in your brain postpartum, even as you can write a fine damn scene).
Shipping and Handling ✧
I learned a ton about the publishing industry from these episodes, though it seems to not be updating much since one of the hosts left agenting. Contracts, foreign rights, and other insider knowledge that isn’t openly discussed.
88 Cups of Tea ✧
Another writer podcast. The host Yin Chang has a very warm and uplifting energy (she’s an actor and it shows). I’m still working my way through the extensive archives, but guests include so many of my favorites! Madeline Miller, Tochi Onyebuchi, Naomi Novik, R.F. Kuang, and more.
Between the Covers
I would listen to David Naimon read the dictionary, but hooray, instead I can listen to him interview some of the best writers of our age (and beyond!) I particularly adore the Ursula Le Guin series (Crafting with Ursula); each episode is so lovely and deep, and each guest has such an interesting point of view on the consequences and importance of Le Guin’s work.
Invisibilia
I tried this podcast years ago and it was perfectly fine—very RadioLab/This American Life of a vibe. However, since 2021, the new hosts create gorgeous and cohesive seasons that leave me waiting anxiously for more! The season about friendship was so well produced, and the most recent one about control has such a wonderful range of stories.
Life Kit
These are snackable little episodes that contain all kinds of life tips—from learning a heritage language to planning when to quit your job. The hosts are so delightful, and I always find the content so calming and progressive.
Voyage into Genre
Interviews with all your SFF favs. This is Tor/Lithub’s podcast, and each episode features interviews with two authors or editors. Simple concept, always interesting.
Hacking your ADHD
Teach me how to live, William Curb! Each episode features a different topic, and usually involves achievable, compassionate advice on how to work with ADHD to make life a little smoother.
Levar Burton Reads
Levar Burton picks THE BEST stories to read, and of course does a wonderful job dramatizing each of them. I don’t think I can add much more to this recommendation, it speaks for itself.