Nonfiction Episodes

Elizabeth and I discuss our favorite narrative nonfiction books, our auto-buy nonfiction authors, categorizing the genre, the categories we gravitate toward, and more.

Elizabeth and I discuss The Ride of Her Life, crafting this grand adventure story, how she learned about Annie Wilkins and her incredible journey, the manner in which the automobile and interstates revolutionized the United States, what surprised her while writing this book, and much more.

Adam and I discuss Committed: Dispatches from a Psychiatrist in Training, how psychiatry differs from other medical fields, imposter syndrome, how he handled the legal issues related to his book, positive changes to the medical industry resulting from the pandemic, the value of personal connection, and much more.

Jess and I discuss Americanon, the way these thirteen books shaped culture, gender roles and beliefs in the U.S., evaluating American identity in terms of a different canon of books, looking into what books were owned in any given era, how she decided which books to include in Americanon, and much more.

Philip and I discuss The Appalachian Trail, crafting the history of the trail from the perspective of the people who built it and how and why they did so, the difficulty of knitting together a very long and narrow space that traverses many landscapes, Bill Bryson and his impact on the Appalachian Trail, and much more.

Ly and I discuss her new book House of Sticks, the extent to which her father’s PTSD shaped her childhood, immigrating to the United States through a humanitarian program when she was three, writing about her family, the multi-layered meaning of the book’s title, wanting to provide hope for others who may experience similar situations, and much more.

Cate and I discuss her new book Mergers and Acquisitions, what she learned while writing for the wedding section of The New York Times, focusing on how people view commitment in today’s world, juxtaposing her own love story with the wedding announcements she created, and much more.

Ayanna and I discuss her new book Blackface, her desire to encourage honest and sustained conversations about race, understanding the history of performing blackness and connecting these performances from Shakespeare to minstrel into one long arc, the need for the full rainbow of stories from black authors, the shocking number of blackface performances occurring in the 21st century, and much more.

Tovah and I discuss her new book Lilyville, her difficult relationship with her mother and their generational chasm, how she came up with the delightful format of the book, incorporating “Lilysisms” into her story, climbing Mount Kilimanjaro after her mother died, her upcoming show, and much more.

Julia and I discuss her new book Come Fly the World, how she discovered and decided to tell these women’s stories, approaching the issue of memory and recall with her interviews, the importance of stewardesses’ contributions to the feminist movement, and much more.

Zibby and I discuss her anthology Moms Don’t Have Time To, the genesis of the essays, how she pulled this project together so quickly, which genre is Zibby’s personal favorite, how she reads so many books, and what surprised her the most about compiling these essays into an anthology.

Anna and I discuss her new book The Three Mothers, the importance of black women and their stories and contributions, how she chose these three mothers, the direct connection between these women and the work their sons pursued, how we tell history and wh...

Ty and I discuss his new book Robert E. Lee and Me, the myth of the Lost Cause of the Confederacy and its creation and perpetuation, how telling his own personal story is more impactful than just sharing his views, reading recommendations and more.

Melissa discusses her book Single and Forced to Mingle, how her story went viral, creating the fun format she used in the book, why millennials are choosing to not have children, debunking the myth that there is one path that a life should follow, and more.

Joe discusses his new book American Cheese: An Indulgent Odyssey Through the Artisan Cheese World, how he became interested in artisanal cheese, the role of Whole Foods in the American cheese renaissance, the role of cheese influencers, and much more.