The Book Review

This month marks the 50th anniversary of the publication of Stephen King’s first novel, “Carrie.” On this week’s episode, host Gilbert Cruz talks to the novelist Grady Hendrix, who read and re-read many of King’s books over several years for a writing project, as well as King superfan Damon Lindelof, the TV showrunner behind shows such as “Lost” and “The Leftovers.”

Dwight Garner, Alexandra Jacobs and Jennifer Szalai weigh in on 22 of the funniest novels since “Catch-22.”

The great Irish crime novelist Tana French joins Sarah Lyall to talk about her new novel "The Hunter," a sequel to 2020's "The Searcher."

The Times’s critic Alissa Wilkinson discusses Frank Herbert’s classic science fiction novel and Denis Villeneuve’s film adaptations.

A scathing satire about race, publishing and identity politics, Everett’s acclaimed 2001 novel is the basis of the Oscar-nominated movie “American Fiction.”

Tommy Orange’s acclaimed debut novel, “There There” centered on a group of characters who all converge on an Indigenous powwow in modern-day Oakland, Calif. His follow-up, “Wandering Stars,” is both a prequel and a sequel to that book. This week, Orange visits the podcast to discuss his new work as well as the book he has read most in his life, Clarice Lispector's "The Hour of the Star."

Dwight Garner discusses a new oral history of the venerable alt-weekly, Tricia Romano’s “The Freaks Came Out to Write.”

On this week's episode, a roundtable conversation about Barbara Kingsolver’s “Demon Copperhead,” a riff on “David Copperfield” that moves Charles Dickens’s story to contemporary Appalachia and grapples with topics from poverty to ambition to opioid addiction.

The early part of a year can mean new books to read, or it can mean catching up on older ones we haven’t gotten to yet. This week, Gilbert Cruz chats with the Book Review’s Sarah Lyall and Sadie Stein about titles from both categories that have held their interest lately.

A.O. Scott joins for a spoiler-filled conversation about both David Grann's "Killers of the Flower Moon" and Martin Scorsese's Oscar-nominated film adaptation.

Molly Roden Winter and her husband have been married for 24 years. But since 2008 they have also dated other people — an arrangement that Winter details in her new memoir, “More: A Memoir of Open Marriage.” In this week’s episode, Sarah Lyall chats with Winter about her book, her marriage and why she decided to go public.

It's gonna be a busy spring! On this week’s episode, we talk about some of the upcoming books we are anticipating most keenly over the next several months, including new work from Salman Rushdie, Percival Everett, Tana French and Erik Larson.

Every January, the director Steven Soderbergh posts a detailed list of his previous year's cultural consumption — every movie and TV series watched, every book read. On this week's episode, we talk books!

In our last episode of 2023, we convene to talk about James McBride's novel — one of the year's most celebrated books.

John Vaillant, the author of “Fire Weather” (one of our 10 Best Books this year), discusses climate change and the fire that devastated a Canadian petroleum town in 2016.

Dwight Garner, Jennifer Szalai and Alexandra Jacobs look back on the books that have stuck with them in 2023.

They're here!

Book Review editor Gilbert Cruz talks to reporter Alexandra Alter about Rebecca Yarros, author of the smash "romantasy" hit "Fourth Wing," and critic Alexandra Jacobs, who reviewed Barbra Streisand's sprawling new memoir.

The Book Review's Sarah Lyall talks with Adrian Edwards, head of the Printed Heritage Collections at the British Library, about a new edition of Shakespeare’s First Folio.

It's scary story season. The Book Review's Gilbert Cruz talks to fellow editors Tina Jordan and Sadie Stein about their favorites.

Host Gilbert Cruz is joined by writers and podcasters Joanna Robinson and Dave Gonzales to talk about their new book “MCU: The Reign of Marvel Studios."

Book Review editor Gilbert Cruz is joined by Joumana Khatib to talk about the biggest titles yet to arrive in 2023.

A conversation with Mary Gabriel, whose substantial new biography offers a comprehensive and surprising look at Madonna'a life and career.

You love books. You love podcasts. Ergo, we assume you love audiobooks. This week we’ve devoted our entire episode to the form.

Zadie Smith joins the podcast to talk about her new novel "The Fraud." And we talk about the recent controversy involving the National Book Awards and erstwhile host Drew Barrymore.

Times critic Jennifer Szalai talks about Walter Isaacson's biography of the world's richest man and her recent look at the writer and activist Naomi Klein.

Stephen King joins the podcast to talk about his new thriller "Holly." And Joumana Khatib gives us a look at six of the month's most anticipated releases.

The novelist discusses his career and his recent essay about cadavers in crime fiction, and the actor Richard E. Grant talks about his memoir and his love of “Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland.”

Sarah Lyall discusses a new thriller in which a scuba diver gets swallowed by a sperm whale and Joumana Khatib gives recommendations for five August books.

Ann Patchett returns to the podcast to talk about her new novel, "Tom Lake," and waxes poetic on Thornton Wilder.

As record breaking temperatures are recorded across the world, we talk to Jeff Goodell, author of the new book "The Heat Will Kill You First."

Colson Whitehead joins the podcast once again, this time to talk about his new novel "Crook Manifesto."

The editors of the Book Review revisit some of the most popular and most acclaimed books of 2023 so far, including "Birnam Wood," "The Wager" and "You Could Make This Place Beautiful."

The editors of The Book Review talk about the nitty gritty of literary translation. And then, a conversation about the novel “Bridget Jones’s Diary,” which was published in the U.S. 25 years ago.

Gilbert Cruz and Dwight Garner discuss the legacy of a titanic author, followed by some stories about one of the great American book editors.

Jonathan Eig discusses his new book about the life and times of Martin Luther King.

Gilbert Cruz is joined by The Times’s thriller columnist, Sarah Lyall, to talk about some great suspenseful titles to check out this summer. And the editor Joumana Khatib gives her picks for books to look out for between now and Labor Day.

Salamishah Tillet, a Pulitzer-winning critic, discusses the book she has read the most over the course of her life — Toni Morrison’s classic novel of slavery and trauma.

The Times critics Dwight Garner and Jason Zinoman celebrate the life and work of the great British novelist and literary critic, who died last week.

Where to start with one of today’s most prolific and beloved fantasy writers, and the robot who wrote a murder mystery.

Hua Hsu, author of the memoir “Stay True,” and Hernan Diaz, author of the novel “Trust,” discuss their books and their reactions to winning the Pulitzer Prize.

Alexandra Alter and Elizabeth Harris talk publishing news, and Joumana Khatib previews the month’s big books.

The New Zealand writer, who won the Man Booker Prize in 2013 for her novel “The Luminaries,” discusses her latest book.

The New Yorker staff writer discusses his new book, “The Wager,” about the harrowing circumstances and conflicting stories surrounding a 1741 shipwreck.

Elisabeth Egan discusses “Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret,” and Miguel Salazar tells readers where to start with Gabo’s extensive catalog.

In this episode, Gilbert Cruz talks to the Book Review editors Tina Jordan and Greg Cowles about what they're reading, and loving.

The horror novelist talks about his new book and his swerve into the realm of westerns and historical fiction.

Gilbert Cruz talks to Book Review staff members about the books they’ve been enjoying lately.

Just in time for the Academy Awards, our critic Alexandra Jacobs discusses two recent books on the subject, Michael Schulman’s “Oscar Wars” and Bruce Davis’s “The Academy and the Award.”

The Times's critic Dwight Garner looks back on Michael Lesy's cult classic of documentary literature, which was first published in 1973.

Sarah Lyall discusses reading Madeleine L'Engle's classic novel at a pivotal moment in her childhood, and the lessons she has extracted from the book throughout her life.

Erica Ackerberg and Elisabeth Egan talk about community libraries, and MJ Franklin talks about the novelist Paul Harding.

Sadie Stein, an editor at the Book Review, discusses Carmela Ciuraru's book "Lives of the Wives: Five Literary Marriages" with the host Gilbert Cruz.

Gilbert Cruz and Tina Jordan discuss the upcoming books they're most excited to read in the next few months.

New York Times book critics discuss their favorite books and memorable reading experiences of 2022.

On a special new episode of the podcast, taped live, editors and critics from the Books desk discuss this year’s outstanding fiction and nonfiction.

The Times reporters Megan Twohey and Jodi Kantor talk about their book ‘She Said,’ and Neal Gabler discusses the first volume of his Ted Kennedy biography.

Harris discusses the great director’s life and work, and Adam Higginbotham talks about “Midnight in Chernobyl.”

Ezra Klein talks to the science fiction and fantasy novelist N.K. Jemisin about her latest book, “The World We Make.”

The Times’s comedy critic discusses his biography, “Letterman: The Last Giant of Late Night,” and the Times Magazine writer Sam Anderson talks about Oklahoma City and his 2018 book, “Boom Town.”

The oncologist and Pulitzer-winning science writer discusses his 2016 book about the history of genetics, and the novelist Kate Atkinson talks about her spy novel “Transcription.”

The writer, celebrated for his short stories, discusses his 2017 debut novel, and the journalist Patrick Radden Keefe talks about “Say Nothing: A True Story of Murder and Memory in Northern Ireland.”

Nicholas Buccola talks about “The Fire Is Upon Us,” and Lydia Millet discusses “The Children’s Bible.”

Ng discusses her best-selling 2017 novel, “Little Fires Everywhere,” and Judy Blume discusses her adult novel “In the Unlikely Event,” from 2015.

Joe Hagan discusses “Sticky Fingers,” his 2017 biography of Wenner, and a panel of Times critics talks about their 2019 list of outstanding memoirs.

The novelist discusses his Pulitzer-winning comedy about the travels and travails of a heartbroken writer, and William Finnegan talks about surfing.

The novelist talks about her Pulitzer-winning book, which includes one chapter written as a PowerPoint presentation, and Stephen Fry discusses Greek mythology.

The essayist talks about his book “Theft by Finding,” a selection of diary entries spanning 25 years that helped him find and shape his voice as a writer.

The acclaimed biographer of Lyndon Johnson and Robert Moses talks about his book “Working: Researching, Interviewing, Writing.”

The Emmy Award-winning actor John Lithgow discusses his memoir “Drama” and an actor’s education, and the British writer Maggie O’Farrell talks about her novel “Hamnet.”

The acclaimed biographer of Lyndon Johnson and Robert Moses talks about “Working: Researching, Interviewing, Writing.”

Mark Braude talks about his new biography of the singer, model, writer and muse.

Elisa Gabbert talks about her poetry criticism and her own poems, and Ian Johnson discusses Wang Xiaobo’s novel “Golden Age.”

Dan Fesperman talks about his new thriller, “Winter Work,” and Isaac Fitzgerald discusses his memoir, “Dirtbag, Massachusetts.”

Goetsch talks about her new memoir, and CJ Hauser discusses “The Crane Wife.”

Elamin Abdelmahmoud talks about his new memoir, and Sally Denton discusses “The Colony: Faith and Blood in a Promised Land.”

Dark talks about her new novel, and Katherine Chen discusses “Joan,” her fictional imagining of Joan of Arc.

Gabrielle Zevin talks about “Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow,” and Morgan Talty discusses “Night of the Living Rez.”

Ed Yong talks about “An Immense World,” and Terry Alford discusses “In the Houses of Their Dead.”

Elisabeth Egan talks about Louis Bayard’s “Jackie & Me,” and Matthew Schneier discusses Paula Byrne’s biography of Barbara Pym.

Perrotta talks about “Tracy Flick Can’t Win,” and Ann Leary discusses “The Foundling.”

Karen Jennings talks about her new novel, “An Island,” and Phil Klay discusses “Uncertain Ground.”

Nell McShane Wulfhart discusses her new history of a labor movement, and James Kirchick talks about “Secret City: The Hidden History of Gay Washington.”

Morton discusses his first work of nonfiction, and Rachel Careau talks about translating “Chéri” and “The End of Chéri,” by Colette.

The filmmaker and author’s latest book is “Liarmouth: A Feel-Bad Romance.”

Diaz talks about his second novel, and Paul Fischer discusses “The Man Who Invented Motion Pictures.”

Egan's new novel is a follow-up to her Pulitzer Prize-winning "A Visit From the Goon Squad."

Finck talks about “Let There Be Light,” and Jonathan Van Ness discusses “Love That Story.”

Alexander talks about her new book, and Lucasta Miller discusses her biography of Keats.

The critic Jennifer Wilson discusses new books by Yevgenia Belorusets and Andrey Kurkov, and Ben McGrath talks about “Riverman.”

Thomas Fisher talks about “The Emergency,” and Maud Newton discusses “Ancestor Trouble.”

Fintan O’Toole talks about “We Don’t Know Ourselves,” and Julie Otsuka discusses “The Swimmers.”

Sara Manning Peskin talks about “A Molecule Away From Madness,” and J. Kenji López-Alt discusses “The Wok.”

Jennifer Raff talks about “Origin,” and Ira Rutkow discusses “Empire of the Scalpel.”

Frank Bruni talks about “The Beauty of Dusk,” and Meghan O’Rourke discusses “The Invisible Kingdom.”

Dennis Duncan discusses “Index, a History of the,” and Brendan Slocumb talks about “The Violin Conspiracy.”

Haigh talks about her new novel, and Megan Walsh discusses "The Subplot: What China Is Reading and Why It Matters."

Harley Rustad talks about "Lost in the Valley of Death," and Jessamine Chan discusses "The School for Good Mothers."