Bad On Paper

Bad On Paper

Join Becca Freeman and Olivia Muenter every Wednesday for a dose of books and banter, along with interviews with women who inspire us.

Episodes

July 16, 2025 66 mins

We are so excited to have Navessa Allen on the pod to talk about all things spicy romance! 

 

We hear about how she got started writing romance, how she handles taboo topics, what it’s like having viral success, and her experience as self-published author who began working for a traditional publishing house.

 

Her books Lights Out and Caught Up are out now. 

 

Obsessions

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This week, we’re going to be sharing our desert island picks for categories from entertainment, to food, clothing, beauty, and more! 

Shoutout to Hillary Kerr’s newsletter for the episode inspo!  

 

Some of our picks 

Books to read for the rest of time: 

Becca - The Interestings by Meg Wolitzer The Wedding People by Alison Espach

Olivia - Demon Copperhea...

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July 2, 2025 72 mins

It’s time for July Three Things! Tune in for a game, fantasy dinner parties, writing process dives, best books of the year (so far), Materialists thoughts, and more! 

 

Becca’s Things

Materialists

Hallmark Movie Game

Dream Summer Dinner Party 

 

Olivia’s Things

Materialists

Favorite Reads in 2025 so far (Becca’s includes One Gold...

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We’re excited to dive into our June Book Club Pick: June Book Club Pick - All the Other Mothers Hate Me by Sarah Harman. We had a great time reading this hilarious and Scaredy Cat approved mystery, and can’t wait to hear what you think! 

 

Watch the full interview with Sarah Harman Olivia mentioned here.

 

Obsessions

Becca - Milk Duds

Olivia - Vitality Leggings/Shorts...

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June 18, 2025 77 mins

It’s time for Part 2 of our 2025 reading preview! We invited some friends of the pod to chat about the books they’re most excited to pick up this year! 

 

Lauren Puckett-Pope’s Picks - Katabasis by R. F. Kuang (Out August 26), Bury Our Bones in the Midnight Soil by V. E. Schwab

 

Kristen L. Berry’s Picks - Greenwich by Kate Broad (Out July 22), It's Different This Time by Joss Richard (Out Sep...

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June 11, 2025 84 mins

It’s time to check in on our 2025 Goals! Are we on track with our writing goals? Did Becca reduce her screen time? Did Olivia manage to give up Jarlic? Keep listening to find out! 

 

Obsessions

Olivia - Bose Ultra Open Headphones

Becca - Stick Season (Her Version) by Deeps

 

What we read this week

Becca - Hazel Says No by Jessica Berger Gross...

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June 4, 2025 76 mins

It’s time for our June Three Things! But first, vote for our July Book Club Pick in our Facebook Group! Stay tuned for discussions about TJR getting the star treatment in Time magazine, the state of indie podcasting, a book battle mini-game, and more! 

 

Becca’s Things

Taylor Jenkins Reid’s Time Profile

The efficacy of learning languages via Duolingo

Podcast Longevit...

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May 29, 2025 30 mins

We had the pleasure of recording a bonus episode with Katie Kitamura, the author of our May Book Club Pick, Audition! We ask her about the book’s inspiration, the writing process of such an experimental novel, what’s ~actually~ going on in the plot, and the origins of the scenes that have stuck with us the most. 

This Month’s Book Club Pick - All the Other Mothers Hate Me by Sarah Harman (have thoughts abo...

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May 28, 2025 75 mins

We’re SO excited to discuss Audition by Katie Kitamura! While this book may be hard to recap (uh, what actually happened??), we can’t wait to dive into theories and themes. 

We share our feelings about the ambiguous plot and discuss the theme of performance throughout the book. We also explore overlaps with two other past pieces of favorite content. 

And get ready, we’ll have a bonus episode o...

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This week, we're chatting about the ins and outs of writing Young Adult Fiction with Jessica Goodman! We talk with her about getting started in the genre, the challenges of writing YA, how she gets inspiration for her books, and more! 

 

Read more from Jessica in The Meadowbrook Murders, The Counselors, The Legacies, They’ll Never Catch Us, and They Wish They Were Us.

 

Obsessions

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May 14, 2025 71 mins

Whether you’re a library reader, a used bookstore connoisseur, or just buy books faster than you read ‘em, this episode is for you! We’re chatting about the backlist books (AKA books released over 1 year ago) on our TBR. 

 

Olivia’s List

Saint X by Alexis Schaitkin (2020)

Seawife by Amity Gaige (2020)

Godshot by Chelsea Bieker (2020)

The Great Believers b...

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May 7, 2025 77 mins

It’s Three Things time! We’re covering topics from Olivia’s family parasocial obsession, spin-off books, sleep routines, party snacks, and more! 

 

Olivia’s Things

Standout Book Covers of 2025

The Today Show Hosts’ Impact on Boomers

What snacks would you be excited to find at a party?

 

Becca’s Things

What book characters do you want to read ...

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April 30, 2025 57 mins

So excited to talk about our April Book Club Pick, Wild Dark Shore by Charlotte McConaghy! We went into this book without much context and loved experiencing this literary mystery. We discuss what genre this book falls in, our feelings on climate fiction, the real-life inspirations behind this books, and of course the many twists and turns of the mystery plotline.

 

Obsessions

Bec...

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April 23, 2025 74 mins

We thought it was time for a good ol’ catch-up! We have much to cover, including (but not limited to) writing updates, new journaling habits, career developments, travel plans, spring hobbies, and MORE! 

 

Highly recommend reading What is Glitter by Caity Weaver in the New York Times

 

Obsessions

Becca - Soeos White Peach Candy

Olivia - He Wasn’t Man Enough by Toni B...

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This week, we're talking about rejection, failure, and how two guests dealt with them! First, we’re talking to New York Times best-selling author Andrea Bartz about navigating rejection on submission, and the daily rejections entailed in living a creative life. Then, we’re talking to Azora Zoe Paknad about shuttering her business and going back to the corporate world. 

 

You can read more from Andrea in he...

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April 9, 2025 70 mins

Long time, no things! We’re excited to dive into the random topics on our minds lately, from shows we’re watching, movie news, the celebrity quiz we’re positive you didn’t see coming, and more!

 

Becca’s Things

Casual Viewing Content (inspired by this N+1 Article), specifically The Night Agent and Running Point

Applying body lotion (Olivia thinks the Necessaire Body Serum is worth...

April 2, 2025 56 mins

Have you ever wondered how a bookstore runs? We think about it all the time, and we are so thrilled to get the scoop from the owner of Liz’s Book Bar in Brooklyn, and author of Acts of Forgiveness, Maura Cheeks!

 

We chat with Maura about her dreams of opening a bookstore, what the opening process entails, how Liz’s Book Bar stands out, the book selection process, and how she published her first novel and ...

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March 26, 2025 77 mins

It’s time to discuss our March book club pick: Deep Cuts by Holly Brickley! We talk about which timeline we gravitated toward most through the story’s 8-year span, the unique relationship dynamic between Percy and Joe, what makes a romance literary, and more!

 

More Literary Romances

Talking at Night by Claire Daverley 

Shark Heart by Emily Habeck

Normal People by Sal...

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March 19, 2025 87 mins

Music is on our minds (especially with our music-focused March book club pick, Deep Cuts by Holly Brickley) and so today we’re discussing our musical references from different eras of our lives! 

 

You can listen to the full playlist of all of our favorites here

 

Obsessions

Becca - Duolingo Max

Olivia - Jackie and Shadow 

 

What we read t...

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March 12, 2025 81 mins

This week, we asked listeners in our Facebook Group for categories to share our top 3 rankings! We cover (almost) everything, from food to books to pop culture and more!

 

Food

Trader Joe’s products

Becca - taco seasoning; hold the cone; pastry pups

Olivia (Costco remix) - Rotisserie chicken, Costco Pizza, Carbonara Buldak Ramen, Built Bars

Fast food orde...

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