Gays Reading
Best authors. Best banter. Host — and gay reader — Jason Blitman is joined each week by bestselling authors, VIP gay readers, cultural icons, and other special guests for lively, spoiler-free conversations. Gays Reading celebrates LGBTQIA+ and ally authors and storytellers through fun, thoughtful, and insightful discussions. Whether you're gay, straight, or somewhere in between, if you love great books or great conversation, Gays Reading is for you. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Episodes
Host Jason Blitman talks to everyone's favorite influencer and bestie, Misha Brown aka @yourbestiemisha, about what he's been reading as well as his new book Be Your Own Bestie: A No-Nonsense Guide to Changing the Way You Treat Yourself
Misha Brown is an undeniable entertainment powerhouse who excels as an influencer, podcast host, and performer. With a knack for captivating audiences, he shot to notoriety on TikTok in 2021...
Host Jason Blitman is joined by prolific author Kate Quinn to talk about her latest novel, The Astral Library.
Conversation highlights include:
📖 The book Kate would (and wouldn't) want to live in
✨ Sacred spaces
📚 Reading habits and the best books to reread
The Astral Library is out now wherever you get your books.
Kate Quinn is the New York Times and USA Today bestselling author o...
Announcing the March Gays Reading Book Club pick with Allstora
SO OLD, SO YOUNG by Grant Ginder
Five parties over the course of twenty years bring six college friends together, exploring the ways we run from and cling to our friends in love, life, and death.
New to the club? Get your first book for just $1!
When you join the Gays Reading Book Club with Allstora, here’s what you get:
- A SIGNED cop...
Host Jason Blitman is joined by debut author Patmeena Sabit to talk about her book, this month's Barnes & Noble Book Club Selection, Good People.
Conversation highlights include:
♥️ What it means to be a good person
✨ Karma and how we choose to live our lives
Paying a price to be your authentic self
Good People is out now wherever you get your books.
Patmeena Sabit was born in Kabul a few years af...
Host Jason Blitman talks with author April Reynolds (The Shape of Dreams) about what she’s been reading lately and the joyful surprise of discovering just how many LGBTQIA+ authors have quietly shaped her reading life.
April Reynolds is the author of the novel Knee-Deep in Wonder, which won the Zora Neale Hurston/Richard Wright Foundation Award and the PEN American Center: Beyond Margins Award. She co-wrote The Red Roo...
Host Jason Blitman talks to author Nikesha Elise Williams about her new novel, The Seven Daughters of Dupree.
Conversation highlights include:
🎶 Janet Jackson choreography
💜 What it means to be "enough"
🙏 The sacred, intimate rituals of hair
Nikesha Elise Williams is a two-time Emmy Award–winning producer, an award-winning author, and producer and host of the Black and Published podcast. A narrative ...
Host Jason Blitman sits down with bookish-multihyphenate Brian Larson aka @brian.reads who shares what he's been reading and talks about his new podcast, The Shelf Care Society.
Brian Larson is the author of The Afterparty (publishing June 2027) a memoir that reframes sobriety not as loss but as liberation. Known as @brian.reads on social media, he is the founder of Shelf Care Society, a book club with RuPaul’s Allstora, and th...
Host Jason Blitman is joined by acclaimed author George Saunders who talks about his new novel, Vigil.
Conversation highlights include:
🎭 Comparisons to Shakespeare
🕯️ Mr. Magoo's Christmas Carol
🍔 George's Last Meal
George Saunders is the author of nine books, including the novel Lincoln in the Bardo, which won the Man Booker Prize, and the story collections Pastoralia and Tenth of De...
Host Jason Blitman sits down with author Nina McConigley (How to Commit a Postcolonial Murder) to talk about what she’s been reading lately—beyond Eric Carle’s The Very Lonely Firefly.
Plus: head to the Gays Reading Substack to hear Nina talk about adapting Cowboys and East Indians for the stage, now playing at the Denver Center through March 1, 2026.
NINA McCONIGLEY is t...
Host Jason Blitman talks to author Gabriel Tallent about his new book, Crux.
Conversation highlights include:
💈 The surprising number of hot gay barbers in Salt Lake
🧗🏼♂️ What drawing a climb looks like
⭐️ Ambition and legacy
Gabriel Tallent is the author of the New York Times-bestselling novel My Absolute Darling. He was born in New Mexico and raised on the Mendocino coast by two mothers. He receiv...
Host Jason Blitman talks to author Annie Summerlee about what she's been reading as she awaited the publication of her book: The Book of Blood and Roses.
Annie Summerlee lives in Spain with her partner, two cats, and a rescue dog. Her short stories have been featured in 404 Ink, Litro, and So To Speak, as well as other magazines and anthologies. She also writes in Catalan and Spanish.
Announcing the February Gays Reading Book Club Pick...
⭐️ MISSING SAM by Thrity Umrigar, the bestselling author of HONOR
At first glance, MISSING SAM looks like a classic thriller: a woman goes missing after a morning run and her wife is left behind to search for answers. But very quickly, this book becomes something much deeper. The book is about what happens when grief collides with prejud...
Host Jason Blitman chats with author Emily Austin about her latest novel, Is This a Cry for Help?
Conversation highlights include:
- Emily’s habit of endlessly rewriting the pitch at the top of her manuscript
- The ethics of librarianship and why access to information matters
- Bug killing, sex dens, and everything in between
Emily Austin is the author of We Could Be Rats, Everyone in This Room Will Someday Be ...
Host Jason Blitman sits down with Sarah Dickinson, creator and host of popular podcast Sarah’s Bookshelves Live, to talk about the books she’s most excited to read in 2026.
Conversation highlights include:
- Anticipated book trends for the year ahead
- Why first lines should be part of a book's marketing material
- Feelings on classic books
Sign up for the Gays Reading Book Club HERE
CONTACT! hello@gay...
Host Jason Blitman kicks off 2026 by revisiting some of the quiet yet impactful moments from Gays Reading episodes in 2025.
Featured in this episode are conversations with:
- Rabih Alameddine
- Daniel Black
- Jennifer Finney Boylan
- Karissa Chen
- Prabal Gurung
- Dylin Hardcastle
- Rickey Laurentiis
- Nathan H. Lents
- Sameer Pandya
- V.E. Schwab
Sign up for the Gays Reading Book Club HERE
CONTACT! hello@...
In the final episode of 2025, host Jason Blitman sits down with author and critic Marion Winik for a wide-ranging, bookish conversation. Winik shares her top ten favorite fiction reads of the year and reflects on her memoir First Comes Love as it celebrates its 30th anniversary—plus the release of its new audiobook. Even more from this conversation, including top ten nonfiction books and excl...
Host Jason Blitman sits down with literary icon John Irving to discuss his latest novel, Queen Esther. Their wide-ranging conversation touches on the story behind Irving’s first tattoo, what it truly means to be an ally, where he finds optimism in uncertain times, and the deeply personal experiences that continue to shape his writing—plus plenty more along the way.
John Irving was born in Exeter, New Hampshire, in 1942. His...
In this episode, host Jason Blitman sits down with Alex Snodgrass (aka The Defined Dish) to talk all things book club menus—how to plan them, why they matter, and how food can deepen the reading experience. Using Alex’s recent book club gathering for Conform as a case study, the conversation expands to include Conform author Ariel Sullivan, who joins to unpack the creative collaboration behind the menu and the meal. As part of our ...
Host Jason Blitman sits down with Reginald Dwayne Betts—poet, lawyer, and founder of Freedom Reads—for an intimate conversation about transforming America's prison system one library at a time.
In an extraordinary turn of events, Dwayne receives a live call from Jermaine, a friend currently incarcerated at Lawrenceville Correctional Facility. Jermaine joins the conversation to share how not having a Freedom Reads libr...
In this re-release special episode, host Jason Blitman dives into the world of Wicked. Joined by legendary author Gregory Maguire, Guest Gay Reader is comedian and host of That’s a Gay Ass Podcast, Eric Williams, and Gays Reading’s first Guest Gay Icon, Broadway powerhouse Eden Espinosa.
Highlights include:
📖 The legacy of this iconic story
🎭 Insider behind-the-scenes
🎤 Unforgettable...
Popular Podcasts
Two Guys (Bowen Yang and Matt Rogers). Five Rings (you know, from the Olympics logo). One essential podcast for the 2026 Milan-Cortina Winter Olympics. Bowen Yang (SNL, Wicked) and Matt Rogers (Palm Royale, No Good Deed) of Las Culturistas are back for a second season of Two Guys, Five Rings, a collaboration with NBC Sports and iHeartRadio. In this 15-episode event, Bowen and Matt discuss the top storylines, obsess over Italian culture, and find out what really goes on in the Olympic Village.
Listen to the latest news from the 2026 Winter Olympics.
The 2026 Winter Olympics in Milan Cortina are here and have everyone talking. iHeartPodcasts is buzzing with content in honor of the XXV Winter Olympics We’re bringing you episodes from a variety of iHeartPodcast shows to help you keep up with the action. Follow Milan Cortina Winter Olympics so you don’t miss any coverage of the 2026 Winter Olympics, and if you like what you hear, be sure to follow each Podcast in the feed for more great content from iHeartPodcasts.
Saskia Inwood woke up one morning, knowing her life would never be the same. The night before, she learned the unimaginable – that the husband she knew in the light of day was a different person after dark. This season unpacks Saskia’s discovery of her husband’s secret life and her fight to bring him to justice. Along the way, we expose a crime that is just coming to light. This is also a story about the myth of the “perfect victim:” who gets believed, who gets doubted, and why. We follow Saskia as she works to reclaim her body, her voice, and her life. If you would like to reach out to the Betrayal Team, email us at betrayalpod@gmail.com. Follow us on Instagram @betrayalpod and @glasspodcasts. Please join our Substack for additional exclusive content, curated book recommendations, and community discussions. Sign up FREE by clicking this link Beyond Betrayal Substack. Join our community dedicated to truth, resilience, and healing. Your voice matters! Be a part of our Betrayal journey on Substack.
Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations. Follow now to get the latest episodes of Dateline NBC completely free, or subscribe to Dateline Premium for ad-free listening and exclusive bonus content: DatelinePremium.com