Book Riot - The Podcast
News in the world of books and reading, including hot industry releases, adaptations, publishing industry events, and more with Book Riot’s Jeff O’Neal and Rebecca Schinsky. Book Riot is the largest independent editorial book site in North America and home to a host of media, from podcasts to newsletters to original content, all designed around diverse readers and across all genres.
Episodes
November 5, 2025 • 54 mins
Jeff and Rebecca talk Zadie Smith's Dead & Alive.
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Subscribe to The Book Riot Newsletter for regular updates to get the most out of your reading life.
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November 2, 2025 • 41 mins
Jeff talks to Dhonielle Clayton and Caroline Richmond of We Need Diverse Books about censorship, book bannings, and the ongoing drive to diversify books and reading in the U.S.
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Subscribe to The Book Riot Newsletter for regular updates to get the most out of your reading life.
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Subscribe to the podcast via RSS, Apple Podcasts, and Spotify.
The Book Riot Podcast is a prou...
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October 29, 2025 • 49 mins
Jeff and Rebecca consider 10 contenders for the title of It Book of November.
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The Book Riot Podcast is a proud member of the Airwave Podcast Network.
Discussed in this episode:
Check out Zero to Well-Read!
Subscribe to The Book Riot Newsletter for regular updates to get the most out of your reading life.
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Cursed Daughters by Oyinkan B...
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October 26, 2025 • 43 mins
Jeff and Rebecca put on their rain gear as the best books of the year storm approaches.
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The Book Riot Podcast is a proud member of the Airwave Podcast Network.
Discussed in this episode:
Check out Zero to Well-Read!
Subscribe to The Book Riot Newsletter for regular updates to get the most out of your reading life.
The Book Riot Podcast Patreon
Barnes & Noble kick...
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October 22, 2025 • 53 mins
Book Riot's managing editor, Vanessa Diaz, returns to re-examine the strange and influential life of Edgar Allan Poe.
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Subscribe to The Book Riot Newsletter for regular updates to get the most out of your reading life.
Check out Zero to Well-Read!
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The Book Riot Podcast is a proud member of the Airwave Podcast Network.
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October 19, 2025 • 53 mins
Jeff and Rebecca applaud the news that Jeff Hiller will be hosting the National Book Awards in November before talking about more book news from the week.
Subscribe to the podcast via RSS, Apple Podcasts, and Spotify.
The Book Riot Podcast is a proud member of the Airwave Podcast Network.
Check out Zero to Well-Read!
Subscribe to The Book Riot Newsletter for regular updates to get the most out of your reading life.
Discussed i...
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October 17, 2025 • 22 mins
With Guillermo del Toro's Netflix adaptation of Mary Shelley's Frankenstein in the news, we thought we would bring out an episode we did for Annotated several years ago. It's a great story and we had fun doing this one. Enjoy.
This episode of Annotated was written by me, Jeff O’Neal, and directed by Jeremy Desmon.
Sound editing and design by Kyle O’Neal. Our thanks to Mahvesh Murad for being our Mary Shelley, Bob Schinsky for bei...
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October 15, 2025 • 66 mins
Prof. Laura McGrath joins Jeff and Rebecca to talk about what some studies can tell us about just how much readers care (and don't) about genre.
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The Book Riot Podcast is a proud member of the Airwave Podcast Network.
Discussed in this episode:
Laura's newsletter: TextCrunch
English, James and J.D. Porter, "The Eclectic Reader." JCA: The Journal of Cultural Analytic...
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Sharifah Williams joins Jeff to talk about the 2025 Nobel for Literature, National Book Award finalists and more award season news. Then, Hachette CEO David Shelly talks to Jeff about book banning, inclusivity, and other issues facing the publishing world.
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The Book Riot Podcast is a proud member of the Airwave Podcast Network.
Discussed in this episode:
Check out Ze...
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October 8, 2025 • 83 mins
A drop-in of the most recent episode of Zero to Well-Read, in which Jeff O'Neal and Rebecca Schinksy are joined by Book Riot editors Vanessa Diaz and Kelly Jensen to talk about Stephanie Meyer's cultural juggernaut: Twilight. This was a lot of fun.
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The Book Riot Podcast is a proud member of the Airwave Podcast Network.
Discussed in this episode:
Check out Zero to We...
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October 5, 2025 • 57 mins
Jeff and Rebecca talk about the opening of the portal to submit claims against the $1.5 Billion Anthropic settlement, Reading Rainbow's relaunch, One Battle After Another, and more of the week's book news.
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The Book Riot Podcast is a proud member of the Airwave Podcast Network.
Discussed in this episode:
This content contains affiliate links. When you buy through...
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October 1, 2025 • 43 mins
Jeff and Rebecca consider 10 candidates for the title, It Book of October 2025.
Subscribe to the podcast via RSS, Apple Podcasts, and Spotify.
The Book Riot Podcast is a proud member of the Airwave Podcast Network.
Discussed in this episode:
Check out Zero to Well-Read!
Subscribe to The Book Riot Newsletter for regular updates to get the most out of your reading life.
The Wayfinder by Adam Johnson
The Ten Year Affair by Erin...
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September 28, 2025 • 48 mins
Jeff and Rebecca talk about The Booker Prize finalists, a judicial brow-beating, soft book sales, and more.
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Ready for a cozy, bookish autumn? Let Tailored Book Recommendations help you find your next favorite read with handpicked suggestions from professional book nerds. Get started today from just $18!
The Book Riot Podcast is a proud member of the Airwave Podcast N...
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September 24, 2025 • 29 mins
Today we have for you an episode from the Brooklyn Public Library’s Borrowed & Returned podcast series, looking back on Ezra Jack Keats' trailblazing picture book and how it continues to resonate with readers.
You can find Borrowed & Returned wherever you get your podcasts.
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September 21, 2025 • 54 mins
Jeff and Rebecca talk about the week's book news, from Trump flimsy lawsuit against PRH and The New York Times (and why it matters, flimsy as it is), break down a couple of award lists, do some Jefftionary entries, and more.
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Ready for a cozy, bookish autumn? Let Tailored Book Recommendations help you find your next favorite read with handpicked suggestions from profes...
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September 17, 2025 • 58 mins
Jeff, Rebecca, and Vanessa gather in a secret chamber to discuss the wonderfully absurd mysteries of Dan Brown's latest, The Secret of Secrets.
Check out Zero to Well-Read!
Subscribe to the podcast via RSS, Apple Podcasts, and Spotify.
Subscribe to The Book Riot Newsletter for regular updates to get the most out of your reading life.
Ready for a cozy, bookish autumn? Let Tailored Book Recommendations help you find your next fa...
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September 14, 2025 • 75 mins
Book Riot's managing editor Vanessa Diaz joins Rebecca for a discussion about the National Book Awards longlists, authors' big settlement from Anthropic, and exciting adaptation news. Then, Vanessa takes Rebecca on a journey down the literary rabbit hole.
Subscribe to the podcast via RSS, Apple Podcasts, and Spotify.
Subscribe to The Book Riot Newsletter for regular updates to get the most out of your reading life.
Ready for a c...
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September 10, 2025 • 79 mins
Jeff and Rebecca introduce their new podcast, Zero to Well-Read, with its inaugural episode about The Great Gatsby. We dig into what makes Gatsby a classic, why it’s all over high school reading lists, and the ways it still echoes in our culture.
This season of Zero to Well-Read is presented by Thriftbooks.
Subscribe to The Book Riot Newsletter for regular updates to help you get the most out of your reading life.
Email us: zero...
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September 7, 2025 • 51 mins
Jeff and Rebecca announce a couple of new projects before talking about authors settling with Anthropic, Obama's summer reading list, the Kirkus Prize nominees, B&N buying Books Inc, and more of the week's book stories.
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Subscribe to The Book Riot Newsletter for regular updates to get the most out of your reading life and follow the show on Instagram and Bluesky.
Read...
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September 3, 2025 • 43 mins
Jeff and Rebecca crown the It Book of September 2025.
Subscribe to the podcast via RSS, Apple Podcasts, and Spotify.
Sign up for the Book Riot Podcast Newsletter and follow the show on Instagram and Bluesky.
Get more industry news with our Today in Books daily newsletter.
Ready for a cozy, bookish autumn? Let Tailored Book Recommendations help you find your next favorite read with handpicked suggestions from professional book n...
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