The New York Public Library Podcast

Going undercover as a prison guard in Winnifield, Louisiana, journalist Shane Bauer exposes the brutality of for-profit private prison systems, and this country's history of outsourcing criminal punishment in his book "American Prison." This stunning work recently won NYPL's 2019 Bernstein Award for Excellence in Journalism. In this conversation with Aidan Flax-Clark, Bauer discusses the making of this book, the dangers of private prisons in the U.S., and his personal difficulties balancing his identities as a prison guard and reporter.

In the search for meaningful criminal justice reform, are prosecutors one of the keys to change? In her new book, "Charged," journalist  Emily Bazelon argues that prosecutors play an "outsize role" in mass incarceration -- from choosing the charge to setting bail to determining the plea bargain. To discuss the issue, Bazelon was joined by Stacey Abrams, a lawyer, novelist and politician who in 2018 campaigned for criminal justice reform as a candidate in a historic race for governor in Georgia. 

G. Willow Wilson is a critically acclaimed novelist and co-creator of the first Muslim superhero with their own Marvel comic book series. Wilson's new book, The Bird King, is the story of a fantastical quest through the Iberian peninsula at the height of the Spanish Inquisition. She read from the novel and spoke with Hugo award-winning writer N. K. Jemisin about the power of imagining different worlds and how writing fantasy can expose reality.

Few people understand the state of our national security as well as Janet Napolitano and Joe Biden. Napolitano, former Dept. of Homeland Security Secretary and the first appointed by President Obama, has written about the subject in her new book,"How Safe Are We?" She spoke with Vice President Joe Biden, who—in addition to being Barack Obama's Vice President— chaired the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and sat on the Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Terrorism, Technology and Homeland Security. “Homeland security is not only the job of the secretary or of the 240,000 professionals who work for the department,” says Napolitano, “it is everyone’s responsibility.”

When "Cat Person" appeared in "The New Yorker" in December 2017, it quickly became a viral hit, striking a chord with readers at the height of the #MeToo Movement. People seemed surprised by the Internet popularity of a long form fiction story—including its author, Kristen Roupenian. "You Know You Want This" is Roupenian's highly anticipated debut collection of stories that, like "Cat Person," dwells in discomfort and is compulsively readable. "The New Yorker"'s fiction editor, Deborah Treisman, joined her for a conversation about why she chose "Cat Person" from a stack of other submissions, Roupenian's new book and plans for an upcoming horror film.

The 1970s are sometimes hailed as the true dawn of young-adult literature, the decade when authors like Judy Blume and Lois Lowry showed that teen readers were worth taking seriously. Decades later, J.K. Rowling revolutionized YA, permanently broadening its appeal to adults. But teen fiction of the '80s and '90s is often ignored. Bustle editor and writer Gabrielle Moss has a soft spot in her heart for what she calls the genre's "intellectual dead zone"—the era of The Baby-sitters Club, Sweet Valley High, and so many more girl-centered series. In this interview with NYPL's Gwen Glazer, Moss discusses her new book "Paperback Crush," which makes the case for why the YA fiction of the '80s and '90s shouldn't be overlooked, and why it's so much fun to revisit.

Over 200 years ago, a teenage girl started a literary legacy that continues to haunt us today. Why do we still keep telling this story and how does it reflect our darkest fears? The New York Public Library's curators join monster theory scholars and best-selling authors to trace the history of Mary Wollstonecraft Godwin Shelley’s classic. This special podcast episode unpacks the genius of Shelley’s novel, its origins and evolution—from the British Romantics to Black Lives Matter—to uncover how the story helps us better understand ourselves, our humanity, and our future.      

This week we're featuring part two of Marilynne Robinson's lecture on American society, government and economy titled "Liberalism and American Tradition." Robinson discusses our country's Puritan history  and how society constructs value, referencing a number of political philosophers and social reformers.

Marilynne Robinson is one of the most celebrated American writers—she won a Pulitzer Prize for Fiction and was awarded a National Humanities Medal from President Barack Obama, to name just a few of her accolades. She recently delivered a lecture on American Civilization and Government titled "Liberalism and American Tradition," which traces the origins of liberalism. Part two of the lecture will be released next week.  

Despite the fact that New York City is one of the most diverse places in the country our school system is among the most segregated. As part of the nationwide campaign, Black Lives Matter at School Week, Schomburg Center's Associate Director of Education, Brian Jones organized a panel about this issue and how to challenge structural racism in schools. Featuring award-winning journalist, Nikole Hannah-Jones, public school teacher José Vilson, and two NYC high school student activists Xoya David and Joshua Brown.    

Howard Zinn’s seminal 1980 work "A People’s History of the United States" challenged dominant narratives of our country’s past by uncovering its darker truths; nearly 40 years later, a new collection of speculative fiction, "A People’s Future of the United States" challenges our visions of tomorrow. Like Zinn's work, this collection of stories centers on the experiences of traditionally marginalized communities. The collection's co-editor, Victor LaValle, speaks with four contributors— Maria Dahvana Headley, N.K. Jemisin, Alice Sola Kim, and Sam J. Miller—about the fantasies and projections for the future of the country.

Jason Rezaian is an American journalist and author of a new memoir. In 2014, while reporting in Tehran for the Washington Post , he was arrested and wrongfully convicted of espionage by Iranian authorities. Rezaian recounts his experience in "Prisoner: My 544 Days in an Iranian Prison—Solitary Confinement, a Sham Trial, High-Stakes Diplomacy, and the Extraordinary Efforts It Took to Get Me Out." Rezaian sat down with New Yorker editor David Remnick for a conversation about his experience, the books he read in prison that were most comforting, and his experience coming home after incarceration.

Internationally bestselling author Ha Jin discussed his latest book—a new biography about legendary eighth-century Chinese poet, Li Bai. Ha Jin read some of the poet's lesser known works, and described  Li’s unconventional lifestyle which he researched for his book, "The Banished Immortal." From the poet’s life-long interests in swordsmanship and celestial bodies, to his excessive drinking, rumors of manslaughter, and the numerous myths about is death—Ha Jin sheds new light on the poet and why he is still loved today. 

Sally Wen Mao is the author of "Oculus," a collection of poems that explores sight and being seen, futuristic worlds and historical figures. She completed this collection during her Cullman Center Fellowship at NYPL in 2016-2017.​ In conversation with fellow poet, Jenny Xie, Mao shared some of the archival materials she used in her research, including those of the first Chinese American actress Anna May Wong. They discussed Asian American futurism, representation in Hollywood, and how a Solange concert at the Guggenheim inspired one of her poems.

Maria Popova & Claudia Bedrick curated an anthology of letters and original illustrations by 121 of the most interesting and inspiring culture-makers alive today. "A Velocity of Being," Popova's project that was eight years in the making, asked each contributor to write a letter to a young reader about the power of reading. To celebrate the book’s release, contributors took to the stage at The New York Public Library to share what they wrote. Featured readings and performances by: Jad Abumrad, Sophie Blackall, Alexander Chee, Mohammed Fairouz, Adam Gopnik, Paul Holdengräber, Sarah Kay, Dawn Landes,  Morley, Mariahadessa Ekere Tallie, and Naomi Wolf.  All proceeds from "A Velocity of Being" will benefit the public libraries of New York City. Read more about the book on Brain Pickings. 

Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah sheds light on a modern day America full of racial violence, greed, and heartbreak in his debut collection of short stories, "Friday Black." Focusing on the struggles of young black men and women, his characters fight to survive with their humanity intact. In conversation with writer Mychal Denzel Smith, Adjei-Brenyah discuses his approach to writing satire, the perils of capitalism, and how to stay hopeful while creating dystopian fiction.

Our friends from NYPL's The Librarian Is In podcast recorded their first-ever live episode, featuring NYU sociologist and author Eric Klinenberg. His new book "Palaces for the People" looks at how shared public spaces like gardens, child-care centers, and—yep, you guessed it—libraries are essential to maintaining a healthy democratic society. Klinenberg talks about his research at NYPL's Seward Park branch, social infrastructure, and what books he's reading with podcast hosts and librarians, Gwen and Frank.

To celebrate the 175th anniversary of the Dickens' classic, we're rebroadcasting this very special reading by writer and comic book author, Neil Gaiman. His live performance from 2013 uses a rare prompt copy that belonged to Charles Dickens himself and now resides in The New York Public Library. Dickens marked it up and annotated it for the express purpose of performing the story in front of an audience, which he did regularly in the 1850s and 1860s.

Award-winning journalist Alma Guillermoprieto delivered this year's annual Robert B. Silvers lecture, a series named in honor of the co-founding editor of The New York Review of Books. In her lecture titled  “Among the Drug Dealers, Criminals, Rapists: A Reporting Life in Latin America,” Guillermoprieto shares insights from her 40 years of experience. Born in Mexico, Guillermoprieto came to New York in 1965 to join the Martha Graham dance studio. By the late 1970s, she had left dance to cover the Central American civil wars as a journalist. Since then she has written extensively about Latin America for The New Yorker, The New York Review of Books, and National Geographic. 

Wayétu Moore's debut novel explores African diasporic identity through historical fiction and magical realism. In a conversation with Buzzfeed writer, Isaac Fitzgerald, Moore talks about the stories behind her new book "She Would Be King":  the history of her native Liberia and the childhood stories her family used to tell her. Moore says, "I grew up hearing stories that always included someone disappearing or shapeshifting or casting a spell...when I moved to America these things were relegated to Disney, but back home, that just wasn't the case."