Podcast
Check This Out with Rachel Barenbaum
Hosted by Rachel Barenbaum · EN
From New Hampshire Public Radio and the PEN/ Faulkner Foundation, Check This Out is a literary series where host Rachel Barenbaum dives deeply into the works of emerging and diverse authors.
23episodes
Episodes
Newest firstAll episodes
Ep. 166 NHPR Yu-Mei Balasingamchow: NAMES HAVE BEEN CHANGED and Katherine Center on the Book Biz
2d ago00:50:05Tap to summarizeA debut novel about Ophir—not her real name—who starts a confessional podcast about her years on the run around the globe. Filled with danger and twists, it’s ultimately a story about immigration and belonging—one unlike any you’ve seen before. And on the Book Biz, Katherine Center talks about what it takes to hang in the business for 20 years, how the Book Biz has changed, and her newest novel THE SHIPPERS.
Transcribe →Ep. 165 NHPR Portia Elan: HOMEBOUND + Rachel Kanter for the Book Biz
1w ago00:49:40Tap to summarizeIn this novel of friendship and hard-won hope, four lives are entangled across time by one story, saved to a floppy disk in the 1980s and destined to ripple across the centuries. For fans of punk rock, robots, 80’s nostalgia, and post-apocalyptic pirates. And on our Book Biz segment, bookseller Rachel Kanter discusses the boom in audiobooks.
Transcribe →Ep. 164 NHPR Bar Fridman-Tell: HONEYSUCKLE + Ron Charlies on the Book Biz
2w ago00:49:38Tap to summarizeThis debut novel, based on a Welsh myth, explores the themes of autonomy and choice when a lonely boy has a magical playmate created for him. It’s a lush, unsettling tale blending romance, horror, and fairytale elements, with a nod to Frankenstein. And on our Book Biz segment, former Washington Post book critic, Ron Charles, on the future of literary criticism.
Transcribe →Ep. 163 NHPR H.M. Wolfe: DAGGERMOUTH + Sarah MacLean on the Book Biz
3w ago00:01:00Tap to summarizeA viral dark dystopian romance set in a corrupt surveillance state ruled by the masked elite, following a mercenary who botches the assassination of the president’s son and ends up forced to marry him. Plus, Sarah MacLean discusses romance as the engine of the book industry.
Transcribe →Ep 162 NHPR Susan Donovan Bernhard: WESTERLY
May 2900:49:52Tap to summarizeIn a saga of survival and the secrets that haunt us, one desperate decision creates a fault line that spans decades and threatens to break a family wide open.
Transcribe →Ep. 161 NHPR Tolani Akinola: LEAVE YOUR MESS AT HOME + Laura B. McGrath discusses literary agents
May 2200:50:21Tap to summarizeIn the wreckage of a fateful Thanksgiving reunion at their Nigerian-American family’s table, four siblings are forced to reckon with the past, take stock of what really matters, and find a way back to each other. On the Book Biz we talk with Laura McGrath, an English professor at Temple University and the author of the new book, "Middlemen: Literary Agents and the Making of American Fiction" about the role of agents in publishing today and whether we still need them.
Transcribe →Ep. 160 NHPR Stacia Stark: WE WHO WILL DIE
May 1500:45:08Tap to summarizeA young woman faces a deadly competition where survival depends on mastering forbidden powers she barely understands. As secrets about her past and the ruling powers emerge, Arvelle must decide whom to trust before the trials—and her enemies—claim her life.
Transcribe →Ep. 159 NHPR Daniyal Mueenuddin : THIS IS WHERE THE SERPENT LIVES + Vauhini Vara Discusses AI
May 800:52:57Tap to summarizeThrough intertwining narratives set in both the U.S. and Pakistan, the novel reveals how class, power, and desire trap its characters in cycles of deception and emotional isolation. And on our segment, The Book Biz, journalist Vauhini Vara, author of "Searches; Selfhood in the Digital Age," discusses how AI is changing writing, reading, and publishing.
Transcribe →Ep. 158 NHPR Judy Batalion: THE LAST WOMAN OF WARSAW + Rachel Kanter of Lovestruck Books
May 100:49:53Tap to summarizeIn 1938, Fanny Zelshinsky, is deciding whether or not to go through with her upcoming wedding. Meanwhile, Zosia Dror has fled her religious family to become part of a new youth movement. But when artist Wanda Petrovsky goes missing, this unlikely duo works together to find Wanda before it’s too late. And on our segment, The Book Biz, Rachel Kanter, owner and founder of Lovestruck Books, discusses digital-first publishing.
Transcribe →Ep. 157 NHPR Rebecca Lehman: THE BEHEADING GAME
Apr 2400:52:00Tap to summarizeWe all know what happened to Henry VIII’s second wife, Anne Boleyn. But what if she woke up the day after her execution and took it upon herself to seek justice? A fantastical journey through the wilds of England and Tudor history, filled with danger and magic and steeped in Arthurian legend.
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