Podcast Summary: 1,000 Episodes with Miranda Melcher

Podcast: New Books Network
Host: Jessi Cohen
Guest: Dr. Miranda Melcher
Date: October 2, 2025

Episode Overview

In celebration of a landmark achievement, this episode of the New Books Network features Dr. Miranda Melcher, who has just completed her 1,000th NBN interview. Instead of discussing a new book, the host, Jessi Cohen, gives listeners a behind-the-scenes look at Miranda’s journey as a host, her approach to interviewing, the breadth of her reading, and some of the memorable and quirky stories she’s encountered over years of speaking to authors. The tone is warm, conversational, and insightful, reflecting Miranda’s interdisciplinary enthusiasm and passion for knowledge-sharing.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

Miranda’s Background & Path to NBN Hosting

• Academic Journey:
  • Miranda holds a PhD focusing on peace treaties and civil wars, specifically Mozambique and Angola, blending war studies, law, diplomacy, and psychology.
  • Her background as a historian and political scientist informs her interdisciplinary approach to books and authors.
  • “I come to this as a background mainly as a historian, also kind of a political scientist... This is a place where we don't have to sort of just stay within the one narrow area... The depth is really satisfying... so is getting to explore things well beyond the one topic too.” (02:10-03:55)
• Discovery of NBN:
  • First encountered NBN as a graduate student searching for research material.
  • Found value both in field-specific and broader, curiosity-driven episodes for mental breaks.
  • Became a host at the encouragement of her husband, who noticed her desire for continued engagement with books post-PhD:
    • “You've been listening to this NBN podcast for literally years. You always say that hosts have PhDs. You have one now, why not be a host?” (04:03-07:15)

Reading, Selection Process & Interview Preparation

• How She Reads So Much:

  • Naturally a fast reader, but also highly organized with spreadsheets and color coding to manage her process.
  • Only selects books she’s genuinely excited about, which maintains her enthusiasm and motivation.
    • “I still get such a thrill when I have an email in my inbox from an author saying, sure, I'm happy to be interviewed. I'm like, yay, victory.” (07:42-09:16)
  • Academic training enables effective skimming (especially literature reviews).

• How She Chooses Books for Interviews:

  • Drawn to interdisciplinary works that break out of traditional academic silos.
  • Looks for books with unique questions, methodologies, or underexplored subjects (e.g., “ancient Mayan teeth”).
  • Enjoys engaging with debut authors and amplifying lesser-heard voices.
    • “There are a lot of topics or ways of talking about topics that have a hard time getting noticed... That is a sort of structural disadvantage. And that's something that I'm very motivated to try and do something to help.” (09:33-12:47)

Insights into Great Books & Interviews

• What Makes a Great Book:
  • Consistent argument and structural clarity, where the blurb and early chapters match the content and evidence throughout the book.
    • “How clear is the argument at the beginning and how consistently do all of the pieces as the book goes on keep tying back to that?” (12:58-15:17)
• Impact of Author Interviews:
  • While reading provides a foundation, interviews can change Miranda’s appreciation depending on the author’s enthusiasm and communication.
  • Key interview questions: "Why did you write the book?" and "What are you working on next?" often yield the most fascinating, unscripted insights.
    • “If an author, when talking about their work publicly, sounds excited, that makes a massive, massive difference...” (15:32-18:22)

The Experience of Hosting 1,000 Interviews

• Do Interviews Blur Together?
  • Most interviews stand out due to the sustained, immersive process and frequent reminders via her library.
  • Connections between books reinforce her memory of each. (20:17-22:08)
• Challenges & Intimidating Moments:
  • Felt intimidation interviewing prominent scholars outside her core field, or when challenged about her expertise.
  • Early forays into completely unfamiliar topics were daunting but ultimately rewarding:
    • “There's also been some who are intimidating more because I think I knew of their work because they're in my field...and then I think there have been times where I've interviewed books like, well outside my own research area...” (22:12-24:28)
• Challenging Authors:
  • Most challenges are mitigated by clear, welcoming preparation—sharing questions and an FAQ removes barriers.
  • The hardest to interview are those who sound bored or disengaged:
    • “If authors just sound deeply, deeply bored and, like, they don't want to be there, there's really only so much I can do to fix that.” (24:48-26:03)

Memorable & Fun Book Findings

• Quirky & Shocking Discoveries:
  • Bananas are herbs, not trees (“really big parsley”), from “50 Plants That Changed the World”. (27:08)
  • Medieval stained glass served both practical (imperfections hidden by color) and psychological functions (blocking distracting outside views). (27:25)
  • Bath Spa’s revival linked to Elizabeth I's anti-Catholic policy. (28:00)
  • “In 1528, the wife of a Spanish conquistador swept and swept and swept in her Mexico City mansion... she was naked and it was midnight, and she said strange things. Maybe praying to a Mesoamerican God...” (29:09)
  • Women lost US citizenship upon marrying non-American men between 1923 and 1940—100,000 affected. (30:17)
  • WWII: A floating ice cream barge for US GIs; Britons told to suck frozen carrots to cope. (31:00)

Process Improvements & Advice

• The Essential FAQ Document:
  • Developed and refined a comprehensive FAQ for authors, sent at every stage of communication.
  • Designed to demystify the process, address anxieties (technology, language, audience), and encourage first-time and nervous participants.
  • “...having an FAQ document that really speaks to what authors are concerned about, I think is really helpful... it made it more able for them to say yes, or it made them feel more confident going into the interview...” (31:49-34:18)
• Advice to Other Hosts:
  • Highly recommends all hosts adopt their own or adapt an FAQ template.
    • “Any hosts that want to use mine or adapt from mine, feel free to get in touch. There's no reason this sort of stuff has to be a secret.” (34:33-34:46)

Looking Forward

• Miranda’s Future on NBN:
  • Plans to keep going and shows no sign of slowing down, with “many more interviews scheduled already”.
    • “The goal was never sort of a thousand and stop, but it is kind of a cool milestone. So I'm pleased that we get to take a moment and recognise it and then, you know, full speed ahead.” (34:59-35:59)

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On Interdisciplinarity:
  • “...I really like it because we're here today on the occasion of having completed a thousand interviews. So I've had the absolute pleasure and honour of reading a thousand books and speaking to a thousand authors and counting.” (02:10-02:23)
• On Book Selection:
  • “If the list was only 10 books, I might just invite them all.” (09:33)
• Unexpected Factoids:
  • “Bananas do not grow on trees. They are herbs. So like really big parsley. Bananas, not actually bananas, turns out, are functionally herbs, not trees.” (27:08)
  • “In 1528, the wife of a Spanish conquistador swept and swept and swept in her Mexico City mansion... she was naked and it was midnight, and she said strange things. Maybe praying to a Mesoamerican God.” (29:09)
• On the Importance of Enthusiasm:
  • “If an author, when talking about their work publicly, sounds excited, that makes a massive, massive difference in terms of my experience of the interview, I think in terms of listeners experience of the interview.” (15:50-18:22)
• On Making the Process Accessible:
  • “...that, I think, helps sort of demystify the prospect so that people can go, okay, yes, this is kind of scary, but I think I can do it.” (31:49-34:18)

Timestamps for Important Segments

| Timestamp | Segment / Key Discussion | |------------|---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 01:32 | Introduction of Dr. Miranda Melcher and the episode’s purpose | | 02:10 | Miranda’s academic background and interests | | 04:03 | How Miranda discovered and became a host on NBN | | 07:42 | How Miranda manages to read so many books and her approach to selection | | 09:33 | Criteria for choosing books to interview about | | 12:58 | What makes a great book | | 15:32 | The role of author interviews in shaping book perceptions | | 20:17 | Do interviews blur together? Remembrance and connections between books | | 22:08 | Intimidating interview experiences | | 24:48 | Challenging author interviews and Miranda’s preparation approach | | 27:08 | Fun facts and memorable stories from a range of books | | 31:49 | The creation and importance of Miranda’s FAQ for interviewees | | 34:59 | Miranda’s plans for the future with NBN |

Closing

This milestone episode is essential listening for anyone curious about the mechanics of academic podcasting, the joys of intellectual exploration, the value of interdisciplinary work, and how book podcasts can make knowledge more accessible.
Miranda’s infectious enthusiasm, combined with her commitment to inclusive practices, sets a high bar for podcast hosts and academics alike.

For more episodes, visit New Books Network or subscribe to their channels. Miranda’s interviews traverse disciplines, genres, and centuries—there’s always something unexpected to learn.