Totally Booked with Zibby

Episode: Elizabeth Day is Super Smart

Date: February 26, 2026
Host: Zibby Owens
Guest: Elizabeth Day

Episode Overview

This episode of "Totally Booked with Zibby" features a vibrant and candid conversation between host Zibby Owens and acclaimed novelist, journalist, and podcaster Elizabeth Day. With warmth and mutual admiration, they dig into Day’s new novel One Of Us, her personal journey through failure and reinvention, the culture of oversharing, and how podcasting changed both their lives. Elizabeth reflects on vulnerability, her fascination with flawed characters, and the intersections of family, ambition, and society in literature.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Parallels in Personal & Professional Journeys (04:07–12:16)

• Podcasting as Reinvention:

  • Both Zibby and Elizabeth found their voice and community post-divorce through starting podcasts with zero experience.
  • Elizabeth describes podcasting as “the greatest gig,” giving license to curiosity and allowing for emotional depth:

    "You get licensed to ask questions that in other realms would be deemed nosy. But when you're a podcaster, it's just curiosity." (Elizabeth, 04:21)

• The Power of Vulnerability:

  • Elizabeth champions “oversharing” and reframes it as vulnerability—a means for real connection:

    "I don't think there's any such thing as oversharing. I think we need to rebrand the word. I think that vulnerability is the point of all of our greatest connection." (Elizabeth, 04:39)

• Finding Love & New Beginnings:

  • Both found love again in unexpected ways, with a playful nod to rom-com cliches:

    "I met my husband on a tennis court. So there you go." (Zibby, 12:27)
    "Oh that's so chic. Was he playing with you or was he the coach?" (Elizabeth, 12:30)

2. The Genesis & Philosophy of How to Fail (06:37–11:33)

• Born from Personal Loss:

  • Elizabeth candidly recounts feeling like a failure after divorce, unsuccessful IVF, miscarriages, and career pressure—experiences driving “How to Fail.”

    "I felt like such a failure because I felt that I was staring down the barrel of my 40s with none of the things in place that I thought I wanted." (Elizabeth, 06:37)

• Turning Failure into Growth:

  • The podcast subverts the typical success narrative, highlighting growth through adversity and reframing public discourse on failure.

• Impromptu Origin:

  • Elizabeth describes selling her wedding dress to hire a sound engineer and launching the first season “without really knowing what I was doing” (08:43).

• Guest Highlights & Community:

  • Notable guests include Gloria Steinem, Kate Winslet, and Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, each teaching her “that failure is not only survivable, but it's an opportunity to grow and to learn.” (Elizabeth, 09:36)

3. The Craft and Themes of One of Us (13:01–24:37)

• Zibby’s Rave for Elizabeth’s Prose:

  "It's like an elegant conversation with a really bright friend...Your vocabulary is great." (Zibby, 13:07)

• Synopsis and Inspirations (16:45):

  • One of Us explores “why we fall in love with the people who damage us, and why we sometimes elect them, too.”
  • Rich with references to "Succession," "The Talented Mr. Ripley," and "White Lotus"—it’s a family and societal satire via multiple perspectives.
  • The book opens with Martin Gilmour, who becomes obsessed with the elite Fitzmaurice family, and weaves through the perspectives of Ben’s wife, an environmental activist daughter, a disgraced politician, and the deceased sister Fliss.

• Themes:

  • Misplaced love, social ambition, class dynamics, generational conflict, and the seduction and destruction behind power and privilege.
  • “Although I know I'll never be Tom Wolfe, I do aspire to that kind of epic scope, which tells the story of a society in flux through the prism of a family in breakdown.” (Elizabeth, 19:43)

• Character Development:

  • Many characters are “vehicles to explore themes” Elizabeth found personally resonant—especially Martin, an outsider with a similar educational background to her own.
  • Real world inspirations: the political and media culture, reality TV, “how politicians use celebrity and public rehabilitation.”

• Female Perspectives:

  • Special attention to women “as the cruelly mistreated scapegoats of male excess”—a theme she finds herself returning to.

4. What Comes Next? Future Projects & Perspective (24:46–29:01)

• Series Continuation:

  • One of Us is a standalone, but also a companion to 2017’s The Party. Elizabeth hints at a possible third book in the future to allow characters and society to evolve.

• New Novel & LA:

  • Currently researching and writing a novel set in Los Angeles, inspired partly by Jonathan Franzen’s The Corrections and the thematic impact of reality TV.

• Philosophy on Plans & Creativity:

  • Letting go of rigid timelines—post personal losses, Elizabeth instead channels energy into projects that “bring joy and interest,” with writing as the sole non-negotiable passion.

    “The thing that I would like to happen in the next decade is for me to find more space, calm, peace and serenity around all of the wonderful things I get an opportunity to do… I'd like there to be more space to take it all in.” (Elizabeth, 27:01)

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On Oversharing:

  "I don't think there's any such thing as oversharing… vulnerability is the point of all of our greatest connection."
  (Elizabeth Day, 04:39)

• On Failure & Reinvention:

  "Failure is not only survivable, but it's an opportunity to grow and to learn."
  (Elizabeth Day, 09:36)

• On the Magic of Podcasting:

  "Podcasting rewards authenticity and intimacy… If you turn up as yourself, and that's what happened to me. I turned up as myself for the first time ever.”
  (Elizabeth Day, 10:28)

• On Social Comparison:

  "I was comparing my sadness and my messy, neurotic insides with everyone else's seemingly perfect outsides."
  (Elizabeth Day, 07:51)

• Zibby on Elizabeth’s Writing:

  "It's like an elegant conversation with a really bright friend. And I just love."
  (Zibby Owens, 13:07)

• On Fictional Inspiration:

  “I'm obsessed with rich people behaving badly… but I'm Also fascinated by why we… elect people who don't care about us and why we keep falling into love with people who don't necessarily reciprocate.”
  (Elizabeth Day, 16:51)

Key Timestamps for Important Segments

• Podcast Introduction & Mutual Admiration — 01:54–04:07
• On Oversharing and Vulnerability — 04:21–05:39
• Elizabeth’s Origin Story for How to Fail — 06:36–10:00
• How Podcasting Changed Their Lives — 10:00–11:33
• Finding Love and New Beginnings — 12:15–12:37
• Discussing the Craft & Reception of One of Us — 13:01–16:45
• Elizabeth’s Pitch for One of Us — 16:45–20:01
• Character Development & Themes — 20:32–24:37
• Possibility of a Third Book & Upcoming LA Novel — 24:46–26:42
• Letting Go of Rigid Future Plans — 27:01–29:01

Tone & Atmosphere

The conversation is spirited, deeply personal, and peppered with humor and mutual respect. Both women are candid about their failures, ambitions, and the realities of working and loving in the public eye. Listeners are treated to writerly wisdom, honest takes on the business of books and podcasting, and a celebration of resilience and reinvention.

For more, follow Zibby Owens on Instagram (@zibbyowens) or visit zibbymedia.com. Don’t miss Elizabeth Day’s One of Us and her podcast “How to Fail.”