Best El Random Show Podcasts (2024)

1
Sasha Vasilyuk, "Your Presence Is Mandatory" (Bloomsbury, 2024) 59:01

8h ago59:01

59:01

Ukraine, 2007. Yefim Shulman, husband, grandfather and war veteran, was beloved by his family and his coworkers. But in the days after his death, his widow Nina finds a letter to the KGB in his briefcase. Yefim had a lifelong secret, and his confession forces them to reassess the man they thought they knew and the country he had defended. In 1941, …

1
Jim and Steve Watch a Show: S4, EP 3: Ultraman 1966 31:31

11h ago31:31

31:31

Join Jim and Steve as they jump back to the origin of Ultraman, not the Origin Saga, the Nebula M78 flying orbs origin! Are you a big fan of wearable tech? Ever thought about joining a Science Special Search Party? What about practical effects? Like very practical ones? Well, this might be your new favorite show! Listen and find out!…

1
Anthony Valerio, "Confessions of an Aspiring Pornographer" (Grailing Press, 2024) 46:42

1d ago46:42

46:42

Anthony Valerio's novel Confessions of an Aspiring Pornographer (Grailing Press, 2024) tells the story of Walter Michael Gregory. Call him Wally. Walter Michael Gregory is a literary rogue peddling his prose and amours around 1970s Manhattan. He talks like Frank Sinatra sings, he writes truly, he is a lover par excellence, and he will charm you wit…

1
You Write Because You Want to Feel Free: Katie Kitamura and Alexander Manshel (SW) 58:53

1d ago58:53

58:53

Although Katie Kitamura feels free when she writes—free from the “soup of everyday life,” from the political realities that weigh upon her, and even at times from the limits of her own thinking—she is keenly aware of the unfreedoms her novels explore. Katie, author of the award-winning Intimacies (2021), talks with critic Alexander Manshel about th…

1
"Oxford American" Magazine: A Discussion with Danielle Amir Jackson 32:24

1d ago32:24

32:24

Danielle Amir Jackson is a Memphis-born writer and critic, and the editor-in-chief of the Oxford American. Her work has appeared in the New York Times, Vulture, Bookforum, Lapham’s Quarterly, the Criterion Collection, and elsewhere. Honey’s Grill: Sex, Freedom, and Women of the Blues, her first book, is forthcoming from Farrar, Straus, and Giroux. …

1
Tarek El-Ariss, "Water on Fire: A Memoir of War" (Other Press, 2024) 42:06

2d ago42:06

42:06

In this evocative, insightful memoir, a leading voice in Middle Eastern Studies revisits his childhood in war-torn Lebanon and his family’s fascinating history, coming to terms with trauma and desire. Water on Fire: A Memoir of War (Other Press, 2024) tells a story of immigration that starts in a Beirut devastated by the Lebanese Civil War (1975–90…

1
"Akmaral" (Regal House, 2024): A Discussion with Judith Lindbergh 49:58

2d ago49:58

49:58

Inspired by the legends of Amazon women warriors told by ancient Greek historian Herodotus and evidenced by recent archaeological discoveries in Central Asia, Akmaral (Regal House Publishing, 2024) is the latest historical fiction novel by author Judith Lindbergh. Through the story of its eponymous main character, a nomadic warrior woman living in …

1
Artem Chapeye, "The Ukraine" (Seven Stories Press, 2024) 49:19

2d ago49:19

49:19

A stunning debut collection of fiction and creative nonfiction-- irreverent and unglorified; loving and tender; uncomfortable and inconvenient--by a Ukrainian writer currently fighting for his country in Kyiv. Includes the celebrated title story "The Ukraine," which was published in the New Yorker in 2022. The Ukraine (Seven Stories Press, 2024; tr…

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5d ago0:53

0:53

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1
What’s on the TV: Why Culturally Geared Characters Matter for Representation 20:03

5d ago20:03

20:03

When we look back on TV characters we have grown up on, there are aspects about the characters that captivated and inspired us to reflect similar qualities they possessed. Whether it was kindness, forgiveness, or fearlessness, these characteristics were not just gained from our parents or friends but from what we saw on the screen. When it comes to…

1
Ruth Reichl, "The Paris Novel" (Random House, 2024) 42:30

7d ago42:30

42:30

Stella St. Vincent, a thirty-something copy editor in 1980s New York, has survived a relationship with her mother, Celia, so complicated that even the words “my daughter” give Stella pause. Celia lived life to the fullest, reinventing herself and discarding anything that no longer pleased her, including Stella’s father, whom Celia refused even to n…

1
Jim and Steve Watch a Show: S4, EP 2: Derry Girls 23:54

7d ago23:54

23:54

Join and Jim and Steve as they review the first episode of Derry Girls! Popular in high school? More of an outcast and kinda quirky? If the latter, this might be a fun watch for you! Ever look at your school bus and think, can we do better? Did you keep a journal that might make you a featured player in Mortified? This might be your new favorite sh…

1
The Things We Didn't Know: A Conversation with Elba Iris Pérez 50:35

8d ago50:35

50:35

Today’s book is: The Things We Didn’t Know (Gallery Books, 2024), by Dr. Elba Iris Pérez’s. A cross-cultural coming-of-age story, The Things We Didn’t Know is inspired by the author’s own experiences growing up between Woronoco, Massachusetts, and Puerto Rico. It explores Andrea Rodríguez’s childhood between Puerto Rico and a small Massachusetts fa…

1
Greg Sarris, "The Forgetters" (Heyday Books, 2024) 20:32

12d ago20:32

20:32

In Greg Sarris' book The Forgetters (Heyday Books, 2024), Answer Woman, a crow, cannot come up with a story until she is asked by Question Woman, her sister. But they both want to remember those who forgot the stories – because only by retelling the stories can they learn lessons of the past. From the time before creation to the near future, Answer…

1
Ihsan Abdel Kouddous, "A Nose and Three Eyes" (Hoopoe, 2024) 39:03

14d ago39:03

39:03

Written by iconic Egyptian novelist Ihsan Abdel Kouddous, this classic of love, desire, and family breakdown smashed through taboos when first published in Arabic and continues to captivate audiences today It is 1950s Cairo and 16-year-old Amina is engaged to a much older man. Despite all the excitement of the wedding preparations, Amina is not loo…

1
On Monsters, Goddesses and Myths: A Discussion with Author Katherine Marsh 44:54

15d ago44:54

44:54

“We’re not monsters, Mom. We’re goddesses—smart, fearless, and beautiful.” That’s the voice of Ava, the superpowered protagonist of Katherine Marsh’s captivating novel for children, Medusa (Clarion Books, 2024). Our discussion focuses on Marsh’s feminist retelling of the Medusa myth—and on the wider topic of the direction of children’s literature a…

1
Zhang Ling, "Aftershock" (Amazon Crossing, 2024) 31:12

16d ago31:12

31:12

In the summer of 1976, an earthquake swallows up the city of Tangshan, China. Among the hundreds of thousands of people scrambling for survival is a mother who makes an agonising decision that irrevocably changes her life and the lives of her children. In that devastating split second, her seven-year-old daughter, Xiaodeng, is separated from her br…

1
Rachel Greenlaw, "Compass and Blade" (Inkyard Press, 2024) 34:24

16d ago34:24

34:24

Rachel Greenlaw's debut young adult romantasy, Compass and Blade (Inkyard Press, 2024) is filled with sirens and mysterious magic, swoony romance and cutthroat betrayal. This world of sea and storm runs deep with bargains and blood. On the remote isle of Rosevear, Mira, like her mother before her, is a wrecker, one of the seven on the rope who swim…

1
Jim and Steve Watch a Show: S4, EP 1: Pedro el Escamoso 27:34

14d ago27:34

27:34

Jim and Steve are back! They start off this season with a review of the first episode of Pedro el Escamoso! Trouble with your love life? Need some pointers on estate planning? Want a good model for a sweet mullet? This may be your new favorite series, all 315 episodes of it. Listen and find out!By Jim and Steve

1
D. J. Green, "No More Empty Spaces" (She Writes Press, 2024) 22:49

19d ago22:49

22:49

No More Empty Spaces (She Writes Press, 2024) opens with Will Ross, an engineering geologist, who shares custody of his three children with his ex-wife, taking his 1953 Cessna up for a spin. It’s 1973, and he’s decided to take his children to a remote area of Turkey where he’s been hired to analyze the site of a damn. He plans to tell the kids, onc…

1
Wole Talabi, "Convergence Problems" (Astra Publishing House, 2024) 1:01:24

21d ago1:01:24

1:01:24

In his new story collection Convergence Problems (DAW Books, 2024), Wole Talabi investigates the rapidly changing role of technology and belief in our lives as we search for meaning, for knowledge, for justice; constantly converging on our future selves. In “An Arc of Electric Skin,” a roadside mechanic seeking justice volunteers to undergo a proce…

1
"Ploughshares" Magazine: A Discussion with Ladette Randolph 27:17

24d ago27:17

27:17

Ladette Randolph has served as editor-in-chief of Ploughshares literary journal since 2008, where she had acquired numerous notable essays and short stories. A publishing professional for 30 years, she is co-owner of the manuscript editing firm Randolph Lundine, and the author of five award-winning books, including A Sandhills Ballad, a New York Ti…

1
Nell Freudenberger, "The Limits" (Knopf, 2024) 54:39

26d ago54:39

54:39

The most thrilling work yet from the best-selling, prize-winning author of The Newlyweds and Lost and Wanted, a stunning new novel set in French Polynesia and New York City about three characters who undergo massive transformations over the course of a single year. From Mo'orea, a tiny volcanic island off the coast of Tahiti, a French biologist obs…

1
Deborah Kalb, "Off to Join the Circus" (Apprentice House, 2023) 20:49

26d ago20:49

20:49

In Deborah Kalb’s debut adult novel Off to Join the Circus (Apprentice House Press 2023) it’s 2018, Howard Pinsky’s sister Adele, who ran away in 1954, as his parents said, “to join the circus,” is suddenly, 64 years later, in Bethesda wanting to be a part of the family. Howard, now 75 and a retired lawyer married to Marilyn, a retired teacher, spe…

1
Jim and Steve Watch a...Movie with a Special Guest!: Blood Hook 29:34

30d ago29:34

29:34

Join Jim, Steve, and a special guest as they review the movie Blood Hook! It's a fishing competition gone awry! Curious as to where you can tour a musky museum? Want to know how to pick the perfect musky lure? Are you ready to learn about music theory and the devil's tritone? Listen and find out!By Jim and Steve

1
Greg Wrenn, "Mothership: A Memoir of Wonder and Crisis" (Regalo Press, 2024) 52:06

1M ago52:06

52:06

A dazzling, evidence-based account of one man’s quest to heal from complex PTSD by turning to endangered coral reefs and psychedelic plants after traditional therapies failed—and his awakening to the need for us to heal the planet as well. Professor Greg Wrenn likes to tell his nature-writing students, “The ecological is personal, and the personal …

1
Marie Mutsuki Mockett, "The Tree Doctor" (Graywolf Press, 2024) 53:47

1M ago53:47

53:47

When the unnamed narrator of Marie Mutsuki Mockett's stirring second novel returns to Carmel, California, to care for her mother, she finds herself stranded at the outset of the disease. With her husband and children back in Hong Kong, and her Japanese mother steadily declining in a care facility two hours away, she becomes preoccupied with her mot…

1
Jennifer Lang, "Places We Left Behind: A Memoir-in-miniature" (Vine Leaves Press, 2023) 41:35

1M ago41:35

41:35

Jennifer Lang's Places We Left Behind: A Memoir in Miniature (Vine Leaf Press, 2023) uses short chapterettes and experimental prose to examine he marriage, commitment and compromise, faith and family while moving between prose and poetry, playing with language and form, daring the reader to read between the lines. When American-born Jennifer falls …

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