About this podcast
On Tuesdays, Kate Hergott talks with authors about their books and writing processes.
On Fridays, Kate talks with different co-host Bookstagrammers and BookTubers about a variety of bookish topics.
Episodes
The newest 50 of 440 episodes
- Unhinged Writers, Publishing Secrets, and Elite Agents: Stephanie Wrobel's Revenge Plot · 1 h 12 min · Episode 441In this episode, Halley Sutton and I talk with Stephanie Wrobel about her new thriller Revenge Plot! Listen to hear about: • The inspiration behind Revenge Plot and how an…
- When We Can No Longer Trust Reality: Thomas R. Weaver's Wisdom Duology · 1 h 34 min · Episode 440In this episode, I talk with Thomas R. Weaver about Artificial Wisdom and Infinite Wisdom. Listen to hear about: • How Thomas R. Weaver went from entrepreneur to science fiction…
- Cursed Diamonds, Gilded Age Secrets, and the Price of Obsession: Anna Rasche's The Cursed Diamond · 48 min · Episode 439This week, I talk with Anna Rasche about her book The Cursed Diamond! Listen to hear about: • How author Anna Rasche's background as a gemologist and researcher at the…
- The Movies Are So Back: Horror, Satire & Everything in Between · 1 h 0 min · Episode 438Over the last two months, AMC has been my Third Place. In what feels like the Generational Run meme experience, I've seen 7 movies that I enjoyed or loved for many different…
- The Dark Side of Adoption: Inside America's Black-Market Baby Trade with Patricia Knight Meyer · 1 h 7 min · Episode 437In this episode, I talk with Patricia Knight Meyer about her new book Wonderland: A Black Market Adoption. Listen to hear about: • The shocking story of Patricia Knight Meyer's…
- You Can See Everything: Two Narcissists and a Nathan Fielder with Halley Sutton · 2 h 8 min · Episode 436*ALL SPOILERS* This week, Halley Sutton and I break down everything in a 2 hour time period that we could about You Can See Everything. Listen to hear: • Nathan Fielder's…
- True Crime, False Memories, and Family Secrets: Tara Goedjen's Please Enjoy Your Stay · 51 min · Episode 435In this episode, I talk with Tara Goedjen about her new gothic triller Please Enjoy Your Stay. We had some technical difficulties at the end, so it ends somewhat abruptly! Listen…
- Books That Have Been on Our TBRs for TOO LONG with Erin Ashley and Kayla Hardy · 1 h 1 min · Episode 434This week, Erin Ashley, Kayla Hardy and I chat about books that have been on our TBRs for waaaay too long. Kate's Books Babel by R.F. Kuang The House of the Spirits by Isabelle…
- When Folklore Meets Colonial Horror: Mathilda Zeller's It Looks Like You in the Dark · 44 min · Episode 433This week, I chat with Mathilda Zeller about her new horror It Looks Like You in the Dark. Listen to hear all about: • How Inupiat folklore, family history, and a troubling…
- Immigration, Education and Family: Sara Fashandi's From Tehran to Tomorrow · 1 h 2 min · Episode 432In this episode, I chat with Sara Fashandi about her book From Tehran to Tomorrow, which chronicles her brother Mohsen's story as the first in their family to immigrate to…
- Murder, Secrets & Halloween in the Thousand Islands: Tessa Wegert's This River Runs Black · 1 h 3 min · Episode 431In this episode, Gare and I chat with Tessa Wegert about her new thrill The River Runs Black! Listen to hear about: • How the Thousand Islands and North Country become…
- Trad Wives, Social Media & the Horror of Losing Yourself with Sarah Langan · 59 min · Episode 430This week, I talk with Sarah Langan about her novella Bloody 13 and her horror novel Trad Wife! Listen to hear about: • The inspiration behind Bloody 13, and the conflicting…
- Motherhood, Mystery, and Agency: Chital Mehta's Have You Seen Romit? · 58 min · Episode 429In this episode, I chat with Chital Mehta about her literary mystery Have You Seen Romit? Listen to hear all about: • How motherhood, an MFA, and a lifelong love of reading led…
- Beyond MLK: The Women Who Shaped the Civil Rights Movement: How Bright the Path Grows by Marcia Chatelain · 1 h 3 min · Episode 428In this episode, I chat with Marcia Chatelain about her new non-fiction book How Bright the Path Grows: The Untold Story of the Women Who Made the March on Washington. Listen to…
- First Ladies, Church Secrets & Respectability Politics: Deesha Philyaw's The True Confessions of First Lady Freeman · 1 h 26 min · Episode 427This week, Cassie Goodwin and I chat with Deesha Philyaw about her fiction debut The True Confessions of Lady Freeman! Listen to hear about: • How The True Confessions of First…
- When What We Inherit Haunts Us: Deena Helm's Our Cut of Salt · 1 h 0 min · Episode 426This week, I talk with Deena Helm about her debut literary horror novel Our Cut of Salt! Listen to hear about: • How Deena Helm turned a haunted house into a living embodiment…
- Books We Wish We Could Forget and Reread with Gare and Steph · 1 h 15 min · Episode 425This week, Gare, Steph and I share books we wish we could wipe from our brains and reread! Kate’s Books Never Saw Me Coming by Vera Kurian The Ursulina by Brian Freeman But Won’t…
- When Faith, Femininity & Capitalism Collide: Kristin Kobes Du Mez's Live, Laugh, Love · 57 min · Episode 424This week, I talk with Kristin Kobes Du Mez about her new book Live, Laugh Love: The Secret History of White Christian Women and the World They Made. Listen to hear all about: •…
- Horror We Are Excited to Read with Kayla Hardy · 1 h 6 min · Episode 423This week, Kayla Hardy - screenwriter, reader, and author of The Quarter Queen - and I talk about horror books we are excited to read this year! Kate’s Upcoming Reads The…
- Female Friendship, Identity and Motherhood: Amy Chozick's With Friends Like You · 56 min · Episode 422This week, Gare and I talk with Amy Chozick about her suspenseful literary debut With Friends Like You! Short Synopsis Emily, an exhausted new mother in Manhattan, becomes…
- Class, Race, Jazz and Crime: Andre Hardy's Fresh Take on Noir Fiction · 1 h 1 min · Episode 421This week, I talk with Andre Hardy about his fresh take on noir in his debut novel Tear the City Down! Listen to hear about: • How Andre Hardy’s debut novel, Tear the City…
- Sci-Fi, Philip K. Dick & the Birth of Pink Beam Press · 1 h 11 min · Episode 420This week, I talk with Keith Giles, David Agranoff, Brian Evenson, Gordon Bonnet, and Andrew Turck about Pink Beam Press, a new speculative-fiction imprint inspired by Philip K…
- Fall Hopefuls on Our TBRs with Gare · 56 min · Episode 419This week, Gare and I share fall book releases we are excited about! Kate’s Books The Occidental Book of the Dead by T. Geronimo Johnson Have You Seen Romit? By Chital Mehta…
- The Multi-Hyphenate Marie Laveau: Kayla Hardy's The Quarter Queen · 1 h 1 min · Episode 418This week, I talk with Kayla Hardy about her dark fantasy The Quarter Queen! • How The Quarter Queen began as a television pilot. Kayla Hardy’s screenwriting background shaped…
- ARCs We Are Excited About with Emma West · 60 min · Episode 417In this episode, Emma West and I share ARCs we are excited about! Kate's Books • Hive Mind — Allison Gunn • Accidents Never Happened — Penny Zang • Scream City — Hannah…
- Friendship, Grief and Second (and Third, and Fourth) Chances: Paige Harbison's Destination Funeral · 1 h 3 min · Episode 416In this episode, I talk with Paige Harbison about her new time loop novel Destination Funeral! Listen to our whole conversation to hear about: • How Destination Funeral uses…
- The Best & Rest of Summer Books with Gare Billings · 56 min · Episode 415This week, Gare and I share some of our best reads of the summer, and forecast ones we think we will love for the rest of summer! Kate’s Best of Summer Killer Vibes by Jack…
- Manifestation, Murder, and the Cults of the 1920s: Olesya Lyuzna's Liars in Paradise · 39 min · Episode 414In this episode, I talk with Olesya Lyuzna about the second book in her Ginny Dugan series Liars in Paradise. Listen to hear all about: The roots of modern self-help…
- An Eldest Daughter Pastor’s Kid Unpacks Her Father's Arrest and Shares the Books That Changed Everything with Kate Johnson · 1 h 52 min · Episode 413This week, I talk with Kate Johnson about her deconstruction journey and healing from religious trauma. Listen to hear all about: • How growing up in evangelical culture…
- SUMMERWEEN Book Recs with Brian Watson · 1 h 8 min · Episode 412This week, Brian Watson @readingwithbrian is back, and we share our take on Summerween book recommendations! Kate’s Books Vanishing Daughters by Cynthia Pelayo Junie by Erin…
- Some Mid-Year Favorite Reads with Halley Sutton · 1 h 7 min · Episode 411This week, Halley Sutton is back, and we discuss tv shows and movies we've been watching recently, and share some of our favorite reads so far halfway through 2026! Books We…
- Your New Favorite Bisexual Stoner P.I. | Jack Friday's Killer Vibes · 56 min · Episode 410In this episode, I talk with Jack Friday (a.k.a John Fram) about his new P.I. series Killer Vibes! Listen to hear all about: • Building a detective unlike the classic…
- What If Your Parent was a Serial Killer? V.A. Vazquez's The Death Row Club · 1 h 15 min · Episode 409In this episode, Gare and I talk with V.A. Vazquez about her dark, twisty thriller The Death Row Club! Listen to hear all about: • The deeply personal experience that inspired…
- Good for Her, Female Rage, and Sisterhood: Molly Fader's Lady X · 49 min · Episode 408In this episode, I talk with Molly Fader about her ragey, dual-timeline thriller Lady X! Listen to hear all about: • How her teenage daughter and Taylor Swift inspired the…
- Serial Killers, Sherlock, and the Truth About Empire: Arvind Ethan David's The Great Game · 1 h 7 min · Episode 407In this episode, I talk with Arvind Ethan David about his historical mystery thriller The Great Game! Listen to hear all about: • How Arvind Ethan David reimagined classic…
- Pop Culture, Gossip and Revenge: Ashley Winstead's Hot Girl Murder Club · 1 h 1 min · Episode 406Ashley Winstead IS BACK! Gare and I ask all our burning questions about Hot Girl Murder Club. Listen to hear about: • How Ashley Winstead wrote Hot Girl Murder Club as an act…
- Double Agents, Journalism and Espionage: Connor Martin's The Silver Fish · 40 min · Episode 405**If you're listening when this airs, note that this episode was recorded at the beginning of May and should've come out in May. Due to an injury (and painkillers) it's been…
- Power, Greed, and the Dark Side of Utopia: Zac Canon's Stillwater Trace · 46 min · Episode 404In this episode, I chat with Zac Cannon about his new speculative thriller Stillwater Trace! Listen to hear about: • How a "dad action movie" premise transformed into a layered…
- Trauma, Twins and Twists: The Girls in the Dark by Avery Bishop · 1 h 20 min · Episode 403In this episode, Gare and I chat with Avery Bishop about his new thriller The Girls in the Dark! Listen to hear about: • An unfiltered look at editorial disagreements…
- Chronic Illness, Spy Thrills & Fake Dating: Kate Williams' Fake Out Make Out · 52 min · Episode 402This week, I talk with Kate Williams about her new romance spy thriller Fake Out Make Out! • Kate's journey from self-publishing and writing across genres to landing a…
- A Trip to Greece, Widow's Bay, Summer House and More with Halley Sutton · 1 h 34 min · Episode 401Halley Sutton is back from a trip through Greece and Turkey, and she shares some of the highlights of her trip! We also discuss books, tv shows and movies we've been watching and…
- Improv, Love and Grief: Emma Brodie's Into the Blue · 1 h 3 min · Episode 400This week, Emma West, Kara Confer and I talk with Emma Brodie about her love story Into the Blue! Listen to hear about: • How a single character—Noah—kept appearing across…
- When Rom-Coms Become Nightmares: Olivia Worley's Man of My Dreams · 49 min · Episode 399This week, Gare and I talk with Olivia Worley about her new horror-thriller Man of My Dreams! Listen to hear about: • How Olivia's real-life dating experiences—and meeting a…
- The History of Misogyny in Pop Culture: Our Thoughts on Girl on Girl by Sophie Gilbert · 1 h 4 min · Episode 398This week, Elizabeth Rose Quinn and I discuss revelations we had while reading Girl on Girl: How Pop Culture Turned a Generation of Women Against Each Other by Sophie Gilbert…
- Three Hitmen, a Baby, and the Art of Writing Great Action: Rob Hart's Three Hitmen and a Baby · 49 min · Episode 397This week, I talk with Rob Hart about his third Assassins Anonymous book Three Hitmen and a Baby! Listen to hear about: • Why the series resonates beyond action: Hart uses…
- Comfort Reads and Watches with Gare and Steph · 1 h 17 min · Episode 396This week, Gare catches Steph and I up on his trip to the Montreal Mystery Festival, and we all share what we gravitate toward in books, movies and TV shows when we need a…
- Cosmic Horror and a Crime Procedural: CJ Leede's Headlights · 55 min · Episode 395This week, I talk with CJ Leede about her new horror novel Headlights! Listen to hear about: • How CJ originally planned to become a medieval historian, but after a professor…
- Emma West's Reading Journey, TBR Habit, and Approach to Inventory Manager at Wild Geese Bookshop · 1 h 21 min · Episode 394This week, Emma West joins and shares her reading journey, her favorite genres, and how she ended up the Inventory Manager at Wild Geese Books. Listen to hear about: • Emma's…
- Identity, Immigration and Intent: Isabel J. Kim's Sublimation · 48 min · Episode 393In this episode, I talk with Isabel J. Kim about her debut speculative fiction, Sublimation! Listen to hear about: • How Isabel J. Kim's inspiration for Sublimation came from…
- MacKenzie Green is the Global Head of Social for Audible! · 55 min · Episode 392MacKenzie Green is back, and she's now the Global Head of Social for Audible! Listen to hear about: • How MacKenzie grew up dyslexic, relied heavily on audiobooks to keep up in…
