Gays Reading

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Re-release | Shobha Rao, Indian Country Aug 04, 2026

Show notes

Re-release | Host Jason Blitman talks to Shobha Rao (Indian Country) live at Camino Books in San Diego. They discuss Laura Ingalls Wilder, the title’s double meaning from Rao’s childhood experience as “Indian,” the book’s central themes of water and rivers, the recurring power of three, and much more. This conversation originally took place on August 14, 2025.

Shobha Rao moved to the United States from India at the age of seven. She is the author of the short story collection, An Unrestored Woman, and the novel, Girls Burn Brighter. Rao is the winner of the Katherine Anne Porter Prize in Fiction and was a Grace Paley Teaching Fellow at The New School. Her story “Kavitha and Mustafa” was chosen by T.C. Boyle for inclusion in Best American Short Stories. Girls Burn Brighter was long listed for the Center for Fiction First Novel Prize and was a finalist for the California Book Award and the Goodreads Choice Awards. She lives in San Francisco.

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Re-release | Katie Kitamura, Audition Jul 28, 2026

Show notes

RE-RELEASE In honor of the Booker Prize 2026 Longlist announcement, we're re-releasing the conversation with Katie Kitamura, shortlisted for the Booker Prize 2025 for Audition. Jason talks to Katie about learned behaviors, the nature of intimacy, the art of performance, and her immersive process of writing. Perhaps most importantly, they talk at length about french fries. This episode originally aired on April 8, 2025.

Katie Kitamura is the author of Audition, which has been a finalist for the 2025 Pulitzer Prize, 2025 Booker Prize, the 2025 National Book Critics Circle Award for Fiction and the Gotham Book Prize, and has been longlisted for the Carol Shields Prize for Fiction and the Joyce Carol Oates Prize. Her five previous novels include A Separation and Intimacies, which was longlisted for the National Book Award and the PEN/Faulkner Award and was a finalist for the Joyce Carol Oates Prize. She is a recipient of the Rome Prize in Literature, a Lannan fellowship, and many other honors, and her work has been translated into twenty-one languages. She teaches in the creative writing program at New York University.

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Re-release | Lyndsay Rush, A Bit Much Jul 21, 2026

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Re-release | Host Jason Blitman chats with accidental poet Lyndsay Rush (A Bit Much) about the unique flavors of snacks, traumatic school memories, and the importance of embracing one's "bit much" personality. This episode originally aired October 29, 2024

Lyndsay Rush is a comedy writer, cofounder of the branding agency Obedient, and the poet behind the popular Instagram account @maryoliversdrunkcousin. Her debut book of poems, A Bit Much was an instant USA Today Bestseller and her writing has been featured in Reductress, McSweeney’s, New York magazine, and The New York Times. Lyndsay spent most of her adult life freezing in Chicago, but currently swelters in Nashville with her husband and young son.

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Laura Dave, The First Time I Saw Him Jul 14, 2026

Show notes

Host Jason Blitman talks to author Laura Dave about her latest thriller, The First Time I Saw Him, a Reese's Book Club Pick. This conversation was recorded live at Warwick's in San Diego.

Laura Dave is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of several novels, including The Last Thing He Told Me and Eight Hundred Grapes. Her novels have sold more than six million copies and have been translated into forty languages. The Last Thing He Told Me was the Goodreads Mystery & Thriller of the Year for 2021 and is now a series on Apple TV+, cocreated by Laura. She lives in Los Angeles with her husband and their son.

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Thrillers & Summer Book Recs feat. Jessica Knoll Jul 07, 2026

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In the season finale, host Jason Blitman talks to Jessica Knoll about her latest thriller, Helpless, plus what actually makes a "poolside book" and the best ones to have in your bag this summer.

Jessica Knoll is the New York Times bestselling author of Bright Young Women, The Favorite Sister, and Luckiest Girl Alive—now a major motion picture from Netflix starring Mila Kunis. She has been a senior editor at Cosmopolitan and the articles editor at Self. She lives in New York City with her family.

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What Are You Reading? feat. Nate Berkus Jul 03, 2026

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In this episode of What Are You Reading? host Jason Blitman talks to designer Nate Berkus about what he's been reading and about his newest book, Foundations.

Nate Berkus is one of the world’s most influential interior designers, known for his elevated yet accessible approach to interiors. Along with creating award-winning interiors for private clients, his thirty-year-and-counting career has included innumerable television shows and brand collaborations. Consistently named to the AD100 and Elle Décor A-List, Nate lives in New York with his husband Jeremiah Brent and their children Poppy and Oskar.

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Jenny Jackson, The Shampoo Effect Jun 30, 2026

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Host Jason Blitman welcomes back author and editor Jenny Jackson (Pineapple Street) to discuss her new novel, The Shampoo Effect, a Read with Jenna pick. Come for the chat about donuts (Lookin at you, Dunkin!), stay for Jenny's anticipated book recommendations.

Jenny Jackson is the New York Times bestselling author of Pineapple Street. A graduate of Williams College and the Columbia Publishing Course, Jenny is vice president and editorial director of fiction at Alfred A. Knopf. Raised in Ipswich, Massachusetts, she lives in Brooklyn Heights with her family.

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What Are You Reading? feat. Ryan O'Connell Jun 26, 2026

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Host Jason Blitman talks to Ryan O'Connell (Netflix's Special) about what he's been reading and learn about his newest book, Inspiration Porn.

Ryan O’Connell is the Emmy-winning creator, writer, and star of Netflix’s Special, which is based on his memoir, I’m Special: And Other Lies We Tell Ourselves. He’s also written for other TV shows, including Will & Grace, Awkward, and Peacock’s Queer as Folk revival, which he stars in. He lives in Los Angeles with his partner, Jonathan Parks-Ramage.

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Sophie Chen Keller, Little Wonder Jun 23, 2026

Show notes

Host Jason Blitman talks to newly minted Oprah's Book Club author Sophie Chen Keller about her new novel, Little Wonder.

Conversation highlights include

How becoming a parent helped shape the story
Social inequalities as added context for the book
Capturing the leaps in technology in China

Sophie Chen Keller is the author of The Luster of Lost Things, which was also released in Germany, Italy, the United Kingdom, and the Netherlands. Her first publication came at the age of fifteen, with a short story in Glimmer Train literary magazine. A classically trained pianist, she was born in China and raised in California; after graduating from Harvard, she lived in New York City and Beijing before moving to Germany, where she currently resides with her husband and two children.

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Father's Day feat. Colton Underwood Jun 18, 2026

Show notes

In this special Father's Day episode, host Jason Blitman sits down with Colton Underwood to talk fatherhood and learn about his new book, a letter he wrote (and read) to his son, Dear Bishop.

Colton Underwood is an American TV personality, executive producer, philanthropist, entrepreneur and NY Times Best Seller. During his time in the NFL, Colton was inspired by his young cousin Harper to launch the Legacy Foundation and bring awareness to Cystic Fibrosis- a genetic disease that affects the lungs and digestive system.

In recent years he has become a Mental Health Advocate, speaking on his own experience in hopes to help others. Because of this and the mental health side effects of CF treatment modalities, Colton transitioned the foundation to mental health awareness. Most recently he has been in Washington DC to introduce new legislation that would provide mental health resources to student athletes and he’s just getting started!

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