Otherppl with Brad Listi: Books & Culture

Latest Episodes:

Episode 200 — Susan Orlean Aug 18, 2013

Show notes

Susan Orlean is the guest. A staff writer for The New Yorker magazine, she is also the bestselling author of several books, including The Orchid Thief and Rin Tin Tin. The New York Times Book Review raves "The collecting mania that Susan Orlean has so painstakingly described is, like the orchid, a small thing of grandeur, a passion with a pedigree...Stylishly written, whimsical yet sophisticated, quirkily detailed and full of empathy for a person you might not have thought about empathetically...The Orchid Thief shows her gifts in full bloom." And Rebecca Skloot, author of The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks, says "I adored [Rin Tin Tin]. It weaves history, war, show business, humanity, wit, and grace into an incredible story about America, the human-animal bond, and the countless ways we would be lost without dogs by our sides, on our screens, and in our books. This is the story Susan Orlean was born to tell—it's filled with amazing characters, reporting, and writing." Monologue topics: Episode 200, spreading the word, thank you.

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Episode 199 — Peter Mattei Aug 14, 2013

Show notes

Peter Mattei is the guest. His new novel, The Deep Whatsis, is now available in the United States from Other Press, and in the UK from The Friday Project. Kate Christensen raves "With zingy, hilarious glee, Peter Mattei takes a sharp stick and pokes it at many deserving underbellies: the puffery of corporate America; hipsters, yoga dudes, and the general pretentiousness of north Brooklyn; and many more. The Deep Whatsis is a provocative, darkly subversive, deeply satisfying novel." And Publishers Weekly calls it "[A] morbidly satiric look at corporate culture at the crossroads of art and consumerism...Mattei serves up a rampant critique of haute New York society." Monologue topics: screenwriting, when comedy is received as tragedy, film school, humiliation

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Episode 198 — Megan Abbott Aug 11, 2013

Show notes

Megan Abbott is the guest. Her latest novel, Dare Me, is due out in paperback from Reagan Arthur / Back Bay Books on August 27, 2013. The New York Times Book Review raves "Megan Abbott has [written]...The Great American Cheerleading Novel, and—stop scowling—it's spectacular.... Subversive stuff... Heathers meets Fight Club good." And Entertainment Weekly calls it "A psychologically astute thriller...Abbott's latest is not only a page-turning mystery—it's also a close look at teen girls' ferocious rivalries and intense bonds." Monologue topics: mail, feminism, Adelle Waldman, Episode 195.

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Episode 197 — Molly Ringwald Aug 07, 2013

Show notes

Molly Ringwald is the guest. Her debut novel, When It Happens to You, is now available in paperback from It Books, an imprint of HarperCollins. Lauren Groff, bestselling author of Arcadia, raves "When It Happens to You is absolutely lovely, a smart, emotionally sophisticated, intricately dovetailed novel of stories. World, I'm telling you now: Molly Ringwald is the real deal." And Kirkus calls it "A beautiful exploration of how the heart's irrational responses to love and betrayal can stand in the way of forgiveness... Ringwald deftly weaves together the threads of these stories, creating a tapestry that captures the emotional landscape of both young and well-worn relationships." Monologue topics: over-thinking things, Sixteen Candles, Anthony Michael Hall, Farmer Ted, near disasters.

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Episode 196 — Janice Clark Aug 04, 2013

Show notes

Janice Clark is the guest. Her debut novel, The Rathbones, is now available from Doubleday. It is the official August selection of The TNB Book Club. Publishers Weekly, in a starred review, says “A teenager comes of age and grapples with the heavy burdens of family secrets against the backdrop of the 19th Century New England whaling industry in this beautifully written, playful and intricate debut novel. Clark creates evocative descriptions . . . making her images and encounters between people especially vivid.” And The Millions says "The Rathbones is the most sui generis debut you’re likely to encounter this year. Think Moby-Dick directed by David Lynch from a screenplay by Gabriel Garcia Marquez…with Charles Addams doing the set design and The Decembrists supplying the chanteys. Clark writes a beautiful prose line, and the story, like the ocean, gets deeper, richer, and stranger the farther out you go.” Monologue topics: bikes, LA, tourist vans, celebrity sightings, mistakes.

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Episode 195 — Adelle Waldman Jul 31, 2013

Show notes

Adelle Waldman is the guest. Her debut novel, The Love Affairs of Nathaniel P., is now available from Henry Holt. Jess Walter calls it “A smart, engaging 21st-century comedy of manners in which the debut novelist Adelle Waldman crawls convincingly around inside the head of one Nathaniel (Nate) Piven. [She shows] herself to be . . . a savvy observer of human nature . . . . terrific at describing the halting miscommunications of a relationship. Nate’s self-destructive moodiness and reverse-engineered justifications are especially well drawn; his shallow pick-a-fight thoughts may even be painfully familiar.” And Katie Roiphe, writing for Slate, says "We have lately heard ad infinitum the new sensitive literary man’s account of his life and times... what we haven’t yet heard enough of is the smart literary woman’s view of him. With Adelle Waldman’s funny, provocative satire, The Love Affairs of Nathaniel P., we have a valuable new anthropology of the type. In a debut novel told from his point of view, Waldman deftly skewers the new literary man... with his stylish torment, his self-seriousness, his dangerous admixture of grandiosity and insecurity, and old fashioned condescension toward women gussied up as sensitivity, his maddening irony, his very specific way of treating people badly while worrying about liberal politics.... [An] excellent funny novel." Monologue topics: poem, Michael Earl Craig, Primitive Men.

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Episode 194 — Abigail Tarttelin Jul 28, 2013

Show notes

Abigail Tarttelin is the guest. Her new novel, Golden Boy, has just been published in the United States by Atria Books. Booklist, in a starred review, calls it “A dramatic, thoroughgoing investigation of the complexities of sexuality and gender.... A warmly human coming-of-age story, thanks to the fact that Max is such an appealing character. And so his desperate search for identity is gripping, emotionally engaging, and genuinely unforgettable.” And Emily St. John Mandel says “Abigail Tarttelin is a fearless writer. In Golden Boy, she balances a harrowing coming of age with a deeply compassionate portrait of a family in crisis, and the result is sometimes brutal, often tender, and always compelling. This is a gripping and fully-realized novel.” Monologue topics: politics, media, money, Washington DC, power, This Town, dystopia, depression.

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Episode 193 — Nick Antosca Jul 24, 2013

Show notes

Nick Antosca is the guest. A staff writer on the upcoming NBC show Believe, helmed by J.J. Abrams and Alfonso Cuarón, he is also the author of several books, the most recent of which is a story collection called The Girlfriend Game, available now from Word Riot Press. Peter Straub says "These lovely stories float out to us from a long, dark alley-way where Franz Kafka and Bruno Schultz are mugging Ray Bradbury.... Nick Antosca has reached a level of blissful mastery." And Publishers Weekly says "Antosca's scalpel dissects love, family, and illusions of morality in this brutal and often uncomfortably sexual collection. Combining scathing horror and psychological realism, these 12 vivisections of the inhuman condition marry stinging social commentary with psychological horror... Horror's expected icons are replaced by neighbors and families, with relationships being the monsters... This literate, thoughtful horror will inspire long-lasting unease." Monologue topics: addicition, moral ambiguity, the vastness of space, dark mystery.

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Episode 192 — Alissa Nutting Jul 21, 2013

Show notes

Alissa Nutting is the guest. Her debut novel, Tampa, is now available from Ecco. Time magazine calls it "A gutsy attempt by a young, female author to embody a wholly unsympathetic female narrator and probe the question of whether society lets women essentially get away with crimes for which men are excoriated." And Salon says "It may be the summer’s best beach read — that is, if you ditch the disconcertingly woolly black velour dust jacket, and make sure your kids aren’t peeking over your shoulder. ...Beyond mere titillation, Tampa gets at fundamental questions: What are the limits of reader empathy? If an individual we’d view as an unrepentant criminal explains her twisted thought process, are we complicit if we keep reading? And is an adult woman seducing a young male student — with its air of 'hot for teacher' fantasy — meaningfully different from male pedophilia?" Monologue topics: listener feedback, closing thoughts on the 'lovely and talented' debate.

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Episode 191 — Elliott Holt Jul 17, 2013

Show notes

Elliott Holt is the guest. Her debut novel, You Are One of Them, is now available from Penguin. The New York Times Book Review raves "You Are One of Them is a hugely absorbing first novel from a writer with a fluid, vivid style and a rare knack for balancing the pleasure of entertainment with the deeper gratification of insight. More, please.” And Darin Strauss says “Elliott Holt is not just a promising writer, but a great writer. She’s young, and she’s a master. I was going to write that You Are One of Them could’ve been written by an Alice Munro or a Susan Minot, but that would be wrong. Because this book could only have been written by Elliott Holt, whose powerful new voice is her own.” Also in this episode: a brief conversation with Alexander Maksik, whose new novel A Marker to Measure Drift is the official July selection of the TNB Book Club. Monologue topics: lovely and talented, sexism, feminism, TNB Book Club.

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