Poured Over

Latest Episodes:

Jenny Odell on SAVING TIME: DISCOVERING A LIFE BEYOND THE CLOCK Mar 09, 2023

Show notes

"I'm also trying to make use of how innate I think curiosity is for people, because curiosity is kind of a way towards hope… it's in that direction."

Saving Time: Discovering a Life Beyond the Clock by Jenny Odell, author of How to Do Nothing, asks readers to look at the concept of time, how it relates to the structure of our society and how it can change the way we live our lives. Odell joins us to talk about commodifying time and leisure, the language we use to describe time, the authors and artists that have influenced her and more with Poured Over host Miwa Messer. Listen after the episode for a TBR Topoff from Marc and Madyson.

Featured Books (Episode):

Saving Time: Discovering a Life Beyond the Clock by Jenny Odell

How to Do Nothing by Jenny Odell

Grapefruit by Yoko Ono

Featured Books (TBR Topoff):

Do Nothing by Celeste Headlee

Still Pictures by Janet Malcolm

Poured Over is produced and hosted by Miwa Messer and mixed by Harry Liang. Follow us here for new episodes Tuesdays and Thursdays (with occasional Saturdays).

Eleanor Catton on BIRNAM WOOD Mar 07, 2023

Show notes

"I'm interested in how deceptions can make you feel more of yourself or can unlock something in you that you didn't know you had."

Eleanor Catton, Booker Prize-winning author of The Luminaries, is back with Birnam Wood — part eco-thriller, part social and political satire, wholly insightful. This propulsive novel is prescient, timely, and all-too relatable in our present day. Catton joins us in conversation about creating her characters, Shakespeare's use of prophecy and power, how the story was influenced by Jane Austen's Emma and more with Poured Over host, Miwa Messer. Listen after the episode for a TBR Topoff from Marc and Madyson.

Featured Books (Episode):

Birnam Wood by Eleanor Catton

The Luminaries by Eleanor Catton

Macbeth by William Shakespeare

We are Bellingcat by Eliot Higgins

Emma by Jane Austen

Memento Mori by Muriel Spark

On Writing by Stephen King

Featured Books (TBR Topoff):

The Appeal by Janice Hallett

Wilder Girls by Rory Power

Poured Over is produced and hosted by Miwa Messer and mixed by Harry Liang. Follow us here for new episodes Tuesdays and Thursdays (with occasional Saturdays)

Will Schwalbe on WE SHOULD NOT BE FRIENDS: THE STORY OF A FRIENDSHIP Mar 04, 2023

Show notes

"How do you spot a 'we should not be friends' friendship? It's when someone shows you who they are, and you like it."

Will Schwalbe, author of The End of Your Life Book Club, tells us how an unexpected friendship with a polar-opposite grew into a lifelong journey through love, losses and triumphs. Schwalbe and Chris Maxey, former Navy SEAL and founder of the Island School, join us to talk about Schwalbe's new book, We Should Not Be Friends: A Story of a Friendship, meeting through a Yale secret society, the importance of vulnerability, what they learned about themselves and each other through telling this story and more live at Barnes & Noble Union Square with Poured Over host, Miwa Messer.

Featured Books (episode):

We Should Not Be Friends by Will Schwalbe

The End of Your Life Book Club by Will Schwalbe

The Agony and the Ecstasy by Irving Stone

The Rediscovery of North America by Barry Lopez

Poured Over is produced and hosted by Miwa Messer and mixed by Harry Liang. Follow us here for new episodes Tuesdays and Thursdays (with occasional Saturdays).

Eloghosa Osunde on VAGABONDS! Mar 02, 2023

Show notes

"Each time I wrote a story that belonged in this book… It held some pain. It held some love. It held some hope, some longing..."

Eloghosa Osunde's debut novel Vagabonds! is an inventive, mythic whirlwind through the city of Lagos, Nigeria. Told through interconnected short stories, this raw, painful, and ultimately hopeful work sheds light on an often-unseen world and its diverse inhabitants. Osunde talks with us about the significance and spark of inspiration behind the title, writing a novel in an uncommon format, the feelings she wants to leave her readers with and more with Poured Over guest host, Jenna Seery.

Featured Books (Episode):

Vagabonds! By Eloghosa Osunde

The God of Small Things by Arundhati Roy

The Icarus Girl by Helen Oyeyemi

A Brief History of Seven Killings by Marlon James

Featured Books (TBR Topoff):

Content Warning: Everything by Akwaeke Emezi

The Secret Lives of Church Ladies by Deesha Philyaw

Poured Over is produced and hosted by Miwa Messer and mixed by Harry Liang. Follow us here for new episodes Tuesdays and Thursdays (with occasional Saturdays).

Samantha Shannon on A DAY OF FALLEN NIGHT Feb 28, 2023

Show notes

"I feel like we're in a real golden age of fantasy that's exploring diversity from lots of different perspectives, and telling lots of stories that need to be heard at the moment — I feel really honored to be working within that space."

A Day of Fallen Night has what readers want in high fantasy: strong women, masterful worldbuilding and, of course, dragons. Samantha Shannon's prequel to her highly acclaimed The Priory of the Orange Tree, is a welcome return to the lands and skies of this mystical world. Shannon joins us to talk about reframing myths, equality in the fantasy genre, how her books get their stunning covers, authors she recommends and more with Poured Over guest host, Kat Sarfas. Listen after the episode for a TBR Topoff from Marc and Madyson.

Featured Books (Episode):

A Day of Fallen Night by Samantha Shannon

The Priory of the Orange Tree by Samantha Shannon

The Song Rising by Samantha Shannon

The Jasmine Throne by Tasha Suri

The Unbroken by C.L. Clark

Deep as the Sky, Red as the Sea by Rita Chang-Eppig

Juniper and Thorn by Ava Reid

Featured Books (TBR Topoff):

Song of Silver, Flame Like Night by Amélie Wen Zhao

Eragon by Christopher Paolini

Poured Over is produced and hosted by Miwa Messer and mixed by Harry Liang. Follow us here for new episodes Tuesdays and Thursdays (with occasional Saturdays)

Asale Angel-Ajani on A COUNTRY YOU CAN LEAVE Feb 25, 2023

Show notes

"When you've been disappointed for that long in your life — what kind of people are you? What do you become?"

A Country You Can Leave, the debut novel from author Asale Angel-Ajani, is an unconventional family story following a Russian mother and Black, biracial daughter as they navigate class, trauma and relationships in California's desert. Angel-Ajani joins us in conversation about discovering her characters, the portrayal of motherhood, her literary influences, and more with Poured Over host, Miwa Messer. Listen after the episode for a TBR Topoff from Marc and Madyson.

Featured Books (Episode):

A Country You Can Leave by Asale Angel-Ajani

Strange Trade by Asale Angel-Ajani

The Hour of the Star by Clarice Lispector

The Temple of My Familiar by Alice Walker

Another Country by James Baldwin

Featured Books (TBR Topoff):

I Will Die in a Foreign Land by Kalani Pickhart

On Earth We're Briefly Gorgeous by Ocean Vuong

Poured Over is produced and hosted by Miwa Messer and mixed by Harry Liang. Follow us here for new episodes Tuesdays and Thursdays (with occasional Saturdays).

Ayọ̀bámi Adébáyọ̀ on A SPELL OF GOOD THINGS Feb 23, 2023

Show notes

"I'm one of those writers that … I think I know the story I want to write when I'm going in with a novel … but by the time I get into the middle of it, it's like I've discovered a totally different story."

Ayọ̀bámi Adébáyọ̀'s A Spell of Good Things explores class, love, and family ties with interwoven narratives of struggle, heartbreak and hope in Nigeria. She joins us to talk about her cast of unforgettable characters, how misogyny permeates life and literature, what surprised her while writing this novel, her literary influences and more with Poured Over host, Miwa Messer. Listen after the episode for a TBR Topoff from Marc and Jamie.

Featured Books (Episode):

A Spell of Good Things by Ayọ̀bámi Adébáyọ

Stay with Me by Ayọ̀bámi Adébáyọ

Everything Good Will Come by Sefi Atta

Lucy by the Sea by Elizabeth Strout

Interpreter of Maladies by Jhumpa Lahiri

What It Means when a Man Falls from the Sky by Lesley Nneka Arimah

Drinking Coffee Elsewhere by ZZ Packer

Sing, Unburied, Sing by Jesmyn Ward

Featured Books (TBR Topoff):

The Girl with the Louding Voice by Abi Daré

Black Sunday by Tola Rotimi Abraham

Poured Over is produced and hosted by Miwa Messer and mixed by Harry Liang. New episodes land Tuesdays and Thursdays with occasional Saturdays here and on your favorite podcast app.

Rebecca Makkai on I HAVE SOME QUESTIONS FOR YOU Feb 21, 2023

Show notes

"It's a literary, feminist, boarding school murder mystery — everyone's favorite genre."

I Have Some Questions for You is the thrilling and inventive new novel from Rebecca Makkai, author of The Great Believers, a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize and the National Book Award. Part murder mystery, part timely take on issues that readers will connect with, this novel will keep you intrigued from cover to cover. Makkai joins us to talk about unreliable narrators, living on a boarding school campus, what keeps a reader turning the pages and more with host Miwa Messer. Listen after the episode for a TBR Topoff from Marc and Jamie.

Featured Books (Episode):

I Have Some Questions for You by Rebecca Makkai

The Great Believers by Rebecca Makkai

The Westing Game by Ellen Raskin

Trust by Hernan Diaz

The Keep by Jennifer Egan

The Buddha in the Attic by Julie Otsuka

The Swimmers by Julie Otsuka

Madonna in a Fur Coat by Sabahattin Ali

Featured Books (TBR Topoff):

Vladimir by Julia May Jonas

Vita Nostra by Marina & Sergey Dyachenko

Poured Over is produced and hosted by Miwa Messer and mixed by Harry Liang. Follow us here for new episodes Tuesdays and Thursdays (with occasional Saturdays).

Kevin Jared Hosein on HUNGRY GHOSTS Feb 16, 2023

Show notes

"No one in this cast believes that they have a home — they have houses, but they don't have homes. They were born into this country, they were born into these places, but they don't feel like their homes."

Within the rich setting of 1940s Trinidad, Kevin Jared Hosein's sweeping novel Hungry Ghosts brings readers into the world of two families connected by class, power and mystery. A distinctive new voice in Caribbean literature, Hosein has crafted a story that is gothic, propulsive and will resonate with readers from the first page. He speaks with us on learning the true history of Trinidad firsthand, how the title came to be, his literary influences and more with Poured Over's host, Miwa Messer. Listen after the episode for a TBR Topoff from Marc and Jamie.

Featured Books (Episode):

Hungry Ghosts by Kevin Jared Hosein

Miguel Street by V.S. Naipaul

A House for Mr. Biswas by V.S. Naipaul

No Pain Like This Body by Harold Sonny Ladoo

The Makioka Sisters by Junichiro Tanizaki

The Origin of Species by Charles Darwin

Silent Spring by Rachel Carson

Afterlives by Abdulrazak Gurnah

Featured Books (TBR Topoff):

The Thousand Autumns of Jacob de Zoet by David Mitchell

Sula by Toni Morrison

Poured Over is produced and hosted by Miwa Messer and mixed by Harry Liang. New episodes land Tuesdays and Thursdays with occasional Saturdays here and on your favorite podcast app.

Isabel Wilkerson on CASTE: THE ORIGINS OF OUR DISCONTENTS Feb 14, 2023

Show notes

"I wouldn't have written the book if I were not hopeful. I mean, the act of writing this book was a prayer for our country — it's making the case that there's another way of looking more deeply under the surface of our country, a way of seeing it that can enlighten us…"

From Pulitzer Prize-winning author Isabel Wilkerson, Caste combines history, social commentary and individual narratives into a work that is wholly original, stunningly written and impressively researched. Wilkerson joins us to talk about arriving at the concept of caste in America, The Warmth of Other Suns, the personal stories that connect readers to Caste, her hope for the future and more with Poured Over's host, Miwa Messer. Stick around after the interview for TBR Topoff book recommendations from Marc and Jamie.

Featured Books (Episode):

Caste: The Origins of Our Discontents by Isabel Wilkerson

The Warmth of Other Suns by Isabel Wilkerson

Caste (Adapted for Young Adults) by Isabel Wilkerson

Featured Books (TBR Topoff):

Black Birds in the Sky by Brandy Colbert

Let's Talk About Hard Things by Anna Sale

Poured Over is produced and hosted by Miwa Messer and mixed by Harry Liang. Follow us here for new episodes Tuesdays and Thursdays with occasional Saturdays.

Our TOPPODCAST Picks

Follow Us

Stay Connected

Related Podcasts

Links

Stay Connected