25 Outstanding Podcasts for Readers
Looking for something to spice up your commute? Look no further! There are hundreds of bookish podcasts on iTunes and there’s something for everyone. Here are twenty-five of the best.
Want even more reading for your ears?
1. Big Planet Comics
Employees of the mid-Atlantic comic book store chain of the same name produce Big Planet Comics. Die-hard comic book fans will enjoy the industry insider perspective.
2. Bookclub
BBC Radio 4’s Bookclub is a forum for readers to interact directly with authors. Led by James Naughtie, the studio audience conducts a Q&A with each featured author.
3. Bookrageous
If you like Book Riot, then you’ll love the Bookrageous podcast. Hosted by Book Riot’s very own Jenn Northington, Rebecca Schinsky, and Preeti Chhibber, as well as Josh Christie, an indie bookseller from Maine, it’s a thoughtful and lighthearted conversation on literature and literary culture.
4. Books on the Nightstand
Books on the Nightstand will cause your TBR pile to explode to epic proportions. It’s a one-show-fits-all-readers podcast; there’s something for everyone.
5. The Catapult
Jaime Green hosts The Catapult, a half-hour podcast featuring poetry, short stories, essays, and book excerpts read by the authors. It’s a great way to be exposed to new and undiscovered writers.
6. Dear Bitches, Smart Authors
Dear Bitches is the podcast for romance lovers. Sarah of Smart Bitches, Trashy Books and Jane of Dear Author offer intelligent insight into the romance genre, interview authors, and occasionally host guests from around the bookosphere. With episodes like “The Mysterious Hymen” and “Squeeing about Outlander,” you know it’s going to be a fun time.
7. The Disney Story Origins Podcast
Like the title implies, this fun podcast investigates the literary, cultural, and historical origins of Disney’s most beloved tales.
8. Drunk Booksellers
Drunk Booksellers is–you guessed it–a podcast by professional booksellers (including Book Riot’s own Emma Nichols) who enjoy a good drink. Tune in for an hour of intelligent book talk, guest booksellers, and one seriously rad Jay Z/Kanye West parody theme song.
9. Guardian Books
Editor Claire Armistead presents Guardian Books, a podcast featuring author interviews, readings, discussions, and a live recording of the Guardian’s monthly book club.
10. Inside the New York Times Book Review
The official books podcast of the New York Times, Book Review is hosted by Sunday Book Review editor Pamela Paul and features interviews and conversations with authors and critics.
11. KCRW’s Bookworm
Bookworm showcases emerging and established writers of fiction and poetry in conversation with the host, Michael Silverblatt.
12. Late Night Library
Late Night Library includes two shows–Late Night Conversation, which features unscripted talks with authors, publishers, and editors, and Late Night Debut, which showcases debut authors. LNL prioritizes female and POC authors.
13. Lit Up
Angela Ledgerwood and Emily Gould host Lit Up, a podcast about books, writers, and other literary topics. Guest authors frequent the show to talk about their books and the conversation is always stimulating.
14. Lore
A great podcast for horror fans, Lore is a half-hour show about the history behind scary stories. It’s beautifully produced and reminds me of the radio dramas I used to listen to as a kid. The background music alone makes it worth listening to, though preferably not before bed.
15. Meet the Author
Meet the Author is Apple’s official audio/video podcast for book lovers. It usually features household-name authors like Neil Gaiman and Rick Riordan or celebrity authors like Gillian Anderson and Nick Cannon.
16. MuggleCast
Potterheads, rejoice! MuggleCast is the most listened-to Harry Potter podcast on the web, and after two hundred eighty-four episodes, it’s amazing how these guys never run out of stuff to talk about.
17. Myths and Legends
This podcast explores the fascinating origins of myths and legends from around the world and how they have shaped many of the stories we know and love today.
18. The New Yorker: Fiction
Editor Deborah Treisman hosts The New Yorker Fiction podcast. Every month a writer is chosen to pick a story from the magazine’s archives to read and discuss on the air.
19. Overdue
From Pygmalion to 50 Shades of Grey, Overdue covers all the books that have been sitting on your TBR stack for far too long.
20. The Rabbit Room
The Rabbit Room podcast is an extension of The Rabbit Room website, an online collective of Christian artists, musicians, and writers. The podcast, hosted by Andrew Peterson, features music, reviews, readings, and interviews.
21. The Readers
The Readers is an hour-long “chat show for books” that features book news, debates and discussions, and interviews with authors, book bloggers, and people in publishing.
22. Slate’s Audio Book Club
Slate’s Audio Book Club is a podcast in which Slate’s critics discuss and debate the book club’s monthly selection.
23. So Many Damn Books
So Many Damn Books is a bi-weekly podcast covering all things having to do with books, literature, reading, and publishing.
24. Storynory
Perfect for parents of young kids, Storynory brings you a new children’s audio story every week.
25. World Book Club
BBC’s World Book Club features some of the world’s greatest authors discussing their best-known works and invites listeners to participate in Q&A sessions.
And of course be sure to check out all of Book Riot’s podcasts!
