Susan Orlean

Don’t negotiate against yourself. It’s OK to drop the ball. Sleep. We get wisdom from women who are experts on how we work — and who have advice on how to ask for more money, achieve more by doing less, and avoid burning out. We talk with Duke University management professor Ashleigh Shelby Rosette about negotiating, Thrive Global CEO Arianna Huffington about sleep, Levo Chief Leadership Officer Tiffany Dufu about dropping the ball, and New Yorker writer Susan Orlean about confidence. Then HBR senior editor Alison Beard teams up with Amy to answer a few of your questions about work. Our HBR reading list: “Nice Girls Don’t Ask” by Linda Babcock, Sara Laschever, Michele Gelfand, Deborah Small    “Can an Agentic Black Woman Get Ahead? The Impact of Race and Interpersonal Dominance on Perceptions of Female Leaders” by Robert W. Livingston, Ashleigh Shelby Rosette, and Ella F. Washington HBR Guide to Negotiating by Jeff Weiss “How to Keep Email from Ruining Your Vacation” by Arianna Huffington “Connect, Then Lead” by Amy J.C. Cuddy, Matthew Kohut, and John Neffinger “Women, Find Your Voice” by Kathryn Heath, Jill Flynn, and Mary Davis Holt Please fill out our listener survey at hbr.org/podcastsurvey — tell us what you think of the show! Email us: womenatwork@hbr.org Our theme music is Matt Hill’s “City In Motion,” provided by Audio Network.

Bestselling author Susan Orlean discusses the entrepreneurial nature of a writing career and the importance of always having an audience in mind. She shares her approach to finding extraordinary stories in ordinary lives and highlights the value of silence in creating compelling narratives. The chapter also explores the challenges of reporting and writing and emphasizes the entrepreneurial mindset needed for success in the industry.

We continue our look back at 25 years of shows with Keegan Michael-Key, Regina King, and Susan OrleanSupport NPR by signing up for Wait Wait... Don't Tell Me+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Introducing a new miniseries: Book Exploder, where authors break down a passage from one of their books, and discuss the creative process that went into writing it. Every other week, in between episodes of Song Exploder, you’ll hear from a new author, in conversation with host Susan Orlean. But for this first episode of the series, Susan is interviewed by Hrishikesh Hirway about her own book, The Library Book. Susan Orlean is the author of twelve books, including The Orchid Thief (which inspired the Oscar-award winning film Adaptation), a staff writer at The New Yorker . Published in 2018, The Library Book became a New York Times Best Seller and named a Washington Post Top 10 Book of the Year. The book tells the story of the 1986 fire at the Los Angeles Central Library. In this inaugural episode, Susan discusses a passage from her book, which details the blaze itself. For more, visit bookexploder.com/episodes/susan-orlean.

Susan Orlean, a renowned journalist and bestselling author, shares her insights on growing up in Shaker Heights, Ohio, and the Hungarian dishes that evoke her parents' lost home. She reflects on the culinary skills that her mother didn't teach her, and the significant role food plays in shaping identity and familial bonds. Orlean shares a delightful recipe for cheese balls, inviting listeners to explore their own culinary memories. Through rich storytelling, she connects food with nostalgia and the immigrant experience.