Poured Over

Blank Space: A Cultural History of the Twenty-First Century by author and critic W. David Marx is a gripping retrospective that examines our culture today — and questions where we might be headed. David joins us to talk about living in Tokyo, the internet, merging art and commerce, nostalgia, smartphones and more with cohosts Chris Gillespie and Isabelle McConville. This episode of Poured Over was hosted by Isabelle McConville and Chris Gillespie, and mixed by Harry Liang. New episodes land Tuesdays and Thursdays (with occasional Saturdays) here and on your favorite podcast app. Featured Books (Episode): Blank Space: A Cultural History of the Twenty-First Century by W. David Marx Status and Culture by W. David Marx The Nineties: A Book by Chuck Klosterman There's Always This Year: On Basketball and Ascension by Hanif Abdurraqib Immediacy: Or, The Style of Too Late Capitalism by Anna Kornbluh Cultish: The Language of Fanaticism by Amanda Montell The Age of Magical Overthinking: Notes on Modern Irrationality by Amanda Montell Cue the Sun!: The Invention of Reality TV by Emily Nussbaum When the Clock Broke: Con Men, Conspiracists, and How America Cracked Up in the Early 1990s by John Ganz Liberalism and Its Discontents by Francis Fukuyama Filterworld: How Algorithms Flattened Culture by Kyle Chayka Everything I Need I Get from You: How Fangirls Created the Internet as We Know It by Kaitlyn Tiffany

Joyride by Susan Orlean is a vibrant memoir about the craft of writing and the pursuit of creativity from an acclaimed author. Susan joins us to talk about reportage, capturing place, detail, writers as outsiders, curiosity and more with host Miwa Messer. This episode of Poured Over was 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. Featured Books (Episode): Joyride: A Memoir by Susan Orlean The Library Book by Susan Orlean The Orchid Thief by Susan Orlean Rin Tin Tin: The Life and the Legend by Susan Orlean

Palaver by National Book Award finalist Bryan Washington is a moving story about mother and son, identity, home and humanity. Bryan joins us to talk about Tokyo, writing in 3rd person, navigating intimacy, utilizing space on the page, honesty, memory and more with host Miwa Messer. This episode of Poured Over was 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. Featured Books (Episode): Palaver by Bryan Washington Lot by Bryan Washington Memorial by Bryan Washington Family Meal by Bryan Washington No Time to Spare: Thinking about What Matters by Ursula K. Le Guin Steering the Craft: A Twenty-First-Century Guide to Sailing the Sea of Story by Ursula K. Le Guin Koolaids by Rabih Alameddine The True True Story of Raja the Gullible by Rabih Alameddine A Guardian and a Thief by Megha Majumdar The Antidote by Karen Russell North Sun: Or, the Voyage of the Whaleship Esther by Ethan Rutherford Featured Books (TBR Top Off): Middle Spoon by Alejandro Varela The Emperor of Gladness by Ocean Vuong

Languages of Home by John Edgar Wideman is a collection of the acclaimed author and cultural critic's most influential works — five decades in the making. John joins us to talk about the creative process, improvisation, basketball, storytelling, the evolution of voice, translation and more with host Miwa Messer. This episode of Poured Over was 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. Featured Books (Episode): Languages of Home: Essays on Writing, Hoop, and American Lives 1975-2025 by John Edgar Wideman Slaveroad by John Edgar Wideman Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad Joseph Conrad and the Fiction of Autobiography by Edward Said The Homewood Trilogy by John Edgar Wideman The Autobiography of Malcolm X by Malcolm X Corregidora by Gayl Jones Ulysses by James Joyce Mrs. Dalloway by Virginia Woolf Philadelphia Fire by John Edgar Wideman Invisible Man by Ralph Ellison Every Tongue Got to Confess: Negro Folk-tales from the Gulf States by Zora Neale Hurston

We Survived the Night by Julian Brave NoiseCat is a powerful and poignant blend of memoir, poetry, folklore and reportage from an Oscar-nominated director, journalist and champion powwow dancer. Julian joins us to talk about trickster narratives, Coyote stories, art, consideration and more with cohost Isabelle McConville. This episode of Poured Over was hosted by Isabelle McConville and mixed by Harry Liang. New episodes land Tuesdays and Thursdays (with occasional Saturdays) here and on your favorite podcast app. Featured Books (Episode): We Survived the Night by Julian Brave NoiseCat There There by Tommy Orange Shutter by Ramona Emerson Soft as Bones: A Memoir by Chyana Marie Sage Moby Dick by Herman Melville

The White Hot by Quiara Alegría Hudes is a lyrical and poignant novel about womanhood, home and identity from the author of the Pulitzer Prize-winner My Broken Language. Quiara joins us to talk about physicality, motherhood, eldest daughters, coming of age, Philadelphia and more with host Miwa Messer. This episode of Poured Over was 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. Featured Books (Episode): The White Hot by Quiara Alegría Hudes My Broken Language by Quiara Alegría Hudes Siddhartha by Hermann Hesse Sula by Toni Morrison The Autobiography of My Mother by Jamaica Kincaid The Most by Jessica Anthony Joe Turner's Come and Gone by August Wilson The Days of Abandonment by Elena Ferrante

Some Bright Nowhere by Ann Packer is a tender story of marriage, family and home. Ann joins us to talk about shifting perspective, community, character, moral dilemmas, influences and more with host Miwa Messer. This episode of Poured Over was 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. Featured Books (Episode): Some Bright Nowhere by Ann Packer Mendocino and Other Stories by Ann Packer The Dive From Clausen's Pier by Ann Packer Songs Without Words by Ann Packer The Children's Crusade by Ann Packer Sandwich by Catherine Newman Disturbances in the Field by Lynne Sharon Schwartz

Rejection by Tony Tulathimutte is a sharp and smart collection about belonging, vanity and connection. Tony joins us to talk about character vs plot, living alongside technology, isolation, satire and more with host Miwa Messer. This episode of Poured Over was 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. Featured Books (Episode): Rejection by Tony Tulathimutte Private Citizens by Tony Tulathimutte Portnoy's Complaint by Philip Roth The Dog of the South by Charles Portis

Lightbreakers by Aja Gabel is a genre-defying story about how far one would go to save the person they love. Aja joins us to talk about time travel, faith vs fear, screenwriting, contemporary art, Marfa and more with host Miwa Messer. This episode of Poured Over was 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. Featured Books (Episode): Lightbreakers by Aja Gabel The Ensemble by Aja Gabel Exhalation by Ted Chiang Stories of Your Life and Others by Ted Chiang

The Everlasting by bestselling author Alix E. Harrow is an epic time-traveling fantasy about history, legacy, belonging and bravery. Alix joined us live at The Grove to talk about creating her own mythology, unreliable narrators, time loop stories, lady-knights, gender roles and more with host Miwa Messer. This episode of Poured Over was 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. Featured Books (Episode): The Everlasting by Alix E. Harrow The Ten Thousand Doors of January by Alix E. Harrow The Once and Future Witches by Alix E. Harrow The Poppy War by R.F. Kuang In Memoriam by Alice Winn Starling House by Alix E. Harrow Middlemarch by George Eliot Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen Black Silk by Judith Ivory