Poured Over

“You can write all the books you want — they are going to be very pretty, but if they don't tell the truth, comprehensively, it's just not worth the effort.”  Lucy Sante’s memoir, I Heard Her Call My Name: A Memoir of Transition, is deeply personal and features expertly crafted prose that tells the author’s journey to authenticity and freedom in her identity. Sante joins us to talk about the small steps that lead to a change in perspective, creating community, incorporating visual arts and more with Miwa Messer, host of Poured Over.   This episode of Poured Over was hosted by Executive Producer 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): I Heard Her Call My Name by Lucy Sante  Low Life by Lucy Sante  The Factory of Facts by Lucy Sante 

“If you write about a person, you're writing about that person because they're special.” The Book of Love by Kelly Link combines fantastical elements, varieties of love and a supernatural bargain — all set in a picturesque seaside town. Link joins us to talk about what led her from short stories to her first novel, how she created her magic system, the influence of music on her writing and more with guest host, Kat Sarfas. This episode of Poured Over was hosted by guest host Kat Sarfas 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 Book of Love by Kelly Link White Cat, Black Dog by Kelly Link The Scandalous Confessions of Lydia Bennet, Witch by Melinda Taub Your Utopia by Bora Chung The Blacktongue Thief by Christopher Buehlman The Hearts of Horses by Molly Gloss

“I am of the mind that a novel should not leave you with a thesis … I think a novel should reflect the deep parts of human behavior in such an accurate way that a wormhole forms…”  With themes of race and class in a college town, Kiley Reid’s Come and Get It balances characters you can’t get enough of with a nonstop plot. Reid joins us to talk about money and marriage, power dynamics in academia, creating her crackling dialogue and more with Miwa Messer, host of Poured Over.   This episode of Poured Over was hosted by Executive Producer Miwa Messer and mixed by Harry Liang.                    New episodes land Tuesdays and Thursdays (with occasional Saturdays) here and on your favorite podcast app.          Come and Get It by Kiley Reid  Such a Fun Age by Kiley Reid  Paying for the Party by Elizabeth A. Armstrong & Laura T. Hamilton  Monoculture by F.S. Michaels  The Hours by Michael Cunningham  

“I'm interested in the limitations of the mind — like that your brain really does only go down so many paths, and then there's a million paths that for some reason, it never goes down…”  Sheila Heti’s Alphabetical Diaries is a memoir in a form all its own. Told in order, sentence by sentence from A to Z, to tell a story of identity and change in a lyrically constructed way. Heti joins us to talk about the inception and writing of this book, intense and purposeful editing, creative process and more with Miwa Messer, host of Poured Over.  This episode of Poured Over was hosted by Executive Producer 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):  Alphabetical Diaries by Sheila Heti Pure Colour by Sheila Heti How Should a Person Be? by Sheila Heti Ticknor by Sheila Heti 

“I feel like these poems tell stories in and of themselves. And perhaps as an entire collection, they tell a greater story. … We're human beings — people laugh, love, hope, dream, dance, smile, live, die, just like everybody else. And Black people need to be reminded of that, and everybody else needs to be reminded of that.”   This Is the Honey is the new poetry collection edited by Kwame Alexander featuring carefully curated poems from contemporary Black poets. Alexander joins us on the show to talk about compiling a collection of pieces, his own connections to this work and themes of identity and community with Miwa Messer, host of Poured Over.  This episode of Poured Over was hosted by Executive Producer 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):  This Is the Honey edited by Kwame Alexander  Why Fathers Cry at Night by Kwame Alexander  The Crossover by Kwame Alexander 

What can we do when our storybook romance ends? Good Material lets us laugh our way through the thick of heartbreak with sharp wit, the warmth of friendships and all too relatable moments from the throes of a breakup. Alderton joins us to talk about writing from the male perspective, the things we all do when our hearts get broken, the unspoken grief when relationships don’t work and more with guest host, Jenna Seery. We end this episode with TBR Topoff book recommendations from Marc and Mary.     This episode of Poured Over was hosted by Jenna Seery and mixed by Harry Liang.           Follow us here for new episodes Tuesdays and Thursdays (with occasional Saturdays).   Featured Books (Episode):  Good Material by Dolly Alderton  Everything I Know About Love by Dolly Alderton  Ghosts by Dolly Alderton  Featured Books (TBR Topoff): Cleopatra and Frankenstein by Coco Mellors  Josh and Hazel’s Guide to Not Dating by Christina Lauren  

“My writing is always trying to open that up and to say — you can start here; you can start now.”  Imagination: A Manifesto by Ruha Benjamin reminds us that our imaginations already know what a better world looks like. From education to challenging our systems of oppression and more, this insightful work shows a new place for us all to start from. Benjamin joins us to talk about the split between imagination and technology, changing our narratives to tell new stories, the importance of community and more with Miwa Messer, host of Poured Over.  This episode of Poured Over was hosted by Executive Producer 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): Imagination: A Manifesto by Ruha Benjamin  Race After Technology by Ruha Benjamin 

Filterworld by Kyle Chayka investigates one of our most prevalent yet often unnoticed influences — the algorithms that shape our online experiences from social media to shopping and more. Chayka joins us to talk about his own internet evolution, the concept of passive consumption and what we lose when the algorithms take over our feeds with Miwa Messer, host of Poured Over. This episode of Poured Over was hosted by Executive Producer 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): Filterworld by Kyle Chayka   The Longing for Less by Kyle Chayka  

“I really wanted to find connection with these creatures that I'll never meet…”  Sabrina Imbler’s How Far the Light Reaches: A Life in Ten Sea Creatures is as unique and intriguing as the animals it explores. This book combines personal themes of race, gender, and family with reflections from the natural world in an unforgettable series of essays. Imbler joins us to talk about how they started writing about nature, the incredible and interesting creatures featured in their work, the connection between science and memoir and more with guest host, Jenna Seery.  This episode of Poured Over was hosted by Jenna Seery and mixed by Harry Liang.            Follow us here for new episodes Tuesdays and Thursdays (with occasional Saturdays).    Featured Books (Episode): How Far the Light Reaches by Sabrina Imbler  The Underworld by Susan Casey  Bitch by Lucy Cooke  Vagina Obscura by Rachel E. Gross  The Women’s House of Detention by Hugh Ryan 

“I hope that when there is laughter, it's laughter made wise by having known real grief — and when there is grief, it is made wise by having known real joy.”  Martyr! by Kaveh Akbar is the story of a young Iranian American man searching for meaning through art, addiction, and connection. Akbar joins us to talk about writing both poetry and prose, collaboration with other novelists, creating compassion through writing and more with Miwa Messer, host of Poured Over.   This episode of Poured Over was hosted by Executive Producer 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): Martyr! by Kaveh Akbar  Calling a Wolf a Wolf by Kaveh Akbar  Pilgrim Bell by Kaveh Akbar  Wandering Stars by Tommy Orange  The Vaster Wilds by Lauren Groff  Ordinary Notes by Christina Sharpe