Poured Over

"The original impulse to write a book for this age was knowing that this is a time of identity formation for me, curiosity about the outside world. And I guess I wanted to make an offering in that space … I just wanted to write a book with an Asian American protagonist. And I thought, how cool it would have been for me at that age to see that at the library." Actor John Cho (Searching, Better Luck Tomorrow, Star Trek, Harold & Kumar Go to White Castle) steps into a new role, author, with the publication of Troublemaker, his first book for middle grade readers. John joins us on the show to talk about why he needed to write this book now (it wasn't what he originally pitched to his editor); the legacy of 4/29 in the Korean American community and the murder of Latasha Harlins; his fondness for the Little House series; the elasticity of the English language (and not using italics to call out Korean words) and much more with Poured Over's host, Miwa Messer. Featured Books: Troublemaker by John Cho The Little House on the Prairie by Laura Ingalls Wilder IQ by Joe Ide Your House Will Pay by Steph Cha Poured Over is hosted and produced by Miwa Messer and mixed by Harry Liang. Follow us here for new episodes Tuesdays and Thursdays (with occasional bonus episodes on Saturdays).

"My book starts in my brain with me telling myself a story. And I choose not to write it down, as I'm thinking about it. Sometimes for months, sometimes even maybe for a couple of years. My feeling is that if I stop thinking about it, or stop daydreaming about the story, then it's died a natural death in my brain and shouldn't make it to the page." Nine strangers, one determined detective and plenty of devious ways to die; Peter Swanson's latest whodunnit, Nine Lives, is a creepy, entertaining ride, and he joins us on the show to talk about Agatha Christie and Ruth Rendell and his other literary influences, Maine, trading poetry for crime fiction, and much more with Poured Over's host, Miwa Messer. Featured Books: Nine Lives by Peter Swanson Eight Perfect Murders by Peter Swanson 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 bonus episodes on Saturdays).

"And within that time, I realized that the story needed to be about regular citizens. But because so much had been written, I found myself needing a new way of telling the story, a story that was very public, that was on everybody's lips." In 2017, Robert Mugabe was deposed in coup, an act that novelist NoViolet Bulawayo never thought she would see in her lifetime. She joins us on the show to talk about her fantastic new novel, Glory, the distance she needed to write a novel about the fall of a freedom fighter turned dictator and the chaos that followed, George Orwell's Animal Farm and other literary influences, the power of story and social media, her faith in a new generation and hope for the future, and more with Poured Over's host, Miwa Messer. Featured Books: Glory by NoViolet Bulawayo We Need New Names by NoViolet Bulawayo Animal Farm by George Orwell 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 bonus episodes on Saturdays).

"The thing that really sort of blew me away, one of the reasons why we have sort of the type of poetry that we have today and the type of literature that we have today — it bloomed and was, I think, seeded in some ways by Sylvia Plath and her experience." Lee Kravetz joins us on the show to talk about his unexpected and entertaining debut novel, The Last Confessions of Sylvia P., part literary mystery, part portrait of an immensely talented young woman and her impact on the world around her. Lee tells us about re-reading The Bell Jar, what he learned about poetry in order to write his new novel, the connection between confessional poetry of the 1960s and grunge music of the 1990s, the writers who've influenced him, and much more. Featured books: The Last Confessions of Sylvia P. by Lee Kravetz The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath Life Studies and For the Union Dead by Robert Lowell The Mysteries of Pittsburgh by Michael Chabon Wonder Boys by Michael Chabon 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 bonus episodes Saturdays).

"The book's title comes from Josephine Baker's speech at the March on Washington … she was speaking to a crowd that was younger, and maybe did not know her from her heyday of performance. And she compels them to go and ask their parents and grandparents about her and the system, They'll tell you that I was a devil and they'll be right. I was a devil in other countries. And I was a little devil in America, too." Hanif Abdurraqib ­— MacArthur genius grant recipient, National Book Award finalist and winner of a Carnegie Medal from the American Library Association — joins us on the show to talk about his latest book, A Little Devil in America: Notes in Praise of Black Performance, which is dedicated to the iconic Josephine Baker and just out in paperback. Hanif riffs on what joy sounds like to him, magician Ellen Armstrong, the line between consumption and affection, what performance means for himself and others, and more with Poured Over's host, Miwa Messer. Featured Books: A Little Devil in America: Notes in Praise of Black Performance by Hanif Abdurraqib A Fortune for Your Disaster by Hanif Abdurraqib 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 bonus episodes Saturdays).

"…A big part of this book is to have a more whole picture of our history here. It is the last 30 years, 90s to now, but we do devote a big chunk of the before as well because we want to plant those roots and say This began a long time ago. Let's at least start this conversation where we acknowledge and have a more deep understanding of our history. It doesn't all end with this book either." Jeff Yang, Phil Yu, and Philip Wang join us on the show to talk about their fabulous, beautifully illustrated new book, Rise: A Pop History of Asian America from the 90s to Now, which covers all things—not just East—Asian American. Jeff, Phil and Philip riff on where we're really from, things we love, what the words Asian American and representation really mean, Vincent Chin, Fresh Off the Boat and Crazy Rich Asians, Jeff and Phil's podcast They Call Us Bruce, and more with Poured Over's host, Miwa Messer. Featured Book: Rise: A Pop History of Asian America from the 90s to Now 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 bonus episodes on Saturdays).

"If you want to create art, and you want to create art the way you want to, and it's just for you, that's fine. But if you want to have a writing career, then my advice is..." Olivie Blake's dark academic fantasy debut, The Atlas Six, has a cult following for a reason (believe the hype!) and she joins us on the show to talk about her character-driven epic (and which of her characters appeared first), her writing process and what she's learned over time, her daydream playlists, what she's reading and watching, and so much more. This episode of Poured Over was produced and hosted by Kat Sarfas, and mixed by Harry Liang. Follow us here for new episodes Tuesdays and Thursdays (with occasional bonus episodes Saturdays). Featured Books: The Atlas Six by Olivie Blake Book of Night (Barnes & Noble Exclusive Edition) by Holly Black

"I'm writing about group creativity, which is not something we often do … what's interesting to me is what happens in the friction between people's minds through conversations, through discussion, through the exchange of ideas, through debate, through sort of egging one another on … bringing about any idea that's going to sort of undermine the nature of reality as we know it." Gal Beckerman of The Atlantic joins us on the show to talk about his fascinating new book, The Quiet Before: On the Unexpected Origins of Radical Ideas, including the story behind the Ph.D. he earned in order to write it, how he found the people who drive his narrative from 17th-century France to present-day Minneapolis, how technology helps (or hurts) the exchange of ideas, and so much more. Featured Books: The Quiet Before: On the Unexpected Origins of Radical Ideas by Gal Beckerman Parting the Waters: America in the King Years 1954-63 by Taylor Branch Pillar of Fire: America in the King Years, 1963-65 by Taylor Branch At Canaan's Edge: America in the King Years, 1965-68 by Taylor Branch King Leopold's Ghost: A Story of Greed, Terror, and Heroism in Colonial Africa by Adam Hochschild 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 bonus episodes on Saturdays.)

"I sketched out some of these pool scenes a long, long time ago, maybe 15 years ago, but just you know, a few paragraphs. And then I don't know, I put them in a drawer somewhere..." It's been 20 years since Julie Otsuka's sublime debut, When the Emperor was Divine, almost 10 since the collective voice of The Buddha in the Attic. Julie's third novel, The Swimmers, is just out, and she joins us on the show to talk about her elegant, witty and elegiac new book and its "soft beating heart," the joy (and comedy) she found writing about this community, writing in pencil (and more of her creative process), silence and memory, and more. Featured books: The Swimmers by Julie Otsuka When the Emperor was Divine by Julie Otsuka The Buddha in the Attic by Julie Otsuka The Nick Adams Stories by Ernest Hemingway A Moveable Feast by Ernest Hemingway Intimacies by Katie Kitamura 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 bonus episodes on Saturdays.)

"It's a great question. And no one has ever asked me that question. I think it's taught me about how to construct the arc of a narrative." We've learned so much from Debbie Millman and her fabulous interviews on her long-running podcast Design Matters. Since 2005, Debbie's introduced us to incredible thinkers from a variety of disciplines, and now 55 of the more than 500 interviews she's done are collected in a beautiful (and provocative) new book, Why Design Matters. Debbie joins us on the show to talk about what design has taught her about interviewing, how she never really planned to be a designer (and what changed), her research process, the stories we tell ourselves about images, what's next for her, and much more. Poured Over is produced and hosted by Miwa Messer and mixed by Harry Liang. Follow us here for new episodes on Tuesdays and Thursdays (with occasional bonus episodes on Saturdays). Featured Book: Why Design Matters by Debbie Millman