The Book Review
The New York Times
The world's top authors and critics join host Gilbert Cruz and editors at The New York Times Book Review to talk about the week's top books, what we're reading and what's going on in the literary world.
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Subscribe today at nytimes.com/podcasts or on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. You can also subscribe via your favorite podcast app here https://www.nytimes.com/activate-access/audio?source=podcatcher. For more podcasts and narrated articles, download The New York Times app at nytimes.com/app.
Episodes
Mentioned books
Jan 30, 2026 • 50min
Book Club: Let's Talk About 'The Hounding' by Xenobe Purvis
Gregory Cowles, senior editor who breaks down characters; Emily Eakin, critic who frames themes; Joumana Khatib, editor offering close readings. They discuss Xenobe Purvis’s gothic fable about five sisters pursued by a fearful village. Conversation covers shifting narrators, ambiguous supernatural hints, misogyny and mob dynamics, striking animal imagery, and drought as symbolic pressure.
Jan 23, 2026 • 45min
Chuck Klosterman Has So Much to Say About Football
Chuck Klosterman, journalist, novelist and pop-culture critic, discusses his lifelong obsession with football and why it became his book topic. He traces football’s rise in American life. He explores the sport’s TV symbiosis, its strange rhythm of bursts and pauses, and how it creates social bonds and a sense of controlled freedom.
22 snips
Jan 16, 2026 • 46min
The Books We're Excited About in Early 2026
Get ready for a flood of new reads! Exciting titles discussed include George Saunders' inventive 'Vigil' and Daniyal Mueenuddin's exploration of class in 'Where the Serpent Lives.' Heather Ann Thompson's 'Fear and Fury' connects a historical subway shooting to themes of vigilante justice. Jennette McCurdy's debut novel dives into a teacher-student relationship, while Michael Pollan explores consciousness in 'A World Appears.' Expect humor in Emily Nemens's 'Clutch' and dark comedy in Madeline Cash's 'Lost Lambs.' Tana French wraps up her series with 'The Keeper,' ensuring a compelling start to 2026!
