Book Dreams
Book Dreams is a podcast for everyone who loves books and misses English class. In each episode co-hosts Julie Sternberg and Eve Yohalem explore a book-related topic they can’t stop thinking about, everything from the genius of your favorite picture books to books bound in human skin. Julie and Eve are both award-winning authors, which allows them to come at interviews with an insider’s knowledge as well as all the wonder associated with storytelling.
Book Dreams is brought to you by The Podglomerate and is a member of Lit Hub Radio. New episodes run every Thursday.
Find Book Dreams on Twitter (@bookdreamspod) and Instagram (@bookdreamspodcast), or email contact@bookdreamspodcast.com.
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Ep. 94 - Mysteries of a Merlin Manuscript, with...
In 2019, a librarian at the Central Library in Bristol, England, uncovered a mystery. Pasted to the bindings of four Renaissance books were scraps of parchment from a medieval manuscript. And on these scraps, written in old French, were two names that have captivated readers for almost a millennium: Merlin and Arthur.
26 min
52
Ep. 93 - How Music Can Save Your Life, with Bre...
Can an author write a novel about a classical musician and get all the details right? And can he make that world the backdrop for a gripping contemporary thriller?
28 min
53
Ep. 92 - Dangers on Our Ungoverned Oceans, with...
After hearing New York Times Book Review editor Pamela Paul call Ian Urbina’s The Outlaw Ocean “one of the best narrative non-fiction books by a journalist I've ever read,” we instantly decided to invite Ian on Book Dreams and were thrilled when he accepted.
44 min
54
Bonus Episode: Listen to The #AmWriting Podcast...
If you like hearing about the craft of writing and the writing life, you’ll love this bonus episode from The #AmWriting Podcast.
41 min
55
Ep. 91 - Nature Finds a Way, with Cal Flyn
What does the natural world look like after human beings abandon it?
27 min
56
Ep. 90 - The Secret Lives of Church Ladies, wit...
“It always looked like the women outside of the church were having the most fun. They were wearing the tight jeans and the heels, and I was like, ‘It's so unfortunate. They're going to hell.’” –Deesha Philyaw
26 min
57
Ep. 89 - Reading Between the Subway Lines, with...
Deep beneath the asphalt streets of New York City lurks a breed of creature that’s haunted the subway’s subterranean labyrinth for over a century. No, it’s not sewer alligators or radioactive rats. Instead, we’re speaking of…bookworms. And documentarian Uli Beutter Cohen has been on the hunt to capture their travels.
23 min
58
Ep. 88 - Lost & Found, with Kathryn Schulz
“I think a lot about how to map the scale of our own lives against the scale of existence.” –Kathyrn Schulz
35 min
59
Ep. 87 - What Dreams Are Made of, with Sidarta ...
What are dreams made of? What role can they play in predicting the future, and why? To what extent have they shaped the past? What can we glean when we know the content of our dreams, and what does science have to say about why that is? And should we all be taking naps?
32 min
60
Ep. 86 (Re-Release) - The Truth About the Gospe...
What happens when a Harvard professor puts the weight of her reputation behind an alleged ancient gospel with monumental implications for the Roman Catholic Church, and the gospel turns out to be a fake?
39 min
61
Ep. 85 - LIVE from Miami Book Fair 2021, with J...
LIVE EPISODE: If you love Jane Smiley, this episode is for you. Eve and Julie are joined by the Pulitzer Prize-winning novelist, in an interview that was recorded live for the Miami Book Fair 2021, to discuss her most recent book, Perestroika in Paris, as well as Jane’s writing process, beloved pets, and what it’s like to be a writer in Paris.
42 min
62
Ep. 84 - How Memory Works and How to Make Yours...
MINI EPISODE: Do you lose your keys, your wallet, your glasses…in your own home? Do you forget the names of people you met two minutes ago? How often do you start a sentence with what’s that word I’m thinking of? Yeah, us too.
16 min
63
Ep. 83 - To Infinity and Beyond, with Astronome...
In this episode of Book Dreams, award-winning astronomer Emily Levesque joins Eve and Julie for an exhilarating exchange about the cosmos. Author of The Last Stargazers: The Enduring Story of Astronomy's Vanishing Explorers, Emily shares what it’s like–and why it matters–when scientists search the heavens with massive telescopes using mirrors that can measure twenty, thirty, and even forty feet across.
32 min
64
Ep. 82 - The Mutual Haunting of Past and Future...
“It's a piece of family lore or legend that I've been hearing since I was a quite young boy.” In this week’s episode of Book Dreams, acclaimed author Sunjeev Sahota shares with Eve and Julie the family and personal experiences that helped shape his latest, transfixing novel, China Room.
26 min
65
Ep. 81 - A History-Making Librarian with a Life...
29 min
66
Ep. 80 - Pigeons, A Love Story, with Rosemary M...
Pigeons: rats with wings or wonder birds? Rosemary Mosco, science writer and naturalist, enters the dovecote with Eve and Julie to settle the debate. The author and illustrator of A Pocket Guide to Pigeon Watching: Getting to Know the World’s Most Misunderstood Bird, Rosemary defends her feral, feathered friends...
29 min
67
Ep. 79 - Exploding the Classic American Western...
What happens when an author takes a genre that's considered a bedrock of American culture and flips the wagon upside-down? As Tom Lin puts it, “I’m not following the rules of the American Western.”
25 min
68
Ep. 78 - “This Is You.” Finding Ourselves in An...
What if our experience of ancient Greek plays, rather than involving stultifying boredom, could instead evoke powerful emotions? Bryan Doerries–author of many books involving ancient Greek plays and Artistic Director of Theater of War Productions–talks with Julie and Eve about the tragic loss in his life...
33 min
69
Ep. 77 - Witchery, Vengeance, and Norman Rockwe...
A modern western set in hell. A tale of revenge between Krampus and Santa. One man's determined trek through the brutal landscape of purgatory. These dark stories, and more, all sprang from the imagination of the author and American gothic fantasy artist known simply as Brom.
27 min
70
Ep. 76 - Why You Shouldn’t Believe a Word, with...
If a picture is worth a thousand words, what is the worth of a word? David Shariatmadari, author of Don't Believe A Word: The Surprising Truth About Language, talks with Julie and Eve about little-known origins of words and how their modern-day usage...
26 min
71
Ep. 75 - Memoir of a Rogue Ballerina, with Geor...
What’s it like for a professional ballerina to try a sedentary art form like writing? Georgina Pazcoguin, soloist with the New York City Ballet, talks with Eve and Julie about the creation of her debut memoir...
31 min
72
Ep. 74 - When It’s Exceptional to Be Unexceptio...
Even when history has been overlooked, ignored, or suppressed, that doesn’t mean it’s hidden. Researching and writing her novels, Kaitlyn Greenidge--author of Libertie and We Love You, Charlie Freeman--“approach[es] Black history from a place of abundance, from the idea that Black people have always been multifaceted...
31 min
73
Ep. 73 - How Magicians Think, with Joshua Jay
Magic. It’s just a bunch of hocus pocus…or is it? World-renowned magician Joshua Jay--author of the new book How Magicians Think: Misdirection, Deception, and Why Magic Matters--lays his cards on the table for Eve and Julie as they explore the artistry and mastery of the craft.
25 min
74
Ep. 72 - When Every Performance Could Be Their ...
Hidden behind an Olympic gymnast’s smile or a classical ballerina’s serene grace is a darker reality, one involving grueling work and, often, physical and emotional pain.
28 min
75
Ep. 71 - “We Were Outsiders. Now We're Not. Wha...
What does it say about the American Dream if immigrants achieve financial success but their children, and their children’s children, still experience a lack of belonging?
28 min