MEOW: A Literary Podcast for Cats
Episodes
84. Caro Claire Burke’s Yesteryear: Simulation of Simulacra
04 May 2026
Contributed by Lukas
This podcast is a presentation of The Meow Library. Caro Claire Burke’s Yesteryear is a simulation of a simulacrum that collapses under the weight ...
83. Lena Dunham’s Famesick: Four Shocking Revelations
30 Apr 2026
Contributed by Lukas
This podcast is a presentation of The Meow Library. This week’s podcast is hosted by a very special guest* and Girls superfan who devoured her Fame...
82. The Only Thinkpiece About Lindy West's Adult Braces That Matters
15 Apr 2026
Contributed by Lukas
This podcast is a presentation of The Meow Library. So here, in the cracked electric theater of American confession, comes Lindy West hauling her soul...
81. Nelio Biedermann's Lázár: Is this 22-Year Old the Next Thomas Mann?
14 Apr 2026
Contributed by Lukas
Nelio Biedermann, the 22-year-old Swiss wunderkind whose debut novel, Lázár, was just released in English, has been compared to every author under t...
80. Helen DeWitt Rejects Modernity, Windham-Campbell Prize
12 Apr 2026
Contributed by Lukas
“People get huffy about suicide (selfish to do it, help should be sought, seeking help is called threatning suicide); it’s true that it causes dis...
79. Enter the William H. Gass Extended Universe: Dalkey Archive Press and the Forking of The Tunnel
12 Apr 2026
Contributed by Lukas
This podcast is a presentation of The Meow Library.There is something splendidly deranged in watching a small indie press marshal the full batte...
78. Can Ben Lerner's Transcription Resurrect the Novel?
07 Apr 2026
Contributed by Lukas
This podcast is a presentation of The Meow Library. “Weaker writers transcribe; stronger ones, having broken their iPhones, creatively recast.” -...
77. Is Ocean Vuong Right About AI’s Standardization of Literature?
06 Apr 2026
Contributed by Lukas
This podcast is a presentation of The Meow Library. Recently, novelist and NYU professor Ocean Vuong sat down with book commentator David Perell to d...
76. Mia Ballard's Shy Girl Pulled by Hachette: Is AI Doomed, or are Human Writers?
20 Mar 2026
Contributed by Lukas
This podcast is a presentation of The Meow Library. Last week, Hachette made an unprecedented move for a Big Five publisher, cancelling the US release...
75. The Book Behind Marc Andreessen’s “Anti-Introspection” Trend
18 Mar 2026
Contributed by Lukas
This podcast is a presentation of The Meow Library. In a recent interview with podcaster David Senra, a16z’s Marc Andreessen claimed not only to do...
74. Writers Debate: Must You Read Novels to Write Them?
24 Feb 2026
Contributed by Lukas
Debate rages across Twitter as professor and novelist Aaron Gwyn insists that his college-level fiction writing students can't name a single novel...
73. The Curious Case of Madeline Cash's Lost Lambs
17 Feb 2026
Contributed by Lukas
This podcast is a presentation of The Meow Library. In this week’s podcast, we investigate the hype parade leading up to the release of Madeline Ca...
72. Jennette McCurdy's Half His Age: An Unspeakable Transgression
10 Feb 2026
Contributed by Lukas
This podcast is a production of The Meow Library. Jennette McCurdy's new book has us at a loss for words. Some things are simply unspeakable, as t...
72. Jennette McCurdy's Half His Age: The Problem with the Problematic Age Gap
05 Feb 2026
Contributed by Lukas
This podcast is a presentation of The Meow Library. We admire the nerve but sniff at the buried lede: Jennette McCurdy’s Half His Age noses around ...
71. Can Wuthering Heights Withstand Another Remake?
03 Feb 2026
Contributed by Lukas
This podcast is a presentation of The Meow Library. We've seen the trailer for Emerald Fennel's upcoming Wuthering Heights, and we're conc...
70. It's Been 213 Years. Why is Pride and Prejudice Still Prejudiced?
29 Jan 2026
Contributed by Lukas
This podcast is a presentation of The Meow Library. Yesterday marked the 213th anniversary of Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice, along with the re...
69. U.G. Krishnamurti: There's No Difference Between the Cat and You
05 Jan 2026
Contributed by Lukas
This podcast is a presentation of The Meow Library. "The saints, saviors, priests, gurus, bhagavans, seers, prophets and philosophers were all wr...
68. Bookfishing: How Performative Reading May Compromise National Security
11 Dec 2025
Contributed by Lukas
This podcast is a presentation of The Meow Library. According to a recent Popsugar article, “bookfishing”—the literary equivalent of “catfi...
67. The Pumpkin Spice Café, Before the Coffee Gets Cold, and The Convenience Store by the Sea: The Mass-Hypnosis Ritual of "Cozy Lit"
09 Dec 2025
Contributed by Lukas
This podcast is a presentation of The Meow Library. “But a humble paperback is not perceived as bad for humanity in the way that time wasted online ...
66. Olivia Nuzzi's American Canto: No Comment
18 Nov 2025
Contributed by Lukas
This podcast is a presentation of The Meow Library. "...at least I did not have to worry about the worm that was not a worm in his brain." -...
65. Charli XCX, Wuthering Heights, and the New Victorian Gothic
14 Nov 2025
Contributed by Lukas
This podcast is a presentation of The Meow Library. "I wanted to dive into persona, into a world that felt undeniably raw, wild, sexual, gothic, ...
64. Embodied Time: Mark Z. Danielewski's Tom's Crossing and Zoroastrianism
05 Nov 2025
Contributed by Lukas
This podcast is a presentation of The Meow Library. In the beginning of Big Fiction, there were encyclopedic novels and mega-novels and then maximal n...
63. Will Joyce Carol Oates' Cat Ever Finish War and Peace?
03 Nov 2025
Contributed by Lukas
This podcast is a presentation of The Meow Library. Zanche is abashed having read (almost) the entirety of "War and Peace" not realizing tha...
62. Curtis Sliwa's Cats Fire Back at Trump With Eloquent, 22-Page Written Statement
22 Oct 2025
Contributed by Lukas
This podcast is a presentation of The Meow Library. “This isn’t exactly ideal, where he wants to make Gracie Mansion a home for the cats. Gracie M...
61. How to Psyop Your Way to a Bestseller: Douglas Scott Wreden, Doug: A DougDoug Story, and the Meow Book
21 Oct 2025
Contributed by Lukas
This podcast is a presentation of The Meow Library."Doug, Doug Doug Doug Doug Doug. Doug Doug Doug. Doug."- Douglas Scott Wreden, D...
60. Apocalyptic Terror: László Krasznahorkai Takes the Nobel Prize in Literature
09 Oct 2025
Contributed by Lukas
This podcast is a presentation of The Meow Library. The Nobel Prize in Literature for 2025 has been awarded to the Hungarian author László ...
59. Matthew McConaughey's Poems and Prayers, Read For Your Cat
02 Oct 2025
Contributed by Lukas
"My prayers are my poems are my prayers." - Matthew McConaughey, Poems and PrayersAnd now, some prayers for your cat. This podcast is a presentation o...
58. Schattenfroh: Max Lawton's Triumph of Translation
30 Sep 2025
Contributed by Lukas
This podcast is a presentation of The Meow Library. Max Lawton’s translation of Schattenfroh represents not merely a feat of linguistic dexterity, b...
57. R.F. Kuang's Katabasis: The Betrayal of Archimedes
25 Sep 2025
Contributed by Lukas
This podcast is a presentation of The Meow Library. In this week's podcast, Archimedes, the sole feline presence in R.F. Kuang's Katabasis, ac...
56. Jordan Castro's Muscle Man: Embodied Literature
16 Sep 2025
Contributed by Lukas
“Words are parasites of reality, which have become so engorged with reality’s blood so as to seem, to that ugly French nothing-master’—he grin...
55. David Duchovny's About Time, Read For Your Cat
09 Sep 2025
Contributed by Lukas
"Poetry is not useful.”— David Duchovny, PoetIn today’s podcast, The Meow Library is proud to present a selection of poems from David Duchovny’...
54. Performative Male Readers: A Modest Proposal
04 Sep 2025
Contributed by Lukas
This podcast is a presentation of The Meow Library. According to a recent Independent article by Lydia Spencer-Elliott, the elusive "literary man"--lo...
53. Tao Lin's Nini: Feline Autism, Ensoulment, and Self-Healing
02 Sep 2025
Contributed by Lukas
In a new Harper's piece, Tao Lin traces his recent interests in autism, spirituality, and self-healing to his 4-year relationship with a special-n...
52. How Trump Defunded the Humanities and Doomed Literacy Forever: UChicago and the Collapse of the NEA
18 Aug 2025
Contributed by Lukas
This podcast is a presentation of The Meow Library. The University of Chicago’s Humanities Department is poised to become one of the largest and mos...
51. Rebecca Van Laer's Zoosemiotics: The Meaning of Meow, the Meaning of Life
05 Aug 2025
Contributed by Lukas
“Consciousness stands in the way of a good life. …the feline mind is one and undivided. Pain is suffered and forgotten, and the joy of life return...
50. The Wrath of BookTok: The Rise and Fall of Luke Bateman
04 Jun 2025
Contributed by Lukas
This podcast is a presentation of The Meow Library. Luke Bateman, former rugby player and Bachelor star turned BookTok darling, recently scored a two-...
49. What's the Deal With Ocean Vuong?
12 May 2025
Contributed by Lukas
This podcast is a production of The Meow Library. Ocean Vuong’s poetic voice, marked by tender precision and aching vulnerability, speaks in layered...
48. Neural Whisker Relay: A Sci-Fi LitRPG For Your Cat
06 May 2025
Contributed by Lukas
This podcast is a presentation of The Meow Library. This week’s podcast is the first in an ongoing Literary RPG series immersing you and your cat in...
47. Simon & Schuster's Sean Manning Publishes Stray Cat
14 Apr 2025
Contributed by Lukas
This podcast is a presentation of The Meow Library. On a recent March morning, the Simon & Schuster video team is huddled in the best-sellers corn...
46. The Art of Misdirection: Krysten Ritter's "Retreat"
07 Apr 2025
Contributed by Lukas
This podcast is a presentation of The Meow Library. Krysten Ritter's Retreat can be purchased here. In Krysten Ritter’s Retreat, a novel ostensi...
45. New Paradigms: Sophie Kemp's Paradise Logic
02 Apr 2025
Contributed by Lukas
This podcast is a presentation of The Meow Library. Sophie Kemp's Paradise Logic can be purchased here. What makes a novel worthy of publication? ...
44. Hololive Star Vestia Zeta Reads Meow: A Novel
06 Mar 2025
Contributed by Lukas
This podcast is a presentation of The Meow Library. On February 22nd, 2025 -- International Cat Day -- fans of Vestia Zeta were treated to a heartfelt...
Literary Antimatter: Federico Perelmuter, László Krasznahorkai, and High Brodernism
24 Feb 2025
Contributed by Lukas
“To read—and announce oneself as having read—literature in translation is to be tasteful and intelligent, a latter-day cosmopolitan in an age of...
42. What is Alt-Lit?
06 Feb 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Have I told you I can’t read contemporary novels anymore? I think it’s because I know too many of the people who write them. I see them all the ti...
41. Miranda July On All Fours: A Cross-Species Odyssey
20 Jan 2025
Contributed by Lukas
This podcast is a presentation of The Meow Library. Miranda July's All Fours is available for purchase here. Miranda July’s All Fours is, at f...
40. A Complete Unknown: Bob Dylan's Forgotten Avant-Garde Novel, Tarantula
27 Dec 2024
Contributed by Lukas
This podcast is a presentation of The Meow Library. The release of the Bob Dylan biopic A Complete Unknown has revived interest in Dylan's obscure 19...
39. Christopher Nolan Adapts The Odyssey, or: Royalty Cheques for Homer
26 Dec 2024
Contributed by Lukas
This podcast is a presentation of The Meow Library. Controversy surrounding the state of American literacy has stirred following Christopher Nolan's ...
38. Karl Ove Knausgaard vs. Michel Houllebecq: To Condemn With Faint Praise
23 Dec 2024
Contributed by Lukas
This podcast is a presentation of The Meow Library. "Houllebecq is considered a great contemporary author, and one cannot be said to be keeping abrea...
37. Luigi Mangione, The Unabomber, and Literary Radicalization
11 Dec 2024
Contributed by Lukas
This podcast is a presentation of The Meow Library. "The mind of the cat is the essence of terror." -- Hasan-i Sabbah (c. 1050-1124), founder of the ...
36. Concern Over the "Disappearance of Literary Men" Is Feline Erasure: A Response to David J. Morris
09 Dec 2024
Contributed by Lukas
This podcast is a presentation of The Meow Library. On December 7th, 2024, New York Times contributor David J. Morris published a controversial essay...
35. Books as Status Symbols: A Path to Saving Literacy ft. Mia Khalifa
27 Nov 2024
Contributed by Lukas
This podcast is a presentation of The Meow Library. Tolstoy enthusiast, Oxford guest lecturer, and cat fancier Mia Khalifa recently made the followin...
34. Han Kang's Nobel Prize Controversy: A Translator's Perspective
11 Oct 2024
Contributed by Lukas
This podcast is a presentation of The Meow Library. Han Kang's The Vegetarian can be purchased here. The basis of Nobel laureate Han Kang's The Veg...
33. Sally Rooney's Intermezzo: Love Under the Specter of Marx
26 Sep 2024
Contributed by Lukas
This podcast is a presentation of The Meow Library. Sally Rooney's Intermezzo is available here. Over and over, Rooney’s characters put their ...
32. Matthew Davis, Let Me Try Again, and the Gen Z Superego
21 Aug 2024
Contributed by Lukas
This podcast is a presentation of The Meow Library. Matthew Davis's Let Me Try Again can be purchased here. Matthew Davis'...
31. Caroline Calloway, Scammer, and Feline Virality
13 Aug 2024
Contributed by Lukas
This podcast is a presentation of The Meow Library. Caroline Calloway's Scammer can be purchased here. Known as the original social media provo...
30. Gabi Abrão (@sighswoon), Notes on Shapeshifting, and the Poetics of Feline Vocalization
30 May 2024
Contributed by Lukas
This podcast is a presentation of The Meow Library. Gabi Abrão's Notes on Shapeshifting can be purchased here. In a meditation class in high sch...
29. Millie Bobby Brown, Nineteen Steps, and the Role of the Ghostwriter
22 Sep 2023
Contributed by Lukas
This podcast is sustained by sales of our debut book, Meow: A NovelToday's podcast covers Stranger Things actress-turned-literary wunderkind Milli...
28. Cormac McCarthy's Final Interview
14 Jun 2023
Contributed by Lukas
This exclusive interview is a presentation of The Meow Library. “. . .but in any case the selfimmolatory tendencies of cats does seem to be a known...
27. The Writers Guild of America (WGA) Strike, ChatGPT, and the Future of Entertainment
04 May 2023
Contributed by Lukas
This podcast is sponsored by Sam Austen's Meow Library. On May 1st, the Writers Guild of America commenced a strike, effecting an industry-wide s...
26. Norman Mailer's Truth and Being: A Paean to Excrement and the Spirit of Meow
08 Mar 2023
Contributed by Lukas
This podcast is a presentation of The Meow Library. Today, we present your cat with selections from Norman Mailer's "Truth and Being: Nothi...
25. Roald Dahl, Alberto Gullaba, Jr., and a Modest Proposal for Sensitivity Readers
02 Mar 2023
Contributed by Lukas
This podcast is a production of The Meow Library. Last week, Puffin, an imprint of Penguin Books, announced the release of ‘updated’ editions of...
24. Ian F. Svenonius, Jean-Luc Godard, and Sam Austen: Against the Written Word
21 Feb 2023
Contributed by Lukas
"Against the Written Word is the most important, most revolutionary book produced since the advent of the printing press; the book that will liberate ...
23. M.I.A., OHMNI9, and the Evolution of the Audiobook: A Translation For Your Cat
07 Feb 2023
Contributed by Lukas
I walked a thousand steps down from God-Warrior to human, verging on animalistic feline…- M.I.A., OHMNI9, Chapter 7 With literacy on the outs and au...
22. A Bold New Translation of Ted Kaczynski's "Industrial Society and Its Future" (aka "The Unabomber Manifesto")
01 Feb 2023
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode, we read a passage from Prof. Sam Austen's feline-language translation of Ted Kaczynski's infamous manifesto, which has report...
21. Prince Harry's Memoir, Hypnotic Cascades, and the Teachings of Gurdjieff
10 Jan 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Claims about Prince Harry’s use of a “Meow” audiobook to lull a Sussex prostitute into a state of autoerotic trance have spread like wildfire in...
20. Crashing Institutional Gates With Schrödinger’s Cat: An Object Lesson in Eric Weinstein’s DISC
28 Dec 2022
Contributed by Lukas
In 2018, mathematician Eric Weinstein coined the term "Gated Institutional Narrative (GIN),” defined as a closed exchange of ideas promulgated ...
19. Jordan Peterson’s 12th Rule, Ailurophobia, and the Feline Panopticon
20 Dec 2022
Contributed by Lukas
“Pet a cat when you encounter one in the street.” - Dr. Jordan B. Peterson, 12 Rules for Life: An Antidote to Chaos, Rule 12 “The carceral textu...
18. Annie Hamilton and the Novel That Wasn't There
13 Dec 2022
Contributed by Lukas
“That which is not yet, but ought to be, is more real than that which really is.” - Zoë Tamerlis Lund, quoted by Annie Hamilton “All writing is...
17. Jack Skelley, Guy Debord, and LA's Cat Problem
06 Dec 2022
Contributed by Lukas
This podcast is sustained by sales of our debut book, Meow: A Novel (For Cats). Our relationship with cats mirrors that of the primal unconscious with...
16. Taylor Jenkins Reid, David Foster Wallace, and the Catgut Parcae
29 Nov 2022
Contributed by Lukas
This podcast is sustained by sales of our debut book, Meow: A Novel (For Cats). "David Foster Wallace noticed early on that tennis is a good sp...
15. Angela Campbell's On the Scent, Psychic Detectives, and Feline-Centered Estate Planning
22 Nov 2022
Contributed by Lukas
This podcast is sustained by sales of our debut book, Meow: A Novel (For Cats). Cat lovers: before continuing, please consider supporting Feline Lifel...
14. Chuck Palahniuk, The Pixie Project, and a Reading of ‘Phoenix’
15 Nov 2022
Contributed by Lukas
This podcast is sustained by sales of our debut book, Meow: A Novel (For Cats). In this episode, we celebrate Fight Club author Chuck Palahniuk’s de...
13. Bret Easton Ellis, The Shards, and the Gen-X Paracosm
08 Nov 2022
Contributed by Lukas
This podcast is a presentation of The Meow Library. Episode 13: Bret Easton Ellis, The Shards, and the Gen-X Paracosm In today’s episode, we read a ...
12. Jerry Saltz's Art Is Life - An Excerpt for Your Cat
02 Nov 2022
Contributed by Lukas
This podcast is sustained by sales of our book series for cats, The Meow Library. Episode 12: Jerry Saltz: Art Is Life - An Excerpt for Your Cat Relea...
11. Brad Phillips, Patricia Highsmith, and Clifford Irving
26 Oct 2022
Contributed by Lukas
This podcast is sustained by sales of our debut book, Meow: A Novel (For Cats). Episode 11: Brad Phillips, Patricia Highsmith, and Clifford Irving Bra...
10. Caitlin Forst's NDA, the Primacy of Autofiction, and the Rise of Otherspecies Narratives
17 Oct 2022
Contributed by Lukas
This podcast is sustained by sales of our debut book, Meow: A Novel (For Cats). Episode 10: Caitlin Forst’s NDA, the Primacy of Autofiction, and the...
9. Allie Rowbottom's Aesthetica, Erasure of the Flesh, and the Polymorphic Self
11 Oct 2022
Contributed by Lukas
This podcast is sustained by sales of our debut book, Meow: A Novel (For Cats). Episode 9: Allie Rowbottom's Aesthetica, Erasure of the Flesh, a...
8. Tao Lin's Mandalas, Repetition Compulsion, and Hofstadter's Labyrinth
04 Oct 2022
Contributed by Lukas
This podcast is sustained by sales of our debut book, Meow: A Novel (For Cats). Episode 8: Tao Lin’s Mandalas, Repetition Compulsion, and Hofstadter...
7. Chelsea Martin: Tell Me I'm an Artist, Simulacra, and False Consciousness
27 Sep 2022
Contributed by Lukas
This podcast is sustained by sales of our debut book, Meow: A Novel (For Cats). Episode 7: Chelsea Martin: Tell Me I'm an Artist, Simulacra, and F...
6. Jordan Castro's The Novelist, Georges Bataille, and the Triumph of Fecality
20 Sep 2022
Contributed by Lukas
This podcast is sustained by sales of our debut book, Meow: A Novel (For Cats). Episode 6: Jordan Castro's The Novelist, Georges Bataille, and the...
5. Ottessa Moshfegh, Feline-Borne Illness, and the Evolution of Human Consciousness
13 Sep 2022
Contributed by Lukas
This podcast is sustained by sales of our debut book, Meow: A Novel (For Cats). Episode 5: Ottessa Moshfegh, Feline-Borne Illness, and the Evolution o...
4. Jennette McCurdy, Tik-Tok, and the Will to Parricide
06 Sep 2022
Contributed by Lukas
This podcast is sustained by sales of our debut book, Meow: A Novel (For Cats). Episode 4: Jennette McCurdy, Tik-Tok and the Will to Parricide In this...
3. The Twilight World, Heat 2, and the Economics of the Cinematic Novel
31 Aug 2022
Contributed by Lukas
This podcast is sustained by sales of our debut book, Meow: A Novel (For Cats). Episode 2: The Twilight World, Heat 2, and the Economics of the Cinema...
2. William Blake, Golgonooza, and Pathological Narcissistic Space
31 Aug 2022
Contributed by Lukas
This podcast is sustained by sales of our debut book, Meow: A Novel (For Cats). Episode 2: William Blake, Golgonooza, and Pathological Narcissistic Sp...
1. Hanya Yanagihara, Jacques Lacan, and Artaud's Theatre of Cruelty
30 Aug 2022
Contributed by Lukas
This podcast is sustained by sales of our debut book, Meow: A Novel (For Cats).Episode 1: Hanya Yanagihara, Jacques Lacan, and Artaud's Theatre of...