Otherppl with Brad Listi

Hilton Als on Writing on the Floor, Time Between Projects, Andre Leon Talley, and Creative Evolution

20 Oct 2023

Contributed by Lukas

In today's flashback, an outtake from Episode 244, my conversation with Pulitzer Prize winner Hilton Als. This episode first aired on January 19, 2014...

874. Elle Nash

18 Oct 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Elle Nash is the author of the novel Deliver Me, available from The Unnamed Press. Nash is the author of the novels Gag Reflex (Clash Books, 2022) a...

873. Claudia Dey

15 Oct 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Claudia Dey is the author of the novel Daughter, available from Farrar, Straus, and Giroux. Dey's previous novel, Heartbreaker, was a Northern Lit an...

Douglas Coupland on Insomnia, Thursdays, Work Habits, News, Visual Thinking, and Early Writing

13 Oct 2023

Contributed by Lukas

In today's flashback, an outtake from Episode 268, my conversation with Douglas Coupland. This episode first aired on April 13, 2014. Since 1991 Coup...

872. Roxane Gay

11 Oct 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Roxane Gay is the author of the essay collection Opinions: A Decade of Arguments, Criticism, and Minding Other People's Business, available from Harpe...

871. David L. Ulin

08 Oct 2023

Contributed by Lukas

David L. Ulin is the author of the novel Thirteen Question Method, available from Outpost 19. Ulin is the author or editor of nearly twenty books, inc...

Frederick Barthelme on Family, Architecture, Red Krayola, Writing, and Getting Kicked Out of School

06 Oct 2023

Contributed by Lukas

In today's flashback, an outtake from Episode 327, my conversation with Frederick Barthelme. This episode first aired on November 5, 2014. Barthelme s...

870. James Frankie Thomas

04 Oct 2023

Contributed by Lukas

James Frankie Thomas is the author of the debut novel Idlewild, available from The Overlook Press. It was the official September pick of the Otherppl ...

869. C Pam Zhang

01 Oct 2023

Contributed by Lukas

C Pam Zhang is the author of the novel Land of Milk and Honey, available from Riverhead Books. Zhang's other book is the debut novel How Much of Th...

Susan Straight on Riverside, Family, Ross Macdonald, and Writing in Your Car

29 Sep 2023

Contributed by Lukas

In today's flashback, an outtake from Episode 117, my conversation with Susan Straight, author of the novel Mecca (FSG). This episode first aired on ...

868. Vauhini Vara

27 Sep 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Vauhini Vara is the author of the story collection This is Salvaged, available from W.W. Norton & Co. Vara has been a reporter and editor for the Wa...

867. Mona Awad

24 Sep 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Mona Awad is the bestselling author of the novel Rouge, available from Marysue Rucci Books, an imprint of Simon & Schuster. Awad's other books inclu...

Natalie Baszile on Time, Writing, Big Decisions, Creative Community, and Motherhood

22 Sep 2023

Contributed by Lukas

In today's flashback, an outtake from Episode 257, my conversation with Natalie Baszile, author of the novel Queen Sugar (Penguin Books). This episode...

866. Anne Enright

20 Sep 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Anne Enright is the author of the novel The Wren, The Wren, available from W.W. Norton & Co. Enright is author of seven novels, most recently Actres...

865. Karl Ove Knausgaard

17 Sep 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Karl Ove Knausgaard is the author of the novel The Wolves of Eternity, available from Penguin Press. Translated by Martin Aitken. Knausgaard's My Stru...

Joyce Johnson on Jack Kerouac, Allen Ginsberg, the Beat Generation, Ecstatic Writing, and Québécois Culture

15 Sep 2023

Contributed by Lukas

In today's flashback, an outtake from Episode 147, my conversation with Joyce Johnson, author of the biography The Voice is All: The Lonely Victory of...

How to Write an Anti-Hero

13 Sep 2023

Contributed by Lukas

A new 'Craftwork' episode, all about anti-heroes. My guest is Tod Goldberg, author of the novel Gangsters Don't Die, available from Counterpoint Press...

864. Lauren Groff

10 Sep 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Lauren Groff is the bestselling author of the novel The Vaster Wilds, available from Riverhead Books. Groff is a three-time National Book Award final...

Matt Sumell on Writing, Self-Editing, Billy Joel, Long Island, Family, Drinking, and Anxiety

08 Sep 2023

Contributed by Lukas

In today's flashback, an outtake from Episode 374, my conversation with Matt Sumell, author of the novel-in-stories Making Nice (Picador). It first ai...

863. Yiyun Li

06 Sep 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Yiyun Li is the author of the story collection Wednesday's Child, available from Farrar, Straus, and Giroux. Li is the author of several works of fic...

862. Myriam Gurba

03 Sep 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Myriam Gurba is the author of the essay collection Creep: Accusations and Confessions, available from Avid Reader Press. Gurba is a writer and artist....

Laura van den Berg on Boxing, Anxiety, Attention, Astrology, Vanity, and Writing in a Notebook

01 Sep 2023

Contributed by Lukas

In today's flashback, an outtake from Episode 546, my conversation with Laura van den Berg, author of five works of fiction. It first aired on October...

How to Be a Travel Writer

30 Aug 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Maggie Downs is an award-winning journalist, travel writer, and the author of the memoir Braver Than You Think:Around the World on the Trip of My (M...

861. Rebekah Bergman

27 Aug 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Rebekah Bergman is the author of the debut novel The Museum of Human History, available from Tin House. It is the official August pick of the Otherppl...

Remembering Tom Hansen, 1961-2023

26 Aug 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Today, a special episode remembering the life and work of Tom Hansen, who died this week of esophageal cancer. Hansen was born in Seattle and raised ...

Charles Shields on Kurt Vonnegut, WWII, Dresden, Suicide, and The Great Depression

25 Aug 2023

Contributed by Lukas

In today's flashback, an outtake from Episode 24, my conversation with biographer Charles Shields, author of And So It Goes— Kurt Vonnegut: A Life, ...

860. Maya Binyam

23 Aug 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Maya Binyam is the author of the debut novel Hangman, available from Farrar, Straus, and Giroux. Binyam is a fiction writer and critic whose work has...

How to Approach "Truth" in Creative Nonfiction

20 Aug 2023

Contributed by Lukas

In today's 'Craftwork' episode, a conversation with Emily Rapp Black about "truth" in creative nonfiction. Emily is the author of five books of creat...

Mat Johnson on Failure, Despair, Persistence, Reviews, and Stealing Time to Write

18 Aug 2023

Contributed by Lukas

In today's flashback, an outtake from Episode 364, my conversation with Mat Johnson, author of the novel Invisible Things and other books. Johnson is ...

859. Brando Skyhorse

16 Aug 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Brando Skyhorse is the author of the novel My Name is Iris, available from Avid Reader Press. Skyhorse's debut novel, The Madonnas of Echo Park, won ...

Why Publishing is Broken

13 Aug 2023

Contributed by Lukas

In today's 'Craftwork' episode, a conversation with Kathleen Schmidt. She is a longtime publishing industry veteran with in-depth experience in a var...

Melissa Febos on Hollywood, Bullshit, Extroversion, Celibacy, Loneliness, and Relationships

11 Aug 2023

Contributed by Lukas

In today's flashback, an outtake from Episode 460, my conversation with Melissa Febos, author of Body Work, Girlhood, and other books. Girlhood was a ...

858. Lydia Kiesling

09 Aug 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Lydia Kiesling is the author of the novel Mobility, available from Crooked Media Reads. Kiesling is the author of The Golden State, a 2018 National B...

857. Khashayar J. Khabushani

06 Aug 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Khashayar J. Khabushani is the author of the debut novel I Will Greet the Sun Again, available from Hogarth Books. Khabushani was born in Van Nuys, C...

Michael Schumacher on Allen Ginsberg, New York City, Poetry, Kindness, Controversy, and Writing a Biography

04 Aug 2023

Contributed by Lukas

In today's flashback, an outtake from Episode 684, my conversation with Michael Schumacher, author of Dharma Lion: A Biography of Allen Ginsberg (Uni...

856. Jamel Brinkley

02 Aug 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Jamel Brinkley is the author of the story collection Witness, available from Farrar, Straus, & Giroux. Brinkley is the author of A Lucky Man: Storie...

855. Edan Lepucki

30 Jul 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Edan Lepucki is the bestselling author of the novel Time's Mouth, available from Counterpoint Press. Lepucki's other books include the novels Califor...

Viet Thanh Nguyen on History, War Movies, Race, Refugees, Vietnam, and the Need for Political Literature

28 Jul 2023

Contributed by Lukas

In today's flashback, an outtake from Episode 419, my conversation with Pulitzer Prize-winner Viet Thanh Nguyen, author of the bestselling novel The...

854. Geoff Rickly

26 Jul 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Geoff Rickly is the author of the debut novel Someone Who Isn't Me, available from Rose Books. It is the official July pick of the Otherppl Book Club....

853. Ruth Madievsky

23 Jul 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Ruth Madievsky is the author of the debut novel All-Night Pharmacy, available from Catapult. Madievsky is the author of a bestselling poetry collect...

Carmen Maria Machado on Anxiety, Death, Childhood, Sick Lit, Writing Letters, and Religion

21 Jul 2023

Contributed by Lukas

In today's flashback, an outtake from Episode 491, my conversation with Carmen Maria Machado, author of the bestselling memoir In the Dream House. Ma...

852. Jenny Xie

19 Jul 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Jenny Xie is the author of the debut novel Holding Pattern, available from Riverhead Books. Xie is a writer and editor living in Brooklyn. Originally...

851. Andrew Lipstein

16 Jul 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Andrew Lipstein is the author of the novel The Vegan, available from Farrar, Straus, and Giroux. Lipstein is also the author of Last Resort (FSG, ...

D.T. Max on David Foster Wallace, Different Kinds of Intelligence, Bret Easton Ellis, Irony vs. Sincerity, and 12-Step Philosophy

14 Jul 2023

Contributed by Lukas

In today's flashback, an outtake from Episode 107, my conversation with D.T. Max, New Yorker staff writer and author of Every Love Story is a Ghost St...

850. Nicole Flattery

12 Jul 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Nicole Flattery is the author of the novel Nothing Special, available from Bloomsbury. Flattery is also the author of the story collection Show Them ...

849. Sarah Rose Etter

09 Jul 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Sarah Rose Etter is the author of the novel Ripe, available from Scribner. Etter's other books include The Book of X and Tongue Party. Her work has...

Elif Batuman on Epistolary Relationships, Childhood, the Foolishness of Youth, Creative Humiliation, Perseverance, and Finding the Beauty in Yourself

07 Jul 2023

Contributed by Lukas

In today's flashback, an outtake from Episode 506, my conversation with Elif Batuman. Elif Batuman's first novel, The Idiot, was a finalist for a Puli...

848. Patrick deWitt

05 Jul 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Patrick deWitt is the author of the novel The Librarianist, available from Ecco. His other books include the novels French Exit, a national bestsel...

How to Start an Indie Press

02 Jul 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Chelsea Hodson is the author of the essay collection Tonight I'm Someone Else, which came out in 2018. She is the founder of the new indie press Rose...

Hanya Yanagihara on Big Books, Writing Quickly, Creative Immersion, Great Readers, Complex Interiors, and the Removal of Context

30 Jun 2023

Contributed by Lukas

In today's flashback, an outtake from Episode 401, my conversation with Hanya Yanagihara from February 2016. Hanya Yanagihara is a prize-winning autho...

847. Tess Gunty

28 Jun 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Tess Gunty is the author of the debut novel The Rabbit Hutch, now available in trade paperback from Vintage. It received the National Book Award for F...

846. Lorrie Moore

25 Jun 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Lorrie Moore is the bestselling author of the novel I Am Homeless if This Is Not My Home, available from Knopf. Moore is the Gertrude Conaway Vanderbi...

Tim O'Brien on Death, Fatherhood, Child Wisdom, Pacifism, War, Memory, and the Illusion of Self

23 Jun 2023

Contributed by Lukas

In today's flashback, an outtake from Episode 616, my conversation with Tim O'Brien from December 2019. O'Brien received the 1979 National Book Award ...

845. Leila Slimani

21 Jun 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Leila Slimani is the author of the novel Watch Us Dance, available from Viking. Translated by Sam Taylor. Slimani is the bestselling author of The ...

844. Alejandra Oliva

18 Jun 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Alejandra Oliva is the author of Rivermouth: A Chronicle of Language, Faith, and Migration, available from Astra House. Oliva is an essayist, translat...

Pulitzer Special: Hernan Diaz and Ingrid Rojas Contreras

16 Jun 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Today on the program, a special Pulitzer Prize episode featuring authors Hernan Diaz and Ingrid Rojas Contreras. Diaz won a 2023 Pulitzer Prize in Fi...

843. Molly Lynch

14 Jun 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Molly Lynch is the author of the debut novel The Forbidden Territory of a Terrifying Woman, available from Catapult. Lynch grew up on the west coast ...

842. Tania James

11 Jun 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Tania James is the author of the novel Loot, available from Knopf. James is the author of the novels The Tusk That Did the Damage and Atlas of Unk...

Andre Dubus III on Family, Divorce, Fear, Poverty, Vigilante Justice, Writing as Salvation, and the Divine

09 Jun 2023

Contributed by Lukas

In today's flashback, an outtake from Episode 549, my conversation with Andre Dubus III from October 2018. Dubus is the author of several books, ...

841. Jasmin Iolani Hakes

07 Jun 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Jasmin 'Iolani Hakes is the author of the debut novel Hula, available from HarperVia. Hakes was born and raised in Hilo, Hawai'i. Her essays have app...

840. Jim Ruland

04 Jun 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Jim Ruland is the author of the novel Make It Stop, available from Rare Bird Books. Ruland is the co-author of Do What You Want with Bad Religion, ...

Roxane Gay on Hateful Men, Twitter, Breaking Barriers, Selling Books, Channing Tatum, and Hunger

02 Jun 2023

Contributed by Lukas

In today's flashback, an outtake from Episode 448, my conversation with Roxane Gay from January 2017. Roxane Gay is the bestselling author of the b...

839. Bea Setton

31 May 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Bea Setton is the author of the debut novel Berlin, available from Penguin Books. Setton was born in Paris to Franco-British parents and has lived in ...

How to Start a Literary Magazine

28 May 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Declan Meade is the guest. He is the founding editor and publisher of The Stinging Fly, one of the world’s premiere literary magazines, based in Dub...

Jonathan Franzen on Ambition, Plot, Childhood, Birdwatching, and Life-Changing Advice

26 May 2023

Contributed by Lukas

In today's flashback, an outtake from Episode 426, my conversation with Jonathan Franzen from August 2016. He is the author of six novels, most recent...

How the Horror Genre Works

24 May 2023

Contributed by Lukas

In the latest "Craftwork" episode, a deep-dive conversation about the horror genre with author and story expert John Truby. His latest book, The Anato...

838. Ivy Pochoda

21 May 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Ivy Pochoda is the author of the novel Sing Her Down, available from MCD Books. Pochoda's other books include the acclaimed novels Wonder Valley, Vi...

Ottessa Moshfegh on Creative Inspiration, Mental Anguish, Substance Abuse, Sobriety, and Writing Into the Dark Places

19 May 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Today I'm launching a new feature on the Otherppl podcast: flashback episodes from the Otherppl archives. These flashbacks will be short-form, and the...

837. Anne Elizabeth Moore

17 May 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Anne Elizabeth Moore is the author of the essay collection Body Horror: Capitalism, Fear, Misogyny, Jokes, available from The Feminist Press. It is th...

836. Samantha Irby

14 May 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Samantha Irby is the bestselling author of the essay collection Quietly Hostile, available from Vintage. Irby's other books include Meaty, Wow, No Tha...

835. Isabella Hammad

10 May 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Isabella Hammad is the author of the novel Enter Ghost, available from Grove Press. Hammad was born in London. Her writing has appeared in Conjunction...

834. Dave Eggers

07 May 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Dave Eggers is the author of the all-ages novel The Eyes and the Impossible, available in a deluxe, limited edition, wood-bound hardcover from McSween...

How the Bestseller Lists Work

03 May 2023

Contributed by Lukas

In the latest "Craftwork" episode, a deep-dive conversation about the bestseller lists with Carly Watters, herself a longtime literary agent and the ...

833. Hannah Pittard

30 Apr 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Hannah Pittard is the author of the memoir We Are Too Many, available from Henry Holt & Co. Pittard is the author of four novels. She is a winner of ...

832. Emily St. John Mandel

26 Apr 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Emily St. John Mandel is the bestselling author of the novel Sea of Tranquility, now available in trade paperback from Vintage. Mandel's five previous...

831. Claire Dederer

23 Apr 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Claire Dederer is the author of Monsters: A Fan's Dilemma, available from Knopf. Dederer is the author of Love and Trouble, and the New York Times ...

830. Matthew Zapruder

19 Apr 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Matthew Zapruder is the author of the memoir Story of a Poem, available from Unnamed Press. Zapruder is the author of five collections of poetry, inc...

829. J. Ryan Stradal

16 Apr 2023

Contributed by Lukas

J. Ryan Stradal is the bestselling author of the novel Saturday Night at the Lakeside Supper Club, available from Viking / Pamela Dorman Books. Strada...

828. Jinwoo Chong

12 Apr 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Jinwoo Chong is the author of the debut novel Flux, available from Melville House. It is the official April pick of the book club. Chong received an ...

827. Tara Conklin

09 Apr 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Tara Conklin is the author of the novel Community Board. It was the official March pick of the book club. Conklin was born on St. Croix in the US Virg...

826. Tiffany Clarke Harrison

05 Apr 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Tiffany Clarke Harrison is the author of the debut novel Blue Hour, available from Soft Skull Press. Harrison graduated from Salisbury University with...

Literary Agents 101

02 Apr 2023

Contributed by Lukas

In the latest "Craftwork" episode, a deep-dive conversation about literary agents with Carly Watters, herself a longtime literary agent and the co-hos...

825. Clancy Martin

29 Mar 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Clancy Martin is the author of How Not to Kill Yourself: A Portrait of the Suicidal Mind, available from Pantheon. Martin is the acclaimed author of t...

824. Alex Mar

26 Mar 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Alex Mar is the author of Seventy Times Seven: A True Story of Murder and Mercy, available from Penguin Press. Mar is the author of Witches of Ameri...

823. Shannon McLeod

22 Mar 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Shannon McLeod is the author of the Nature Trail Stories, available from Thirty West Publishing. McLeod is the author of the novella, Whimsy (Long Day...

822. Madelaine Lucas

19 Mar 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Madelaine Lucas is the author of the debut novel Thirst for Salt, available from Tin House. Lucas is a senior editor of NOON. Born in 1990, she was ra...

How to Use the Editorial Omniscient POV

15 Mar 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Gina Frangello is the guest in the latest 'Craftwork' episode. We talk about the editorial omniscient point of view—what it is, what it can do, and ...

821. Jennifer Michael Hecht

12 Mar 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Jennifer Michael Hecht is the author of The Wonder Paradox: Embracing the Weirdness of Existence and the Poetry of Our Lives, available from Farrar, S...

820. Camonghne Felix

08 Mar 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Camonghne Felix is the author of the memoir Dyscalculia: A Love Story of Epic Miscalculation, available from One World Press. Felix, poet and essayist...

819. Tracey Rose Peyton

01 Mar 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Tracey Rose Peyton is the author of the debut novel Night Wherever We Go, available from Ecco Books. Peyton received her MFA from the Michener Center...

818. V. V. Ganeshananthan

26 Feb 2023

Contributed by Lukas

V. V. Ganeshananthan is the author of the novel Brotherless Night, available from Random House. Ganeshananthan is the author of Love Marriage, whic...

817. Delia Cai

22 Feb 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Delia Cai is the author of the debut novel Central Places, available from Ballantine Books. Cai was born in Madison, Wisconsin, and grew up in centra...

816. Rebecca Makkai

19 Feb 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Rebecca Makkai is the author of the novel I Have Some Questions for You, available from Viking Books. Makkai's last novel, The Great Believers, was a...

815. Chetna Maroo

15 Feb 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Chetna Maroo is the author of the debut novel Western Lane, available from Farrar, Straus, & Giroux. Maroo lives in London. Her stories have been pub...

How to Write a Book Proposal

12 Feb 2023

Contributed by Lukas

In today's "Craftwork" episode, a conversation with Courtney Maum about how to write a good book proposal. Courtney is the author of five books, inclu...

814. Ayobami Adebayo

08 Feb 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Ayobami Adebayo is the author of the novel A Spell of Good Things, available from Knopf. Adebayo was born in Lagos, Nigeria. Her debut novel, Stay wi...

813. Charmaine Craig

05 Feb 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Charmaine Craig is the author of the novel My Nemesis, available from Grove Press. Craig is the author of the novels Miss Burma, longlisted for the N...

812. Wendell Steavenson

01 Feb 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Wendell Steavenson is the author of the novel Margot, available from W.W. Norton & Co. It is the official February pick of the TNB Book Club. Steavens...

How to Write More Dynamic Scenes

29 Jan 2023

Contributed by Lukas

In this episode of "Craftwork," author Peter Turchi teaches a lesson on how to use shifting power dynamics to write more dynamic scenes in fiction. Tu...

811. David S. Wills

25 Jan 2023

Contributed by Lukas

David S. Wills is the author of High White Notes: The Rise and Fall of Gonzo Journalism, available from Beatdom Books. Wills is the founder and editor...