Otherppl with Brad Listi

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...

810. Kevin Maloney

22 Jan 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Kevin Maloney is the author of the novel The Red-Headed Pilgrim, available from Two Dollar Radio. Maloney is the author of Cult of Loretta and the ...

How to Write Action

20 Jan 2023

Contributed by Lukas

In the inaugural episode of Craftwork, a new series from the Otherppl podcast, author Matt Bell teaches a lesson on how to write action in fiction. Be...

809. Matthew Salesses

18 Jan 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Matthew Salesses is the author of the novel The Sense of Wonder (Little, Brown & Co.). Salesses' other books include the national bestseller Craft in...

808. Bruce Wagner

15 Jan 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Bruce Wagner is the author of Roar: American Master, available from Arcade Publishing. Wagner has written twelve novels and bestsellers, including the...

807. Kashana Cauley

11 Jan 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Kashana Cauley is the author of the debut novel The Survivalists, available from Soft Skull Press. Cauley is a former Midtown antitrust lawyer and Br...

806. Sean Adams

08 Jan 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Sean Adams is the author of the novel The Thing in the Snow, available from William Morrow. It is the official January pick of the TNB Book Club. Adam...

805. Dorthe Nors

04 Jan 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Dorthe Nors is the author of the acclaimed essay collection A Line in the World: A Year on the North Sea Coast (Graywolf Press), translated by Carolin...

Holiday Spectacular 2022

21 Dec 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Here we are again. Another year in the books. Another Holiday Spectacular episode of the Otherppl podcast. This year, the Spectacular was recorded at ...

804. Sam Lipsyte

14 Dec 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Sam Lipsyte is the author of the novel No One Left to Come Looking for You (Simon & Schuster). Lipsyte is the author of the story collections Venus ...

803. Allegra Hyde

07 Dec 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Allegra Hyde is the author of the novel Eleutheria, available from Vintage. It is the official December pick of the TNB Book Club. Hyde's debut story ...

802. Emily Pifer

30 Nov 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Emily Pifer is the author of the award-winning debut memoir The Running Body, available from Autumn House Press. Pifer received her MFA in creative no...

801. Kyle Spencer

23 Nov 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Kyle Spencer is an investigative journalist and the author of Raising Them Right: The Untold Story of America's Ultraconservative Youth Movement and I...

800. Pete Hsu

16 Nov 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Pete Hsu is the author of the story collection If I Were the Ocean, I'd Carry You Home, available from Red Hen Press. It is the official November pick...

799. Rich Ferguson, Mary Kerr, S.A. Griffin

13 Nov 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Rich Ferguson, Mary Kerr, and S.A. Griffin are the guests for a roundtable discussion of Beat literature and the new anthology Beat Not Beat: An Antho...

798. Lynn Steger Strong

09 Nov 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Lynn Steger Strong is the author of the novel Flight, available from Mariner Books. Strong's other books include the novels Want and Hold Still. Her...

797. Andrew Sean Greer

02 Nov 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Andrew Sean Greer is a Pulitzer Prize winner and the author of the novel Less is Lost (Little, Brown), a New York Times bestseller. Greer is the auth...

796. Jonathan Escoffery

26 Oct 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Jonathan Escoffery is the author of the debut story collection If I Survive You, available from MCD/FSG. If I Survive You is a National Book Award Nom...

795. George Saunders

19 Oct 2022

Contributed by Lukas

George Saunders is the author of the story collection Liberation Day, available from Random House. Saunders is the #1 New York Times bestselling au...

794. Morgan Talty

12 Oct 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Morgan Talty is the author of the debut story collection Night of the Living Rez, available from Tin House. It is the official October pick of The Ner...

793. A.M. Homes

05 Oct 2022

Contributed by Lukas

A.M. Homes is the author of the novel The Unfolding, available from Viking. Homes is the author of thirteen books, among them the best-selling memoir...

792. Chelsea Martin

28 Sep 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Chelsea Martin is the author of the novel Tell Me I'm an Artist, available from Soft Skull Press. Martin is the author of the essay collection Caca Do...

791. Elizabeth Strout

21 Sep 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Elizabeth Strout is the Pulitzer Prize-winning author of the novel Lucy by the Sea, available from Random House. Strout is the #1 New York Times be...

790. Jerry Stahl

14 Sep 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Jerry Stahl is the author of the memoir Nein, Nein, Nein!: One Man's Tale of Depression, Psychic Torment, and a Bus Tour of the Holocaust, available f...

789. Luke Dani Blue

07 Sep 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Luke Dani Blue is the author of the debut story collection Pretend It's My Body, available from The Feminist Press. It is the official September pick ...

788. Timothy Willis Sanders

31 Aug 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Timothy Willis Sanders is the author of the story collection Modern Massacres (Publishing Genius). Modern Massacres is Timothy Willis Sanders’s thi...