Bookable

It's been more than twenty years since the publication of Nicholas Lemann's classic book The Big Test, which exploded the myth of meritocracy in a system blind to the inequalities it fostered. While systemic discrimination is widely discussed now, that's a fairly new phenomenon. In this episode, author Nicholas Lemann and Amanda explore how a creation with noble intentions--standardized testing--designed to mitigate social discrimination ended up being tainted by the very same bias it hoped to end.  

About the Author:

Nicholas Lemann is Joseph Pulitzer II and Edith Pulitzer Moore Professor and Dean Emeritus at Columbia Journalism School. A staff writer for The New Yorker, his previous books include The Big Test: The Secret History of the American Meritocracy and The Promised Land: The Great Migration and How It Changed America.

Episode Credits:

This episode was produced by Andrew Dunn, Beau Friedlander and Amanda Stern. It was edited, mixed and sound-designed by Andrew Dunn who also created Bookable's chill vibe. Our host is Amanda Stern. Beau Friedlander is Bookable's executive producer and editor in chief of Loud Tree Media. 

Music:

"Mean Streets" by The Shrugs, "In Asbury" by Memory Palace, "Books That Bounce" by Rufus Canis, "Daydreamin'" by Dr Crosby, "Starry Night" by Brian Sussman, "Uni Swing Vox" by Rufus Canis, "Caña" by Sun Shapes

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Lydia Millet's new novel A Children's Bible is the perfect book for a global pandemic set against a backdrop of growing social unrest, and Amanda is the perfect person for her to talk to about it. What are we leaving our children? Amanda and Lydia Millet explore the dark topics that drive her new book in a transformative conversation that will stay with you as we all navigate the uncharted territory of our here and now. 

About the Author:

Lydia Millet has written twelve works of fiction. She has won awards from PEN Center USA and the American Academy of Arts and Letters, and her books have been longlisted for the National Book Award, shortlisted for the National Book Critics Circle Award and Los Angeles Times Book Prize, and named as New York Times Notable Books. Her story collection Love in Infant Monkeys was a Pulitzer Prize finalist. She lives outside Tucson, Arizona.

Episode Credits:

This episode was produced by Andrew Dunn, Beau Friedlander and Amanda Stern. It was edited, mixed and sound-designed by Andrew Dunn who also created Bookable's chill vibe. Our host is Amanda Stern. Beau Friedlander is Bookable's executive producer and editor in chief of Loud Tree Media. 

Music:

"Andromeda" by Brian Sussman, "Landmark" by Brian Sussman, "Books That Bounce" by Rufus Canis, "Finders Keepers" by Paper Rabbit, "Rainy Day" by Brian Sussman, "Uni Swing Vox" by Rufus Canis

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Are you having trouble staying focused? Listen in on Jennifer Egan and Susan Choi as they explore productivity in the time of Covid, luck, how to outline a story, beginnings and endings, and one of Amanda's very favorite pieces of writing: the PowerPoint chapter in Egan's Pulitzer-winning A Visit from the Goon Squad.

Episode Credits:

This episode was produced by Andrew Dunn, Beau Friedlander and Amanda Stern. It was mixed and sound-designed by Andrew Dunn who also created Bookable's chill vibe. Our host is Amanda Stern. Beau Friedlander is Bookable's executive producer and editor in chief of Loud Tree Media. 

Music:

"Books that Bounce" by Rufus Canis, "Different Strokes" by Jupyter, "Uni Swing Vox" by Rufus Canis.

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Etgar Keret has a unique talent for finding humor in the indignities of everyday life, the miscommunications that drive us and the losses that punctuate life. In Fly Already, Etgar Keret gives a masterclass on using humor to save your life or just make it more bearable. Whether it's a dissatisfied angel longing for more, a guy desperate to impress his crush by scoring joint during a weed shortage, or a couple tracing their breakup to the primordial ooze of its start, this moving and deeply human short story collection is perfect in its celebration of the imperfect. 

About the Author:

Etgar Keret was born in Ramat Gan and now lives in Tel Aviv. A recipient of the French Chevalier des Arts et des Lettres, the Charles Bronfman Prize, and the Caméra d’Or at the Cannes Film Festival, he is the author of the memoir The Seven Good Years and story collections including The Bus Driver Who Wanted to Be God. His work has been translated into forty-five languages and has appeared in The New Yorker, The Wall Street Journal, Wired, The Paris Review, and the New York Times, among many other publications, and on This American Life, where he is a regular contributor.

Episode Credits:

This episode was produced by Andrew Dunn, Beau Friedlander and Amanda Stern. It was edited, mixed and sound-designed by Andrew Dunn who also created Bookable's chill vibe. Our host is Amanda Stern. Beau Friedlander is Bookable's executive producer and editor in chief of Loud Tree Media. 

Music:

"Pershing Drive" by The Roof Beam Carpenters, "Inviting The Bell" by Jules Blueprints, "Books That Bounce" by Rufus Canis, "Milo's Dance" by Paper Rabbit, "Navy Blue" by Brian Sussman, "Uni Swing Vox" by Rufus Canis, "Dance With Me" by Keen Collective.

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The authors of Bookable have the most amazing friends. We wondered what would happen if we asked a former Bookable guest to choose an author they admire and interview them. In our first bonus episode, Alexander Chee talks to Rebecca Solnit. Writer, historian, and activist Solnit is the author of more than twenty books on feminism, western and indigenous history, popular power, social change and insurrection, wandering and walking, hope and disaster, including her latest book, just out, entitled Recollections of My Nonexistence.

Episode Credits:

This episode was produced by Andrew Dunn, Beau Friedlander and Amanda Stern. It was mixed and sound-designed by Andrew Dunn who also created Bookable's chill vibe. Our host is Amanda Stern. Beau Friedlander is Bookable's executive producer and editor in chief of Loud Tree Media. 

Music:

"Books that Bounce" by Rufus Canis, "Different Strokes" by Jupyter, "Uni Swing Vox" by Rufus Canis.

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Can ghosts use radiation to talk to us? And what does quantum entanglement have to do with friendship? Acclaimed novelist Nell Freudenberger answers these questions, and tells Amanda the true story of a pioneering female scientist who one hundred percent should have won the Nobel Prize, but didn't (guess why). Hard science can give rise to poetry, and Freudenberger talks about her choice to go that route in Lost and Wanted--pulling back the curtain on a process of literary alchemy--and did we mention ghosts? 

About the Author:

Nell Freudenberger is the author of the novels The Newlyweds and The Dissident, and the story collection Lucky Girls, which was awarded the PEN/Malamud Award and the Sue Kaufman Prize for First Fiction from the American Academy of Arts and Letters. A recipient of a Guggenheim Fellowship, a Whiting Award, and a Cullman Fellowship from the New York Public Library, she lives in Brooklyn with her family.

Episode Credits:

This episode was produced by Andrew Dunn, Beau Friedlander and Amanda Stern. It was mixed and sound-designed by Andrew Dunn who also created Bookable's chill vibe. Our host and co-producer is Amanda Stern. Beau Friedlander is Bookable's executive producer and editor in chief of Loud Tree Media. 

Music:

"Cop Talk" by Grapefruit, "Stargazers" by Land of Legs, "The Color Up In the Hills" by The Tree Ring, "Pendulum" by Sun Shapes, "Starry Night" by Brian Sussman, "Bright Futures" by Keen Collective, "Divider" by Chris Zabriskie

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Do you know what devil's lettuce is? Any idea exactly how much THC you need to get the exact right high? Got Cannabinoids? What about CBD? What's the matter with marijuana? Indica or sativa? We got answers to those questions and more from weed expert Michelle Lhooq, author of Weed: Everything You Always Want To Know But Are Always Too Stoned To Ask. It's a comprehensive read that will raise your Pot IQ by at least ten points. Episode 6 has it all, from the basics to the cutting edge of weed's new green revolution.

About the Author:

Michelle Lhooq is a journalist, event producer, documentary host, and author based in Los Angeles. She's written features, essays, and criticism for New York Magazine, the Los Angeles Times, GQ, Vice, Fader, Pitchfork, and other publications. 

From 2014-2017 she was a features editor for Vice, reporting on topics like sexual assault in nightclubs, environmental scams in Ibiza, the economic impact of techno tourism, and 90s club kid murderers. She also made documentaries about Black Lives Matter’s impact on Baltimore’s music scene, and fatal synthetic hallucinogens.

Episode Credits:

This episode was produced, mixed, and sound-designed by Andrew Dunn. Our host and co-producer is Amanda Stern. Beau Friedlander is Bookable's executive producer. 

Music:

"Here Forever" by Ballute, "Cypress" by Kay Orange, "Good Morning Melody" by Lullatone, "June Bug" by Jupyter, "Feeling Sound" by Jupyter, “Uni Swing Vox” by Rufus Cani, “Books that Bounce” by Rufus Canis.

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How far would you go for family? In My Sister The Serial Killer author Oyinkan Braithwaite writes about two sisters with an unusually deadly sibling dynamic. The elder sister is meticulous, tidy, and controlling. Her little sister is the beautiful one; capricious, charming, and, as it happens, a serial killer. My Sister the Serial Killer is a fast-paced thriller with pulpy and comic overtones and just the right amount of family dysfunction.

About the Author:

Oyinkan Braithwaite is a graduate of Kingston University in Creative Writing and Law. Following her degree, she worked as an assistant editor at Kachifo Limited, a Nigerian publishing house, and as a production manager at Ajapaworld, a children’s educational and entertainment company. She now works as a freelance writer and editor. 

In 2014, she was shortlisted as a top-ten spoken-word artist in the Eko Poetry Slam, and in 2016 she was a finalist for the Commonwealth Short Story Prize. She lives in Lagos, Nigeria.

Episode Credits:

This episode was produced, mixed, and sound-designed by Andrew Dunn. Our host and co-producer is Amanda Stern. Beau Friedlander is executive producer with an assist on writing and editorial. 

Music:

 “Ruvv” by The Brow, “This Public Radio Life” by Lullatone, “Surrogate (acoustic)” by Wildermiss, “Good Morning Melody” by Lullatone, “Light a Fire” by Kid Prism, “Brighten” by Polyrhythmics, “Uni Swing Vox” by Rufus Cani, “Books that Bounce” by Rufus Canis.

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Comic book franchises are all about the allure of a good superhero, but real-life superheroes are rare. Author Julie Orringer writes about one in The Flight Portfolio. Varian Fry saved thousands of lives during World War II. In this brilliant work of historical fiction, Orringer tells his remarkable story. Packed with jeweler's attention to detail, a memorable cast of sidekicks, hate-worthy villains, forbidden romance and harrowing accounts of dangerous secret operations, The Flight Portfolio might be the most amazing story you’ve never heard — until now!

About the author:

Julie Orringer is the author of The Invisible Bridge and the award-winning short-story collection How to Breathe Underwater, which was a New York Times Notable Book. She is the winner of The Paris Review‘s Plimpton Prize for Fiction and the recipient of fellowships from the National Endowment for the Arts, Stanford University, and the Dorothy and Lewis B. Cullman Center for Scholars and Writers at the New York Public Library. She lives in Brooklyn.

Episode Credits:

This episode was produced, mixed, and sound-designed by Andrew Dunn, with Loud Tree Media executive producer and editor Beau Friedlander. Our host and co-producer is Amanda Stern.

Music:

Complicated Congas: "Gold Rush," Phantom Sun: "Blooms," Lullatone: "Heavy Eyelids," Rufus Canis: "Books that Bounce," Sun Shapes: "Crossings," Vintage Twin: "Shout It Out," Rufus Canis: "Uni Swing Vox," Brian Sussman: "Straighten Up"

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Spoilers and secrets have a lot in common, but what happens when a book’s structure is the spoiler? How do you talk about something like that without giving too much away? Don't look at us for the answer. In this episode we spoil the hell of National Book Award winner Susan Choi's novel Trust Exercises.

An amazing narrative accomplishment, Choi's book asks probing questions about the exact nature of truth, honesty and secrets. But it also asks questions about structure and form and finally one of the biggest questions for a writer these days: Exactly what makes a book a novel?

About the Author:

Susan Choi’s first novel, The Foreign Student, won the Asian-American Literary Award for fiction. Her second novel, American Woman, was a finalist for the 2004 Pulitzer Prize and was adapted into a film. Her third novel, A Person of Interest, was a finalist for the 2009 PEN/Faulkner Award. In 2010 she was named the inaugural recipient of the PEN/W.G. Sebald Award. 

Her fourth novel, My Education, received a 2014 Lammy Award. Her fifth novel, Trust Exercise, and her first book for children, Camp Tiger, came out earlier this year. A recipient of fellowships from the National Endowment for the Arts and the Guggenheim Foundation, she teaches fiction writing at Yale and lives in Brooklyn.

Episode Credits:

This episode was produced, mixed, and sound-designed by Andrew Dunn, with editorial help from Beau Friedlander. Our host and co-producer is Amanda Stern. 

Music:

“Up Sight” by The Brow, “Amazing” by Joonie, “Sonogram” by John Venderslice, “Horizon” by Fremont, “Feeling Sound” by Jupyter, “Adobe Dog House” by Gideon Freudmann, "Gold Rush" by Complicated Congas.

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