Mary Catherine Starr, the artist behind the @momlife_comics Instagram account, chats with Zibby about her utterly hilarious and relatable illustrated memoir about modern motherhood, MAMA NEEDS A MINUTE! Mary opens up about the emotional toll of early parenthood, the sleep deprivation that rocked her first year as a mom, and the mental load that continues to weigh on mothers today. She also shares how her comics—born out of personal overwhelm—have struck a chord with women around the world, and how motherhood reshaped her marriage and creative life.

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Zibby welcomes acclaimed poet and debut novelist Yrsa Daley-Ward to discuss THE CATCH, a darkly whimsical, riveting tale of women daring to live and create with impunity—and the inaugural novel in the Well-Read Black Girl Books series. Yrsa delves into the story, which follows two estranged sisters whose lives are upended when one believes she sees their mother, who was long presumed dead. Yrsa touches on the book’s poetic structure and themes of identity, loss, imagination, and sisterhood, and then shares how the grief of losing her own mother in early adulthood inspired the novel’s emotional core. Finally, she offers powerful advice for aspiring writers.

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Bestselling author Katie Sise returns to the podcast to discuss YOU MUST BE NEW HERE, a dark and twisty suspense novel about a friendship that is put to the test when a young woman disappears from a quiet community. Katie dives into her novel’s themes of intoxicating, magnetic friendships; motherhood; divorce; and the emotional weight of raising a medically fragile child. She also shares how her own family’s experiences with loss and illness shaped the story, as well as her improvisational writing style, love of teen characters, and commitment to telling emotionally resonant, twisty stories.

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Totally Booked: LIVE! In this special episode of the podcast (in-person at the Whitby Hotel with a live audience!), Zibby interviews debut author Kate Broad about her stunning, fast-paced, atmospheric novel, GREENWICH. The story centers on Rachel, a 17-year-old navigating a pivotal summer in the opulent world of Greenwich, Connecticut, where a terrible accident forces her to make a life-altering decision. Kate discusses the book’s themes of girlhood, class, moral ambiguity, and family loyalty, as well as the emotional isolation that spans generations. She also opens up about her long road to publication, sharing advice for aspiring writers and the persistence it takes to bring a novel to life. 

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Zibby welcomes Adam Met—musician, climate activist, academic, and now author—to discuss his powerful new book AMPLIFY: How to Use the Power of Connection to Engage, Take Action, and Build a Better World. Best known as a member of the band AJR, Adam shares how his journey from indie musician to arena headliner taught him the secrets of building a passionate fanbase, which he now applies to activism, advocacy, and policy change. He and Zibby dive into how entertainment strategies like gamification, community-building, and storytelling can power social movements, how to find your role in the causes you care about, and why local action is more powerful than most people realize.

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Debut author Emma Pei Yin chats with Zibby about her remarkable and harrowing new novel, WHEN SLEEPING WOMEN WAKE. Set in Japanese-occupied Hong Kong during WWII, the book follows the gripping journey of a mother, daughter, and maid as they struggle to reunite after being torn apart by the war. Emma shares the personal family history that inspired the novel, including stories from her grandfather, a long estrangement from her grandmother, and her own journey toward reconnection and healing. She also shares her path to writing, the challenges of moving to Australia alone at 19, and how her desire to honor silenced female voices shaped her storytelling.

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Zibby interviews internationally renowned pediatric neurosurgeon Dr. David I. Sandberg about BRAIN AND HEART, a warm, brilliant, and unforgettable memoir that captures the medical and emotional intensity of pediatric neurosurgery. David touches on navigating difficult conversations with families, his experiences performing surgery in low-resource countries like Haiti, and the toll—and joy—of a life spent caring for children in crisis. He also opens up about his recent Parkinson’s diagnosis, his difficult decision to step away from surgery, and his plans to pursue a new path in social work.

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Grammy Award-winning singer-songwriter Judy Collins joins Zibby to discuss SOMETIMES IT’S HEAVEN: Poems of Love, Loss, and Redemption, a timeless, bold, and vulnerable collection of poetry that captures the ethereal and inspiring nature of her artistry in an all-new way. Judy reveals how the death of her son and recent loss of her husband inspired her writing—and how she channeled grief, memory, and music into 365 poems written over the course of a year. She also discusses her lifelong relationship with sobriety, spirituality, and creativity, as well as her reflections on fame, friendship, and art. 

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New York Times bestselling author Melissa de la Cruz chats with Zibby about her entertaining and poignant new novel, WHEN STARS ALIGN, published under Mindy Kaling’s imprint at Amazon! Inspired by an iconic early-2000s photo of Lindsay Lohan, Paris Hilton, and Britney Spears, the book explores friendship, fame, and identity through the intertwined stories of three starlets navigating the dark side of celebrity. Melissa reflects on her prolific writing career—over 70 books!—her experience as an immigrant, her path into YA and middle grade, how outlining helps her balance creativity and productivity, and the pressures of success.

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Zibby chats with author Scott Johnston about his provocative, satirical new novel, THE SANDERSONS FAIL MANHATTAN. Set in the elite world of New York’s Upper East Side, the story follows the unraveling of a seemingly perfect family as they collide with modern cultural and educational upheaval. Scott shares the inspiration behind the book—from viral blog posts about private school politics to real-life frustrations with the erosion of values in elite institutions. He and Zibby delve into themes of status, moral courage, parental pressure, and the societal obsession with optics.

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