I love hip hop, especially old school hip hop -- and my favorite group of all time is Tribe Called Quest. My guest poet Hanif Abdurraqib has written a beautiful tribute called: Go Ahead In The Rain: Notes To A Tribe Called Quest. Part memoir, part love letter, part hip hop history, part social commentary, the book looks at a group through a fresh lens. I enjoyed geeking out with Hanif about Tribe and hearing about his journey growing up in Ohio, becoming a music critic and then transitioning to poetry.

Guest Mignon Fogarty is the host of the popular podcast Grammar Girl, in which she answers her listeners' burning grammar questions and reveals the fascinating history of the English language. Mignon is also the author of seven books, including the NYT’s bestseller, Grammar Girl’s Quick and Dirty Tips for Better Writing. On the podcast, we geek out about the most common grammar myths, serial commas, adverbs, the word “however,” and a brief history of Webster's dictionary.

Max Brooks is the author of the bestselling novels World War Z and The Zombie Survival Guide. He is also a non-resident fellow at the Modern War Institute at West Point. His new graphic novel, Germ Warfare, details the brutal history of microscopic diseases used as weapons of war. Max and I talk about how why he wrote the book, his role as a consultant for national security panels, and how his mother, Anne Bancroft, instilled in him an awareness of disease and love of science at an early age.

Amber Scorah is the author of the powerful new memoir, Leaving the Witness: Exiting a Religion and Finding a Life, in which she sheds light on the insular and private cult-like Jehovah's Witness religion. On the podcast, she talks honestly and bravely about what it's like grow up and spend her formative years as a Witness, why she and so many others subscribe to its beliefs, and how she ultimately exited leaving a husband, family, friends, and everything she believed behind.

Writer/Director Jacob Aaron Estes talks about his new movie 'Don’t Let Go', a supernatural, time-bending thriller about a police detective (played by David Oyelowo) who receives calls from his murdered niece. Jacob is super smart and surprisingly candid. Our conversation covers his journey from film school to feature films, the incredible story of how he almost died in Mexico, his shocking experience working with Harvey Weinstein, and his encouraging advice for aspiring screenwriters.

Writer/Director Jacob Aaron Estes talks about his new movie 'Don’t Let Go', a supernatural, time-bending thriller about a police detective (played by David Oyelowo) who receives calls from his murdered niece. Jacob is super smart and surprisingly candid. Our conversation covers his journey from film school to feature films, the incredible story of how he almost died in Mexico, his shocking experience working with Harvey Weinstein, and his encouraging advice for aspiring screenwriters.

Jorjeana Marie joins the show to talk about her new book, Improv for Writers: 10 Secrets to Help Novelists and Screenwriters Bypass Writer's Block and Generate Infinite Ideas. Jorjeana is a woman of many talents—improv instructor, voice actor, and book narrator to name a few—and her advice on how to get out of your stuck zone and get the creative juices flowing again is valuable to just about anyone, whether you're a writer or a plumber.

Mental illness has been in the headlines a lot recently. But what is it really? Guests Dr. Allan H. Ropper and Brian David Burrell are authors of the brand new book How The Brain Lost Its Mind, which takes a look at the strange history of two misunderstood ailments: syphilis and hysteria, and the efforts to confront their effects on mental life. How does the mind work? Where does mental illness lie, in the brain or in the mind? And how should it be treated?

Journalist and author, Abigail Pesta, talks about her compelling ew book The Girls: An All-American Town, a Predatory Doctor, and the Untold Story of the Gymnasts Who Brought Him Down. Abigail takes us through how and why she wrote the book, some of her most shocking findings, and the one piece of writing advice she got from her brother that helped her finish. Abigail writes about women fighting back against injustice. Her work has appeared in The Times, The Wall Street Journal, and The Atlantic.

If you want to better understand the intersection of politics, religion, and crime in the rural South, Ace Atkins is your roadmap. The author of 24 books, including nine Quinn Colson novels, Atkins just dropped The Shameless, which features Quinn, an ex-Army Ranger in Afghanistan turned sheriff in fictional Tebbehah County, Miss. Ace talks about what he learned as a crime journalist, how he writes such realistic characters and dialogue,  his concern over emboldened racists, and why there's still hope.