Zero to Well-Read

By Book RiotSociety & Culture Arts Books

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Typical duration
94 min
per episode

Based on Podcast App listening data

Zero to Well-Read episodes

April 07 The Old Man and the Sea by Ernest Hemingway
Jeff and Rebecca dig into Hemingway's The Old Man and the Sea, the book that won him both the Pulitzer and the Nobel, and that he called the best writing he would ever do. They explore what Hemingway's iceberg theory actually means in practice, the way his economy of language conveys deep feeling, and his enduring impact on contemporary style.
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Thank you to ThriftBooks for being the presenting sponsor of this season of Zero to Well-Read!
Zero to Well-Read is a proud member of the Airwave Podcast Network.
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1 hr 25 min
March 31 Much Ado About Nothing by William Shakespeare
Jeff and Rebecca take on one of Shakespeare's best–and best-known–comedies, Much Ado About Nothing. They talk about its enduring appeal, the "merry war" of banter that continues to inspire and influence rom-com writing, and the classic novels that wouldn't exist if Shakespeare had never written Benedick and Beatrice.
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Follow Zero to Well-Read on Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube.
Email us: [email protected]
Thank you to ThriftBooks for being the presenting sponsor of this season of Zero to Well-Read!
Zero to Well-Read is a proud member of the Airwave Podcast Network.
Use code THEBOOKS for 20% off at Cozy Earth.
This content contains affiliate links. When you buy through these links, we may earn an affiliate commission.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
1 hr 17 min
March 24 How to Hone Your Reading Skills, What Makes a Good Reading Goal, and More from the Mailbag
How can you sharpen your reading skills and learn to evaluate books more deeply? When is it optimizing to quit a book you're bored of, and when is it worth the slog? Reading goals: good or no? Jeff and Rebecca dip into the mailbag to answer listener questions and respond to feedback.
Subscribe to our free newsletter, and become a member for access to early, ad-free listening and bonus content.
Follow Zero to Well-Read on Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube.
Email us: [email protected]
Thank you to ThriftBooks for being the presenting sponsor of this season of Zero to Well-Read!
Zero to Well-Read is a proud member of the Airwave Podcast Network.
Use code THEBOOKS for 20% off at Cozy Earth.
This content contains affiliate links. When you buy through these links, we may earn an affiliate commission.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
1 hr 14 min
March 17 Forever... by Judy Blume
You never forget your first. Rebecca and Jeff revisit Judy Blume's classic young adult novel about first love, losing your virginity, and the thrills and fears of growing up. They discuss what made Forever... radical in 1975 and why it's still being banned and challenged today, what's timeless and what hasn't aged so well, and why every teenager should read a book like this.
Subscribe to our free newsletter, and become a member for access to early, ad-free listening and bonus content.
Follow Zero to Well-Read on Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube.
Email us: [email protected]
Thank you to ThriftBooks for being the presenting sponsor of this season of Zero to Well-Read!
Zero to Well-Read is a proud member of the Airwave Podcast Network.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
1 hr 17 min
March 10 The Book ONE BATTLE AFTER ANOTHER is Based On
As the Academy Awards approach, Jeff and Rebecca discuss Vineland by Thomas Pynchon, the book that inspired Best Picture frontrunner One Battle After Another.
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Follow Zero to Well-Read on Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube.
Email us: [email protected]
Thank you to ThriftBooks for being the presenting sponsor of this season of Zero to Well-Read!
Zero to Well-Read is a proud member of the Airwave Podcast Network.
This content contains affiliate links. When you buy through these links, we may earn an affiliate commission.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
1 hr 12 min
March 03 Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir
Jeff and Rebecca strap in for a trip to outer space as they revisit Andy Weir's space thriller Project Hail Mary in advance of the upcoming adaptation. They talk about what makes this a singularly fun reading experience, Weir's special ability to blend hard science with humor and humanity, and why we need more interstellar bromances.
Subscribe to our free newsletter, and become a member for access to early, ad-free listening and bonus content.
Follow Zero to Well-Read on Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube.
Email us: [email protected]
Thank you to ThriftBooks for being the presenting sponsor of this season of Zero to Well-Read!
Zero to Well-Read is a proud member of the Airwave Podcast Network.
This content contains affiliate links. When you buy through these links, we may earn an affiliate commission.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
1 hr 24 min
February 24 1984 by George Orwell
Is 1984 the most influential novel of the 20th century? Jeff and Rebecca go back to the future to explore the landmark dystopian novel that gave us Big Brother, doublethink, the memory hole, and 2 + 2 = 5. They dig into Orwell’s vision of totalitarian power, the relationship between language and thought, asking not just why 1984 endures, but what it actually gets right (and wrong) about how control works.
Subscribe to our free newsletter, and become a member for access to early, ad-free listening and bonus content.
Follow Zero to Well-Read on Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube.
Email us: [email protected]
Thank you to ThriftBooks for being the presenting sponsor of this season of Zero to Well-Read!
Zero to Well-Read is a proud member of the Airwave Podcast Network.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
1 hr 30 min
February 17 The Warmth of Other Suns by Isabel Wilkerson
Rebecca and Jeff are joined by Book Riot's director of content Sharifah Williams for a conversation about Isabel Wilkerson's groundbreaking oral history of the Great Migration, The Warmth of Other Suns. They discuss Wilkerson's singular blend of journalism, history, and storytelling; the magic of making a serious work of nonfiction read like fiction; and why this just might be the best nonfiction book of the century so far.
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Follow Zero to Well-Read on Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube.
Email us: [email protected]
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Zero to Well-Read is a proud member of the Airwave Podcast Network.
This content contains affiliate links. When you buy through these links, we may earn an affiliate commission.

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1 hr 41 min
February 10 Wuthering Heights by Emily Brontë
Wuthering Heights is not a romance, and anyone who says differently is selling something. Jeff and Rebecca shift into gothic mode to discuss Emily Brontë's dark and twisty tale of obsession, revenge, and what happens when love curdles into possession.
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Follow Zero to Well-Read on Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube.
Email us: [email protected]
Zero to Well-Read is a proud member of the Airwave Podcast Network.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
1 hr 33 min
February 03 Go Tell It on the Mountain by James Baldwin
Rebecca and Jeff revisit James Baldwin's searing coming-of-age novel about faith, family, shame, and generational inheritance. They discuss Baldwin's complicated relationship to the church, what it means to be “saved” in a world structured to deny freedom, and why the book's questions about power, masculinity, and belief still feel urgent today.
Subscribe to our free newsletter, and become a member for access to early, ad-free listening and bonus content.
Follow Zero to Well-Read on Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube.
Email us: [email protected]
Zero to Well-Read is a proud member of the Airwave Podcast Network.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
1 hr 27 min

About Zero to Well-Read

From the publisher's feed

Part book club, part English class, Zero to Well-Read is a fun and informative guide to the books people talk about like everyone has read them. Each week, hosts Jeff O'Neal and Rebecca Schinsky take…