On this week’s episode of You Are What You Read, we are joined by international writing sensation and master of nonfiction, Erik Larson. Erik is the author of six New York Times bestsellers, which include The Splendid in the Vile, The Devil in the White City, and In the Garden of Beasts. Erik is beloved by readers around the world. His books are taught in classrooms, and book clubs flock to study his work. This is a conversation about Erik's latest book, The Demon of Unrest: A Saga of Hubris,...

On this week’s episode of You Are What You Read, we are joined by singing/songwriting duo and dear friends, Rosanne Cash and John Leventhal. Together, Rosanne and John have made seven albums including the three-time Grammy winning The River & the Thread, Black Cadillac, The List, 10 Song Demo, Rules of Travel and She Remembers Everything, alongside dozens of projects and thousands of live performances. John was the composer on the Big Stone Gap movie soundtrack, which includes signature...

On this week’s episode of You Are What You Read, we are joined by Rainn Wilson, the three-time Emmy nominated actor best known for his role as Dwight Schrute on The Office. Rainn has made audiences laugh over and over again, and now he’s making those same audiences think. On his new podcast, Soul Boom (based on his bestselling book), Rainn seeks out practical and transformative answers to life’s biggest questions. In conversation with some of the greatest minds of our time, Rainn invites us...

Global #1 bestselling author David Baldacci joins us this week on You Are What You Read with his latest novel, A Calamity of Souls. David’s books are published in 45 languages and in more than 80 countries, with 150 million copies sold worldwide. For decades, his stories have thrilled and delighted us, and A Calamity of Souls is no different. Set in the tumultuous year of 1968 in southern Virginia, a racially-charged murder case sets a duo of white and Black lawyers against a deeply unfair...

On this week's episode of You Are What You Read, we visit our friends at Book of the Month for a LIVE conversation with two-time Book of the Year finalist, Amor Towles. We discuss Amor's latest short-story collection, Table for Two, as well as his other bestsellers, The Lincoln Highway, A Gentleman in Moscow and Rules of Civility (all available at bookofthemonth.com)! You will learn about Amor's journey from Wall Street to the bestseller list and enjoy pieces of his writing wisdom along the...

Lisa Scottoline joins us on this week's episode of You Are What You Read with her latest novel, The Truth About the Devlins. Lisa is #1 The New York Times bestselling author of 35 books published in 35 countries. Her books have been printed over thirty million times—from thrillers, to historical fiction, to mysteries—Lisa has done it all! She has also co-authored a series of humorous memoirs with her daughter, the novelist Francesca Serritella. In this episode, we cover Lisa’s latest novel,...

Susie Essman (aka Susie Greene) from Curb Your Enthusiasm joins us this week on You Are What You Read for a conversation about her favorite books, her prized friendships, and her extraordinary career making people laugh.  A stand-up comedian, actress, writer, television producer and voice artist, Susie electrifies any project with her trademark humor and unique sense of character. She emerged as one of the most successful performers in comedy, working alongside Joy Behar, Rodney Dangerfield,...

On this week’s episode of You Are What You Read, we are joined by Academy Award and Emmy-Award winning director, producer, and writer Ed Zwick with his instant New York Times bestselling autobiography, Hits, Flops and Other Illusions.  Ed directed some of the greatest movies of our time: Glory, Legends of the Fall, Blood Diamond, The Last Samurai, Courage Under Fire, Love & Other Drugs, and Defiance; and produced Steven Soderbergh's Traffic and Shakespeare in Love. With his longtime...

On this week’s episode of You Are What You Read, we are joined by fashion designer B Michael and television writer/producer and bestselling author Susan Fales Hill to talk about B Michael’s glorious photographic memoir,  MUSE: Cicely Tyson and Me: A Relationship Forged in Fashion.  B Michael’s collections have garnered appreciation from legends—Cicely Tyson, Valerie Simpson, Beyonce, Nancy Wilson, Brandy, and Susan Fales-Hill among many others. MUSE pays homage to the lifelong friendship...

There are certain weeks of the year when there is just a little more stardust in the air, and that is certainly true of Oscar week. In anticipation of the coveted awards show, we are joined by film historians and bestselling authors, Jeanine Basinger and Sam Wasson, for a conversation through Hollywood history (which is chronicled in Jeanine and Sam's exceptional biography, Hollywood: The Oral History). We are what we read, and we are also what we watch. Jeanine and Sam spotlight the greatest...

On this bonus edition of You Are What You Read, we welcome back Barbara Kingsolver with her Pulitzer Prize winning novel, Demon Copperhead. Set in the mountains of Southern Appalachia, Barbara created a world set to the music of David Copperfield by Charles Dickens to speak to a new generation of lost boys. You’ve written to us about this book, you’ve read it with your book clubs, and now Barbara shares with us her research, her process, and her inspiration for this great novel. We'd also...

Barbara Kingsolver and her daughter, Lily Kingsolver, join us this week on You Are What You Read with their first-ever children's book, Coyote's Wild Home- a luscious, informative story about a young girl and a young coyote pup on their first woodland adventure. Barbara, Pulitzer Prize-winning novelist and recipient of the National Humanities Medal, and Lily, an environmental educator and writer, put their brilliant minds together to offer us insights about the fascinating animals of...

#1 New York Times bestselling author, Kristin Hannah, joins us this week on You Are What You Read for a special edition, LIVE conversation about The Women. In Kristin's latest novel, Frankie McGrath joins the Army Nurse Corps after her brother ships out to serve in Vietnam. In a deeply moving story from the frontlines of war in Vietnam to Frankie's return to a divided America, Kristin makes sure the brave women who served our country are never forgotten. This is an episode you won't want to...

Jenna Bush Hager is a #1 New York Times bestselling author, co-host of "TODAY with Hoda & Jenna", and founder of the spectacular Read With Jenna book club. In this week's episode of You Are What You Read, Jenna celebrates our shared love of family, sisterhood, friendships and, of course, books. As an avid reader, what Jenna appreciates more than anything is a great book recommendation---whether it's from Oprah's Book Club or from her best friend. Jenna has championed this love and...

Paul Theroux, is the author of over 50 books in fiction and nonfiction, which include The Great Railway Bazaar, Motherland,The Bad Angel Brothers, The Lower River, Jungle Lovers, and The Mosquito Coast. In Burma Sahib, Paul's latest novel, he explores one of English literature’s most beloved and controversial figures—George Orwell. In this week's episode of You Are What You Read, Paul takes us through his extensive research of the places Orwell lived, worked and wrote, and draws parallels...

Sharon Brous is America's #1 Most Influential Rabbi (Newsweek, The Daily Beat). She is the founding and senior rabbi of IKAR in Los Angeles, a diverse, multi-generational faith community that celebrates the vibrancy of the Jewish people. Rabbi Brous has blessed both President Obama and President Biden in their Inaugural Prayer Services, and she has united millions with her TED Talk, "Reclaiming Religion".  In this week's episode of You Are What You Read, Rabbi Brous offers wisdom and insights...

Jhumpa Lahiri joins us on You Are What You Read this week for a conversation about books and bella Italia. A bilingual writer and translator, Jhumpa is the Millicent C. McIntosh Professor of English and Director of Creative Writing at Barnard College (Columbia University). She received the Pulitzer Prize in 2000 for Interpreter of Maladies, her debut story collection. Her work also includes The Namesake, Unaccustomed Earth, and The Lowland, which was a finalist for both the Man Booker Prize...

In this episode of You Are What You Read, we remember fashion icon and expert, André Leon Talley, in an exclusive interview from December 2020. This week marks two years since André’s passing, and his tremendous influence continues. A beloved son, grandson, nephew and friend, André was raised in the south and flourished on the world stage. He was the first male African American editor of Vogue, and over the course of 50 years, his byline appeared in Vanity Fair, HG, Interview, and Women’s...

In this week’s episode of You Are What You Read, we head up north to Canada to meet the great Jann Arden. Jann is a multi-platinum, award-winning singer, songwriter, actor and author. She has released 15 albums with 19 top ten singles, received eight JUNO Awards including Female Artist of the Year and Songwriter of the Year, ten SOCAN Awards and four Western Canadian Music Awards. She has been been inducted into the Canadian Music Hall of Fame, the Canadian Association of Broadcasters Hall of...

We are what we read, but are we also what we watch? In this week's episode of You Are What You Read, we sit down with Gary Janetti, the Emmy award-winning television writer/producer of Will and Grace, Family Guy, and more.  He is The New York Times bestselling author of Do You Mind If I Cancel? (Things That Still Annoy Me) and Start Without Me (I'll Be There in a Minute).     Gary kicks off the You Are What You Read podcast this year with a lot of laughs, wit and wisdom to hold with you in...

Actor, writer and dramatist Fannie Flagg is the triple threat of show business. From the stage to the page, Fannie has graced us with some of our favorite stories: Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe, Daisy Fay and the Miracle Man, and more.  Flagg's script for the movie Fried Green Tomatoes was nominated for an Academy Award and the Writers Guild of America Award, and won the highly regarded Scripter Award for best screenplay of the year. But the award Fannie treasures above all...

Robert Dugoni is the critically acclaimed New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Washington Post and #1 Amazon bestselling author of the Tracy Crosswhite police series, The Extraordinary Life of Sam Hell and The Cyanide Canary, a Washington Post Best Book of the Year. His titles are sold in more than twenty-five countries and have been translated into more than thirty languages.Before Robert enthralled audiences with his blockbuster thrillers, he was editor of his high school newspaper in San...

Nicole Walters is a former top-selling corporate executive who quit her six-figure sales job in front of 10,000 people online. In this week’s episode of You Are What You Read, we learn about the people and books that led Nicole to mega success and purpose.  Nicole’s parents were immigrants from Ghana; her father was a cab driver pulling extra long shifts to put Nicole through school and taught Nicole the value of hard work in the process. In Nicole’s memoir, Nothing is Missing, you will be...

In this week's episode of You Are What You Read, get to know Katie Couric as you never have in a conversation about the books that built her soul. Themes of culture, family, faith, and love will inspire and delight you. Katie is an award-winning journalist who has used her storytelling skills to bring us together. She is the ultimate cancer care advocate, the visionary behind Katie Couric Media (KCM), and the #1 New York Times bestselling author of her page-turning autobiography, Going...