Read Learn Live Podcast

Mar 30 2022 735
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Read Learn Live is your book club discussion taken to the next level. Join host Jon Menaster as he takes a deep dive with an author and a book they've written to learn about their writing process, the how and the why of the book itself, and learn some lessons about life along the way. Jon speaks with fiction and non-fiction authors of all book genres. Learn about your world from a new perspective. Find new books to read. Fall in love with literature again.

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Learning America – Ep 96 with Luma Mufleh

Mar 30 2022 46 mins  
It was a wrong turn that changed everything. When Luma Mufleh—a Muslim, gay, refugee woman from hyper-conservative Jordan—stumbled upon a pick-up game of soccer in Clarkston, Georgia, something compelled her to join. The players, 11- and 12-year-olds from Liberia, Afghanistan, and Sudan, soon welcomed her as coach of their ragtag but fiercely competitive group. Drawn into their

The Kaiju Preservation Society – Ep 95 with John Scalzi

Feb 26 2022 52 mins  
When COVID-19 sweeps through New York City, Jamie Gray is stuck as a dead-end driver for food delivery apps. That is, until Jamie makes a delivery to an old acquaintance, Tom, who works at what he calls “an animal rights organization”. Tom’s team needs a last-minute grunt to handle things on their next field visit. Jamie, eager to do anything, immediately signs on. What To

The Sleep Fix – Ep 94 with Diane Macedo

Jan 23 2022 54 mins  
Roughly thirty percent of the population is estimated to be living with insomnia, while many more suffer from other sleep disorders. ABC anchor/correspondent Diane Macedo—a former insomniac herself—understands the struggle. Now, in The Sleep Fix, Macedo presents perspective-shifting research and easy-to-implement solutions to help millions of people finally get the shut-eye the

Read Until You Understand – Ep 93 with Farah Jasmine Griffin

Dec 14 2021 53 mins  
Farah Jasmine Griffin is the William B. Ransford Professor of English and Comparative Literature at Columbia University where she also served as the inaugural Chair of the African American and African Diaspora Studies Department. She is the author of five books including Who Set You Flowin?: The African American Migration Narrative (1995), If You Can’t Be Free, Be a Mystery: In S

The Power of Nothing to Lose – Ep 92 with William L. Silber

Sep 06 2021 51 mins  
Following books by Malcolm Gladwell and Dan Ariely, noted economics professor William L. Silber explores the Hail Mary effect, from its origins in sports to its applications to history, nature, politics, and business. A quarterback like Green Bay’s Aaron Rodgers gambles with a Hail Mary pass at the end of a football game when he has nothing to lose – the risky throw migh

Catch the Rabbit – Ep 91 with Lana Bastašić

Aug 07 2021 52 mins  
Winner of the 2020 European Union Prize for Literature, Lana Bastašić’s powerful debut novel Catch the Rabbit is a modern-day Alice in Wonderland set in post-war Bosnia, in which two young women plunge into the illusive landscape of their shared history. It’s been twelve years since inseparable childhood friends Lejla and Sara have spoken, but an unexpected phone call thru

Ridgeline – Ep 90 with Michael Punke

Jul 06 2021 54 mins  
Ridgeline is the thrilling, long-awaited return of the #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Revenant In 1866, with the country barely recovered from the Civil War, new war breaks out on the western frontier—a clash of cultures between the Native tribes who have lived on the land for centuries and a young, ambitious nation. Colonel Henry Carrington arrives in Wyoming’s

A Master of Djinn – Ep 89 with P. Djèlí Clark

Jun 15 2021 43 mins  
Forty years ago in Egypt, the mystic and inventor Al-Jahiz pierced the veil between realms, sending magic into the world before vanishing into the unknown. Think steampunk meets history meets detective novel meets magic! Now in 1912 Cairo, humans brush elbows with djinn in crowded tramcars and airships sail the skies. In this new world the Egyptian Ministry of Alchemy, Enchantme

From PA to LA – Ep 88 with Yogi Roth

May 18 2021 45 mins  
From PA to LA isn’t like anything you’ve read before. Expect this book to cut deeper than your traditional tell-all. Built around a detailed, inside look at the Pitt and USC football programs, it is at heart a story about a small town kid from Pennsylvania who uses sports, travel and adventure as a way to develop his own winning philosophy of life. The underlying themes reveal

Beloved Beasts – Ep 87 with Michelle Nijhuis

Apr 03 2021 56 mins  
A vibrant history of the modern conservation movement―told through the lives and ideas of the people who built it. In the late nineteenth century, as humans came to realize that our rapidly industrializing and globalizing societies were driving other animal species to extinction, a movement to protect and conserve them was born. In Beloved Beasts, acclaimed science journalist