10 Best Podcasts-Turned-Books for the Podcast Superfan
By: Katharine Maller
Sometimes you just can’t get enough of your favorite podcasts, even with new weekly episodes, live shows, and a healthy backlog. Luckily, some of the best podcasters out there have made the jump from earbud to print.
Whether you want to learn more about your favorite subjects or are looking for the perfect gift for a podcast fan, here are ten books by podcasters you won’t want to miss!
10 Book Podcasts
Cultish: The Language of Fanaticism by Amanda Montell (Sounds Like a Cult)
Sounds LIke a Cult made a splash in the podcast world when it launched in 2021. Cohosts Amanda Montell and Isa Medina don’t tackle your typical, famous cults, like NXIVM or Jonestown, but the stuff we call culty in our everyday lives, like SoulCycle, plastic surgery, and celebrity stan culture. In her companion book, Cultish: The Language of Fanaticism, Montell dives deeper into the types of language cult leaders use to lure smart people into scary situations.
Preconceived: Challenging the Preconceptions in Our Lives by Zale Mednick (Preconceived)
The eyes are the window to your soul – or, in ophthalmologist Zale Mednick’s case, into your psyche. His podcast, Preconceived, probes the listener to ask whether they’re following their own path or building a life based on the idea of what they should want. Mednick’s newly released book collects stories and anecdotes from the dozens of guests who have appeared on the show, covering everything from circumcision and polyamory to dinosaurs and depression.
Hero of Two Worlds: The Marquis de Lafayette in the Age of Revolution by Mike Duncan (Revolutions)
Revolutions is famous for its long explorations of modern history’s famous revolutions. Mike Duncan started the show in 2013 with the English Revolution and covered a wide range of political revolutions, like Haiti’s and Mexico’s, before wrapping up the series with the Russian Revolution this year. Duncan’s work is rich in information, so it’s only natural that he would convert his podcast research into books. His latest, Hero of Two Worlds, covers the role of the Marquis de Lafayette in the French and American revolutions, making it a great companion piece to seasons two and three of the show.
Big Friendship: How We Keep Each Other Close by Aminatou Sow and Ann Friedman (Call Your Girlfriend)
Call Your Girlfriend captivated “long-distance besties” everywhere for eight years before ending their podcast in early 2022. The show started when best friends Aminatou Sow and Ann Friedman ended up moving to opposite coasts and decided to turn their weekly phone calls into a podcast. In 2020, Sow and Friedman penned Big Friendship, a treatise on friendship that covers their decade-long friendship and affirms the value of friends in our increasingly difficult and alienating world.
Alice Isn’t Dead by Joseph Fink (Welcome to Nightvale)
A podcast that needs no introduction, Welcome to Nightvale is one of the OG fiction podcasts and has been sending spooky stories out over the airwaves since 2012. Nightvale has spawned into a media empire, with multiple books and spinoff podcasts. From 2016-2018, Alice Isn’t Dead told the story of a truck driver searching across the US for her wife, Alice, presumed dead. A simple mystery spins into an epic, filled with supernatural killers, time travel and conspiracy. Audiences today can choose their own adventure: the chapter-by-chapter podcast or the complete novel, published as a book after the podcast ended.
Unladylike: A Field Guide to Smashing the Patriarchy and Taking Up Space (Unladylike)
Cristen Conger’s Unladylike was bold right out of the gate, launching with an episode called “How to Pay for an Abortion.” Over the past four years, the podcast has blended intersectional feminism, cultural commentary, and engaging storytelling to cover topics like motherhood, body hair, racial justice, and the Equal Rights Amendment. In 2018, Conger and her cohost at the time, Caroline Ervin, released the Unladylike book, a colorful, illustrated field guide that’s a great intro to contemporary US feminism.
Fat, Crazy, and Tired: Tales from the Trenches of Transformation by Van Lathan (Higher Learning)
In their biweekly podcast Higher Learning, cohosts Van Lathan Jr. and Rachel Lindsay cover what’s happening in Black culture, politics, and sports. A former TMZ host, Lathan strikes the perfect balance between humor, insight, and brutal honesty in his book, Fat, Crazy, and Tired, a book of essays covering his lifelong struggle with his weight and mental health. Along with personal stories, Lathan dissects American diet culture–from weight loss pills to celery juice–a weight loss obsession that he calls a “wellness waistland.”
Money: The True Story of a Made Up Thing (Planet Money)
NPR’s Planet Money has conquered the airwaves and TikTok alike–can it do the same with analog media? Host Jacob Goldstein’s new book Money: The True Story of a Made Up Thing takes a slightly different tack than the podcast’s focus on contemporary economic news, focusing on the history of money and how it has affected society. If you’ve ever wondered what currency Kublai Khan used, this is the book for you.
On the Other Side of Freedom (Pod Save the People)
Since 2017, organizer and activist DeRay Mckesson has hosted Pod Save the People, a podcast focused on culture, social justice, and politics. Before that, Mckesson traveled to Ferguson, Missouri to join the protests after the death of Michael Brown. His 2018 book, On the Other Side of Freedom, draws on his experiences as an activist and thinker, exploring the nature of oppression and proposing a political framework for racial justice activism.
Talk Art: Everything you wanted to know about contemporary art but were afraid to ask (Talk Art)
Have you ever found yourself in a museum, staring at a painting and just thinking “huh?” Talk Art aims to demystify contemporary art, drawing on the expertise of hosts Russell Tovey, an actor, and Robert Diament, and their friends in the worlds of art and entertainment. Their book distills the advice shared over hundreds of episodes, including beautiful photos and interviews with powerhouses like Elton John, Billy Porter, and Rose Wylie.
Did this book list give you the reading bug? There’s a whole world of book podcasts out there to help you continue your reading journey! Check out this post on the best podcasts for book lovers, curated by Bethanne Patrick. Happy reading!
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