Broads And Books

Who in the hell are we?? That's the question in our picks this week. And along the way, Erin and Amy do some deep introspection. Erin reveals why she'll never be a marine biologist or someone who wears Lipsense, and Amy reveals something from her past that will blow your mind. _____Our picks this week: Novels:Amy: The Need, Helen PhillipsErin: Property, Lionel ShriverOther Books:Amy: Wild Game: My Mother, Her Lover, and Me, Adrienne Brodeur (Memoir)Erin: The Fact Of A Body, Alexandria Marzano-Lesnevich(True Crime / Memoir)Pop Culture:Amy: Moonface (Podcast)Erin: The Big Sick (Movie)_____Like what you hear? Subscribe to Broads and Books wherever you get your podcasts. And hey -- be a pal. Give us a rating and review while you're there! Plus: Send us your ideas and challenges, and you could be featured on a future episode!  Broads and Books is a book podcast, a funny podcast, and a feminist podcast. And you'll find we're one of the best podcasts. Each week Amy and Erin choose a unique t

We're talking chosen families in this week's picks, the kind that may not be related by blood, but who just GET YOU. Along the way we talk about about the weird families on Amy's childhood street, how Erin wants nothing to do with your boxed DNA kits, and how dentists might be hiding something real shady. _____Our picks this week: Novels:Amy: The Strange Case of the Alchemist's Daughter, Theodora GossErin: Normal People, Sally RooneyOther Books:Amy: Alex + Ada, Jonathan Luna and Sarah Vaughn (Graphic Novel)Erin: What My Mother and I Don't Talk About, Michele Filgate(Essay Collection)Pop Culture:Amy: The Bright Sessions (Podcast)Erin: The Kitchen (Movie)_____Like what you hear? Subscribe to Broads and Books wherever you get your podcasts. And hey -- be a pal. Give us a rating and review while you're there! Plus: Send us your ideas and challenges, and you could be featured on a future episode!  Broads and Books is a book podcast, a funny podcast, and a feminist podcast. And you&apo

This week, we are hitting you hard with some TRUTH. Whether it's fictional retellings of stories we thought we knew, nonfiction dives into a misrepresented past, or some multimedia revisionist history, we got it. Along the way, we talk about who Amy would catfish, Erin's alter ego, and how our faces just won't support that damn pixie cut. _____Novels:Amy: Circe, Madeline MillerErin: The American Wife, Curtis SittenfeldOther Books:Amy: A Woman of No Importance, Sonia Purnell (Nonfiction)Erin: Fatal Charms and Other Tales of Today/The Mansions of Limbo, Dominick Dunne (Nonfiction)Pop Culture:Amy: Fosse/Verdon (TV)Erin: Swindled (Podcast)_____Like what you hear? Subscribe to Broads and Books wherever you get your podcasts. And hey -- be a pal. Give us a rating and review while you're there! Plus: Send us your ideas and challenges, and you could be featured on a future episode!  Broads and Books is a book podcast, a funny podcast, and a feminist podcast. And you'll find we're one of

This week, our characters have run out of F's to give. We're talking about curmudgeonly characters, the kind that will defy your norms and yell at you to get off the lawn. Along the way, we talk Erin's favorite neighborhood curmudgeon, Amy as Cruella Deville with an army of shirtless dudes, and our suspicions that the remaining video stores out there are for sure money laundering operations. Also: Statler and Waldorf are our our mood board for this episode. _____Our picks this week: Novels:Amy: The Last Werewolf, Glen DuncanErin: Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe, Fannie FlaggOther Books:Amy: Pride and Prejudice, Jane Austen; Pride and Prejudice (2005, Movie)Erin: Olive Kitteridge, Elizabeth StroutPop Culture:Amy: Living with Yourself (TV)Erin: Scrubs (TV)_____Like what you hear? Subscribe to Broads and Books wherever you get your podcasts. And hey -- be a pal. Give us a rating and review while you're there! Plus: Send us your ideas and challenges, and you could be featured on

This week, karma is a B-I-T-C-H. We're talking about picks that dig into matters of justice, and come up with a sense that something might actually be right in the world. Along the way, we talk about Erin's perfect day with Keith Morrison, how Amy will cover up any crimes Erin gets into, and how we'd do in a bar fight. Obviously, we'd be amazing. _____Our picks this week: Novels:Amy: The Gone Dead, Chanelle BenzErin: The Last Place You Look, Kristen LepionkaOther Books:Amy: Nobody's Victim, Carrie Goldberg (Nonfiction)Erin: She Said, Jodi Kantor and Megan Twohey (Nonfiction)Pop Culture:Amy: Fargo (TV)Erin: Over My Dead Body (Podcast)_____Like what you hear? Subscribe to Broads and Books wherever you get your podcasts. And hey -- be a pal. Give us a rating and review while you're there! Plus: Send us your ideas and challenges, and you could be featured on a future episode!  Broads and Books is a book podcast, a funny podcast, and a feminist podcast. And you'll find we're

Let's talk about sex! This week's picks are all about sexcapades, sexual desire, and the complications and joys of sexy sex.  Along the way, we consider joining a nudist colony, talk through our sex education curriculum, and rehash Erin's nanny job that put her face-to-face with a giant portrait of genitalia. Listen and learn how you're a sexual snowflake. _______Our picks this week: Novels:Amy: Paul Takes the Form of a Mortal Girl, Andrea Lawlor     Bonus! Amy's review for Entropy MagazineErin: Fleishman is in Trouble, Taffy Brodesser-Akner     Bonus! Read the author's take on GoopOther Books:Amy: Three Women, Lisa Taddeo (Nonfiction)Erin: Come As You Are, Emily Nagoski (Nonfiction)Pop Culture:Amy: Easy (Netflix series)Erin: Hustlers (Movie)_____Like what you hear? Subscribe to Broads and Books wherever you get your podcasts. And hey -- be a pal. Give us a rating and review while you're there! Plus: Send us your ideas and challenges, and you could be featured on a future ep

It was only a matter of time. So this week, we're all about witches. Along the way, we wonder about pay disparity between witches and warlocks, worry about splinters when riding a broom, and discuss the nutritional value of what's in Erin's cauldron. And because why not, we dig into Amy's future as a redhead vampire with a bedazzled coffin. _____________Our picks this week: Novels:Amy: The Master and Margarita, Mikhail BulgakovErin: Son of a Witch, Gregory MaguireOther Books:Amy: The Roots of Desire, Marian Roach (Nonfiction)Erin: Good Omens, Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett Pop Culture:Amy: Nevertheless She Existed (Podcast)Erin: Witches of Eastwick (Movie)____________Like what you hear? Subscribe to Broads and Books wherever you get your podcasts. And hey -- be a pal. Give us a rating and review while you're there! Plus: Send us your ideas and challenges, and you could be featured on a future episode!  Broads and Books is a book podcast, a funny podcast, and a feminist podcast. And y

Ghosts, monsters, and all things supernatural are on our minds this week, so our picks are strange, weird, and downright scary. Along the way, we talk about that time Erin sang Shania Twain under hypnosis, who we'll haunt when we're ghosts, and how Amy will announce her ghostly presence (and be a buddy ghost cop with David Bowie). If you're not sure what Podcat is saying when she meows over Erin, here's a translation. _________Our picks this week: Novels:Amy: The Mere Wife, Maria Dahvana HeadleyErin: Providence, Caroline KepnesOther Books:Amy: The Dark Dark, Samantha Hunt (Short Story Collection)Erin: Children of Blood and Bone, Tomi Adeyami (Young Adult)Pop Culture:Amy: Preacher (TV)Erin: Amityville Horror (Movie)________Like what you hear? Subscribe to Broads and Books wherever you get your podcasts. And hey -- be a pal. Give us a rating and review while you're there! Plus: Send us your ideas and challenges, and you could be featured on a future episode!  Broads and Books is a book

This week we're talking all things cultified. Whether it's fundamentalists, polygamists, or even sports teams, our picks are all about what happens when you join that group that promises all the answers (and needs your bank account. And your genitals.)Along the way, we talk about the cult that made Erin pee her pants, the glass ceiling among cult leaders, and how our hatred for bunk beds might affect our ability to be brainwashed. _____________Our picks this week: Novels:Amy: The Incendiaries, R.O. KwonErin: The Book of Essie, Meghan Maclean WeirOther Books:Amy: Chaos: Charles Manson, the CIA, and the Secret History of the Sixties, Tom O'Neill (Nonfiction)Erin: The Witness Wore Red: The 19th Wife Who Brought Polygamous Cult Leaders to Justice, Rebecca Musser (Nonfiction)Pop Culture:Amy: Dear Franklin Jones (Podcast)Erin: Roll Red Roll (Documentary)___________Like what you hear? Subscribe to Broads and Books wherever you get your podcasts. And hey -- be a pal. Give us a rating and review while

Where in the world are Amy and Erin? In this week's episode, we're EVERYWHERE. Our picks this week were originally written in Persian, Swedish, Catalan, Korean, Spanish and Cantonese. And through the brilliant work of some super smarty pants translators, we get to read/view them in English. Along the way, we talk poor grammar, the pronunciation of a specific Spanish city, and Amy's dream of drunk dancing glory to a certain song. Semper ubi sububi. _______________Our picks this week: Novels:Amy: Women Without Men, Shahrnush Parsipur; Translated by Faridoun FarrokhErin: Millenium Trilogy, Stieg Larssen; Translated by Reg KeelandOther Books:Amy: Selected Stories of Merce Rodoreda, Merce Rodoreda; Translated by Martha Tennent (Story Collection)Erin: Diary of a Murderer, Young-Ha Kim; Translated by Krys Lee (Story Collection)Pop Culture:Amy: La Piel Que Habito / The Skin I Live In (Movie)Erin: The Departed  (Movie)______________Like what you hear? Subscribe to Broads and Books wherever you get your

To get that book into your bookshelf, most authors have to deal with a lot of rejection first. This week we're reading amazing authors who persisted past the rejection in order for greatness. Along the way, we're sharing our adolescent and adult rejection stories, and considering what Podcat would be like as a teenage girl. Pro tip from Amy and Erin: Beware Panera or State Fairs. There's far too much potential sex. __________Our picks this week: Novels:Amy: The Book of Night Women, Marlon JamesErin: Kite Runner, Khaled HosseiniOther Books:Amy: Her Body and Other Parties, Carmen Maria Machado (Story Collection)Erin: American Housewife, Helen Ellis (Story Collection)Pop Culture:Amy: Back to the Future (Movie)Erin: Robot Chicken (TV)________Like what you hear? Subscribe to Broads and Books wherever you get your podcasts. And hey -- be a pal. Give us a rating and review while you're there! Plus: Send us your ideas and challenges, and you could be featured on a future episode!  Broads and Books

Think Iowa is all fields of corn and State Fair antics? Get your head in the game (and keep that corn away from Erin). This week we're highlighting Iowa authors and local big deals. Come for the great picks, stay for our time capsule ideas involving Herky the Hawk that take a deadly turn. We're nice in Iowa. But that doesn't stop us from trying to get Erin on Dateline. ____________Our picks this week: Novels:Amy: Lila, Marilynne RobinsonErin: Some Other Town, Elizabeth CollisonOther Books:Amy: We the Interwoven: An Anthology of Bicultural Iowa, Volume 1, Sadagat Aliyeva, Melissa Palma, and Chuy Renteria, Edited by Andrea Wilson (Collection from the Iowa Writer's House Bicultural Fellowship)Erin: Midnight Assassin, Patricia Bryan and Thomas Wolf (Nonfiction)Pop Culture:Amy: Missing in the Metro (Podcast)Erin: Raygun: Overheard in the StorePlus! Other Iowa authors you should know and love: Kali Van BaaleJulie StoneFrancis SparksJames ErwinJennifer WilsonIowa Writers and Illustrators ________

One amazing listener (with the amazing name of Amy) suggested the theme of "sports." The Broads, as uncoordinated and afraid of competition as we are, went real loosey goosey on this theme. And this glorious episode was born. We've got picks that are about rivalries and head-to-head combat. Plus, we talk about our own sports misadventures and dreams, debate the merits of baking competitions, and imagine the possibilities of a magic bullet in Erin's head. It all makes sense in the end. ______________Our picks this week: Novels:Amy: American War, Omar El AkkadErin: Beartown, Fredrick BackmanOther Books:Amy: Too Fat Too Slutty Too Loud, Anne-Helen Petersen (Nonfiction)Erin: The Noble Hustle, Colson Whitehead (Nonfiction)Pop Culture:Amy: GLOW (TV)Erin: Team Foxcatcher (Documentary) ___________Like what you hear? Subscribe to Broads and Books wherever you get your podcasts. And hey -- be a pal. Give us a rating and review while you're there! Plus: Send us your ideas and challenges, and you

"Cocaine's a helluva drug," said Rick James. We, as klutzy control freaks who have never tried the hard stuff for obvious reasons, will assume he's right. We're featuring picks this week that have all sorts of drug hijinks. Along the way, we talk about our ideal drugs, how Erin's cartel will be run, and check in on Huey Lewis. Plus, listen close for the sound of Podcat on some serious uppers. ___________Our picks this week: Novels:Amy: My Year of Rest and Relaxation, Otessa MoshfeghErin: A Million Little Pieces, James FreyOther Books:Amy: My Heroes Have Always Been Junkies, Ed Brubaker (Graphic Novel)Erin: Methland: The Death and Life of an American Small Town, Nick Reding (Nonfiction)Pop Culture:Amy: "Great Day" (SNL Digital Short by Lonely Island)Erin: Weeds (TV) __________Like what you hear? Subscribe to Broads and Books wherever you get your podcasts. And hey -- be a pal. Give us a rating and review while you're there! Plus: Send us your ideas and challenges, a

This week, we're looking at books from smaller publishing companies that specialize in pushing boundaries and telling amazing stories. Along the way, we talk about how Amy equates turning an ankle with the apocalypse, the drawbacks of having hologram friends, and how we should all use the term "ragamuffin" more. Fun fact: starting a podcast with a friend is the best way to learn about all their weirdnesses. And love them even more. ______________Our picks this week: Novels:Amy: The Empress and the Cake, Linda Stift (Translated by Jamie Bulloch)Erin: Little Bee, Chris CleaveOther Books:Amy: Northwood, Maryse Meijer (Novella, Poetry)Erin: If I'd Known You Were Coming, Kate Milliken (Short story collection)Pop Culture:Amy: Gay Future (Podcast)Erin: I, Tonya (Movie) __________Like what you hear? Subscribe to Broads and Books wherever you get your podcasts. And hey -- be a pal. Give us a rating and review while you're there! Plus: Send us your ideas and challenges, and you could be feature

It's time. So Erin and Amy recommend some picks that are all about adolescence and learning. But we couldn't miss the opportunity to talk about our love of school supplies, terrible run-ins with bulimic class salamanders and concussed hamsters, and how our adolescent dreams of adulthood have proven quite wrong. Plus, Erin comes in HOT with a few people and things in her burn book. Free Book It pizza for all! __________Our picks this week: Novels:Amy: Push, SapphireErin: Mrs. Everything, Jennifer WeinerOther Books:Amy: Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can't Stop Talking, Susan Cain (Non-fiction)Erin: Spoiled Brats, Simon Rich (Short story collection)Pop Culture:Amy: Buffy the Vampire Slayer (TV)Erin: Trophy Kids (TV, Documentary) __________Like what you hear? Subscribe to Broads and Books wherever you get your podcasts. And hey -- be a pal. Give us a rating and review while you're there! Plus: Send us your ideas and challenges, and you could be featured on a future episode!  B

Peek behind the scenes with this week's picks, featuring traveling performers, fictional bands, true tour stories, feuding ladies, and much more. Also this week, we reveal our theme songs, Amy talks about her dream jobs on a David Bowie tour, we plan our pitches for new Ryan Murphy shows, and we completely lose any semblance of control over our guffaws. Prepare yourselves: you may pee a little. ___________Our picks this week: Novels:Amy: Station Eleven, Emily St. John MandelErin: Daisy Jones and The Six, Taylor Jenkins ReidOther Books:Amy: Hunger Makes Me a Modern Girl, Carrie Brownstein (Memoir)Erin: Live From New York: An Uncensored History of Saturday Night Live, James Andrew Miller and Tom Shales (NonFiction, Oral History)Pop Culture:Amy: The Punk Singer (Documentary)Erin: Feud: Joan Crawford and Bette Davis (TV) ___________Like what you hear? Subscribe to Broads and Books wherever you get your podcasts. And hey -- be a pal. Give us a rating and review while you're there! Plus: Send us your idea

Family is great... until it's not. This week, we're talking family gatherings that go terribly awry. Whether it's death predictions, organized dances, interstellar conflict, or family reunions, these picks are all about that most dramatic of drama: family drama . Also in this episode, we talk TV and movie families we want to watch, horrifying family traditions, and old-fashioned insults. Plus, we try to do to fruit cups what we did to Sno-Caps: ANNIHILATION.  __________Our picks this week: Novels:Amy: The Immortalists, Chloe BenjaminErin: The Middlesteins, Jami AttenbergOther Books:Amy: Saga, Brian Vaughn and Fiona Staples (Graphic Novel)Erin: Calypso, David Sedaris (NonFiction, Essays, Humor)Pop Culture:Amy: Tommy, by The Who (Album and Movie)Erin: The Goldbergs (TV) ___________Like what you hear? Subscribe to Broads and Books wherever you get your podcasts. And hey -- be a pal. Give us a rating and review while you're there! Plus: Send us your ideas and challenges, and you could be featu

This week, we're scaring ourselves silly. Whether it's the monstrous things we make, the terrors of our inner demons, or a bit of old-school fairy tale fright, our picks are all about the things that will haunt you. Also in this episode, we talk about movies that scarred us for life, why horror and terror fascinate us, and the joys of campy gore. Plus, we dive into a truly important topic: Can we eat humans and still be vegan? This week's theme was another listener-suggested idea! Thanks Maggie -- you got more than you bargained for, and may never want to talk to us again. ____________Our picks this week: Fiction Books:Amy: Bunny, Mona Awad (and read Amy's interview with Mona about the book)Erin: My Sister, the Serial Killer, Oyinkan BraithwaiteOther Books:Amy: "Reeling for the Empire" in Vampires in the Lemon Grove, Karen Russell (Short Story)Erin: Through the Woods, Emily Carroll (Graphic Novel, Short Story Collection)Pop Culture:Amy: True Blood (TV)Erin: The Disappearance of E

Need a good cry? Step 1: Listen to this episode to hear our stories of crying fits in movie theaters, city buses, and at the hands of Podcat. Step 2: Read our picks from this episode! Also in this episode, we make plans for our Broads and Books museum, discuss Podcat's delusional overlord-ness, and threaten a David Bowie masterclass. You'll be in a tear cage of joy by the end. _______________Our picks this week: Fiction Books:Amy: The Road, Cormac McCarthyErin: The Invention of Wings, Sue Monk KiddOther Books:Amy: Long Live the Tribe of Fatherless Girls, T Kira Madden (Memoir)Erin: The Lost Girls, Robert Kolker (True Crime, Non-fiction)Pop Culture:Amy: "Heroes," David Bowie (Song) (Watch the 2002 live performance in Berlin)Erin: Blackfish (Documentary)_____________Like what you hear? Subscribe to Broads and Books wherever you get your podcasts. And hey -- be a pal. Give us a rating and review while you're there! Plus: Send us your ideas and challenges, and you could be featured on a f