Zero to Well-Read

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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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.

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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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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.

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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

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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Join the Zero to Well-Read challenge on Storygraph

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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