Check This Out with Rachel Barenbaum

Ep. 154 NHPR: Holiday Episode with Deesha Philyaw and Gwydion Suilebhan

A conversation with Deesha Philyaw and Gwydion Suilebhan from the prestigious PEN/Faulkner Foundation offering a behind-the-scenes look at what makes a book stand out—and their favorite books you might have missed.

Ep. 153 NHPR Janet Rich Edwards: CANTICLE

Set in 13th-century Bruges, this historical debut centers on a young woman’s search for faith, agency, and love in a convent—and in a world that wants to silence her.

Ep. 152 NHPR Eliana Ramage: TO THE MOON AND BACK

A sweeping, multi-generational story of a young woman obsessed with becoming an astronaut and escaping her complicated past, and the extraordinary lengths she will go to find space for herself.

Ep. 151 NHPR Callie Hart: BRIMSTONE

The romantasy series that began with “Quicksilver” is back with “Brimstone.” Originally self-published, the series has been picked up by a traditional publisher and is back with more drama, higher stakes, and deadly consequences.

Ep 150 NHPR Quiara Alegría Hudes: THE WHITE HOT

Told as a letter from mother to daughter, this luminous novel explores a moment of abandonment that stretches from ten days to ten years—and reshapes a family forever.

Ep. 149 NHPR Katie Yee and Vanessa Lillie: Maggie or A Man and A Woman Walk Into A Bar and The Bone Thief

Maggie: Or A Man and A Woman Walk Into A Bar - When a young mother’s life unravels after a divorce and a cancer diagnosis, she spins her pain into sharp, comedic fiction that’s equal parts heartbreaking and hilarious.

 

The Bone Thief - When a Native teenager vanishes from her small town, a place with dark ties to an elite historical society, archaeologist Syd Walker is called to investigate.

Ep. 148 NHPR Rickey Fayne: THE DEVIL THREE TIMES

In this debut novel, eight generations of a Black family in West Tennessee are visited by the Devil himself, each offered a different kind of salvation—while he wonders if redemption is possible for him, too.

Ep. 147 NHPR Addie E. Citchens: DOMINION

A Southern Black family drama unfolds as long-held secrets about a beloved son surface, shaking the foundation of a Mississippi town.

Ep. 146 NHPR Xenobe Purvis: THE HOUNDING

Based on a strange historical anecdote, this novel tells the story of five sisters in18th-century England whose neighbors become convinced they’re turning into dogs.

Ep. 145 NHPR Ruben Reyes and Zibby Owens: ARCHIVE OF UNKOWN UNIVERSES

With Ruben we see a genre-blending, speculative historical novel about revolution and empire, following two families across alternate timelines of the Salvadoran civil war. Plus, a look into the publishing world with Zibby Owens.