Check This Out with Rachel Barenbaum

Ep. 114 NHPR Leo Vardiashvili: HARD BY A GREAT FOREST

Rachel Barenbaum interviews author Leo Vardiashvili’s about his debut novel“Hard By a Great Forest” – a story about a man who fled the Republic of Georgia in the midst of war. It’s a unique tale about the traumas of war and the lasting effects of those families driven not just to survive, but to remember, love and live.

Ep. 113 NHPR Maura Cheeks: ACTS OF FORGIVENESS

Rachel Barenbaum interviews author Maura Cheeks who talks about her new novel Acts of Forgiveness. Set in a speculative America, readers navigate a world where the government has approved reparation payments for black Americans – but only if they can prove they are descended from slaves.

Ep 112 NHPR Vauhini Vara: THIS IS SALVAGED

Vauhini Vara's story collection, THIS IS SALVAGED, has been named by The New Yorker, Publisher’s Weekly, Vox, and the New York Public Library as one of the best books of the year.

Ep. 111 NHPR: 2023 Holiday Show

Host Rachel Barenbaum sits down with her colleagues from the Howe Library in Hanover, New Hampshire to discuss their favorite reads from 2023.

Ep 110 NHPR Emma Törzs: INK BLOOD SISTER SCRIBE

This week on Check This Out, host Rachel Barenbaum sits down with Emma Törzs, author of "Ink Blood Sister Scribe." Törzs' debut novel will soon be available in 13 languages. It's a fast paced, magical book about two estranged half-sisters tasked with guarding their family's library of magical books. They work together along with a stranger, a magical scribe, to unravel a deadly secret at the heart of their collection. It's a tale of familial loyalty and betrayal and the pursuit of magic and power.

Törzs says swaths of the story were inspired by her family’s Hungarian roots, and by what it took for them to survive the Holocaust.

Ep 109 NHPR Ayana Mathis: THE UNSETTLED

Episode 109. You may know Ayana Mathis from her debut novel, The Twelve Tribes of Hattie. Published 11 years ago, the excitement and noise around that debut took up all the space and energy Mathis had to write fiction. Her new second novel is called The Unsettled. It’s a mother-daughter-son story that braids two narratives - one from the south and one from the north.

Ep 108 NHPR John Manuel Arias: WHERE THERE WAS FIRE

John Manuel Arias is a queer Costa Rican-American poet and writer who has lived in the U.S. and in Costa Rica where, as he reports, he shared a house with his grandmother and four ghosts. His debut novel, Where There Was Fire, burst onto the scene in August 2023.

Set in Costa Rica, this story follows several generations of women in one family — mothers and daughters — alternating between their lives in the 1960s and the 1990s.

The novel focuses on one major event that reverberates and haunts each generation: a fire that burnt down a banana plantation and in which a father goes missing.

This single event tears the family apart and gives rise to ghosts that keep the characters pushing for answers. Who started the fire? What happened to a missing husband? To a dead mother? Where There Was Fire is about love and secrets, reconciliation and redemption, all focused around the biggest question of all: What is the price of a banana?

Ep 107 NHPR Angie Kim: HAPPINESS FALLS

This week, host Rachel Barenbaum sits down with Angie Kim, author of the novel "Miracle Creek." Kim was named a finalist for the New American Voices Award. Her latest work, "Happiness Falls" follows the story of family in crisis, after a father goes missing — and the only person who knows what happened to him is the family's non-verbal 14 year old son, Eugene.

In this conversation, Angie Kim shares her inspiration for "Happiness Falls," which tackles fascinating questions of love, language, and human connection.

Ep 106 NHPR Tania James: LOOT

This week, host Rachel Barenbaum sits down with Tania James, author of the novels "The Tusk That Did the Damage" and "Atlas of Unknowns." Her latest work, "Loot," has been named to the longlist of the 2023 National Book Award in fiction.

In this conversation, Tania James shares her inspiration for "Loot," which gives readers a front-row seat to 18th and 19th century imperialism as seen through the eyes of an artisan toy maker who begins his journey in 1794 in Mysore, India.

Check this Out features lively conversations with up and coming authors, and serves as a platform for diverse voices and stories to be heard. NHPR and The Howe Library are proud to be able to bring these conversations into your homes and headphones.

Ep 105 Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah: CHAIN-GANG ALL-STARS

Episode 105. Rachel Barenbaum interviews Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah on the launch of his phenomenal debut CHAIN-GANG ALL-STARS. Do not miss this book of this author!