Best Publiclibrary Podcasts (2025)

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Tracing the Legacy of Slavery in Brooklyn 14:03

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18h ago14:03

14:03

A new exhibit at BPL's Center for Brooklyn History explores the history and legacy of slavery here in Brooklyn. The team at CBH gathered documents and accounts from people who were touched by slavery in Brooklyn, and traced the descendants of both the enslaved and enslavers. "Trace/s" is up at the Center for Brooklyn History (128 Pierrepont Street)…

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Queer Poem-a-Day, Year 5: Francisco Márquez 3:49

21h ago3:49

3:49

Day 13: Francisco Márquez reads his poem, “The Bulge,” first published in The Adroit Journal (April 2025). Francisco Márquez is a poet from Maracaibo, Venezuela, born in Miami, Florida. His work has been featured in the Yale Review, the Brooklyn Rail, the Slowdown podcast, and the Best American Poetry anthology. He has received support from the Tin…

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Queer Poem-a-Day, Year 5: Jaz Sufi 5:23

16h ago5:23

5:23

Day 12: Jaz Sufi reads her poem, “Ode to My Lover's Sequined Dress.” Queer Poem-a-Day is honored to be the first publication of this poem. Jaz Sufi (she/hers) is a queer Iranian-American poet and arts educator. Her work has been published or is upcoming in Best New Poets, Best of the Net, AGNI, Black Warrior Review, Muzzle, and elsewhere. She is a …

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Lit Chat Interview with British Actor and Debut Author Paterson Joseph 1:01:45

3d ago1:01:45

1:01:45

A Story of Freedom and Accomplishment It’s 1746 and Georgian London is not a safe place for a young Black man. Charles Ignatius Sancho must dodge slave catchers and worse, and his main ally―a kindly duke who taught him to write―is dying. Sancho is desperate and utterly alone. So how does the same Charles Ignatius Sancho meet the king, write and pla…

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Queer Poem-a-Day, Year 5: Gabrielle Calvocoressi 3:28

3d ago3:28

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Day 11: Gabrielle Calvocoressi reads their poem, “Miss you. Would like to take a walk with you” originally published in Poetry (October 2021). Gabrielle Calvocoressi is the author of The Last Time I Saw Amelia Earhart, Apocalyptic Swing (a finalist for the LA Times Book Prize), and Rocket Fantastic, winner of the Audre Lorde Award for Lesbian Poetr…

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Juneteenth 2025 33:27

3d ago33:27

33:27

Send us a text To mark this Juneteenth, Mike spoke with Hamden Black History Committee members Deborah Moxam and Evans Simmons about what the Committee does for the community as well as the library’s upcoming Juneteenth Read-In. Mike also talked to author Jill Marie Snyder about her research into the lives of Black Americans, both pre- and post-Civ…

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Queer Poem-a-Day, Year 5: Jan-Henry Gray 3:59

6d ago3:59

3:59

Day 10: Jan-Henry Gray reads his poem “On Therapy,” first published in the anthology Permanent Record: Poetics Towards the Archive (Nightboat Books, 2025), edited by Naima Yael Tokunow. Jan-Henry Gray is the author of Documents, selected by D.A. Powell as the winner of BOA Editions’ Poulin Poetry Prize, and the chapbook Selected Emails. His poems h…

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Queer Poem-a-Day, Year 5: Timothy Liu 4:24

7d ago4:24

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Day 9: Timothy Liu reads his poem “The Price of Kissing is Your Life,” originally published in the Georgia Review (Spring 2025). Timothy Liu's most recent books of poems are Down Low and Lowdown and Luminous Debris, both out from Barrow Street. A reader of occult esoterica, he teaches at SUNY New Paltz and Vassar College. Text of today’s poem and m…

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Queer Poem-a-Day, Year 5: Lloyd Schwartz 6:00

8d ago6:00

6:00

Day 8: Lloyd Schwartz reads his poem “Who’s On First?” This poem was originally published in Ploughshares (1981) and reprinted in Who's On First: New and Selected Poems (University of Chicago Press, 2021). Lloyd Schwartz is poet laureate of Somerville, the Frederick S. Troy Professor of English Emeritus at the University of Massachusetts Boston, an…

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Queer Poem-a-Day, Year 5: Keetje Kuipers 3:18

9d ago3:18

3:18

Day 7: Keetje Kuipers reads her poem “Cremello Horse,” which first appeared in the magazine 32 Poems and was then published in Lonely Women Make Good Lovers (BOA Editions, 2025). Keetje Kuipers’ fourth collection of poetry, Lonely Women Make Good Lovers, was the recipient of the Isabella Gardner Award. Her poetry and prose have appeared in American…

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Queer Poem-a-Day, Year 5: Gaia Rajan 3:35

10d ago3:35

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Day 6: Gaia Rajan reads his poem “Essay on Class,” which originally appeared in Frontier Poetry (2023). Gaia Rajan is the author of the chapbooks Moth Funerals (Glass Poetry Press 2020) and Killing It (Black Lawrence Press 2022). His work is published in the Academy of American Poets' Poem-A-Day, Best New Poets, the Best of the Net anthology, The K…

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Pride 2025 1:08:19

10d ago1:08:19

1:08:19

Send us a text In honor of Pride month, our new podcast team member, Eliza, recorded a couple of great interviews with two members of the LGBTQ+ community, Tony Ferraiolo and Jillian Celentano. Tony and Jillian are both very engaging, dynamic speakers, and I hope that you get as much out of listening to them as I did. TW: Suicide, gender dysphoria…

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Queer Poem-a-Day, Year 5: Rick Barot 3:49

13d ago3:49

3:49

Day 5: Rick Barot reads his poem “Pleasure,” which appears in his recent book, Moving the Bones. Rick Barot's most recent book of poems is Moving the Bones, published by Milkweed Editions in 2024. His previous book, The Galleons, was longlisted for the National Book Award. He lives in Tacoma, Washington, and directs the Rainier Writing Workshop, th…

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Queer Poem-a-Day, Year 5: S. Brook Corfman 3:46

14d ago3:46

3:46

Day 4: S. Brook Corfman reads her poem “Before & After.” The poem first appeared in Pigeon Pages (2020), in a slightly different form. S. Brook Corfman is the author of My Daily Actions, or The Meteorites, one of The New York Times Best Poetry Books of 2020, finalist for the Leslie Feinberg Award for Trans and Gender-Variant Literature, and winner …

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Queer Poem-a-Day, Year 5: Marcelo Hernandez Castillo 5:11

15d ago5:11

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Day 3: Marcelo Hernandez Castillo reads his poem “Eclogue: A Field Guide and Cure.” The poem was published in the recent anthology Like A Hammer: Poets on Mass Incarceration (Haymarket Books, 2025). Marcelo Hernandez Castillo is the author of Children of the Land: a Memoir (Harper Collins); Cenzontle (BOA Editions), winner of the A. Poulin, Jr. pri…

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Queer Poem-a-Day, Year 5: Faylita Hicks 5:16

16d ago5:16

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Day 2: Faylita Hicks reads their poem “A Gxrl's Trip Home.” This poem was originally published in A Map of My Want (Haymarket Books, 2024). Faylita Hicks (she/they) is a writer, interdisciplinary artist, Hoodoo practitioner, and cultural strategist exploring the intersections of social justice and spirituality. They are the author of A Map of My Wa…

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Queer Poem-a-Day, Year 5: Jericho Brown 3:08

17d ago3:08

3:08

Day 1: Jericho Brown reads his poem “Duplex.” This poem was originally published in The Progressive Magazine (2019). Jericho Brown is the author of The Tradition, which won the Pulitzer Prize for Poetry. He is also a recipient of the MacArthur “Genius” Fellowship. Text of today’s poem and more details about our program can be found at: deerfieldlib…

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Ep. 144: PRIDE Reads 28:55

18d ago28:55

28:55

Join Dakota, Drew, Rachel A., Savannah, and Stefanie as they talk about their favorite queer stories.

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Lit Chat Interview with USA Today Bestselling Author Kelly Mustian 1:00:50

19d ago1:00:50

1:00:50

A Haunting Southern Story Set in the Wild Mississippi Delta Four years after Kelly Mustian's USA Today bestselling debut novel, The Girls in the Stilt House, started appearing on "must-read" lists and earning starred reviews, the author is set to release her much-anticipated second novel on April 1, 2025. Like her first, The River Knows Your Name i…

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Queer Poem-a-Day, Year 5 Trailer 4:37

20d ago4:37

4:37

We’re back for year five of Queer Poem-a-Day! Queer Poem-a-Day is a unique podcast series for Pride Month, presenting a public archive of original poems written and read by contemporary LGBTQIA+ poets. For this fifth year, we’ll be sharing a poem each weekday in June. Get exciting with this audio collage "cento" trailer, featuring some of the voice…

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Level Up at Your Library 21:07

1M ago21:07

21:07

Send us a text It's almost summer reading time already! Jenny and Matt, along with some help from other staff members, explain how we can all participate and have fun leveling up at the library this summer and beyond. This episode also goes above and beyond summer reading with some insider information to help you become library super users! We've g…

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Lit Chat Interview with Historical Fiction Author Jennifer Coburn 57:33

1M ago57:33

57:33

A Tale of Resistance... Based on a Real Story Hannah longs for the days when she used to be free, but now, she is a Jewish prisoner at Theresienstadt, a model ghetto where the Nazis plan to make a propaganda film to convince the world that the Jewish people are living well in the camps. But Hannah will do anything to show the world the truth. Along…

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BONUS: Masters of the Gardening Universe 45:51

2M ago45:51

45:51

Send us a text This is the second episode of the podcast in April, because... well, we just couldn’t stop ourselves! Spring is here and it’s time for many of us to start working on our gardens, if we haven’t already. To give us all some tips and ideas, Ryan talked to two Master Gardeners who are also Master Composters, Diane Dynia and Wes Meeker. I…

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Ep. 133: National Library Week and National Poetry Month 29:54

2M ago29:54

29:54

This month join Kate, Lindsey, Rachel A., Stefanie, and Tessa as they talk about books they've enjoyed through the years, and poetry.

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Voices in Verse - National Poetry Month 47:48

2M ago47:48

47:48

Send us a text This month we are celebrating National Poetry Month. In addition to our staff reading some of their favorite poems and our interview with Franz Douskey, the Hamden poet laureate, one of our patrons was kind enough to call in and read two of her original poems. We also have a fun little quiz segment entitled “Taylor or Edgar” in which…

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Lit Chat Interview with Rebecca Brenner Graham 56:57

3M ago56:57

56:57

Interview with a Debut Author This January, we spoke with the author of Dear Miss Perkins: A Story of Frances Perkins's Efforts to Aid Refugees from Nazi Germany. Released on January 21, 2025, this new book is a fascinating portrait of the progressive female trailblazer and US Secretary for Labor who navigated the foreboding rise of Nazism in her b…

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66: Dr. Jo Freer on Thomas Pynchon & Gravity's Rainbow 1:06:40

3M ago1:06:40

1:06:40

A conversation with Dr. Jo Freer, a leading scholar on the work of American novelist Thomas Pynchon. I'm currently leading our Library’s Classics Book Discussion Seminar series on Pynchon’s 1973 masterpiece Gravity’s Rainbow and Dr. Freer’s work has been incredibly helpful for me in understanding this challenging novel and Pynchon’s work as a whole…

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Lit Chat Interview with Civil Rights Activist & Author Rodney Hurst, Sr. 59:42

4M ago59:42

59:42

Black and Brilliant Local Author As the sixteen-year-old President of the Jacksonville Youth Council NAACP, he was one of the leaders of the 1960 sit-in demonstrations that culminated in the infamous and violent Ax Handle Saturday. Hurst's first book, the award-winning It Was Never About a Hot Dog and a Coke®!, tells that story. Hurst’s fourth book…

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Lit Chat Interview with Author Sheila Athens 56:31

4M ago56:31

56:31

A First Coast Romance Sheila Athens writes smart contemporary fiction set where the South meets the Sunshine state. Her stories are about women seeking to find the peace we all deserve. Readers are drawn to her work because they believe that everyday heroes can make a difference in our world. Featured Book: Mae Van Dorn's Perfect Storm All thirty-f…

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Lit Chat Interview with Author and Filmmaker Morgan Jerkins 56:01

4M ago56:01

56:01

A Daughter of the Great Migration Reclaims Her Roots New York Times bestselling and National Magazine Award-winning author Morgan Jerkins will be at the Main Library this October to discuss Wandering in Strange Lands, the powerful story of her journey to understand her northern and southern roots, the Great Migration, and the displacement of black …

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Winter 15:57

5M ago15:57

15:57

Send us a text This episode is centered on winter. Our roving correspondent, Matt, asked our staff to tell us their favorite things about the season. Then Dave reads a poem by Robert Frost. And finally we wrap things up by talking about our favorite books, movies and anything else from 2024. Matt also discusses seasonal affective disorder (SAD), a …

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A New Year’s Plunge (Rebroadcast) 11:59

6M ago11:59

11:59

As 2024 comes to a close, we wanted to share with you an episode that we produced all the way back in 2020. That year, we went to Coney Island to record the Coney Island Polar Bear Club, the group of swimmers that congregate on Coney Island every Sunday in winter to swim in the frigid ocean as a way to renew themselves. It’s a fun one, and we hope …

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Lit Chat Interview with Mexican Gothic Author Silvia Moreno-Garcia 58:01

7M ago58:01

58:01

Mexican Gothic Author Comes to Jacksonville Silvia Moreno-Garcia, the New York Times bestselling author of Mexican Gothic, is coming to Jacksonville for Hispanic Heritage Month. Her latest novel is a historical drama set in Hollywood, following three different point of view characters all tied to the production of a movie inspired by the Biblical s…

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Ep. 132: Holiday Traditions 38:12

7M ago38:12

38:12

This month join Giselle, Kate, Maddie, Rachel G., Shelly, Stefanie, and Tessa as they discuss holiday traditions such as Christmas, Hanukkah, Krampus, and Jolabokaflod.

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Why We Still Read Together: The Joy of Book Clubs 18:57

7M ago18:57

18:57

Graphic novels, Haitian-American book bingo, and The Power Broker. These are just a few of the book clubs happening at Brooklyn Public Library! This episode, we take a tour around the borough to listen in on our patrons' reading habits and ask why we still read together. Read a transcript of this episode here. Further resources: Check out our book …

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Lit Chat Interview with Writer & Musician Daryl Gussin 48:55

7M ago48:55

48:55

Zinester Talks Fanzines, Community Daryl Gussin is a writer and musician who has been awkwardly standing around at punk shows for the last twenty-something years. Thankfully at some point in his late teens, he decided to become a little more productive and has been working on zines, setting up shows, and playing in bands consecutively since then. H…

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Horror Roundtable Discussion 21:41

8M ago21:41

21:41

Send us a text Four librarians, one table, lots of horror books (and movies)! Find out what Ryan, Jenny, Matt, and Mike think will scare your socks off this Halloween season.By Hamden Public Library

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Book Sanctuaries, Buttons and Bouncy Houses 15:16

8M ago15:16

15:16

We're pulling out all the stops for the first annual Freedom to Read Day of Action on Saturday, October 19th! Hear from libraries in Los Angeles, San Diego, Hoboken, NJ and Austin, TX about what they're doing to promote the freedom to read. And, if you're in Brooklyn, meet us on the steps of Central Library this Saturday for a book rally! You can r…

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Lit Chat Interview with Top Chef Personality & Author Kenny Gilbert 1:01:50

8M ago1:01:50

1:01:50

Chef Kenny Offers New Takes on Southern Cuisine Chef Kenny Gilbert is best known for his appearance on “Top Chef” Season seven, where he displayed a big personality and instantly became one of the most likable "cheftestants" to date. He is also the author of the new cookbook, Southern Cooking, Global Flavors (2023), which includes tips and techniqu…

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65: Richard Powers, author of Playground 1:02:06

8M ago1:02:06

1:02:06

Richard Powers talks about his new novel Playground (W. W. Norton & Co., 2024). Playground gives us a masterful braided narrative of lives devoted to oceanography, computer programming, art, and literature, taking us from French Polynesia to right here in Illinois. Powers is the author of fourteen acclaimed novels, including Orfeo (2014), The Overs…

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Ep. 131 Columbus Hauntings 38:53

9M ago38:53

38:53

Join Dakota, Drew, Kate, and Rachel A. as they tell some of the creepier stories about Columbus.

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Banned Books Week: All for a Library Card 27:37

9M ago27:37

27:37

For Banned Books Week this year, we’re returning to our award-winning series, Borrowed and Banned. Because the fight isn’t over. In 2023, the American Library Association documented a 65% increase in the number of book titles challenged across the country. Listen to the first episode of the series about what happened in one Oklahoma town when their…

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Banned Books Week 48:00

9M ago48:00

48:00

Send us a text Banned Books Week was established by the American Library Association in 1982 to reaffirm the freedom to read and to highlight the harms of censorship, and is usually held in the last week of September. On this episode, Ryan talks to Sam Lee, co-chair of the Connecticut Library Association’s Intellectual Freedom Committee, about cens…

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Lit Chat Interview with "Prairie Man" Author Dean Butler 1:00:40

9M ago1:00:40

1:00:40

Dean Butler is an actor, producer, and director best known for his role as Almanzo Wilder (the man Laura Ingalls married) in Little House on the Prairie, based on the beloved Little House book series written by Laura Ingalls Wilder. He appeared in the final four seasons of the show, the spin-off show Little House: A New Beginning, and the three pos…

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64: Lois Baer Barr, author of The Tailor's Daughter 44:52

9M ago44:52

44:52

Lois Baer Barr—a poet and fiction writer living just next door to us in Riverwoods, IL—on her new novel The Tailor’s Daughter (Water’s Edge Press, 2023). The Tailor’s Daughter uses Barr’s familial memories and prodigious research to explore the life of a Jewish immigrant family making their lives in Louisville, KY in the interwar years. Encompassin…

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Ep. 130: Science Fiction and Fantasy 20:55

10M ago20:55

20:55

This month join Maddie, Dakota, and Ollie as they discuss the nuances of Sci-Fi and Fantasy. What are they? Are the same? Different? Listen to find out.

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Lit Chat with Award-Winning Graphic Novelist Nate Powell 1:01:56

10M ago1:01:56

1:01:56

Nate Powell began self-publishing as an Arkansas teenager in 1992. Now, he is a National Book Award-winning cartoonist best known for his work on the ground-breaking graphic novel memoir series, March, with civil rights icon John Lewis. An inside story of the Civil Rights Movement told through the eyes of one of its most iconic figures, it was a #1…

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Rebroadcast: Blocks and Brownstones 25:31

10M ago25:31

25:31

Bedford-Stuyvesant is perhaps one of Brooklyn’s most iconic neighborhoods. Its tree-lined streets and grand brownstones have been here for over 150 years. This episode, a re-broadcast from 2019, tells the story of Bed-Stuy through the lives of three women who set down roots here in different ways: activist Hattie Carthan, writer Paule Marshall, and…

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I Know What You Read This Summer 17:23

11M ago17:23

17:23

Send us a text This month our roving reporters Kacie and Matt asked staff and younger patrons "What have you been reading this summer and how did you feel about it?" You will hear their honest answers in this episode. Enjoy... and let us know what you've been reading!By Hamden Public Library

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Lit Chat Author Interview with Debut Novelist Alejandro Nodarse 55:57

11M ago55:57

55:57

Debut Florida Author Brings the Magic City to Jacksonville "I am, first and foremost, a Miamian. No physical location has done more to shape my personal and artistic sensibilities than the Magic City," Alejandro Nodarse said in a recent interview. "Miami is, unquestionably, very different from its neighboring Floridan cities, and I am a product of …