Book Riot - The Podcast

Jeff and Rebecca open the show by discussing President Obama's forthcoming book podcast, before digging into the ramifications of Libro.fm selling ebooks, triaging 2025's book sales, talking some more about AI. And then in Frontlist Foyer, Jeff workshops his INSIDE OUT theory of reading personalities.

Follow the podcast via RSS, Apple Podcasts, and Spotify. Join The Book Riot Podcast Patreon for bonus content and ad-free listening.

Subscribe to The Book Riot Newsletter for regular updates to get the most out of your reading life.

The Book Riot Podcast is a proud member of the Airwave Podcast Network.

Discussed in this episode:

Final number: publishing sales increased 2.5% in 2025

Libro.fm to introduce ebooks

Barack Obama is releasing a books podcast

An interesting data point: AI use is not disqualifying for the Pulitzer, provided it is disclosed and assistive -- and 5 of the 2026 winners disclosed it

And Hank Green has rolled out a personal AI policy that is very reasonable

Study shows AI-generated stories have bias to male characters

Claude is rolling out watermarks on AI-generated text

Certified human writing panopticon gymnastics

A 30-day protocol/bootcamp for reading more

NYT tests Pangram in a serious way

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A little bonus preview of our August edition of Deals, Deals, Deals, a format in which Jeff unleashes book deal announcements of notes on Rebecca. Listen to the full episode, and every bonus episode we have ever done, by becoming a member of The Book Riot Podcast Patreon.

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Go to quince.com/bookriot for free shipping on your order and 365-day returns. Now available in Canada and the UK, too.

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Jeff and Rebecca check in the last gasp of Emily Wilson's The Odyssey discourse, The New York Times' list of the Best Thrillers of the Century so Far, on-going developments in AI accusations in publishing, recent reading, and much more.

Follow the podcast via RSS, Apple Podcasts, and Spotify. Join The Book Riot Podcast Patreon for bonus content and ad-free listening.

Subscribe to The Book Riot Newsletter for regular updates to get the most out of your reading life.

The Book Riot Podcast is a proud member of the Airwave Podcast Network.

Discussed in this episode:

Update: The Wilson pan of The Odyssey is so big that The Onion parodied it, and Emily Wilson wrote another one!

Book with $2.4 million advance pulled over AI allegations

NYT names the 50 best thrillers of the century so far

Apple is developing an adaptation of Whitehead’s Harlem Trilogy

Naomi Alderman’s “couch to 5k” for reading

GRRM issues our regularly scheduled reminder that The Winds of Winter is never happening

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Go to quince.com/bookriot for free shipping on your order and 365-day returns. Now available in Canada and the UK, too.
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Jeff and Rebecca try to identify the It Book of August 2026. And are pretty sure they didn't succeed.

Follow the podcast via RSS, Apple Podcasts, and Spotify. Join The Book Riot Podcast Patreon for bonus content and ad-free listening.

Subscribe to The Book Riot Newsletter for regular updates to get the most out of your reading life.

The Book Riot Podcast is a proud member of the Airwave Podcast Network.

This content contains affiliate links. When you buy through these links, we may earn an affiliate commission.

Go to quince.com/bookriot for free shipping on your order and 365-day returns. Now available in Canada and the UK, too.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Jeff and Rebecca talk about Emily Wilson's pan of Nolan's The Odyssey, before checking in on the Booker longlist, Obama's summer reading picks, and the most troubling AI/publishing story yet.

Follow the podcast via RSS, Apple Podcasts, and Spotify. Join The Book Riot Podcast Patreon for bonus content and ad-free listening.

Subscribe to The Book Riot Newsletter for regular updates to get the most out of your reading life.

The Book Riot Podcast is a proud member of the Airwave Podcast Network.

Discussed in this episode:

Emily Wilson hated The Odyssey, actually, and her unedited remarks to the AP

Joyce Carol Oates has entered the chat

And everybody wants to learn Greek

Booker Prize longlist

Obama summer reading list

The most read books on Goodreads this year

A viral BookTok hit might be largely AI-generated

This content contains affiliate links. When you buy through these links, we may earn an affiliate commission.

Go to quince.com/bookriot for free shipping on your order and 365-day returns. Now available in Canada and the UK, too.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices