Hrishikesh Hirway and Susan Orlean's picks by Hrishikesh Hirway and Susan Orlean, The Book Exploder podcast hosts share their recommendations.
Hrishikesh Hirway and Susan Orlean
Hrishikesh Hirway and Susan Orlean's picks
The Book Exploder podcast hosts share their recommendations.
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About Hrishikesh Hirway and Susan Orlean's Collection

“You can learn a lot about who an artist is by hearing them talk about the creative decisions they made, and why they made them, in the process of writing and producing a song. I wanted to hear those kinds of insights from authors that I love. And since I know my interviews on Song Exploder are heavily shaped by my experience as a musician, I asked one of my favorite authors, Susan Orlean, to step in, and have these conversations with some of her favorite authors—her peers.” —Hrishikesh Hirway

Book Exploder is a podcast where authors take apart their words to show us how they write. On Book Exploder, the biggest names in literature guide us through the creative process behind a piece of their work. Each episode of our podcast focuses on a single passage from one book.

In conversation with host Susan Orlean (author of The Library Book and The Orchid Thief), authors reveal the inspiration and process that went into their work, as well as the problems they had to solve to bring it to life. Through a close reading of the passage, they’ll discuss the specific choices they made about character, structure, and language. Larger themes about the book and the author’s biography emerge, but the centerpiece is the specific passage and its creation.

Book Exploder is part of the Radiotopia network from PRX.
8 titles
  • The Library Book By Susan Orlean

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  • Pachinko By Min Jin Lee

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  • Tenth of December By George Saunders

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  • Deacon King Kong By James McBride

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  • In the Dream House By Carmen Maria Machado

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  • Little Fires Everywhere By Celeste Ng

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  • An American Marriage (Oprah’s Book Club) By Tayari Jones

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  • The Hours By Michael Cunningham

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About Hrishikesh Hirway and Susan Orlean
About Hrishikesh Hirway and Susan Orlean

Hrishikesh Hirway is a musician and podcast creator. He is the host and creator of the Song Exploder podcast, and host and executive producer of the Netflix original series adaptation. In 2021, Fast Company named him one of the “Most Creative People in Business” and AdWeek named him to their Creative 100 list, as an “innovator reshaping the media landscape.”

Susan Orlean has been a staff writer at The New Yorker since 1992. She is the New York Times bestselling author of multiple books, including The Library Book, Rin Tin Tin, On Animals, Saturday Night, and The Orchid Thief, which was made into the Academy Award–winning film adaptation. She lives with her family and her animals in Los Angeles and may be reached at SusanOrlean.com and on Twitter @SusanOrlean.

Book Exploder: Susan Orlean - The Library Book By null
Book Exploder: Susan Orlean - The Library Book