TGE's Current Read

What does it mean to belong when you're caught between cultures, generations and the stories you've inherited? On this episode of Current Read , host Sam Herbst sits down with Nigerian-born, Sweden-based author, photographer and storyteller Lola Akinmade Åkerström to discuss her latest novel, Bitter Honey. Moving between Gambia and Sweden across several decades, Bitter Honey explores the c...

What would you do for the person you love most? And what happens when that love becomes a betrayal? On this episode of Current Read, host Sam Herbst sits down with British-Ghanaian author Krystle Zara Appiah to discuss her powerful second novel, Half Lives (2026), a moving exploration of sisterhood, motherhood, migration, family secrets and the complicated choices women make in the name of love. S...

What happens when a story about a toad that secretes a psychedelic toxin becomes an investigation into ego, transcendence, exploitation, conservation and the complicated business of turning a psychedelic drug into medicine? In this episode of Current Read, host Sam Herbst sits down with South African investigative journalist and author Kimon de Greef to talk about his extraordinary new book, The E...

Sometimes the hardest chapter isn't the ending – it's what comes next. In this episode of Current Read , journalist and author Eve Simmons joins host Sam Herbst to discuss her powerful new book, What She Did Next .Part memoir and part investigative journalism, the book explores the emotional aftermath of an unexpected divorce, why so many women are blindsided by relationship breakdowns, an...

What happens when love slowly erodes your sense of self? In this episode of Current Read , host Sam Herbst sits down with writer, feminist researcher and editor Joy Watson to discuss her powerful and deeply emotive novel, Because I Love You .Through the intertwined stories of three women, Watson explores the subtle and often overlooked dynamics of emotional harm, manipulation, self-doubt and ident...

International bestselling author Alka Joshi joins Sam in-studio for a very special episode of Current Read . Best known for her breakout debut novel The Henna Artist (the first novel in The Jaipur Trilogy ), Joshi’s historical fiction has transported millions of readers across the world to the pink city of Jaipur in the 1950s and to Shimla at the foothills of the Himalayas (not to mention 1950s Pa...

What does it mean to live in a place that is as beautiful as it is haunted? On this episode of TGE’s Current Read, powerhouse South African creative Nadia Davids – an award-winning playwright and author – chats with host Sam Herbst about her new novel Cape Fever. A haunting and atmospheric read, Cape Fever is a striking work of gothic historical fiction praised by JM Coetzee as “an invaluable body...

What happens when a real-life woman in STEM swaps equations for emotional slow burns? Shameez Patel – author, engineer, wife, mother, and storyteller – joins us on this episode of The Great Equalizer to talk about her latest book, Next Level Love, which the author describes as a URL to IRL romance. Shameez pulls us way (way!) back to the beginning of her writing journey (when she wrote a story cal...

Your Current Read host Sam Herbst sits down with internationally bestselling author ML Rio to chat about her latest novel, Hot Wax . If, like so many of us, you became obsessed with If We Were Villains — the dark academia cult favourite steeped in Shakespearean drama — you won’t want to miss this deep dive into Rio’s latest work.  Following her novella Graveyard Shift – a USA today bestseller – Ho...

On this episode of TGE’s Current Read, we sit down with Mpho Boshego — author, communications strategist and former South African diplomat — to unpack her bold and compelling debut novel, Diplomatic Ties . Drawing on more than 20 years of experience in diplomacy, stakeholder relations and corporate communications – including her time as a South African diplomat in Belgium – Boshego lifts the veil...

On this episode of TGE’s Current Read, we welcome Irish novelist Chloe Michelle Howarth. Best known for her debut novel Sunburn — a tender, searing portrait of queer adolescence and forbidden love — Chloe captured readers with her ability to balance delicacy and emotional intensity. Sunburn was shortlisted for the 2024 Polari First Book Prize, the 2024 Book Awards: Discover Award, and the 2023 Ner...

On this episode of TGE’s Current Read, hosts Sam and Charlene sit down with bestselling author Katherine Faulkner: journalist-turned-novelist and the mind behind  Greenwich Park ,  The Other Mothers , and her latest psychological thriller,  The Break In . After a decade at The Times, London, as an investigative journalist and editor, Katherine has become one of the sharpest voices in modern domest...

On this episode of TGE’s Current Read we welcome back international bestselling author Cecelia Ahern, who is currently promoting her latest novel, Paper Heart . Paper Heart is a story about dreams, having the courage to turn them into a reality, and being brave enough to open your heart to the possibility of love and truly living. We meet Pip – a passenger in her own story – whose life has been gr...

On this episode of TGE’s  Current Read , Sam Herbst welcomes award-winning Indian-British author Gurnaik Johal for an in-depth author interview. No stranger to fiction, Gurnaik won the Somerset Maugham Award in 2022 for his short story collection,  We Move , among other accolades. Now venturing into the realm of longform fiction, Gurnaik’s debut novel  Saraswati  has been listed among  Observer’s...

On this episode of TGE’s Current Read, we chat with author Liane Child, whose addictive new thriller, The Tradwife’s Secret , will have you turning the pages well into the wee hours, with a twist you probably won’t see coming. This is a novel that, according to one reviewer, reads like an episode right out of The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives . Aside from being a good old-fashioned domestic romp, i...

On this episode of TGE’s Current Read, your host Sam Herbst chats with Holly Brickley, one of this year’s HOTTEST new authors, whose debut novel Deep Cuts has already made Hollywood inroads. Silver screen stars Saoirse Ronan and Austin Butler have already been named as the leads in A24’s film adaptation, with the progressive film company set to start production on the movie soon (if not already!)...

Joining hosts Sam and Charlene on this episode of TGE's Current Read is licensed marriage and family therapist – and founder of the popular Conscious Mommy community on Instagram, Facebook, and TikTok – Bryana Kappadakunnel. Bryana’s book, Parent Yourself First, gives readers a look into how your upbringing is probably impacting your parenting style in ways you don't even fully recognise: from how...

On this episode of TGE’s Current Read, Sam speaks to New York Times bestselling author Abigail Dean about her latest novel, The Death of Us.    Best known for her first novel Girl A, which was a runaway success and an instant bestseller, Abigail’s writing has appeared in the Guardian, the Observer, the Times and the New York Times.  The former lawyer is also the author of Day On, with The Death of...

On this episode of TGE's Current Read, Sam and Charlene interview Sarah Harman, author of the most anticipated reads of 2025, so named by Readers Digest, Publishers Weekly, The Sunday Times Style, Time Magazine and Marie Claire. A satirical domestic thriller, All the Other Mothers Hate Me follows single mother and washed-up former girl-band singer Florence Grimes, who slums around London spending...

Just before The Dark Mirror was finalised for early readers, TGE's Current Read host Sam Herbst caught up with epic fantasy author Samantha Shannon to pick her genius brain about the worlds her readers have come to adore. Best known for her epic fantasy tome Priory of the Orange Tree (a high-fantasy feminist retelling of St George and the Dragon), Samantha Shannon came to fame as a young writer fo...

Christmas in South Africa will never be snowy and white, but if your preferred genre is a cosy romance, this is the time to get stuck into some seasonal spice. And, if numbers are anything to go by, this year’s TikTok Shop Book of the Year is bound to scratch the itch for romance fans. Join The Great Equalizer's Sam Herbst as she chats with author Melissa McTernan (who writes her Dream Harbor nove...

On this episode of TGE’s Current Read (and a special bonus episode of The Great Equalizer), two of the fiercest women in the publishing and parenting space – Vanessa Raphaely and Karin Schimke – join your hosts, Sam and Charlene, to talk about their book: We Were Perfect Parents Until We Had Children. Through combined effort, Vanessa and Karin gathered together several key experiences and insights...

On this episode of TGE's Current Read, Sam chats to New York Times bestselling author Ashley Audrain, whose #1 bestselling debut, The Push, has not only been translated into a whopping 38 languages since its release, it's also broken countless barriers for millions of mothers across the world. While we’ve been patiently waiting for the limited television series of The Push to come to fruition, we...

In this episode of TGE’s Current Read*, journalist Sam Herbst welcomes Cecelia Ahern bestselling novelist known for romance sensations like PS I Love You and Where Rainbows End (AKA Love, Rosie).   Cecelia is arguably one of the most prolific writers of our time, having written a book a year since publishing her debut novel (PS, I Love You) at just 21 years old. Cecelia’s bibliography now totals 1...

Feminist, activist, crime author, novelist and Mother – Margie Orford wears many hats and joins Sam Herbst in studio to chat about her memoir, Love & Fury. This is a book that will cut close to the bone for women everywhere. It's at once a tribute to South Africa's incredible history, the invisible work and labour of mothers, and feminists fighting for equality and women's rights the world over. W...