Totally Booked with Zibby

Zibby speaks to Cin Fabré about her electrifying debut memoir Wolf Hustle: A Black Woman on Wall Street. Cin describes her ambitious journey to becoming a stockbroker (she started at age 19?!), the unrelenting harassment she suffered in the workplace, and her hopes that her book will promote financial literacy and normalize conversations about money (especially among women!). She also shares the d...

Zibby interviews New York Times bestselling author Lauren Belfer about Ashton Hall, a moody mystery about an American mom and her neurodivergent son and the summer they spend caring for a relative and unearthing the dark, buried secrets of an English manor house. Lauren talks about her character’s neurodiversity (an element rarely portrayed in fiction) and the important themes she explores in the...

Zibby is joined by critically acclaimed artist and bestselling author Maira Kalman to discuss Women Holding Things, an extraordinary visual meditation on women and the objects they carry in their hands, hearts, and minds. Maira explains the origin of this project and analyzes many of its paintings, anecdotes, and themes (including motherhood, the constraints of time, and the inevitability of death...

Zibby is joined by British actress Kirby Howell-Baptiste (from “Queenpins,” “The Good Place,” “Killing Eve,” and more!) to discuss her two beautiful and uplifting picture books (and love letters to her inner child): Little Black Girl: Oh, the Things You Can Do! and Little Black Boy: Oh, the Things You Will Do! Kirby describes her book publishing experience, the themes that inspired her (community-...

Zibby speaks to author Amy Fusselman about The Mean$ , a breezy and hysterical new novel about a stay-at-home Manhattan mom who is hell-bent on purchasing a Hamptons house (or shipping container, if necessary!). Amy talks about the inspiration behind the story, her fascinating protagonist (Shelly Means–disgruntled, enraged, and deep in capitalist delusion), and the themes she enjoyed exploring–wea...

Zibby interviews Emmy Award-winning reporter Jen Maxfield about her extraordinary new book More After the Break: A Reporter Returns to Ten Unforgettable News Stories. Jen describes the unrelenting curiosity and profound empathy that drove her to revisit the most memorable interviewees of her career, from Staten Island ferry crash survivor Paul Esposito to domestic violence survivor Tamika Tompkins...

Zibby speaks to bestselling and award-winning author Elizabeth McCracken about her remarkable new novel The Hero of This Book (a Best Book of the Year by Time, People, Washington Post, and more). Elizabeth discusses the autobiographical elements that made their way into the story and then delves into the poignant portrayal of her mother. She also talks about her journey to becoming a successful au...

Zibby speaks to bestselling author Rebecca Woolf about her beautifully written and provocative book All of This: A Memoir of Death and Desire, which tells the story of how her husband was diagnosed with terminal cancer two weeks after she asked for a divorce and how she navigated feelings of grief and relief after he died. Rebecca shares the most intimate details of her story, from a marriage ridd...

Guest host Julianna Goldman speaks to best-selling author A.M. Homes about The Unfolding , a hilarious and sharp political satire about a family’s unraveling in the wake of the 2008 presidential election. A.M. describes the inspiration behind this story, her interest in American society and culture, and the process of developing a cast of characters whose backgrounds and philosophies differ vastly...

Zibby interviews internationally acclaimed speaker, renowned podcast host, and bestselling author John O’Leary about his heartfelt and empowering new book On Fire: The 7 Choices to Ignite a Radically Inspired Life. At the age of 9, John survived a near-fatal fire. He shares the gutwrenching details of the accident, the heroic siblings who saved him, the torturous hospital treatments, and the uncon...

Guest host Allison Pataki interviews health and science journalist Chelsea Conaboy about her groundbreaking and myth-busting new book Mother Brain: How Neuroscience Is Rewriting the Story of Parenthood. Chelsea analyzes the postpartum experience–a time of distress, adaptation, and powerful neurological and hormonal shifts for parents. She also dismantles the dangerous myth of maternal instinct and...

Zibby speaks to author duo and repeat MDHTTRB guests Alli Frank and Asha Youmans about Never Meant to Meet You , a sparkling new book about two outwardly different neighbors (a Black Baptist kindergarten teacher and a white Jewish cookbook editor) and the beautiful friendship that forms between them. Alli and Asha describe the origins of their writing partnership, the eye-opening conversations the...

Zibby interviews award-winning children’s author Hena Khan about Zara’s Rules for Record-Breaking Fun, the first book in a humor-filled middle-grade series about neighborhood antics starring Zara, a young Muslim girl and the queen bee of it all! Hena talks about the childhood memories that inspired the story (it involves dreams of breaking a Guinness World Record and a tragic hula hoop incident) a...

Zibby is joined by shamanic energy teacher (and former Federal Judge, U.S. Army officer, and Fulbright Scholar) Karen V. Johnson to discuss her fascinating new book Living Grieving: Using Energy Medicine to Alchemize Grief and Loss. Karen shares the heartbreaking story of her 27-year-old son Ben’s death, and describes the unique way she grieved the loss–by leaving her job (a lifetime appointment!)...

In this special episode (a live event for the Streicker Center!), Zibby speaks to New York Times bestselling author Celeste Ng about Our Missing Hearts , a riveting and tender book about a 12-year-old boy’s quest to find his missing mother in a grim, dystopian world. Celeste talks about her book's most prominent elements: anti-Asian racism, the dangers of political extremism, and the power of stor...

Zibby speaks to Golden Globe and Emmy-nominated producer, director, and bestselling author Justine Bateman about Face: One Square Foot of Skin , a riveting collection of vignettes about women and aging. Justine reveals her inspiration for this project, how she conquered her fear of aging, the vignette she based on her own experience with face-shamers, and the creative process behind her phenomenal...

Zibby is joined by fashion and beauty insider and debut author Danielle Prescod to discuss Token Black Girl, a sharp and witty new memoir about a Black girl’s racial identity, eating disorder, conditional self-love, and delusions of perfection. Danielle talks about revisiting painful memories–from being racially harassed in all-white private schools to developing bulimia at the age of 12 to strugg...

Guest host Julianna Goldman speaks to Ashley Winstead about The Last Housewife, an unputdownable new thriller about a woman’s revenge against a violent and misogynistic cult. Ashley reveals the inspiration behind the story (it involves watching too many cult documentaries and feeling angry in her job as a reproductive health policy researcher) and discusses her book’s most prominent themes: femini...

Guest host Alisha Fernandez Miranda interviews best-selling author Andrew Sean Greer about Less Is Lost, an utterly delightful follow-up to his Pulitzer Prize-winning novel Less. Andrew talks about the incredible American road trip he took for book research and his much more confined writing conditions (he was stuck in his Milan apartment during the Italian COVID lockdown!). He also talks about th...

Zibby speaks to journalist Rina Raphael about her new book The Gospel of Wellness: Gyms, Gurus, Goop, and the False Promise of Self-Care , a revelatory, cautionary, and expertly-written study of the modern wellness industry (and its impact on women, especially). Rina describes “wellness” as an ambiguous, fear-mongering marketing tactic leveraged in our hyper-consumerist, productivity-obsessed cult...

Zibby is joined by #1 New York Times and Sunday Times bestselling author Sarah Pinborough to discuss her latest novel Insomnia, a heart-pounding, mind-twisting thriller about a successful lawyer who stops being able to sleep and fears she will turn into a monster like her mother. Sarah talks about her journey to becoming a published author and the unexpected, tremendous success of Behind Her Eyes...

In this special episode (a live event for the Streicker Center!) Zibby speaks to national bestselling author and repeat MDHTTRB guest Dani Shapiro about the spectacular, 15-years-in-the-making Signal Fires ( a TIME Best Book of the Year and a Washington Post Notable Work of Fiction). Dani talks about the powerful and unexpected connections between her characters, her profound compassion for them,...

Zibby interviews repeat MDHTTRB guest Carla Naumburg, Ph. D. about her latest book, You Are Not a Sh*tty Parent, a reassuring and hilarious guide for parents who need to cut themselves some slack. After asserting that there is no such thing as a sh*tty parent, Carla outlines her three core practices (connection, curiosity, and kindness) and shares personal anecdotes to illustrate them. Finally, sh...

Zibby interviews Alice Elliot Dark about her national bestseller Fellowship Point, a magnificent book about 80-year-old best friends and the grudges, grievances, and coastal Maine landholdings that entangle their families together. Alice describes her admiration of older women (an untapped and underserved market of readers, by the way!), how she developed her complex characters and book structure,...

Zibby speaks to Natasha Sizlo about All Signs Point to Paris, a sparkling and adventurous memoir about her quest to find her astrological soulmate—a man born in Paris on November 2nd, 1968! Natasha talks about the difficult life events that prompted her journey, the amazing online community she grew while abroad, and how the experience strengthened her relationship with her sister (who also went t...