Transatlantic Bookmarks

Looking for the perfect book this summer? In this episode of Transatlantic Bookmarks, novelist Ksenija Popović and engineer Sue Graham Johnston share the titles they’re most excited to recommend for the season. Whether you’re heading to the beach, escaping to the mountains, or simply slowing down at home, we’ve put together a list that ranges from light and funny to deeply thought-provoking. We co...

What makes a country worth loving? Is patriotism about flags, freedom, democracy, or the people who hold a nation together behind the scenes? In this episode of Transatlantic Bookmarks, we celebrate America’s 249th Independence Day by moving beyond the headlines to ask a bigger question: What makes a country worth fighting for, protecting, or simply loving? We discuss patriotism, democracy, Americ...

What happens when distance changes the way we see the world—and ourselves? Inspired by Samantha Harvey’s Orbital , we explore the Overview Effect: the profound shift astronauts describe after seeing Earth from space. From there, the conversation expands into borders, war, loneliness, mortality, perspective, and the relief that can come from stepping back. Along the way, we discuss the Internationa...

What makes a book dangerous? In this episode of Transatlantic Bookmarks, we discuss banned books, censorship, school libraries, Pride Month, LGBTQ literature, free speech, and the role books play in helping us understand lives different from our own. From John Steinbeck and Upton Sinclair to Alice Walker and Andrew Sean Greer, we explore why certain books become cultural battlegrounds and who gets...

What happens to a book when it crosses a border? In this episode of Transatlantic Bookmarks , we discuss translation, multilingualism, dialects, cultural context, and whether it is ever possible to experience a book exactly as its author intended. Ksenija shares her experience writing a novel in English rather than her native language, the politics of language in the former Yugoslavia, and the dis...

Daniel Kehlmann’s The Director , shortlisted for the 2026 International Booker Prize, tells the story of legendary filmmaker G.W. Pabst and raises a question that extends far beyond one artist or one historical moment: what happens when creative people find themselves face to face with power? In this episode of Transatlantic Bookmarks , we discuss the uneasy relationship between artists and tyrant...

The 2025 adaptation of Wuthering Heights has reignited debate about race, casting, and fidelity to the source material. But the controversy raises a larger question: why do some books survive adaptation beautifully while others lose everything essential about them? In this episode of Transatlantic Bookmarks , we discuss Wuthering Heights , Hollywood’s relationship with literature, the challenges o...

The shortlist for the 2026 Women’s Prize for Fiction is out, sparking an important debate: does the term “women’s writing” still make sense today, and do we still need prizes dedicated exclusively to female authors? In the very first episode of Transatlantic Bookmarks, we discuss women’s writing, literary prizes, and whether male experience is still treated as the default universal perspective in...