Lit Up

Hi everyone! In celebration of the release of Isaac Fitzgerald's DIRTBAG, MASSACHUSETTS in paperback, we are re-releasing our episode with him from last year. We'll be back in two weeks with Bianca Bosker, author of CORK DORK, to talk about wine for the holidays. Enjoy! Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

Angie's got a cold, and it's making her think about hot toddys. And the time she sipped some bourbon and talked with with Cody Keenan, President Obama's speech writer and author of Grace: President Obama and Ten Days in the Battle for America. Grace has just arrived in paperback, so it's a perfect time to revisit this conversation. We hope you enjoy it! Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

This week. we're re-releasing of our best and most popular conversations: Angie's 2018 conversation with Esther Perel. Psychotherapist Esther Perel joins Angie to talk about her latest book "The State of Affairs: Rethinking Infidelity," the provocative follow up to her New York Times best-seller "Mating in Captivity." This conversation, like Esther's book, will no doubt push some buttons and leave you questioning--and perhaps rethinking--the boundaries of your romantic relationships!

Angie speaks with Adriana Trigiani, the author of 20 best-selling books of fiction and nonfiction, most recently the novel THE GOOD LEFT UNDONE. She is an award-winning filmmaker who has directed the greats such as Whoopi Goldberg and Ashley Judd and now she’s hosting a new podcast, You Are What You Read, with Book of the Month. Angie and Adriana talk about how her Appalachian and Italian heritage shaped her, why she reinvents herself every seven years, and how her time as a temp on Wall Street in the 80s has shaped how she organizes her days ever since. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week Angie is joined by writer and filmmaker Shaina Feinberg and illustrator Julia Rothman to talk about their new book, How We Got By: 111 People Share Stories of Survival, Resilience & Hope through Hardship. The book was inspired by the success of their illustrated column for the business section of The New York Times called Scratch about people’s relationship with money, small businesses, and resilience. They talk about how writing a book can help you find a husband (!), how speaking with strangers has encouraged them to live more fully, and the quirks that define their friendship. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week on the podcast, Angela speaks with the James Beard award-winning food writer Anya von Bremzen about her book National Dish: Around the World in Search of Food, History, and the Meaning of Home. Angie and Anya also talk about what makes a memorable meal, the joy of Neapolitan pizza, and how the ongoing war in Ukraine has irrevocably changed her relationship with Borscht. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week, LIT UP producer and podcaster Liam Billingham comes back to chat with Angie about her vacation reading, things to watch, and a whole lot more! A chill end of summer episode for your ears. Enjoy! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week on the podcast, Angela speaks with writer Prachi Gupta about her new book They Called Us Exceptional. Angie and Prachi also talk about her work as a reporter during the 2016 election, and her award-winning essay Stories About My Brother. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week Angie is joined by award-winning journalist and writer Mattie Kahn. She's written one of the buzziest books of the season: Young and Restless, the Girls Who Sparked America's Revolutions. This book highlights the gutsy girls and the women whose voices and courageous actions have helped shape American society for the better. Maddie has made a career of championing women's voices. She was the culture director at Glamor where she specialized in women's issues. She's covered news and politics at l and her journalism has appeared in Harper's Bazaar, the New York Times Vanity Fair, and more. Angie and Mattie talk about the book, those we choose to highlight through history (and those we don't), and also about the young women making names for themselves in politics today. They also talk about how much Mattie loves BRAVO. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week on Lit Up, Angie welcomes back Helen Ellis to chat about her new collection of essays, Kiss Me in the Coral Lounge: Intimate Confessions From A Happy Marriage.. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week on Lit Up, Angie is putting her feet up and taking a well deserved break. In her place this week is her producer and friend Liam Billingham, who is bringing us an episode of his film podcast, DIE HARD ON A BLANK. On DHOAB, Liam and his co-host, screenwriter Philip Gawthorne explore the influence of Die Hard on action movies, one action movie at time. Today they're tackling CLIFFHANGER (one of Angie's favorites) alongside NYTimes Opinion writer and podcaster Jamelle Bouie. Enjoy the spirited discussion and, if you like it, subscribe to Die Hard On A Blank. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week, on a sweltering day in New York City, Gina Chung joined Angie to talk about her new book Sea Change. Angie and Gina talk about a lot: professional mourners, Sharktinis (2 parts gin, 1 part mountain dew, hint of jalapeño,) supernatural places, and shitty break ups. Gina's book Sea Change is available in the US now. Get it wherever you get your books! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week Angie talks to Max Porter about his new novel 'Shy,' the story of a few strange hours in the life of a teenage boy. Max and Angela talk about being young, grief, and loss, but they also make room for lighter topics, like Max's penchant for shower gels and Japanese socks (a bit hipster, he calls them). We hope you enjoy this conversation with Max Porter! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week, we welcome New York City food critic and writer Hannah Goldfield to Lit Up! Angela and Hannah discuss what makes a restaurant experience special, how Hannah captures New York City's shifting moods through the lens of food for The New Yorker, early influences that inspired Hannah to pursue a career in food criticism, quintessential food writers, and the pleasures of reading non-fiction on topics she doesn't devote her time to thinking and writing about. Hannah's recommendations: Save Me the Plums: My Gourmet Memoir by Ruth Reichl Counter Intelligence: Where to Eat in the Real Los Angeles by the late Jonathan Gold, Pulitzer Prize-winning Los Angeles Times restaurant critic Jeffrey Steingarten's food writing in Vogue the late writer Laurie Colwin, author of Home Cooking: A Writer in the Kitchen Battle of Ink and Ice: A Sensational Story of News Barons, North Pole Explorers, and the Making of Modern Media by Darrell Hartman Strangers to Ourselves: Unsettled Minds and the Stories That Make Us by Rachel Aviv Genius Recipes Cookbook by Kristen Miglore via Food52 See you in two weeks! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week on Lit Up, Samantha Irby—TV writer ("And Just Like That..."), comedian, and best-selling author and essayist—graces us with her singular presence! Angie and Sam discuss what it’s like to write on a TV show that everyone actually watches (and has an opinion about), what to ask before you say ‘I do' (hint: how many jars of mustard are in your partner’s fridge?), her spot-on observations of modern life and the pleasures of unabashedly liking the things you like, and the culture that’s lighting Sam up at the moment. Samantha’s latest essay collection, Quietly Hostile, is out today (via Vintage), May 16th. She’s also on book tour, and headed on a driving tour this fall with fellow writer Lindy West! You can purchase your copy of Sam’s new collection via BookShop. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week, we welcome back repeat Lit Up guest Adrienne Westenfeld, Esquire's Books and Fiction Editor! Given Adrienne's role overseeing books coverage, writing about film, TV, & culture, and curating the Esquire Book Club, it's always a treat to get a glimpse into her ever-growing stack and to find out what recent reads and series have stayed with her. Along with sharing many recommendations, we also talk about our shifting relationship to book events, what makes for a good book-to-film/TV adaptation, and the beauty of merging poetry with travel. Adrienne's recommendations Angela's recommendations Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week, Angie’s joined by pastry chef and writer Natasha Pickowicz for a conversation on why there’s so much more to cake than meets the eye. Her long-anticipated debut book of recipes, More Than Cake: 100 Recipes Built for Pleasure and Community, is out now from Artisan Publishers. They discuss Natasha’s experiences crafting glorious pastries for places like Flora Bar at the Met Breuer museum and Café Altro Paradiso, the relationship between community organizing and baking, embracing imperfection in the kitchen, collaborating with her mom (a successful contemporary artist for decades!) on artwork for the book, and a preview of her upcoming book tour, featuring plenty of baked goods along the way. Natasha also shares a memorable lesson she learned while attempting to incorporate the natural flora of Wyoming into a mutual friend’s wedding cake…! All the details on Natasha’s book and tour are available at her website, https://www.natasha-pickowicz.com/ Natasha Pickowicz recommends: Kitchen Arts and Letters, 1435 Lexington Ave. New York, NY 10128 Brooks Headley's Fancy Desserts Ten Vineyard Lunches by Richard Olney Stay True: A Memoir by Hua Hsu Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week, we welcome French-English culture & travel journalist, bestselling author, and host of The New Paris podcast, Lindsey Tramuta.  Lindsey talks about what she’s observed over her 16 years in Paris, the illuminating ideas behind her books The New Parisienne (Abrams, pub. 2020) and The New Paris (Abrams, pub. 2017), her ongoing work to challenge Parisian stereotypes and archetypes, and the storied history behind the ‘American in Paris’ in literature. She also shares some of her favorite French books, including Muriel Barbery’s 2006 novel The Elegance of the Hedgehog. Order your copies of Lindsey’s books via Bookshop or your favorite local indie bookshop. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week, Angela welcomes back Lit Up’s first-ever (!) guest, author Catherine Lacey, and delve into the making and imagining of her brilliantly textured new book, Biography of X: a multilayered portrait of an inscrutable art and literary star as reported by her widow. Catherine shares the entry points into her chosen fictional biography form, reimagining American history through the writing process, centering queer people on the page without explanation, the mysterious forces that draw people into each other’s orbits, and the pleasure of reading in bed with coffee first thing in the morning.  Pick up your copy of Biography of X at Bookshop or your favorite local indie bookstore.  Plus, check out Catherine’s friend John Wray’s forthcoming book Gone to the Wolves. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

From La Rousse to Le Coucou, Michael Cecchi-Azzolina—Maitre d’ extraordinaire—has a birds eye view on some of New York City’s most historic, glamorous restaurants. After more than 35 years in the restaurant world, he’s sharing his behind the scenes tales in his delicious new memoir YOUR TABLE IS READY (Dec. 2022, pub: St. Martin's Press). This week, Michael tells Angie all about his early memories of the restaurant business, living through the AIDS epidemic, the singular magic of gathering around a dinner table, and his next exciting chapter: opening an NYC spot of his own. Plus, he shares his go-to comfort dish to cook at home. YOUR TABLE IS READY is available via Bookshop.org Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices