Rachelle Unreich, A BRILLIANT LIFE: My Mother's Inspiring True Story of Surviving the Holocaust
Zibby speaks to journalist Rachelle Unreich about A BRILLIANT LIFE: My Mother’s Inspiring True Story of Surviving the Holocaust, a delicate and evocative family history built from the interviews she conducted with her 89-year-old mother, Mira, before she died of cancer. Rachelle shares what it was like to uncover both the horrors of the Holocaust and her mother’s incredible resilience and optimism. She highlights her mother’s unwavering faith in humanity and the lessons she imparted about finding hope in dark times. Finally, she reflects on the painstaking process of writing this book during the pandemic lockdown and then touches on the themes of intergenerational strength and mother-daughter bonds.
Meg Kissinger, WHILE YOU WERE OUT: An Intimate Family Portrait of Mental Illness in an Era of Silence
Award-winning journalist Meg Kissinger joins Zibby to discuss WHILE YOU WERE OUT, a searing and deeply personal memoir of a family besieged by mental illness, the systems that failed them, and the love that sustained them. Meg shares what it was like to grow up in a large family that was marked by joy but overshadowed by severe mental illness, including the tragic loss of two siblings to suicide. She also delves into the complexities of navigating the mental health system, grappling with questions of autonomy, safety, and stigma. Ultimately, she hopes that her readers will join her on a journey of healing, compassion, challenging societal taboos, and fostering empathy for those affected by mental illness.
Elyssa Maxx Goodman, GLITTER AND CONCRETE: A Cultural History of Drag in New York City
Zibby speaks to journalist and drag historian Elyssa Maxx Goodman about GLITTER AND CONCRETE, an intimate, evocative history of drag in New York City with original interviews and glamorous color photos. Elyssa, inspired to write this book after the passing of the renowned drag queen Flawless Sabrina, describes her determination to preserve stories of drag artists for future generations. She and Zibby discuss the rich history of drag in NYC, its influence on American culture, and the importance of recognizing it as a significant art form. Elyssa also reflects on her childhood fascination with drag culture, her career as an author and journalist, and the news that her book has been named a Stonewall Honor Book.
Michele Norris, OUR HIDDEN CONVERSATIONS: What Americans Really Think about Race and Identity
Peabody Award-winning journalist Michele Norris joins Zibby to discuss OUR HIDDEN CONVERSATIONS, a transformative, candid, and unsettling book on race and identity in America, unearthed through her decade-long work at The Race Card Project, which asks people to distill their thoughts on race in just six words. Michele describes her book's unique, scrapbook-like feel (it has stories, essays, and photographs collected over three decades) and then explains how the six-word stories are just a starting point for important conversations on race. She also touches on her personal experiences with race and the impact of storytelling and ends with her best advice for aspiring authors.
Nikki Vargas, CALL YOU WHEN I LAND: A Memoir
Zibby speaks to Colombian immigrant and travel journalist Nikki Vargas about her soul-stirring travel memoir, CALL YOU WHEN I LAND, which whisks readers through the countries that brought her self-discovery, new love, and the inspiration to launch the first international feminist travel magazine, Unearth Women. Nikki reveals the beginning of her journey (as a runaway bride, screaming into the jungles of Argentina) and then describes her path to travel writing and the unique 3-part structure of her book (Turbulence, Changing Pitch, and Landing). She also talks about her magazine, highlighting the highs and lows of the entrepreneurial venture, and shares her plan to transition into fiction writing.
Dina Gachman, SO SORRY FOR YOUR LOSS: How I Learned to Live with Grief, and Other Grave Concerns
Zibby is joined by author and journalist Dina Gachman to discuss her compassionate and compelling new essay collection, So Sorry for Your Loss: How I Learned to Live with Grief, and Other Grave Concerns. Dina describes the grief she felt after losing her mother and sister only two years apart and what it was like to put her experience on paper. She also talks about her sister’s alcoholism, her go-to grief books, and her writing journey (from blogging for a lamp store to ghostwriting celebrity books). Finally, she shares her best advice for aspiring writers.
Damien Cave, PARENTING LIKE AN AUSTRALIAN: One Family's Quest to Fight Fear and Dive Into a Better, Braver Life
American journalist Damien Cave joins Zibby to discuss his impactful and gripping new parenting book, Parenting Like an Australian: One Family’s Quest to Fight Fear and Dive into a Better, Braver Life. Damien discusses the parts of Australian parenting he has adopted–from letting his kids take risks to trusting his community to help. He also describes his international career in journalism, his complicated relationship with his mom, and his best advice for aspiring writers.
Jancee Dunn, HOT AND BOTHERED: What No One Tells You about Menopause and How to Feel Like Yourself Again
Zibby speaks to health journalist and New York Times bestselling author Jancee Dunn about her empowering, informative, and entertaining new book, Hot and Bothered: What No One Tells You About Menopause and How to Feel Like Yourself Again. Jancee talks about her experience with perimenopause and expresses how important it is for women to speak about this inevitable part of life. She and Zibby also chat about weed gummies, sweat, dryness, and brain fog, and living some of their best years now in their 40s and 50s.
Christine Yu, UP TO SPEED: The Groundbreaking Science of Women Athletes
Zibby interviews award-winning sports and health journalist Christine Yu about her important new book, Up to Speed: The Groundbreaking Science of Women Athletes. Christine describes how athletics are finally changing for women after decades of oversight and lack of research. She also discusses diet culture, body image, youth sports, sports bras, and menopause! Finally, she shares her best advice for aspiring authors.
Jennifer Breheny Wallace, NEVER ENOUGH: When Achievement Culture Becomes Toxic-And What We Can Do about It
Zibby interviews award-winning reporter and New York Times bestselling author Jennifer Breheny Wallace about Never Enough: When Achievement Culture Becomes Toxic and What We Can Do About It, an incisive and eye-opening book that every parent should read. Jennifer describes her fascinating research on families nationwide and shares what she learned about achievement, hyper-competition, pressure, and overwhelm. She then reveals the key to raising healthy achievers: “mattering.”
Katie Bishop, THE GIRLS OF SUMMER
Zibby speaks to journalist and debut author Katie Bishop about The Girls of Summer, a mesmerizing, unsettling, and gripping dual-timeline story about a woman who, in her mid-thirties, cannot stop thinking about the summer she spent in Greece as a teenager and the affair she had with a much older man. Katie explains how the MeToo movement inspired this story and how she makes places, relationships, and feelings come to life in her writing. She also shares her writing and publishing journey, her best advice for aspiring writers, and the book she just read and loved.
Byron Lane, BIG GAY WEDDING
Zibby interviews playwright, screenwriter, Emmy Award-winning journalist, and author Byron Lane about Big Gay Wedding, a hilarious, quirky, and unashamedly proud novel about a conservative mom (who runs a small-town rescue ranch for misfit animals) and her gay son (who wants to get married at the farm). Byron shares his coming out story (and how it inspired bits of this novel); his journey with testicular cancer; his experience working as actress Carrie Fischer’s assistant; and the perks of being married to author Steven Rowley.
Luke Russert, LOOK FOR ME THERE: Grieving My Father, Finding Myself
Zibby is joined by Emmy Award-winning journalist and New York Times bestselling author Luke Russert to discuss Look for Me There: Grieving My Father, Finding Myself, a rich and compelling travel memoir that transports the reader to the world’s most fascinating cities while also meditating on loss, grief, and a search for home. Luke describes the moment he decided to quit his prestigious NBC News reporting job to travel the world and what he learned about himself when he finally stopped following in his father’s footsteps. He shares stories from his travels, what it was like to lose his close friend and father in his twenties, and what he is up to now!
Anissa Gray, LIFE AND OTHER LOVE SONGS
Zibby is joined by author, award-winning journalist, and repeat MDHTTRB guest Anissa Gray to discuss Life and Other Love Songs, a riveting, complex, and astonishingly moving African American family saga about a father’s sudden disappearance and how it unravels the lives of the family members he leaves behind. Anissa talks about her decision to write from different perspectives and time periods, the real-life disappearance that inspired this story, and the difficult events that happened in her own life while she wrote it. Zibby loved this book so much that she chose it for Zibby's Book Club in June!!
Ari Shapiro, THE BEST STRANGERS IN THE WORLD: Stories from a Life Spent Listening
Zibby speaks to Ari Shapiro, the award-winning cohost of the most listened-to radio news program in the US (NPR’s All Things Considered) and debut author of The Best Strangers in the World: Stories from a Life Spent Listening, an utterly beautiful, humorous, and revelatory memoir-in-essays about his globe-trotting journalism and the people he met along the way. Ari reveals what he hopes readers will learn from his book. He also talks about his love of fiction, and his experiences performing at the Hollywood Bowl, singing in a college acapella group, reporting on the Pulse nightclub shooting, coming out at a young age, being the middle child, and more!
In April, you can see Ari at Café Carlyle in New York City, where he is scheduled to join Alan Cumming for a residency!
Goldie Taylor, THE LOVE YOU SAVE: A Memoir
Zibby interviews acclaimed journalist and human rights activist Goldie Taylor about her harrowing and profoundly moving new memoir The Love You Save, in which she shares the unimaginable cruelties she faced as a child and the books that ultimately saved her. Goldie shares some of those heartbreaking, traumatic moments, admitting they were painful to revisit but gave her immense compassion for her younger self. Goldie also talks about finding solace and hope in books, overcoming her shame, and ultimately creating a life she is proud of. Finally, she talks about her wonderful children and what it was like to share her story with them.
Jen Maxfield, MORE AFTER THE BREAK: A Reporter Returns to Ten Unforgettable News Stories
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. She offers us a behind-the-scenes glimpse of the demands and challenges of her job and reveals how she has kept her emotions in check for the last 20 years (especially when she goes home to her children!).
Rina Raphael, THE GOSPEL OF WELLNESS: Gyms, Gurus, Goop, and the False Promise of Self-Care
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 culture. She analyzes diet culture (and its sneaky disguises–like cleanses), skincare fads, and organic product obsessions. She also discusses the loneliness crisis and how the industry has mastered selling us “community.”
Jason Gay, I WOULDN'T DO THAT IF I WERE ME: Modern Blunders and Modest Triumphs (but Mostly Blunders)
Wall Street Journal sports columnist and NYT bestselling author Jason Gay joins Zibby and Kyle to discuss his hysterical new book of essays, I Wouldn’t Do That If I Were Me: Modern Blunders and Modest Triumphs, which they read (and cried laughing at!) while sitting in standstill traffic. They discuss the importance of finding joy and humor in everyday moments, our society’s frighteningly low attention spans, our fear of aging, and our undeniable need for human interaction, all of which we re-learned during COVID and can read about in this book!
Jordan Salama, EVERY DAY THE RIVER CHANGES
National Geographic staff writer Jordan Salama joins Zibby to talk about his first book, Every Day The River Changes, which he originally started writing during his first trip to Colombia in 2016. The two discuss some of Jordan's most recent and popular stories for Nat Geo and the New York Times, what he learned from travel writing during the Covid lockdown, and how he hopes this book will challenge readers to reconsider stereotypes about other countries and their people. Jordan also shares how he feels about his book being selected as the Class of 2026 Pre-read book at his alma mater, Princeton, and where he hopes his career will eventually lead him.