When you find a good book, it often leaves you wanting more. Be it a memoir you can’t stop thinking about, a self-improvement book that changed your life, or a fictional story with real-world implications, a great read will make you want to dig a little deeper. What better way to do that than with a podcast hosted by the author?
Here, we get into seven authors who have great books and who are also podcast hosts. For some, the podcast inspired a book; for others, they published their book and then wanted to dig a little deeper. From criminal justice to anthropology to comedy to fiction, there is sure to be a book and podcast that sparks your interest.
Mel Robbins Will Change Your Life
Mel Robbins is an extremely popular author and podcaster. She published her first book, Stop Saying You’re Fine: Discover a More Powerful You, in 2012, but attributes most of her success to her book, The 5 Second Rule: Transform your Life, Work, and Confidence with Everyday Courage, which was published in 2017. Her most popular book is The Let Them Theory, which was published in 2024. The Let Them Theory gets into themes similar to her podcast. It discusses the method on how not to be a people-pleaser and how to free yourself from the thoughts, opinions, and drama of others and focus on your own needs, desires, and goals.
In addition to being a best-selling author, Mel Robbins is the host of one of the most popular podcasts in the world, The Mel Robbins Podcast, which she started in 2022. In this podcast, Robbins gives life-changing advice on various topics from relationships to mental health, happiness, and general life hacks. The general theme is using stories and anecdotes backed by research and experts to teach and inspire millions of listeners to live a better life.
Jo Piazza Ties Social Media to Her Murder Mysteries
Jo Piazza started her podcast, Under the Influence, in 2020. It dives into the world of social media and the constant influencer marketing that occurs while you mindlessly scroll. On Under the Influence, Piazza discusses how this world of instant gratification and constant commodification is affecting us in our daily lives, especially how it affects women and mothers.
In addition to being a podcaster, Piazza is also an author and journalist. She has written multiple books, including her murder mysteries The Sicilian Inheritance and Everyone Is Lying to You. Everyone Is Lying to You is a thriller about two long-distance friends who reconnect and are thrown into a strange murder mystery and disappearance that ties in the backstabbing world of social media.
John Green Reviews Humanity
John Green is best known for his YA books, such as The Fault in Our Stars and Looking for Alaska, but he is a man of many trades. His first nonfiction book, The Anthropocene Reviewed, is a collection of essays where Green reviews various things from this current human-centric geologic age with humorous yet insightful observations.
In fact, his unique insights first became popular through his podcast, The Anthropocene Reviewed, which he started in 2018 and continued through 2021. The book, published in 2023, expanded on the topics discussed in the podcast. Both the book and the podcast share Green’s unique way of seeing the world and are sure to teach you weird facts you never would have known.
Phoebe Robinson Does It All
You may know Phoebe Robinson as an actress, author, podcaster, or stand-up comedian. She does it all. She has hosted various podcast shows. In 2016, Robinson started 2 Dope Queens, a podcast with her best friend Jessica Williams, where the two funny women talked about anything and everything. Sooo Many White Guys also started in 2016 to make a platform for herself as a Black female comedian. Black Frasier, started in 2020, was a life-advice and interview podcast.
She has published three books, all of which focus on being a woman, being Black, and, most of all, being her authentic self. Everything’s Trash, But It’s Okay is her humorous essay collection about overcoming many of life’s messes and learning to accept herself for who she is. In her most recent book, Please Don’t Sit on My Bed in Your Outside Clothes, she dives even deeper into topics like womanhood, race, and mental health in her funny, personal, and anecdotal storytelling style.
Uncovering the Truth With Rabia Chaudry
In addition to being an author and a podcast host, Rabia Chaudry started out her career as an attorney. In 2019, she published her first book, Adnan’s Story: The Search for Truth and Justice After Serial, the true story of Adnan Syed, who was convicted of murder and sentenced to life in prison. Rabia Chaudry was a family friend of Adnan and was convinced of his innocence. She contacted journalist Sarah Koenig to help her further investigate Adnan’s case and gain media attention through the podcast Serial. Adnan’s Story is about Chaudry’s research and brings new clues and insights to Adnan’s case while humanizing his story.
Before Chaudry published Adnan’s Story, she also created her own podcast in 2015 called Undisclosed: Toward Justice with fellow attorney Colin Miller, which looked into Adnan’s case. It later went on to uncover more wrongly convicted crimes and is still releasing new episodes now. Chaudry has also co-produced various other podcasts that all deal with crime and mysterious unknowns, including Nighty Night with Rabia Chaudry, Rabia and Ellyn Solve the Case, and The Mystery Hour.
Stories From the Moth
The Moth is an organization that aims to support storytelling, especially through audio stories told aloud. It has live events in various cities and has given thousands of writers and storytellers the chance to relay their portrait of the human experience through the art of a story. Naturally, The Moth has a robust podcast, The Moth Podcast, that highlights new stories each week.
In addition, The Moth has spotlighted various of the organization’s best stories in print. All These Wonders is a collection of The Moth stories that focus on the unknown. It brings together a diverse array of stories that involve the courage and bravery of facing the unknown. The Moth collection also includes Occasional Magic and A Point of Beauty. Whether you read or listen to The Moth’s stories, you will be faced with tales of the ordinary and extraordinary beauty of humanity.
Dani Shapiro Investigates Family Secrets
Dani Shapiro has published 11 books, mostly memoirs and fiction that revolve around themes of family. Her most recent memoir, Inheritance, is about her discovery of a huge family secret. A DNA analysis revealed that her father was not actually her biological father, sparking an interest in Shapiro to uncover her identity. Her fascination with how family is viewed and what the discovery of well-kept secrets can do to a family dynamic, as well as a personal identity, has inspired much of her work.
In 2019, she started her podcast, Family Secrets, where she dives into the best-kept family secrets of her own and of her guests. She discusses the importance of knowing these secrets, as hurtful as they may feel, because they uncover a truth that in the end help us to understand and even empathize with our family history.
We hope exploring these authors’ interesting podcasts and learning more about their books inspired you to dive deeper the next time you find a great read. You never know what else you will learn when you try out a new book or podcast.
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Find these books and more on our Bookstr Team Recommendations bookshelf on Bookshop.org.
