Host Jacob Shymanski and guest Ramya Amuthan reflect on five books that they each personally enjoyed this past year, covering a wide range of genres including psychology, literary fiction, romance, dystopian fiction, mystery, nonfiction, and social commentary. Books mentioned in this episode include: “The Body Keeps the Score: Brain, Mind, and Body in the Healing of Trauma” by Bessel van der Kolk “Our Wives Under the Sea” by Julia Armfield “My Year of Rest and Relaxation” by Ottessa Moshfegh “I Who Have Never Known Men” by Jacqueline Harpman “The Paper Palace” by Miranda Cowley Heller “Good Guys” by Sharon Bala “Everything Is Tuberculosis” by John Green “Julie Chan Is Dead” by Liann Zhang “Not Quite Dead Yet” by Holly Jackson “The Table Where We Meet: Lessons Learned with Dinner with 1,000 Strangers” by Jess Janz This episode was produced by Andrika De Lanerolle.

Host Jacob Shymanski and guest Red Széll share continue their beginner’s guide to audiobooks. In part two of this discussion, they explore: Chapter 4: learning to listen to audiobooks as a skill Chapter 5: how to choose the right introductory audiobook Books mentioned in this episode include: • “The White Spider” by Heinrich Harrer • “War and Peace” by Leo Tolstoy • “Project Hail Mary” by Andy Weir • “Dungeon Crawler Carl” by Matt Dinniman • “The Devil and the Dark Water” by Stuart Turton • “Not Quite Dead Yet” by Holly Jackson • “The First Law” series by Joe Abercrombie • “1984” by George Orwell • “A Place Called Winter” and “Love Lane” by Patrick Gale This episode was produced by Andrika De Lanerolle.

“The Blood of Things, a Love Letter to Afghanistan” is an upcoming collection of essays by Jamaluddin Aram. The book explores Afghanistan's history, culture, people and beauty through his personal experiences of growing up in the country. Host Jacob Shymanski chats with Jamaluddin about Afghanistan's complicated history and why people should look beyond the current narratives focused solely on war and the Taliban. “The Blood of Things, a Love Letter to Afghanistan” comes out as an audiobook on September 15, 2026.

Host Jacob Shymanski and guest Red Széll share a beginner’s guide to audiobooks. In part one of this discussion, they explore: Chapter 1: why you should start listening to audiobooks Chapter 2: the different formats and styles of audiobooks Chapter 3: where to buy or borrow audiobooks without breaking the bank This episode was produced by Andrika De Lanerolle.

Author Jinwoo Park’s debut novel “Oxford Soju Club” is a spy thriller that follows the lives of three Koreans caught up in an espionage. The story weaves a tale of how immigrants are forced to create identities to survive, and how in the end, they must shed those masks and seek their true selves. Host Jacob Shymanski catches up with Jinwoo to learn about his inspiration for the book, his experiences as a Korean immigrant in Canada and his love for spy fiction. They also chat about Jinwoo’s work as a literary translator for “One Day a Cat Came to Me,” a bestselling Korean book by Buddhist monk Bokyeong Sunim. This episode was produced by Andrika De Lanerolle.

Stephen Fishbach’s debut fiction novel “Escape!” was featured on Spotify's list for best audiobooks of 2026 so far. His book follows a reality TV star and a disgraced producer who gets one last shot at redemption on a show set on a remote island, only to discover that the plot twists are beyond what they ever imagined. Host Jacob Shymanski catches up with Stephen to learn about his inspiration behind the book and his real-life experiences as a television executive and a two-time contestant on ‘Survivor.’ Stephen also explains why he chose to write a fictional story over a tell-all memoir. This episode was produced by Andrika De Lanerolle.

Host Jacob Shymanski and Red Széll share some fun reads to enjoy on a warm summer night. They also explore the guilt of listening to books that are formulaic and easy to digest. Books mentioned in this episode include: “The Da Vinci Code” by Dan Brown “One Golden Summer” by Carly Fortune “Dream Harbor” and “The Daisy Chain Café” by Laurie Gilmore “The Count of Monte Cristo” by Alexandre Dumas “The Wandering Inn” by Pirateaba “Around the World in Eighty Days” by Jules Verne “The Making of Another Major Motion Picture Masterpiece” by Tom Hanks “Falling Animals” and “The Red Mouth” by Sheila Armstrong “After Midnight” by Stephen King “Ender's Game” by Orson Scott Card This episode was produced by Andrika De Lanerolle.

Randy Boyagoda’s upcoming novel “The Lords of Serendipity” cuts deep into the world of higher education. The book explores a fictional story of a Sri Lankan village girl who dreams of going to Harvard and a middle-class American girl whose life has been designed to get her into an elite liberal arts college. Host Jacob Shymanski catches up with Randy to contrast the importance of higher education with its absurdities, exploitations and false promises. This episode was produced by Andrika De Lanerolle. For more information on Randy's work, visit RandyBoyagoda.com

In celebration of Disability Pride Month, we open the vault to look back on some of our favourite author discussions on disability, accessibility and inclusion. The episode includes by the following authors: • David Lepofsky, author of “Swimming Up Niagara Falls” • Kristen Joiner, co-author of “Being Heumann” • Victoria Nolan, author of “Beyond Vision” • Jennifer Chevalier, author of “The Winter Witch” • Jessica Slice, author of “Unfit Parent” • Molly Burke, author of “Unseen” • Lachi, author of “I Identify As Blind” This episode was produced by Andrika De Lanerolle.

In recognition of Disability Pride Month, we look back on “There Plant Eyes” by M. Leona Godin. The book captures the cultural history of blindness while blending together Leona’s personal story of sight loss. Host Jacob Shymanski catches up with Leona to discuss society’s perceptions of blindness and the importance of challenging the ideas about what it means to be “blind.” This episode is produced by Andrika De Lanerolle.