Feminist Book Club: The Podcast

Casey Ballard, long time lover of feminist retellings of classic stories, interviews B.K. O'Connor about her new novel, Eve, a retelling of John Milton's Paradise Lost, that expands on the notion that eternity spent in ignorance is no life to live. Casey and Becky discuss Eve as an intellectual feminist, the bridging of cultures, and why people should still read the classics.  .
 
Books and resources mentioned:
Eve by B. K. O'Connor
Paradise Lost by John Milton
Women Who Run with the Wolves by Clarissa Pinkola Estes
Drawing Down the Moon by Margot Adler
Circe by Madeline Miller
The Chalice and the Blade by Riane Eisler
Thus Spoke Zarathustra by Friedrich Nietzsche
 
 
Support and follow our host and guest!
Follow B.K. O'Connor: Instagram // Website 
Follow Casey: Instagram


 
Check out our online community here! 
 
This episode was edited and produced by Renee Powers on the ancestral land of the Dakota people.
 
Original music by Amarissa
 
Learn more about Feminist Book Club on our website, sign up for our emails, shop our Bookshop.org recommendations, and follow us on Instagram, BlueSky, TikTok, Facebook, Pinterest.

Nox and Shoshana talk about Reality Check, the recent documentary series that revisits America's Next Top Model. They share their experiences watching the show growing up, reflect on the broader reality TV culture of the time, and discuss how these portrayals of women's bodies shaped their perspectives. Along the way, they unpack the complicated mix of nostalgia, criticism, and cultural impact tied to both the original series and the documentary. If you've been thinking about the legacy of ANTM and what it meant to grow up with shows like it, this conversation is for you.
 
Books and resources mentioned:
RAINN - National Sexual Assault Hotline
NEDA - National Eating Disorders Association 
You Wanna Be on Top? A Memoir of Makeovers, Manipulation, and Not Becoming America's Next Top Model by Sarah Hartshorne
 
 
Support and follow our host and guest!
Follow Nox: Instagram // TikTok // Threads
Follow Shoshana: Storygraph // Instagram // Bluesky 
 
Check out our online community here! 
 
This episode was edited and produced by Renee Powers on the ancestral land of the Dakota people.
 
Original music by Amarissa

Learn more about Feminist Book Club on our website, sign up for our emails, shop our Bookshop.org recommendations, and follow us on Instagram, BlueSky, TikTok, Facebook, Pinterest.

Black History Month may be over, but our joy of reading Black literature has no expiration date! In this episode, Renee shares a new-to-her cozy mystery series featuring a Black single mom investigating mysteries around her daughter's school. Then Casey is back with her Non-Fiction Nook segment, this time highlighting books of Black resistance
 
 
Books mentioned:
It's Elementary by Elise Bryant
The Game Is Afoot by Elise Bryant
Brooding Over Bloody Revenge: Enslaved Women's Lethal Resistance by Nikki M. Taylor 
We Refuse A Forceful History of Black Resistance by Kellie Carter Jackson 
 
 
 
Support and follow our host and guest!
Follow Renee: Instagram // The StoryGraph // Threads
Follow Casey: Instagram
 
Check out our online community here! 
 
This episode was edited and produced by Renee Powers on the ancestral land of the Dakota people.
 
Original music by Amarissa
 
Learn more about Feminist Book Club on our website, sign up for our emails, shop our Bookshop.org recommendations, and follow us on Instagram, BlueSky, TikTok, Facebook, Pinterest.

Looking for a book club pick that is certain to conjure up good conversation? In this episode, Renee and Mariquita discuss You'll Never Forget Me by Isha Raya. Described as a sapphic thriller akin to Killing Eve, our podcasters are completely divided on this one. Tune into an almost spoiler-free discussion (the spoiler is clearly identified ahead of time!) and let us know if you pick it up for your next book club pick!
 
 
Books mentioned:
You'll Never Forget Me by Isha Raya
 
 
Support and follow our host and guest!
Follow Renee: Instagram // The StoryGraph // Threads
Follow Mariquita: Instagram // Threads // Storygraph // Bluesky
 
Check out our online community here! 
 
This episode was edited and produced by Renee Powers on the ancestral land of the Dakota people.
 
Original music by Amarissa

Learn more about Feminist Book Club on our website, sign up for our emails, shop our Bookshop.org recommendations, and follow us on Instagram, BlueSky, TikTok, Facebook, Pinterest.

Marlena is joined by Dr. Kenesma D. John to talk about her novel Hair Diaries: My Hair Evolution, a reflective and visually rich exploration of hair, identity, and Black girlhood. In this spoiler-free conversation, they discuss what inspired John to use hair as the lens for the story, the blend of autobiography and fiction, and her choice to tell Charisma's journey through reflections and illustrated images. Together, they unpack how hair becomes deeply emotional and political, touching on colorism, community, and intergenerational exchange. 
 
 
Books mentioned:
Hair Diaries: My Hair Evolution by Kenesma D. John, Ph.D.
 
 
Support and follow our host and guest!
Follow Dr. Kenesma D. John: Instagram // Website 
Follow Marlena: Instagram // Blog  
 
Check out our online community here! 
 
This episode was edited and produced by Renee Powers on the ancestral land of the Dakota people.
 
Original music by Amarissa

Learn more about Feminist Book Club on our website, sign up for our emails, shop our Bookshop.org recommendations, and follow us on Instagram, BlueSky, TikTok, Facebook, Pinterest.