Poured Over

Kai Bird follows his Pulitzer Prize-winning biography of J. Robert Oppenheimer with a timely and meticulously researched true story of Roy Cohn — a friend of the famous, the right-hand man to Joseph McCarthy, mentor to a US President and a lawyer who showed no respect for the law. Kai joins us to talk about American Scoundrel, the McCarthy era, the politics of celebrity, and the cycles of American history with host Miwa Messer.
This episode of Poured Over was hosted by Miwa Messer and mixed by Harry Liang.
New episodes land Tuesdays and Thursdays (with occasional Saturdays) here and on your favorite podcast app.
Featured Books:
American Scoundrel: Roy Cohn's Dark Journey from Joe McCarthy to Donald Trump by Kai Bird
American Prometheus: The Triumph and Tragedy of J. Robert Oppenheimer by Kai Bird
The Outlier: The Unfinished Presidency of Jimmy Carter by Kai Bird
The Good Spy: The Life and Death of Robert Ames by Kai Bird
The Color of Truth: McGeorge Bundy and William Bundy: Brothers in Arms by Kai Bird
Crossing Mandelbaum Gate by Kai Bird
The Chairman: John J McCloy & The Making of the American Establishment by Kai Bird
G-Man: J. Edgar Hoover and the Making of the American Century by Beverly Gage
Mailer: His Life and Times by Peter Manso
Ptown: Art, Sex, and Money on the Outer Cape by Peter Manso
The Art of the Deal by Donald Trump
Angels in America by Tony Kushner

Gripping, visceral and taut, Wild Dark Shore by Charlotte McConaghy is a complex story about survival, isolation and hope at the end of the world. Charlotte joins us to talk about family, nature, secrets, eco-pessimism and radical hope with cohost Brenda Allison.
This episode of Poured Over was hosted by Brenda Allison and mixed by Harry Liang.                    
New episodes land Tuesdays and Thursdays (with occasional Saturdays) here and on your favorite podcast app.
Featured Books:
Wild Dark Shore by Charlotte McConaghy
Once There Were Wolves by Charlotte McConaghy
Migrations by Charlotte McConaghy
Hollywood, Ending by John Green
Land by Maggie O'Farrell
Hamnet by Maggie O'Farrell
Lost Lambs by Madeline Cash
Up to the Light by Julia Armfield (out March 2027)
The Dawn of Everything by David Graeber & David Wengrow

In Under Story by Chloe Benjamin, one biologist's journey to escape her painful past takes a turn when an unexpected scientific discovery bends time and memory, offering a glimpse of hope and a second chance at love. Chloe Benjamin joins us to talk about the craft of research, love stories, neutrinos and a tree named Louis with cohost Jenna Seery. 
This episode of Poured Over was hosted by Jenna Seery and mixed by Harry Liang.
New episodes land Tuesdays and Thursdays (with occasional Saturdays) here and on your favorite podcast app.
 
Featured Books:
Under Story by Chloe Benjamin
The Immortalists by Chloe Benjamin
The Anatomy of Dreams by Chloe Benjamin
His Dark Materials by Phillip Pullman
A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L'Engle
The Giver by Lois Lowry
Stories of Your Life and Others by Ted Chiang
Piranesi by Susanna Clarke
Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell by Susanna Clarke
Virginia Woolf
AS Byatt

The Rise and Fall of the Artificial State by Jill Lepore explores technology's impact on human community and self-government, and what the future holds. Jill Lepore joins us to talk about AI, citizenship, personal data, the public sphere, local newspapers and touching grass with cohost Jenna Seery.
This episode of Poured Over was hosted by Jenna Seery and mixed by Harry Liang.
New episodes land Tuesdays and Thursdays (with occasional Saturdays) here and on your favorite podcast app.
 
Featured Books:
The Rise and Fall of the Artificial State by Jill Lepore
If/Then: How the Simulmatics Corporation Invented the Future by Jill Lepore
Leviathan by Thomas Hobbes
Robot Dreams by Isaac Asimov
Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand
The Murderbot Diaries by Martha Wells
The Wild Robot by Peter Brown
The Wind and the Willows by Kenneth Grahame

Dèy by acclaimed writer Edwidge Danticat is multigenerational story of family, resilience, and hope in the wake of an unexpected tragedy. Edwidge joins us to talk about evolving ideas of the American Dream, the Haitian diaspora, ghost stories and expanding canon with host Miwa Messer.
This episode of Poured Over was hosted by Miwa Messer and mixed by Harry Liang.
New episodes land Tuesdays and Thursdays (with occasional Saturdays) here and on your favorite podcast app.
 
Featured Books:
Dèy by Edwidge Danticat
Breath, Eyes, Memory by Edwidge Danticat
Brother, I'm Dying by Edwidge Danticat
Claire of the Sea Light by Edwidge Danticat
Everything Inside by Edwidge Danticat
Wave by Sonali Deraniyagala
The Art of Death by Edwidge Danticat
The Body Keeps the Score by Bessel van der Kolk
My Brother by Jamaica Kincaid
Annie John by Jamaica Kincaid
Bridge of San Luis Rey by Thornton Wilder
Love, Anger, Madness: A Haitian Triptych by Marie Vieux-Chauvet
Paule Marshall: A Writer's Life by Mary Helen Washington
Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen
Moderation by Elaine Castillo
Windward Heights by Maryse Condé
Wuthering Heights by Emily Brontë
Wide Sargasso Sea by Jean Rhys
Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë
Krik? Krack! by Edwidge Danticat