If you like these podcasts, read these books
I made a YouTube video where I talk about some of my favorite podcasts and make book recommendations based on those podcasts. I have listed these podcasts in alphabetical order by title and will go through them and list and link.
You can watch the video here and scroll down for the links.
This is a podcast hosted by Robert Evans about the very worst people in all of history.
If you like Behind the Bastards, I would recommend Beauty Queens by Libba Bray, which I have reviewed previously. Both are very funny and ridiculous and poke fun at real problems in our society.
Host Neil MacGregor explores German history one episode at a time through art, artifacts, or cultural landmarks.
Tyll is a reimagining of Till Eulenspiegel, a mischievous character from German folklore, set during the Thirty Years' War (1618-1648).
Hidden Djinn
Hidden Djinn is a Podcast hosted by Rabia Chaudry that goes deeper into the folklore behind djinn.
For this podcast, I recommend the short story collection The Djinn Falls in Love, which is also a multi-faceted approach to djinn. The stories vary in time and setting and type of djinn.
Lolita Podcast is hosted by Jamie Loftus (sometimes a guest on Behind the Bastards) and does a deep dive into the Lolita book and movies and how its legacy has shaped survivors of child sexual abuse and how misreadings of it continue to facilitate child sexual abuse.
The book I recommend to go with this podcast is My Dark Vanessa. This book is briefly mentioned in the last episode of this podcast, but I chose it for this video and blog post before Lolita Podcast had reached its conclusion.
Myths and Legends
Myths and Legends is a funny, entertaining, and endearing walk through folklore and fairytales. Some are well-known, and others are more obscure.
To match this podcast, I have chosen Smoke and Mirrors, a short story collection by Neil Gaiman. Gaiman's voice works well with the style of Myths and Legends.
Sentimental Garbage, hosted by author Caroline O'Donoghue, is a podcast about "the chick-lit that made us who we are," and analyzes books written by women for women. O'Donoghue makes the case that books for women are written off as frivolous and silly are actually deep and worthy of acclaim.
I feel this way about My Cup Runneth Over, a criminally underrated book about fat acceptance and coming of age in a culture that values [only] thinness in women and girls. I hope that Sentimental Garbage covers this book in the future (I have emailed Caroline O'Donoghue already – hopefully she'll see this post).
Sparkletack is a (no unfortunately over) podcast which delves into San Francisco history in bite-sized chunks.
Also set in San Francisco (in the 1870s), Frog Music by Emma Donoghue follows a French singer and dancer, Blanche, on her mission to find out who murdered her friend Jenny. This is a sad book that contains references to abuse, sexual violence, and of course murder, so please proceed with caution.
Stuff You Missed in History Class goes into lesser-known history and covers all parts of the globe and time periods.
If you like a deeper dive into history that is both fun and informative, read Bananas, Beaches, and Bases by Cynthia Enloe. Enloe goes into the seemingly-private and insignificant parts of women's lives to show how women [invisibly] uphold the entire international societal structure.
The Bowery Boys New York City History
The Bowery Boys New York City History Podcast takes a deeper dive into NYC history (obvs). You can learn more about well-known landmarks, as well as things you probably never even considered.
I recommend reading The Golem and the Djinni, which is set in NYC in the Gilded Age - a favorite time period of the Bowery Boys hosts, Greg and Tom. This book was one of my favorite reads of 2020.
The Teacher's Pet is a true-crime podcast presented by The Australian. It investigates an Australian teacher who is suspected of murdering his missing wife.
Another Australian scholastic-adjacent mystery is Picnic at Hanging Rock, in which a group of schoolgirls and their teachers go on a picnic (in 1900) and never come back. This is a layered read – you can read just the surface story of the mystery, but you can also see the book as a critique of the colonial enterprise. British imperialism has attempted to impose a British societal structure on Australia, even though the climate and terrain is inhospitable to that kind of structure. In addition, there was already a society in Australia that got pushed out. Picnic at Hanging Rock is an allegory for how trying to transpose "Britishness" onto other territories is a bad idea.
Wait Wait is an NPR segment in which a panel of comedians and listener contestants get quizzed on ridiculous news stories that came out in the past week.
For a similar funny vibe, read Love Among the Chickens by P.G. Wodehouse (of Bertie Wooster fame). The main character's friend, Ukridge, has decided to start a chicken farm, despite having no experience with chickens, and the main character gets roped in. Everything immediately goes wrong and it is very funny.
You Must Remember this is a Hollywood history podcast hosted by Karina Longworth. It is wonderfully informative.
Eight Girls Taking Pictures is essentially eight short stories, fictionalizing eight very real female photographers in the twentieth century. The names have been changed, but if you are interested in photography, you will recognize who they are about. It is clever and a very engaging read.
You're Wrong About is a podcast hosted by Sarah Marshall and Michael Hobbes and goes through recent history that has been mis-remembered. It is both important and entertaining, and contains some heavy nostalgia for millennials. Sing me the song of my people, Sarah and Mike!
A book with a similar informative and funny vibe is Stiff. Author Mary Roach researches all the possible uses for cadavers for organ donation, practice surgery, research, etc. and we get to read about it and laugh. It might seem like this would be a gross and depressing read, but we're in good hands with Roach. She is a true wonder.
