The Librarian Is In
The New York Public Library’s podcast about books, culture, and what to read next.
- Update frequency
- every 13 days
- Average duration
- 48 minutes
- Episodes
- 241
- Years Active
- 2015 - 2023
Winnie-the-Podcast, Ep. 21
Eeyore, Tigger, Kanga, and Roo join Frank and Gwen in the studio this wee... just kidding. But we have the next best thing: Michael Inman, curator of NYPL's Rare Book Division, who tells us about the…
(Literary) Disco Dancing, Ep. 20
Frank and Gwen are joined by Julia Pistell, co-host of the Literary Disco podcast! We play multiple rounds of guess-the-book, talk about whaling ships and virtual reality and Garfield Minus Garfield,…
Hot Garbage, Summer in the City, Ep. 19
Humidity can't exist in outer space! Beat the heat by blasting off into orbit with Frank and Gwen's brand-new segment. Plus: Do audiobooks "count" as reading?
Frankster & The Veve: Ep. 18
Up for some agony? Frank and Gwen chat about suffering in literature and movies, debate the gender politics of picture books, and hang out with one of our funniest guests ever: Genoveve Stowell, mana…
One Bad Podcast: Ep. 17
Gwen can barely contain herself this week when she and Frank are joined by Biz Ellis, one of the hosts of the One Bad Mother podcast, to talk kids and parents and books. And Biz's 6-year-old daughter…
Hogwarts & Hollywood: Ep. 16
It's the first-ever Reading Challenge episode! Gwen and Frank assigned books to each other to read and discuss on the air. Hijinks ensue...
Reading Us the (Book) Riot Act: Ep. 15
Amanda Nelson, managing editor of Book Riot and host of BR's own book recommendation podcast, joins Frank and Gwen to discuss book recommendations. (What else?)
Find show notes and more at nypl.org/p…
Take Me Back to Manhattan: Ep. 14
Frank and Gwen keep it local this week, from a fashion show at Jefferson Market and Open Book Night with Mid-Manhattan's Elizabeth Waters to a great read about the city's Chintz Age and a karaoke tri…
Dame Margaret Comes to Town: Ep. 13
Margaret H. Willison, a.k.a. The Coolest Funniest Pop-Culture-iest Librarian Ever, joins Gwen and Frank this week for the ultimate high/low-culture episode.
Closer to Fine: Ep. 12
Along with Susen Shi from Mid-Manhattan Library, Frank and Gwen reveal their librarianship origin stories on this week's episode. Plus: Self-help books, plays in print, and the legacy of the Indigo G…
Raspberry Berets: Ep. 11
Frank and Gwen turn the tables on NYPL's Jessica Strand this week, interviewing the host of Books at Noon about the coolest authors she's ever interviewed herself. Plus: Prince's book-related legacy …
Bros, Shakespeare, & Nudity... Not All at the Same Time: Ep. 10
Doug Reside from NYPL’s Library for the Performing Arts joins Gwen and Frank to talk about the Bard and the Great White Way. He even raps a teeny tiny bit from Hamilton.
What, Wait, What Happened!? Ep. 9 (Bonus Episode!)
Gwen and Frank discuss books that defy description and throw reality for a loop. Longtime residents of Harlem, Greenwich Village, the Bronx, and more get shout-outs in an interview with NYPL's Alex K…
Grace Jones and Spelling Bees: Ep. 8
Who's ready to relive some traumatic moments from childhood?! We go toe-to-toe with the winner of the tri-library spelling bee: NYPL's very own Rob Kelley.
Also! After taping Rob discovered that both…
All the Feels: Ep. 7
Earnestness sets in when Singing Children's Librarian Emily Lazio joins us to talk about courage and encouragement, children's classics, and a cool new trend in picture books. Music by Podington Bear…
Far Out, Friends! Ep. 6
We're heading back to the '70s this week! Shola Lynch (of the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture) joins us to talk about film, art, collecting history, and what it's like to hug Bert from…
We Love Men! Ep. 5
Taboo subjects in adult and children's books alike abound on our fifth episode. Plus, find out what makes a "rare book" rare with our very own rare book librarian, Jessica Pigza.
The Podcast That Must Not Be Named, Ep. 4
Go behind the scenes at BookOps, the Library's special secret spy agen— er, the "technical services" unit. Also: the Helen Ellis/Shirley Jackson/Anita Brookner triumvirate, Frank's shocking Harry Pot…
#TeamEdith, Ep. 3
We talk about how to fit more reading into busy schedules, Lin-Manuel Miranda, horror books and movies, childhood favorites, David Bowie, Lin-Manuel Miranda again, and our love for Downton Abbey’s ki…
Cloning Clooney, Ep. 2
We talk about feminist comics, The Golden Girls, squids and snails, intellectualism, and -- yes -- cloning George Clooney. Plus Frank and Gwen are joined by NYPL's very own Jason Baumann.