With the caveat that “best” is a relative—and relatively silly—metric, it’s been a pretty great year for people talking about books. And if you’re the kind of reader who’d rather get your book club fix at a distance, ideally while washing the dishes—well. Boy, have I got a list for you.
For driving or running, for para-social palling and ~discourse~, here are some of the best literary podcasts from 2025. (Note: I didn’t include the true GOAT, the Lit Hub Podcast, because I felt its inclusion went without saying. But if you love charming round-ups concerning the literary takes of the week and aren’t yet a subscriber, please change your life.)
Without further ado, this year’s best podcasts.
1. The LARB Radio Hour
The Los Angeles Review of Books continues to bear the gold standard for the literary fireside chat. Hosted by LARB editors-at-large Medaya Ocher, Kate Wolf, and Eric Newman, every episode is both breezy and rigorous. It’s the best thing a pod can be: two or three lovely people asking smart questions and responding in kind.
Unflashy and consistent, LARB chats tend to go a little deeper than the usual interview. And I love the off-the-beaten-stacks guest selection; Kelly Reichardt, Vauhini Vara, Ruth Wilson Gilmore, and Robin Coste Lewis have all made recent appearances. This episode with author and activist Sarah Schulman was a favorite, and resonated with me all year long.
2. Reading Writers
The return of Reading Writers was a November highlight in my home office. The show’s hosts, Charlotte Shane and Jo Livingstone, are two of our coolest literary iconoclasts. They’re sharp critics who aren’t afraid to tease out complex takes on the classics or contemporary novels.
I especially love how this interview show starts with a chatty, what-are-you-reading preamble before the author guest is invited into the chat. (Recent episodes sent Charlotte down a rabbit hole of Victorian children’s fiction.) This one makes for rambling, wise company. Expect unlikely connections to metaphysics and theology, and a big book tent covering the high and lowbrow.
3. Limousine
The ladies of Limousine were a breath of fresh air in this year’s podscape. The writers Leah Abrams and Heather Akumiah have a cheerful, often giddy rapport. And though their chats skew conversational, they approach reading like eager students. (And analyze books like the practitioners they are.) It all makes for an energetic, welcoming atmosphere—especially for the kind of lit lover who never got a masters degree and needs library guidance.
Earlier this year, Limousine led an Anna Karenina book club that christened “Thick Book Summer” and got my groupchat freshly hyped for the classics. Can’t wait to hear how these new kids on the block buoy the book vibes into 2026.
Honorable mentions: 1) Critics at Large (The charismatic New Yorker roundtable/Algonquin redux). 2) If Books Could Kill (a saucy critical project, dissecting the malevolent features of “airport books”), and 3) Backlisted (a reading show from across the pond that resurrects forgotten books).
Happy listening!
