The Librarian Is In

Against his better judgment, the producer of the Librarian Is In joins Gwen and Frank to talk books, tattoos, and how the podcast came to be.

This week Gwen and Frank tackle wonderlands, "What Girls are Made Of," mid-life crisises, and no easy ways out...

New NYPL librarian Jenny Chisnell joins the show to talk artist books, The New York Book Fair, and enough of her extraordinarily varied interests and recommendations that Gwen and Frank are immediately exhausted! Find links to the books discussed and back episodes at www.nypl.org/podcast.

Frank and Gwen traverse the globe and beyond this week, with two dystopian YA books about life on other planets and a memoir about international travel, journalism, and feminism. Plus: Banned Books Week and, yes, Belinda Carlisle.

Podcasts are red/Podcasts are blue/This episode's all poetry/We hope you like it too!

What happens when you get My Brother's Husband, A Lost Lady, and Frog and Toad Together in the same room? Find out as Gwen and Frank discuss gay manga, Willa Cather, J.D. Salinger, and Arnold Lobel's classic books for children!

Frank and Gwen are beyond thrilled to talk to Nancy Pearl, a.k.a. America's Librarian, a.k.a. the guru of readers' advisory, a.k.a. OUR HERO.

On the show this week: Gwen reads a book that makes her see the world a little differently and Frank gets so lost in his book that time disappears.

This week Gwen and Frank wander wondrously through the wonderland of Dance led by the dazzling Linda Murray, Lead Curator of the Jerome Robbins Dance Division of NYPL's Library for the Performing Arts.  So, let's boogie! Get links to everything discussed in this episode at www.nypl.org/podcast.

Frank and Gwen tackle two powerful narratives of self-acceptance -- and then take respite in a roller derby comic and a love story.

A 30-year-old book remains intensely relevant for today's world, Gwen rediscovers Dorothy Parker AND reading Pooh to her pre-schooler and Frank  raps!...(sort of).   Get links to all the books discussed and full list of episodes at nypl.org/podcast, click on The Librarian Is In. 

Frank and Gwen  learn about the Library's work with patrons with print disabilities with Jill Rothstein, chief librarian at the Andrew Heiskell Braille & Talking Book Library. Plus: More book recommendations than we've ever crammed into any episode, probably ever.   Get the full list of books at www.nypl.org/podcast.

This week, it's all in how you look at it. Feminism, space, time, language, aliens and a whole lot more.

For our second Summer Reading Challenge, Gwen and Frank chose a book for each other that they thought they'd love but would never read otherwise. This year, a strange symmetry emerged as they chose oddly complementary books: a novel about the antics of ancient Greek students and a modern-day translation of ancient Roman myths.

Who's up for some dubious morality? We're all about the scandal this week, as Frank and Gwen tackle controversial essays, what makes a "beach read," and, um, porcupines in library book drops.

The hosts of WNYC's Nancy podcast join Gwen and Frank for a conversation about queer books, making podcasts, and Xena Warrior Princess... and they Skyped in from their vacation, no less!  Subscribe to Nancy wherever you get Podcasts, we highly recommend it.  (This episode has some less than perfect audio, which is particularly embarrassing given our super professional radio guests. We promise it's still a great episode, and we're sorry!)

How gay is Sci-Fi anyway? Gwen and Frank welcome Casey Maher, leader of the LGBTQ Sci-Fi Book Crew meetup (held at the Jefferson Market Library)! They discuss everything from technology and gaming to science fiction (of course) right on up to Hemingway.

The fantastic Sona Charaipotra sits down with Frank and Gwen to talk representation and what it's like to see (or not see) your own experiences reflected in a book. Plus: Archie and Riverdale, Bollywood, Hollywood, and a lot of geeking out over our favorite YA authors.

Wherein we discuss reading (and acting!) Anton Chekhov, the influence of Agatha Christie, and the controversial merits of Go, Dog. Go!

Join us as we embark on our Summer Reading Challenge!