Marlon and Jake Read Dead People

The premise is perfect: Man Booker Prize winner Marlon James and his longtime editor Jake Morrissey sit down to argue about dead authors. That's the rule. The writers have to be dead, because otherwise feelings might get hurt, and James and Morrissey clearly have no interest in holding back. The result is one of the most entertaining literary podcasts around, full of the kind of honest, sometimes brutal opinions that most book shows are too polite to voice. Produced by Penguin Random House, the show organizes episodes around themes rather than individual authors. Recent topics include unreliable narrators, campus novels, city settings in fiction, and books assigned in school. This thematic approach lets the hosts bounce between dozens of writers in a single episode, and the conversations feel spontaneous even when they're clearly well-prepared. James brings a novelist's instinct for what makes writing work (or fail), while Morrissey offers the editor's perspective on structure and pacing. Their chemistry is warm and often very funny. The main criticism? There aren't enough episodes. With only 35 in the catalog and occasional long gaps between releases, listeners often find themselves waiting impatiently for the next installment. But the 4.8-star rating from nearly 1,000 reviews speaks for itself. Each episode is a genuine pleasure, packed with book recommendations you won't find anywhere else. When it's on, there's nothing quite like it.