The Book Review

The New York Times Book Review section has been the gold standard in literary criticism for over a century, and this podcast is its audio counterpart. Hosted by Gilbert Cruz, who helms the newspaper's book desk, the show runs about 40 to 50 minutes weekly and rotates between author interviews, roundtable discussions with NYT editors, and deep-dive conversations about whatever's dominating the literary world right now. The format keeps things moving. One week you might hear Cruz sit down with a Pulitzer finalist to talk about their writing process; the next, editors like Joumana Khatib or Alexandra Alter hash out what belongs on the bestseller list and why. The Book Club segment is a particular standout, where the staff picks a title, reads it together, and comes back to argue about it on-air. These roundtables feel genuinely unrehearsed -- editors disagree, change their minds mid-sentence, and occasionally admit they couldn't finish something. With over 575 episodes dating back to 2006, the archive alone is worth exploring. The show has a 4.1-star rating from nearly 3,700 reviews, and some longtime listeners have strong opinions about recent editorial direction changes. But that's the thing about a show tied to the Times -- it carries institutional weight, and the guests reflect that. If you want to stay plugged into what the New York literary establishment is reading and thinking about, this is the most efficient way to do it.