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Artwork for Private Life: A New York Review Podcast

Private Life: A New York Review Podcast

New York Review Podcasts
Elizabeth Hardwick
Joan Didion
Brontë Sisters
Joyce Carol Oates
Jonbenét Ramsey
The New York Review
Wuthering Heights
Jane Eyre
Godlike
Eve Babitz
True Crime
Memoir
The Central Park Five
19th Century Literature
James Merrill
Caravaggio
Victorian Society
Autobiography
Leslie Fiedler
Nadja

Private Life is a podcast from The New York Review, hosted by contributor Jarrett Earnest. Each episode offers intimate, in-depth conversations with distinguished voices from across the literary landscape—about their lives, their work, and the ideas that shape both. Along the way, they revisit pieces from the The New York Review of Books's robust sixty-year archive (some episodes of the podcast wi... more

PublishesWeeklyEpisodes29Founded9 months ago
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ArtsEducation

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Artwork for Private Life: A New York Review Podcast

Latest Episodes

In this episode of Private Life, Elaine Blair joins Jarrett Earnest to talk about feminism, sexuality, and television. They discuss her essay “The Loves of Lena Dunham” (published in the June 7, 2012, issue of the Review) in light of Dunham’s memoir,... more

In this episode of Private Life, Rachel Kushner reads an excerpt from Leslie A. Fiedler’s Love and Death in the American Novel (1960), which was reissued by New York Review Books in April. In Kushner’s selection, Fiedler writes about Mark Twain and t... more

In this episode of Private Life, Edwin Frank joins Jarrett Earnest to discuss Leslie A. Fiedler's Love and Death in the American Novel (1960), which was reissued by NYRB Classics in April. They discuss the preoccupations of Fiedler’s literary critici... more

In this episode of Private Life, the actress Holland Taylor reads Renata Adler’s essay “The Perils of Pauline,” an expansive assessment of Pauline Kael’s film criticism from the Review’s August 14, 1980, issue. Taylor has been working on films, telev... more

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Recent Guests

Elaine Blair
Writer and contributor to The New York Review of Books.
The New York Review of Books
Episode: Elaine Blair on Lena Dunham, Sex, and Television
Rachel Kushner
Novelist reading from Huck Finn, read by Kushner
Episode: Rachel Kushner Reads from Love and Death in the American Novel
Edwin Frank
Editorial Director of NYRB Classics, author
New York Review Books/NYRB Classics
Episode: Edwin Frank on Love and Death in the American Novel
Holland Taylor
Actor reading Adler's essay
Episode: “The Perils of Pauline“ by Renata Adler
Lucy Sante
Long-time contributor to The New York Review; author and critic
The New York Review
Episode: Lucy Sante on Pauline Kael, Film Criticism, and Pop Culture
Daniel Mendelsohn
Literary critic and author who reads an archival essay on epic poetry
The New York Review of Books
Episode: ”A Little Iliad” by Daniel Mendelsohn
Eileen Myles
Poet reading the essay live
Poet
Episode: ”The Mayakovsky of MacDougal Street” by Geoffrey O’Brien
Robert Glück
Co-founder of the New Narrative Movement
New Narrative Movement
Episode: Robert Glück on His Books, Frank O'Hara, and Dreams
Langdon Hammer
Author of major biography of James Merrill, Life and Art
Langdon Hammer (biographer)
Episode: “Chronicles of Love and Loss“ by Helen Vendler

Host

Jarrett Earnest
Host of Private Life, The New York Review of Books (podcast production)

Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars from 69 ratings
  • Always intellectually challenging. Never less than compelling.

    Podcast Addict
    4
    roadshowrigoletto
    23 days ago
  • Every word

    From the theme music to the wise and worldly host, to the variety of subjects and range of narrators and interviewees, your podcasts sooth a savaged distracted fragmented beast and returns one to a more gracious and intelligent place where the only thing tik-tokking is memories of clocks in rooms of higher learning and appreciating

    Apple Podcasts
    5
    William Norwich
    United States2 months ago
  • New favorite podcast!

    Devouring these conversations, so deeply satisfying. There’s nothing like this in the podcast space and we’re really hungry for it. Thank you thank you thank you!

    Apple Podcasts
    5
    Reb026
    United States5 months ago
  • Love this

    Earnest is excellent at bringing forth people and their worlds and their writing . This is a place that has all but died and it’s so extraordinary to have a guide to revisit

    Apple Podcasts
    5
    mrs. right
    United States6 months ago
  • Insightful and interesting

    This has become my most favorite of podcasts. I came for Richard Hell and stayed for Morrison and Hardwick. If you love books, you will love this podcast.

    Apple Podcasts
    5
    Claude Maude
    United States7 months ago

Listeners Say

Key themes from listener reviews, highlighting what works and what could be improved about the show.

Listeners praise the deep, thoughtful conversations and guest expertise.
The show's literary focus and read-throughs attract true-book lovers and scholars.
The format's archival readings add texture and educational value.

Chart Rankings

How this podcast ranks in the Apple Podcasts, Spotify and YouTube charts.

Apple Podcasts
#130
South Africa/Arts
Apple Podcasts
#247
Spain/Arts

Talking Points

Recent interactions between the hosts and their guests.

Elaine Blair on Lena Dunham, Sex, and Television
Q: How do you think the eruption of Me Too, sort of around 2017, challenged or affected the work that you do as a critic and the way that you've dealt with these texts?
Blair says she would now write about the Girls sex scene with more attention to its disturbing fantasy and implications. She sees Me Too as changing how sexual violence is discussed and received, while making room for more complex criticism.
Elaine Blair on Lena Dunham, Sex, and Television
Q: When you look back at this piece, what was it that inspired you to write about it? And how does it strike you now?
Blair says the essay captured the Hollywood monoculture she grew up with. Girls' depiction of a woman wanting someone who treats her carelessly, and its attention to the experience of sex, felt like a revelation compared with familiar screen conventions.
Daniel Mendelsohn on The Odyssey, Film Adaptations, and Translations
Q: How do you approach the balance between fidelity to the text and the vitality of a fresh interpretation in film adaptations of classics?
Aim for capturing the spirit and energy of the work rather than slavishly reproducing every detail; a good adaptation illuminates the core themes—heroism, disguise, recognition—while allowing for contemporary cinematic language to breathe new life into the material.
Daniel Mendelsohn on The Odyssey, Film Adaptations, and Translations
Q: What makes the Odyssey structurally so modern or ahead of its time from the translator's point of view?
Its nested, interlaced chronologies and the way it withholds the hero from the audience until crucial moments create an ongoing dramatic momentum; translating it deepens your sense of where you are in time within the text.
Daniel Mendelsohn on The Odyssey, Film Adaptations, and Translations
Q: Could you talk to me a little bit about the role of translation and how it relates to the oral origins of the Odyssey?
Translation is a monumental, conscious act that preserves markers of oral composition while adapting them for written form; it involves choices about whether to retain verbatim repetitions and how to render epithets so they carry the same affect and subjectivity as in the original.

Audience Metrics

Listeners, social reach, demographics and more for this podcast.

Listeners per Episode
Gender Skew
Location
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Professions
Age Range
Household Income
Social Media Reach

Frequently Asked Questions About Private Life: A New York Review Podcast

What is Private Life: A New York Review Podcast about and what kind of topics does it cover?

A thoughtful interview series focused on literature, criticism, and the arts, blending intimate conversations with writers, editors, and scholars with curated archival essays and live readings. Episodes often pair contemporary discussion with classic NYRB pieces, situating ideas in a broader cultural conversation across poetry, fiction, non-fiction, architecture, and music. The show stands out for its scholarly depth, cross-disciplinary guests, and a curatorial approach that invites both longtime subscribers and new listeners to engage with the past, present, and future of literary culture.

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Which podcasts are similar to Private Life: A New York Review Podcast?

These podcasts share a similar audience with Private Life: A New York Review Podcast:

1. Dialogues: The David Zwirner Podcast
2. London Review Bookshop Podcast
3. The LRB Podcast
4. Close Readings
5. The Shakespeare and Company Interview

How many episodes of Private Life: A New York Review Podcast are there?

Private Life: A New York Review Podcast launched 9 months ago and published 29 episodes to date. You can find more information about this podcast including rankings, audience demographics and engagement in our podcast database.

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What guests have appeared on Private Life: A New York Review Podcast?

Recent guests on Private Life: A New York Review Podcast include:

1. Elaine Blair
2. Rachel Kushner
3. Edwin Frank
4. Holland Taylor
5. Lucy Sante
6. Daniel Mendelsohn
7. Eileen Myles
8. Robert Glück

To view more recent guests and their details, simply upgrade your Rephonic account. You'll also get access to a typical guest profile to help you decide if the show is worth pitching.

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