
What should I read next? Ask Penguin is the podcast where your quirkiest, trickiest, and most urgent book questions get answered. Hosted by Rhianna Dhillon, we bring bestselling authors and Penguin insiders to explore some of your favourite books and discover new ones that you are yet to read.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
| Publishes | Twice monthly | Episodes | 266 | Founded | 21 years ago |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Number of Listeners | Categories | Society & CultureBooksArts | |||

Can you read a cookbook cover-to-cover like a thriller? Does your reading level predict a longer life? Why is a punk chefâs memoir the ultimate weapon for reluctant readers? And how do we inspire children to read if we donât have the time to read to ... more
Why do baby puffins prefer to be alone? Why donât Cuckoo birds raise their own children? Has the decline of birds taken away the music of our landscapes? And what is the simplest way back if we feel disconnected from nature?
In this episode of As... more
Has modern forensics taken away the power of the murder mystery genre? How does a career in corporate finance prepare you to write about a killer? Is narrative voice more important than plot? And is there really such a thing as a reliable narrator?
more
What are the best books get you out of a reading slump? How did Snakes on a Plane inspire a literary sensation? What did James Joyce and Pakistani rap teach one of our debut novelists? And does a writer need to be completely delusional to finish writ... more
People also subscribe to these shows.





The episode with Bryony Gordon spoke straight to my soul. Thank you and keep up the amazing work!!
Love this show. My only feedback would be to adjust the sound compression. I often turn the volume up to hear the quietest speaker only to be deafened when there is any laughter! :)
Great podcast but volume varies in the space of an episode - goes from very loud to hard to hear.
One of my favorite programs - interesting, well-recorded, and sharply smart without a whiff of pretension. Bravo!
Kinda boring but it was okayđ
Key themes from listener reviews, highlighting what works and what could be improved about the show.
How this podcast ranks in the Apple Podcasts, Spotify and YouTube charts.
Apple Podcasts | #25 | |
Apple Podcasts | #65 | |
Apple Podcasts | #57 | |
Apple Podcasts | #154 | |
Apple Podcasts | #24 | |
Apple Podcasts | #28 |
Recent interactions between the hosts and their guests.
Listeners, social reach, demographics and more for this podcast.
| Listeners per Episode | |
|---|---|
| Gender Skew | |
| Location | |
| Interests | |
| Professions | |
| Age Range | |
| Household Income | |
| Social Media Reach |
A literary discussion show that leans into deep dives with notable authors, editors, and publishers. Episodes mix novel analysis, author storytelling, and industry context, often featuring Penguin colleagues or prominent writers to explore themes, craft, and adaptation in contemporary literature. The vibe is warm, insightful, and conversation-driven, with a strong emphasis on reading culture, translation, and the publishing world, making it appealing to avid readers, aspiring authors, and industry professionals alike.
Rephonic provides a wide range of podcast stats for Ask Penguin. We scanned the web and collated all of the information that we could find in our comprehensive podcast database. See how many people listen to Ask Penguin and access YouTube viewership numbers, download stats, audience demographics, chart rankings, ratings, reviews and more.
Rephonic provides a full set of podcast information for three million podcasts, including the number of listeners. View further listenership figures for Ask Penguin, including podcast download numbers and subscriber numbers, so you can make better decisions about which podcasts to sponsor or be a guest on. You will need to upgrade your account to access this premium data.
Rephonic provides comprehensive predictive audience data for Ask Penguin, including gender skew, age, country, political leaning, income, professions, education level, and interests. You can access these listener demographics by upgrading your account.
To see how many followers or subscribers Ask Penguin has on Spotify and other platforms such as Castbox and Podcast Addict, simply upgrade your account. You'll also find viewership figures for their YouTube channel if they have one.
These podcasts share a similar audience with Ask Penguin:
1. The Waterstones Podcast
2. Bookclub
3. Take Four Books
4. A Good Read
5. World Book Club
Ask Penguin launched 21 years ago and published 266 episodes to date. You can find more information about this podcast including rankings, audience demographics and engagement in our podcast database.
Our systems regularly scour the web to find email addresses and social media links for this podcast. We scanned the web and collated all of the contact information that we could find in our podcast database. But in the unlikely event that you can't find what you're looking for, our concierge service lets you request our research team to source better contacts for you.
Rephonic pulls ratings and reviews for Ask Penguin from multiple sources, including Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Castbox, and Podcast Addict.
View all the reviews in one place instead of visiting each platform individually and use this information to decide if a show is worth pitching or not.
Rephonic provides full transcripts for episodes of Ask Penguin. Search within each transcript for your keywords, whether they be topics, brands or people, and figure out if it's worth pitching as a guest or sponsor. You can even set-up alerts to get notified when your keywords are mentioned.
Recent guests on Ask Penguin include:
1. Rob McFarlane
2. Jackie Morris
3. Abir Mukherjee
4. Angela Tomaski
5. Sufiyaan Salam
6. Madeline Cash
7. Dawn French
8. Liz Smith
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.