The Yak Babies Book Podcast

225- Memorable Plot Twists

The pals discuss plot twists as a narrative device and examples of when it has worked well or not.

224- Reaction to ”How to make students hate English”

The pals react to Pamela Paul's NYTimes op-ed "How to make students hate English"

223- Books That Made Us Uncomfortable

The pals share some reading experiences that were difficult, whether by making them feel unease or revulsion, or because it challenged their thinking.

222- AI Writing

The pals talk about the implications of ChatGPT and "creative" AI technology on writing and teaching.

221- The Song of Pentecost; Anger; Everyone in my Family has Killed Someone; The Writing Retreat; I’m Glad My Mom Died; A Heart that Works; The Candy House; The Human Target

Books this time: The Song of Pentecost, by W.J. Corbett; Anger, by Thicht Naht Hahn; One Story; Boulevard; Boston Review; Everyone in my Family has Killed Someone, by Benjamin Stephenson; The Writing Retreat, by Julia Bartz; I'm Glad My Mom Died, by Jennette McCurdy; A Heart that Works, by Rob Delaney; The Candy House, by Jennifer Egan; 33 1/3: Highway to Hell, by Joe Bonomo and Unknown Pleasures, by Chris Ott; The Human Target, by Tom King.

220- Nico’s Masterclass Hot Takes Vol. 2

Nico brings a fresh batch of spicy literary takes to share with the pals.

219- Dana Spiotta’s Stone Arabia

Next in our recommendation roulette of Secret Santa books, Aaron read Stone Arabia by Dana Spiotta upon Dave's recommendation.

218- Who is the Most Overrated Author?

The pals each share the name of the author they think is most overrated in reputation.

217- Historical Fiction

That is the role of responsibility of fact in historical fiction? Is there a distinction between historical fiction and fiction in an historical setting?

216- Tommy Orange’s There There - Canon or Cannon 2.0

The pals read Tommy Orange's acclaimed 2018 novel There There and consider whether it should be canonized or launched into the sea.