Calling all literary fanatics, book worms, and self-proclaimed nerds! If you have ever wanted to learn about stories you’ve yet to read, but swear you’re going to, or even reminisce about your favorite books, The NewlyReads is for you. Each episode, hosts Daniel Fladager and Kylie Regan debate if a book belongs on their bookshelf after discussing its context and plot. The book is a favorite of one host while the other host is discovering it for the very first time! The discussions on context are particularly interesting because they cover a history often missed in literature class. Through the eyes of the savvy readers, they discuss Amazon’s role in self-publishing, social inequality, literary gatekeepers and more.

Both Fladager and Regan are academics, but their conversations are accessible and extremely interesting. They cover many genres, including classic American stories, experimental fiction, and self-published works. Each episode covers the book’s plot, so watch out for spoilers! New episodes are released every other Friday.

We were fortunate to talk with Regan about the podcast, how they differentiate from other podcasts, and their future plans in podcasting. See below for our full Q&A.

Listen: Apple Podcasts | Sititcher | Spotify

DISCOVER PODS: How’d you get into podcasting?

REGAN: It started as a sort of challenge to read each other’s favorite books, but also to find a way to encourage having good, in-depth conversations without resorting to academic language. We wanted to combine “expert” analysis with emotional enthusiasm, and we think our podcast is a great model for how to balance those two moods. 

DISCOVER PODS: In your own words, why should listeners tune in to The NewlyReads?

REGAN: Well, you’re going to learn a lot about literary history. But our show also captures a wish that most book lovers have: What if someone actually read all the books you loaned them? And was willing to talk to you about it for two hours instead of just saying, “It was good!”

There’s a thrill to discussing something that you’ve long loved in isolation, to finally be able to say, “Can you believe that this character did that? Doesn’t this paragraph just give you chills?” We’re really trying to understand why we’ve chosen the unlikely career path of English academia, how it brought us together, and what value it brings to the world. So, we bring a lot of knowledge to the table, but we’re also interested in that feeling of bonding with someone through the shared love of a story.

DISCOVER PODS: What kind of feedback have you heard from your listeners?

REGAN: One listener said that we were the only podcast they’ve ever listened to from start to finish. That’s pretty wonderful feedback, given that our podcasts are an hour and a half long! 

DISCOVER PODS: Describe your recording set up? What equipment are you using?

REGAN: We have turned our office into a cutting-edge recording studio. We stuff the whole place with cats, which serve pretty well as sound dampening as long as they aren’t meowing.

But really, our recording setup is fairly basic. We’re in our home office, we use a Blue microphone on a boom set up between us, and we edit in Audacity. 

We just received a grant from Daniel’s University (thanks!), so we’re going to use that to upgrade our recording equipment. We think we’ve been able to get some pretty good sound with our minimalist setup, but it’s about to get better.

DISCOVER PODS: What’s the biggest challenge you face as an indie podcaster?

REGAN: We know now why there are so few amateur literature podcasts out there. Some of our books, like The Goldfinch or New York 2140, are bricks that take like 20 hours to read! 

We end up putting a lot of time into each episode because not only do we read the books, and sometimes re-read them, but we do research on the author and read the academic scholarship on their work in preparation for our episode.

 We’re usually reading 4 or 5 books at a time — one for a class we’re teaching, one for an article we’re writing or our dissertations, and one or two for the NewlyReads. It’s a hectic schedule, but even in the few months that we’ve been doing this, it’s made us more well-rounded thinkers.

DISCOVER PODS: Where do you want to take your podcast?

REGAN: Daniel has been proposing some episodes that break our traditional format of one host assigning a book they love. These would be instead focused around a question or a theme. He wants to do a whole episode on the recent focus of “pandemic literature” in response to the Coronavirus lockdowns. He’s been reading all the books that people are recommending online, as well as the new releases that are trying to take advantage of peoples’ increased interest. Hopefully we will release an episode soon that looks at the effect of these lockdowns on what we read.

Ultimately, we want the podcast as a whole to be a sort of solid introduction to the value of literature to everybody’s life. By the time we put out 50 episodes or so, it would be really cool if you could arrange them in such a way as to serve as a kind of college class on novels since 1800, but filtered through our weird taste and humor!

DISCOVER PODS: What other podcasts are you listening to now?

REGAN: A lot of movies podcasts. We’re huge fans of Blank Check with Griffin & David–their balance of exhaustive knowledge with comedy, and their effort to find something good to say about every work they cover, is a big inspiration for us. 

Reply All, Black Men Can’t Jump in Hollywood, and You Must Remember This are also playing in our house a lot. 

DISCOVER PODS: Anything else you’d like to add?

REGAN: We hope our show can encourage people to read more, and more diversely! But also to talk to each other about what they’ve read. 

We believe that no one should feel like the classics are gated behind a certain level of study. Or that thrillers and young adult fiction aren’t equally deserving of analysis. 

If we can introduce our listeners to a new book or encourage them to be enthusiastic to strangers about books they already love, then we’ll have accomplished our mission.

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