John Vaillant What Happened Next: A Podcast About Newish Books podcast

31:06

My guest on this episode is Teresa Wong. Teresa is an author and artist whose work has appeared in The Believer, The New Yorker , McSweeney’s and The Walrus . Her first book, the graphic novel Dear Scarlet , was longlisted for CBC Canada Reads. Her most recent book is the graphic novel All Our Ordinary Stories , published in 2024 by Arsenal Pulp Press. It was also longlisted for Canada Reads, and won two Alberta Literary Awards. (NB: as you’ll hear, this episode was recorded a day before the book won.) Publishers Weekly said that “Wong explores her Chinese immigrant parents' history with gentle curiosity, wry humor, and moments of aching regret” and called the book “a resonant journey into the past.” Teresa and I talk about the potential meditative benefits of learning to swim as an adult, which she is currently doing, about worrying she was done making books entirely after All Our Ordinary Stories was published, and about her complicated thoughts on the whole concept of literary awards. This podcast is produced and hosted by Nathan Whitlock , in partnership with The Walrus . Music: "simple-hearted thing" by Alex Lukashevsky . Used with permission. Tickets for the live onstage interview with Anne Michaels on July 10 at the Humber Lakeshore Campus in Toronto. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.…

What Happened Next: a podcast about newish books

1
Kerry Clare 26:59

9 days ago26:59

26:59

My guest on this episode is Kerry Clare. Kerry is the author of the novels Mitzi Bytes and Waiting for a Star to Fall and the editor of The M Word: Conversations About Motherhood , Kerry also edits the Canadian books website 49thShelf.com, is host of the BOOKSPO podcast, and writes about books and reading at her longtime blog, Pickle Me This. Kerry’s most recent book is the novel Asking for a Friend , published by Doubleday Canada in 2023. Author Marisa Stapley said that “this novel is like the best kind of friend: honest, wise, complicated, endearing, smart.” Kerry and I talk about her new podcast and how it fits into a publishing landscape that seems to change completely every 5 years or so, about being surprised (and a little disappointed) that she had to work to promote her most recent novel just as hard as she did her first, and about the sense of liberation she felt, early on, when she realized she didn’t have to try to write “pretentious CanLit.” This podcast is produced and hosted by Nathan Whitlock , in partnership with The Walrus . Music: "simple-hearted thing" by Alex Lukashevsky . Used with permission. Tickets for the live onstage interview with Anne Michaels on July 10 at the Humber Lakeshore Campus in Toronto. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.…

What Happened Next: a podcast about newish books

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Sid Sharp 24:46

16 days ago24:46

24:46

My guest on this episode is Sid Sharp. Sid is an artist and illustrator whose debut graphic novel for young readers, The Wolf Suit , was featured in Best of the Year lists by the New York Public Library, School Library Journal , and The Globe and Mail , and has been translated into French, German, and Italian. Their most recent graphic novel, Bog Myrtle , was published in 2024 by Annick Press, and was a Junior Library Guild Gold Standard Selection. It has also been nominated for an Eisner and Doug Wright awards. Publishers Weekly called the book a “lighthearted and surreal take on evergreen themes surrounding the benefits of kindness that’s more Brothers Grimm than classic Disney.” Sid and I talk about how they originally had no plans to create work for children, about the fun but very exhausting experience of meeting young readers in the wild, and about how they need, in their words, to “draw some weird, sad stuff for grown-ups” before tackling another kids’ book. This podcast is produced and hosted by Nathan Whitlock , in partnership with The Walrus . Music: "simple-hearted thing" by Alex Lukashevsky . Used with permission. Tickets for the live onstage interview with Anne Michaels on July 10 at the Humber Lakeshore Campus in Toronto. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.…

What Happened Next: a podcast about newish books

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John Lorinc 27:19

23 days ago27:19

27:19

My guest on this episode is John Lorinc. John is a journalist and editor who writes regularly for places like the Globe and Mail , the Toronto Star , The Walrus , and Spacing Magazine, where he is a senior editor. His previous books include The New City and Dream States: Smart Cities, Technology, and the Pursuit of Urban Utopias . He has also contributed to, co-edited, or project-managed a number of essay anthologies for Coach House Books, including one that has just come out, called Messy Cities: Why We Can’t Plan Everything. The most recent book for which he is the sole author is the memoir No Jews Live Here , published in 2024 by Coach House. The Literary Review of Canada called the book “a poignant exploration of survival and identity that will resonate deeply with readers interested in Holocaust history.” John and I talk about his enduring interest in cities, about writing a Holocaust-themed memoir after working for so long in the realm of urbanism, and about his long relationship with Coach House Books This podcast is produced and hosted by Nathan Whitlock , in partnership with The Walrus . Music: "simple-hearted thing" by Alex Lukashevsky . Used with permission. Tickets for the live onstage interview with Anne Michaels on July 10 at the Humber Lakeshore Campus in Toronto. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.…

What Happened Next: a podcast about newish books

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Charlie Angus 30:55

4 weeks ago30:55

30:55

My guest on this episode is Charlie Angus. Charlie is a politician, musician, and author who has published nine books, including Unlikely Radicals , Children of the Broken Treaty, and Cobalt: Cradle of the Demon Metals, Birth of a Mining Superpower, which was shortlisted for the Trillium Prize. Charlie served in the Canadian Parliament for more than twenty years, representing the riding of Timmins—James Bay as a member of the NDP, before announcing he would not run again in the 2025 federal election. His most recent book is Dangerous Memory: Coming of Age in the Decade of Greed , published by House of Anansi in 2024. Author and activist Naomi Klein has called the book "an extraordinary read from a true Canadian original.” Charlie and I talk about the new pope and the future of the federal NDP, about how writing became a necessary activity during his time in Parliament, and about his work-in-progress, which examines our dystopic political present through the lens of the 1930s. This podcast is produced and hosted by Nathan Whitlock , in partnership with The Walrus . Music: "simple-hearted thing" by Alex Lukashevsky . Used with permission. Tickets for the live onstage interview with Anne Michaels on July 10 at the Humber Lakeshore Campus. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.…

What Happened Next: a podcast about newish books

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C.S. Richardson 27:38

5 weeks ago27:38

27:38

My guest on this episode is C.S. Richardson. C.S. Richardson is an award-winning book designer who worked in book publishing for more than forty years, and an author whose first novel, The End of the Alphabet , was an international bestseller, published in fourteen countries and ten languages, and won the Commonwealth Writers Prize for Best First Book (Canada and the Caribbean). His second novel, The Emperor of Paris , was a national bestseller, named a Globe and Mail Best Book of the year, and was longlisted for the Giller Prize. His most recent book is the novel All the Colour in the World , published in 2023 by Knopf Canada. That book was shortlisted for the Giller Prize. The Toronto Star called it “a heady celebration of art, an act and form the author respects in all its facets.” C.S.—it’s Charles Scott , by the way—and I talk about the reason for the decade-long gap between his second and third novels, about the advantages and disadvantages that come with writing a novel while working deep in the heart of publishing, and how retiring to become a full-time writer has allowed him to push his creative ambitions even further. My 2012 profile of C.S. Richardson in Toronto Life . This podcast is produced and hosted by Nathan Whitlock , in partnership with The Walrus . Music: "simple-hearted thing" by Alex Lukashevsky . Used with permission. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.…

What Happened Next: a podcast about newish books

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Carol Off 33:04

6 weeks ago33:04

33:04

My guest on this episode is Carol Off. Carol is an author, journalist, and broadcaster who spent almost sixteen years co-hosting the multi-award-winning CBC radio program, As It Happens . Before that, she covered news and current affairs in Canada and around the world. Her books include The Lion, The Fox and the Eagle , The Ghosts of Medak Pocket , Bitter Chocolate , and All We Leave Behind , which won the British Columbia National Award for Canadian Non-Fiction. Her most recent book is At a Loss for Words: Conversation in an Age of Rage , published by Random House Canada in 2024. General Roméo Dallaire said that Carol “delivers a thoughtful yet searing examination of the power of words, the necessity of truth, and the existential need for humanity to communicate with care." Carol and I talk about the strangeness of the recent Canadian federal election, about her worry that At A Loss for Words was being overtaken by world events even as she was writing it, and about the trouble she’s having getting down to work on her next book—despite already having a deadline to finish it. This podcast is produced and hosted by Nathan Whitlock , in partnership with The Walrus . Music: "simple-hearted thing" by Alex Lukashevsky . Used with permission. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.…

What Happened Next: a podcast about newish books

1
Anne Fleming 28:02

7 weeks ago28:02

28:02

My guest on this episode is Anne Fleming. Anne is the author of the story collections Pool-Hopping and Gay Dwarves of America , the novel Anomaly , as well as the middle-grade novel The Goat and a poetry collection, poemw . Her most recent book is the novel Curiosities , published in 2024 by Knopf Canada. That novel was longlisted for the Carol Shields Prize for Fiction and shortlisted for the Ferro-Grumley Award For LGBTQ Fiction. It was also a finalist for the 2024 Giller Prize. The Toronto Star said that Curiosities “grips with fervent tales of affection, love, and duty as it conjures a panicked era where witchery was no laughing matter.” Anne and I talk about the unexpected joy of doing a bookstore reading for two people, about why her latest novel was so hard to crack (and why the next one will be, too), and her feelings about being on the Giller Prize shortlist in a year in which the prize was the focus of so much controversy and so many author boycotts. This podcast is produced and hosted by Nathan Whitlock , in partnership with The Walrus . Music: "simple-hearted thing" by Alex Lukashevsky . Used with permission. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.…

What Happened Next: a podcast about newish books

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Kyo Maclear 29:22

8 weeks ago29:22

29:22

My guest on this episode is Kyo Maclear. Kyo is an award-winning novelist, essayist, and children's author. Her books have been translated into eighteen languages and published in over twenty-five countries, and have garnered nominations from the Hilary Weston Writers’ Trust Prize for Nonfiction, the Governor General’s Literary Awards, the TD Canadian Children’s Literature Awards, the Boston Globe-Horn Book Awards, the Amazon.ca First Novel Award, and the National Magazine Awards. Her most recent book is Unearthing: A Story of Tangled Love and Family Secrets , published by Knopf Canada in 2023 . That book won the Governor General’s Literary Award for Nonfiction. The Washington Post called Unearthing “a moving account of a daughter’s struggle to know her mother before she loses her.” Kyo and I talk about her tendency, as a writer and as a person, to seek out beauty and optimism, about starting to write a memoir even as the events it depicts are still happening, and about how the publication of Unearthing has allowed her to stop seeking to resolve some of the family secrets it explores. This podcast is produced and hosted by Nathan Whitlock , in partnership with The Walrus . Music: "simple-hearted thing" by Alex Lukashevsky . Used with permission. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.…

What Happened Next: a podcast about newish books

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Shawn Micallef 25:42

9 weeks ago25:42

25:42

My guest on this very Toronto-centric episode is Shawn Micallef. Shawn is an author whose books include Full Frontal TO, The Trouble With Brunch, and Frontier City . He’s a weekly columnist at the Toronto Star , and a senior editor and co-founder of Spacing magazine. His most recent book is a fully updated version of Stroll: Psychogeographic Walking Tours of Toronto , originally published by Coach House Books in 2010. The updated version was published in 2024, also by Coach House. Author Douglas Coupland called Stroll "a smart and intimate guide to the city that makes you feel like an insider from start to finish." Shawn and I talk about his decision to finally abandon his Twitter account, which had been a big part of how he explored cities, about how updating Stroll turned out to be a more onerous task than he’d originally thought, and about how writing a weekly newspaper column and becoming a parent has a funny way of delaying big new book projects. This podcast is produced and hosted by Nathan Whitlock , in partnership with The Walrus . Music: "simple-hearted thing" by Alex Lukashevsky . Used with permission. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.…

What Happened Next: a podcast about newish books

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Eden Boudreau 29:58

10 weeks ago29:58

29:58

My guest on this episode is Eden Boudreau. Eden is an author whose work has appeared in the Globe & Mail, Flare, Today’s Parent, and elsewhere. She is the host and creator of the podcast Dear Lonely Writer, which was aimed at destigmatizing mental health struggles during the writing process. Eden’s most recent book is her debut, Crying Wolf: A Memoir , published by Book*hug Press in 2023 and shortlisted for a Lambda Literary Award. Author Erin Pepler called Crying Wolf “a vivid, searingly honest account of violence against women and the aftermath of an assault.” Eden and I talk about the difficult decision to pause her author podcast (which I had the honour of being a guest on), about her initial reluctance to include some darker truths about herself in her memoir, and why she’s grateful she became a published writer a little later in life than she’d originally hoped. This podcast is produced and hosted by Nathan Whitlock , in partnership with The Walrus . Music: "simple-hearted thing" by Alex Lukashevsky . Used with permission. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.…

What Happened Next: a podcast about newish books

1
Ayelet Tsabari 33:20

11 weeks ago33:20

33:20

My guest on this 100th episode is Ayelet Tsabari. Ayelet is the author of the short-story collection The Best Place on Earth and the memoir The Art of Leaving , which won the Canadian Jewish Literary Award and was a finalist for the Hilary Weston Writers’ Trust Prize for Nonfiction. She is also a co-editor of the anthology Tongues: On Longing and Belonging through Language. Her most recent book is the novel Songs for the Brokenhearted , published by HarperCollins Canada in 2024. That book won a National Jewish Book Award for Fiction and the AJL Jewish Fiction Award, and was named a book of the year by the Globe and Mail and the CBC . Kirkus Review called it “a timely, well-crafted tale, imbued with cultural and personal sorrow.” Ayelet and I talk about what she calls “the Situation” (i.e., the war in Gaza), about her occasional wish to write something completely unrelated to her identity, and about why she feels a bit apologetic, in her words, about her next book project. This podcast is produced and hosted by Nathan Whitlock , in partnership with The Walrus . Music: "simple-hearted thing" by Alex Lukashevsky . Used with permission. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.…

What Happened Next: a podcast about newish books

1
Bob McDonald 29:34

12 weeks ago29:34

29:34

My guest on this episode is Bob McDonald. Bob has been the host of CBC Radio’s Quirks and Quarks since 1992 and is a regular science commentator on the CBC News Network and a science correspondent for The National . He is the author of multiple books, including The Earthling’s Guide to Outer Space , Canadian Spacewalkers , and The Future is Now . He has been honoured with the Michael Smith Award for science promotion from the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada, the Sandford Fleming Medal from the Royal Canadian Institute for Science, and the McNeil Medal for the public awareness of science from the Royal Society of Canada. He has also been made an Officer of the Order of Canada and has an asteroid named after him. Bob’s most recent book is the memoir Just Say Yes , which was published in 2024 by Douglas & McIntyre. Astronaut and author Chris Hadfield says about Just Say Yes that “Bob takes his rare ability to explain the world to us all and applies it to himself in this delightful, often surprising and ever-insightful autobiography.” Bob and I talk about the importance of promoting and communicating real science amid the proliferation of misinformation and conspiracy theories (and why the closing of the Ontario Science Centre doesn’t exactly help with that goal), about his initial reluctance to include the story of his childhood sexual abuse in his memoir (but why he is proud that he did), and about his work-in-progress, a book for kids that focuses on—surprise!—science. This podcast is produced and hosted by Nathan Whitlock , in partnership with The Walrus . Music: "simple-hearted thing" by Alex Lukashevsky . Used with permission. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.…

What Happened Next: a podcast about newish books

1
Jowita Bydlowska 29:46

13 weeks ago29:46

29:46

My guest on the episode is Jowita Bydlowska. Jowita is the author of four books, including the bestselling memoir Drunk Mom , and the novels GUY and Possessed . She is a journalist, and teaches at the Creative School at Toronto Metropolitan University. Her most recent book is the novel Monster , which was published by Anvil Press in 2024. Author Barbara Gowdy said about Monster : “that a book with almost pornographic sexual scenes should be so humane and polished, so well written, is astonishing.” Jowita and I talk about the identity crisis she is currently undergoing as a writer, about the weirdly personal criticism she received for the revelations in her debut memoir, and about why she doesn’t expect the same reaction when she publishes her next book, also a memoir. This podcast is produced and hosted by Nathan Whitlock , in partnership with The Walrus . Music: "simple-hearted thing" by Alex Lukashevsky . Used with permission. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.…

What Happened Next: a podcast about newish books

1
Amy Stuart 29:41

14 weeks ago29:41