Obama's a Book Podcaster, Libro.fm Raises the Stakes, 2025 Book Sales, and more.
Book Riot - The Podcast
08/17/26
•85m
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Jeff and Rebecca open the show by discussing President Obama's forthcoming book podcast, before digging into the ramifications of Libro.fm selling ebooks, triaging 2025's book sales, talking some more about AI. And then in Frontlist Foyer, Jeff workshops his INSIDE OUT theory of reading personalities.
Follow the podcast via RSS, Apple Podcasts, and Spotify. Join The Book Riot Podcast Patreon for bonus content and ad-free listening.
Subscribe to The Book Riot Newsletter for regular updates to get the most out of your reading life.
The Book Riot Podcast is a proud member of the Airwave Podcast Network.
Discussed in this episode:
Final number: publishing sales increased 2.5% in 2025
Barack Obama is releasing a books podcast
An interesting data point: AI use is not disqualifying for the Pulitzer, provided it is disclosed and assistive -- and 5 of the 2026 winners disclosed it
And Hank Green has rolled out a personal AI policy that is very reasonable
Study shows AI-generated stories have bias to male characters
Claude is rolling out watermarks on AI-generated text
Certified human writing panopticon gymnastics
A 30-day protocol/bootcamp for reading more
NYT tests Pangram in a serious way
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Go to quince.com/bookriot for free shipping on your order and 365-day returns. Now available in Canada and the UK, too.
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Previous Episode
Bonus Preview: Deals Deals Deals for August 2026
August 14
•6m
A little bonus preview of our August edition of Deals, Deals, Deals, a format in which Jeff unleashes book deal announcements of notes on Rebecca. Listen to the full episode, and every bonus episode we have ever done, by becoming a member of The Book Riot Podcast Patreon.
This content contains affiliate links. When you buy through these links, we may earn an affiliate commission.
Go to quince.com/bookriot for free shipping on your order and 365-day returns. Now available in Canada and the UK, too.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Next Episode
Rebecca and Vanessa discuss news of a Theo of Golden adaptation, the results of our audience survey about what counts as AI-written, a new platform for finding local literary events, and more.
Follow the podcast via RSS, Apple Podcasts, and Spotify. Join The Book Riot Podcast Patreon for bonus content and ad-free listening.
Subscribe to The Book Riot Newsletter for regular updates to get the most out of your reading life.
The Book Riot Podcast is a proud member of the Airwave Podcast Network.
Discussed in this episode:
Tom Hanks in talks to star in Theo of Golden adaptation
Titles & covers for ACOTAR 6 and 7 revealed
Former bookseller launches book event platform
How one professor re-engaged students in an age of AI
Results of our survey about what counts as AI-written
Amazon is buying and destroying used books to train AI
Life of M looks to be all sizzle, no steak
The Intrigue by Silvia Moreno-Garcia
Go Gentle by Maria Semple
The True Confessions of First Lady Freeman by Deesha Philyaw
This content contains affiliate links. When you buy through these links, we may earn an affiliate commission.
Today's episode is sponsored by Vinted. Download the Vinted app for free to start selling with no seller fees, so you keep everything you earn.
Go to quince.com/bookriot for free shipping on your order and 365-day returns. Now available in Canada and the UK, too.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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