The Penguin Podcast
By Penguin Books UK
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.
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Latest episode
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Which debut novels should you be reading in 2026?
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 -
Which books emotionally wrecked you? With Dawn French
How does artist Kae Tempest inspire -
What are the best novels about infidelity? With Sophie Mackintosh
What’s the difference between flash fiction and the short story? Why are we drawn to literature’s most flawed characters? And what would be the ideal fictional world for adulterers?&… -
What is a must-read book to make me laugh? With Bryony Gordon
How did Marian Keyes inspire Bryony Gordon’s writing? How do you write about family without falling into stereotypes? Which books capture the messy reality of life? And what is your favourite habit to fit reading into… -
Why I wanted to adapt Wuthering Heights with Emerald Fennell
Is Wuthering Heights the perfect novel or the perfect work of art? Why do we fall in love with villains? Is all love doomed? And if Emerald Fennell could adapt another book to film, what would she choose? In this specia… -
What secrets does Jane Austen's house hold?
In this special bonus episode, and to mark Jane Austen’s 250th birthday, we step inside her home in Alton to uncover the life she lived there and the objects she treasured most. From first editions to her own annotated books which formed her perso… -
What were the best books of 2025?
What were our favourite books of the year and what are we most excited to read in 2026? Join the team behind the Ask Penguin podcast to look back at standout titles, memorable podcast moments, and the reading intentions we’re taking into … -
What makes a setting feel so vivid it becomes a character? With Paula Hawkins
Which novels are truly unputdownable and what should you read on a dark winter's night? We’re joined by best-selling author, Paula Hawki… -
What is the best translated fiction to read?
What are the best new books in Korean fiction? How is the process of translating a book into English? And how do you write about a place you have no memory of? This week we sat down with award winning and internationally best-selling author… -
Why are generations at war with each other? With Zadie Smith
Which multi-generational novels inspired White Teeth? Where does