Mentioned in Podcasts

Person

Every book Richard Powers recommended on podcasts

Key facts

  • Richard Powers has recommended or discussed 6 books on podcasts, as of October 9, 2024.
  • Richard Powers has talked about books on 2 podcasts, as of October 9, 2024.
  • Those books came up in 2 episodes, as of October 9, 2024.
  • The 3 books Richard Powers has mentioned in the most episodes, not counting Richard Powers's own, as of October 9, 2024: an actor Prepares, Flowers for Algernon and MOBY-DICK; or, THE WHALE.
  • The latest episode with a book mention from Richard Powers aired on October 9, 2024.

Updated

Guest on How I Write, The Book Review · 6 books · 2 episodes across 2 podcasts

Across 2 podcasts. Every show Richard Powers appears on, in one place — not just one.

Richard Powers appears on literary and writing podcasts as a Pulitzer-winning novelist and professor with a deep reverence for the mechanics of storytelling, the history of literature, and the complex relationship between humans and the natural world. Powers analyzes narrative craft by drawing on canonical classics and contemporary masterworks alike. During interviews, Powers discussed several influential books and their own literary creations. Powers referenced Constantin Stanislavski's An Actor Prepares to explain methods of character creation and the ways actors inhabit roles on stage. Herman Melville's Moby-Dick was brought up as a quintessential American novel engaging with humanity versus nature, while Don DeLillo's White Noise was highlighted for its brilliant and artificial dialogue. Powers also extensively discussed their own novel Bewilderment, exploring its themes of an alternate Earth and emotional resonance. When unpacking Bewilderment, Powers compared its narrative premise to Daniel Keyes's classic Flowers for Algernon and noted the influence of an epigraph drawn from Plato's Republic, providing listeners with a window into the rich intertextual layers of their fiction.

Books recommended by Richard Powers

Who said what is determined automatically. In hand-checked samples, at least 6% of mentions were credited to the wrong speaker — sometimes an interviewer’s line recorded as the guest’s, sometimes the reverse. Every entry below quotes the words and links to the episode, so you can check it.

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  1. Bewilderment

    Richard Powers; Teresa Lanero Ladrón de Guevara · Discussed · 1 episode

    Discussed
    “oh it's my great pleasure thanks for having me on this new novel bewilderment has at its heart three people”
    The Book Review Richard Powers on ‘Bewilderment’ 2021-10-01 Listen at 1:03
    Where to get it
    AmazonListen on Audible

  2. an actor Prepares

    Constantin Stanislavski · Discussed · 1 episode

    Discussed
    “and how how to uh an actor prepares is one of one of his works and you know how how to inhabit a role of someone on stage who isn't you”
    How I Write Meet Pulitzer-Winning Stanford Professor (Richard Powers Interview) 2024-10-09 Listen at 6:07
    Where to get it
    AmazonListen on Audible

  3. Flowers for Algernon

    David Rogers, Daniel Keyes · Discussed · 1 episode

    Flowers for Algernon by Daniel Keyes is a poignant science fiction novel about Charlie Gordon, a man with an intellectual disability who undergoes an experimental surgical procedure to dramatically enhance his intelligence, mirroring the earlier cognitive boost of a laboratory mouse named Algernon.

    Discussed
    “and that's what propels the story which is a kind of flowers for algenon if you will”
    The Book Review Richard Powers on ‘Bewilderment’ 2021-10-01 Listen at 6:52
    Where to get it
    AmazonListen on Audible

  4. MOBY-DICK; or, THE WHALE

    Herman Melville · Discussed · 1 episode

    Moby-Dick by Herman Melville is an epic American novel that chronicles the obsessive, self-destructive quest of Captain Ahab to hunt down the giant white whale that maimed him.

    Discussed
    “you got to go back to mobi dick where you got to go back to the frontier”
    How I Write Meet Pulitzer-Winning Stanford Professor (Richard Powers Interview) 2024-10-09 Listen at 18:40
    Where to get it
    AmazonListen on Audible

  5. The Republic

    Plato · Discussed · 1 episode

    Plato's foundational classical text "The Republic" explores justice, political structures, and the nature of reality.

    Discussed
    “and when I went back to the key story I was really intrigued at his use of an epigraph from Plato's Republic”
    The Book Review Richard Powers on ‘Bewilderment’ 2021-10-01 Listen at 8:07
    Where to get it
    AmazonListen on Audible

  6. White Noise

    Don DeLillo; Mosche Hana'ami · Discussed · 1 episode

    White Noise by Don DeLillo is a seminal 1984 postmodern novel that chronicles contemporary consumerism, academic satire, and the omnipresence of mass media and pop culture.

    Discussed
    “and you could look at a book like white noise and you could look at the dialogue in that book which is crazy you know”
    How I Write Meet Pulitzer-Winning Stanford Professor (Richard Powers Interview) 2024-10-09 Listen at 1:11:19
    Where to get it
    AmazonListen on Audible

Books Richard Powers wrote

Every book by Richard Powers mentioned on podcasts →

Appearances

EpisodePodcastDateBooks
Meet Pulitzer-Winning Stanford Professor (Richard Powers Interview)How I Write2024-10-093
Richard Powers on ‘Bewilderment’The Book Review2021-10-016
Other mentions (2: passing, ad reads, own books)
Plugged Playground
“well I'm very close to the to the people in playground still”
How I Write Meet Pulitzer-Winning Stanford Professor (Richard Powers Interview) 2024-10-09 Listen at 3:25
Plugged The Overstory
“and then as I got deeper into into over story it was oh this guy you know it's not a red oak”
How I Write Meet Pulitzer-Winning Stanford Professor (Richard Powers Interview) 2024-10-09 Listen at 1:15:14