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Hosted by Penguin Books UK · 🇺🇸 US · EN · 266 episodes
Established thought leaders with verified media credentials.
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. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Penguin Books UK hosts Ask Penguin, a arts show with 266 episodes published.
Can you read a cookbook cover-to-cover like a thriller? Does your reading level predict a longer life? Why is a punk chef’s memoir the ultimate weapon for reluctant readers? And how do we inspire children to read if we d
Why do baby puffins prefer to be alone? Why don’t Cuckoo birds raise their own children? Has the decline of birds taken away the music of our landscapes? And what is the simplest way back if we feel disconnected from nat
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 and Pakistani rap teach one of our debut novelists? And does a writer need to be comple
How does artist Kae Tempest inspire Dawn French? Do editors always know best? What is the impact of grief on those we love most? And what really happened when Dawn French came face to face with a hippo while filming Harr
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? Hosted by Rhianna Dhillon, on this epi
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 yo
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 special
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 b
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
Which novels are truly unputdownable and what should you read on a dark winter's night? We’re joined by best-selling author, Paula Hawkins, who discusses art, love and remote islands in her latest thriller, The Blue Hour
What are the best new books in Korean fiction? What is the process of translating a book into English? And how do you evoke a sense of place you haven't visited? This week we sat down with award-winning and international
Which multi-generational novels inspired White Teeth? Where does Zadie Smith turn for her next great read? And our Penguin team is back to solve your reading dilemmas - whether you're after fascinating memoirs, this year
What was the inspiration behind Philip Pullman’s Northern Lights series? How does he want readers to feel on Lyra’s final adventure in The Rose Field? Has his demon changed now that he has got to the end of this writing
Why do we still love Jane Austen’s novels 250 years later? What makes her stories continue to inspire readers and creators today? And if Jane were alive now, which book would you recommend she read? In this special episo
I'm looking for a novel that reads like poetry - where should I start? Can you recommend a queer love story with a happy conclusion? What are the best books that explore small-town life? We put your book dilemmas to best
Outrageous, iconic and unforgettable - these are some of the books Penguin have been publishing over its 90-year history. As part of a special content series called 'The books that shaped us' on Penguin.co.uk, we invited
What would you recommend an inspiring writer to read? What is the best gateway book to get into reading? Who are the new and upcoming Scottish novelists working today to watch out for? Recorded live at Latitude Festival,
From the paperback revolution to the obscenity trial that made Lady Chatterley’s Lover famous, we explore how Penguin turned the UK into a nation of readers as we celebrate our 90th birthday. Host Rhianna Dhillon speaks
What are the books that give you all the Summer feels? Can you recommend the perfect thrillers to take on holiday? And which books evoke the song Summertime Sadness by Lana Del Rey? We put your questions to our panel of
This week on the Penguin Podcast we talk to writer, critic and curator Charlie Porter about his novel Nova Scotia House, discuss queer books and the importance of hearing queer voices in art. Plus we provide plenty of bo
Dawn French
menopause movement fitness coach
1 appearance on this show
Bryony Gordon
journalist and author
1 appearance on this show
Emerald Fennell
director of Wuthering Heights adaptation
1 appearance on this show
Paula Hawkins
Author of A Slow Fire Burning
1 appearance on this show
Zadie Smith
1 appearance on this show
Philip Pullman
1 appearance on this show
Sarah Howe
metabolic dietitian · Penguin
1 appearance on this show
Ocean Vuong
poet and novelist
1 appearance on this show
Jack Edwards
video creative and marketing agency pro · TrackSpeedDevelopment
1 appearance on this show
Irvine Welsh
1 appearance on this show
Kate Mosse
international bestselling author, activist, Founder Director of the Women’s Prize for Fiction and Women’s Prize for Non-Fiction
1 appearance on this show
Anthony Horowitz
author
1 appearance on this show
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Ask Penguin is hosted by Penguin Books UK. The show is categorised under arts (books) and has published 266 episodes.
Ask Penguin has published 266 episodes.
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