arts
Hosted by Book Riot · arts · EN
Part book club, part English class, Zero to Well-Read is a fun and informative guide to the books people talk about like everyone has read them. Each week, hosts Jeff O'Neal and Rebecca Schinsky take on a new title—from classics you should have read in high school to prize winners, cult favorites to modern hits—and tell you everything you need to know: the plot, what it feels like to read, why it matters, and the key takeaways.
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Contact path
Verified email
Booking probability
33%
Guest openness
Selective
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Signup to Generate a PitchPart book club, part English class, Zero to Well-Read is a fun and informative guide to the books people talk about like everyone has read them.
Zero to Well-Read is hosted by Book Riot. The show has published 66 episodes to date.
Recent episodes include "The Shining by Stephen King, with Gilbert Cruz" (27 October 2026, 127 minutes), "Voting is Open for Our First Listeners' Choice Episode" (22 October 2026, 2 minutes), and "How to Break a Reading Slump, with Anne Bogel" (20 October 2026, 70 minutes).
Zero to Well-Read publishes roughly weekly, with episodes averaging 81 minutes across 66 episodes.
Booking probability for Zero to Well-Read is 33%, and the host is rated Selective on guests. Zero to Well-Read requires a Pod Score of 80 or higher. Zero to Well-Read's contact route on record: verified email.
The strongest fits for Zero to Well-Read are Artists, Writers & Performers. Zero to Well-Read has an arts audience.
Book Riot hosts Zero to Well-Read, an arts podcast with 66 episodes published.
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Zero to Well-Read
New York Times canon editor and lifelong Stephen King fan Gilbert Cruz joins Jeff and Rebecca to discuss the king of horror's 1977 tale about a troubled family trying to outrun their demons at a haunted hotel. They...
Zero to Well-Read
Thanks to you all, we have hit 1000 ratings on Apple Podcast. And as promised, that means voting is open for our first Listeners' Choice episode. You can vote right here. Also, Zero to Well-Read just won a couple of...
Zero to Well-Read
Rebecca and Jeff put their heads together with Anne Bogel of What Should I Read Next? to offer tools, tips, and book recommendations to help you break a reading slump and get your groove back. Find Anne's work at Modern...
Zero to Well-Read
Jeff and Rebecca get existential as they ponder Franz Kafka's legendary surreal short story about a man who wakes up one day to discover that he has been transformed into a giant insect. They discuss the way Kafka...
Zero to Well-Read
Rebecca and Jeff pit reason against romance as they consider Jane Austen's beloved tale of sisters trying to find love and preserve their family's legacy. Join us on Patreon for access to read-alongs, ad-free listening...
Zero to Well-Read
Vote for Zero to Well-Read in the Signal Awards for Best Arts & Culture Podcast and Best New Podcast! Thanks to ThriftBooks for sponsoring this season of Zero to Well-Read. Zero to Well-Read is a proud member of the...
Zero to Well-Read
Jeff and Rebecca dive into John Steinbeck's epic, magisterial novel about fathers and sons, family legacies, and the question of free will. They discuss the story's biblical roots, Steinbeck's wide-ranging philosophy...
Zero to Well-Read
Twenty years after it was published, Cormac McCarthy's The Road remains a landmark work of post-apocalyptic fiction. This week, Jeff and Rebecca explore what the bleak and beautiful story has to say about hope...
Zero to Well-Read
Rebecca and Jeff sit down with history and civics educator Sharon McMahon to recommend books—both fiction and nonfiction—to help you better understand American history and politics. Sharon's book, The Small and the...
Zero to Well-Read
Jeff and Rebecca are joined by Rob Harvilla, host of 60 Songs That Explain the '90s: The 2000s, for a conversation about Jonathan Franzen's award-winning breakout novel. They discuss Franzen's singular blend of...
Zero to Well-Read
Minor characters get main character syndrome in Tom Stoppard's Hamlet send-up filled with wordplay, philosophical puzzles, silliness, and existential questions. On the occasion of its 60th anniversary, Rebecca and Jeff...
Zero to Well-Read
Jeff and Rebecca take on one of the most transgressive and unsettling novels of the 21st century so far, Nobel Prize winner Han Kang's The Vegetarian. They discuss the use of art to explore questions about freedom...
Zero to Well-Read
Rebecca and Jeff talk with New York Times canon editor Gilbert Cruz about the project of curating the best books of the 21st century, the recent list of the 50 best thrillers of the century, and the value and meaning of...
Zero to Well-Read
Jeff and Rebecca explore Octavia Butler's eerily prescient 1993 novel, The Parable of the Sower, and discuss Butler's legacy and enduring impact on science fiction. This episode, one of our most popular to date...
Zero to Well-Read
Jeff and Rebecca buckle up for a thrilling ride with Gillian Flynn's paradigm-shifting thriller, Gone Girl. They talk about how Flynn redefined the domestic suspense genre with a singular blend of mystery and gender...
Zero to Well-Read
In 1951, Ray Bradbury imagined a 21st century in which books were banned, huge screens playing mindless slop dominated home living rooms, and people preferred to zone out with drugs and entertainment rather than deal...
Zero to Well-Read
On the occasion of its 10th anniversary, Jeff and Rebecca turn to Colson Whitehead's Pulitzer- and National Book Award-winning fabulist reimagining of American history. They discuss the blend of speculative fiction and...
Zero to Well-Read
Christopher Nolan's adaptation of Homer's Odyssey is THE book-to-screen event of 2026, so how is it? Jeff and Rebecca sit down with Book Riot's managing editor Vanessa Diaz for a conversation about how Nolan's Odyssey...
Zero to Well-Read
Jeff and Rebecca answer listener questions about how to get more out of your reading, find the ideal reading position, and maintain reading as a part of your identity during major life changes. They also share how they...
Zero to Well-Read
Hot Greek Summer has arrived! Jeff and Rebecca set sail on the wine-dark sea to discover how and why The Odyssey became one of the most enduring stories of all time. They discuss the oral traditions that made the epic...
Recent guests on Zero to Well-Read. Study who booked and why before you pitch.
bestselling author, educator, creator of “@SharonSaysSo”, Utah Valley University
Senior Staff Writer and Music Critic, The Ringer
Manager of Advocacy and Healthcare Marketing, International Justice Mission UK
professor and chair of Classical Studies at the University of Pennsylvania, Security Plus Health Insurance Agency
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