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Recent Episodes
How to Tackle Intimidating Books, with Emily Wilson
It's a dilemma every reader has faced: what do you do when you really want to read a big, intimidating book, but you don't know how to get started? Jeff and Rebecca sit down with Emily…
I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou
Maya Angelou's debut autobiography was an instant hit when it was published in 1969, and it has never gone out of print in the nearly 60 years since it was released. This week, Jeff and Rebecca…
The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams
Grab your towel, pour yourself a Pan Galactic Gargle Blaster, and whatever you do: Don't Panic. This week, Jeff and Rebecca journey to the weirdest and most whimsical corners of the galaxy with…
How to Read Toni Morrison and Where to Start, with Namwali Serpell
Jeff and Rebecca sit down with literary critic and Harvard University professor Namwali Serpell, author of On Morrison, for a conversation about how to approach her famously difficult body of work.…
Braiding Sweetgrass by Robin Wall Kimmerer
No one is more surprised than Robin Wall Kimmerer that the book of essays she sent unsolicited to a small nonprofit publisher became one of the biggest word-of-mouth sensations of the 21st century so…
A Classic Summer Read
This week, we’re popping the champagne and revisiting F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby. Jeff and Rebecca dig into what makes Gatsby a classic, why it’s all over high school reading lists, and…
Start Here: Welcome to Zero to Well-Read!
Part book club, part English class, Zero to Well-Read is a podcast about everything you need to know about the books you wish you’d read. Each week, hosts Jeff O'Neal and Rebecca Schinsky take on a…
The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky
Do you remember what it was like to feel infinite? This week, Jeff and Rebecca crack open the millennial nostalgia time capsule that is Stephen Chbosky's The Perks of Being a Wallflower. They talk…
Interpreter of Maladies by Jhumpa Lahiri
How did a debut short story collection by an unknown writer become one of the most significant publishing successes of the twentieth century? Jeff and Rebecca are joined by literary historian and…
James by Percival Everett
Percival Everett won both the Pulitzer Prize and the National Book Award for his novel James, a modern masterpiece that retells The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn from the perspective of Jim, the…
Gilead by Marilynne Robinson
It's a very special week on Zero to Well-Read as Jeff and Rebecca pick up one of their shared favorite novels, Marilynne Robinson's magisterial meditation on life, death, family, and faith. They…
The Old Man and the Sea by Ernest Hemingway
Jeff and Rebecca dig into Hemingway's The Old Man and the Sea, the book that won him both the Pulitzer and the Nobel, and that he called the best writing he would ever do. They explore what…
Much Ado About Nothing by William Shakespeare
Jeff and Rebecca take on one of Shakespeare's best–and best-known–comedies, Much Ado About Nothing. They talk about its enduring appeal, the "merry war" of banter that continues to inspire and…
How to Hone Your Reading Skills, What Makes a Good Reading Goal, and More from the Mailbag
How can you sharpen your reading skills and learn to evaluate books more deeply? When is it optimizing to quit a book you're bored of, and when is it worth the slog? Reading goals: good or no? Jeff…
Forever... by Judy Blume
You never forget your first. Rebecca and Jeff revisit Judy Blume's classic young adult novel about first love, losing your virginity, and the thrills and fears of growing up. They discuss what made…
The Book ONE BATTLE AFTER ANOTHER is Based On
As the Academy Awards approach, Jeff and Rebecca discuss Vineland by Thomas Pynchon, the book that inspired Best Picture frontrunner One Battle After Another. Subscribe to our free newsletter, and…
Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir
Jeff and Rebecca strap in for a trip to outer space as they revisit Andy Weir's space thriller Project Hail Mary in advance of the upcoming adaptation. They talk about what makes this a singularly…
1984 by George Orwell
Is 1984 the most influential novel of the 20th century? Jeff and Rebecca go back to the future to explore the landmark dystopian novel that gave us Big Brother, doublethink, the memory hole, and 2 +…
The Warmth of Other Suns by Isabel Wilkerson
Rebecca and Jeff are joined by Book Riot's director of content Sharifah Williams for a conversation about Isabel Wilkerson's groundbreaking oral history of the Great Migration, The Warmth of Other…
Wuthering Heights by Emily Brontë
Wuthering Heights is not a romance, and anyone who says differently is selling something. Jeff and Rebecca shift into gothic mode to discuss Emily Brontë's dark and twisty tale of obsession, revenge,…
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Zero to Well-Read has published 43 episodes since September 2025, covering topics in Arts, Books.
Zero to Well-Read is currently highly active with new episodes weekly. Average episode length is 1h 23m.
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