SEE ALSO:\u00a0Like books? Get our free Book Pages newsletter about bestsellers, authors and more<\/a><\/p>\n At New York City\u2019s 92nd Street Y on Oct. 27, they\u2019ll be talking about the work of William Maxwell<\/a> with Pulitzer Prize-winning novelist Jennifer Egan and The New Yorker\u2019s fiction editor Deborah Treisman and staff writer Alec Wilkinson. (Livestream tickets<\/a> are on sale as well.) A second show on Oct. 29 at the Bitter End<\/a> will explore the books of Bob Dylan with the Washington Post\u2019s John Williams. (But Dylan is on tour in Europe, so don\u2019t expect a visit from him.)<\/p>\n And while the podcast won\u2019t be coming to the West Coast this time around,\u00a0I reached out to Miller\u00a0\u2013\u00a0we last spoke in 2023 around the time of the 200th episode<\/a>\u00a0\u2013 to discuss the show and its anniversary.<\/p>\n \u201cHow did this happen? How did this English podcast about old books take on enough momentum and popularity that 10 years later, we\u2019ve been moved to the big room at the 92nd Street Y because of quote-unquote unprecedented demand? It\u2019s crazy, but wonderful,\u201d says Miller,\u00a0via Zoom from Liverpool, a few days after the 250th episode of the podcast dropped.<\/p>\n Launched in 2015, the podcast famously aims to \u201cgive new life to old books,\u201d and it has done just that, whether boosting the profiles of underappreciated authors such as Anita Brookner, Sylvia Townsend Warner, Lore Segal and Gayl Jones or finding fresh takes on big names such as James Baldwin, Virginia Woolf, Kurt Vonnegut, Joseph Heller, Raymond Chandler and more.<\/p>\n Or, as in the case of David Seabrook\u2019s \u201cAll the Devils Are Here,\u201d which they talked about in 2016, helping\u00a0nudge a book back into print. The podcast recently revisited it with a fresh episode\u00a0for the anniversary.<\/p>\n \u201cWe did a show recently about \u2018All the Devils Are Here\u201d by David Seabrook, which was a book we featured early\u00a0on, which, as a result of us talking about it, got republished.\u00a0And as a result of its republication, it has become a bigger deal than it ever was the first time it came out,\u201d says Miller.<\/p>\n \u201cSo in terms of our tagline \u2013 \u2018Backlisted, the podcast that\u00a0gives new life to old books\u2019 \u2013\u00a0in the case of \u2018All the Devils Are Here,\u2019 we literally did that. We gave new life to an old book. We wrote ourselves into\u00a0the history of that particular book that we love, and that\u00a0is incredibly gratifying and rewarding to think you\u2019ve made a difference,\u201d he says. \u201cI hope we can encourage and enable people to read things that perhaps they otherwise wouldn\u2019t feel were for them.\u201d<\/p>\n Their efforts appear to be working here. Miller says the podcast now has more listeners in the U.S.\u00a0than in Britain (though it remains close, he adds), but he downplays any grand plan.<\/p>\n \u201cWe were very, very fortunate that the chemistry between me and John really works for the listeners, and we are also respectful of what the other brings to the show,\u201d he says, citing Mitchinson\u2019s knowledge of literature and his own interests in books, music and film.<\/p>\n Then, he cites another reason for the show\u2019s success. \u201cJohn\u2019s rich velvet voice versus my disgusting \u201870s polyester one,\u201d he jokes.\u201dIt just works.\u201d<\/p>\n Some things have changed over the years. A jokey \u201cBeavis & Butthead\u201d-inspired tagline is gone, as is a segment on tenuous links.\u00a0And now, there are subscriber-level-only episodes and online content (such as Miller\u2019s \u201cInventory\u201d essays inspired by his record collection)\u00a0available on Patreon.<\/p>\n But in many ways, the podcast arrived almost fully formed. Longtime listeners can chart the show\u2019s evolution over the years, but it\u2019s remained remarkably consistent from the first episode to its most recent ones: good books, intelligent talk and excellent guests.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019ve been very fortunate that our lifespan coincides with the growth of podcasts,\u201d says Miller, noting that there is an audience of people who like old books and conversations about them. \u201cWe all feel the sense of listeners around the world who feel they have found their people.\u201d<\/p>\n SEE ALSO: How \u2018Is a River Alive?\u2019 author Robert Macfarlane found himself an elder<\/a><\/p>\n That was especially evident during the COVID lockdowns when the community seemed to grow even closer, resulting in events like a virtual holiday party for listeners and the launch of Locklisted, a subscriber-only spinoff in which the hosts discuss music, movies and more.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019ve all been through ups and downs together,\u201d says Miller, describing not just his friendship with Mitchinson and producer Nicky Birch but also with listeners. \u201cThe people who were with us during lockdown, we have a real connection with them. Those listeners are the ones who are our backbone, which is very humbling. Those are the people who say to us, \u2018You really helped me through that terrible time.\u2019<\/p>\n \u201cWe got one another through that terrible time,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n This year has not been an easy one for the podcast, either.<\/p>\n Launched as part of the crowdfunding publisher Unbound, which was cofounded by Mitchinson, the podcast spun off on its own five years ago. But the implosion of Unbound<\/a> this year, which left authors unable to collect royalties owed to them and crowdfunders unsure whether they\u2019d get their pledges back, saw Mitchinson step away from the podcast as the situation made headlines. He eventually withdrew from efforts to revive the publisher, releasing a statement<\/a> in which he apologized and said the reformulated company\u2019s position was \u201cmorally and financially unacceptable.\u201d<\/p>\n While the podcast has been independent of Unbound for years, Miller responded to a question about Mitchinson\u2019s absence and potential return to the podcast. Since he\u2019s been gone, the author and academic Dr. Una McCormack has been acting as cohost with Miller.<\/p>\n \u201cI think John feels that the reason why he stepped back was because the failure of Unbound caused him real distress. He didn\u2019t feel he could meaningfully continue to have a public profile while that was happening. And we, with some regret, agreed with him. I hope he\u2019ll be back. As to when that might be, I don\u2019t know,\u201d says Miller. \u201cIt might be he doesn\u2019t want to come back, so we\u2019ll see.\u201d<\/p>\n For now, though, the live shows will include both Miller and Mitchinson (which will be recorded, though he says there aren\u2019t plans currently to release them) and more podcast episodes featuring Miller and McCormack are coming.<\/p>\n SEE ALSO: After nearly 200 episodes, the \u2018Backlisted\u2019 podcast isn\u2019t running out of great books<\/a><\/p>\n And Miller can\u2019t wait to get over here for the shows.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m so grateful to those venues and I\u2019m so grateful to listeners in the States for tuning in for all these years and getting us to the point where we can do such incredible, exciting things,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n \u201cFrom my point of view, I would be happy to carry on reading and talking about books till the cows come home.\u201d<\/p>\n For more information about the events, go to the\u00a092NY website<\/a> and the Bitter End online<\/a>. For more about the podcast, go to Backlisted\u2019s website<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The next British Invasion will be one for the books. 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The Backlisted podcast following an appearance at the Port Eliot Festival in Cornwall, UK: (l-r) Andy Miller, Billy Bragg, Suzi Feay and John Mitchinson on July, 29, 2018. (Photo credit: Michael Bowles\/Shutterstock)<\/p>\n