Penguin Random House: Riverhead Books’ “Marlon & Jake Read Dead People” Podcast Back for Season 2

The Marlon & Jake Read Dead People podcast has returned for a highly anticipated second season. Hosted by Booker Prize-winning and internationally bestselling author Marlon James and his editor, Jake Morrissey, Executive Editor at Riverhead Books, the podcast features their uncensored literary conversations about works by dead authors. Since launching in January 2020, this podcast has achieved more than 220,000 downloads, with close to 800 listener ratings.

Recently featured in the Los Angeles Times, Mr. James and Mr. Morrissey explain that in this second season they turn to books new to at least one of them while sticking to their theme of speaking candidly about dead authors. Mr. James told the L.A. Times, “Talking about literature is a way to remind people that literature is something you can participate in. Don’t keep people out! Nobody’s coming for ‘your’ books! … Arguing about a book does way more for its legacy than if you try to save its preciousness intact.” Mr. Morrissey added, “We are talking about books the way other people talk about sports.”

The podcast has been breaking the Top 100 on the Apple podcast charts, hitting as high as #65 in the Arts category. Listeners are sharing their enthusiasm, posting 5-star reviews, such as:

“Love this podcast…Hallelujah! They’re back!”
“Great literary discussion. The banter is fun, the reads excellent and the conversation insightful.”
“The podcast I have been waiting for!”
“I could listen to Marlon and Jake for hours (and have)! So glad they are back for Season 2!”
You can subscribe to the Marlon & Jake Read Dead People podcast on iTunes, Spotify, or another podcast platform of your choosing. Listen along “to hear about the spectacularly good, the hilariously bad, and the brutally honest.”