Bethanne Patrick from Missing Pages: Reopening “literary cold cases”

It only launched last month, but Missing Pages is already a chart-topping investigative podcast – with a bit of a difference. This show is focused on reopening “literary cold cases” – from the biggest hoaxes, to fake authors and national apology tours. This is the first Original show from The Podglomerate, and they nabbed a perfect host – Bethanne Patrick, a book critic and literary insider whose monthly columns/reviews for NPR, The Washington Post, The Los Angeles Times, and The Boston Globe.

We sent Bethanne a few questions to find out how she got involved in the project.

When did you get involved in Missing Pages, and what drew you to this project?

I’ve been looking to do a podcast for years now, but I knew I didn’t want to do one by myself, and I didn’t want to do one without great professional support. I waited, and I’m glad I did, because when Jeff Umbro (CEO of The Podglomerate) approached me to host Missing Pages he not only had a good knowledge of my background, he had a great idea for this show becoming the company’s first original podcast series. Jeff and his team are not only seasoned audio professionals (representing chart-topping podcast clients like PBS, Hubspot and NPR stations), they’re also book lovers: Jeff and a few others have backgrounds in the publishing industry. I knew they’d listen to my ideas but also keep things focused for this podcast on book publishing.

What was the first podcast you ever listened to?

Marc Maron’s! And it was so exciting to me that someone could hold a one-sided conversation and also hold a listener’s attention. He’s smart and droll and endlessly curious. I think that’s something all great podcasters share (and please note, I am NOT including myself in that “great podcasters” company!): real curiosity about other people and engagement with the wider world. Maron’s is just one voice, but he’s rarely solipsistic.

Another podcast I loved early on and still love is The New Yorker Fiction podcast. It’s totally different, totally literary, but the genius there is in hearing one author breathe another author’s story to your ear. I mean, Roddy Doyle reading Lorrie Moore? Tell me you won’t walk away from that with a new understanding of Moore’s work! And Tim Parks reading Peter Stamm. . . ::shiver::

Why is podcasting the right medium for this project?

Missing Pages might be hosted by me but it rests on a deep foundation of research and interviews we conduct with our episode protagonists, their colleagues and sometimes even their antagonists. Including those voices and threading them consistently and intriguingly through our narratives might be possible in longform journalism, but really comes alive in the podcast medium. Not to mention we’re able to include pop-culture teases in the form of songs, sounds and news clips.

Someone recently mentioned to me that podcasts might soon become a sort of extension of audiobooks. . . I’m not going to jump up and start that business, but I just want to say that podcasts do offer a time-honored way (radio drama, anyone? It’s still huge in the UK!) to shape and tell stories.

Which podcasts do you take inspiration from?

– Marlon and Jake Read Dead People. I adore Marlon James and his editor at Riverhead Books Jake Morrissey. The way they look at classics and the backlist reminds me that no one’s take on any book is the final one.

– Normal Gossip. I talk about this one all the time now because its hilarious way of unspooling the kind of stories we all tell each other all the time – about friends and family and colleagues and neighbors and strangers – is irresistible.

– Scam Goddess. All hail Laci Mosley, the Patron Saint of Grifter News! She’s funny, she’s fresh, she’s factual. She also isn’t afraid to talk about the little real-life scams, like a first-grader trying to con a teacher, because after all, tiny hustlers into big-time hustlers grow.

– Hidden Brain. My memoir, Life B, comes out next May from Counterpoint Press; it’s all about depression, family, and – surprise! – a late-life diagnosis and healing. This long-running podcast addresses so many different aspects of psychology, neurology and psychiatry. Catnip!

What’s the biggest lesson you’ve learnt so far as a podcaster?

That things change, even when you think you’ve fixed on something, and that’s absolutely fine. This is audio, not a major-motion picture or a big coffee-table book; things can be corrected, or expanded, or eliminated! Learning to go with that flow has been a great lesson, not just for my time as a podcaster, but for life overall. I think there should be a “Meditations for Podcasters” book. LOL.

Where can readers find out more about you?

In addition to the podcast, I’m a book critic and literary insider with monthly columns/reviews for NPR, The Washington Post, The Los Angeles Times, and The Boston Globe have moved hundreds of thousands of copies. Check your shelves: chances are you own a book (or three) with a Bethanne blurb on the cover. I’m also in the social media book realm as @TheBookMaven, and I started the #FridayReads hashtag on Twitter.

Listen to Missing Pages on Apple Podcasts, Spotify and other popular podcast apps.