Podcast · Arts & Books

Borrowed & Returned

by Brooklyn Public Library · English · Arts & Books

Brooklyn Public Library is full of stories. Borrowed brings the best of them to you. Current podcast series: Borrowed & Returned is a new podcast series that examines what our reading public borrowed in the past, and what we’re all reading now. In conversations with library workers, au

New episodes: Weekly
Typical length: 23 min
Latest: 6 Aug 2026
Language: English

Latest episode

6 Aug 2026 · 25 min

Sandra Cisneros Has a Prescription For Us

Over forty years after The House on Mango Street came out, Sandra Cisneros is still hearing from readers about how her words healed them. In this episode, the award-winning writer shares the books that were her medicine growing up, and the prescription she has for all of us. Show notes: How many books have you read? Check out BPL’s full list of 250 books that influenced America. Then check out our booklist with all the titles Sandra mentioned in this episode.Watch parts of the opera ver...

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Earlier episodes 29 most recent

S9 · E19 · 30 Jul 2026 · 23 min
Linda Sarsour on Building a Better World
Linda Sarsour is a proud Brooklyn-born Palestinian-American activist, writer, and organizer. She’s spent her career building bridges between diverse groups of people, and working to make America a more equitable place. In this episode, she shares the stories that shaped her, and her vision for the next 250 years of American history. Show notes: How many books have you read? Check out BPL’s full list of 250 books that influenced America. Then check out our booklist with all the titles Linda me...
S9 · E19 · 23 Jul 2026 · 25 min
Julia Alvarez on Bilingualism as a Superpower
So many authors writing across languages and cultures point to Julia Alvarez’s debut novel, How the García Girls Lost Their Accents, as one of their ancestors. In this episode, we hear from Alvarez about the importance of defending all kinds of stories—and why the American cannon needs to be exploded. Show notes: How many books have you read? Check out BPL’s full list of 250 books that influenced America. Then check out our booklist with all the titles Julia mentioned in this episode.Read an ...
S9 · E18 · 16 Jul 2026 · 23 min
Edwidge Danticat Is Invited to this Party
Celebrations of the nation’s 250th anniversary can feel like a party not everyone is invited to, especially for those whose immigration status is in limbo. In this episode, Haitian-American writer Edwidge Danticat talks about the impact of transnational migration has had on her writing, and the kind of party she wanted to throw for America’s 250th anniversary. (Hint: it has to do with books!) Show notes: How many books have you read? Check out BPL’s full list of 250 books that influence...
S9 · E17 · 9 Jul 2026 · 26 min
Jacqueline Woodson on Telling Stories of our Ancestors
When award-winning author Jacqueline Woodson sat down to write her family’s story of the Great Migration, she wanted to make it accessible to all kinds of readers. So she wrote a children’s book called This Is the Rope. In this episode, Woodson talks about the importance of preserving the stories of our ancestors, and of course… her love of Brooklyn. Show notes: How many books have you read? Check out BPL’s full list of 250 books that influenced America. Then check out our booklist with...
S9 · E16 · 2 Jul 2026 · 27 min
Jose Antonio Vargas Redefines America
Jose Antonio Vargas is a journalist, filmmaker, and author of the book Dear America: Notes of an Undocumented Citizen. He came to the US from the Philippines when he was twelve years old, and he didn’t discover he was undocumented until he was sixteen. We talk with him about his unique perspective on America and what it means to be a citizen. Show notes: How many books have you read? Check out BPL’s full list of 250 books that influenced America, then check out our booklist with all the title...
S9 · E15 · 3 Feb 2026 · 28 min
This Guy Sucked: D W Griffith with Kellie Carter Jackson
Today we’re bringing you a really interesting episode from our friends at This Guy Sucked, a podcast hosted by historian and writer Claire Aubin about the worst people in history. Each episode, Claire sits down with an expert to pull back the scholarly curtain on a terrible person from their research. Because, as they say on the show, it’s never too late to have haters, and you can’t libel the dead. This particular episode is about the early 20th century filmmaker D. W. Griffith whose 1915 fi...
S9 · E14 · 21 Oct 2025 · 39 min
Thresholds: Ayana Elizabeth Johnson on the Future That’s Still Possible
Dr. Ayana Elizabeth Johnson is a marine biologist, climate scientist and activist. Recently, she sat down with Jordan Kisner, of the Thresholds podcast, to talk about our climate future. You may have heard clips of their conversation in our last episode about Silent Spring. Today, we're playing the full interview as a partnership with Thresholds, a show about about the messiness, overlap, u-turns, revelations, and friction points in the lives and work of artists. If you like what you hear, he...
S9 · E13 · 14 Oct 2025 · 28 min
We are the Environment: Silent Spring’s Enduring Wisdom
When Silent Spring came out in 1962, it was an instant best-seller and led to the establishment of the EPA, as well as the ban of harmful pesticides such as DDT. But Rachel Carson’s seminal work also shifted our way of thinking about nature. For the first time, the environment was not just something out there that could be tracked and measured, but something that lived inside all of us. You can read a transcript of this episode on our website, and visit learn more about the topics broug...
S9 · E12 · 7 Oct 2025 · 19 min
Molly Crabapple on Making Art in a Turbulent World
Molly Crabapple is an artist and writer who documents the extremes, from nightclubs to war zones. She’s also the author of several books, including Drawing Blood and Brothers of the Gun, a memoir of the Syrian War co-written with Marwan Hisham. We sat down with Crabapple to talk about the difference between words and images, making art in the world, and the power of cartoonists to disrupt fascism. You can read a transcript of this episode here. And check out the following links: Check out our...
S9 · E11 · 30 Sep 2025 · 20 min
Art Spiegelman on Resistance, Memory, and Speaking Up
Art Spiegelman is the Pulitzer Prize-winning author of the graphic novel Maus, the story of his parents’ experience during the Holocaust. We got to sit down with Spiegelman at Brooklyn Public Library’s recording studio earlier this month to talk about Maus almost forty years after it first came out, about censorship, about the war in Gaza, and about what it means to stand up for others. You can read a transcript of this episode on our website, and check out these further resources: Check out ...
S9 · E10 · 23 Sep 2025 · 26 min
Maus and the Power of Images
Art Spiegelman’s Maus almost single-handedly elevated comics from throw-away inserts in newspapers to a serious literary art worthy of winning the highest award in book publishing. But it’s not an accident that this book is coming back to us now. Maus was swept once again into the public eye three years ago, when the conservative movement to target marginalized stories took aim at the beloved graphic novel. In this episode, we examine how comic book censorship in the 1950s led to the creation...
S9 · E9 · 9 Sep 2025 · 20 min
Book Riot: The Untold Story of Black Librarians
This episode comes to us from our friends at Book Riot! In this segment, you'll hear Book Riot’s Erica Ezeifedi speak with Rodney Freeman, a librarian and producer of the forthcoming documentary, Are You a Librarian? The Untold Story of Black Librarians. This is part of their Reading and Resistance series, which looks at the relationship between reading and the pursuit of freedom in America. Subscribe to Book Riot: The Podcast wherever you listen!
S9 · E8 · 2 Sep 2025 · 19 min
Matt de la Peña on Small Stories and the Power of Perspective
Matt de la Peña is the Newbery Medal-winning author of seven Young Adult novels and five picture books. We talked with him about writing small stories and what it means to write a book that is, as he calls it, “Diversity 2.0.” You can read a transcript of this episode on our website. Check out our booklist with books by Matt de la Peña and more!Learn more about de la Peña on his website, and see more illustrations by Christian Robinson.Protect the freedom to read by getting involved with Book...
S9 · E7 · 26 Aug 2025 · 17 min
Meg Medina on Latine Stories and Reading as a Family
Meg Medina is an award-winning author of books for kids and young adults, and she was the 2023-2024 National Ambassador for Young People’s Literature. We talked to her about what it meant to be the first Latinx author in that role, about the need for more diverse kids books, and the importance of reading in families. You can read a transcript of this episode on our website. Check out our booklist with books by Meg Medina and more!Learn more about the We Need Diverse Books movement. Read ...
S9 · E6 · 19 Aug 2025 · 28 min
How The Snowy Day Changed Children’s Books
The Snowy Day wasn’t the first picture book to feature a Black child as its beloved protagonist, but it might be the most visible. When it came out in 1962, it challenged the publishing industry to champion books that depict kids of color. Today, we find ourselves in a moment not so different from the one Ezra Jack Keats was in when he sat down to create The Snowy Day. We are, once again, fighting for the right to let kids read the books they love, and we’re still reminding each other that th...
S9 · E5 · 4 Aug 2025 · 21 min
The Legacy of Howard Zinn's Radical History
When Howard Zinn’s A People’s History of the United States came out in 1980, it literally rocked the boat. Instead of starting where most histories of the Americas start — on the deck of Columbus’s ship as it approached land — Howard Zinn flipped the script, focusing instead on what the people standing on the shore would have seen. In this episode, we look at the ripple effects of Zinn’s radical take on history. You can read a transcript of this episode on our web page. Check out our bo...
S9 · E4 · 29 Jul 2025 · 21 min
Reginald Dwayne Betts on Freedom and Poetic Constraint
Reginald Dwayne Betts is a poet, a lawyer, and the founder and CEO of Freedom Reads, an organization with the goal of bringing a library to every cell block in America. We talked with him about what he read – and wrote – while he was incarcerated, and what it taught him about what it means to be free, to be loved, and to be part of a community. Read a transcript of this episode on our website, and find books by Betts in our library catalog.
S9 · E3 · 22 Jul 2025 · 26 min
On Reading The Autobiography of Malcolm X in Prison
There are so many reasons to read – and reread – The Autobiography of Malcolm X. But for this episode, we’re revisiting the book with the perspectives of readers who are, or were, incarcerated. Malcolm X’s story isn’t just radical for its narrative of change and self-improvement; it also encourages readers to think more critically about the prison system itself. You can read a transcript of this episode on our website. Check out our booklist with titles related to The Autobiography of M...
S9 · E2 · 15 Jul 2025 · 21 min
N.K. Jemisin on Truth, Education, and Speculation
N.K. Jemisin is a New York Times-bestselling science fiction and fantasy writer. She’s a Brooklynite, the recipient of a MacArthur “Genius” Fellowship, and the first author to win three Best Novel Hugos in a row. We talked to her about Octavia Butler’s influence on her writing, and how she processes the present moment in her own fiction. You can read a transcript of this episode on our website, and check out our booklist with titles from Octavia Butler, N.K. Jemisin, and more!
S9 · E1 · 8 Jul 2025 · 27 min
What Parable of the Sower Taught Us About the Future
In these unfathomable moments, when the world seems to be falling apart—we often turn to stories for guidance. For the folks in Southern California earlier this year, that story was Parable of the Sower. Readers are returning to the book today because it shows us how speculation – and Afrofuturism in particular – can help us move through the world with our eyes open. Read a transcript of this episode on our website. Check out our booklist with titles from Octavia Butler, N.K. Jemisin, a...
S9 · 24 Jun 2025 · 2 min
Introducing: Borrowed and Returned
Borrowed and Returned is a new podcast series that examines what our reading public borrowed in the past, and what we’re all reading now. In conversations with library workers, authors and readers across the country, we’ll return to the books that changed us, and changed America, too. First episode drops July 8, with new episodes coming out weekly. Spend your summer re-reading with us!
S8 · E14 · 18 Jun 2025 · 14 min
Tracing the Legacy of Slavery in Brooklyn
A new exhibit at BPL's Center for Brooklyn History explores the history and legacy of slavery here in Brooklyn. The team at CBH gathered documents and accounts from people who were touched by slavery in Brooklyn, and traced the descendants of both the enslaved and enslavers. "Trace/s" is up at the Center for Brooklyn History (128 Pierrepont Street) through August 30, 2025. This audio story is a companion to the exhibit, and it was produced by audio journalist and historian Ula Kulpa.&nb...
S8 · E13 · 30 Dec 2024 · 11 min
A New Year’s Plunge (Rebroadcast)
As 2024 comes to a close, we wanted to share with you an episode that we produced all the way back in 2020. That year, we went to Coney Island to record the Coney Island Polar Bear Club, the group of swimmers that congregate on Coney Island every Sunday in winter to swim in the frigid ocean as a way to renew themselves. It’s a fun one, and we hope you enjoy! Further resources: Look at historic photos of the Polar Bear Club and Coney Island.Take the plunge with the Polar Bear Club this New Ye...
S8 · E12 · 27 Nov 2024 · 18 min
Why We Still Read Together: The Joy of Book Clubs
Graphic novels, Haitian-American book bingo, and The Power Broker. These are just a few of the book clubs happening at Brooklyn Public Library! This episode, we take a tour around the borough to listen in on our patrons' reading habits and ask why we still read together. Read a transcript of this episode here. Further resources: Check out our book clubs happening across the borough!Want to read The Power Broker? You can join the club at Macon Library or follow along with the podcast 99% Inv...
S8 · E11 · 15 Oct 2024 · 15 min
Book Sanctuaries, Buttons and Bouncy Houses
We're pulling out all the stops for the first annual Freedom to Read Day of Action on Saturday, October 19th! Hear from libraries in Los Angeles, San Diego, Hoboken, NJ and Austin, TX about what they're doing to promote the freedom to read. And, if you're in Brooklyn, meet us on the steps of Central Library this Saturday for a book rally! You can read the transcript here. Further resources: Join Brooklyn Public Library on October 19th for our Freedom to Read Day of Action! Or check ou...
S8 · E10 · 23 Sep 2024 · 27 min
Banned Books Week: All for a Library Card
For Banned Books Week this year, we’re returning to our award-winning series, Borrowed and Banned. Because the fight isn’t over. In 2023, the American Library Association documented a 65% increase in the number of book titles challenged across the country. Listen to the first episode of the series about what happened in one Oklahoma town when their freedom to read was challenged. And how one teacher’s response caught the nation’s attention. Read the transcript here, and check out the follo...
S8 · E9 · 15 Aug 2024 · 25 min
Rebroadcast: Blocks and Brownstones
Bedford-Stuyvesant is perhaps one of Brooklyn’s most iconic neighborhoods. Its tree-lined streets and grand brownstones have been here for over 150 years. This episode, a re-broadcast from 2019, tells the story of Bed-Stuy through the lives of three women who set down roots here in different ways: activist Hattie Carthan, writer Paule Marshall, and novelist Naomi Jackson. Read a transcript of this episode here. Further resources: Check out our list of books curated for this episode.Lea...
S8 · E8 · 30 Jul 2024 · 29 min
Bed-Stuy Tea: An Interview with Cookbook Author Nicole A. Taylor
Splitting her time between Athens, Georgia and Bed-Stuy, Brooklyn, Nicole A. Taylor is a food writer and author of several cookbooks. She sat down with BPL’s Bed-Stuy Tea podcast to discuss finding and preserving her Southern voice, the pleasures of restaurant research, and her favorite local spots to eat and drink. Read a transcript of this episode here. Further resources: Listen to more episodes of Bed-Stuy Tea on our website, or subscribe to BKLYN Community Audio on Spotify or Apple Pod...
S8 · E7 · 26 Jun 2024 · 12 min
Explore Your City This Summer!
It's summer and school's out! No matter what age you are, you can spend your summer at the library with book lists and activities galore. We go over the facts and stats of BPL's popular Culture Pass program, which has helped thousands of New Yorkers visit museums and performance spaces in the city ... for free! Read a transcript of the episode here. More resources: Reserve free passes to museums and performance sites across NYC with Culture Pass (and your library card)!Is there a kid or tee...

About Borrowed & Returned

Borrowed & Returned is a English arts & books podcast from Brooklyn Public Library. Melo plays each episode straight from the publisher's own feed — no ads added, no account needed — and remembers where you stopped, in this browser only.

Publisher: Brooklyn Public Library
Language: English
Category: Arts & Books
New episodes: Weekly
Typical length: 23 min
Latest episode: 6 Aug 2026
Feed: RSS — paste into any podcast app
Apple Podcasts: podcasts.apple.com/podcast/id1453877748

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