Roth and Company

About Roth and Company

A podcast about the life and works of the great American novelist, Philip Roth. Hosted by Sam Graham-Felsen, historian of the Philip Roth Personal Library.

Publisher

Philip Roth Personal Library

Category

arts

Language

en

Explicit

No

First episode

9 Oct 2024

Latest episode

23 Nov 2025

Latest episodes

10 episodes in the feed.

1. 

   23 Nov 2025

   Episode 10: Portnoy's Complaint

   Naomi Fry and Matthew Schneier join host Sam Graham-Felsen to discuss Roth's most famous work, the groundbreaking comic rant, Portnoy's Complaint. Naomi Fry is a staff writer for The New Yorker and the host of the Critics at Large podcast (https://www.newyorker.com/podcast/critics-at-large). Matthew Schneier is the chief restaurant critic (https://nymag.com/author/matthew-schneier/)at New York Magazine.

2. 

   17 Jun 2025

   Episode 9: Patrimony

   Critics Wesley Morris and Sam Anderson explore Philip Roth's "Patrimony" with host Sam Graham-Felsen, examining themes of family, mortality, and legacy in this interview episode.

3. 

   10 Jun 2025

   Episode 8: Goodbye, Columbus

   Essayist Tom Beller analyzes Philip Roth's debut novel, Goodbye, Columbus, with host Sam Graham-Felsen, exploring themes and literary significance in this interview.

4. 

   5 Jun 2025

   Episode 7: Zuckerman Bound

   Writers Hannah Gold and Giles Harvey discuss Philip Roth's Zuckerman Bound saga with host Sam Graham-Felsen, focusing on autofiction and The Prague Orgy in this interview.

5. 

   1 May 2025

   Episode 6: I Married a Communist

   Rebecca Panovka, co-founder of The Drift, Rachel Poser, editor at the New York Times Magazine, and David S. Wallace, who has written for the New Yorker, the Paris Review, and elsewhere, join host Sam Graham-Felsen to discuss Philip Roth's I Married a Communist. To learn more about the Philip Roth Personal Library, visit prpl.npl.org.

6. 

   6 Mar 2025

   Episode 5: The Plot Against America

   Historian Corey Robin and The New Yorker's Andrew Marantz join host Sam Graham-Felsen to discuss The Plot Against America, Philip Roth's counter-historical novel, in which fascist-sympathizer Charles A. Lindbergh becomes President of the United States. Corey Robin is Distinguished Professor of Political Science at Brooklyn College and the CUNY Graduate Center. A frequent contributor to The New Yorker, The New York Review of Books, and other publications, Robin is the recipient of awards and fellowships from the Cullman Center of the New York Public Library, the American Council of Learned Societies, the Russell Sage Foundation, and the American Political Science Association. He is the author of The Enigma of Clarence Thomas (https://www.amazon.com/Enigma-Clarence-Thomas-Corey-Robin/dp/1627793836/ref=tmm_hrd_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=1555294239&sr=1-1-fkmrnull), The Reactionary Mind (https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0190692006/ref=s9u_simh_gw_i1?ie=UTF8&fpl=fresh&pd_rd_i=0190692006&pd_rd_r=fe25c1fb-bf47-11e7-93b1-594cd1c55104&pd_rd_w=mprSI&pd_rd_wg=shUHz&pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_s=&pf_rd_r=JK64CD3GBB3HFQMJ1R89&pf_rd_t=36701&pf_rd_p=1cf9d009-399c-49e1-901a-7b8786e59436&pf_rd_i=desktop), and Fear (https://www.amazon.com/Fear-History-Political-Corey-Robin/dp/0195189124). Andrew Marantz, a staff writer for The New Yorker, has contributed to the magazine since 2011, writing extensively about technology, social media, politics, and the press, and also about comedy and pop culture. He has written about virtual-reality narratives (https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2016/04/25/making-movies-with-virtual-reality), hip-hop purism (https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2014/04/07/old-school-2), and the “Truman Show” delusion (https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2013/09/16/unreality-star), plus dozens of Talk of the Town pieces. He is the author of Antisocial: Online Extremists, Techno-Utopians, and the Hijacking of the American Conversation (https://www.amazon.com/dp/0525522263/?ots=1&tag=thneyo0f-20).To learn more about the Philip Roth Personal Library, visit prpl.npl.org.

7. 

   1 Mar 2025

   Episode 4: Operation Shylock

   New York Times reporters Emma Goldberg and Marc Tracy join host Sam Graham-Felsen to discuss Operation Shylock, Philip Roth's manic "confession" about Israel, doubles and Diasporism. Emma Goldberg is a reporter for the New York Times who covers business, economic shifts, and the culture of work. She profiled the Israeli peace activist, Vivian Silver, who was killed in the October 7th attacks, for the Times Magazine, and is the author of Life on the Line: Young Doctors Come of Age in a Pandemic. Marc Tracy is a reporter for the New York Times who covers how art and culture intersect with politics in America. He wrote about the phenomenon of modern-day "diasporism" in the Times, and he is the co-editor of Jewish Jocks: An Unorthodox Hall of Fame.Marc and Emma have co-authored several articles about debates within the Jewish community (https://www.nytimes.com/2023/12/05/us/jewish-american-israel-gaza-generation-gap.html) -- and Jewish families -- in the wake of October 7th.

8. 

   11 Feb 2025

   Episode 3: American Pastoral

   Taffy Brodesser-Akner joins host Sam Graham-Felsen to discuss Philip Roth's Pulitzer Prize-winning novel, American Pastoral. Brodesser-Akner is a staff writer for The New York Times Magazine and the New York Times bestselling author of Fleishman Is in Trouble, which has been translated into more than a dozen languages. She is also the creator and executive producer of its Emmy-nominated limited series adaptation for FX. Long Island Compromise is her second novel.

9. 

   2 Nov 2024

   Episode 2: Sabbath's Theater

   Ariel Levy and Garth Greenwell join host Sam Graham-Felsen to discuss Philip Roth's filthy masterpiece, Sabbath's Theater. Ariel Levy is a staff writer for the New Yorker and the author of the bestselling memoir, The Rules Do Not Apply. She is the co-writer, with John Turturro, of the stage adaptation of Sabbath's Theater, which made its off-Broadway debut in 2023. Garth Greenwell is the author of the acclaimed debut novel, What Belongs to You, and most recently, Small Rain. He wrote the essay "A Moral Education" for the Yale Review, a close reading of Sabbath's Theater. To learn more about the Philip Roth Personal Library, visit prpl.npl.org.

10. 

    9 Oct 2024

    Episode 1: The Ghost Writer

    Novelists Adelle Waldman and Andrew Martin join host Sam Graham-Felsen to discuss Philip Roth's The Ghost Writer.

Who has been a guest on Roth and Company

Names identified in recent episode analyses. Showing up to five guests.

• Wesley Morris
• Sam Anderson
• Tom Beller
• Hannah Gold
• Giles Harvey

Reach and audience

Public platform figures. Ratings count people who left a rating, not total listeners.

YouTube views

2,745

Score snapshot 15 Sept 2025

Apple Podcasts (US)

4.6 / 5

19 ratings

Podcast Authority Score: 27 / 100

A composite of feed quality, social presence, YouTube performance and engagement. Read the methodology.

Quality

7

Social presence

0

YouTube

68

Engagement

51

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