The Three Percent Podcast is a weekly(ish) conversation about new books, the publishing scene, international literature in translation, and many other random rants and raves. Chad W. Post of Open Letter Books and Tom Roberge of New Directions and Albertine Bookstore keep things irreverent, informed, and funny in a podcast that'll keep you up to date on the international literary and publishing worlds. Maybe. (Presented by Three Percent @ the University of Rochester.)
threepercentproblem.substack.com (https://threepercentproblem.substack.com/s/three-percent-podcast?utm_medium=podcast)
On this episode, Vince Francone (A Book No One Wants (https://www.vincentfrancone.com/store/a-book-no-one-wants-2), Jabber (https://jabberliterary.substack.com/)) and Chad W. Post discuss Brian Dillon’s forthcoming book, Ambivalence: An Education (NYRB (https://bookshop.org/a/164/9798896231103)/Fitzcarraldo (https://uk.bookshop.org/p/books/ambivalence-brian-dillon/c0d0435ba6906781)) as part of their ongoing series of podcasts on Irish literature. (You can find earlier episodes in this series here (https://dalkeyarchive.substack.com/podcast).) They discuss how Dillon’s book hovers between memoir and criticism, and how that passion for literature was fostered within academia, then turn to the realities of 2026 and a few pieces by The Atlantic writer Rose Horowitch, especially “The End of Reading Is Here (https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/2026/08/reading-crisis-postliterate-age/687618/).”
Also mentioned in this podcast: Chad’s piece (https://www.rochester.edu/College/translation/threepercent/2024/10/07/rose-horowitch-and-the-obsession-with-belief-over-empiricism/) on an earlier article of Horowitch’s, “The Elite College Students Who Can’t Read Books (https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2024/11/the-elite-college-students-who-cant-read-books/679945/),” and the start of Vince’s serialized book, Compendium of Eccentrics (https://jabberliterary.substack.com/p/compendium-of-eccentrics).
This episode’s music is “Libraries” by Yellow Ostrich.
You can subscribe to the Three Percent Podcast at Apple (https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/three-percent-podcast/id1796874029), Spotify (https://open.spotify.com/show/36YkgVsBffAq56Wz1td0vd?si=82f1f6fa8bca40e8), or wherever you get your podcasts.
And be sure to follow our sister podcast, the Two Month Review (Apple (https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/two-month-review/id1778714238), Spotify (https://open.spotify.com/show/2TYhaWf5VI6OdNOECTYvoK?si=681ae7d075d0448d)) for sustained, multi-week discussions centered around complicated, long books.
This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit threepercentproblem.substack.com (https://threepercentproblem.substack.com?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_1)
18 Jun 2026
Daniel Hahn on "If This Be Magic"
On this episode, Daniel Hahn OBE joins Chad to talk about his new book, If This Be Magic: The Unlikely Art of Shakespeare in Translation (https://bookshop.org/a/164/9780593801666). They discuss how the book foregrounds the roles creativity and interpretation play in translation, what a good companion piece it is to Hahn’s Catching Fire: A Translator’s Diary (https://bookshop.org/a/164/9781913867256), the ways this book may bring people to both translation and Shakespeare, and the state of the field as a whole.
This episode’s music is “Kate’s Theme” by Kloyd.
You can subscribe to the Three Percent Podcast at Apple (https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/three-percent-podcast/id1796874029), Spotify (https://open.spotify.com/show/36YkgVsBffAq56Wz1td0vd?si=82f1f6fa8bca40e8), or wherever you get your podcasts.
And be sure to follow our sister podcasts: Two Month Review (Apple (https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/two-month-review/id1778714238), Spotify (https://open.spotify.com/show/2TYhaWf5VI6OdNOECTYvoK?si=681ae7d075d0448d)) and Mining the Dalkey Archive (Apple (https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/mining-the-dalkey-archive-podcast/id1775814979), Spotify (https://open.spotify.com/show/273wx9fw2NSq2ouu7pq4xe?si=5adcadd92a9245ed)) for more book and industry talk!
This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit threepercentproblem.substack.com (https://threepercentproblem.substack.com?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_1)
28 Apr 2026
Kurdish Literature and Henar Press
On this episode, special guest Aryan Omar Hassan talks about Henar Press (https://henarpress.org/) and their first publications: Gābor (https://asterismbooks.com/product/gabor) by Seyed Qader Hedayati, translated from the Kurdish by Chiya Parvizpur & Hourieh Maleki Qouzloo; I Am Going to Kill Somebody (https://asterismbooks.com/product/i-am-going-to-kill-somebody) by Firat Ceweri, translated from the Kurdish by Jeannette Okur; and Who’s Afraid of Kurdistan?: An Anthology of Contemporary Plays (https://henarpress.org/), edited by Aryan himself. He also discusses the Kurdish Literary Database (https://henarpress.org/database) he built and maintains, along with discussing the element of suppression (of language, of the people) in Kurdish literature and some other common tropes, and makes a number of recommendations.
This episode’s music is “Damascus” by Gorillaz.
You can subscribe to the Three Percent Podcast at Apple (https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/three-percent-podcast/id1796874029), Spotify (https://open.spotify.com/show/36YkgVsBffAq56Wz1td0vd?si=82f1f6fa8bca40e8), or wherever you get your podcasts.
And be sure to follow our sister podcasts: Two Month Review (Apple (https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/two-month-review/id1778714238), Spotify (https://open.spotify.com/show/2TYhaWf5VI6OdNOECTYvoK?si=681ae7d075d0448d)) and Mining the Dalkey Archive (Apple (https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/mining-the-dalkey-archive-podcast/id1775814979), Spotify (https://open.spotify.com/show/273wx9fw2NSq2ouu7pq4xe?si=5adcadd92a9245ed)) for more book and industry talk!
This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit threepercentproblem.substack.com (https://threepercentproblem.substack.com?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_1)
Who has been a guest on Three Percent Podcast
Names identified in recent episode analyses. Showing up to five guests.
Leif Høghaug
David M Smith
George Henson
Mark Haber
Julia Ringo
Reach and audience
Public platform figures. Ratings count people who left a rating, not total listeners.
YouTube views
598
Score snapshot 15 Sept 2025
Apple Podcasts (US)
5.0 / 5
2 ratings
Podcast Authority Score: 29 / 100
A composite of feed quality, social presence, YouTube performance and engagement. Read the methodology.
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