The Currently Reading Podcast: Helping You Choose Your Next Read
ALSO...Mercury Adds Another Indie podcast To Its Roster!
TV dedicates precious few minutes to any review of books in its news or magazine-style shows. Other than NPR, radio basically ignores that people read, and streaming services like Netflix and Hulu believe every person in the world can’t wait to listen to a sports podcast. Last fall, the National Endowment for the Arts reported that, according to its 2022 Survey of Public Participation in the Arts (SPPA), conducted by the U.S. Census Bureau, 48.5 percent of adults reported having read at least one book in the past year. That number is regrettably in a downward spiral, but still, that’s a lot of people reading books regularly.
As per its unique talent, podcasting offers readers an abundance of choices. One of the best options is The Currently Reading Podcast, which is a weekly book recommendation show hosted by two friends, Meredith Monday Schwartz and Kaytee Cobb (often joined by guest co-hosts), dedicated to helping the audience choose their next read and improve their reading life. It is celebrated as one of the best book podcasts for readers.
The hosts provide spoiler-free reviews across all genres and are known for sharing genuine, sometimes strong opinions about what they’ve read. Each weekly episode is light on fluff and heavy on book talk. Segments typically include a “Bookish Moment of the Week” (events or occurrences in the hosts’ reading lives), “Current Reads,” a “Deep Dive” (a thematic discussion on a reading topic), and a recommendation for a book the hosts want to put into every reader’s hands. The hosts utilize a Reader Know Thyself approach, which encourages listeners to understand their own reading tastes and habits rather than trying to fit an idealized reading style.
Let’s meet the co-hosts of this brilliant podcast.
I’m Meredith Monday Schwartz. I’m a married mom of four and full-time CEO of a large wedding website. I live in Austin, TX, and love the amazing bookstores and diverse community that make up this gorgeous place I call home. I’ve been an avid reader since I was 4. I’m a very introverted person, so I read to recharge. My very favorite thing to do if I’m not reading is… wait for it… to talk about books! I’m so grateful that, in Kaytee, I’ve found the perfect partner.”
“I’m Kaytee Cobb. I’m a single mom of four kids and their homeschool teacher. I try not to lose my mind in the Arizona heat by reading books. I’ve hit a ‘professional’ reading level by regularly devouring more than 200 books in a calendar year. I’m an ESTJ, Enneagram 8w9, Obliger, and Ravenclaw who obviously loves personality tests. I enjoy being around people, but my favorite thing to talk to those people about is… books, especially Meredith, my ride or die.”
There’s so much to like about this book podcast. First, the intro music is this light, jazzy tune with an infectious piano that plays under the co-hosts as they introduce each episode. As we always recommend, the co-hosts tell listeners who they are and what the show is about. I admire the comment, “Light on chit-chat and heavy on the book talk.”
Each episode, which runs for about an hour, has four sections — Bookish Moments, Current Reads, Deep Dive, and Before We Go. The show notes and timestamps for this show are exceptional, and their website design, navigational scheme, and overall schema are far above the average podcast website.
Here’s a typical show — Season 8, Episode 41: Book Hangovers + Mid Year Reading Check-In, May 8, 2026 — as hosts Kaytee and Meredith are discussing Bookish Moments: even more adaptations and reading hangovers Current Reads: all the great, interesting, and/or terrible stuff we’ve been reading lately Deep Dive: Kaytee and Meredith do a mid-year reading check-in and discuss The Time Traveler’s Wife by Audrey Niffenegger, which happens to be one of my favorite books.
The Currently Reading Podcast is adept at building a value-added Patreon group, and it sells coffee mugs with adorable book sayings on them. The show is in its eighth season, which isn’t surprising given its ability to summarize book plots and offer opinions on books. Doing a book review podcast can be difficult. When setting up the podcast format, do the host(s) review just one book in depth each episode, hoping that their audience will be interested in that book? Or do a compendium of books and a variety of segments. Personally, I enjoy the format of The Currently Reading Podcast.
To me, this is one of the best review podcasts out there. Instead of yet another Bill Simmons sports podcast, The Currently Reading Podcast should be on Netflix, Hulu, or Tubi.
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Iconic Lifestyle Show The Modern Mann joins Mercury
Mercury is at it again, bringing high-quality indie podcasts into its protective fold. Here’s the latest…
A former drug dealer. A wrongfully convicted postmaster. Britain’s most prolific private sperm donor… these are just some of the amazing true stories The Modern Mann has brought audiences since its inception in 2015.
Hosted by Olly Mann with Alix Fox and Ollie Peart, the magazine show for your ears brings you extraordinary people each month who share fascinating experiences that shed light on the modern world. With over two million downloads and a stacked trophy cabinet, The Modern Mann is a certified icon of the podcast world and proudly independent.
Today, The Modern Mann officially joins Mercury, the most exciting new podcast network in the world. They are the first of several exciting new additions to be announced this month, as the network builds a best-in-class slate of lifestyle shows.
“The Modern Mann is a flagship addition to our roster,” says Mercury’s founder and CEO Liam Heffernan. “Not only is it a legendary show and a standard-bearer for our industry, but the whole team is just a super bunch of people who care deeply about what they do. I’m thrilled to play a part in their continued success.”
The Modern Mann was recently announced on the longlist for Best Interview at the 2026 British Podcast Awards. It won the same prize in 2022.
Mercury is an independent podcast network, launched in 2025 to support the best indie creators in the world. It has represented 6.5 million downloads to date, with plans to scale rapidly over the next 12 months.
The Modern Mann is the first of three new lifestyle shows to be unveiled on the roster in July, as the network continues to build on its reputation as a champion of the best established and upcoming independent shows.
Each edition of The Modern Mann kicks off with The Zeitgeist, in which listeners challenge Ollie Peart to experience the trends of the day - whether that’s ‘neuro-priming’, matched betting, or trying his hand at an open mic night.
Next comes an unpredictable, inspiring middle feature in which host Olly Mann hits the road to meet unusual characters who provoke or confuse: an OnlyFans performer, a Strangeways prison officer, a private prosecutor… Through their stories (typically recorded face-to-face), the audience gains insight into a hidden world and often learns something we never knew we needed to know: how to make the perfect cup of coffee, how to get selected for a TV game show, or how to spot signs of undiagnosed autism.
Then, at the back, the sex bit: The Foxhole with Alix Fox - the softly-spoken, foul-mouthed love expert who warmly tackles listener questions about the messy brilliance of sex and the difficult, darker side of it too. What’s the best way to get off in a tent? How do I clean my vibrator? How do I ween myself off an addiction to A.I. girlfriends? Alix has a frank, funny, nonjudgmental take on it all.
Each episode also brings you a record of the month. Over the years, the show has championed great recording artists like British Sea Power, Glass Animals, Mystery Jets, and Los Campesinos.
The Modern Mann is independent and proud, supported by a legion of ‘Mannbassadors’, who regularly donate beer money to the cause.
Mercury is also on the hunt for another show after announcing an exclusive new Creator Residency with The Studio at Baha Mar. Established creators with existing or new podcasts are encouraged to apply, with the winner, and Mercury’s newest addition, also earning three nights at the luxury Nassau resort to record in their state-of-the-art studio. To find out more and apply, visit the competition page here.