Join us this spring for Season 6 of Check This Out and more in-depth conversations with emerging authors.

Host Rachel Barenbaum and her guests delve deep into the characters and themes as well as the writing process itself.

Rachel has an uncanny knack for spotting future superstars long before they hit the bestseller lists.

Check This Out has featured over 20 authors over the last year and more than half of them are now up for major literary awards. Of the remaining authors, three became major bestsellers and two were chosen for national book clubs.

Here's some of what you have to look forward to this season:

Karan Mahajan — The Complex - April 11 

“The Complex,” moves between the U.S. and modern India to follow the illicit liaisons, real estate dramas, political ambitions and betrayals of a prominent Delhi family, unraveling in the shadow of a nation's transformation.

Claire Oshetsky – Evil Genius - April 18 

A darkly comedic, surreal noir novel set in 1974 San Francisco, following 19-year-old Celia Dent as she becomes obsessed with murder and desire after a co-worker's death, leading her to challenge her controlling husband and her mundane life.

Rebecca Lehman — The Beheading Game - April 25 

We all know what happened to Henry VIII’s second wife, Anne Boleyn. But what if she woke up the day after her execution and took it upon herself to seek justice? A fantastical journey through the wilds of England and Tudor history, filled with danger and magic and steeped in Arthurian legend.

Judy Batalion — The Last Woman of Warsaw - May 2 

In 1938, Fanny Zelshinsky, an artist from an elite Jewish family is deciding whether or not to go through with her upcoming wedding. Meanwhile, Zosia Dror has fled her religious family to advocate for social equality as part of a new youth movement. But when famous artist Wanda Petrovsky goes missing, this unlikely duo works together to find Wanda before it’s too late.

Daniyal Mueenuddin — This Is Where the Serpent Lives - May 9 

“This is Where the Serpent Lives” follows the unraveling marriage of a privileged American poet and her Pakistani husband as cultural divides, secrets, and betrayals slowly erode their relationship. Through intertwining narratives set in both the U.S. and Pakistan, the novel reveals how class, power, and desire trap its characters in cycles of deception and emotional isolation.

Stacia Stark — We Who Will Die - May 16 

A young woman faces a deadly competition where survival depends on mastering forbidden powers she barely understands. As secrets about her past and the ruling powers emerge, Aria must decide whom to trust before the trials—and her enemies—claim her life.

Susan Bernhard — Westerly - June 6 

In a saga of survival and the secrets that haunt us, one desperate decision creates a fault line that spans decades and threatens to break a family wide open.

Yu-Mei Balasingamchow – Names Have Been Changed - June 27 

A debut novel about Ophir—not her real name—who starts a confessional podcast about her years on the run around the globe. Filled with danger and twists, it’s ultimately a story about immigration and belonging—one unlike any you’ve seen before.

Check This Out airs Saturdays at 3 p.m. beginning April 11, 2026 and runs through June 23, 2026, on NHPR and NHPR.org.

Check This Out is proud to partner with The PEN/Faulkner Foundation to champion new voices in literature.

Listen to all the back episodes on NHPR.org or download the show as a podcast!

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