Bookends with Mattea Roach

4.6 (779)
BOOKS
UPDATED WEEKLY

When the book ends, the conversation begins. Mattea Roach speaks with writers who have something to say about their work, the world and our place in it. You’ll always walk away with big questions to ponder and new books to read.

21 HRS AGO

Yes, tuberculosis is still a thing — John Green tells us why

You might know John Green as the author of bestsellers such as The Fault in Our Stars and Looking for Alaska, or from the hugely popular Crash Course and Vlogbrothers Youtube channels. John’s latest obsession is tuberculosis, the deadliest disease in the world — and he writes all about it in his book, Everything is Tuberculosis. John and Mattea Roach dive into the wild history of the disease, why it persists today and John’s personal relationship with a young tuberculosis patient from Sierra Leone. If you enjoyed this conversation, check out these episodes: Bryan Lee O’Malley: 20 years of Scott Pilgrim Judith Butler: Breaking down why people fear gender

29 min
4D AGO

Mapping the stories of Uganda’s abducted children

The poet and author Otoniya J. Okot Bitek’s debut novel, We The Kindling, weaves together stories of women who were abducted as children by a rebel militia in northern Uganda. The novel doesn’t have just one protagonist — each powerful voice adds to a chorus that tells a haunting story of loss, survival and what it means to hold on to hope, no matter how small. Otoniya joins Mattea to talk about her own writing journey, the complex history behind the novel and what she means by the “cartography” of stories. If you enjoyed this conversation, check out these episodes: V.V. Ganeshananthan: Exploring the complexity of Sri Lanka's civil war in her prize-winning novel, Brotherless NightIn the Caribbean, secret lives come at a cost

31 min
MAR 30

Kate Bush spins a magical story on her album Hounds of Love

In 2022, Kate Bush’s song Running Up That Hill topped charts around the world … nearly 40 years after its initial release. The resurgence came after the song was featured on the Netflix series Stranger Things — but according to the musician and writer Leah Kardos, the entire album is a masterpiece. Leah’s new book, Hounds of Love, is a deep dive into Kate’s 1985 album of the same name. It tells the remarkable story of how the album came to be, explores Kate’s enduring appeal and paints a portrait of Kate as a visionary musician and storyteller. If you enjoyed this conversation, check out these episodes: Why Heather O’Neill believes in magic Leslie Jamison: Capturing Peggy Guggenheim in fiction and honouring a friend's dream

47 min
MAR 26

Curtis Sittenfeld is fascinated by fame

Curtis Sittenfeld is a master at crafting characters that feel like real people, in all their messy, complicated glory. These characters are front-and-centre in her new short story collection, Show Don’t Tell. The book features stories about women, mostly in middle age, as they face life’s absurdities, joys and disappointments. Curtis and Mattea talk about the tricky boundaries of celebrity, the label of “women’s fiction” and how her characters are inspired by famous people. If you enjoyed this conversation, check out these episodes: Casey McQuiston: Celebrating queer love and joy and navigating the future of romance Daniel Aleman: Loneliness inspired a novel about a Grindr date gone fatally wrong

32 min
MAR 23

Emma Donoghue boards a train destined for disaster

There’s a famous black-and-white photograph of a train bursting through the side of a building and falling onto the pavement below. It was taken in 1895 — and Emma Donoghue’s latest novel, The Paris Express, reimagines the story behind that moment. In her retelling, the Irish Canadian writer fills the train with her own vibrant characters. From wealthy politicians to young anarchists, she dives into the complexities of the time as the train races toward its demise. If you enjoyed this conversation, check out these episodes: Jack Wang: Reimagining the lost stories of Chinese Canadians during WWII Paula Hawkins: Exploring the dark side of the art world in new thriller The Blue Hour

34 min
MAR 19

Why Heather O’Neill believes in magic

The great Canadian book debate is underway, so we're revisiting our 2024 conversation with Canadian writer and former Canada Reads winner, Heather O'Neill. Heather’s latest novel, The Capital of Dreams, follows a young girl hunting for her mother’s lost manuscript during a war. She spoke with Mattea Roach about taking inspiration from her own daughter, her love of imperfect art and how famous philosophers inspired a talking goose. Find everything you need to know about Canada Reads at cbcbooks.ca.

24 min
MAR 16

Getting to know Canada’s king of suspense

Linwood Barclay’s literary journey started with writing fanfiction on a typewriter. Over 20 books and millions of copies later, he’s one of Canada’s most successful living writers. His intricate thrillers have captivated audiences around the world — and his newest book, Whistle, comes out in May. Linwood joins Mattea Roach to talk about how he dreams up big thrillers, being mentored by the greats and why he loves model trains. You can also catch Linwood this week as a panellist on Canada Reads 2025. He’s championing the book Jennie’s Boy by Wayne Johnston. Canada Reads airs from March 17th to 20th. Find out more at cbcbooks.ca.

38 min
MAR 12

How Frida Kahlo and Sylvia Plath inspired a novel about chronic pain

Have you ever met someone who felt like a mirror of you? In Katherine Brabon’s new novel, Body Friend, the protagonist meets two women named Frida and Sylvia. All three are living with chronic illness and they’re in profound pain. But when it comes to dealing with that pain, Frida and Sylvia are polar opposites — and our protagonist is caught in the middle. Katherine knows these difficulties firsthand. She joins Mattea Roach to talk about living with and writing about chronic pain. If you enjoyed this conversation, check out these episodes: Kate Gies: Reclaiming her body after years of medical traumaSarah Leavitt: Illustrating grief too wide for words

35 min

See All (60)

TRAILER

Introducing Bookends with Mattea Roach

When the book ends, the conversation begins. Mattea Roach speaks with writers who have something to say about their work, the world and our place in it. You'll always walk away with big questions to ponder and new books to read. Beginning Sept. 8 on CBC.

2024-09-06

•

2 min

Mattea Roach

Host

4.6

out of 5

779 Ratings

💖

Mar 24

2tracks

I love this program, and Mattea, and Writers& company, and Elenor …long live the CBC
Mattea is not Eleanor, and that’s ok

Mar 9

Tony B Humble

I truly loved Writers and Company. That show by itself made the CBC worth while. And it can never be replaced. I understand people feeling that the change is jarring. Perhaps it could have been handled differently. But change is inevitable. And comparing Mattea to Eleanor is unfair and not useful. Bookends is a new show and Matttea is just getting started. If she is still doing it in 30 years it will be different than it is now. Right now I don’t always have an interest in the people they choose to interview. But maybe that’s just because I’m more in Eleanor’s generation than in Mattea’s. Or maybe I am less forgiving of someone who I perceive to be “the other”. Old thought patterns die hard. I need to hear from people who are not like me. And so do you. Consider that before you judge harshly.
The best

2024-10-14

Lime.leaf

When Eleanor retired, I was so happy that they played From the Archives for over a year. She is my favourite host ever on cbc, no one else compares. Now, the time slot is being filled by one of their worst programs that I shall not mention. Why CBC, couldn’t we hear the archived interviews for ever? There are 33 years of them! Happy for her to move on to other things, sad for us who rely on her company while battling traffic. Please make Eleanor’s work available as a separate podcast. We need her.
Bookends

2024-11-04

B C Daisy

I love Mattea and am so proud of her accomplishments. But, unfortunately I cannot listen to her podcasts. I feel that she is so focussed on what she is going to next ask her guest that she doesn’t actually listen to the guest’s response. She is young and may, in time, learn to take the time to actually listen and respond to the guest’s response. I have high hopes and will try to listen again in the future.