About this episode

Rachel Khong discusses her journey from Lucky Peach to becoming a bestselling author, exploring themes of identity and the unique power of short stories.

Rachel Khong is the former executive editor of Lucky Peach and the author of Goodbye, Vitamin and the New York Times Best Seller Real Americans. Her new short story collection, My Dear You, is her strangest and most daring work yet: ten surreal, funny, and deeply felt stories about identity, love, memory, and what happens after you die. In this episode, we talk about the legacy of Lucky Peach, Rachel’s research process for writing fiction, and why the short story can hold what the novel can’t. Subscribe to This Is TASTE: ⁠⁠Apple Podcasts⁠⁠, ⁠⁠Spotify⁠⁠, ⁠⁠YouTube⁠⁠ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

People in this episode

Hosts: Aliza Abarbanel, Matt Rodbard

Guest: Rachel Khong

Topics covered

• writing process
• short stories
• identity
• memory
• love
• death

Keywords

• Rachel Khong
• Lucky Peach
• short stories
• Goodbye, Vitamin
• Real Americans
• My Dear You
• writing
• identity
• memory

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Lucky Peach, New York Times

Books & works: Goodbye, Vitamin, Real Americans, My Dear You

More episodes of This Is TASTE

• 768: Alicia Kennedy on the Power of Memoir and Martinis · May 1, 2026 · 1h 17m

Explore listener stats, chart rankings, contacts and more on the This Is TASTE podcast page.