About this episode

The episode features an analysis of the novel 'Atmosphere' by Taylor Jenkins Reid, focusing on themes of ambition and space exploration.

Whitney, Chelsea, and Gary analyze another recently-published novel on the next episode of Writers Who Read . Next up: Atmosphere by Taylor Jenkins Reid. Reid writes novels about the “type of woman who I want to talk about, a woman who has naked ambition.” Atmosphere features Joan, an aspiring astronaut in the early 1980s, desperate to get into space, desperate to be one of the guys, who hides a secret she knows will get her kicked out of NASA's budding space shuttle program. We first meet Joan in her career as the steadying voice at mission control, attempting to guide the surviving crew of a harrowing spaceflight safely home. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

People in this episode

Host: Gary Alan McBride

Guests: Whitney, Chelsea

Topics covered

• book analysis
• female ambition
• space exploration
• 1980s literature
• novel discussion

Keywords

• Atmosphere
• Taylor Jenkins Reid
• female ambition
• NASA
• 1980s
• novel analysis
• spaceflight

Mentioned in this episode

Books & works: Atmosphere

More episodes of Writers Who Read

• 79: The Director - Daniel Kehlmann · June 28, 2026 · 44 min
• Up Next: The Director - Daniel Kehlmann · June 14, 2026 · 3 min

Explore listener stats, chart rankings, contacts and more on the Writers Who Read podcast page.