Megha Majumdar: "A Guardian and a Thief" | Oprah's Book Club
In this episode of Oprah’s Book Club: Presented by Starbucks, Oprah and Megha Majumdar discuss her magnificent new book, A Guardian and a Thief, a 2025 National Book Awards finalist and Oprah’s 119th Book Club selection. This exquisitely written novel packs an epic story into just 224 pages. From page one to the jaw-dropping conclusion, readers are immersed in a harrowing journey as two families, on a collision course in Kolkata, India, face the consequences and moral implications of their life-and-death choices. Megha’s evocative, beautifully crafted exploration of our changing world sparked a lively and thoughtful conversation among readers at a Starbucks coffeehouse in New York City. Starbucks' delectable drink pairing for this book is an Iced Banana Cream Protein Matcha.
BUY THE BOOK!
A Guardian and a Thief, published by Penguin Random House and written by Megha Majumdar, is available wherever books are sold.
https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/798984/a-guardian-and-a-thief-by-megha-majumdar/
00:00:00 - Welcome Megha Majumdar, author of “A Guardian and a Thief”
00:01:56 - Oprah describes “A Guardian and a Thief”
00:03:28 - Oprah’s daughter-girl Thando shares her take
00:05:15 - The plot
00:09:08 - Writing about famine
00:13:20 - A writer’s relationship to failing
00:16:20 - Each character sees America differently
00:22:30 - Is everyone both a guardian and a thief?
00:25:50 - How would you act under great pressure?
00:32:00 - What motivates us to do the right thing
00:39:30 - Confronting contradictions in her book
00:40:45 - Megha’s story of America
00:42:23 - Did Megha always know the ending?
00:47:28 - When writing became her career
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54:23
How to Let Go after Being Let Go with Oprah and authors Laura Brown & Kristina O’Neill
In this episode of The Oprah Podcast former In Style Editor-in-Chief Laura Brown and former Wall Street Journal Magazine Editor-in-Chief Kristina O’Neill talk about the many challenges—and opportunities—that come with losing a job, no matter where you are in your career. They discuss their new book All the Cool Girls Get Fired which dives into everything you need to know if you’ve recently lost your job including how to figure out who you are without your job title. Oprah shares her own story of being fired when she was let go from being the co-anchor of the Baltimore evening news at age 22 and former CNN news anchor Brooke Baldwin talks about how she dealt with losing her high-profile job. We also hear from another woman who says she learned to bounce back better after losing her corporate role of 34 years.
BUY THE BOOK!
https://www.simonandschuster.com/books/All-the-Cool-Girls-Get-Fired/Laura-Brown/9781668067451
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https://open.spotify.com/show/0tEVrfNp92a7lbjDe6GMLI
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40:43
How to Let Go after Being Let Go with Oprah and authors Laura Brown & Kristina O’Neill
In this episode of The Oprah Podcast former In Style Editor-in-Chief Laura Brown and former Wall Street Journal Magazine Editor-in-Chief Kristina O’Neill talk about the many challenges—and opportunities—that come with losing a job, no matter where you are in your career. They discuss their new book All the Cool Girls Get Fired which dives into everything you need to know if you’ve recently lost your job including how to figure out who you are without your job title. Oprah shares her own story of being fired when she was let go from being the co-anchor of the Baltimore evening news at age 22 and former CNN news anchor Brooke Baldwin talks about how she dealt with losing her high-profile job. We also hear from another woman who says she learned to bounce back better after losing her corporate role of 34 years.
BUY THE BOOK!
https://www.simonandschuster.com/books/All-the-Cool-Girls-Get-Fired/Laura-Brown/9781668067451
Subscribe: https://www.youtube.com/@Oprah?sub_confirmation=1
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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Gen Z Tech Addiction Crisis with Oprah and Adam Alter
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Oprah is joined by a live audience in New York City for an in-depth look at the crisis of tech addiction among Gen Z. Millions of young people ages 13 to 28 struggle to separate themselves from the many addictive digital experiences from social media, video games to adult content. Oprah is joined by Adam Alter, a professor of marketing at New York University's Stern School of Business and author of Irresistible The Rise of Addictive Technology and the Business of Keeping Us Hooked. Also joining this important conversation are Dr. Kaitlyn Regehr, author of Smartphone Nation: Building Digital Boundaries When Offline Isn't an Option and Dr. Christina Brezing, Assistant Professor of Psychiatry at Columbia University. Additional guests include Conor McLaren and Alex Slater, co-founders of “Quittr” - an app designed to help people struggling with an addiction to online adult content. We also hear from several young guests who are struggling with addictions to video games and adult content.
BUY THE BOOKS!
Irresistible: The Rise of Addictive Technology and the Business of Keeping Us Hooked
https://adamalterauthor.com/irresistible
Smartphone Nation: Building Digital Boundaries When Offline Isn't an Option
https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/804258/smartphone-nation-by-kaitlyn-regehr-phd/
00:00:00 - Tech addiction is a crisis
00:01:33 - Adam Alter, author of Irresistible
00:03:06 - Kaitlyn Regehr, author of Smartphone Nation
00:04:00 - Hate, Harm & Disinformation Is Algorithmically Prioritized
00:06:28 - Christina Brezing on Tech Addiction
00:08:54 - Nisha’s Son & Video Game Addiction
00:13:12 - What Can Parents Do?
00:17:18 - Maddie & Kyle – Adult Content Addiction
00:23:34 - Will AI Make It Worse?
00:24:31 - Conner & Alex – Quittr App
00:28:00 - Impact on Sex Lives
00:36:19 - A Generation Unsocialized
Learn More About the Quittr App:
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43:59
Do Dogs Really Love Us? with Oprah and Dr. Carl Safina
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Oprah sits down with renowned ecologist Dr. Carl Safina, author of the New York Times bestseller Beyond Words: What Animals Think and Feel, to explore our sacred connection with the animal world—especially our tight-knit relationships and bonds with our beloved dogs. Joining them is author and neuroscientist Dr. Gregory Berns, whose groundbreaking MRI research offers scientific proof that our dogs really do love us. Dr. Berns discusses his eye-opening books How Dogs Love Us and Cowpuppy. The episode also features extraordinary true stories of hero dogs who saved their owners’ lives.
BUY THE BOOK!
https://wwnorton.com/books/alfie-and-me
https://books.apple.com/us/book/alfie-and-me/id6445787372
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Listen to the full podcast:
https://open.spotify.com/show/0tEVrfNp92a7lbjDe6GMLI
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-oprah-podcast/id1782960381
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The Oprah Podcast is home to all-new conversations featuring Oprah Winfrey and today’s foremost thought leaders, global newsmakers, best-selling authors, visionaries and cultural changemakers. Exploring timely themes, including happiness, resilience, consciousness and connection, the weekly series aims to help listeners on their journey to lead their best life. Oprah talks to people about what matters most to them in this moment. Every month, she will feature interviews with authors called ‘Oprah’s Book Club Presented by Starbucks’ with live audiences in Starbucks across the country.