© 2025
Donate
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations
The Book Show
The Book Show

Helen Phillips - Hum

By Joe Donahue
Published June 10, 2025 at 3:00 PM EDT
Book cover for "Hum" by Helen Phillips
Simon & Schuster

Helen Phillips is one of the most interesting and original writers working today. In her latest novel, “Hum,” she turns her eye to marriage, motherhood, and selfhood in a world compromised by global warming and artificial intelligence.

Tags
The Book Show book showthe book showauthor interviewtechnologynaturefamilyhelen phillips
Joe Donahue
Joe talks to people on the radio for a living. In addition to countless impressive human "gets" - he has talked to a lot of Muppets. Joe grew up in Philadelphia, has been on the area airwaves for more than 25 years and currently lives in Washington County, NY with his wife, Kelly, and their dog, Brady. And yes, he reads every single book.
See stories by Joe Donahue
Related Content
  • Book cover for "All Fours" by Miranda July
    The Book Show
    Miranda July - All Fours
    Joe Donahue
    “All Fours,” a new novel by Miranda July, tells the story of a semi-famous artist who announces her plan to drive cross-country on a one woman quest for a new kind of freedom. The book is part absurd entertainment and part tender reinvention of the sexual, romantic, and domestic life of a forty-five-year-old female artist.
  • Book cover for "Taking Manhattan" by Russell Shorto
    The Book Show
    Russell Shorto - Taking Manhattan
    Joe Donahue
    In 2004, Historian Russell Shorto published “The Island at the Center of the World,” a book about Manhattan and the role of the Dutch in making New York (and America) what it is today. His new book, “Taking Manhattan: The Extraordinary Events That Created New York and Shaped America,” continues the story.
  • The Book Show
    Adrian McKinty - Hang On St. Christopher
    Joe Donahue
    Adrian McKinty’s latest novel, “Hang on St. Christopher,” brings readers to July 1992 when The Troubles in Northern Ireland are still grinding on after twenty-five years. McKinty’s character, Sean Duffy, is assigned to his most violent and dangerous case yet, and the future of the burgeoning “peace process” may depend on it.
  • Book cover for Joy Harjo's "Washing My Mother's Body"
    The Book Show
    Joy Harjo - Washing My Mother's Body
    Joe Donahue
    Poet Joy Harjo’s poems are described as musical, intimate, political and wise, intertwining ancestral memory and tribal histories with resilience and love. Her latest book, “Washing My Mother’s Body: A Ceremony for Grief,” explores the complexity of a daughter’s grief as she reflects on the joys and sorrows of her mother’s life.
  • Book cover for "Raising Hare" by Chloe Dalton
    The Book Show
    Chloe Dalton - Raising Hare
    Joe Donahue
    When Chloe Dalton, a city-dwelling professional with a high-pressure job, finds a newly born hare - endangered, alone and no bigger than her palm - she is compelled to give it a chance at survival. The new book, “Raising Hare,” is the story of their journey together.
  • Book cover for "The Sirens' Call" by Chris Hayes
    The Book Show
    Chris Hayes - The Sirens' Call
    Joe Donahue
    Chris Hayes is the Emmy Award-winning host of MSNBC’s “All In with Chris Hayes.” In his new book, “The Sirens’ Call: How Attention Became the World’s Most Endangered Resource,” he writes about attention as a resource – one that is being drawn away from citizens in ways they don’t even realize. This episode of The Book Show was recorded at The Bardavon in Poughkeepsie, New York in an event presented by Oblong Books.
  • Book cover for "The Paris Express" by Emma Donoghue
    The Book Show
    Emma Donoghue - The Paris Express
    Joe Donahue
    Bestselling author Emma Donoghue’s new novel, “The Paris Express,” brings us to Autumn, 1895. Paris is as chaotic as it is glamorous, with industry and invention creating huge wealth and terrible poverty. One morning, an anarchist boards the ill-fated Granville-to-Paris express train, determined to make her mark on history.