Erik Hane and Laura Zats
194 episodes listed below
Publishing talk with jokes and teeth.
Print Run Podcast follows two book-industry regulars as they argue through publishing news, author controversies, bookstore labor, and the tech pressures reshaping the field. It is chatty and sharp, but the best stretches turn jokes and grievances into clear explanations of why the machinery behind books matters.
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Print Run Podcast is a book-industry conversation with its sleeves rolled up. It is casual, but not careless. The show’s recent run moves through publishing news, labor disputes, author culture, AI, private equity, prize confusion, bestseller flare-ups, and the strange recurring task of explaining whatever online literary nonsense has just landed on everyone’s desk. It often begins sideways. A house move, a returned gong, a painful candy bar, or a D&D catastrophe can take up the first few minutes before the real subject snaps into focus. That looseness is part of the appeal. The show feels like listening to people who already have the context, but are willing to rebuild the argument out loud for anyone who wandered in late. It does not treat publishing as a glamorous abstraction. It talks about agents, booksellers, warehouse workers, writers, management, tech investors, and readers as parts of the same system. When bookstore workers come up, the discussion turns from a specific bargaining fight into a broader defense of book labor. When AI tools scrape books and produce silly-seeming writing metrics, the show laughs at the bad thinking but keeps returning to rights, consent, and replacement. When Helen DeWitt and a prize enter the conversation, the point is not just literary admiration; it is also how institutions handle artists, communication, and prestige. The mood can be warm, irritated, dry, or grave, depending on the topic. It is especially good at saying, in plain language, why something that sounds like publishing gossip actually reveals a deeper problem. The show has room for jokes. It also has a strong sense of solidarity. Its recurring position is that books matter because people make them, and those people deserve more than industry optimism, vague disruption talk, or a pat on the head from management.
Made for: For readers, writers, agents, booksellers, and publishing-watchers who want industry analysis with personality. It especially suits listeners who like messy context, worker-focused arguments, and dry humor around book-world drama.
What sets it apart: Print Run Podcast stands out by treating publishing gossip as evidence rather than spectacle. It turns odd news, online flare-ups, and workplace disputes into broader arguments about power, money, labor, and literary culture.
Print Run is a podcast created and hosted by Laura Zats and Erik Hane. Its aim is simple: to have the conversations surrounding the book and writing industries that too often are glossed over by conventional wisdom, institutional optimism, and false seriousness. We’re book people, and we want to examine the questions that lie at the heart of that life: why do books, specifically, matter? In a digital world, what cultural ground does book publishing still occupy? Whether it’s trends in the queries from writers that hit our inboxes or the social ramifications of an industry that pays so l...
Based on 5 episodes we listened to · September 2026
Laura Zats and Erik Hane make publishing's hidden pressures understandable through candid argument, labor awareness, and a lively sense of humor.
Print Run Podcast turns publishing's working assumptions into lively arguments between Laura Zats and Erik Hane. Their conversations move easily from query etiquette and genre labels to bookselling labor, political nonfiction, and the effects of AI and private equity on creative…
Publishing's polite silences meet Laura Zatz and Eric Hain; you get scrutiny with the gong back in reach.
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Short reviews from the PlayNext desk, based on the episodes we processed.
Studio chatter and labor solidarity sit side by side, with more bite than polish.
Print Run starts in a new Lake Como studio with the usual fuss over chairs, sound treatment, paint, and a rug that still has not been picked. Eric Hain and Laura Zatz keep it light, and the banter feels lived in rather than polished.
A house move and a revived gong frame a sharp, funny critique of a publishing AI project.
A house move, a revived listener-gifted gong, and a hard look at a publishing AI project give this conversation its shape. It opens in domestic clutter and old-show memory, then settles into a sharper point: something can be funny and still do real harm.
A candid return that asks who privacy protects in publishing.
Print Run comes back after a month of illness and no-voice chaos with a conversation about publishing gossip, but the sharper interest is the social weather around good news: what gets shared, what stays private, and how the industry tests those limits.
A publishing conversation that turns political nonfiction into a study of mood.
Print Run spends this episode with nonfiction, politics, and culture books, anchored by Eric Hain and Laura Zatz in the Twin Cities. It also threads in a Minnesota fundraiser and the sense that the Biden-era political mood still sits under the long shadow of Trump.
A sharp genre debate that stays grounded, funny, and attentive to how books get labeled.
Print Run starts with a nod to the Twin Cities week and then settles into a sharp, low-key question: what should a book be called when its speculative touch is small but still matters?
Tough love for literature.
Books, art, and culture in deep context.
Oz fandom with feeling and footnotes.
Print Run opens the year on a sober note.
The hosts discuss Amanda Ginsberg's piece about using ChatGPT to select writing samples for a book proposal, exploring the implications of AI in publishing.
The segment discusses Mr.
This episode segment introduces upcoming office hours and Patreon content while previewing a discussion on collaboration and cooperation in publishing.
The hosts introduce the episode's focus on publishing discourse and agents' roles, while promoting their Patreon content and free Office Hours for writers.
The hosts introduce a follow-up episode discussing the mental state of a writer and audience inquiries about therapy.
The hosts discuss how they cope with a stressful week by focusing on their work in publishing, particularly reading manuscripts and managing emails amidst an apocalyptic mood.
The hosts introduce an episode focused on critiquing Eric's writing process and psychology, with humor and references to listener questions from Patreon.
The hosts discuss a contract dispute involving Dallas Cowboys player Micah Parsons and owner Jerry Jones, relating it to the episode's theme of agents and communication.
The hosts discuss a frustrating driving experience and their preference for in-person podcast recordings over remote setups.
This segment repetitively lists key running and fitness terms, focusing on training concepts and gear brands.
The hosts discuss the chaotic summer season, personal anecdotes, and plan to talk about art, agents, publishing, and politics.
The hosts discuss their return to podcasting, personal updates, and a transition into a story about a spouse's work in music composition.
This episode segment discusses the ethical responsibilities of literary agents when interacting with writers they don't represent, including public behavior and online engagement, prompted by recent industry events.
The speaker recounts a dream about struggling to record an episode of Print Run in unusual settings like a gym and a backyard while on cold medicine.
Eric and Laura open with a fundraiser update from Minnesota.
The hosts introduce a discussion on the relationship between genre, art, and business in books, sparked by internet posts.
Print Run hosts Eric Hain and Laura Zatz identify warning signs in writer-agent relationships, beginning with the rule that writers should never pay literary agents.
Print Run hosts Eric Kane and Laura Zatz interview Laura B.
Two friends discuss author Helen DeWitt and her not receiving the Wyndham Campbell Prize.
In this episode of Print Run, hosts Eric Hain and Laura Zatz explore feelings of dread and anticipation in the publishing industry for 2024, blending personal anecdotes with industry insights in a conversational tone.
In this episode, hosts Eric Hain and Laura Zatz record from their new studio in Lake Como, humorously discussing its lack of furniture and sound treatment.
In this episode, hosts Laura and Erik share a lighthearted story about moving houses, which leads to the rediscovery of a gong gifted by a listener years ago.
A D&D player rants about losing experience points from a level drain attack by a wight, discussing recovery options with a friend.
Eric and Laura discuss a bad candy experience and set up the summer vibe episode.
Eric and Laura discuss the start of summer in publishing and another case of industry nonsense.
Two hosts banter about aging and then discuss a viral bestseller controversy involving a tweet and the phrase 'Biggless Dickless'.
A D&D player recounts their character's anticlimactic death from mold during an optional action, contrasting with the group's subsequent dragon victory.
Eric is glad to have his voice back.
Eric Hain and Laura Zatz introduce a special interview with Rachel Kambury about the ongoing HarperCollins Union strike.
Eric and Laura calmly discuss Audible's new caption feature and promote their Patreon episodes on publishing topics.
A conversation about Laura's past video game addiction and her current gaming habits, including tabletop games and solitaire.
Two literary agents discuss a New York Times profile of editor Judith Gerwich and relate it to their own scrappy underdog experiences at a small agency.