The Paris Review

Inside the Issue | “I Don’t Do Innocents: A Radio Play in One Act” by Anne Carson

A special production of Anne Carson’s “I Don’t Do Innocents," which first appeared in issue no. 253 (Fall 2025). Produced by Complicité for The Paris Review, directed by

Inside the Issue | "My Life, By Barbara Rosenberg," by Jordy Rosenberg

Jordy Rosenberg reads his story “My Life, by Barbara Rosenberg,” from issue no. 253 (Fall 2025), told from the perspective of Barbara, a mother from Brooklyn who is ready

Personals | “I Got Snipped”

Joseph Earl Thomas reads his essay “I Got Snipped: Notes after a Vasectomy,” about the best sexual decision he ever made. This episode was produced by John DeLore and He

Personals | "Two Strip Clubs, Paris and New Hampshire"

Lisa Carver reads an essay about visiting two strip clubs with her French husband: first the Moulin Rouge, then a dive bar in Bedford, New Hampshire. At the Moulin Rouge,

Personals | “Wax and Gold and Gold," by Mihret Sibhat

Mihret Sibhat reads her essay “Wax and Gold and Gold,” about a friendship she formed with a prostitute in Addis Ababa while attempting to teach her about Jesus. This epi

Personals | “What I Want to Say About Owning a Truck,” by J. D. Daniels

“When people see your truck, they tend to see what you can do for them,” J. D. Daniels writes in his essay about a black Nissan hardbody pickup he owned many years ago.

Personals | “The Smoker,” by Ottessa Moshfegh

Ottessa Moshfegh reads her essay “The Smoker,” about renovating a house soaked in nicotine—and a haunting encounter with its former owner. This episode was produced by J

Trailer: The Paris Review presents "Personals," a new audio series

“Personals” is a new audio series from The Paris Review, featuring writers reading first-person essays. Featuring essays from Ottessa Moshfegh, Mihret Sibhat, Joseph Earl

S4E12 | Concerning the Future of Souls, by Joy Williams

The Pulitzer Prize and National Book Award finalist Joy Williams reads entries from “Concerning the Future of Souls” (issue no. 247, Spring 2024), a collection of stories

S4E11 | Trial Run

In Zach Williams’s “Trial Run” (issue no. 239, Spring 2022), an employee is subjected to two coworkers’ conspiracy theories when their office is targeted by an anonymous

S4E10 | Foley’s Pond

“We were thirteen and conspiratorial and what was said is now out of reach.” Jim Fletcher reads Peter Orner’s “Foley’s Pond” (issue no. 202, Fall 2012), a quietly devasta

S4E9 | “The Victim” by Jun'ichirō Tanizaki

The legendary actor George Takei reads one of the oldest stories in the Review’s archive. Published by the magazine in 1957, “The Victim” is Ivan Morris’s English transla

S4E8 | The Walk Book

Sean Thor Conroe shares entries from “The Walk Book”—his meticulous, funny travelogue about his 2014 attempt to walk across the United States—including some rain-soaked f

S4E7 | Olga Tokarczuk’s Divine Cosmos

The Nobel Prize–winning Polish writer Olga Tokarczuk discusses the souls of animals, discovering feminism, and her home in the village of Krajanów where she was once neig

S4E6 | About Ed

“We needed erotic touch to tell us what we were.” Robert Glück reads from About Ed, a memoir about his relationship with his former partner Ed Aulerich-Sugai. The perform

S4E5 | Scenes from an Open Marriage

“Nothing reifies a romance like proximate disaster.” Seated at her kitchen table, Jean Garnett reads her essay “Scenes from an Open Marriage” and chats with the Review’s

S4E4 | Bob Ross Paints Your Portrait

“The only colors we’re going to use will be blacker than most blacks. Mm-kay.” Terrance Hayes reads his poem, “Bob Ross Paints Your Portrait.” An homage to the iconic hos

S4E3 | The I is Made of Paper

The Pulitzer Prize–winning poet Sharon Olds discusses sex, religion, and writing poems that "women were definitely not supposed to write,” in an excerpt from her Art of P

S4E2 | The Same IKEA Bed

A stealth poetry reading inside a bustling IKEA. Poet Maggie Millner reads her own poem (Issue no. 239, Spring 2022), as well as two more from the archive: Toi Dericotte’

S4E1 | “This is Everything There Will Ever Be” by Rivers Solomon

Actor, producer, and screenwriter Lena Waithe reads Rivers Solomon’s “This Is Everything There Will Ever Be,” which was published in issue no. 243 of the Review. The stor