Keep TikTok Out Of Our Favorite YA Books
ICYMI
Slate Podcasts
3.9 • 800 Ratings
🗓️ 3 June 2026
⏱️ 41 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
On today’s episode, host Kate Lindsay is joined by Angelina Mazza whose recent piece in The New York Times details how publishers are “modernizing” previously published books like Pretty Little Liars and Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret by replacing outdated references to pop culture and technology with artists like Billie Eilish and apps like TikTok. While publishers claim this is to keep younger readers engaged, others argue it’s not just patronizing, but also disrespectful to the art of storytelling.
This podcast is produced by Vic Whitley-Berry, Daisy Rosario, and Kate Lindsay.
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Hey, I'm Kate Lindsay, and you're listening to I-C-Y-M-I-M-I, or in case you missed it, Slate's podcast about internet culture. |
| 0:21.1 | And on today's episode, we are once again joined by Friend of the Pod, Angelina Mata. |
| 0:26.4 | She's sitting across from me. |
| 0:27.4 | She's smiling at me in a way that is already making me want to be like, what? |
| 0:32.3 | Welcome back, Angelina. |
| 0:34.4 | Thank you so much. |
| 0:35.8 | I was promised a punch card. |
| 0:37.7 | Where is it? |
| 0:38.7 | Oh, wait, did I actually promise you that last time? |
| 0:45.1 | Oh, well, I do think that you are official friend of the pod status. |
| 0:51.2 | Yeah. |
| 0:51.5 | This is my fourth time. |
| 0:53.4 | Wow. |
| 1:12.5 | Wait, I was really good. Wait, let's run through him. That's the most boring thing in the status. Yeah. Yeah. This is my fourth time. Wow. Wait, I was really going to go, wait, let's run through him and that's the most boring thing in the world. Well, I mean, that's sort of in celebration, in fact, that I don't think we could have you on without talking about sort of the thing that you are most known for on uh, on this podcast, which is heated rivalry. |
| 1:18.2 | And I wanted the, I didn't, I wanted on the record, I didn't bring it up. |
| 1:22.6 | It's okay. It's okay. And not bring it up. I wanted. Yeah, I wanted to save you the, the trouble. Well, uh, but then, so there was this sort of recent moment that happened that |
| 1:26.4 | slots really beautifully into what today's episode is about, which is books. |
| 1:31.4 | But what I want to ask you about, are you familiar with the sort of list that compiles all of Hudson Williams' book recommendations? |
| 1:40.5 | Well, of course. |
| 1:41.5 | So Hudson Williams, who plays Shane, are you impressed I know that, in heated rivalry? |
| 1:46.9 | Yeah, Kate, I'm really impressed. |
| 1:49.5 | It seems so he's a big poster of books on Instagram. |
... |
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