'What Will People Think?' and 'Climbing in Heels' star women trying to make it big
New novels by Sara Hamdan and Elaine Goldsmith-Thomas follow women in the entertainment industry who must balance ambition with the pressures of family, friendship and love. First, in What Will People Think?, a Palestinian-American woman named Mia works as a fact checker by day and performs standup comedy by night. She hides her comedy career in order to protect her family until she discovers her grandmother has a secret too. In today's episode, Hamdan joins NPR's Ailsa Chang for a conversation about the politicization of the Palestinian identity and using comedy to explore cultural stereotypes. Then, in Climbing in Heels, three women working as secretaries at a Hollywood agency face sexism as they aspire to careers beyond their office jobs. In today's episode, Goldsmith-Thomas talks with NPR's Leila Fadel about moving from secretary to agent in her own career.
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New novels by Sara Hamdan and Elaine Goldsmith-Thomas follow women in the entertainment industry who must balance ambition with the pressures of family, friendship and love. First, in What Will People Think?, a Palestinian-American woman named Mia works as a fact checker by day and performs standup comedy by night. She hides her comedy career in order to protect her family until she discovers her grandmother has a secret too. In today's episode, Hamdan joins NPR's Ailsa Chang for a conversation about the politicization of the Palestinian identity and using comedy to explore cultural stereotypes. Then, in Climbing in Heels, three women working as secretaries at a Hollywood agency face sexism as they aspire to careers beyond their office jobs. In today's episode, Goldsmith-Thomas talks with NPR's Leila Fadel about moving from secretary to agent in her own career.
To listen to Book of the Day sponsor-free and support NPR's book coverage, sign up for Book of the Day+ at plus.npr.org/bookoftheday
See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsorship and to manage your podcast sponsorship preferences.
NPR Privacy Policy
To listen to Book of the Day sponsor-free and support NPR's book coverage, sign up for Book of the Day+ at plus.npr.org/bookoftheday
See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsorship and to manage your podcast sponsorship preferences.
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2025-06-06
13 min
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