Hot Literati
Hot Literati is a podcast that features hot, cool, and well-read people discussing literature and culture. The show aims to bring together interesting personalities who are both intellectually engaged and stylish. Each episode offers conversations that blend literary analysis with pop culture insights.
Episodes
Beauty as a Virtue
Join our community at hotliterati.comIn this episode, hailo discusses beauty and why it's important, with references to Dostoevsky, Gustave Flaubert, Alain de Botton, and more.
The Idiot by Fyodor Dostoevsky
Download the Hot Literati App and become a member to join our community ios: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/hot-literati/id6762513356android: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.hotliterati.app
Reach Higher by Big Sean
In this episode, hailo discusses the book Reach Higher, by Big Sean with a foreword by Jay Shetty. Join our community at hotliterati.comDownload the Hot Literati App here https://apps.apple.com/us/app/hot-literati/id6762513356
Can you turn a Community into a Business? with Laurel Touby
In this episode, Laurel Touby joins Hot Literati to explore her career, how she started her company Media Bistro, which she sold for $23 million, and how to turn a community into a business in 2026. #entrepreneurship #mediabistro #laureltouby #hotliterati
Why "Just Plan Your Future" Advice Never Works (And What Actually Does)
Why "just plan your future" advice never works (and what actually does)Every five-year plan video tells you the same thing: get clear on your vision, write it down, go after it. So you do — and it works, for about three weeks. Then the middle hits, motivation disappears, and it feels like nothing's working. This episode is about the part that advice always skips.I'm walking throu
117. Fyodor Dostoevsky
You've been meaning to read Dostoevsky. This is the episode that makes you actually do it.In this episode of The Icon Series from Hot Literati, we cover everything you need to walk in ready: who Dostoevsky actually was, what a mock execution and four years in a Siberian prison camp did to his writing, how he thinks about guilt and free will and the things we want that we shouldn't, and the reading
116. Why You Should have a Morning and Evening Routine
Most people think a morning routine is about waking up earlier. It isn't. It's about what your mind processes first — and whether you chose that, or an algorithm did.Edmund Husserl, the philosopher who founded phenomenology, had a concept called intentionality: consciousness is never just on, it's always consciousness of something. There's no blank version of your mind. So the real question every
115. How to Reclaim Your Attention
You pick up a book. Three pages in, your hand drifts toward your phone — not because anything happened, but because nothing did, and some part of your brain has started treating that as an emergency.This episode breaks that down: the 1940s experiment that explains your refresh habit, the philosopher who diagnosed your phone problem 350 years before phones existed, what boredom is actually for, and
114. How to Date
Dating doesn't feel hard because something is wrong with you. It feels hard because you've never been given the actual frameworks for it.In this episode, I walk through the five modules at the center of our course, How to Date — a course built on attachment theory, behavioral psychology, and the sociology of modern romance. We cover where your patterns come from, how interest and attractio
113. How to Become Yourself
Most people spend years building a life that fits someone else's idea of them. This video is about the work of figuring out what you actually want — not what you were told to want.We cover the psychology of self-concept, the difference between an inherited identity and a chosen one, and what it actually looks like to build a life that belongs to you. This isn't about finding yourself. It&#
112. How to be a Content Creator
Most creators post constantly and never build anything. The problem is almost never talent. It's infrastructure.In this episode we get into what actually separates creators who build something real from the ones who burn out or plateau: how to understand your content ecosystem and what each platform is actually for, how to read your own analytics and identify what's working, how to build a
Why You Should Have a Morning/Evening Routine
Most people think a morning routine is about waking up earlier. It isn't. It's about what your mind processes first — and whether you chose that, or an algorithm did.Edmund Husserl, the philosopher who founded phenomenology, had a concept called intentionality: consciousness is never just on, it's always consciousness of something. There's no blank version of your mind. So the real
111. How to be Hotter
Hot isn't about your face. It's about presence — and presence is something you can actually learn.In this episode we go into the psychology and neuroscience behind what makes someone genuinely magnetic: the difference between presence and performance, why embodiment is a cognitive skill and not just a wellness concept, how your style communicates before you open your mouth, and why the pro
110. Invitation to a Beheading by Vladimir Nabokov
In this episode, hailo discusses the publication history of Invitation to a Beheading by Vladimir Nabokov, then discusses her thoughts on the book, her annotations, consciousness, surrealism, and more. Join our community to become hotter, smarter, and more intellectually confident at https://www.hotliterati.com/Check out our guided courses at https://www.hotliterati.com/coursesFollow hailo https:/
109. In Defense of Alex Cooper
hello! In this episode we're discussing the Alix Earle/Alex Cooper drama, the philosophy of celebrity culture, and the World Wide Web!Join our community at hotliterati.com ! I'd love to get to know you more. We also have Guided Journals, our book club, and so much more on our website.
108. Sula by Toni Morrison
In this video, hailo discusses the publication history of Sula By Toni Morrison, then goes through her own annotations and thoughts on the book. Join Hot Literati at hotliterati.com Check out our online courses https://www.hotliterati.com/coursesShop Hot Literati Merch https://www.hotliterati.com/category/all-productsFollow hailo https://linktr.ee/haileycolborn#literature #tonimorrison #sula #book
107. The Entropy of Beauty
The second law of thermodynamics says that disorder always increases. Not sometimes. Always. Ludwig Boltzmann proved it in the 1870s. Rudolf Clausius named it. The universe is moving toward a state of maximum entropy — a cold, uniform, perfectly disordered nothing — and there are no known exceptions to this law.This episode covers the actual physics: entropy and the second law, Edward Lorenz and c
106. Stop Competing and Start Cheering People On
In this episode, hailo discusses competition versus community and abundance versus scarcity, mentioning Alain de Botton's book Status Anxiety, and Between Women by Eichenbaum and Orbach. Join our community at hotliterati.com
105. How to Stop Dating People who Suck
In this video, Hailey "hailo" Denise Colborn discusses dating and self love through the lens Pnin by Vladimir Nabokov, bell hooks, the book of Genesis in the Bible, and more. join our community and shop guided journals at hotliterati.com
104. What Your Commute Did to Your Ambition
Why do some places produce big thinkers and others quietly teach you to want less? In this episode, we're interrogating the invisible architecture of ambition — how the towns we grew up in, the roads we drove on, and the social codes we inherited may have put a ceiling on what we let ourselves want without us ever noticing.We get into the history: the Protestant work ethic, agricultural scarci
103. Explaining Taxes, but Hot
Become a Hot Literati member at hotliterati.com Taxes explained for beginners. How tax brackets work, what deductions are, standard deduction vs itemizing, W-2 vs 1099, self-employment tax, traditional IRA vs Roth IRA, and health savings accounts — everything covered in plain language.hotliterati.com | @hotliterati
102. Brain Rot is Not Cute
Join our community at hotliterati.com!In this episode, Hailey "hailo" Denise Colborn discusses brain rot, curiosity , her media diet, and more.
101. Dating Older Men and the Millennial Novel
Join our community at hotliterati.com!In this episode, Hailey "hailo" Denise Colborn discusses Jennette McCurdy's debut novel, "Half His Age," with nods to "Normal People" by Sally Rooney, and "Acts of Desparation" by Megan Nolan. #books #bookclub #halfhisage #bookreview
100. Why Some People Are Magnetic
Join Hot Literati at hotliterati.comWhy Some People Are Magnetic It's not confidence. It's not looks. It's not charisma in the way people usually mean it. In this episode, Hailey "hailo" Denise Colborn makes the case that the rarest thing you can give someone isn't your time — it's your attention. Real attention, not performed attention. And most of us have never been
99. How the Internet Changed Everything for Creatives (And What to Do About It)
Join our community and get hotter and smarter at hotliterati.com The internet didn't ruin things for creatives. It changed the rules — and nobody explained what the new ones are. In this episode, we get into the economics of replication (why your work alone can't be scarce anymore and what can be), the difference between a personal brand and performing one, and what virality actually is ve
98. The Case for Not Being Your Job
The industrial model of work did something genuinely strange to human beings: it convinced us that what we do and who we are are the same thing. Now that model is ending — quickly — and most people have no framework for what comes next.In this video: how the industrial system created the modern self, Charles Taylor on identity and orientation, why the dominant response to AI and automation is the
97. What if it works out?
What if the thing you're most afraid won't work is the exact thing that does?This video is about belief — not as a feeling, but as a cognitive environment. What neuroscience actually says about optimism and performance. What sociologist Robert Merton's self-fulfilling prophecy tells us about how belief changes outcomes at a structural level. What complexity theory says about tipping po
96. A Pep talk to myself about Hot Literati hehe
join at hotliterati.com <3
95. The Difference Between Consuming and Thinking
Hot Literati is built on one premise: depth is worth protecting. This video is about the cognitive difference between passing information through your brain and actually doing something with it — and why that distinction has never mattered more.In this video: Mortimer Adler's three levels of reading and why most people never reach the third, how confirmation bias runs unchecked when you're
94. The Psychology of why Some People are More Interesting
Join us at hotliterati.com to get hotter and smarter.Some people walk into a room and hold it without trying. Others disappear from memory the moment the conversation ends. The difference isn't personality or charisma. It's something much more specific — and it's learnable.In this video: why performing makes you forgettable (Goffman's theory of social interaction), what mirror neur
93. How to get out of a Reading Slump
Join our community at hotliterati.com In this episode, Hailey "hailo" Denise Colborn describes how to get out of a reading slump.
92. Stop Identifying with Everything You Read
Join our community at hotliterati.comIn this episode, Hailey "hailo" Denise Colborn explores why reading The Bell Jar made her depressed, and how she learned to read critically without identifying with the characters.
91. Read, Write, Own by Chris Dixon
Join our community at hotliterati.comIn this episode, Hailey "hailo" Denise Colborn gives her thoughts on Read, Write, Own by Chris Dixon.
90. Is Your Media Diet Making You Ugly?
Join our community of hot, cool, well-read people at hotliterati.com
89. How Reading Dostoevsky Can Make You Hotter
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88. Dating in London
Join our community at hotliterati.com :) xoxo In this episode, Hailey "hailo" Denise Colborn discusses dating, building community, and art with the two women behind Art Dating Club, Jannah and Isabella.
87. Moby Dick, or The Whale
more much more at hotliterati.com
86. Althea Aguel on Princeton, Music, and Technology
join us at hotliterati.comIn this episode, hailo and Althea discuss their time at Princeton, art, navigating your 20s, and more.
85. How to Choose a Career Path
In this episode, Hailey "hailo" Denise Colborn describes her journey throughout her career, ultimately building Hot Literati. Get a Guided Journal and join Hot Literati at hotliterati.com Join our mailing list https://hotliterati.substack.com/Get the Hot Literati Handbook https://www.hotliterati.com/product-page/the-hot-literati-handbook
84. All the books hailo read in 2025
Dive deeper into Hot Literati at hotliterati.comjoin our mailing list: https://hotliterati.substack.com/
83. Dance, Race, & Technology with Kaylin Williams
get hotter and smarter at hotliterati.com
82. Thinking Fast and Slow
In this episode, hailo discusses Thinking Fast and Slow by Daniel Kahneman. join for more at hotliterati.com :p
81. The Book of Genesis
hotliterati.com 4 guides community and more!!!!
80. My Five Year Plan
more at hotliterati.com !
79. How I Figured it Out
Shop guides, join our community, and more at hotliterati.com
78. Madison Cunningham on Ace, Art, Food, & more
more at hotliterati.com
77. Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy
https://hotliterati.com/
76. We by Yevgeny Zamyatin
Shop guided journals, reading guides and more on our websitehotliterati.com
75. Guillermo del Toro's Frankenstein
hotliterati.com 4 more :p xoxo
74. On the Road by Jack Kerouac
hotliterati.comOn the Road Reading Guide: https://hotliterati.com/products/on-the-road-a-reading-guide
73. Art, the American Dream, and Pageantry
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72. Ennui, God, and Dorian Gray
Hailo and her ex-boyfriend discussing The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde.Shop reading guides and more at hotliterati.com
71. Performance, Gothic Writing, and Experimentation with Leigh Stein
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70. Women in Dostoevsky's Work
Thank you Lily for joining! Don't forget to check out the "Dating Like Dostoevsky" digital guide. hotliterati.com
69. Connecting to God and Making Art
Lily Kincade joins Hailo to discuss God, Art, Girlhood, Pageants, and More.Hotliterati.comYou have a limited offer you can use now, that gets you up to 50% off your first subscription or 20% off one time purchases with code HOTLITERATI50 at checkoutYou can claim it at: https://www.magicmind.com/HOTLITERATI50
66. You aren't miserable, you just need to slow down
On The Art of Frugal Hedonism by Adam Grubb and Annie Raser-Rowland.hotliterati.com
65. This book changed the way my Mind Works
In this episode, Hailo discusses Ignite a Shift: Engaging Minds, Guiding Emotions and Driving Behavior by Stephen McGarvey and what it covers on the subconscious mind, solutions-oriented thinking, and more. Hotliterati.com
64. Love, America, Friendship, and more
Hailo discusses Illuminata by Marianne Williamson.hotliterati.com
63. Didion, Babitz, and the "Novel" with Lili Anolik
On female writers, sexuality, discovering Eve Babitz, and New York, with writer Lili Anolik. hotliterati.com
62. Don't think poor // How are the Chickens?
On local economies, health, Jane Jacobs, Joan Didion, The Idiot by Dostoevsky, Frugal Hedonism, and more.hotliterati.com
61. Rachel Yoder on Tradwives, Performance, and "What is Art?"
Become a paid subscriber on our substack to participate in the next discussion: https://hotliterati.substack.com/Creds to those who joined:Janet is the owner of a creative agency, Oma Influence and you can find her work on Substack and IGMegan is a DC-based freelance writer. She earned her MFA in fiction from the University of Maryland in College Park, winning both the Jack Salamanca Thesis Award
60. How can men Heal from Breakups?
How can men cope with breakups and limiting notions around masculinity?Featuring Bassey Morgan, Joe DeLannoy, et. alhotliterati.com
59. Help Hot Literati Save America
Brainstorm with me on our substack!hotliterati.com
58. Dostoevsky, America, and God
In this episode, Hailo and Ex-Boyfriend Literati discuss The Idiot by Fyodor Dostoevsky.
Join our community: https://hotliterati.substack.com/
57. The Spirituality of Making Music
Bssymrgn joins Hailo to discuss Thought Daughter, an EP produced by Hot Literati.
hotliterati.com
56. Media before Mass Media
Me and My Grandma (the OG Hot Literati) discussing her early experiences with media, her love of reading, and more.
hotliterati.com
55. Princess Babygirl
Mini episode on writing, aspirations, community, and more.
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55. Age, Femininity, and French Culture
On Older, but Better, but Older by Caroline de Maigret and Sophie Mas.
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54. Be the love you're looking for
hotliterati.com
LOVERGIRL FALL
52. How to Flirt with Yourself
On self talk, media, and working toward love.
hotliterati.com
51. Did Balzac have an Eating Disorder?
On Balzac's Relationship to food and Balzac's Omelette: A Delicious Tour of French Food and Culture by Anka Muhlstein.
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50. On the Transience of being the "Fun One"
A discussion of Paul Takes the Form of a Mortal Girl by Andrea Lawlor.
hotliterati.com
49. Jonathan Haidt: The Scholar According 2 Hot Literati
On tech, social media, Gen Z, and his latest book, The Anxious Generation.
hotliterati.com
48. Be still my tin heart!
On The Steadfast Tin Soldier by Hans Christian Andersen.
hotliterati
47. Is Journaling Art?
On journaling, writing, memory, and life.
hotliterati.com
46. Real Writers Party ( by Anderson II)
On Art, Anais Nin, partying, living, and love. Hosted by Anderson II.
hotliterati.com
45. As told by the Interns: (re)Cognition Summer
A recap of summer 2024, by our interns.
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THANK YOU
44. On The Art Spirit by Robert Henri
A reflection on art making and spirituality, in conversation with Robert Henri.
hotliterati.com
this was originally paywalled but... oh well... it's the internet
43. What, why Art, & my 1st Publicly Available Piece of Fiction
hotliterati.com
Purchase a copy of Musca here: https://04e678-7.myshopify.com/products/musca
42. A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Clown
Masha Kurbatova in Conversation with Miles Calderon on the art of being a Clown.
Read her piece on Miles here: https://www.hotliterati.com/post/a-portrait-of-the-artist-as-a-young-clown
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