KPL Podcast

KPL Podcast December 2025 Week 2 with Special Guest Annalee Newitz

Kirkwood Public Library Episode 305

 This week on the KPL Podcast, we spoke with author Annalee Newitz about Automatic Noodle, their inventive new novel. Set in a future California where robots have won their freedom, the story follows a group of food-service bots in a deserted ghost kitchen who seize control of their old delivery app account. Rebranding themselves as a neighborhood lunch spot, they whip up some of the best hand-pulled noodles in San Francisco. But their success hits a snag when a mysterious force begins review-bombing their page with fake “bad service” reports.

Author Recommendations:

1. The Keeper of Magical Things by Julie Leong 

2. What we are Seeking by Cameron Reed (April 2026)

3. News for all the people: the epic story of race and the American media by Juan Gonzalez