Heather Radke

I’m a writer, audio producer, and teacher whose work blends personal narrative, history, and cultural criticism. I often explore how seemingly ordinary things—like butts, jumpsuits, or childhood obsessions—reveal deeper structures of power and help us understand who we are.

My first book, Butts: A Backstory, was named a Best Book of the Year by Time, Esquire, and Publishers Weekly, and was one of Amazon’s Top 20 Books of the Year.

I am a Contributing Editor and reporter at WNYC’s Radiolab and my writing has appeared in The Believer, The Paris Review, Time, Longreads, and others.

I teach nonfiction writing at Columbia University and previously worked as a curator at the Jane Addams Hull-House Museum.

I’m currently at work on a new book about American girlhood.