Shows
Hopeton Hay PodcastsAmran Gowani’s Novel Leverage Uses Satire to Expose the Dark Side of FinanceDiverse Voices Book Review host Hopeton Hay interviews Amran Gowani, author of the financial thriller and satire LEVERAGE. Gowani, a former organic chemist and financial analyst, draws from his personal experiences to create a social satire set in high finance. The protagonist, Ali “Al” Jafar is a rising star at notorious hedge fund Prism Capital, but fortunes change fast on Wall Street. When his biggest investment goes up in smoke, Al loses $300 million—and his fragile sense of self-worth—in a single afternoon. The book's chapters are named after 90s rap songs, reflecting Gowani's love for hip hop and its relevan...
2025-11-2357 min
Books and BobaAuthor Chat w/ Amran GowaniOn this episode, we chat with author Amran Gowani about his debut novel Leverage, a financial thriller about a rising star hedge fund analyst who is forced to dive into the seedy underbelly of the financial system when he loses his firm $300 million in a day and has to make everything back in 3 months or face some dire consequences. Amran chats with us about the themes of his novel as well as shares his inspirations for the story as a former Wall Street analyst!cw: discussion of themes involving suicidal ideation from 37:46 to 41:51Follow Amran's w...
2025-09-151h 02
The Writing Table with Kris ClinkAmran Gowani's Adrenaline Packed Debut: LeverageAmran Gowani is a former Wall Street analyst, a prolific content creator and over the last four years he's written and produced 200 humorous personal essays and satirical short-form pieces. When Amran’s not hanging out with imaginary people in imaginary places, he enjoys biking around the great city of Chicago, bouldering with his extraordinary wife Felicia, and reading comic books with his two wildly imaginative and deeply ungrateful children. By leveraging his lifelong love of film, literature, and video games—and drawing upon his decade-plus of surreal and disturbing experiences across Big Pharma and Wall Street—he crafte...
2025-09-0821 min
Keen On AmericaA Satirist's Revenge on Wall Street: From Trading Hedge Funds to Telling StoriesIt’s the fantasy of countless Wall Street analysts. Amran Gowani traded his lucrative career in hedge funds for the scarily solitary world of novel writing. His debut satirical novel Leverage draws from his insider experience at investment banks and hedge funds, exposing the toxic culture and perverse incentives that drive corporate America's financial sector. In this bracingly frank conversation, Gowani confesses his transformation from organic chemistry PhD dropout to pharmaceutical marketing executive to Wall Street analyst, and finally to full-time novelist. He reveals the harsh economic realities of publishing fiction, the challenges of first-time no...
2025-07-1328 min
The Lit Hub PodcastApril 4, 2025Well books are about to get a lot more expensive, as is everything else, and there's no hiding from the fact that these tariffs really suck! But we're going to talk (mostly) about other things this week—like the trailer drop for the new season of The Cosmic Library, like some upcoming weird books you should pre-order as suggested by Molly Odintz, and the first in a run of Lit Hub staffers reading poetry in celebration of National Poetry Month!* Listen to The Cosmic Library—new episodes Wednesdays starting April 16!* Molly's suggested reading/pre-ordering:...
2025-04-0439 min
Rabbit Hole of Research30: Money of the FutureIn this episode, hosts Joe and Nick, along with special guest Amran Gowani, a former chemist turned Wall Street professional turned novelist, delve into the intricacies of finances and economic systems in fiction. The discussion covers definitions of financial systems, the portrayal of wealth and currency in science fiction and fantasy, and the challenges of world-building accurate economic models in storytelling. The conversation also explores the value of skills, commodities, and digital currencies in both dystopian and utopian settings. Highlights include a look at the wealth of famous fictional characters, the impact of economic collapse, and the potential of...
2025-03-051h 04
Talk Fiction04 | Mad MagicContent consideration: This episode marks the creator’s decision to slap an E (explicit) stamp on this podcast moving forward. Because talking candidly about writing and salty language go hand in hand, apparently. You’ve been advised.Welcome back to Talk Fiction, the podcast dedicated to entertainment media’s most overlooked underdogs: Fiction writers.In this episode, professional dream chaser, Meg Oolders, matches minds with expert goal getter, Amran Gowani, in a dynamic duo log about the pleasures and perils of writing a huge ass book. From pantsing (or plotting) to publication (or not) a...
2024-04-281h 20
Books and BobaApril 2024 Book NewsIt's a Marvin only episode for this month's book news check-in, let's see how it goes as he reviews some of the latest Asian American publishing announcements, as well as some new and potentially exciting adaptation news. Upcoming books mentioned in our publishing news:Adam & Evie’s Matchmaking Tour by Nora NguyenSisters at Sea by Yume KitaseiThis Place Kills Me by Mariko Tamaki; illust by Nicole GouxAlice Chen’s Reality Check by Kara Loo & Jennifer YoungDreamt I Found You by Jimin HanThe Emperor of Gladness by Ocean VuongSublimation by Isabel J. KimThe Serpent Called Mercy by Roan...
2024-04-2135 min