EPISODE · Jun 8, 2026 · 41 MIN
Ep. 237: Grant Ginder: New Baby, New Book & Aging as a Gay Man | So Old, So Young
from Everything & Anything...and a bit gay Podcast · host Zach Randles-Friedman
Grant Ginder is the author of six novels, including The People We Hate at Weddings (adapted into the 2024 film starring Kristen Bell and Ben Platt) and his latest, So Old, So Young — a story that drops in on six college friends across five parties over twenty years. A University of Pennsylvania grad and former Washington speechwriter, Grant now teaches in the MFA program at NYU. In this episode: Welcoming baby Celia via surrogacy — and the woman who made it possible How Frankie the dog became the world's gentlest big… er, little-sister supervisor The So Old, So Young structure: five parties, twenty years, six friends Writing (and wanting to burn) his first novel at 23 after a brutal breakup The millennial reckoning with homeownership, kids, and the markers of "real" adulthood Sipping gin and tonics through a Watch What Happens Live taping with Erika Jayne and Elizabeth Perkins The Long Island Railroad wine binge that birthed The People We Hate at Weddings Meeting husband Mac (and the handshake that almost killed it) Phones, performance culture, and why we were "so lucky" to grow up offline 📚 Grab So Old, So Young — https://www.grantginder.com 🏳️🌈 Catch Grant at East End Books in Provincetown this September, including an event with John Glenn for his queer Arthurian retelling The Lost Book of Lancelot. Chapter Markers / Timestamps 00:00 Welcome — meet author Grant Ginder 00:30 Surprise! A brand-new baby (not a horse) 02:58 The surrogacy journey & their "hero" surrogate 05:31 So Old, So Young — the book 06:00 Getting tipsy on Watch What Happens Live 08:45 Five parties, twenty years: the book's structure 11:35 Laguna Beach to UPenn to speechwriting 13:00 Writing a novel at 23 after his first heartbreak 14:41 "How did I get to 40?" — the passage of time 17:50 Why millennials hit adulthood differently 20:36 The People We Hate at Weddings 21:55 Four bottles of wine & the train ride that started it all 23:48 The 2024 movie (Kristen Bell & Ben Platt) 24:08 Meeting husband Mac — and the dreaded handshake 29:11 Phones, performance & a Swedish Lapland digital detox 31:40 How Frankie the dog took to baby Celia 32:54 What's next: new book + a September in P-Town Podcast song by SIXFOOT 5: https://www.sixfoot5prod.com Apple: https://music.apple.com/us/artist/sixfoot-5/1551774977 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/5rHMzoU0G0fLhaBsrQiOOY?si=laSZ5hiKTYubJJyhrzf2JQ Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
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What this episode covers
Author Grant Ginder joins Zach to talk about the two newest arrivals in his life: his baby daughter Celia, born just days before this recording via surrogacy, and his sixth novel, So Old, So Young. Grant opens up about sleepless nights spent staring at his daughter, the surrogate who's become family, and how his Fort Greene household — husband Mac and very-curious dog Frankie — is adjusting. From there the conversation gets into the good stuff: why nobody should write a novel at 23 (unless you're Zadie Smith), what it feels like to "wake up at 40," and why millennials measure adulthood so differently than their parents did. Plus: getting tipsy on Watch What Happens Live, the four-bottles-of-wine train ride that inspired The People We Hate at Weddings, and where to catch Grant in P-Town this September. 📚 Grab So Old, So Young — https://www.grantginder.com 🏳️🌈 Catch Grant at East End Books in Provincetown this September, including an event with John Glenn for his queer Arthurian retelling The Lost Book of Lancelot.
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Ep. 237: Grant Ginder: New Baby, New Book & Aging as a Gay Man | So Old, So Young
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