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Hey, I’m Tim Barnes, you are the genre, and beyond my excitement for the JUDGE TRAVIS audio series I have coming out in February, I'm thrilled to present this chat with novelist and television writer Kashana Cauley. Before comedy, Cauley worked in the world of law, but she rose to internet fame on Twitter (back when that place was kind of fun) for writing political hot takes that were so funny, they prompted Neal Brennan to bring her into the fold as a writer for Trevor Noah’s freshly minted version of The Daily Show in 2017. Since, Cauley has written for multiple television series and penned two novels: THE SURVIVALISTS, and her latest—THE PAYBACK, which was published by Atria Books in July 2025. We spoke around June of that year, but now the episode is finally being released as we kick off this new season of You Are The Genre!

THE PAYBACK was named an NPR and Electric Literature Best Book of the Year. It was also named a Best Book of Summer 2025 by many outlets, including the Boston Globe, Vanity Fair, and the NYT, as well as an NYT Editor’s Choice.

Cauley is a TV writer who has written for The Great North, Pod Save America on HBO and The Daily Show with Trevor Noah, and a former contributing opinion writer for the New York Times. She has also written for The Atlantic, Esquire, The New Yorker, Pitchfork, and Rolling Stone, among other publications.

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Merch and more are coming soon at YouAreTheGenre.com

CREDITS:

* Host: Tim Barnes

* Guest: Kashana Cauley

* Theme Song: “You Are The Genre” by Freddie Nunez

* Music Engineer: Adam Smith

* Podcast Art: Madhuri Shukla