Tony Kushner’s epic play, Angels in America, had a famously messy birth and development. In their new book The World Only Spins Forward, authors Isaac Butler and Dan Kois, bring together the voices of the artists who were involved in that process in an oral history of the play.

But the book goes quite beyond that. Talking to politicians, activists, journalists, academics, and artists, it also chronicles the political climate surrounding the play, the on-stage and off-stage antics of the performers, and the vast impact the play has had on other artists.

As many of us started to read the book, we were overwhelmed with emotions, thoughts, and discoveries. In an attempt to capture some of that giddy exuberance, we formed a little podcast book club to talk about what surprised us in the book, what moved us, and our favorite bits of Angels in America trivia.

As Angels in America returns to Broadway this month after 25 years, we consider what this play has meant to us and what this play can bring to audiences today.

Have a listen to New York critics Nicole Serratore, Lane Williamson, and Alex Barasch as they share their experience of The World Only Spins Forward.