Caro Claire Burke

Burke said she is working on her next novel and will keep writing regardless of her current book's reception.

“I'll keep writing long after people aren't reading my book. I mean, I've always been a writer, so yeah, I'm working on my next novel”

Wait Wait... Don't Tell Me!: The World Cup, Trad Wives, and the Wedding of the Century (Jun 20, 2026) · Listen from 26:27

Burke said the book is largely about misinformation and that she did not model her protagonist on any single trad wife influencer.

“a lot of this book is about misinformation. And so part of the, without giving any spoilers away, I didn't really take much time to try to embody any one trad wife influencer”

Wait Wait... Don't Tell Me!: The World Cup, Trad Wives, and the Wedding of the Century (Jun 20, 2026) · Listen from 25:09

Burke described the publishing and Hollywood bidding wars as surreal and said she still does not fully believe it.

“Oh, it's psychotic. I still don't fully believe it. And I think that's probably a good thing”

Wait Wait... Don't Tell Me!: The World Cup, Trad Wives, and the Wedding of the Century (Jun 20, 2026) · Listen from 24:27

Burke said she was rejected for about a decade before Yesteryear's success, which built a thick skin.

“I think that it's good to build a healthy skin when you're a writer, and I certainly did so by just applying to everything and always getting told no”

Wait Wait... Don't Tell Me!: The World Cup, Trad Wives, and the Wedding of the Century (Jun 20, 2026) · Listen from 23:41

Burke said the novel began from a simple elevator pitch followed by the title Yesteryear.

“I mean, I'd like to sound smarter, but that's exactly what happened. It was that elevator pitch. And then it was the title yesteryear”

Wait Wait... Don't Tell Me!: The World Cup, Trad Wives, and the Wedding of the Century (Jun 20, 2026) · Listen from 22:15

Burke said she became obsessed with trad wife videos despite being a degree-holding, secular working woman, which prompted her research.

“I think that I was kind of obsessed with the videos, and I didn't get why, because I have a degree, I'm a working woman, I'm secular”

Wait Wait... Don't Tell Me!: The World Cup, Trad Wives, and the Wedding of the Century (Jun 20, 2026) · Listen from 22:32