Rupert Thomson is the author of thirteen highly acclaimed novels and an award winning memoir. He has spent timing living all around the world and his latest novel, Barcelona Dreaming, comes from the six years he spent living in the Spanish city. He talks to Robin and Josie about the book, the city and what it's like finding out one of your novels was on David Bowie's 100 Greatest Books of All Time List. As ever, extended edition available for Patreon supporters. Sign up at patreon.com/bookshambl...
Jul 29, 2021•50 min
Professor Karl Deisseroth is an emergency psychiatry physician. He's been responsible for some breakthrough scientific discoveries in optogenetics in which he developed ways to allow turning specific brain cells on or off, with light. This week he joins Robin to talk about that process and his new book on mental health and human empathy, Connections. Please note due to a couple of technical hitches, and last minute schedule changes, this week's episode is a little shorter than normal and Josie w...
Jul 22, 2021•30 min
John Robb is a musician from bands like The Membranes but also one of the UK's most respected music journalists. This week he joins Robin and Josie to talk the re-release of his book Death to Trad Rock all about the explosion of the niche post-punk scene and why it never broke through into the mainstream. They also chat about the bands of today that reflect the bands of that period like Idles, music's influence on comedy and when John was the first person to interview Nirvana long before they we...
Jul 15, 2021•50 min
Pragya Agarwal is a behavioural scientist who’s written a number of excellent books on the subject but her most recent book, (M)otherhood: On the choices of being a woman, is her most personal book yet as it examines how we as a society look at motherhood. She joins Robin and Josie this week to chat about the book, how each new book consumes her, childbirth, menopause and much more. As ever, Patreon supporters get an extended edition which this week includes tales of Robin’s self isolation and a...
Jul 07, 2021•45 min
Recorded live online as part of the More Than Words Literary Festival, Robin and Josie are joined by comedian and writer Michael Spicer who you probably best know as the 'Room Next Door' guy. They chat about his recently released first book, The Secret Political Advisor, creating comedy during the pandemic, the state of satire and a whole lot more. To hear an extended version you an subscribe at patreon.com/bookshambles
Jul 01, 2021•51 min
Comedian, actor, writer and podcaster Jessie Cave joins Robin and Josie this week to talk about her debut novel Sunset which is out now. They talk about why she chose to write about grief, hating being on stage, working with her family and worrying that whatever the book ended up being it'd just be labelled as 'Harry Potter chick lit'. A warning as well that this episode contains some talk about sexual assault and death that may be upsetting for some listeners. Extended edition for Patreon suppo...
Jun 24, 2021•50 min
Neuroscientist and best selling author Dean Burnett is a regular contributor to the Cosmic Shambles Network and this week he returns to the Book Shambles podcast to chat to Robin and Josie about his latest book Psycho-Logical, the problems surrounding mental health care in the UK, dealing with grief in the pandemic and some of the continuing misconceptions of mental health issues. On the extended Patreon edition you can hear a long discussion about Section 28 and also Josie's laptop dies... Subs...
Jun 17, 2021•46 min
On today's episode Josie and Robin chat to the writer Lauren Oyler. A prolific writer of articles for publications like Harper's and the New Yorker, as well as having ghostwritten for many people, her first novel is Fake Accounts about a a woman who discovers her boyfriend is an anonymous internet conspiracy theorist. They chat about the challenges of writing a novel instead of feature articles, the problems with social media in 2021, favourite novels and, of course, lots of other stuff. To hear...
Jun 10, 2021•40 min
Geoff Dyer returns to the podcast to talk to Robin and Josie (who is late arriving because her daughter broke the TV...) about his new book See/Saw: Looking at Photographs, which is out now. They talk about photography, favourite photographers, writing about niche topics for a wide audience and humour in photography. To hear an extended edition of this episode with 15 bonus minutes subscribe to Patreon on patreon.com/bookshambles
Jun 03, 2021•53 min
On today's episode Robin and Josie are joined by Annie Macmanus (who you may better know as Annie Mac from Radio1) to talk about her debut novel Mother Mother. They chat about her fears of moving into an entirely different creative arena, how the literary and music worlds compare and creating playlists for books. Bonus chat as always for Patreon supporters. Subscribe at patreon.com/bookshambles
May 27, 2021•44 min
Musa Okwonga is a writer, poet, podcaster and author about everything from politics to football. His new book is a memoir titled One of Them, about his time at Eton college as a young black man and delves into the effect these sorts of institutions have had on Britain's political life. He talks to Robin and Josie about why he had to write the book, what his school friends from the time think about it, and Eton, now and where Britain is headed. Support the show on Patreon for all sort of extras a...
May 13, 2021•53 min
This week Robin and Josie are joined by author Yasmin Khan to talk about her knew book Ripe Figs which is part cookbook, part travel book that traces recipes from the Mediterranean from the time of Ottoman rule to the influence of recent refugee communities. They chat about the inspiration for the book, favourite recipes, first cookbooks, best cookbooks and the best food from around the world. To hear more chat, subscribe to the extended version on Patreon at patreon.com/bookshambles
May 06, 2021•41 min
Comedian and Bake Off host Tom Allen joins Robin and Josie this week to talk about his memoir No Shame, which is out now. They chat of growing up in the suburbs, doing Julie Andrews numbers at high school plays and early comedy gigs in New Cross. They also discuss in detail how many celebrities admit to soiling themselves in their autobiographies... To hear an extended edition of this episode subscribe to Patreon on patreon.com/bookshambles. 15 extra minutes of chat and chaos this week including...
Apr 29, 2021•51 min
Two guests on this week's episode. Firstly Robin chats to A.L. Kennedy who returns to the podcast to chat about her new collection of short stories We Are Attempting to Survive Our Time and why she finds writing short stories a different, and sometimes harder, challenge than writing a novel. And then in the second half of the episode Josie talks to philosopher and author Tom Whyman about his book Infinitely Full of Hope: Fatherhood and the Future in an Age of Crisis and Disaster. They chat about...
Apr 22, 2021•58 min
Robin and Josie are joined by author Douglas Stuart, winner of the 2020 Booker Prize for his debut novel Shuggie Bain ahead of it's release in paperback. They chat about the book's decade long gestation, growing up in Glasgow under Thatcher and the importance of getting more working class stories into popular fiction. As always, an extended version of this episode is available for Patreon supporters. This week Douglas welcomes Josie to Glasgow and Robin delights in the art and music that's come ...
Apr 15, 2021•45 min
On today's episode Josie and Robin are joined by the actor, comedian and writer Katy Wix to talk about her new book, Delicacy: A Memoir about Cake and Death. They chat about the book, stories of the Fringe, jugglers who can't juggle and then, eventually, Josie just can't keep her love of Stath Lets Flats in any longer... To hear a super bumper edition with 25 minutes of extra chat, become a Patreon supporter of the podcast at patreon.com/bookshambles
Apr 08, 2021•52 min
Two science authors on the show today, both with new books that look at different ways of what makes us human. First up it's Shambles regular, Ginny Smith chatting to Robin and Josie about her new book Overloaded: How Every Aspect of Your Life is Influenced by Your Brain Chemicals, which is out today! And then they chat with Melanie Challenger about her new release, How to Be Animal: A New History of What It Means to Be Human. Book Shambles Patreon supporters can listen to longer interviews with...
Apr 01, 2021•57 min
This week's Book Shambles is a cross over event. Physicist, and one of the world's biggest selling science authors, Carlo Rovelli has a new book out today, Helgoland. He joined Robin for a conversation for our Patreon exclusive series Tips for Existence but we're making some of that conversation around the book available for free here on Book Shambles. To hear the full Tips for Existence episode, which is 40 minutes longer, you can sign up at patreon.com/bookshambles Other guests in that series ...
Mar 25, 2021•39 min
It's a double header this week! First up Robin and Josie chat with journalist Ben Machell about his book, The Unusual Suspect: The Rise and Fall of a Modern-Day Outlaw and then in the second part Robin chats to Booker Prize shortlisted author of The Shadow King, Maaza Mengiste. If you'd like to hear the full versions of both of these interviews, you can subscribe to the podcast's Patreon at patreon.com/bookshambles
Mar 18, 2021•1 hr 6 min
Journalist Nell Frizzell's new book is The Panic Years: Dates, Doubts, and the Mother of All Decisions and it spoke so strongly to Josie that she provided one of the cover quotes so it only makes sense she join her and Robin on the podcast. They chat about the book, motherhood, some of Nell's favourite books about parenting, vegetable growing and much more. To hear an extended edition of this episode subscribe to Patreon on patreon.com/bookshambles. 20 minutes extra this week.
Mar 11, 2021•51 min
On today's episode, Josie couldn't make the recording and so Robin is joined by a guest co-host, the brilliant Natalie Haynes. They chat to Mark Steel about a new book of collected writings and musings of the late Jeremy Hardy, Speaks Volumes, for which Mark wrote the introduction. They chat about the difference between a comedian and a comic, favourite stories in the book and why it's high time we called a canoe a canoe... To hear an extended edition of this episode subscribe to Patreon on patr...
Mar 04, 2021•56 min
Salena Godden was one of our very first guests on Book Shambles six years ago and now she's back to talk about her debut novel, the hugely acclaimed Mrs Death Misses Death. She chats to Josie and Robin about the book, discovering female authors in her thirties and the process of writing while walking. Support the show on Patreon to get extended editions each and every week. You can do that at patreon.com/bookshambles The extended edition this week includes the potential of cannibal marshmallows ...
Feb 25, 2021•50 min
This week Robin and Josie are joined by the multi-award winning, and Booker Prize long-listed, Irish novelist and short stories writer Kevin Barry. They chat about his latest collection of short stories, That Old Country Music, the grumpiness of Dennis Potter, a hatred of the first draft and the appeal of living by a swamp. To hear an extended edition of this episode subscribe to Patreon on patreon.com/bookshambles
Feb 18, 2021•53 min
Marian Keyes is one of the most successful Irish writers of all time with her novels having sold over 30 million copies and been translated into 33 languages. With her most recent novel, the Sunday Times #1 bestseller Grown Ups, just landing in paperback she joined Josie and Robin to talk about the book, her writing process, dealing with important issues in 'genre fiction' and much more. As always, you can hear an extended edition of this episode by subscribing to Patreon on patreon.com/booksham...
Feb 11, 2021•50 min
You've probably heard us talking about our new audio documentary series An Uncanny Hour on Book Shambles recently. Well we've just finished season one of the show, which features six one hour documentaries on everything from Hawkwind to David Cronenburg. We speak to authors, performers and scientists such as Stewart Lee, Reece Shearsmith and Kier-La Janisse about the weird and the uncanny corners of culture. We thought we'd provide Book Shambles listeners with a 30 minute anthology collection of...
Feb 09, 2021•33 min
Author Nikesh Shukla returns to the podcast this week to chat to Robin and Josie about his new memoir, Brown Baby. They chat about the importance of humour in non-fiction, the idea of writing a memoir to his children and the amusement derived from dropping Marvel Easter Eggs into the book. They also cover parenting, the pointlessness of Twitter arguments and Nikesh's daughter's desire for the episode to be over so they can have lunch. To hear an extended edition of this episode in which Nikesh r...
Feb 04, 2021•50 min
Alexi Pappas is an author, actor, screenwriter and Olympian to boot. You might have recently seen her in the film Olympic Dreams, alongside Nick Kroll, with whom she also co-wrote it. She competed in track and field for Greece in the 2016 Olympics and has just released her brilliant memoir Bravey, in which she talks about her life, drive and battles with depression. She joins Robin and Josie from the US to chat about the book, getting Maya Rudolph to write the foreword, juggling improv classes a...
Jan 28, 2021•52 min
Robin has often mentioned how much he enjoyed Cosey Fanni Tutti's book Art Sex Music so it was only right we finally get her on the show. She joins Robin and Josie to talk about Hull, the counter culture, finding your own path in art and feminism in the 70s. Josie was having all myriad of technical difficulties during this recording so please bear with her! And also please note that there is some discussion about the 'scene' in the 60s and 70s that people may find upsetting. To hear an extended ...
Jan 21, 2021•52 min
For our first proper episode of 2021 Josie and Robin are joined by comedian and broadcaster Alan Davies, who is also the author of the new acclaimed memoir, Just Ignore Him. They chat about the process of writing the book, dealing with the past, separating the art from the artist and a whole lot more. Please note that this episode does contain discussion around the subject of abuse. To hear an extended edition of this episode support the show at patreon.com/bookshambles Supporters receive an ext...
Jan 14, 2021•50 min
In our first episode of 2021, Robin and Josie look back on the best things they read in 2020. Most are books that came out last year, but a few aren't, don't hold it against us. From poetry to science to horror, there's something in this long list of recommendations for everyone! Support the show, and hear extended episodes, by signing up at patreon.com/bookshambles
Jan 07, 2021•50 min
