The music journalist and writer takes Claire for a wander through Epping Forest as they discuss his book Out of the Woods. Help support our independent journalism at theguardian.com/bookspod
Historians Hallie Rubenhold and Lindsey Fitzharris discuss their books The Five and The Butchering Art. Help support our independent journalism at theguardian.com/bookspod
The scientist talks about his latest book Origins: How the Earth Made Us. Help support our independent journalism at theguardian.com/bookspod
The two authors discuss their stories about modern love and sex, and we reflect on the legacy of novelist Andrea Levy
On this week’s show, thriller fan Alison talks to Alice Clark-Platts about her terrifying novel The Flower Girls – and we share the books we found too unsettling to finish
Jason Reynolds talks about tackling difficult subjects for children, and we discuss the ‘new’ work on the way from the Catcher in the Rye author
When McBee stepped into the boxing ring at Madison Square Gardens to fight, he made history as the first trans man to do so – a journey he documents in his book, Amateur
We head back to 16th-century Constantinople with Énard, explore the troubled legacy of the second world war with Van Es and look ahead to the Costa book of the year
On this week’s show, we speak to Sullivan about her winning Three Poems, and US author Kevin Powers about his novel A Shout in the Ruins
On this week’s show, we take a look ahead at the books coming out this year, and speak to Josh Cohen about why we should all slack off a little at work
Forty years after he first discovered it, Sebastian Barry explains why he loves James Joyce’s short story Eveline, then reads it for you, as part of our seasonal series of short stories selected by leading novelists
Zadie Smith shares why she loves this almost ‘anti-Italian’ story from Giuseppe Pontiggia, then reads the story, as part of our seasonal series of short stories selected by leading novelists
Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie shares why she admires the ‘old-fashioned social realism’ of the Ghanaian writer’s No Sweetness Here, then reads the story, as part of our seasonal series of short stories selected by leading novelists
Neil Gaiman introduces Rudyard Kipling’s The Gardener, a melancholy tale from 1925, as part of our seasonal series of short stories selected by leading novelists. Afterwards, the story is read by actor Marion Bailey
You’ll never sleep in a twin bedroom again after hearing this classic Edwardian ghost story, selected by Penelope Lively and read by Simon Callow as part of our seasonal series of short stories selected by leading novelists
From La Belle Sauvage to Lincoln in the Bardo, Claire and Sian review the most creative and compelling listening experiences and debate whether audiobooks are ‘cheating’
On this week’s show, we reveal the books we loved most in 2018 and discuss the future of prose poetry with poets Rankine, Jeremy Noel-Tod and Emily Berry
This week, it’s Claire’s birthday so she’s meeting with two of her favourite authors: crime author Paretsky and Call Me By Your Name writer Aciman
New Yorker cartoonist Krimstein discusses his pictorial life of Hannah Arendt and we head to the British Library with MacCulloch to learn about Thomas Cromwell
We talk to The Essex Serpent author Perry about the spine-tingling Melmoth and take Beowulf into the 21st century with Headley’s The Mere Wife
On this week’s show, Robertson talks about his narrative poem The Long Take and McMillan explores adolescent rites of passage in Playtime
Behavioural geneticist Plomin picks apart the idea of nature versus nurture in Blueprint, and novelist Ivy Pochoda explains her latest novel, Wonder Valley
As the midterm elections loom, we welcome a poet whose verse is carved from this divided moment and search for the deep roots of political writing
We travel to a faraway land, where brave writers fight deadly stereotypes and discover inspiring new ways to tell old stories
Milkman delivers the 2018 Man Booker prize, while we listen in as a poet discusses the lyric art with her editor
We step back in time for a stroll around the Tower of London with Chris Skaife, who looks after the landmark’s ravens; and we sit down with philosopher Kwame Anthony Appiah to discuss identity
The BBC presenter talks about the travels in his memoir Step By Step, and the celebrated curator reflects on the beliefs explored in Living With the Gods
As The Little Stranger opens in cinemas, its author considers screen adaptations. Boyne discusses his novel of desperate ambitions – and we discuss the Booker finalists
As the final volume of his autobiographical novel arrives in English, the Norwegian literary sensation discusses how the books have changed his life
We sit down with the one and only Kate Atkinson, author of modern classics including Life After Life and Behind the Scenes at the Museum, to talk about her latest time-bending novel
