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The TLS Podcast

A weekly podcast on books and culture brought to you by the writers and editors of the Times Literary Supplement.

To read more, welcome to the TLS.

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Episodes

A Sea-Brooding Poet

Christy Edwall reflects on a meditations on Keats’s poems, and a new account of his last days. https://www.the-tls.co.uk/articles/a-greeting-of-the-spirit-susan-wolfson-written-in-water-alessandro-gallenzi-keats-book-review-christy-edwall/ Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information....

Jan 16, 202316 min

Radical Barbie

Olivia Laing secrets and lies in the life and work of Kathy Acker. https://www.the-tls.co.uk/articles/eat-your-mind-kathy-acker-jason-mcbride-book-review-olivia-laing/ Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Jan 09, 202325 min

Festive Shadows and Feasts of Panackelty

This week, Lucy Lethbridge explains what a curate's eye is, and how ideas of British cooking range from Aga fantasies to bacon butties; and J. S. Barnes takes us to the dark side of the festive season, via Dickens and M. R. James.... 'The British Cookbook: Authentic home cooking recipes from England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland' by Ben Mervis 'To Be Read At Dusk: Dickens, ghosts and the supernatural', Charles Dickens Museum, London, until March 5, 2023 'The Witch Farm', BBC Radio 4 and ...

Dec 22, 202244 min

The Power of Connections

This week, we hear how the music-hall star Josephine Baker became a secret agent; and we talk to Simon McBurney of Complicité theatre company, about their haunting audio production of Susan Cooper's The Dark Is Rising. 'The Flame of Resistance' by Damien Lewis 'The Dark Is Rising' by Susan Cooper, BBC World Service, December 20 Produced by Charlotte Pardy Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information....

Dec 15, 202248 min

The Road To St Helena

Alan Forrest on Napoleon’s enemies at home and abroad. https://www.the-tls.co.uk/articles/napoleon-michael-broers-napoleon-at-peace-william-doyle-book-review-alan-forrest/ Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Dec 11, 202222 min

Female Perspectives Take Centre Stage

This week, Breeze Barrington takes us through a history of art with a difference - there are no men; and Larry Wolff talks us through the diva-rich operatic event of the season, the world premiere of The Hours at the Met in New York. 'The Story of Art Without Men' by Katy Hessel 'The Hours' by Kevin Puts Metropolitan Opera, New York, until December 15. Live transmission in various cinemas, December 10 Produced by Charlotte Pardy Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information....

Dec 08, 202246 min

His Biggest Role

Anna Reid on the improbable rise of Volodymyr Zelensky https://www.the-tls.co.uk/articles/volodymyr-zelensky-biographies-book-review-anna-reid/ Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Dec 04, 202222 min

Roman Coins And Radical Rosa Bonheur

This week, Mary Beard talks us through coins and emperors, real and fake, and the hidden networks beneath the Roman Empire; and Norma Clarke discusses the life and work of Rosa Bonheur, a celebrated female artist who kept her radical private life to herself. Produced by Charlotte Pardy Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Dec 01, 202249 min

Conquering Sociopaths

Michele Pridmore-Brown on the troubled dreams of the gods of the digital universe https://www.the-tls.co.uk./articles/survival-of-the-richest-douglas-rushkoff-book-review-michele-pridmore-brown/ Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Nov 28, 202216 min

“It Is An Astonishment To Be Alive”

This week, Baillie Gifford Prizewinner Katherine Rundell describes how John Donne’s life force captivated her; and celebrated actor and playwright Wallace Shawn surveys a lifetime of writing essays. Produced by Charlotte Pardy. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Nov 24, 202253 min

End Of The Road

George Berridge on Cormac McCarthy’s long-awaited diptych of conspiracy and nuclear anxiety https://www.the-tls.co.uk/articles/the-passenger-stella-maris-cormac-mccarthy-book-review-george-berridge/ Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Nov 20, 202224 min

Bearing Witness To Terror

This week, we discuss Emmanuel Carrère’s incisive account of France’s judicial response to the Bataclan attacks; and a host of TLS contributors on their favourite books of 2022. ‘V13: Chronique judiciare’ by Emmanuel Carrère Books of the Year 2022 Produced by Charlotte Pardy Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Nov 17, 202247 min

Tinker, Tailor, Lover, Spy

Robert Potts considers the inconstancies of John le Carré. https://www.the-tls.co.uk/articles/private-spy-letters-john-le-carre-secret-heart-suleika-dawson-book-review-robert-potts/ Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Nov 13, 202217 min

Men On A Mission

This week, Alex Clark and Lucy Dallas explore the rise to prominence of Volodymyr Zelensky, the satirical stand-up turned president and war leader; and blow the cobwebs off the world’s rarest medieval manuscripts. 'The Zelensky Effect' by Olga Onuch and Henry E Hale 'Zelensky: Ukraine’s president and his country' by Steven Derix with Marina Shelkunova, translated by Brent Annable 'The Fight of Our Lives: My time with Zelenskyy, Ukraine’s battle for democracy, and what it means for the world' by ...

Nov 10, 202247 min

One Step Beyond

Colin Thubron on an anthology of human beings straining at the limits. https://www.the-tls.co.uk/articles/endurance-levison-wood-book-review-colin-thubron/ Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Nov 06, 202220 min

Who Knows Where The Time Goes

This week André Aciman toasts the genius of Marcel Proust, a century after his death; and Richard Lea on the mesmerising multiverses of John Banville. The works of Marcel Proust ‘The Singularities’ by John Banville Produced by Charlotte Pardy Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Nov 03, 202246 min

Big Unfriendly Giant

Sam Leith on Roald Dahl’s life of plane crashes, bunk-ups, secret agenting – and children’s writing https://www.the-tls.co.uk/articles/teller-of-the-unexpected-roald-dahl-matthew-dennison-book-review-sam-leith/ Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Oct 30, 202215 min

From Battleground to Billiard Table

This week, we learn about the final years of the Napoleonic era, poke around the exclusive gentlemen’s watering holes of Pall Mall, and discover how Roy Orbison ended up meeting his wife in Batley Variety Club. ’Napoleon: The decline and fall of an Empire, 1811-1821’ by Michael Broers ’Napoleon at Peace: How to end a revolution’ by William Doyle ‘Behind Close Doors: The secret life of London’s private members’ clubs’ by Seth Alexander Thévoz ‘Clubland: How the working men's club shaped Britain’ ...

Oct 27, 202247 min

Acid Raine

Laura Thompson on the much-married daughter of Barbara Cartland who became Lady Diana’s stepmother https://www.the-tls.co.uk/articles/three-times-a-countess-tina-gaudoin-book-review-laura-thompson/ Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Oct 23, 202212 min

A Journey Into The Ambiguous Afterlife

This week, Toby Lichtig interviews the new Booker laureate, Shehan Karunatilaka, and discovers why he killed off his protagonist; and we explore the latest developments in a Chaucerian controversy. ‘The Seven Moons of Maali Almeida’ by Shehan Karunatilaka Mary C Flannery on Chaucer Produced by Charlotte Pardy Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Oct 20, 202253 min

Beyond Flesh and Blood

Michele Pridmore-Brown considers our quest for godlike immortality https://www.the-tls.co.uk/articles/hybrid-humans-harry-parker-the-price-of-immortality-peter-ward-book-review-michele-pridmore-brown/ Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Oct 16, 202225 min

Measuring Our Lives, One Reindeer At A Time

Richard Dunn joins Alex and Lucy to discuss how humanity began to measure the world around it; and Lauren Elkin illuminates the immense artistic contribution of Annie Ernaux, this winner of this year’s Nobel Prize in Literature. ‘Beyond Measure: The Hidden History of Measurement’ by James Vincent The work of Annie Ernaux, Nobel Prize laureate 2022 Produced by Charlotte Pardy Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information....

Oct 13, 202249 min

What's For Dinner?

Bill McKibben considers the future of farming in a rapidly warming world https://www.the-tls.co.uk/articles/rooted-sarah-langford-sixty-harvests-left-philip-lymbery-regenesis-george-monbiot-review-bill-mckibben/ Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Oct 09, 202226 min

United We Stand

Sofia Chelyak joins us to preview this weekend’s Lviv International Book Forum, in which guests including Margaret Atwood and Henry Marsh will join Ukrainian writers and thinkers in an online extravaganza; plus highlights of our live podcast on narrative arcs in fiction, history and politics and how to support a literary fundraiser for those affected by floods in Pakistan. Lviv International BookForum, 7-9 October 2022 https://airauctioneer.com/books-for-pakistan Produced by Charlotte Pardy Host...

Oct 06, 202249 min

If We Only Had Eyes To See

Charles Foster considers the extraordinary variety of animals’ sensory worlds https://www.the-tls.co.uk/articles/an-immense-world-ed-yong-book-review-charles-foster/ Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Oct 02, 202213 min

Marching To Their Own Tune

This week, Dennis Zhou joins us to illuminate the activism, anarchism and agility of the poet Gary Snyder; and Hannah Skoda reports from the Globe on a bold reinterpretation of the life of Joan of Arc. 'Collected Poems' by Gary Snyder, edited by Jack Shoemaker and Anthony Hunt 'I, Joan' by Charlie Josephine Produced by Charlotte Pardy. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Sep 29, 202250 min

Vaccines On Stage, Elves On Screen

This week, we talk to Jonathan Spector about the European premiere of his play at the Old Vic; and Dimitra Fimi unpacks what's behind the new tv series The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power. Eureka Day, The Old Vic, London, until October 31 The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power, Amazon Prime Produced by Charlotte Pardy Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Sep 22, 202243 min

Elizabeth II in History

Jane Ridley looks back at the Queen’s eight-decade reign Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Sep 18, 202216 min

The Rise of Your Frenemy’s Sourdough

This week, Miranda France explores a suite of books about motherhood; and we survey the pick of this autumn’s fiction with Toby Lichtig. ‘Don’t Forget to Scream: Unspoken Truths About Motherhood’ by Marianne Levy ‘Motherhood: Feminism’s Unfinished Business’ by Eliane Glaser ‘Motherload: Modern Motherhood and How to Survive It’ by Ingrid Wassenaar The Baby on the Fire Escape: Creativity, Motherhood, and the Mind-Baby Problem’ by Julie Phillips ’Still Born’ by Guadelupe Nettel, translated by Rosal...

Sep 15, 202245 min
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