A weekly podcast on books and culture brought to you by the writers and editors of the Times Literary Supplement.
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This week, Professor Jonathan Bate on a tiny Elizabethan portrait with an illuminating history; and novelist Gwendoline Riley assesses the mysterious life and work of Dame Muriel Spark. 'Electric Spark: The enigma of Muriel Spark', by Frances Wilson 'The Letters of Muriel Spark – Volume 1: 1944–1963', edited by Dan Gunn Produced by Charlotte Pardy Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
This week, the winner of this year's TLS Ackerley Prize, Jeff Young, discusses his spellbinding memoir; and Toby Lichtig talks to the Australian novelist Michelle de Kretser at this year's Hay Festival. 'Wild Twin', by Jeff Young 'Theory & Practice', by Michelle de Kretser Produced by Charlotte Pardy Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
This week, George Berridge instructs Lucy and Alex on the noble art of oenophilia; and Lucy takes in a trio of musicals. 'Who's Afraid of Romanée-Conti: A shortcut to drinking great wines', by Dan Keeling 'One Thousand Vines: A new way to understand wine', by Pascaline Peltier 'Good Night, Oscar', by Doug Wright, Barbican, until September 21 'Top Hat', by Irving Berlin, Chichester Festival Theatre, until September 6 'Brigadoon', by Alan Lerner and Frederick Loewe, adapted by Rona Munro, Regent’s...
Alex Clark celebrates the life and work of Edna O'Brien with filmmaker Sinéad O'Shea and novelists Eimear McBride and Jan Carson at this year's Belfast Book Festival. 'Blue Road: The Edna O'Brien Story', by Sinéad O'Shea Produced by Charlotte Pardy Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
This week, a special interview with farmer and writer James Rebanks about a life-changing stay on the Norwegian coast. 'The Place of Tides', by James Rebanks Produced by Charlotte Pardy Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
This week, Emile Chabal braces himself against the barrelling force of the Mistral; and Kathryn Hughes is exhilarated by memories of dancing to Dickens in the carpark of the Horsham Odeon. 'The Mistral: A Windswept History of Modern France', by Catherine Tatiana Dunlop 'Showtime!', at the Charles Dickens Museum, until January 18, 2026 Produced by Charlotte Pardy Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information....
This week, Norma Clarke explores the ancient arts of hedge-laying, thatching, hay-cutting and wood-turning; and highlights from this week's issue. 'Words from the Hedge: A hedgelayer’s view of the countryside', by Richard Negus 'Of Thorn and Briar: A year with the West Country hedgelayer', by Paul Lamb 'On the Roof: A thatcher’s journey', by Tom Allan 'Where Are the Fellows Who Cut the Hay?: How traditions from the past can shape our future', by Robert Ashton 'Ingrained: The making of a craftsma...
This week, Alicia Rix charts Henry James's return to an unrecognisable homeland; and David Horspool on a Victorian conman and a contemporary swimmer. 'Henry James Comes Home: Rediscovering America in the Gilded Age', by Peter Brooks 'On Writers and Writing: Selected Essays', by Henry James, edited by Michael Gorra 'Swimmingly: Adventures in Water', by Vassos Alexander Produced by Charlotte Pardy Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information....
This week, Michael LaPointe celebrates a century of The Great Gatsby; and Miranda France on an epistolary novel by Natalia Ginzburg. 'The Cambridge Centennial Edition of The Great Gatsby ', by F Scott Fitzgerald, edited by James LW West III, with an introduction by Sarah Churchwell 'The Annotated Great Gatsby ', by F Scott Fitzgerald, edited by James LW West III, with an introduction by Amor Towles 'The Great Gatsby and Stories from All the Sad Young Men', by F Scott Fitzgerald, edited by Philip...
This week, Nicola Shulman is staggered by Sarah Vine's account of Westminster rivalry; and James Clackson on the irresistible rise of Indo-European. 'How not to be a political wife: A memoir', by Sarah Vine 'Proto: How one language went global', by Laura Spinney 'The Indo-Europeans rediscovered: How a scientific revolution is rewriting their story', by JP Mallory Produced by Charlotte Pardy Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information....
... thinking about tomorrow. This week, Michael Caines on a musical inspired by a classic album; and Toby Lichtig talks to Mike Berners-Lee about the future of cliimate action at the Guernsey Literary Festival. 'Sterophonic', by David Adjmi, Duke of York’s Theatre, until October 11 'A Climate of Truth: Why We Need It and How to Get It', by Mike Berners-Lee Produced by Charlotte Pardy Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information....
This week, what TLS contributors are reading this summer; and Catherine Taylor on a trio of novels highlighting the growing pains of adolescence. 'Back in the Day', by Oliver Lovrenski, translated by Nichola Smalley 'Fun and Games', by John Patrick McHugh 'Girl, 1983', by Linn Ullmann, translated by Martin Aitken Produced by Charlotte Pardy Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
This week, Sara Lodge counts the ways that mathematics influenced writers from Byron to Trollope; and Russell Williams on the transformative power of rites and rituals. 'The Number Sense of Nineteenth-Century British Literature', by Stefanie Markovits 'The Moon and Serpent Bumper Book of Magic', by Alan Moore and Steve Moore Produced by Charlotte Pardy Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
This week, a special podcast from the Hay Festival ranges from the ancient world to the 16th-century, taking in the art of criticism, the centrality of religion and eco-catastrophe. With Stephanie Merritt, Edith Hall, Toby Lichtig and a guest appearance from TLS crossword compiler Praxiteles. 'Traitor's Legacy', by SJ Parris 'Epic of the Earth: Reading Homer's "Iliad" in the Fight for a Dying World', by Edith Hall Produced by Charlotte Pardy Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more inform...
This week, Magna Carta experts David Carpenter and Nicholas Vincent tell us how they discovered a rare original of the document; and Michael Caines on a spritely new staging of a Shaw play starring mother and daughter Imelda Staunton and Bessie Carter. 'Mrs Warren's Profession', by George Bernard Shaw, Garrick Theatre, London, until August 16 Produced by Charlotte Pardy Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information....
This week, Eimear McBride is captivated by the life and work of Joyce's biographer; and Mark Nayler is hot on the trail of the wolf who walked alone. 'Ellmann's Joyce: the biography of a masterpiece and its maker', by Zachary Leader 'Lone wolf: walking the faultlines of Europe', by Adam Weymouth Produced by Charlotte Pardy Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
This week, Vanessa Curtis celebrates a century of Mrs Dalloway; and Claire Lowdon on the capacious diaries of Helen Garner. 'Mrs Dalloway', by Virginia Woolf 'Monkey grip', 'The children's Bach', 'This house of grief', 'How to end a story: collected diaries', by Helen Garner Produced by Charlotte Pardy Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
This week, Nicola Shulman salutes the memoirs of an old-school editor and socialite; and Rebecca Fraser on an unexpectedly peaceful transition of power in 17th-century America. 'When the going was good: an editor’s adventures during the last golden age of magazines', by Graydon Carter 'Taking Manhattan: the extraordinary events that created New York and shaped America', by Russell Shorto Produced by Charlotte Pardy Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information....
This week, Toby Lichtig travels to Oslo to interview Nobel laureate Jon Fosse; meanwhile, Natasha Lehrer heads to Zurich for a compelling new play by Deborah Levy. Jon Fosse is published in English by Fitzcarraldo Editions '50 Minutes', by Deborah Levy, Neumarkt Theatre, Zurich, until May 7 Produced by Charlotte Pardy Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
This week, David Gallagher remembers Peruvian Nobel laureate Mario Vargas Llosa; and Laurent Binet whisks us to 16th-century Florence to explore the world of his novel Perspectives. 'Perspectives', by Laurent Binet, translated by Sam Taylor Produced by Charlotte Pardy Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
This week, Peter Holland treads the boards in Elizabethan London in search of Shakespeare before the Globe; and Muriel Zagha on a captivating tale of cheese-making in the Jura. 'The dream factory: London’s first playhouse and the making of William Shakespeare', by Daniel Swift 'Holy Cow', a film by Louise Courvoisier Produced by Charlotte Pardy Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
This week, Margaret Drabble explores how Dickens drew on his love of the macabre and grotesque to create literary magic; and Norma Clarke takes a tour around the British coast. 'Dickens the enchanter: Inside the explosive imagination of the great storyteller', by Peter Conrad 'The restless coast: A journey around the edge of Britain', by Roger Morgan-Grenville 'Seascape: Notes from a changing coastline', by Matthew Yeomans 'The Shetland Way: Community and climate crisis on my father’s islands', ...
Caroline Moorehead salutes the energetic brilliance of singer Josephine Baker; and Aaron Peck on the past, present and future of the avant-garde. 'Fearless and free: A memoir', by Josephine Baker, translated by Anam Zafar and Sophie Lewis 'Josephine Baker's secret war: The African American star who fought for France and freedom', by Hanna Diamond 'What art does: An unfinished theory', by Brian Eno and Bette A. 'How to be avant-garde: Modern artists and the quest to end art', by Morgan Falconer '...
This week, we're joined by Harriet Baker, winner of the Sunday Times Young Writer of the Year Award; and Helen Scales tunes into the sonic marvels beneath the surface of the sea. 'Rural Hours: The country lives of Virginia Woolf, Sylvia Townsend Warner and Rosamond Lehmann', by Harriet Baker 'Sing Like a Fish: How sound rules life under water', by Amorina Kingdon Produced by Charlotte Pardy Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information....
This week, novelist Damon Galgut remembers the ground-breaking South African playwright Athol Fugard; and Michael Caines on two very different approaches to the Danish prince. 'Grand Theft Hamlet', on Mubi 'Hamlet', by William Shakespeare, Royal Shakespeare Company, Stratford-upon- Avon, until March 29 Produced by Charlotte Pardy Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
This week, Larry Wolff immerses himself in a bold operatic vision of Melville's classic; and Travis Elborough on a boosterish attempt to rescue Croydon from its knockers. 'Moby-Dick', composed by Jake Heggie, Metropolitan Opera House, New York, until March 29 'Croydonopolis: A Journey to the Greatest City that Never Was', by Will Noble Produced by Charlotte Pardy Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information....
This week, Toby Lichtig chats to Sam Leith about formative literature at Jewish Book Week; and David Horspool meets Sue Prideaux, winner of this year's Pol Roger Duff Cooper Prize. 'The Haunted Wood: A History of Childhood Reading', by Sam Leith 'Wild Thing: A Life of Paul Gauguin', by Sue Prideaux Produced by Charlotte Pardy Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
This week, Michael Caines interviews the men behind the Royal Shakespeare Company's thrilling new production of Christopher Marlowe's Edward II; and Nat Segnit finds Pico Iyer's journeys to a Californian monastery a welcome retreat from the world. 'Edward II', by Christopher Marlowe, Swan Theatre, Stratford-upon-Avon, until April 5 2025 'Learning from Silence: Lessons from More Than 100 Retreats', by Pico Iyer Produced by Charlotte Pardy Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more informatio...
This week, Edith Hall finds herself mesmerised, entranced and perplexed by Sophocles; and Barnaby Phillips on a bizarre imperial incursion in 19th-century Africa. 'Oedipus', by Sophocles, Old Vic until March 29 'Electra', by Sophocles, Duke of York's Theatre until April 12 'A Training School for Elephants', by Sophy Roberts Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
This week, we're joined by Eimear McBride as she publishes a compelling new novel; and Anne Fuchs celebrates WG Sebald's illuminating and idiosyncratic essays. 'The City Changes Its Face', by Eimear McBride 'Silent Catastrophes: Essays in Austrian Literature', by WG Sebald, translated by Jo Catling Produced by Charlotte Pardy Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
