Books

The Book Club

1

The Book Club

Goalhanger
Fresh Air

2

Fresh Air

NPR
Sara & Cariad's Weirdos Book Club

3

Sara & Cariad's Weirdos Book Club

Plosive
Backlisted

4

Backlisted

Backlisted
Myths and Legends

5

Myths and Legends

Jason Weiser, Carissa Weiser, Nextpod
In Your Spare Time: From the Blog of Ursula K. Le Guin

6

In Your Spare Time: From the Blog of Ursula K. Le Guin

Ursula K. Le Guin Foundation
Inklings Book Club

7

Inklings Book Club

Jack Edwards

2 DAYS AGO

1

Normal People: Class, Ireland, and Heartbreak

Is Sally Rooney's hit novel really a love story? How does class division impact the love Marianne and Connell feel for each other? Is Rooney creating a relatable story of miscommunication during first loves, or a tale of heartbreak and loss? Join Dominic Sandbrook and Tabitha Syrett as they delve into the fascinating story behind the writing of Normal People, the world it was born of, and the novel itself. Email us: ⁠⁠thebookclub@goalhanger.com⁠⁠ Instagram: ⁠⁠@bookclubpodhq⁠⁠ TikTok: ⁠⁠@thebookclubpodhq⁠⁠ X: ⁠⁠@bookclubpodhq⁠⁠ YouTube: ⁠⁠@TheBookClubPodHQ⁠⁠ Senior Producer: Nicole Maslen Assistant Producer: Alfie Norris Social Producer: Harry Balden Video Editor: James Clayden Executive Producer: Dom Johnson Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

2 days ago

•

1hr 10min
1 DAY AGO

2

A veteran diplomat breaks down the Iran war

The war entered a new phase when President Trump began a U.S. naval blockade of the Strait of Hormuz. Aaron David Miller of the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace explains what this means. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsorship and to manage your podcast sponsorship preferences. NPR Privacy Policy

1 day ago

•

44 min
21 HRS AGO

3

Amanda Peet

Amanda Peet is always waiting for the other shoe to drop. Except last year there seemed to be three different shoes, as she faced her parents' deaths and a breast cancer diagnosis. Peet spoke with Terry Gross about her “Season of Ativan,” navigating middle age in Hollywood, and her memories of Diane Keaton from the set of ‘Something’s Gotta Give.’ Peet stars in the new film ‘Fantasy Life’ and in the Apple TV series ‘Your Friends & Neighbors,’ now in its second season. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsorship and to manage your podcast sponsorship preferences. NPR Privacy Policy

21 hrs ago

•

45 min
6 APR

4

Northern Lights: Dogma, Destiny, and Dæmons

To what extent is Pullman’s novel a critique of organised religion? How was Northern Lights inspired by Milton's Paradise Lost? And, did Northern Lights reshape the landscape of modern children's literature? Join Dominic Sandbrook and Tabitha Syrett as they delve into the fascinating story behind the writing of Northern Lights, the world it was born of, and the novel itself. You can order and explore our favourite Folio books at http://foliosociety.com/thebookclub Email us: ⁠⁠thebookclub@goalhanger.com⁠⁠ Instagram: ⁠⁠@bookclubpodhq⁠⁠ TikTok: ⁠⁠@thebookclubpodhq⁠⁠ X: ⁠⁠@bookclubpodhq⁠⁠ YouTube: ⁠⁠@TheBookClubPodHQ⁠⁠ Senior Producer: Nicole Maslen Assistant Producer: Alfie Norris Social Producer: Harry Balden Video Editor: Lorcan Moullier Executive Producer: Dom Johnson Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

6 Apr

•

1hr 18min
1 DAY AGO

5

The Trump Administration's War on Cuba (w/ Medea Benjamin) | The Chris Hedges Report

Medea Benjamin, a co-founder of the antiwar organization CODEPINK, speaks with Chris Hedges about her recent visit to Cuba as part of one of the many humanitarian delegations that have visited the island in response to the severe economic blockade imposed by the Trump administration. Benjamin describes the current situation as “dire”, the worst she has experienced in her 50 years of solidarity work with Cuba, referring to the escalation of the blockade as a “medieval siege.” The fuel shortages have had deadly impacts, imposing nationwide power outages. Sanctions and the blockade have created shortages of food, medicine and other necessities. Benjamin recounts, “People can’t go to work because the buses aren’t working or if they got to work, there’s no electricity or no materials.” She says that doctors and teachers are leaving the country because their salaries are too low to survive. The U.S. media blame the hardships in Cuba on its communist government, but Benjamin shares the advancements that have been made since the Revolution, despite enduring more than sixty years of U.S.-imposed sanctions. A poor country of ten million, Cuba created a once-enviable universal healthcare system and an excellent education system that is free to residents. Now, many of those gains, such as reductions in infant mortality and improvements in life expectancy, are deteriorating under the boot of American imperialism. Delegations have traveled to Cuba from all over the world this year to bring solar panels, medicines and other necessities. Palestinians participated in the delegation that Benjamin helped to organize, and they witnessed many similarities between Cuba and Gaza. In addition to the shortages, another similarity is the growing power of the Cuban-American lobby that supports the blockade, which is modeled on the Israeli-American lobby, AIPAC. Despite this, the situation in Cuba is so severe that even many members of Congress can no longer deny the cruelty of the situation. There are two new pieces of legislation in Congress that CODEPINK and other Cuba solidarity organizations support. Benjamin urges people to take action in any way that they can because she believes Cubans will not be able to endure the hardships of the blockade for much longer.

1 day ago

•

33 min
2 DAYS AGO

6

Human Voices by Penelope Fitzgerald - rerun

In this episode from March 2019, Andy and John are joined by Georgina Morley who was then the Non-Fiction Editorial Director at Picador, and Lucy Scholes, the Senior Editor at McNally Editions. The book under discussion is Penelope Fitzgerald’s Human Voices, her fourth novel, set in the BBC's Broadcasting House during the Second World War. Before that, John extols the virtues of The Good Immigrant (USA) edited by Nikesh Shukla & Chimene Suleyman and Andy is impressed by Sarah Moss’s Ghost Wall. * To purchase any of the books mentioned in this episode please visit our bookshop at uk.bookshop.org/shop/backlisted where all profits help to sustain this podcast and UK independent bookshops. *There is a bonus episode on Penelope Fitzgerald's Booker Prize winning novel Offshore for our Patreon subscribers, along with book chat, no adverts, and extra fortnightly episodes and original writing. ⁠www.patreon.com/backlisted⁠ * For information about everything mentioned in this episode visit www.backlisted.fm *You can sign up to our free monthly newsletter here Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

2 days ago

•

1hr 11min
24 MAR

7

The Secret History: Dark Academia, Greek Myth, and Murder

How does Donna Tartt combine gothic academia and greek mythology in her captivating debut novel? What do the characters tell us about the dark side of human nature? And, did her own university experience influence the story? Dominic Sandbrook and Tabitha Syrett discuss all this and more in this week's episode on The Secret History by Donna Tartt. Explore our favourite Folio books at http://foliosociety.com/thebookclub Email us: ⁠⁠thebookclub@goalhanger.com⁠⁠ Instagram: ⁠⁠@bookclubpodhq⁠⁠ TikTok: ⁠⁠@thebookclubpodhq⁠⁠ X: ⁠⁠@bookclubpodhq⁠⁠ YouTube: ⁠⁠@TheBookClubPodHQ⁠⁠ Senior Producer: Nicole Maslen Social Producer: Harry Balden Assistant Producer: Alfie Norris Video Editor: Lorcan Moullier Executive Producer: Dom Johnson Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

24 Mar

•

1hr 23min
2 DAYS AGO

8

Have we been reading Toni Morrison all wrong?

In a new book, Harvard professor Namwali Serpell makes the case that we have been reading one of the most celebrated writers in American history all wrong. ‘On Morrison’ is a deep dive into the Nobel Laureate’s complete body of work — her 11 novels, plays, and criticism. Serpell has been teaching Morrison for nearly two decades, and she says no matter how many times she returns to the work, she still finds something new. Jazz historian Kevin Whitehead reviews two new biographies of composers and pianists born 40 years apart. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsorship and to manage your podcast sponsorship preferences. NPR Privacy Policy

2 days ago

•

45 min
17 MAR

9

Nineteen Eighty-Four: Big Brother, Surveillance, and Fear

Why is 1984 as relevant today as when it was published? Who is Big Brother, and why is he so powerful? What was George Orwell's intention when creating the world of 1984, and what does it tell us about politics today?Join Dominic Sandbrook and Tabitha Syrett they delve into the fascinating story behind the writing of 1984, the world it was born of, and the novel itself. You can order 1984 and explore our favourite Folio books at http://foliosociety.com/thebookclub Email us: ⁠⁠thebookclub@goalhanger.com⁠⁠ Instagram: ⁠⁠@bookclubpodhq⁠⁠ TikTok: ⁠⁠@thebookclubpodhq⁠⁠ X: ⁠⁠@bookclubpodhq⁠⁠ YouTube: ⁠⁠@TheBookClubPodHQ⁠⁠ Senior Producer: Nicole Maslen Social Producer: Emma Jackson Video Editor: Joe Pettit Executive Producer: Dom Johnson Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

17 Mar

•

1hr 29min
2 DAYS AGO

10

Back to School 2: The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie

Published in 1961, The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie tells the story of a charismatic and narcissistic teacher in a girl’s private school in Edinburgh during the 1930s. Miss Brodie, who insists repeatedly that she is in the prime of her life - aka middle-aged - cultivates a ‘set’ of impressionable young girls who she can use as proxies to act out her own desires. On at least one occasion, when she encourages an impressionable young girl to fight for the fascists in the Spanish Civil War, this has fatal consequences. In the end, it is one of her own set who ‘betrays’ her to the headmistress Miss Mackay, providing the necessary intel to ensure her sacking. The character of Miss Brodie isn’t the only thing memorable about this book. The prose is - as you would expect from a writer called Spark - electric. That is to say, both poetic and incredibly funny. She also manages to write an avant-garde non-linear account of Brodie’s supposed ‘prime’ that has its own propulsion. The novel darts around over a thirty year time period with an effortlessness and accessibility that even the greatest writers struggle to achieve. The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie was published first in the New Yorker. It was an immediate hit and reached canonical status when it was adapted into an Oscar winning film in 1969, starring Dame Maggie Smith and directed by Ronald Neame of Poseidon Adventure fame. In this episode, we’re going to find out who betrayed Miss Brodie - and why. We’re also, as ever, going to delve beyond the book into the prime of Muriel Spark herself, uncovering the real Brodies who inspired her, how her earlier career as a biographer helped shape her approach to fiction, and why endings are always just beginnings. Become a subscriber by signing up at Apple: http://apple.co/slob Or join our Patreon community here: https://www.patreon.com/c/secretlifeofbookspodcast Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

2 days ago

•

1hr 6min

Books

Books

Updated Weekly
Books

Books

Updated Weekly
Society & Culture

Society & Culture

Updated Weekly
Books

Books

Updated Weekly
Personal Journals

Personal Journals

Updated Weekly
Books

Books

Updated Fortnightly
Books

Books

Updated Weekly