Electric Sheep

Ben Walker
  • 0.0 (0)
  • BOOKS
  • UPDATED MONTHLY
Electric Sheep

Do you want to get everything you ever wanted & live your best life? Then you're going to have to read hard, wide & free. Together, let's learn how to read & write by analysing the best works ever written, and then some. How do writers do it - keep readers turning the page until they finish the book or throw it across the room? Each episode looks at one book, its first line and a standout section where there's a lesson to be learned about writing. Dissecting writers' language, genre and how their work fits into a greater context can help us understand other people and ourselves. x

  1. The Secret Life of War by Peter Beaumont

    10/16/2024

    The Secret Life of War by Peter Beaumont

    Peter Beaumont is one of those rare writers who's willing to go all the way over the edge in his relentless pursuit of the truth. What happened in Iraq, Afghanistan, Gaza, and other battlefields of the early 21st century? Beaumont uses the pen to reflect on the people he met, the surreal realities of war and the deep wounds left long after the shooting stops. Haunting, troubling, and deeply affecting, if you want to understand why we fight, what happens when we do, and what it takes to gaze unflinchingly at humanity's shadow, Beaumont must be read.

    7 min
  2. Going Mainstream: Why Extreme Ideas Are Spreading, And What We Can Do About It

    10/02/2024

    Going Mainstream: Why Extreme Ideas Are Spreading, And What We Can Do About It

    Julia Ebner puts her finger on some of the most important questions that writers face, not just in our turbulent times, but across all ages: - Who controls language? - Are you using language or being used by it? - Are some people's truths more truthful than others? - How does language change to meet the context of the day? Arming us with critical skills, it's worth reading if you're into the culture war, gender studies, toxic masculinity, incels, the patriarchy, fourth wave feminism, conspiracy theories, the far right, terrorism, deradicalisation and that sort of stuff.

    10 min
  3. Men Who Hate Women

    09/11/2024

    Men Who Hate Women

    Laura Bates threads the needle in her undercover investigation into incel culture, misogyny and the manosphere. Unfiltered and rough on the eyes, Bates is brave enough to tackle a thorny issue head-on and come out still standing, her strong arguments standing up across 300 pages. Weaving together online and RW examples, we're privy to forums, threads, vlogs, interviews, protests and in-person meet-ups as Bates walks the beat of investigative journalist/activist. Is male-on-female violence a form of terrorism? You'll have to read it to find out. Keep one eye out for Bates' adept use a whole bag of persuasive techniques, from stats and figures to anecdotes and eyewitness accounts. Especially powerful are her metaphors - watch out for the Guinea worm burrowing into your leg! Other reading: - Going Mainstream by Julia Ebner - 12 Rules for Life by Jordan Peterson - Lean Out by Dawn Foster

    18 min
  4. Vietnam: The Definitive Oral History, Told From All Sides

    09/04/2024 · BONUS

    Vietnam: The Definitive Oral History, Told From All Sides

    Christian G. Appy's mammoth 600-page non-fiction book collects personal accounts of the Vietnam/American War from all angles. From the Chief of Staff of the United States Army to a new recruit of the National Liberation Front of South Vietnam, we hear myriad voices and are lucky to have writers who do such heavy lifts. Published half a century after the war ended and made up of hundreds of interviews, cuttings and clips of memory, stories, perspectives and reflections, Appy collates them together in an attempt to really understand what happened during the war. If you're interested in the Vietnam War, insane stories of personal struggle, the highest and lowest experiences human beings can have, and that sort of thing, then read this book. If you're a writer and want to learn how to approach a seemingly insurmountable multi-year writing project, then Appy's work stands as an inspiration. Similar books: - The Forgotten Voices series about WW1 and WW2 - Nam by Mark Baker

    15 min
  5. Moby-Dick Or, The Whale

    08/28/2024

    Moby-Dick Or, The Whale

    Herman Melville takes us on a 625-page voyage that could have been 90. Maybe the greatest example of overwriting in history, Captain Ahab's monomaniacal quest is a sick example of pushing your story, themes and characters to breaking point and how it sometimes pays off. It's easy to criticise Melville's inaccuracies, scientific blunders and cultural insensitivity but if you can step forth critically, armed with context and good humour, there be gold in them hills. Or should I say spermaceti in them organs.

    21 min
  6. Freedom

    07/29/2024

    Freedom

    Sebastian Junger takes us on a 130-page trek across a range of subjects, themes, and stories from history, science, geography, philosophy, autobiography and pretty much every genre under the sun. Is it creative non-fiction, long-form jpurnalism, a sociological and anthropological meta analysis? Who cares when the writing is as cool as this.

    15 min
  7. We Were Soldiers Once... And Young

    06/25/2024

    We Were Soldiers Once... And Young

    Lt. Gen. Harold G. Moore (Ret.) and Joseph L. Galloway convey the brutality and strength of men trying to kill each other. It's crazy how a battle report from the Vietnam War can hold so many transcendent truths about human nature, heroism, and loss that still resonate today. Read it if you wanna know what happened in the Ia Drang Valley in November 1965 or if you wanna know what Hell on Earth really looks, sounds, smells, and tastes like.

    25 min
  8. Crime and Punishment

    06/03/2024

    Crime and Punishment

    Fyodor Dostoevsky nails his characters and reader to the page with nine inch nails, cranking the tension up to the max and ruthlessly forcing you to face Great Truths no one else has had the balls to go after. Took me three attempts over 10 years so be prepared to work but the payoffs will change your life and writing forever.

    19 min
See All (96)

About

Do you want to get everything you ever wanted & live your best life? Then you're going to have to read hard, wide & free. Together, let's learn how to read & write by analysing the best works ever written, and then some. How do writers do it - keep readers turning the page until they finish the book or throw it across the room? Each episode looks at one book, its first line and a standout section where there's a lesson to be learned about writing. Dissecting writers' language, genre and how their work fits into a greater context can help us understand other people and ourselves. x

Information

  • Creator
    Ben Walker
  • Years Active
    2019 - 2024
  • Episodes
    96
  • Rating
    Explicit
  • Copyright
    © Ben Walker
  • Show Website
    Electric Sheep

To listen to explicit episodes, sign in.

Stay up to date with this show

Sign in or sign up to follow shows, save episodes, and get the latest updates.
Select a country or region

Africa, Middle East, and India

Asia Pacific

Europe

Latin America and the Caribbean

The United States and Canada