Beyond the Books - chats with researchers in literatures, languages and cultures

Beyond the Books is a podcast from the University of Edinburgh’s School of Literatures, Languages and Cultures (LLC) that gives you a behind-the-scenes look at research and the people who make it happen. This is the fourth episode in Series 4, which is hosted by Beth Price (PhD student in Asian Studies).
Beth’s guest for this episode is Marie Legendre, Senior Lecturer in Islamic History. They chat about Marie's research on Late Antique and early Islamic history, her experience within the field of papyrology, and her ERC-funded project, Caliphal Finances, which explores Abbasid fiscal history in the Islamic Late Antiquity period.

Beyond the Books is a podcast from the University of Edinburgh’s School of Literatures, Languages and Cultures (LLC) that gives you a behind-the-scenes look at research and the people who make it happen. This is the third episode in Series 4, which is hosted by Beth Price (PhD student in Asian Studies).

Beth’s guest for this episode is Kat Zabecka, PhD candidate in Film Studies. They chat about Kat's research into audience experiences of films, identity and belonging, and social sharing, as well as her decision to study part-time and how she balances work and study.

Beyond the Books is a podcast from the University of Edinburgh’s School of Literatures, Languages and Cultures (LLC) that gives you a behind-the-scenes look at research and the people who make it happen. This is the second episode in Series 4, which is hosted by Beth Price (PhD student in Asian Studies).

Beth’s guest for this episode is Şebnem Susam-Saraeva, Personal Chair of Translation Studies. They chat about Şebnem's work on translation/interpreting in maternal health, as well as her developing research within the field of eco-translation, especially communication in whales, dolphins and porpoises, and the role of translation in climate crisis discourse.

Beyond the Books is a podcast from the University of Edinburgh’s School of Literatures, Languages and Cultures (LLC) that gives you a behind-the-scenes look at research and the people who make it happen. This is the first episode in Series 4, which is hosted by Beth Price (PhD student in Asian Studies).

Beth’s guest for this episode is Amanda Fiorani, a visiting PhD student in English Literature and one of this year's student readers for the James Tait Black Prize for Fiction. They chat about Amanda's research on queerness and performativity in the work of playwright Ben Jonson, as well as her experience being a judge of the longest-running literary awards in the UK - the winner of which was announced on 28 May 2026.

Beyond the Books is a podcast from the University of Edinburgh’s School of Literatures, Languages and Cultures (LLC) that gives you a behind-the-scenes look at research and the people who make it happen. This is the sixth episode in Series 3, which is hosted by Beth Price (PhD student in Asian Studies).
Beth’s guest for this episode is Simon West, a PhD student in Creative Writing and newly published author of middle-grade novel, ‘Abner’. They chat about Simon’s research, his return to academia as a mature student, as well as his journey through the world of publishing.

Beyond the Books is a podcast from the University of Edinburgh’s School of Literatures, Languages and Cultures (LLC) that gives you a behind-the-scenes look at research and the people who make it happen. This is the fifth episode in Series 3, which is hosted by Beth Price (PhD student in Asian Studies).
Beth’s guest for this episode is PhD candidate in French and Francophone Studies, Madeleine Banatvala. Their discussion touches on philosophy, female friendship, and relationships and sexuality, all through the lens of Simone de Beauvoir and Violette le Duc’s works and lives.

Beyond the Books is a podcast from the University of Edinburgh’s School of Literatures, Languages and Cultures (LLC) that gives you a behind-the-scenes look at research and the people who make it happen. This is the fourth episode in Series 3, which is hosted by Beth Price (PhD student in Asian Studies).
For this episode, Beth is talking to Dr Charlotte Gleghorn, Senior Lecturer in Latin American Film Studies in LLC. Together they explore Charlotte’s research into Indigenous and Afrodescendant Latin American filmmaking and cinema spaces, revealing what they can tell us about memory, cultural identity, and the need for different stories.

Beyond the

Books is a podcast from the University of Edinburgh’s School of Literatures,

Languages and Cultures (LLC) that gives you a behind-the-scenes look at

research and the people who make it happen. This is the third episode in

Series 3, which is hosted by Beth Price (PhD student in Asian Studies).

In this

episode, Beth talks to self-professed “fox type of scholar”, Dr Xuelei Huang,

Senior Lecturer in Chinese Studies in LLC. From cinema to smells, they dive

into the softer side of history and cultural cosmopolitism in Republican

China.

Books is a podcast from the University of Edinburgh’s School of Literatures,

Languages and Cultures (LLC) that gives you a behind-the-scenes look at

research and the people who make it happen. This is the second episode in

Series 3, which is hosted by Beth Price (PhD student in Asian Studies).

In this episode, Beth talks to Paul Crosthwaite,

Professor of Modern and Contemporary Literature in LLC. Can fiction really

predict the next economic trend? Can literature’s ‘what if’ questions help us

reset our relationship with money, labour, finance and so on? They dive into

speculative fiction and the emerging field of the Economic Humanities to find

out.

If you'd like to explore Paul's work in more detail, watch or listen to his Inaugural Lecture as Professor of Modern and Contemporary Literature recorded in Edinburgh in March 2024 >>
Inaugural Lecture - What are the Economic Humanities? A Short Guide to an Interdisciplinary Field 

Beyond the Books is a podcast from the University of Edinburgh’s School of Literatures, Languages and Cultures (LLC) that gives you a behind-the-scenes look at research and the people who make it happen. This episode is the first in Series 3 and, in a double first, marks the debut of new host Beth Price, a PhD student in Asian Studies.
In this episode, Beth talks to Dr Désha Osborne, a Chancellor’s Fellow in English Literature. They chat about Désha’s work on the connection between Scotland and the Caribbean, her experience of editing the previously relatively unknown poem Hiroona, and the incredible power of storytelling.