Georgina Godwin is joined by two authors who are both on a quest to find new ways to listen – and they invite you to do the same. Dutch-born writer Michel Faber has written several works of fiction including ‘The Crimson Petal and the White’. His first non-fiction book, ‘Listen: On Music, Sound and Us’ explores how psychological pressure influences musical taste. Author and science journalist Caspar Henderson’s ‘A Book of Noises: Notes on the Auraculous’, shows us how we can become re-enchanted by the sounds around us, from the everyday to the celestial.

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One of India’s best-known writers, Amish Tripathi, speaks to Georgina Godwin at Midori House. The author spent 14 years in the financial sector as a marketing and product manager but changed his direction to realign with his passion for writing, winning multiple awards for his books, largely based on Indian spirituality. He is also the director of Nehru Centre, an Indian cultural institution in London.

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Georgina Godwin speaks to Paul Lynch, the author of ‘Prophet Song’, winner of this year’s Booker Prize. Limerick-born Lynch is the fifth Irish writer to win the award, given to the best English-language novel of the year published in either the UK or Ireland. His fifth novel, written over four years, is set in an imagined dystopian Ireland. It depicts a country sliding further into authoritarian rule and follows one woman’s attempts to save her family. The author talks about his career as a journalist and film critic, writing through a period of immense personal upheaval and asking “who is Paul Lynch?”

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British director, animator and author Kevin Jon Davies speaks to Georgina Godwin. With a career that has included writing and directing the documentary ‘Doctor Who: Thirty Years in the Tardis’ and working on animation for the TV adaptation of ‘The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy’ and the classic film ‘Who Framed Roger Rabbit’, Davies has now edited a book. The Sunday Times number one bestseller ‘42: The Wildly Improbable Ideas of Douglas Adams’ collates the genius of his late friend and collaborator through previously unseen archival material.

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Joining Georgina Godwin in today’s episode is American author Sandra Newman, whose sixth novel, ‘Julia’, offers a bold feminist reinterpretation of George Orwell’s ‘Nineteen Eighty-Four’. The book expands upon the protagonist Winston Smith’s narrative to unveil and explore the experiences of women in Oceania. Born in Boston, Newman has lived in many countries, including Germany, Russia, Malaysia and England, and her professions have ranged from academia to professional gambling. She speaks about her experiences prior to her debut novel, which was published in 2002 to critical acclaim, and how it changed the trajectory of her life. 

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Georgina Godwin sits down with the six authors shortlisted for The Baillie Gifford Prize for Non-Fiction 2023: Hannah Barnes, Tania Branigan, Christopher Clark, Jeremy Eichler, Jennifer Homans and John Vaillant. From Branigan’s new look into China’s Cultural Revolution, told through the personal stories of those who lived through it, to Vaillant’s deep dive into the relationship between oil history and climate science, this year’s shortlist presents a variety of bold, original and thought-provoking works. 

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Georgina Godwin speaks to one of the most successful crime-fiction novelists in the UK, Ian Rankin. He is the internationally best-selling author of more than 40 books, including the Inspector Rebus novels, which have been translated into more than 20 languages. He is the recipient of the Edgar Award, four CWA Dagger Awards and last year won the British Book Award for best crime and thriller book. He discusses his new Amazon Originals project, a standalone short thriller set in London’s most exclusive high-rise – a pacy story perfect for your morning commute.

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Award-winning British journalist Ros Atkins joins Georgina Godwin in today’s episode. He is analysis editor and presenter of Outside Source at the BBC but started out at as a news producer on BBC Radio Five Live more than twenty years ago. Ros talks about his book ‘The Art of Explanation: How to Communicate with Clarity and Confidence’. He also takes us back to his Cornish roots, as well as his stint at ‘The Sunday Independent’ in South Africa, and reveals how learning a musical instrument and DJing influenced his ideas on what makes for successful communication.

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