The 1843 podcast

These days, sports commentary boxes are filled with former players. But they’re not always as good behind the mic as they were on the field. In this podcast, our sports columnist Ed Smith – a professional cricketer turned broadcaster – joins Matthew Sweet to discuss the psychology behind excellence in sport, and how it’s the opposite of what you need as an analyst of the game

In our November/December issue, the fashion writer Luke Leitch writes about modern menswear. In this podcast, he joins Matthew Sweet to discuss why 21st-century New Yorkers dress like 1950s forest rangers, why designers yearn for authenticity, and why sportswear is the style of the future

In our November/December issue, Helen Gordon examines a new geological era: the Anthropocene. In this podcast she joins Matthew Sweet to discuss why some geologists don't believe in it, what it means for the arts as well as science, and how she time-travelled with the help of some ancient ice

In our September/October issue, John Burnside revisits the House of Ensor in Ostend, Belgium—the site of a transformative family holiday from his youth. In this podcast he joins Matthew Sweet to discuss masks: Ensor's, and those we all wear

In our September/October issue, Isabel Lloyd profiles Joel Arthur Rosenthal, widely regarded as the greatest jeweller in the world, and certainly the most mysterious. In this podcast she joins Matthew Sweet to talk about what she found when she entered his hidden world, and the real man behind the myth

In her memoir in our September/October issue, Jo Lennan writes about being diagnosed with cancer in her thirties. In this podcast, she joins Matthew Sweet to talk about what she learnt along the way, about illness as metaphor, and about how this is a genomic era of cancer research

Tim de Lisle joins Matthew Sweet to talk about Randy Newman, the writer of sardonic songs like “You Can Leave Your Hat On” as well as the soundtracks for the “Toy Story” movies. De Lisle followed him from Vienna to Los Angeles for his profile in our September/October issue and found a man who, like his music, is ironic, characterful, curmudgeonly and warm-hearted

After years of idle dreams, Jasper Rees visited the valleys in Argentina that have been an outpost of Wales for 150 years. He joins Matthew Sweet to talk about keeping a language and a culture alive 7,000 miles from home

Our science columnist, Oliver Morton, joins Matthew Sweet to talk about the energy flows in our cells. They are as strong as lightning, they explain why things age, and they give us a new way to understand life itself

They were the stories that gripped a generation. So what imprint did they leave on young minds? In this episode, Matthew Sweet is joined by the novelist Katherine Rundell to talk about what influence they had on her