The Chorus

In which Stefan hunts guitars, Cinderella and Shakespeare share a theatre, a publisher puts Instagram posts in book on purpose, the West gets revised, and serial killing goes Scottish.

BOOKS: It's The Answers For Me

THEATRE: Janice Honeyman's Cinderella, ShakesMod

TV & FILM: Des, The Harder They Fall

GEAR: Guitar Safari

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In which Stefan has finished more than one book, Salman Rushdie uses too many words, Satan has a dual role, the end of the world is hilarious, dancers go to hell, the war on drugs is actually a happy thing and Iceland is still mellow.

BOOKS: The Hobbit, The Master And Margarita, The Golden House

THEATRE: Apocalaughs Now, Inferno

MUSIC: David Ford, Madison Cunningham, The War On Drugs, Jonsi

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In which singer, songwriter, coffee baron and horse straddler Cito arrives with his own beans to make us a cup of Eden (you can taste the apple). There is live grinding, but not in a (very) smutty way. He also introduces his new Blvd Hvnny single, Joaquin, and the wronged bandit it's written about. Beyond that, we consider Clapton's gear, Springsteen's barn and how a lack of happy endings kind of reflects life...

BOOKS: Nuance And Other Stories

LIVE MUSIC: Fokofpolisiekar at Sognage

MUSIC: Blvd Hvnny, Wonderboom, Eric Clapton

TV: The Chestnut Man, Western Stars

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In which live music and lithe dancers return, along with concerns regarding breathing viruses on people; we launch our new Van Dyke Parks Board single, "What We Have Carried"; we discuss guitar men, microphone women; more lithe dancers and dysfunctional folks, both live and on holiday on an island and possibly dead in a church (on an island).

THEATRE: Queen At The Ballet, The Nutcracker

LIVE MUSIC: Bruce Dennill, The Biz, Satellite 79 at Sognage

MUSIC: The Van Dyke Parks Board, Denison Witmer, Adele, Brandi Carlile

TV: The White Lotus, Midnight Mass, Guitar Man

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In which our guest Mark Tatham shares what it's like being inside a hyena, dark humour is played by the numbers, squid prove to be lethal, John Mayer cries a bit and we praise a White Room that Clapton has never been in.

THEATRE: The Lion King

BOOKS: The White Room by Craig Higginson

MUSIC: John Mayer, Neil Young, CAIN, Big Wreck, Blu Piano Social Club, Jacob Swann, Bright Eyes

TV: Can't Get You Out Of My Head, Squid Game, Inside No 9

FILM: Social Disdance

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In which Stefan comes achingly close to finishing a book, people who play guitars are celebrated even more than usual, a diamond is cursed, a blackbird is slaughtered (more or less metaphorically) and both chefs and sidemen are appreciated. Possibly because they all have lovely guitars.

THEATRE: Dance Spectrum: Reflections at The Dome@NSA

BOOKS: The Name Of The Rose by Umberto Eco (for the last time); Koh-I-Noor by William Dalrymple and Anita Anand

MUSIC: Mike Keneally, Toad The Wet Sprocket, Trip The Witch, Neal Casal, Blackberry Smoke

TV: Chef's Table: Sean Brock

FIRST TAKE: Blackbird - The Beatles

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In which this episode's heading becomes an actual catchphrase for important reasons that will be lost to our children and their children and their children's children unless you listen to the episode. AND we host the remarkably lovely Kiruna-Lind Devar - actress, singer, dancer and songwriter - who helps up talk about:

TV: Avenue 5; Brand New Cherry Flavor, Schumacher

THEATRE: Simply Broadway at The Dome@NSA, Janice Honeyman's Cinderella at Joburg Theatre

BOOKS: African Sky by Tony Park (Intriguing Accent Audio Version), Munich by Robert Harris

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In which there is coffee, a pair of errant hounds and wrangling of such topics as:

TV: I Can't Get You Out Of My Head - An Emotional History Of The World by Adam Curtis; Brand New Cherry Flavor, Your Honor; Travels With My Father

THEATRE: Simply Broadway

BOOKS: The Hobbit by JRR Tolkien; No Middle Name by Lee Child

MUSIC: Jimmy Bryant; If It's Love - Sting; I Still Have Faith In You - ABBA

FIRST TAKE: Fences (© Bruce Dennill, Passage One Music)

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We grapple with the tension between FOMO and going back to the good stuff, with Stefan being charmed by a third stab at Umberto Eco's The Name Of The Rose, Bruce not yet being vexxed by the in-house back-slapping of Smartless and both of us still loving the man-boy, goofy joy of Brooklyn Nine Nine. Nobody we're currently seeing onscreen is happy, for various reasons. Perry Mason, Bryan Cranston's new gig Your Honor and The Blacklist show that details matter, whether they add to effectiveness, annoy the crap out of you or make you want to adopt James Spader's shaving routine. Speaking of adoption, it is one of the major themes in Steven Curtis Chapman's superb and moving autobiography Between Heaven And The Real World, in which a hugely successful rock star makes the challenges marriage and family the centrepieces of his world. That thinking - that focusing on what is important is both underrated and under-practiced - is also the crux of Matt Haig's Notes On A Nervous Planet, a beautiful reminder to give a toss.

We're joined by singer, songwriter, composer, producer, music publisher, short Lebanese person and bald man Neill Solomon, who tells tales of geographically ignorant record executives, South African bands in the Eighties, world-class Afros and musical mindsets. Musically, The Usual do the unusual by failing to fail and Sturgill Simpson is seriously good and good at being serious. In books, we look at Rapid Fire facts from John Maytham and options for the years best fiction from The National Book Review. On TV, Scarface reminds us of old-fashioned violence, while Brand New Cherry Flavor proves that upgrades can be horrifying. And Bo Burnham proves that by looking Inside, a funny guy can break your heart.

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