The TLS Podcast

By The TLSSociety & Culture Arts Fiction

The TLS Podcast episodes

April 11, 2018 Empathy: for better, for worse
Are we hard-wired to feel other people’s pain? And if so, is it necessarily a good thing? Andrew Scull has reviewed three new books on empathy and joins us to tell us more; Charles Dickens's love of all things theatrical – in life as in art – is no secret. Robert Douglas-Fairhurst considers fifty years' worth of Dickens adaptations for the stage (and film)

Books
The Empathy Instinct by Peter Bazalgette
Against Empathy: The case for rational compassion by Paul Bloom
The Invention of Humanity: Equality and cultural difference in world history by Siep Stuurman
Dickensian Dramas: Plays from Charles Dickens (Volume One, edited by Jacky Bratton; Volume Two, edited by Jim Davis
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
31 min
April 04, 2018 The New Elizabethans
Who are the most exciting novelists from the British Isles currently working? In a spirit of mischief, the TLS asked 200 notable names in the publishing industry (editors, agents, publishers and writers) to nominate those at the top of their literary game. The critic Alex Clark and TLS fiction editor Toby Lichtig join us in the studio to pick through the results
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
35 min
March 28, 2018 Hyper-liberalism and the 6,000th TLS
The political philosopher John Gray discusses the failures of liberalism; as the TLS publishes its 6,000th issue, Ruth Scurr delves into the back issues to explore how the paper has changed, and how it reflects literary culture more broadly; the TLS's poetry editor Alan Jenkins reads two of his favourite poems from the past century: D. J. Enright 's "The Laughing Hyena, by Hokusai" and "In Your Mind" by Carol Ann Duffy
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
43 min
March 28, 2018 Everyone's a winner – a bonus episode
Literary prizes come in more shapes and sizes than ever before: we have prizes that echo the Man Booker, and prizes that set out not to be the Man Booker; we have prizes for first novels, second novels, crime novels that don’t feature violence against women, and, more satirically, a prize for “bad sex in fiction”. Why do we need so many? Do we need them at all? And how do prizes work not only for writers but for those people who do all the reading (and sometimes arguing): the judges? The TLS's Michael Caines chairs a lively discussion between Toby Lichtig, the fiction editor of the TLS, and Alex Clark, a critic and regular prize judge/chair. This live event was a collaboration with BookMachine.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
43 min
March 22, 2018 On the consciousness of cows
Science reporter Jennie Erin Smith joins us to discuss our desire, or evolutionary compulsion, to delve into the minds of other animals, from cows and penguins to the dismally misunderstood hyena; the TLS's George Berridge shares new insights into the work of Cormac McCarthy and the various (failed) attempts at adapting his novels; much has been said about how literary blogs killed off 'proper', print criticism. Jennifer Howard explains why the picture is far more complicated, and positive, than that
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
44 min
March 15, 2018 Ada Lovelace: tech prophet and trophy wife
Miranda Seymour reveals the peculiar circumstances surrounding the marriage of Lord Byron's daughter and his super-fan, William King; just how seriously should we be taking the Virtual Reality revolution? Tom Rachman cautiously probes the frontier of what is possible; Death Row attorney Clive Stafford Smith shares the story of Billy Neal Moore, a tale of murder, hope and Mother Theresa; and finally, before the winner of the Republic of Consciousness Prize for small presses is revealed, the TLS's Fiction editor Toby Lichtig meets Neil Griffiths, the prize's founder, to find out more
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
54 min
March 08, 2018 Writers and their mothers
Dale Salwak, the editor of a new collection of essays, tells us why he wanted to probe this most complicated of relationships, while Judy Carver, the daughter of William Golding – he of Lord of the Flies – sheds light on her father’s difficult relationship with his mother; Charlotte Shane introduces us to Marjorie Hillis, who, in the 1930s, taught American women how to "live alone and like it"; finally, TLS editor Catharine Morris considers the difficult genesis of Latvian literature
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
39 min
March 01, 2018 Jewishness: seriously funny
David Baddiel – comedian and, as per his Twitter profile, Jew – joins us to discuss whether Jewishness is inherently funny; as Italians prepare to elect their next prime minister (an unenviable choice between undesirables and impossibles), Tim Parks – author, translator, and resident of Italy – talks us through the excessively complicated mess that is Italy
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
46 min
February 22, 2018 Prickly, profound Isaac Newton
Just how odd was Isaac Newton? Quite, it turns out, because as well as being one of history’s greatest mathematicians, he was also an alchemist and a millenarian, happily wallowing in conspiracy theories – Oliver Moody joins us to tell us more; did the Cold War ever end? Not as straightforward a question as you might think – the historian David Motadel considers a controversial new book; and finally, Thea Lenarduzzi discusses Greta Gerwig and her Oscar-nominated film Lady Bird
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
39 min
February 21, 2018 Fiona Mozley and Lisa McInerney – at Hay Festival, Cartagena
This special episode – a live recording of an event at Hay Festival, in Cartagena, Colombia, earlier this year – features a discussion with two novelists: Fiona Mozley, whose Booker-shortlisted novel Elmet caused a stir last year, and Lisa McInerney, an Irish writer described by the TLS as “busily combining the traditions of hardcore Irish crime writing with fast-talking foul-mouthed wit and gentle good humour”.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
1 hr 2 min