The TLS Podcast

This week, we introduce a very festive issue; and Toby Lichtig on the puppeteers pulling the strings of this season's big productions.'The Pelican Child', by Joy Williams'The BFG', by Roald Dahl, adapted by Tom Wells RSC, Stratford-upon-Avon'Pinocchio', by Carlo Collodi, adapted by Charlie Josephine, Globe TheatreProduced by Charlotte Pardy Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week, Lily Herd heads for outer space in the company of a prodigious imagination; and Andrew Motion joins us with a wonderful new poem.'Collected Stories' by Cixin Liu, translated by John Chu, Andy Dudak et al'All that We See or Seem', by Ken Liu'Snow', by Andrew Motion Produced by Charlotte Pardy Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week, Devoney Looser on what we don't know about Jane Austen; and Peter Swaab introduces a previously unpublished story by the great Sylvia Townsend Warner. 'Jane Austen in 41 Objects', by Kathryn Sutherland'Jane Austen’s Bookshelf: The women writers who shaped a legend', by Rebecca RomneyJane Austen and George Eliot: The lady and the radical', by Edward Whitley'Wild for Austen: A rebellious, subversive, and untamed Jane', by Devoney Looser'The Pursuit and the End', by Sylvia Townsend WarnerProduced by Charlotte Pardy Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week, Camille Ralphs confides the highs and lows of travelling by Greyhound bus; and Alev Adil boards a train to join current night owls and bygone tourists.'Greyhound', by Joanna Pocock'Moonlight Express: Around the World by Night Train', by Monisha Rajesh'To the Sea by Train: The Golden Age of Railway Travel', by Andrew MartinProduced by Charlotte Pardy Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week, Damian Flanagan explores the complex history of the Japanese masterpiece The Tale of Genji; and Miranda France on the eventful life and enduring work of Miguel de Cervantes.'The Tale of Genji', by Murasaki Shikibu'El Verano de Cervantes', by Antonio Muñoz Molina'El Cautivo', directed by Alejandro AmenábarProduced by Charlotte Pardy Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week, TLS contributors select their favourites from 2025; plus an interview with CD Rose, winner of this year’s Goldsmiths Prize.‘We Live Here Now’, by CD RoseProduced by Charlotte Pardy Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week, how well does Alan Hollinghurst's novel The Line of Beauty translate to the stage? And Toby Lichtig interviews the newest winner of the Booker Prize, David Szalay.'The Line of Beauty', by Jack Holden, based on the novel by Alan Hollinghurst, Almeida Theatre, London, until November 29'Flesh', by David SzalayProduced by Charlotte Pardy Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week, Terri Apter reviews a quartet of books exploring the impact of parenthood on identity, particularly for women; and we revisit Helen Garner, as she wins the Baillie Gifford Prize for Non-Fiction.'Four Mothers: A year of motherhood around the world', by Abigail Leonard'The Republic of Parenthood: On bringing up babies', by Rhiannon Lucy Cosslett'Second Life: Having a child in the digital age', by Amanda Hess'Childless by Choice: The meaning and legacy of a childfree life', by Helen Taylor'How to End a Story: Collected Diaries', by Helen GarnerProduced by Charlotte Pardy Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week, Lily Herd introduces us to the concept of Fascist Yoga; and Mark Storey on America’s ghosts.‘Sick Houses: Haunted Homes and the Architecture of Dread’, by Leila Taylor‘Haunted States: An American Gothic Guidebook’, by Miranda CorcoranProduced by Charlotte Pardy Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week, Margaret Drabble enjoys an enthralling biography of an adventure writer and his entourage; and Thea Lenarduzzi on the gothic mystery at the heart of her new book.'Storyteller: The life of Robert Louis Stevenson', by Leo Damrosch'The Tower', by Thea LenarduzziProduced by Charlotte Pardy Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week, Mary Beard grapples with a noisy new version of Euripides at the National Theatre; and Norma Clarke on the mysterious world of Helen DeWitt's new novel.'Bacchae', by Nima Taleghani, after Euripedes, Olivier Theatre, National Theatre, London, until November 1'Your Name Here', by Helen DeWitt and Ilya GridneffProduced by Charlotte Pardy Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week, Tim Lake explains why Bertie Wooster is not half the dimwit we think he is; and fiction editor Toby Lichtig introduces the novels to look out for this autumn.Produced by Charlotte Pardy Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week, Nicola Shulman is entranced by the life of a naturalist; and Larry Wolff enjoys a night at the opera - with added superheroes.'A year with Gilbert White: The first great nature writer', by Jenny Uglow'The amazing adventures of Kavalier & Clay', by Mason Bates and Gene Scheer, based on the book by Michael Chabon, Metropolitan Opera, New York, until October 11Produced by Charlotte Pardy Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week, Richard Sennett delivers a powerful warning to universities to defend their freedom; and Helena Kelly on the revolutionary world that shaped Jane Austen.'The Worlds of Jane Austen: The Influence and Inspiration Behind the Novels', by Helena KellyProduced by Charlotte Pardy Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week, AE Stallings immerses herself in Daniel Mendelsohn's new translation of Homer's Odyssey; and Dinah Birch is intrigued by an ambitious novel twenty years in the making. 'The Odyssey', by Homer, translated by Daniel Mendelsohn 'The Loneliness of Sonia and Sunny', by Kiran DesaiProduced by Charlotte Pardy Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week, James Shapiro celebrates New York's love affair with Shakespeare; Mark Nayler goes on the hunt for monsters; and Lily Herd introduces this issue's In Brief pages. 'Monsterland: A journey around the world’s dark imagination', by Nicholas Jubber'The Perilous Deep: A supernatural history of the Atlantic', by Karl BellProduced by Charlotte Pardy Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week, Professor Jonathan Bate on a tiny Elizabethan portrait with an illuminating history; and novelist Gwendoline Riley assesses the mysterious life and work of Dame Muriel Spark.'Electric Spark: The enigma of Muriel Spark', by Frances Wilson'The Letters of Muriel Spark – Volume 1: 1944–1963', edited by Dan GunnProduced by Charlotte Pardy Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week, the winner of this year's TLS Ackerley Prize, Jeff Young, discusses his spellbinding memoir; and Toby Lichtig talks to the Australian novelist Michelle de Kretser at this year's Hay Festival.'Wild Twin', by Jeff Young'Theory & Practice', by Michelle de KretserProduced by Charlotte Pardy Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week, George Berridge instructs Lucy and Alex on the noble art of oenophilia; and Lucy takes in a trio of musicals.'Who's Afraid of Romanée-Conti: A shortcut to drinking great wines', by Dan Keeling'One Thousand Vines: A new way to understand wine', by Pascaline Peltier'Good Night, Oscar', by Doug Wright, Barbican, until September 21'Top Hat', by Irving Berlin, Chichester Festival Theatre, until September 6'Brigadoon', by Alan Lerner and Frederick Loewe, adapted by Rona Munro, Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre, until September 20Produced by Charlotte Pardy Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Alex Clark celebrates the life and work of Edna O'Brien with filmmaker Sinéad O'Shea and novelists Eimear McBride and Jan Carson at this year's Belfast Book Festival.'Blue Road: The Edna O'Brien Story', by Sinéad O'SheaProduced by Charlotte Pardy Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.