The TLS Podcast

As the Nobel in Literature and the Booker Prize break the rules, split opinion, and (probably) boost sales of a few books, a bunch of TLS editors share their thoughts on the whole endeavour of prize-giving (Michael: "you may as well throw a stone..."); Alexander van Tulleken considers 'War Doctor: Surgery on the front line', David Nott's tales from the operating tables, and floors, of war-torn places; as his stage adaptation of Stanislaw Lem’s 'Solaris' comes to London, David Greig, the artistic director of the Royal Lyceum Theatre in Edinburgh, talks to the TLS's arts editor Lucy Dallas Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this bonus edition of the podcast, William Collins have taken over the feed to play a new episode of their podcast, Ideas Matter. In this exclusive extract, science writer Phillip Ball talks to his editor Myles Archibald about the ideas explore in his book, How To Grow A Human.To subscribe to Ideas Matter and discover more authors by William Collins, click here. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

As #PublishingSoWhite continues to shame publishers into diversifying their lists, Colin Grant discusses some of the anxieties and complexities beneath the surface; Andrew Motion on why he keeps returning to William Wordsworth; Kate Miller reads a new poem, "Turned-down"Wordsworth’s Fun by Matthew BevisThe Making of Poetry: Coleridge, the Wordsworths and their year of marvels by Adam NicolsonWordsworth’s Poetry: 1815–1845 by Tim Fulford Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Was the 1960s a good decade for Norman Mailer? Thomas Meaney reconsiders the work; Henry Hitchings on Auberon Waugh, anarcho-snob and master of the "vituperative arts"; Toby Lichtig on the vitality of documentary filmmaking‘Collected Essays of the 1960s’ and ‘Four Books of the 1960s’ by Norman Mailer A Scribbler in Soho: A celebration of Auberon Waugh, edited by Naim AttallahWaugh on Wine, by Auberon WaughSay What Happened: A story of documentaries, by Nick FraserOpen City Documentary Festival – opencitylondon.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Elaine Showalter on the “avid, ardent, driven, generous, narcissistic, Olympian, obtuse, maddening, sometimes loveable but not very likeable” Susan Sontag; Patrice Higonnet goes in search of the real Robespierre; A. N. Wilson cuts through class, aristocracy, family and fantasy in Downton AbbeySontag: Her life, by Benjamin MoserRobespierre: L’homme qui nous divise le plus, by Marcel GauchetDownton Abbey (Various cinemas)Almanach de Gotha 2019, two volumes, edited by John James Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

"When future historians study these troubled times, they will marvel at the relentless rise of sea levels, strongman politics and Kardashians." So says Irina Dumitrescu, who joins us to discuss the phenomenon of celebrity, from Sarah Bernhardt to the Kardashian-Jenners; Rafia Zakaria on the murder of the Pakistani social media star Qandeel Baloch, aka "How I'm looking?" girl; Lamorna Ash on 'Bait', a new film about a timeless clash between them and us, set in a small Cornish fishing villageThe Drama of Celebrity by Sharon MarcusKardashian Kulture: How celebrities changed life in the 21st century by Ellis CashmoreTweenhood: Femininity and celebrity in tween popular culture by Melanie KennedyA Woman Like Her: The short life of Qandeel Baloch by Sanam MaherBait by Mark Jenkin, in various cinemas  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The future of the planet is in question this week, or at least, humanity's place on it, as Gabrielle Walker discusses possible solutions to climate change and why we don't need to panic - yet - but we do need to act, together. The TLS's fiction editor, Toby Lichtig, talks us through the hype and hoopla around Margaret Atwood's sequel to The Handmaid's Tale - and what the book itself is like. And are you Team Scott or Team Zelda? Joanna Scutts looks at 'the messy intertextuality of a marriage', and the question of influence within the Fitzgerald ménage. Falter: Has the Human Game Begun to Play Itself Out? by Bill McKibbenLosing Earth: The Decade We Could Have Stopped Climate Change by Nathaniel RichDown to Earth: Politics in the New Climatic Regime by Bruno LatourThe Testaments by Margaret AtwoodThe Great Gatsby by F. Scott FitzgeraldSave Me The Waltz by Zelda Fitzgerald Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We turn to children's and YA literature in this week's episode, with Rozalind Dineen and Toby Lichtig presenting new releases (as reviewed by a selection of young readers), as well as discussing some of the pros and cons of age-specific reading; Robert Douglas-Fairhurst reintroduces J. M. Barrie's classic work Peter Pan, where a wild imagination masks tragic, sometimes disturbing, realitiesAlfie On Holiday by Shirley HughesThe Fate of Fausto: A painted fable by OliverThe Good Thieves by Katherine RundellThe Burning by Laura Bates Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

What kind of son was Philip Larkin? The TLS's poetry editor Alan Jenkins finds insight in some of the 4,000-odd letters and postcards the poet sent home to his "Mop" and "Pop"; Helen Macdonald, the author of H is for Hawk, tells us more than we could ever hope to know about pigeons and pigeon fanciers; Norma Clarke considers the internet artist Cold War Steve, whose ‘furious absurdism’ has won him some 192.8K Twitter followers, and ponders connections with the eighteenth-century satires of Hogarth and GillrayLetters Home, 1936–1977, by Philip Larkin, edited by James BoothHoming: On pigeons, dwellings, and why we return, by Jon Day Cold War Steve Presents...The Festival of Brexit, by Cold War Steve Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The whereabouts of the "Salvator Mundi", the most costly artwork in the world, are still uncertain, as is its attribution to Leonardo da Vinci. Federico Varese, best known for his studies of the mafia, follows the trail; the TLS's history editor David Horspool considers the inner and outer worlds of Anne Frank’s diary, the actual anniversary of the Peterloo massacre, and a selection of other contributions to this week's special issue; Ladee Hubbard reflects on the late Toni Morrison, who died last week, and considers 'The Pieces I Am', a documentary that highlights Morrison's multifaceted life, work and legacyThe Collected Works, by Anne Frank, translated by Nancy Forest-Flier, Susan Massotty, Mirjam Pressler and Kirsten Warner and edited by Mirjam PresslerPeterloo: The English uprising by Robert PooleLegacy: One family, a cup of tea and the company that took on the world, by Thomas HardingThe Pieces I Am, by Timothy Greenfield-Sanders Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.