Book Shambles

Rupert Thomson is the author of thirteen highly acclaimed novels and an award winning memoir. He has spent timing living all around the world and his latest novel, Barcelona Dreaming, comes from the six years he spent living in the Spanish city. He talks to Robin and Josie about the book, the city and what it's like finding out one of your novels was on David Bowie's 100 Greatest Books of All Time List. As ever, extended edition available for Patreon supporters. Sign up at patreon.com/bookshambles

Professor Karl Deisseroth is an emergency psychiatry physician. He's been responsible for some breakthrough scientific discoveries in optogenetics in which he developed ways to allow turning specific brain cells on or off, with light. This week he joins Robin to talk about that process and his new book on mental health and human empathy, Connections.  Please note due to a couple of technical hitches, and last minute schedule changes, this week's episode is a little shorter than normal and Josie was unable to join us. Back to normal next week! Support the podcast and get all sorts of bonus goodies at patreon.com/bookshambles

John Robb is a musician from bands like The Membranes but also one of the UK's most respected music journalists. This week he joins Robin and Josie to talk the re-release of his book Death to Trad Rock all about the explosion of the niche post-punk scene and why it never broke through into the mainstream. They also chat about the bands of today that reflect the bands of that period like Idles, music's influence on comedy and when John was the first person to interview Nirvana long before they were famous. To hear an extended edition of this, and all episodes, of Book Shambles subscribe at patreon.com/bookshambles

Pragya Agarwal is a behavioural scientist who’s written a number of excellent books on the subject but her most recent book, (M)otherhood: On the choices of being a woman, is her most personal book yet as it examines how we as a society look at motherhood. She joins Robin and Josie this week to chat about the book, how each new book consumes her, childbirth, menopause and much more. As ever, Patreon supporters get an extended edition which this week includes tales of Robin’s self isolation and a particularly memorable evening at the Fringe… Subscribe at patreon.com/bookshambles

Recorded live online as part of the More Than Words Literary Festival, Robin and Josie are joined by comedian and writer Michael Spicer who you probably best know as the 'Room Next Door' guy. They chat about his recently released first book, The Secret Political Advisor, creating comedy during the pandemic, the state of satire and a whole lot more. To hear an extended version you an subscribe at patreon.com/bookshambles

Comedian, actor, writer and podcaster Jessie Cave joins Robin and Josie this week to talk about her debut novel Sunset which is out now. They talk about why she chose to write about grief, hating being on stage, working with her family and worrying that whatever the book ended up being it'd just be labelled as 'Harry Potter chick lit'. A warning as well that this episode contains some talk about sexual assault and death that may be upsetting for some listeners. Extended edition for Patreon supporters as always. Support the podcast at patreon.com/bookshambles to hear an extra 10 minutes of conversation.

Neuroscientist and best selling author Dean Burnett is a regular contributor to the Cosmic Shambles Network and this week he returns to the Book Shambles podcast to chat to Robin and Josie about his latest book Psycho-Logical, the problems surrounding mental health care in the UK, dealing with grief in the pandemic and some of the continuing misconceptions of mental health issues. On the extended Patreon edition you can hear a long discussion about Section 28 and also Josie's laptop dies... Subscribe and support at patreon.com/bookshambles

On today's episode Josie and Robin chat to the writer Lauren Oyler. A prolific writer of articles for publications like Harper's and the New Yorker, as well as having ghostwritten for many people, her first novel is Fake Accounts about a a woman who discovers her boyfriend is an anonymous internet conspiracy theorist. They chat about the challenges of writing a novel instead of feature articles, the problems with social media in 2021, favourite novels and, of course, lots of other stuff. To hear an extended edition of this episode subscribe to Patreon on patreon.com/bookshambles

Geoff Dyer returns to the podcast to talk to Robin and Josie (who is late arriving because her daughter broke the TV...) about his new book See/Saw: Looking at Photographs, which is out now. They talk about photography, favourite photographers, writing about niche topics for a wide audience and humour in photography. To hear an extended edition of this episode with 15 bonus minutes subscribe to Patreon on patreon.com/bookshambles

On today's episode Robin and Josie are joined by Annie Macmanus (who you may better know as Annie Mac from Radio1) to talk about her debut novel Mother Mother. They chat about her fears of moving into an entirely different creative arena, how the literary and music worlds compare and creating playlists for books. Bonus chat as always for Patreon supporters. Subscribe at patreon.com/bookshambles