The Penguin Podcast

Journalist and podcast host Pandora Sykes chats to Nihal about her debut book ‘How Do We Know We’re Doing It Right? - a collection of essays which question the perceived wisdom of modern life.  Pandora chooses objects which inspire her and talks to Nihal about her life-long love of books, why it is so important to shop less and she reads out some of her favourite quotes from when she was a teenager. #PenguinPodcast  ‘How Do We Know We’re Doing It Right?’ is available to buy as an audiobook now - https://apple.co/2E1LmGg  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Broadcaster and journalist Dame Jenni Murray talks to Nihal about her new book ‘Fat Cow, Fat Chance’ - what it’s like to be labelled fat when society dictates skinny as the norm.  Jenni chooses objects that have inspired her, telling Nihal how liberated she felt by her favourite leather skirt, when she first realised she was a feminist, and why we need to look at the science behind obesity. #PenguinPodcast  ‘Fat Cow, Fat Chance’ is available to buy as an audiobook now - https://apple.co/3h446D9 Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Illustrator and author Jackie Morris, who has collaborated with the likes of Ted Hughes and written over 40 books, talks to Nihal about how she gets creative and the objects that inspire her such as a gold hare with a fascinating backstory. They also chat about her award-winning book 'The Lost Words' (written by Robert Macfarlane), which won The Most Beautiful Book award and in audiobook form has been narrated by Benjamin Zephaniah, Guy Garvey, Cerys Matthews and Edith Bowman with nature sounds by Chris Watson (who has worked with David Attenborough). 'The Lost Words' audiobook is available to download here: https://apple.co/3gFbnt3 #PenguinPodcast Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this special bonus episode of the Penguin Podcast we bring you Penguin Perspectives.Penguin Perspectives is a collection of essays by twenty Penguin authors, written as a direct response to the Covid-19 crisis. These authors have recorded their essays from their homes during lockdown, and these recordings are collected together here. #PenguinPodcast  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Activist and author Caroline Criado Perez joins Nihal to talk about her book ‘Invisible Women’ - which exposes the gender data gap found in society.   She chats to Nihal about the problems with PPE (one size does not fit all), how to deal with trolls, and why women need more pockets. #PenguinPodcast  ‘Invisible Women’ is available to buy as an audiobook now -  https://apple.co/3iinhdI /  https://adbl.co/3f0D66A    Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Author Amor Towles joins Nihal from Manhattan to discuss his 2016 best-selling book ‘A Gentleman in Moscow’ - the story of a man who is ordered to spend the rest of his life in a luxury hotel.Amor chats to Nihal about and why he starts everyday with the New York Times crossword puzzle and finishes the day with a cocktail.#Penguinpodcast Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Malcolm Gladwell (author of bestsellers such as ‘Blink’ and ‘Outliers’; staff writer for the New Yorker and podcaster) joins Sue Perkins to discuss his latest book ‘Talking to Strangers’ - which is bookended by the story of Sandra Bland, who tragically died in police custody and is one of many names in the #BlackLivesMatter movement. Malcolm explains that Sandra’s story is part of wider problem in how we all misjudge the wants and needs of people we don’t know. Malcolm’s inspirational objects include the Janelle Monáe song ‘Hell You Talmbout’ and the ‘Friends’ theme-tune. #PenguinPodcast'Talking to Strangers' is available to buy as an audiobook now - https://apple.co/3e5iqdC / https://adbl.co/2UkIVUk Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Stuart Russell - Professor of Computer Science at the University of California, Berkeley joins Nihal to discuss his latest book ‘Human Compatible: Artificial Intelligence and the Problem of Control.’ They chat about how Hollywood has clouded our perception of AI, why we don’t need robots in human form and how the best jobs in the future will be ones that involve empathy. #Penguinpodcast  ‘Human Compatible’ is available to buy as an audiobook now - https://apple.co/2UpZPkK / https://adbl.co/2W2muEY  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Scottish author John Niven joins Nihal to discuss his latest book ‘The F*ck-it List’ - the story of a man who after receiving a terminal diagnosis compiles a list of the people he wants to kill.John chats to Nihal about why he hates reading his first draft back, how Donald Trump blocked him on twitter and how a motivational quote keeps him going. #PenguinPodcast‘The F*ck-it List’ is available to buy as an audiobook now - https://apple.co/2yVWUbW / https://adbl.co/2Wns5Vj Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Considered the Founder of Modern Linguistics and voted the World’s Top Public Intellectual, Noam joins Nihal to discuss his prescient 2017 book ‘Optimism Over Despair’, which has just been made into an audiobook. It takes the form of a series of interviews, addressing many issues still relevant today. Noam imparts his wisdom to Nihal (down the line from Arizona) about topics ranging from US politics to the climate crisis and also reveals one of the things he realises that he got wrong in his past #PenguinPodcast   ‘Optimism Over Despair’ is available to buy here - https://apple.co/2zamyKd And will be available as an audiobook from June 4th - https://adbl.co/3fidtyW  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.