Little Atoms

Baroness Lola Young of Hornsey became one of the first Black Women members of the House of Lords in 2004. Raised in foster care in North London, she studied at the New College of Speech and Drama, then worked as an actress, before becoming Professor of Cultural Studies at Middlesex University. Later, she worked in arts administration before receiving an OBE in 2001 and becoming an independent crossbench member of the House of Lords. She is active in campaigns on modern slavery and ethical fashion. In 2017 she was on the Man Booker Prize judging panel, and she is also Chancellor of the University of Nottingham. On this week’s episode of Little Atoms, the last of 2024, she talks to Neil Denny about her new book Eight Weeks: Looking Back, Moving Forwards, Defying the Odds.

Miranda Sawyer has written about pop music since 1988, beginning on Smash Hits before moving to Select, The Face and the Observer. Her first book Park and Ride explored the British suburbs, her second Out of Time exploded the midlife crisis. On. This week’s episode of Little Atoms she talks to Neil Denny about her latest book Uncommon People: Britpop and Beyond In 20 Songs.

Niall Williams was born in Dublin. He is the author of nine novels, including History of the Rain, which was longlisted for the Booker Prize and Four Letters of Love, which will soon be a major motion picture starring Pierce Brosnan, Helena Bonham Carter, and Gabriel Byrne. His most recent novel, This Is Happiness was shortlisted for the Irish Book Awards Book of the Year and longlisted for The Walter Scott Prize. On this week’s episode of Little Atoms he talks to Neil Denny about his latest novel Time Of The Child.

Simon Critchley has published books on a wide expanse of ethical and philosophical subjects, including the bestselling The Book of Dead Philosophers, his cult novel Memory Theatre and his memoir-analysis of David Bowie - On Bowie. He is Hans Jonas Professor of Philosophy at the New School for Social Research in New York. On this week's episode of Little Atoms he talks to Neil Denny about his latest book On Mysticism: The Experience of Ecstasy.

Jeff Young is a writer for stage, screen and radio. Until recently a senior lecturer in Creative Writing at Liverpool John Moores University, he is the author of the acclaimed memoir Ghost Town. On this week’s episode of Little Atoms he talks to Neil Denny about his new memoir Wild Twin.

Jean Hanff Korelitz is the author of seven novels, including The Devil and Webster, You Should Have Known (adapted as the 2020 HBO series The Undoing, starring Nicole Kidman, Hugh Grant and Donald Sutherland), Admission (adapted as the 2013 film of the same name, starring Tina Fey, Lily Tomlin and Paul Rudd), The White Rose, The Sabbathday River, A Jury of Her Peers, The Latecomer and The Plot. On this week’s episode of Little Atoms she talks to Neil Denny about her latest novel The Sequel.

Jonathan Coe was born a few miles from Bournville in 1961. The author of political satires such as Bournville, What a Carve Up! and Number 11, and family sagas such as The Rotters' Club and The Rain Before It Falls, his novels have won prizes at home and abroad, including Costa Novel of the Year and the Prix du Livre Européen. On this episode of little Atoms he talks to Neil Denny about his latest novel The Proof Of My Innocence.

Francesca Segal is an award-winning writer and journalist. She is the author of two critically acclaimed novels, The Innocents (2012) and The Awkward Age (2017), and a memoir of NICU motherhood, Mother Ship (2019). Her writing has won the 2012 Costa First Novel Award, a Betty Trask Award, and been longlisted for the Women's Prize. On today’s episode of Little Atoms she talks to Neil Denny about her latest novel Welcome To Glorious Tuga.

Dava Sobel is the internationally renowned author of Longitude and Galileo’s Daughter. She was an award-winning former science reporter for the ‘New York Times’ and writes frequently about science for several magazines, including the ‘New Yorker’, ‘Audubon’, ‘Discover’, ‘Life’ and ‘Omni’. On today’s episode of Little Atoms she talks to Neil Denny about her latest book The Elements of Marie Curie: How the Glow of Radium Lit a Path for Women in Science.