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The TLS Podcast

Life In The Slow Lane

This week, Kate Simpson introduces us to the precarious and vital world of the gastropods; and James McConnachie plunges into the teeming waters of the St George’s Channel.


‘A World in a Shell: Snail Stories for a Time of Extinctions’ by Thom van Dooren

’The Turning Tide: A Biography of the Irish Sea’ by Jon Gower


Produced by Charlotte Pardy

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  • O Pioneers!

    46:56
    This week, Andrew Holter takes us into the extraordinary world of Helen Keller, in her own words; and Peter Maber hails a magnificent retrospective of Yoko Ono's radical art and music.'Autobiographies and Other Writings', by Helen Keller'Yoko Ono: Music of the Mind', Tate Modern, London, until 1 September 2024Produced by Charlotte Pardy
  • Between The Sheets

    47:20
    This week, Miranda France contemplates the final novel by Gabriel Garcia Marquez; and Nicola Shulman on what women write in their diaries.'Until August', by Gabriel Garcia Marquez, translated by Anne McLean'Secret Voices: A Year of Women's Diaries', by Sarah GristwoodProduced by Charlotte Pardy
  • A Worm’s-eye View

    50:00
    This week, novelist William Boyd praises a polyphonic account of a pivotal wartime moment; and Sarah Richmond explores how we may escape ceaseless toil.‘November 1942: An Intimate History of the Turning Point of World War II’, by Peter Englund, translated by Peter Graves‘Hijacked: How Neoliberalism Turned the Work Ethic Against Workers and How Workers Can Take it Back’, by Elizabeth Anderson‘After Work: A History of the Home and the Fight for Free Time’, by Helen Hester and Nick SrnicekProduced by Charlotte Pardy
  • Revivals

    48:42
    This week, Damon Galgut praises Diane Oliver's exceptional short stories, newly published over half a century after her death; and Rosemary Waugh on theatre director Yaël Farber's visceral engagement with Shakespearean tragedy.'Neighbors and Other Stories', by Diane Oliver'King Lear', by William Shakespeare, directed by Yaël Farber, at theAlmeida Theatre, London, until March 30, 2024Produced by Charlotte Pardy
  • Cometh the Hour

    55:17
    This week, Fintan O'Toole assesses what makes Labour leader Keir Starmer tick; and Linda Kinstler on the Ukrainian writer, musician and activist Serhiy Zhadan's chronicles of life during wartime. Plus John Kinsella reads his new poem, 'Rooks'.'Keir Starmer: The Biography', by Tom Baldwin'Rooks', by John Kinsella'How Fire Descends: New and Selected Poems', by Serhiy Zhadan, translated by Virlana Tkacz and Wanda Phipps'Sky Above Kharkiv: Dispatches from the Ukrainian Front', by Serhiy Zhadan, translated by Reilly Costigan-Humes and Isaac Stackhouse WheelerProduced by Charlotte Pardy
  • Flights of Fantasy

    52:27
    This week, comedian and actor Tim Key introduces us to his new book of poetry; and Devoney Looser on the bold runaway women of early British novels.'Chapters', by Tim Key, designed by Emily Juniper'Gone Girls,1684–1901: Flights of feminist resistance in theeighteenth- and nineteenth-century British novel', by Nora GilbertProduced by Charlotte Pardy
  • In Conversation with Richard Sennett

    37:08
    The distinguished sociologist and cultural thinker Richard Sennett was once a professional cellist and his new book, The Performer, examines the links between artistic performance, politics and the public-sphere. We were delighted to talk to him about his own experiences asa musician and about prominent figures from Leonard Bernstein and Roland Barthes to Donald Trump and Boris Johnson.'The Performer: Art, Life, Politics', by Richard SennettProduced by Charlotte Pardy
  • All the World's a Stage

    41:21
    This week, a special interview with the sociologist Richard Sennett takes us from Roland Barthes to Leonard Bernstein; and Hettie Judah on two memoirs inspired by a love of 17th-century art.'The Performer: Art, Life, Politics', by Richard Sennett'Thunderclap: A Memoir of Art and Life & Sudden Death', by Laura Cumming'The Upside-Down World: Meetings with the Dutch Masters', by Benjamin MoserProduced by Charlotte Pardy
  • Splendid Isolation

    54:10
    This week, Sinéad Gleeson delights in the byways of Maeve Brennan's New York; and Costica Bradatan explores the enduring appeal of Henry David Thoreau.'The Long-Winded Lady', by Maeve Brennan, with an introduction by Sinéad Gleeson'Thoreau's Axe: Distraction and Discipline in American Culture', by Caleb Smith'Henry at Work: Thoreau on Making a Living', by John Kaag and Jonathan van Belle'Henry David Thoreau: Thinking Disobediently', by Lawrence BuellProduced by Charlotte Pardy