Today's guest is both an avid leisure reader and a professional word nerd.
Gary Robinaugh has always been fascinated with the role language plays in our lives. His career studying Aphasia—a language disorder caused by a specific type of brain damage—explores the relationship between thought, language, and communication, and he's equally fascinated by these t ... Show More
Jul 8
Ep 485: A midyear reading check-in
A midyear reading check-in has become a small tradition around here, and today Anne is welcoming team member Shannan Malone back to the podcast. Today, you'll hear Anne and Shannan dive into the history of this practice before exploring how this year’s been going so far, what the ... Show More
1 h
Jul 1
Ep 484: A summer to slow down and sink into what you love
Today's guest is looking for ways to slow down and sink into what she loves most as she plans her summer of reading. Chelsea Siler is an early childhood special education teacher in Tacoma, Washington. She's often found reading to be a source of joy, escape, and growth, and she'd ... Show More
49m 11s
Nov 2021
The Godwits Fly by Robin Hyde
Our guest is author Paula Morris, who joins us from Auckland to discuss the novel The Godwits Fly (1938) and the life of its author Iris Wilkinson AKA Robin Hyde. In recent years, Iris Wilkinson's writing has been rediscovered and restored to the canon of New Zealand literature, ... Show More
1h 17m
Feb 2023
Episode 144 - HOW TO WRITE A BESTSELLER, WITH JEFFREY ARCHER
A colourful and at times controversial public figure, Jeffrey Archer wrote his first novel in 1976, and now aged 82, has sold a mammoth 320 million books worldwide. How did he become one of the world’s bestselling authors? And what does the future hold for books and reading? Jeff ... Show More
21m 58s
Mar 2024
Books That Make Our Critics Laugh
Earlier this month, the Book Review’s staff critics — Dwight Garner, Alexandra Jacobs and Jennifer Szalai — released a list of 22 novels they have found reliably funny since Joseph Heller’s landmark comic novel “Catch-22” came out in 1961. On this week’s episode, they tell Gilber ... Show More
30m 33s
Jul 2024
The best books to read this summer
What should you read on the beach this summer? What about if you’re stuck indoors, or if you need a break from kids? Each June, our literary editor Fred Studemann and deputy books editor Laura Battle put together the FT’s summer books special, and today they give us their recomme ... Show More
23m 25s
Mar 2024
🔒 Native English Conversation: Is reading fiction a waste of time?
Subscriber-only episodeE193: 🎙️ Welcome to the Plus Member bonus episode! Join me, Anna, and my special guest, Nick, as we delve into the fascinating world of reading and the evolution of our relationships with books. From childhood memories of exploring the colourful shelves of ... Show More
10 m