The secret wedding of poets Elizabeth Barrett and Robert Browning on September 12th, 1846, was witnessed by just two people. Elizabeth was so nervous about the ceremony, held at Marylebone Parish Church, that she needed smelling salts to calm her.
Barrett was already an acclaimed poet, while Browning was relatively unknown at the time. But their corresponde ... Show More
Yesterday
Elizabeth of Russia's Bloodless Coup
Wearing an armoured breastplate, clasping a silver cross and seizing an Army spontoon, 31 year old Elizabeth Petrovna appeared at the HQ of the elite Preobrazhensky Regiment guards in St. Petersburg on 25th November, 1741 - intent on over-throwing Tzar Ivan VI (a baby), and seizi ... Show More
11m 23s
Jan 2022
S13, Ep1 How To Fail: Brené Brown
We’re back for a brand new season and PINCH ME BECAUSE I TRULY CAN’T BELIEVE I’M WRITING THIS but…Our first guest of 2022 is…The one, the only…Brené Brown.I’m a huge admirer of Brené’s work, much of which laid the groundwork for the formation of this podcast. She has spent the pa ... Show More
57m 56s
May 2021
Rachel Bilson
Rachel Bilson [The O.C., Jumper, Hart of Dixie] joins Anna to talk about heartbreak, motherhood, trusting your intuition, the head rush of being on the O.C., the brand new O.C. podcast, and whether we can hope for an O.C. reunion. Anna also pulls out a few cards from her new game ... Show More
1h 8m
Apr 2021
Ben Falcone
Ben Falcone [Tammy, Superintelligence, The Boss, What To Expect When You’re Expecting, Enough Said, Bridesmaids] talks with Anna about his new superhero movie Thunder Force, working with Melissa McCarthy (his wife), casting his friends, what it takes to be funny, comic books, The ... Show More
1h 22m
Aug 2021
Ben Platt
Ben Platt [The Politician, The Book of Mormon, Pitch Perfect, Dear Evan Hansen] and Anna talk about first loves and heartbreak, family, fame, writing music, the magic of Wicked and The Wizard of Oz, the role of a lifetime, learning to cook, meeting Barbra Streisand, and more. Lat ... Show More
1h 18m
Nov 2023
Next Year on Close Readings: On Satire
In the first of three introductions to our full 2024 Close Readings programme, starting in January, Colin Burrow and Clare Bucknell present their series, On Satire. Over twelve episodes, Colin and Clare will attempt to chart a stable course through some of the most unruly, vulgar ... Show More
14m 15s
Feb 2023
Laura Mucha (Replay): On Love & Attachment
Today’s guest (recorded back in 2021) is with the amazing Laura Mucha, an ex-lawyer, author, award-winning poet, and speaker. Her first book, Love Factually / We Need to Talk About Love is the result of ten years of interviews with hundreds of strangers aged 8-95 years old across ... Show More
43m 4s
Nov 2021
#BestOf2021: Discover Your Greatness with Les Brown
Les Brown and his twin brother were born on the floor of an abandoned building in Liberty City, a low-income section of Miami, Florida. Their birth mother, married at the time to a soldier stationed overseas, had become pregnant by another man and went to Miami secretly to give b ... Show More
25m 23s