May 11

Yasunari Kawabata

In this episode, we're taking a look at Yasunari Kawabata's life and work.As we tell his story, we'll ask ourselves two big questions. Is Kawabata really a traditionalist? And what is up with the way he writes about adolescent girls?cw: author suicide, problematic imagery about a ... Show More

57m 48s

Feb 2026

Japanese Monster Stories on the Big Screen

In this episode, we look at the writers behind two of Japan's greatest movie monsters—Godzilla and Mothra.We'll start out by looking at Godzilla—its context, author, and story—before we turn to Mothra. We'll close with a reflection on why the stories behind the movies are importa ... Show More

1h 3m

Dec 2025

The Japanese Cell Phone Novel

In this episode, we take a look at the Japanese cell phone novel and the classic story of Train Man.We’re going to start today by explaining the Japanese cell phone novel, including some relevant background like the history of serialized publishing in Japan and the rise of Japane ... Show More

48m 29s

Nov 2024

Mimi Okabe, "Manga, Murder and Mystery: The Boy Detectives of Japan’s Lost Generation" (Bloomsbury, 2023)

Little is known about the boy detective in Japanese detective fiction despite his popularity. Who is he, and what mysteries does he unveil about cultural understandings of youth in Japanese society? Manga, Murder and Mystery: The Boy Detectives of Japan’s Lost Generation (Bloomsb ... Show More

23m 22s

Dec 2021

Episode 42 | JAPAN'S MOST BELOVED KILLER | Yoshie Shiratori

Send us Fan MailOur episode today tells the tale of a real-life Japanese anti-hero whose story is so unbelievable you might think that you’ve opened the pages of a popular manga. It’s the story of Yoshie Shiratori, an accused murderer with a rap sheet longer than the queues for a ... Show More

28m 17s

Nov 2019

The best crime fiction of 2019

Welcome to The Irish Times Books Podcast. In this latest episode, Martin Doyle talk to The Irish Times’s two regular crime fiction reviewers, Declan Burke and Declan Hughes, both acclaimed crime writers themselves, about their favourite crime fiction of 2019. So get your pen and ... Show More

40m 49s

Nov 2023

Short Mystery & Suspense Collections - Book 2

Short Mystery & Suspense Collections - Book 2 Title: Short Mystery and Suspense Collections Overview: Dozens of short mystery and suspense fiction stories are available through our Short Mystery & Suspense Collections series from classic mystery and suspe ... Show More

4h 14m

Nov 2023

Short Mystery & Suspense Collections - Book 1

Short Mystery & Suspense Collections - Book 1 Title: Short Mystery and Suspense Collections Overview: Dozens of short mystery and suspense fiction stories are available through our Short Mystery & Suspense Collections series from classic mystery and suspe ... Show More

7h 18m

Jan 2025

202 | Advanced - Short Story: The Curse of Marrow Bay [English Listening Practice]

Title: The Curse of Marrow BayLevel: Advanced (C1-C2) #Story :Marrow Bay, a remote coastal town shrouded in mist and mystery, holds a dark secret that has plagued its inhabitants for generation ... Show More

13m 40s

Apr 2025

The Adventure of the Greek Interpreter: Part One

When a Greek interpreter is kidnapped in the dead of night and forced to translate for a mysterious prisoner, he learns of a sinister plot involving family fortunes, murderous intent, and London’s criminal underground. Fearing for his life, he turns to Holmes, Watson, and the gre ... Show More

32m 36s

Aug 2024

American Serial Killer Family: Bloody Benders

When a series of mysterious disappearances and gruesome murders happened on the American Frontier in the 19th century, fingers started to point in the direction of not one murderer…but a family of killers. As the case unraveled, their grisly crimes cemented their place in hist ... Show More

36m 18s

Japanese Crime and Mystery Writing