Send us Fan Mail In today's chinwag, we'll explore a candidate for the first novel in English by the first professional female writer in English: Oroonoko by Aphra Behn (1688). It's the story of an African prince and his beloved, who are betrayed into slavery and do not live happily ever after. The novel seems a modest heroic romance, but I think Ms. Behn ... Show More
Apr 22
Mighty Contests, Trivial Things: Alexander Pope's Satires
Send us Fan MailToday, you get to treat yourselves to a discussion of Pope's major satirical poems: The Rape of the Lock and The Dunciad. And, as a special bonus, you get to endure a desultory introduction concerning the Beatles at a cocktail party as well as series of pop cultur ... Show More
36m 22s
Mar 14
Imitation and Optimism: The Essays of Alexander Pope
Send us Fan MailAlexander Pope, whom some critics regard as the most important poet of the early 18th century, set out to comprehensively explain the rules that governed art, poetry, and humanity itself. And, it turns out, they're all the same rules.Support the showIf you enjoy t ... Show More
35m 18s
Apr 2024
The Band of Gold Mystery
Rerun: Freda Payne’s banger ‘Band Of Gold’ sounds like a Motown record, but actually isn’t. Although written by Berry Gordy’s hit-making trio Holland-Dozier-Holland, it was released on their breakaway label, Invictus, on 25th April, 1970.
Ever since, fans have speculated as to th ... Show More
11m 25s
Sep 2024
Winged Eyeliner & The Age Of Intolerance
Subscribe to Mamamia Tim Minchin regrets one of his most famous songs. And it tells us a lot about where culture has moved to. In this episode, we discuss the age of intolerance. Plus, we help set up your weekend with some recommendations which include: a book, an album and two ... Show More
50m 32s
Aug 2023
Hold the Sitar: The Making of the Love Commandos Theme Song
In this bonus episode of Love Commandos, Gregory Warner interviews musician John Ellis, who composed Rough Translation's original theme music in 2017, and songwriters Amira Gill and VASU, who jointly created the new theme song for Love Commandos. They discuss their musical proces ... Show More
24m 42s
Sep 2025
ON WRITING... With Salman Rushdie and Kazuo Ishiguro
Welcome to another special edition of How to Fail, where I revisit conversations from the How to Fail archives. Each week, we shine a light on a particular theme, hopefully offering inspiration, perspective and comfort through the words of past guests. This week’s theme is on wri ... Show More
24m 18s
Nov 2022
Is Your Relationship ‘Beautiful People’ Proof?
Claim a free ticket to our virtual tour show An elderly man was attacked with a hammer in his own home, and somehow this has become a ‘debate’ about free speech in the US. Why? Plus, Romantic Comedies are hot again. At least, that’s what everyone is saying. So why are they so ha ... Show More
35m 39s
Jun 2025
First Love Mixtape: Side B (Encore)
<p>In last week’s <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2025/05/28/podcasts/love-soundtrack-music.html" target="_blank">episode</a>, the Modern Love team shared the songs that taught<i> </i>us about love when we were young. But in this week’s episode, we hear from you, our listeners, ... Show More
22m 1s
Aug 2024
This Is What A Generation Sounds Like: Sara
We're away on our summer break until September, but this week and next week we're re-releasing two of our favourite episodes from The Europeans' award-winning series, 'This Is What A Generation Sounds Like. This week, a story that spans three generations of women: Sara, her mothe ... Show More
27m 13s