Podcast: Freedom, Books, Flowers & the Moon

This week, Magna Carta experts David Carpenter and Nicholas Vincent tell us how they discovered a rare original of the document; and Michael Caines on a spritely new staging of a Shaw play starring mother and daughter Imelda Staunton and Bessie Carter.'Mrs Warren's Profession', by George Bernard Shaw, Garrick Theatre, London, until August 16Produced by Charlotte Pardy Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week, Eimear McBride is captivated by the life and work of Joyce's biographer; and Mark Nayler is hot on the trail of the wolf who walked alone.'Ellmann's Joyce: the biography of a masterpiece and its maker', by Zachary Leader'Lone wolf: walking the faultlines of Europe', by Adam WeymouthProduced by Charlotte Pardy Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week, Vanessa Curtis celebrates a century of Mrs Dalloway; and Claire Lowdon on the capacious diaries of Helen Garner.'Mrs Dalloway', by Virginia Woolf'Monkey grip', 'The children's Bach', 'This house of grief', 'How to end a story: collected diaries', by Helen GarnerProduced by Charlotte Pardy Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week, Nicola Shulman salutes the memoirs of an old-school editor and socialite; and Rebecca Fraser on an unexpectedly peaceful transition of power in 17th-century America.'When the going was good: an editor’s adventures during the last golden age of magazines', by Graydon Carter'Taking Manhattan: the extraordinary events that created New York and shaped America', by Russell ShortoProduced by Charlotte Pardy Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week, Toby Lichtig travels to Oslo to interview Nobel laureate Jon Fosse; meanwhile, Natasha Lehrer heads to Zurich for a compelling new play by Deborah Levy.Jon Fosse is published in English by Fitzcarraldo Editions'50 Minutes', by Deborah Levy, Neumarkt Theatre, Zurich, until May 7Produced by Charlotte Pardy Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week, David Gallagher remembers Peruvian Nobel laureate Mario Vargas Llosa; and Laurent Binet whisks us to 16th-century Florence to explore the world of his novel Perspectives.'Perspectives', by Laurent Binet, translated by Sam TaylorProduced by Charlotte Pardy Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week, Peter Holland treads the boards in Elizabethan London in search of Shakespeare before the Globe; and Muriel Zagha on a captivating tale of cheese-making in the Jura.'The dream factory: London’s first playhouse and the making of William Shakespeare', by Daniel Swift'Holy Cow', a film by Louise CourvoisierProduced by Charlotte Pardy Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week, Margaret Drabble explores how Dickens drew on his love of the macabre and grotesque to create literary magic; and Norma Clarke takes a tour around the British coast.'Dickens the enchanter: Inside the explosive imagination of the great storyteller', by Peter Conrad'The restless coast: A journey around the edge of Britain', by Roger Morgan-Grenville'Seascape: Notes from a changing coastline', by Matthew Yeomans'The Shetland Way: Community and climate crisis on my father’s islands', by Marianne BrownProduced by Charlotte Pardy Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Caroline Moorehead salutes the energetic brilliance of singer Josephine Baker; and Aaron Peck on the past, present and future of the avant-garde.'Fearless and free: A memoir', by Josephine Baker, translated by Anam Zafar and Sophie Lewis'Josephine Baker's secret war: The African American star who fought for France and freedom', by Hanna Diamond'What art does: An unfinished theory', by Brian Eno and Bette A.'How to be avant-garde: Modern artists and the quest to end art', by Morgan Falconer'The uncanny muse: Music, art, and machines from automata to AI', by David HajduProduced by Charlotte Pardy Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week, we're joined by Harriet Baker, winner of the Sunday Times Young Writer of the Year Award; and Helen Scales tunes into the sonic marvels beneath the surface of the sea.'Rural Hours: The country lives of Virginia Woolf, Sylvia Townsend Warner and Rosamond Lehmann', by Harriet Baker'Sing Like a Fish: How sound rules life under water', by Amorina KingdonProduced by Charlotte Pardy Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week, novelist Damon Galgut remembers the ground-breaking South African playwright Athol Fugard; and Michael Caines on two very different approaches to the Danish prince.'Grand Theft Hamlet', on Mubi'Hamlet', by William Shakespeare, Royal Shakespeare Company, Stratford-upon- Avon, until March 29 Produced by Charlotte Pardy Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week, Larry Wolff immerses himself in a bold operatic vision of Melville's classic; and Travis Elborough on a boosterish attempt to rescue Croydon from its knockers.'Moby-Dick', composed by Jake Heggie, Metropolitan Opera House, New York, until March 29'Croydonopolis: A Journey to the Greatest City that Never Was', by Will NobleProduced by Charlotte Pardy Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week, Toby Lichtig chats to Sam Leith about formative literature at Jewish Book Week; and David Horspool meets Sue Prideaux, winner of this year's Pol Roger Duff Cooper Prize.'The Haunted Wood: A History of Childhood Reading', by Sam Leith'Wild Thing: A Life of Paul Gauguin', by Sue PrideauxProduced by Charlotte Pardy Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week, Michael Caines interviews the men behind the Royal Shakespeare Company's thrilling new production of Christopher Marlowe's Edward II; and Nat Segnit finds Pico Iyer's journeys to a Californian monastery a welcome retreat from the world.'Edward II', by Christopher Marlowe, Swan Theatre, Stratford-upon-Avon, until April 5 2025'Learning from Silence: Lessons from More Than 100 Retreats', by Pico IyerProduced by Charlotte Pardy Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week, Edith Hall finds herself mesmerised, entranced and perplexed by Sophocles; and Barnaby Phillips on a bizarre imperial incursion in 19th-century Africa.'Oedipus', by Sophocles, Old Vic until March 29'Electra', by Sophocles, Duke of York's Theatre until April 12'A Training School for Elephants', by Sophy Roberts Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week, we're joined by Eimear McBride as she publishes a compelling new novel; and Anne Fuchs celebrates WG Sebald's illuminating and idiosyncratic essays.'The City Changes Its Face', by Eimear McBride'Silent Catastrophes: Essays in Austrian Literature', by WG Sebald, translated by Jo CatlingProduced by Charlotte Pardy Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week, Kevin Brazil on the revealing tour d'horizontal of a great writer; and Keith Miller goes down a rabbit-hole in search of Richard Ayoade.'The Loves of My Life: A Sex Memoir', by Edmund White'The Unfinished Harauld Hughes', 'Plays, Prose, Pieces, Poetry', 'The Models Trilogy', 'Four Films', by Harauld Hughes/Richard AyoadeProduced by Charlotte Pardy Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week, Toby Lichtig assesses the latest recreation of Bob Dylan, man and myth; and David Gallagher on an academic and spy who inspired the work of Javier Marias.'A Complete Unknown', a film by James Mangold'Scholar-Spy: The Worlds of Professor Sir Peter Russell', by Bruce TaylorProduced by Charlotte Pardy Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week, Boris Dralyuk on a compelling portrait of the Black Sea port of Odesa, past and present; and Russell Williams is put in mind of the rumpled TV detective Columbo by a pacy French novel.'Undefeatable: Odesa in Love and War', by Julian Evans'Bristol', by Jean EchenozProduced by Charlotte Pardy Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week, Vanessa Curtis is entranced by the candour of the Bloomsbury set's photograph albums; and Emma Greensmith on the mythical creatures that fascinated the ancient world.'The Bloomsbury Photographs", by Maggie Humm'Centaurs and Snake-Kings: Hybrids and the Greek Imagination', by Jeremy McInerneyProduced by Charlotte Pardy Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.