The Penguin Podcast

This week on the Penguin Podcast, Issy Suttie joined by Irish book award winner and best-selling author, Sinead Moriarty. Sinead talks to Issy about her latest novel, Your, Mind, Ours, a novel about what it takes to create a 'blended' family.They also discuss why families are the primary focus within her novels, the importance of the first draft, the special note she has pinned above her work desk, and her inability to throw away her fluffy socks. Don't forget to follow the show so you never miss an episode, and do leave us a review as it really does help. To find out more about the #PenguinPodcast, visit https://www.penguin.co.uk/podcasts.html. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

This week on the Penguin Podcast, Nihal Arthanayake is joined by Booker Prize-winning novelist and playwright, Damon Galgut.Recording from the legendary literary festival at Hay, Nihal talks to Damon about his latest novel, The Promise, which was awarded the 2021 Booker Prize.As well as the intricacies of his novel, they also discuss how the rhythms of Jazz connect with Damon's internal and writing rhythm, his veneration of Bob Dylan, the legacy of South African apartheid, how a beach in Goa fuels his creativity, and the importance of a parker pen given to him at drama school.Don't forget to follow the show so you never miss an episode, and do leave us a review as it really does help. To find out more about the #PenguinPodcast, visit https://www.penguin.co.uk/podcasts.html. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

This week on the Penguin Podcast, Derek Owusu is joined by presenter, TV personality, actress and children's author, Alison Hammond. Alison speaks to Derek about her brand new children's book, Black in Time: The Most Awesome Black Britons from Yesterday to Today.As well as Black British history, Alison and Derek also discuss Alison's profound love for bandanas, her recreating the atmosphere of Jamaica for wellbeing, the transporting power of Terry's Chocolate Orange, and the importance of inherited style. Don't forget to follow the show so you never miss an episode, and do leave us a review as it really does help. To find out more about the #PenguinPodcast, visit https://www.penguin.co.uk/podcasts.html. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

This week on the Penguin Podcast, new host Derek Owusu is joined by Poet, activist, musician, actor, presenter and children's author, Benjamin Zephaniah!Benjamin speaks to Derek about his journey into poetry and spoken word, the excitement at receiving a letter from Bob Marley, the life of his mother when she first came to England, existential fear and human mortality, and the importance of meditation and controlled breathing. Don't forget to follow the show so you never miss an episode, and do leave us a review as it really does help. To find out more about the #PenguinPodcast, visit https://www.penguin.co.uk/podcasts.html. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

This week on the Penguin Podcast, Isy Suttie is joined by restaurateur and author, Asma Khan.Asma speaks to Isy about her most recent work, her cookbook/memoir, Ammu. They also discuss food and its connection to memory, how revelatory the writing process was for her, how a pair of blue jeans changed her life, and the gentle expressions of love through cooking. Don't forget to follow the show so you never miss an episode, and do leave us a review as it really does help. To find out more about the #PenguinPodcast, visit https://www.penguin.co.uk/podcasts.html. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

This week on the Penguin Podcast, Nihal Arthanayake is joined by award-winning writer and poet, Hanif AbdurraqibHanif speaks to Nihal about his most recent work of nonfiction, A little Devil in America, which won the 2021 Gorden Burn Prize. They also discuss how Hanif manages to write 25000 words a month, how important Soul Train was to Black American culture, his reasons for disliking the Academy Award-winning film, Green Book, and also what he feels went wrong with The Chapelle Show.Don't forget to follow the show so you never miss an episode, and do leave us a review as it really does help. To find out more about the #PenguinPodcast, visit https://www.penguin.co.uk/podcasts.html. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

This week on the Penguin Podcast, Isy Suttie is joined by debut novelist Bonnie Garmus.She speaks to Isy about her debut novel, Lessons in Chemistry, and also discusses her reluctance to change any keyboard she's grown used to, often still using it when the key have come loose, her passion for swimming, what she learnt as a copywriter, the usefulness of lies in society, and how she wrote her first short story when she was five years old.Don't forget to follow the show so you never miss an episode, and do leave us a review as it really does help. To find out more about the #PenguinPodcast, visit https://www.penguin.co.uk/podcasts.html. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

This week on the Penguin Podcast, Isy Suttie is joined by national treasure, poet and children’s author, Michael Rosen. He speaks to Isy about his experiences before and after contracting Covid, how to create more impactful life writing, what he now knows about death, and his yearning to understand the meanings of naughty words in Yiddish.Don't forget to follow the show so you never miss an episode, and do leave us a review as it really does help. To find out more about the #PenguinPodcast, visit https://www.penguin.co.uk/podcasts.html. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

This week on the penguin podcast, Nihal Arthanayake is joined by theoretical physicist, futurist, and popularizer of science, Michio Kaku. Together they discuss string theory, the unifying threads of different religious beliefs, human curiosity and the barriers to scientific thinking.Don't forget to follow the show so you never miss an episode, and do leave us a review as it really does help. To find out more about the #PenguinPodcast, visit https://www.penguin.co.uk/podcasts.html. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

This week on the Penguin Podcast, Nihal Arthanayake is joined by renowned essayist and novelist, Pankaj Mishra, to discuss his new novel, Run and Hide. Together they discuss the meaning of art and the novel, the Tibetan landscape and the Himalayas, nostalgia, and wood-panelled train compartments. Don't forget to follow the show so you never miss an episode, and do leave us a review as it really does help. To find out more about the #PenguinPodcast, visit https://www.penguin.co.uk/podcasts.html. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Claire Fuller, who recently won the Costa Novel of the Year for her latest book, Unsettled Ground, joins Nihal Arthanayake on the podcast this week. Together they discuss the importance of music in her creative process, what she doesn't like about being a novelist and how a book by Miranda July might just have kickstarted her writing career.Don't forget to follow the show so you never miss an episode, and do leave us a review as it really does help. To find out more about the #PenguinPodcast, visit https://www.penguin.co.uk/podcasts.html. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Last time we brought you some of the most exciting debut novelists to look out for in 2022, so this week we're introducing you to some of the best new non-fiction writers to add to your reading list this year. It's a veritable treasure chest of books, from a comic memoir to ornithology, mental health, family and cultural history, and an exploration of how the Earth, as we know it, came to be.In this episode, we hear from: CJ Hauser, author of The Crane Wife, Mya-Rose Craig, author of Birdgirl, Teresa Lim, author of The Interpreter's Daughter, Thomas Halliday, author of OtherlandsDon't forget to follow the show so you never miss an episode, and please do leave us a review as it really does help. To find out more about the #PenguinPodcast, visit https://www.penguin.co.uk/podcasts.html. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

A new year = new books, and there are plenty of brilliant new stories to look out for this year. To get your 2022 reading list started, we've brought together five of this year's most exciting debut novelists. Speaking to Isy Suttie, they introduce us to themselves and their books, and give us some insight into their inspirations and aspirations. From a darkly comic dystopia to sumptuous historical fiction to a subversive take on modern womanhood and more – there's something for everyone amongst our pick of 2022's must-read debuts.In this episode, we hear from:Jessamine Chan, author of The School for Good Mothers, Nikki May, author of Wahala, Susan Stokes-Chapman, author of Pandora, Claire Alexander, author of Meredith, Alone, Ayanna Lloyd Banwo, author of When We Were BirdsDon't forget to follow the show so you never miss an episode, and please do leave us a review as it really does help. Finally, to find out more about the #PenguinPodcast, visit https://www.penguin.co.uk/podcasts. See acast.com/privacy

As we approach the end of 2021, we're revisiting some of the most memorable moments on the Penguin Podcast this year.Conn Iggulden takes his writing research extremely (and we mean, *extremely*) seriously, Emma Dabiri gives us a tour of her bookshelves, Owen Jones tells us exactly which Keir he named his feline friend after, Hafsa Zayyan's shares why her grandfather sends her letters back to her, Gyles Brandreth reveals his enduring fondness for teddy bears and Ali Smith treasures advice from a favourite writer.Don't forget to subscribe so you never miss an episode, and please do leave us a review – it really does help us. And finally, to find out more about the #PenguinPodcast, visit https://www.penguin.co.uk/podcasts. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

As we approach the end of 2021, we're revisiting some of our favourite moments on the Penguin Podcast this year.Zadie Smith and Nick Laird tell us about the unexpectedly colourful spectrum of noise that helps them work, Adam Kay reveals the best way to avoid being distracted by social media while trying to write a book, Ashley Audrain discusses the song that had a huge influence on her debut novel, former director of the British Museum Neil MacGregor shows us what a rhino doesn't actually look like, Shon Faye explains how a shared culture can bring us together, and Barack Obama tells Marcus Rashford about rummaging through a bin for books at a jumble sale.Don't forget to subscribe so you never miss an episode, and please do leave us a review – it really does help us. And finally, to find out more about the #PenguinPodcast, visit https://www.penguin.co.uk/podcasts. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

The Pulitzer Prize-winning author Richard Powers joins Nihal Arthanayake to discuss his thirteenth novel, ‘Bewilderment’.Using objects like Bach’s Goldberg Variation 18, an unsmoked hickory nut, and a petrified piece of redwood, Powers transport us to his home in the Great Smoky Mountains, musing on the importance of sense as an entranceway to curiosity, writing as a resistance of habituation, and the centrifugal feeling that connects the work of the artist and the scientist; that of bewilderment. ‘Bewilderment’ is available to order on audiobook now: https://apple.co/3cFCDYf See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

In this special live recording at The London Palladium, Dolly Alderton speaks to award-winning actor and writer Stanley Tucci to discuss his new food memoir, Taste: My Life Through Food.Stanley speaks passionately about food, and shares with Dolly the ways in which it’s been inextricably intertwined with his life. He recalls early memories of TV chefs, tells us some favourite recipes, and explains how surviving throat cancer has renewed his appreciation for the simple joy of taste. #PenguinPodcastThe audiobook version of Taste: My Life through Food is available here: https://apple.co/3oeQfzeThe paperback of Dolly Alderton’s latest novel, Ghosts, is out now: https://www.penguin.co.uk/books/316664/ghosts/9780241988688.html See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

The Pulitzer Prize-winning author Elizabeth Strout joins Isy Suttie to discuss the third book in her Lucy Barton series, ‘Oh, William!’.Using objects like a ring gifted to her by a great aunt and a postcard of the writer F. Scott Fitzgerald as a starting point, Strout muses on the almost mystical process that allows her to inhabit the characters she creates, her preoccupation with class and the shame that so often sits alongside it, and the epiphany that came to her on the comedy stage. #PenguinPodcast‘Oh, William!’ is available to order on audiobook now: https://apple.co/3EbDgV6 See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

The writer that penned an early-noughties viral phenomenon aged just 13, Jade LB, speaks to Nihal Arthanayake about ‘Keisha The Sket’.  Having lived on the phones and websites of fans for the past two decades, it’s now been formally published for the first time with additional content from the author and essays from esteemed contemporary writers like Candice Carty-Williams and Caleb Femi.Using the notion of Black-British girlhood and an old diary, Jade dissects her own life growing up in a world where material wealth and sex are equated to power. She reflects on the need for a community or tribe, and how a lack of intersectionality too often leaves Black, working class women behind. #PenguinPodcast'Keisha The Sket' is available to pre-order now: https://bit.ly/3v333LU See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

The author, podcaster and stand-up comedian Shon Faye joins Nihal Arthanayake to discuss her first book, The Transgender Issue: An Argument for Justice.Using iconic queer artefacts like the film ‘The Wizard of Oz’, starring Judy Garland, alongside Lady Gaga’s ‘Chromatica’ album as a gateway, Shon shares with Nihal the experiences that lead to her writing The Transgender Issue: the internalised homophobia, street harassment, and urgency to set the terms of the conversation around Trans liberation right. #PenguinPodcastThe Transgender Issue: An Argument for Justice is available to order on audiobook now: https://apple.co/3F1D6Rq See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.