Musings on Mortality: From Tolstoy to Primo Levi: Victor Brombert discusses how literature reflects changing ideas about life, death, and the condition of mortality. [Read More]
Do Books have a Future? An Interview with Robert Darnton. I ask the American cultural historian and academic librarian how he sees the future of the printed word. [Read More]
Could “Slow Philosophy” Offer An Antidote to Modern Academia?: Michelle Boulous Walker on the difficulty of practicing philosophy in modern institutions, and an alternative approach that might encourage a more careful and attentive relation with the world. [Read More]
San Quentin and Samuel Beckett: An Interview with Rick Cluchey: I talk to the renowned Beckett actor and director. [Read More]
Samuel Beckett’s Political Imagination: Emilie Morin’s recent book sheds light on Beckett’s engagement with cultural and political issues. [Read More]
Beckett in Conversation, “yet again”: Angela Moorjani on co-editing a new collection which recounts Samuel Beckett’s meetings with scholars, translators, and theatre practitioners. [Read More]
Lauren Elkin on her new book, Flâneuse: I speak to author and academic Lauren Elkin about women walking in the city, and the pioneering writers who influenced her. [Read More]
Samuel Beckett and Painting: David Lloyd talks about Beckett’s friendships with twentieth-century painters and his enduring interest in the visual arts. [Read More]
Vera Graziadei on performing Dostoevsky’s Nameless Nobody: To celebrate the birthday of Fyodor Dostoevsky, I speak to film and television actress Vera Graziadei about her acclaimed one-woman performance of one of his most overlooked works. [Read More]
Levinas & Derrida: The Literary Afterlife of Religion: Sarah Hammerschlag discusses how the work of Levinas and Derrida can help us to rethink the relationship between religion, literature, and philosophy. [Read More]
Looking for Albert Camus’ The Stranger: Alice Kaplan shares how Albert Camus wrote one of the twentieth century’s most iconic novels. [Read More]
Worrying: A Literary and Cultural History: Francis O’Gorman describes how his tendency to worry led him to investigate its cultural and literary origins. We talk about Shakespeare, Sherlock Holmes stories, and the prominence of ‘worry’ in everyday life. [Read More]
Surveying Philip Roth’s Post-War America: Ann Basu discusses how Philip Roth reveals the contradictions at the heart of American identity. [Read More]
David Foster Wallace: Fiction and Form: David Hering discusses how his new book led him to explore the Wallace archive. [Read More]
How Do Writers Make Sense of An Event Like 9/11?: Catherine Morley on editing a new collection of essays that explores the legacy of September 11 on modern and contemporary literature. [Read More]
American Cinema in the Shadow of 9/11: Terence McSweeney discusses a new collection of essays that explore the legacy of September 11th in recent film. [Read More]
Falling After 9/11: Crisis in American Art and Literature: Aimee Pozorski discusses the complex ways we engage with art and writing in the wake of the September 11th attacks. [Read More]
Alice Munro: Master of the Contemporary Short Story: Robert Thacker discusses the life and work of the Canadian Nobel laureate. [Read More]
Modernist Women’s Literature and Photography: Lorraine Sim discusses how the women of modernism allow us to reimagine the ordinary and the everyday. [Read More]
Women Writers at the Movies: Lisa Stead discusses the influence of cinema on a generation of interwar women writers. [Read More]
Virginia Woolf: A Guide for the Perplexed: Kathryn Simpson discusses the life and work of one of literary modernism’s most distinguished innovators. [Read More]
What Makes When Harry Met Sally… A Classic?: Tamar Jeffers McDonald discusses one of the most beloved romantic comedies ever made. [Read More]
A Fresh Look at Willem de Kooning: Rosalind E. Krauss talks about the life and work of the American abstract expressionist painter. [Read More]
A Listener’s Guide to Free Improvisation: John Corbett on a new pocket-sized field guide to free and spontaneous music. [Read More]
Q&A | Brian Eno: Oblique Music: To mark the release of Brian Eno: Oblique Music, a new collection of essays celebrating the musician’s life and work, I talk to the editors about their shared obsession. [Read More]
The Writer’s Reader: A Creative Writer’s Anthology: Robert Cohen on co-editing a new anthology where established writers discuss their practice and vocation. [Read More]
J.M. Coetzee and the Ethics of Ideas and Things: Anthony Uhlmann on co-editing a new essay collection exploring Coetzee’s recent novel, The Childhood of Jesus. [Read More]
J. M. Coetzee and the Art of Slow Reading: I talk to Jan Wilm about the Nobel winner. He shares his approach to Coetzee’s writing, and the first two novels that sparked his enthusiasm. [Read More]
Ayn Rand and the Literary Origins of the Financial Crisis: Adam Weiner discusses how a Russian socialist novel from the nineteenth-century influenced the work of Ayn Rand and subsequent economic deregulation in the United States. [Read More]
Reading Biographical Fiction: Michael Lackey on the popularity of the biographical novel, and what it can tell us about the relationship between literature, history and truth. [Read More]
Examining Brooklyn’s Fictions: James Peacock discusses how cultural and literary criticism can help us to unpack Brooklyn’s complex cultural history. [Read More]
Contemporary Artists discuss the Art on a Postcard Project: A secret charity auction with contributions from major artists and emerging talent. [Read More]
Torture in Modern Literature and Culture: Michael Richardson discusses how literature can help shed new light on our understanding of torture, trauma, and affect. [Read More]
Celebrating the Rise of Superwomen: Carolyn Cocca discusses how women superheroes are changing the we way think about contemporary femininity. [Read More]
Emily Blewitt: A New Voice in Contemporary Welsh Poetry: As her debut collection draws both popular and critical acclaim, I caught up with Emily Blewitt to talk about poetry, labels, and contemporary women’s writing. [Read More]
Consumerism, Waste, and Re-Use in Twentieth-Century Fiction: Rachele Dini discusses how the work of J.G. Ballard, Don DeLillo, and Samuel Beckett engages with one of the most pressing environmental issues of our time. [Read More]
Revisiting The War of the Worlds: Peter J. Beck discusses the history of H.G. Wells’ iconic sci-fi novel, and how it continues to resonate in popular culture. [Read More]
Imaginary Cities: An Interview with Darran Anderson: The author talks about his new book, his influences, and his fascination with modern urban spaces. [Read More]
Why Criticism Matters: An Interview with Catherine Belsey: How the practice of criticism can offer a way to rethink our assumptions about truth, history, and human nature. [Read More]
The Afterlives of Roland Barthes: Neil Badmington discusses his fascination with the work of Barthes, the continuing relevance of critical theory, and his own approach to academic style. [Read More]
Roland Barthes and Poetry: Calum Gardner talks about editing a special edition of Barthes Studies exploring the writer’s relationship to poetry. [Read More]
The Ethics of Theory: Robert Doran examines how critical theory has always been a form of ethical practice. [Read More]
Is Critical Theory Dead? Does it Have an Afterlife?: Jeffrey R. Di Leo on a new essay collection that explores the legacy of critical theory since the deaths of some of its leading figures. [Read More]
Tom Harman on Painting and Critical Theory: British artist Tom Harman discusses how critical theory led him to return to painting. [Read More]
Distinctively Modern: The Poetry of Edward Thomas: I caught up with Katie Gramich to talk about a conference she is co-organizing to celebrate the life and work of poet Edward Thomas. [Read More]
A Visit to Doll Hospital: Bethany Rose Lamont on a print journal that discusses mental health issues through art and literature. [Read More]
Günther Anders: A Philosopher for the Modern Age: Christopher John Müller on his new book and his English translation of Günther Anders, a contemporary of Adorno, Benjamin, and Arendt. [Read More]
Tuning in to the State of the Theory Podcast: Hannah Fitzpatrick and Anindya Raychaudhuri discuss a topical podcast that covers politics, power, and pop culture. [Read More]
Batman Unmasked: Analyzing A Cultural Icon: Will Brooker reflects on our continuing fascination with Gotham City’s caped crusader. [Read More]
How to Navigate the Undead Apocalypse: Stacey Abbott discusses the role that vampires and zombies play in 21st century culture. [Read More]
Lara Pawson discusses her memoir, This Is the Place to Be: The writer and journalist talks about This Is the Place to Be, and the influences that motivate her. [Read More]
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