Podcasts about Bluestocking

recorded March 5, 2025 Texas Steampunk Connection is joined by Kitty of Faire Treasures to talk about the trends we have seen at conventions. What's changed in the 35 years of attending cons? Is bigger better, or do we miss small college con vibe? Do we like it or how do we want it to change? Also Dr. Bluestocking bought a house! Also start building your teapot racer for Galveston Steampunk Festival! 

recorded October 30, 2024 Happy Halloween! Kaely, admin for the World of Steampunk facebook group, joins us to talk spooky stuff, steampunk in Fall, big events, and celebrating a certain doctor with ADHD distractions into random geeky stuff. Dr. Bluestocking's dissertation (now complete!)

Charlotte Greenway in for Nick today and joined by David Yates of the Daily Mirror and they start by discussing the news that Bluestocking has been retired to join Juddmonte's broodmare band, in the company of Barry Mahon. Then to reflect on the action over the weekend Kate Harrington praises Futurity winner Hotazhell whilst Harry Derham shares his delight as getting his first winner at Cheltenham as a trainer. With the record breaking attendance figures coming out of Cheltenham's Showcase meeting, Ian Renton looks at why this might be before we hear from Shark Hanlon and Nicky Henderson on Hewick and Constitution Hill respectively.

Charlotte Greenway in for Nick today and joined by David Yates of the Daily Mirror and they start by discussing the news that Bluestocking has been retired to join Juddmonte's broodmare band, in the company of Barry Mahon. Then to reflect on the action over the weekend Kate Harrington praises Futurity winner Hotazhell whilst Harry Derham shares his delight as getting his first winner at Cheltenham as a trainer. With the record breaking attendance figures coming out of Cheltenham's Showcase meeting, Ian Renton looks at why this might be before we hear from Shark Hanlon and Nicky Henderson on Hewick and Constitution Hill respectively.

Charlotte Greenway is in for Nick today and has the reaction from the opening day at Tattersalls Book 1 from yesterday's big spender Kia Joorabchian of Amo Racing, who bought the top two lots and he explains his change in strategy to buying well-bred fillies. Newsells Park consigned the 4.4 million guineas filly sold to Amo Racing and their manager Julian Dollar gives his reaction as well as the man set to train the filly Ralph Beckett who also has news of his runners at Newmarket this weekend plus further reflection on Bluestocking's Arc triumph. Jane Mangan is alongside Charlotte and reacts to all of this as well as previewing the Fillies Mile and the Dewhurst, this weekend's two Group Ones and finally we get our weekly Hong Kong update from JA McGrath.

Charlotte Greenway is in for Nick today and has the reaction from the opening day at Tattersalls Book 1 from yesterday's big spender Kia Joorabchian of Amo Racing, who bought the top two lots and he explains his change in strategy to buying well-bred fillies. Newsells Park consigned the 4.4 million guineas filly sold to Amo Racing and their manager Julian Dollar gives his reaction as well as the man set to train the filly Ralph Beckett who also has news of his runners at Newmarket this weekend plus further reflection on Bluestocking's Arc triumph. Jane Mangan is alongside Charlotte and reacts to all of this as well as previewing the Fillies Mile and the Dewhurst, this weekend's two Group Ones and finally we get our weekly Hong Kong update from JA McGrath.

Join Racing Post editor Tom Kerr, senior writer Lee Mottershead to reflect on all the big stories from the Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe following Bluestocking's victory in Paris. The panel also discusses the latest developments as a ban on gambling adverts in Ireland moves closer, new proposals for prize-money agreements are proposed in Britain and the Jockey Club chief executive suggests the Grand National must continue evolving.

Nick is joined by Racing Post writer Jonathan Harding as the build-up continues to Sunday's Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe. In a longer interview today, jockey Christophe Soumillon - set at this stage to ride Continuous in this year's edition - tells Nick why the race has been even more important to him than you might expect, and discusses the nuances of his two brilliant wins aboard Dalakhani and Zarkava. Also on today's show, Ralph Beckett confirms Bluestocking's supplementary entry, while trainer Christophe Ferland takes aim at her again with Vermeille runner-up Aventure, one of eight runners of the weekend for the stable. Plus, with commercial agreements between racecourses and horsemen coming into play once again, Thoroughbred Group Chair Julian Richmond Watson fills us in, while Eliza McCalmont reports from GOFFS Orby Sale, where she talks to agent Billy Jackson-Stops and Tom Whelan, consignor of Day One's top lot.

Nick is joined by Racing Post writer Jonathan Harding as the build-up continues to Sunday's Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe. In a longer interview today, jockey Christophe Soumillon - set at this stage to ride Continuous in this year's edition - tells Nick why the race has been even more important to him than you might expect, and discusses the nuances of his two brilliant wins aboard Dalakhani and Zarkava. Also on today's show, Ralph Beckett confirms Bluestocking's supplementary entry, while trainer Christophe Ferland takes aim at her again with Vermeille runner-up Aventure, one of eight runners of the weekend for the stable. Plus, with commercial agreements between racecourses and horsemen coming into play once again, Thoroughbred Group Chair Julian Richmond Watson fills us in, while Eliza McCalmont reports from GOFFS Orby Sale, where she talks to agent Billy Jackson-Stops and Tom Whelan, consignor of Day One's top lot.

Here's Emmet Kennedy, George Gorman, and Harry Beard for an in-depth A to Z guide to the Race of the Day: the Juddmonte International at York. We dive into the chances of all the key contenders, including Ambiente Friendly, Bluestocking, Calandagan, City Of Troy, Docklands, Durezza, Ghostwriter, Hans Andersen, Israr, Maljoom, Royal Rhyme, and Zarakem. Expect strong opinions, a tricast, forecast, and a 25/1 outsider tip. Plus, we share insights on the Acomb Stakes and the Great Voltigeur Stakes. Don't miss this expert preview for your best betting edge on Wednesday's racing at York. The Final Furlong Podcast is proudly brought to you by Geoff Banks Bet. Join the excitement and Sign up to Geoff Banks Online now with promo code FFP500 and get 10% of any net losses returned as cash after your first month of betting, up to £500 at geoffbanks.bet.  Its tradition redefined with modern tech and unbeatable odds. This episode is brought to you by BetterHelp. If you're thinking of starting therapy, give BetterHelp a try. It's entirely online, designed to be convenient, flexible, and suited to your schedule. Our listeners get 10% off their first month, so give online therapy a try at betterhelp.com/FURLONG. Apple: https://apps.apple.com/gb/app/geoff-banks-online/id881898186 Android: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.geoff_banks.geoffbanks Venatour Racing Social: If your planning a racing trip to Europe or further afield, check out Venatour Racing Social for a large range of bespoke racing holidays at Venatour.co.uk Form Tools: Proform is the essential tool for punters looking to make money from betting on Horse Racing. Our form book covers Jumps and Flat racing in the UK and Ireland. https://www.proformracing.com/ Twitter: @FinalFurlongPod Email: radioemmet@gmail.com In association with Adelicious Podcast Network. Hosted on Megaphone.  Follow us for free on Spotify Podcasts https://open.spotify.com/show/3e6NnBkr7MBstVx5U7lpld Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Nick is joined by Lydia Hislop to discuss the latest from around the racing world. On today's show, George Murphy issues a positive bulletin on White Birch, set to work tomorrow before a crucial decision on his participation in the Juddmonte International. Juddmonte's own Barry Mahon refuses to rule out the big one over the Yorkshire Oaks for Bluestocking, while Naohiro Goda has his say on Japanese contender Durezza plus the news that Yutaka Take will ride Al Riffa in the Arc. Harry Eustace talks of York/Australia doubles for Docklands and Crystal Delight, while Tattersalls Marketing Director Jimmy George about the publication of Book One and Aidrie Stud's Bret Jones is this week's Weatherbys Guest.

Nick is joined by Lydia Hislop to discuss the latest from around the racing world. On today's show, George Murphy issues a positive bulletin on White Birch, set to work tomorrow before a crucial decision on his participation in the Juddmonte International. Juddmonte's own Barry Mahon refuses to rule out the big one over the Yorkshire Oaks for Bluestocking, while Naohiro Goda has his say on Japanese contender Durezza plus the news that Yutaka Take will ride Al Riffa in the Arc. Harry Eustace talks of York/Australia doubles for Docklands and Crystal Delight, while Tattersalls Marketing Director Jimmy George about the publication of Book One and Aidrie Stud's Bret Jones is this week's Weatherbys Guest.

Nick is joined by RTE and Racing TV broadcaster Jane Mangan to discuss the latest news from around the racing and bloodstock world. Today, they are joined first by HRI Head of racing Richard Pugh to discuss how adjustments to the National Hunt program may or may not assist the less high profile stables. Also on today's show, top owner Paul Teasdale discusses his life in racing and plans for his two stars Big Evs and Big Mojo, both of whom were successful at Goodwood last week. Barry Mahon drops in to canter through a number of Juddmonte plans, including Phoenix Stakes fancy Babouche, Bluestocking, Lead Artist, Kalpana and Kikkuli. Meanwhile, Brian Meehan updates us on the Deauville bound Jayarebe and Rashabar.

Emmet Kennedy and The Sun's Betting and Gaming Editor Sam Morgan discuss the biggest topics in racing, including a giant-killing performance from Goliath and Christophe Soumillon in the King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Qipco Stakes, as Auguste Rodin flops again. They also share their thoughts on future races for Bluestocking and Rebel's Romance, as well as Aidan O'Brien's concerns about the Ascot ground.  Alflaila won back-to-back runnings of the Group 2 at York, where Passenger picked up an injury. How robust are horses these days, and can the Shadwell horse win a Group 1? Where is the strength and depth in the middle-distance division? Kieran Shoemark shines on Friendly Soul; has he just not had the firepower? We discuss some exciting juveniles and debate the bizarre disqualification of Flic Ou Voyou at Uttoxeter. Why was Danny McMenamin's brilliant horsemanship punished, and where is the consistency? The Final Furlong Podcast is proudly brought to you by Geoff Banks Bet. Join the excitement and Sign up to Geoff Banks Online now and get 10% of any net losses returned as cash after your first month of betting, up to £500 at geoffbanks.bet. Its tradition redefined with modern tech and unbeatable odds. This episode is brought to you by BetterHelp. If you're thinking of starting therapy, give BetterHelp a try. It's entirely online, designed to be convenient, flexible, and suited to your schedule. Our listeners get 10% off their first month, so give online therapy a try at betterhelp.com/FURLONG. Apple: https://apps.apple.com/gb/app/geoff-banks-online/id881898186 Android: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.geoff_banks.geoffbanks Apple Podcasts

Aimee Chipman opened The Bluestocking Bookshop located in Holland in September of 2019 after being a known avid reader all her life. "I've always been a nerd for books and authors," Aimee said. She is passionate about education through reading and keeping books accessible to all, regardless of age, income, or education level. Sponsored by Moravian Sons Distillery and Doc Chavent Copyright (c) 2024. Emma Blogs, LLC. All rights reserved.

Sam Hart is joined by Keith Melrose, James Stevens and Unibet's Ed Nicholson to preview the action at Ascot and York this weekend. In the first part of the show, the panel look at Ascot. The King George VI And Queen Elizabeth Qipco Stakes is one of the highlights of the British Flat season. Auguste Rodin tops the market but with rivals such as Rebel's Romance and Bluestocking this will be no easy task.  Up at York the York Stakes is the feature on the card, along with a couple of competitive sprint handicaps. Is Passenger going to get the job done against last year's winner  Alflaila and the unlucky loser from Royal Ascot King's Gambit?

Nick is joined by David Yates, Newsboy from the Daily Mirror to discuss the latest from around the racing world. On today's show, jockey Hector Crouch shares his delight at a debut Classic success in the Irish Oaks, while Ralph Beckett, trainer of his mount You Got to Me, outlines his thinking ahead of Bluestocking's bid for King George glory. Also on the show, Ger Lyons reflects on his two impressive Juddmonte juveniles at the Curragh yesterday, while owner Steve Antram revels in Caburn giving him overdue success as an owner in the Super Sprint. Harry Cobden gives us his prognosis as to his return after yesterday's fall plus his starring role at Market Rasen Saturday and on ITV screens Friday evening. Michelle Yu rounds up an exciting weekend in the USA, encompassing Thorpedo Anna, Dornoch plus Bob Baffert's rapprochement with Churchill Downs.

This week's Saturday Edition looks ahead to Irish Derby weekend at the Curragh and first up is Saturday's Group 1, the Pretty Polly Stakes for fillies and mares. We hear from trainer of two leading fancies, Bluestocking and Stay Alert in Ralph Beckett and Hughie Morrison while Philip von Ullman discusses intriguing runner Tasmania and why his family chose to move her from being trainer in France last season, to Sir Mark Prescott's yard in Newmarket this year. Then onto the Derby and Roger Varian discusses his chances of landing a second classic of the season with Matsuri and David Menuisier hopes Sunway can put a disappointing season so far behind him. Finally, at Newcastle on Saturday is the historic Northumberland Plate and Brian Ellison shares why it would mean so much to him, should he win it with either of his runner tomorrow.

Nick is joined by David Yates to look over all the latest news from around the racing world. They begin by talking to Brian Ellison about his lifelong quest to win the Northumberland Plate, in which he is doubly represented tomorrow. Also on today's show, owner Philip Ullman from Gestut Schlenderhan explains why Tasmania is now in the care of Sir Mark Prescott as she contests this weekend's Pretty Polly Stakes, while Bluestocking's trainer Ralph Beckett also has his say. Later in the show, sporting life.com's David Ord has Something for the Weekend, while Paddy Brennan tells Nick about his new life as a Bloodstock Agent at the Derby Sale.

In which Hannah and Caroline make their summer TBR your summer TBR, celebrate national donut day, and reveal the things that keep them up at night (endless TBRs, that me espresso, etc).Show Notes:- This episode is basically us reflecting and expanding on the recent Fated Mates Summer TBR episode! Plus, we've already read 10+ books off of their TBR*, so you'll get our thoughts on those as well.- Fated Mates S06.39: Summer 2024 Reads episode: https://fatedmates.net/episodes- The Ornithologist's Field Guide to Love excerpt: https://reactormag.com/excerpts-the-ornithologists-field-guide-to-love-by-india-holton/Reminders:- Fill out this Google Form to receive Romance Your TBR + romance themed friendship bracelets from us! https://forms.gle/N9ZZFfzAm5nCfTnV9- Subscribe to Romance Your TBR on Substack to get monthly updates from your local spinsters, access to show notes and bingo cards, and exclusive newsletter giveaways!Intro: (00:00)- Fated Mates Summer TBR Followup - (8:25)- The Romance Your TBR Summer Reading Program - (23:26)Historical Romance TBR:- *You Should Be So Lucky, Cat Sebastian (May 7, 2024)- *The Prince's Bride, Charis Michaels (May 21, 2024)- The Scot Who Made June Hot, Fenna Edgewood (June 1, 2024)- A Bluestocking's Guide to Decadence, Jess Everlee (June 4, 2024)- *Isabel and the Rogue, Liana De la Rosa (June 4, 2024)- The Lady's Mistake, Cara Devlin (June 15, 2024)- A Shore Thing, Joanna Lowell (June 18, 2024)- *Lady Scandal, Laura Lee Guhrke (June 18, 2024)- *The Mistress Experience, Scarlett Peckham (June 25, 2024)- A Scandal in July, Kate Bateman (July 1, 2024)- The Ornithologists Field Guide to Love, India Holton (July 23, 2024)- *Viscount in Love, Eloisa James (July 23, 2024)- Untamed, Lisa Rayne (July 30, 2024)- Hot Earl Summer, Erica Ridley (August 6, 2024)- An Heiress for August, Kathleen Ayers (August 1, 2024)- You're the Problem, It's You, Emma R. Alban (August 15, 2024)- Good Duke Gone Wild, Bethany Bennett (August 20, 2024)- Confounding Oaths, Alexis Hall (August 27, 2024)Contemporary Romance TBR:- This Summer Will Be Different, Carly Fortune (May 7, 2024)- Love, Lies, and Cherry Pie, Jackie Lau (May 7, 2024)- *A Love Like the Sun, Riss M. Neilson (June 11, 2024)- Not in Love, Ali Hazelwood (June 11, 2024)- *The Love of My Afterlife, Kirsty Greenwood (July 2, 2024)- The Ex Vows, Jessica Joyce (July 16, 2024)- Not Another Love Song, Julie Soto (July 16, 2024)- Business Casual, B.K. Borison (July 16, 2024)- Cross the Line, Simone Soltani (July 23, 2024)- Jewel Me Twice, Charish Reid (July 23, 2024)- The Truth According to Ember, Danica Nava (August 6, 2024)- Haunted Ever After, Jen DeLuca (August 13, 2024)- *Love and Other Conspiracies, Mallory Marlowe (August 20, 2024)- Marriage & Masti, Nisha Sharma (August 27, 2024)Outro: (1:40:18)Socials:- Follow the podcast @romanceyourtbr on Instagram & Twitter & Youtube & Goodreads(Disclaimer: Caroline works for Forever Publishing; all opinions are our own and not affiliated with any other party. Image by Freepik.)

This week, Amber, Stacy, Kristin, Sara, and Shannon discuss some of their most anticipated June releases. Titles mentioned include: Katharine Schellman, The Last Note of Warning (Nightingale Mysteries #3) M.A. Wardell, Napkins & Other Distractions (Teachers In Love #3) Corinne Michaels, Forgotten Desires (Whitlock Family #4) Kelley Armstrong, Finding Mr. Right Wanda M. Morris, What You Leave Behind Kimi Cunningham Grant, The Nature of Disappearing Ashley Poston, A Novel Love Story TJ Alexander, Triple Sec Swati Hegde, Match Me If You Can Jess Everlee, A Bluestocking's Guide To Decadence (Lucky Lovers of London #3) Tracy Chevalier, The Glassmaker Tessonja Odette, A Rivalry of Hearts (Fae Flings and Corset Strings #1) Jen Devon, Right Where We Left Us Katherine Center, The Rom-Commers Anita Kelly, Heartwaves You can always contact the Book Bistro team by searching @BookBistroPodcast on facebook, or visiting: https://www.facebook.com/BookBistroPodcast/ You can also send an email to: TheBookBistroPodcast@gmail.com For more information on the podcast and the team behind it, please visit: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/book-bistro

Join us  as we talk with Teri Den Herder, longtime bookseller at the UCSD Bookstore, about Independent Bookstore Day, the annual celebration of indie bookstores, and the San Diego Book Crawl, the weekend when booklovers swarm the 13 participating bookstores in search of books, passport stamps, prizes, and surprises. We discuss the national day, how it got started, what's new this year (shuttle busses!), how the event has grown, what to expect, and how to have the most fun. We also discuss Teri's long career, the legacy she is creating with young booksellers, and the art of matching people and books, as performed by humans instead of algorithms. Also check out the participating San Diego bookstores from Diesel to Mysterious Galaxy, Joyride, La Playa, Verbatim, Bluestocking, and more. A super fun conversation about the events of this coming weekend that you don't want to miss!How to find out more about the San Diego Book Crawl:https://www.instagram.com/sdbookcrawl/Thoughts? Comments? Potshots? Contact the show at:https://booksshowstunes.discreetguide.com/contact/Sponsored by Discreet Guide Training:https://training.discreetguide.com/Follow or like us on podomatic.com (it raises our visibility :)https://www.podomatic.com/podcasts/books-shows-tunes-mad-actsSupport us on Patreon:https://www.patreon.com/discreetguideJennifer on Post.News:@JenCrittendenJennifer on XTwitter:@DiscreetGuideJennifer on LinkedIn:https://www.linkedin.com/in/jenniferkcrittenden/

Nick is joined by RTV and RTE host and analyst Jane Mangan to discuss the latest developments from around the racing world today. On this show, Nick and Jane discuss Frankie Dettori's 16 day suspension ruling him out of Melbourne, speak to Ralph Beckett about Kinross, Bluestocking and sales topper Balance Play, get the latest from ARC Director Mark Spincer about the state of the ground and contingencies at Doncaster at the weekend, and canter through the Weatherbys Return of Mares with Ronnie O'Neill from Whytemount Stud (recently acquired Mojo Star to accompany Affinisea). Also on today's show, a look at the HKIR entries, with comment from JA McGrath, a word on the Cox Plate, plus Jockey Club CEO Nevin Truesdale with details of a new petition launched ahead of the Gambling Commission's findings on affordability.

Nick is joined by Racing Post senior writer Lee Mottershead to take a look at today's news from around the racing world. They begin by interviewing Aidan O'Brien about his star two year olds this weekend, in particular the brilliant City of Troy. Also on today's show, Teddy Grimthorpe mulls over which Champions' Day race is best for Nashwa, while Barry Mahon explains why Array has been supplemented for the Dewhurst, and gives an update on Time Lock, Bluestocking, Chaldean and the future for Westover. Ben McElroy tells Nick about his acquisitions from the Tattersalls Book 1 and Book 2 sales, while JA McGrath has the latest from typhoon-hit Hong Kong.

Nick is joined by Racing Post senior writer Lee Mottershead to take a look at today's news from around the racing world. They begin by interviewing Aidan O'Brien about his star two year olds this weekend, in particular the brilliant City of Troy. Also on today's show, Teddy Grimthorpe mulls over which Champions' Day race is best for Nashwa, while Barry Mahon explains why Array has been supplemented for the Dewhurst, and gives an update on Time Lock, Bluestocking, Chaldean and the future for Westover. Ben McElroy tells Nick about his acquisitions from the Tattersalls Book 1 and Book 2 sales, while JA McGrath has the latest from typhoon-hit Hong Kong.

recorded Ocotber 3, 2023 Cool times finally ahead! Holidays and better days. Steampunk times are here! Natalie McTavish AND Kitty from Faire Treasures are with us for some talk of spooks, beers and brass. Thax has a short rant, Bluestocking plays Lies of P and Kitty does Fallout 76. Also Kitty mentioned the murder of Sycamore Gap. Allfather Fig Mead  the Very Moon steampunk musical  Gunbrella!!  Charles Dickens in Starfield  A tree on the wall 

recorded September 19, 2023 It's Talk Like a Pirate Day! We're deep in the Halloween crafting time, and we're excited. Lies of P has just been released and Bluestocking has got the itch to start it. Nightingale is another steampunk game due out next Febuary which looks amazing. Jack and Thax went to a performance of reading from Edgar Allan Poe by the Archive Theater company. Thax found a company actually engineering a real airships! Lies of P official site Nightingale site the Archive Theater LTA research corp

Tom in for Nick and joined by Newsboy of the Daily Mirror David Yates. We start with reflection on yesterday's inaugural BHA media briefing where three main topics were covered. Dave picks out his key takeaways and argues that affordability checks could provide a big win for the legislature and provide them with a huge vote of confidence. With York's Ebor meeting on the horizon we hear from trainer Ralph Beckett on his likely team with Bluestocking by no means certain to run in the Yorkshire Oaks. Owner breeder Philippa Cooper joins us to look ahead to Sweet William hopefully getting into the Sky Bet Ebor. And Karl Burke is along to assess his likely York team and also look to Elite Status's run in the Group 1 Prix Morny on Sunday.

Tom in for Nick and joined by Newsboy of the Daily Mirror David Yates. We start with reflection on yesterday's inaugural BHA media briefing where three main topics were covered. Dave picks out his key takeaways and argues that affordability checks could provide a big win for the legislature and provide them with a huge vote of confidence. With York's Ebor meeting on the horizon we hear from trainer Ralph Beckett on his likely team with Bluestocking by no means certain to run in the Yorkshire Oaks. Owner breeder Philippa Cooper joins us to look ahead to Sweet William hopefully getting into the Sky Bet Ebor. And Karl Burke is along to assess his likely York team and also look to Elite Status's run in the Group 1 Prix Morny on Sunday.

This week, Charlotte Greenway brings you some key insight ahead of races in Britain, Ireland and the US this weekend. It's the Irish Oaks on Saturday where Aidan O'Brien will saddle 4 of the 9 runners and he gives his thoughts on them, including favourite and Epsom second Savethelastdance. Joseph O'Brien also has a runner in Lumiere Rock and Jockey, Dylan Browne McMonagle, discusses her chance whilst Ralph Beckett send over Bluestocking to try and win his second Irish Classic in as many years. Moving onto Newbury, Kieran Cotter hopes his colt can take the valuable Weatherbys Super Sprint and explains how the cheekpieces have helped. Also, Angus Gold discusses the Shadwell runners at the meeting in the two pattern races. Finally, we head stateside to hear from KY Derby winner, Mage's, co-owner Ramiro Restrepo and owner of Arabian Knight, Amr Zedan, ahead of the Grade 1 Haskell Stakes on Saturday.

Nick is joined by RTE and Racing TV broadcaster Jane Mangan to discuss the latest news from around the racing world. They lead with Saturday's Irish Oaks, and are joined by trainer Ralph Beckett who confirms that Bluestocking will take on the home team with Colin Keane aboard. Also on today's show, Shadwell's Angus Gold brings news of Al Asifah, Hukum, Al Husun, Mostahdaf and - most importantly, Anmaat, who - according to Gold - has incurred an injury that will likely keep him sidelined at least until the end of the year. We hear from Coolomore's Tom Magnier, who reflects on Justify's weekend moments after the stallion touched down in Australia. Later in the show, Nick is joined by US Radio host Steve Byk, who reflects on the opening days of the Saratoga meet and the impending closure of Golden Gate Fields, while Belinda Strudwick of Ballygallon Stud is this week's Weatherbys Bloodstock Guest.

Nick is joined by RTE and Racing TV broadcaster Jane Mangan to discuss the latest news from around the racing world. They lead with Saturday's Irish Oaks, and are joined by trainer Ralph Beckett who confirms that Bluestocking will take on the home team with Colin Keane aboard. Also on today's show, Shadwell's Angus Gold brings news of Al Asifah, Hukum, Al Husun, Mostahdaf and - most importantly, Anmaat, who - according to Gold - has incurred an injury that will likely keep him sidelined at least until the end of the year. We hear from Coolomore's Tom Magnier, who reflects on Justify's weekend moments after the stallion touched down in Australia. Later in the show, Nick is joined by US Radio host Steve Byk, who reflects on the opening days of the Saratoga meet and the impending closure of Golden Gate Fields, while Belinda Strudwick of Ballygallon Stud is this week's Weatherbys Bloodstock Guest.

recorded May 30, 2023 Summer is hitting and we're trying to carry on. Two weeks ago Madam Misfit was robbed after a gig and our own generous patron pushed her go-fund-me over her goal. Abney Park played a private stream that became less private, and Scott Helland kicked off a kickstarter for his latest album. Bluestocking explores the steampunk options in Animal Crossing. Jack points us to Victorian medical quackery with Kaz Rowe. Madam Misfit's fundraiser  Abney Park's stream  Scott Helland's kickstarter  the Deadly World of Victorian Patent Medicine   

Phil the producer here, before we get stuck into the show notes - let me briefly tell you about Rafael Behr's new book on fly fishing. Okay, only joking - I'm sue you didn't get hooked by that line. It's obviously about politics and lots of centrist icons have been heaping praise on it. Like ex-Conservative MP and 'podstar' Rory Stewart: 'A great work of political analysis,' Or TV chef Nigella: "I'm telling you it is a must-read. Quite apart from the subject matter, Rafael Behr is such an elegant writer." There's lots of other great reviews from household names, too many to repeat here. So, if you're interested here's a link to pre-order: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Politics-Survivors-Engaged-without-Getting/dp/1838955046/ Now on with the podcast show we like to call Politics on the Couch. In this wide-ranging and informal conversation*, Rafael Behr chats to former colleague Helen Lewis about whether Whatsapp has changed the way politics is conducted, her favourite Tik Tok channel, the incestous nature of Scottish politics, what's really behind the UK government's immigration policy, what we can learn from Florida culture wars, why the middle ground is so hard to occupy, what we have learnt from the pandemic, and Helen's take on why so many men love listening to other men on podcasts, plus much more. *unstructured Helen Lewis Helen writes about the intersection of politics, society, and digital culture for The Atlantic. Link to Helen's long read on DeSantis, Trump and the future of American politics for The Atlantic She is also the host of the BBC's long-form interview series, The Spark. Her next book, The Selfish Genius, is scheduled for publication in 2023. Link to ‘The Bluestocking,' Helen's substack page. This podcast is hosted by ZenCast.fm

Named Tennessee's Outstanding Young Man for service to his community, state and country, Bud Willis has been well recognized for his first book, Bluestocking, released in 2009, now in its second printing. A native Tennessean, Willis grew up in Tullahoma, and graduated from Tennessee Tech University, Cookeville. There, Bud served as editor of the campus literary magazine. His professional career extended through 34 years in the securities industry as Partner with J.C. Bradford and Company. As a successful business man, public speaker, and humorist, his spirited Southern writing style engages readers quickly, with pathos, humor, and new knowledge regarding the lives and labor of young, Marine pilots serving in the mid-60's in Vietnam. Bud's memoir Marble Mountain is available on Amazon.

recorded January 24, 2023 The year is starting off at a sprint! Natalie MacTavish joins us as a tease of winter weather is hitting today with snow in north Texas that gives Bluestocking anxiety. Natalie reviews Ikkicon and the steampunk larp hosted by Mad Raven Productions at the con. Thax tells about Edgar Allan Poe's Birthday at the Glass Coffin. Bluestocking teases about her upcoming podcast about secret and restricted libraries. IkkiCon Mad Raven Productions The Glass Coffin: Vampire Parlour

You'll have to forgive my self-indulgence in this conversation, because I've gone deep with Joshi Herrmann—not a celebrity name or a celebrated author, I hope he won't be offended by me saying—about a bunch of things that scratch my particular interests in media: local news, New York media-startup scandals circa 2016, subscriptions versus ads, venture capital, and canceled Netflix comedians. Joshi is the founder of a fledgling media empire anchored by The Mill, a local news publication covering the city of Manchester, England, that he launched in 2020. The Mill, which is based entirely on Substack and funded by subscribers, just reached profitability—a rare success story in a space (local news) that hasn't exactly been booming in recent years. Encouraged by The Mill's progress, Joshi has since launched similar publications in Sheffield and Liverpool based on doing high-quality, low-volume longform reporting on issues that matter to cities that are poorly served by the existing media structure. Joshi was a reporter for the Evening Standard in London for four years before, in 2015, he moved to New York for a dream job as the editor in chief for a startup that published The Tab, a news site written by university students and young people about the cultural issues of the time. The Tab quickly gave rise to a spinoff publication called Babe.net, which shot to notoriety after publishing a story that detailed a young woman's bad night with Aziz Ansari, which led to the comedian's “cancellation.” The story came at the height of #MeToo, causing a fiery debate between people who felt it was an important reckoning for behavior that happens often but is under-discussed and those who felt it muddied the lines between truly abusive behavior and something closer to a bad date. Joshi watched it all unfold from an uncomfortable position: he was the editor on that story…Joshi's recommended reads:The Bluestocking, PassTheAux, and Vittles.Show notes* Subscribe to The Mill in Manchester on Substack, as well as its sister sites, Sheffield Tribune in Sheffield, and The Post in Liverpool* The Tab and Babe.net* Aziz Ansari story on Babe.net and Ansari's response* NYT commentary on the Babe.net piece* The Cut on Babe.net* [1:46] Breaking even in local news* [1:55] Feeling like a fraud* [4:48] Getting into local journalism* [8:07] On losing a parent* [12:00] Pursuing an unpromising venture* [13:55] Redefining the problem of local news  * [18:56] Joining The Tab in New York* [22:41] Steroidal audience growth vs. community* [25:25] The “bullshit” of new media's gold-rush era* [26:37] How Babe.net started* [28:28] How Babe broke the Aziz Ansari story* [30:17] How the Ansari story relates to Me Too* [38:06] Lessons from being on the other side of the story* [39:51] Reflections on that time* [41:40] Adapting a new approach to longform* [44:48] Shutting down The Tab and Babe.net* [46:06] Life lessons for The Mill* [47:55] Launching two sister sites in the U.K.* [48:38] The public hunger for great local journalismThe Active Voice is a podcast hosted by Hamish McKenzie, featuring weekly conversations with writers about how the internet is affecting the way they live and write. It is produced by Hanne Winarsky, with audio engineering by Seven Morris, content production by Hannah Ray, and production support from Bailey Richardson. All artwork is by Joro Chen, and music is by Phelps & Munro. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit read.substack.com

recorded October 4, 2022 Spooky season is upon us! Bluestocking is back, and we're ready to chat. We revisit every Steampunk spooky or monster movie we can think of. From cheese to real Victorian spooks we rattle off as many show as we can to get your viewing list set for the season. 1899 on Netflix Airship: Kingdoms Adrift Arthur Conan Doyle Estate sues Netflix music provided by Zapsplat.com

recorded September 6, 2022 We're back to work after enjoying a Labor day Monday off, and all our internal clocks are a mess. Come talk Steampunk with us and see if we're coping. Bluestocking has found new Steampunk games coming soon. Thax sees Gilded Age unions reflected in current legislation. Jack is fooled by the latest AI generated art that he SWEARS is human created and we all sit horrified at the nightmares it promises. Lies of P (trailer) Victoria III (trailer) California Fast Food Accountability and Standards Recovery Act Midjourney AI furniture (not real) music provided by Zapsplat.com

recorded August 9, 2022 As summer hopefully is winding down, we return to chat steampunk! Bluestocking talks about modern airships. Jack found a new retelling of the Nutcracker. And Thax jumps back to social rules as presented in Bridgerton. We catch up on other shows to catch and a couple events coming in August that you should know about The future of airships Steampunk Nutcracker music provided by Zapsplat.com

recorded July 12, 2022 This week Thax has the Rona and looks like hell. BlueStocking is back from NOLA and had an amazing time and gives a little report.  Jack is excited about water harvesting and a new Netflix film. Tesla's birthday just passed, and kissing spreads germs. Learn all this and more this week! desert fog catcher Warka Water Tower The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind Nikola Tesla tattoos Scourge of Kissing music provided by Zapsplat.com

recorded June 14, 2022 Kitty sits in for Jack this week and we talk about Bluestocking's coming trip to New Orleans! We hit on some few of the places in NOLA to recommend. We get into some interesting info about absinthe, proper preparation and history from Kitty's body of knowledge. Anne Rice's house Steamboat Natchez Olivier House Hotel Cafe Du Monde Commander's Palace Antoine's Restaurant Central Grocery Old Absinthe House Absinthe Pipe Lego motorized Steampunk Skyship Greater New Orleans Steampunk Association Baton Rouge Area Steampunk Society St. Charles Streetcar The Camellia Grill music provided by Zapsplat.com

Greetings, and thank you for listening to Bluestocking! Questions or comments? Email me here.Helpful Links:National Archives: Powers of PersuasionPrivate Joe LouisMusic: Escaping Forever by Michael Vignola

At some point, we were going to have to talk about fossils, right? Ravished is the bluestocking book that started it all for Sarah, and an absolute classic for Jen. On the reread, we absolutely loved it, which just goes to show that Amanda Quick (aka Jayne Ann Krentz) is a total legend. We'll talk about the appeal of big heroes who know what they want and just go for it, about how difficult it is to write two people who genuinely enjoy each other's company from the jump, about how awesome it is when a heroine is totally down with doing it in a cave, and about the broad appeal of greatcoats. Our next read along is Uzma Jalaluddin's Hana Kahn Carries On. Find it at: Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Apple Books, Kobo, or at your local indie. Sponsored by Radish: Bottomless content; one cute app. Visit radish.social/fatedmates for 24 free coins and to read your first Radish story.Show NotesRavished was originally published in 1992 by Jayne Ann Krenz, who has a lot of pen names, including Jayne Taylor, Jayne Bentley, Stephanie James and Amanda Glass. Now she publishes under 3 names: Jayne Ann Krenz (contemporary), Jayne Castle (PNR), and Amanda Quick (historical). She has said, “I am often asked why I use a variety of pen names. The answer is that this way readers always know which of my three worlds they will be entering when they pick up one of my books.”The Bluestocking archetype is about a woman who is interested in science and learning in her own right, and is a reference to the Bluestocking Society, which was founded in the 1750s by Elizabeth Montagu and Elizabeth Vesey. Some hallmarks of a gothic novel are “the discovery of mysterious elements of antiquity” and also handsome men in great coats. All about the waltz and why it was so scandalous. Jen's thread about fossils, which are just a McGuffin. Maybe you are more interested than Jen and would like to learn about how to fake a fossil. Author Vanessa Riley is committed to reviving bananas regency names for men. In A Duke, The Lady, and a Baby, the hero's name is Busick.

Hello dear friends,Welcome to another week of The Austen Connection and our sixth podcast episode, which you can stream from right here, or from Apple or Spotify! And this episode features a conversation with Austen scholar and Janeite Devoney Looser - who for many of you captures the spirit and vibe of Jane Austen's stories in her work and in her life: Looser has dedicated so much of her life to connecting through literature and Jane Austen, from her books, her teaching, her many appearances at conferences and at Janeite and JASNA gatherings, and also in her personal life through her marriage to Austen scholar George Justice and her roller derby career as Stone Cold Jane Austen.These days Devoney Looser is working on a new book, due out from Bloomsbury next year: Sister Novelists: Jane and Anna Maria Porter in the Age of Austen explores two sister novelists writing, innovating, and breaking rules in the Regency and Victorian eras. Devoney Looser is also the author of The Making of Jane Austen. And - full transparency here - I'm lucky enough to call Devoney Looser a friend. We met as professors on a campus in Missouri. So this is a continuation of conversations that Devoney and I have had for years. We got together by Zoom a few weeks ago and talked about many things, including the first time she read Austen, how an Austen argument was the foundation of her first conversation with her husband, and how -  just like Jane Austen - Devoney straddles the worlds of both high culture and pop culture.Here's an excerpt from our conversation. Enjoy!Plain Jane:  So let me just start if you don't mind with a couple of just questions about your personal Austen journey. What Austen did you first read? When did you discover Austen? Do you remember which book? And which time and place? Devoney Looser: Absolutely. And this is a question that I really enjoy. It's a kind of conversion question, right? … So I love that this is where we start …  I do have my awakening moment. And your awakening, I think this is a common story for a lot of Janeites, which is why the story resonates. It was my mother, who handed me a copy of Sense and Sensibility and Pride and Prejudice bound together. I now have this book. It was a Modern Library edition of both of those novels that was published in the ‘50s. And she handed it to me because … she knew I was a reader, she knew I loved to read. And she said, “Here's one that I think you should read.” We had books from her childhood, or from church book sales in our house, we had a lot of books in our house. And I started to try to read it. And I really stumbled because I could not get at the language. But she was insistent, she kept kind of putting it toward me, and saying, “I think you should read this one.” And I think it was maybe around the third time I tried it - Pride and Prejudice is what I started with - it just really took. You know, it was like, Oh, wait this is kind of funny. And I like these characters. And I like the story. So after I got my PhD, I learned that my mother had actually never read Pride and Prejudice before. And to me that actually made her giving it to me even more meaningful. She is not college educated. She wanted me to have an education. And the idea that novels could be handed down from mothers to daughters, even mothers without an education, to say, “Here's a way for you to have access to more opportunities,” is what the books are about too, in a way, right? I mean, the mothers aren't always the ones doing it in the books. In fact, they're often not. But the books are functioning as that opening up - worlds opening up possibilities and opening up education, self actualization. You know that this is to me meaningful that my mother knew that this is a book that educated girls should read, and that she wanted it for me. Plain Jane: She was tapping into something that she hadn't had herself and just trying to give that to you. That's awesome. So you're a professor, scholar, writer. … What attracts you to the conversations about Jane Austen, and teaching Jane Austen? Devoney Looser: I think the thing about Austen that keeps me coming back to her is how readable she is. And lots of people say this in the critical community and the Janeite community like the scholars and JASNA. I think even anyone who picks her up casually having not read her in 20 years or never read it before, there's a complexity there on the level of the sentences, paragraph, plot, that is really, to me. enriching, or generative - it generates ideas. And every time I go back to the books, I see something new. every age, every experience that I've made it through, gives me a new way into those sentences. And there are a lot of books that we love, but that we can't really imagine rereading with the same level of love, I think. And for me, that makes Austen just really remarkable. The idea that you can go back to her, you know, every year. A lot of people who love her books read her every year, all six every year. Do you know that joke from Gilbert Ryle, the philosopher, philosopher Gilbert Ryle was asked, this is a century ago, asked, “Sir, do you do you read novels?” And he said, “Yes, I do, all six every year.” So this is this is a good Janeite in-joke, that the only novels there are these six? Obviously not true. … But the relatability is how I would I would answer that.Plain Jane: So I mean, Jane Austen can be, like you say, kind of adapted to your life as you go through different things in life. But you, with The Making of Jane Austen have really documented how not only individuals can adapt Jane Austen to their lives, but movements can adapt Jane Austen to their causes and ... we see that in kind of exciting ways. Can you talk a little bit about why her? Why are her novels so adaptable throughout the last couple of hundred years?Devoney Looser: So I know you know this, I talked about this in The Making of Jane Austen about the ways that various people have very different political persuasions find a reflection of their values or questions or concerns in her novels. So she has been used to argue opposing sides of political questions for 150 years and probably longer. I think this was partly to do with the fact that her novels and her fiction open up questions more often than they close them. And I think it's her relationship to the didactic tradition in her day, the moralizing tradition. I think she's really stepping outside of that and more interested in gray areas, than in declaring what's right and what's wrong. So I think this is a beautiful, complex thing about her novels and they're novels of genius, to my mind, and I'm not afraid to use that word. But they also present certain kinds of really interesting challenges, because you can't go to them and say, “What should I think?” They don't really answer that question for you in a clear away. I think in other kinds of didactic fiction where there's a clear moral outcome, this person's punished with death, or, you know, or some kind of tragic outcome, or this person's rewarded, and it's all going to be, you know, happily ever after, and nothing ever is going to go wrong. Her novels are working outside of that to some degree. So I do think that that's one reason why people have very different experiences and political persuasions and motivations, come to her novels, and it can be kind of like a Rorschach test, right? You can see what you want to see in the designs to some degree. Now, I do think people can get it wrong, I think you can find there are arguments that people make that I think there is absolutely no textual evidence for that whatsoever. But oftentimes, I can look at someone coming to a conclusion that might be different from the one that I reached, and say, Well, I see where you can get that from emphasizing this point, more than this one, or seeing this passage as the crucial one, instead of another passage.I think this is a beautiful, complex thing about her novels and they're novels of genius, to my mind, and I'm not afraid to use that word. But they also present certain kinds of really interesting challenges, because you can't go to them and say, “What should I think?” They don't really answer that question for you in a clear away.Plain Jane It's also occurring to me listening to you Devoney, that she sort of makes people think, in ways that might be uncomfortable. She must be one of the few novelists that can actually draw you to her story, draw you in and draw you to that narrator. But also be uncomfortable, maybe with what she's giving you. And maybe we just stepped around the discomfort some of us. Do you think that's an accurate way of thinking about Jane Austen as well?Devoney Looser: I think that's beautifully put. And, you know, I think too we can read her novels on many different levels. If you say, I want to go into this for a love story, that's funny, with a happy ending, which is what many people who read in the romance genre know the formula, and they're going to it because they like the formula. And it might have different things in different component parts. But you know that at the end you're not going to be distressed and dealing with something tragic, right? So when you go into an Austen novel, the kinds of discomfort you're describing, that they will be there along with something happy, too. So I think you could just read it for the happy ending. [But] I see that as a real lost opportunity. Because I think the happy endings are tacked on from genre expectation about comedies. If you're focusing on the happy ending, you're missing all the important stuff that's happening all along the way. And that's the uncomfortable stuff, right? The stuff about family conflict, economics, all of the kinds of ways that people are terrible to each other, that are, maybe borderline criminal or actually criminal. But everything below that, too. That's more mundane, the way that people mistreat each other. That is wrong. It's not criminal. And that, to me, is what makes these novels uncomfortable, is that even those people who are doing terrible things, usually get away with it. Plain Jane: Hmm, yes. If you said to people, Here's a novel about the insult and injury endured by women because of class and gender - and possibly you can add race and disability and a lot of other boundaries in there” -  I don't know how many people would see that as Jane Austen. But there's that subtext. … The more I read and reread Jane Austen and just stay really close to the text, the more I find myself relying on Gilbert and Gubar and their “cover story.” And it's, you know, I read that a long time ago. So it's probably influencing my reading, I say close to the text, but it's close to the text that's very influenced by what I already have read of you, and is it Sandra Gilbert and Susan Gubar…. How much do you think she was consciously or even unconsciously saying stuff? In all that meandering, within that courtship plot and then within that happy ending plot that you just described? How much do you think was going on with that cover story?Devoney Looser: So I want to first start with the end of this, which is to say, I think every sentence is saying something else. You know, and not like it's a secret ...I think there are there are people who will say that this is a code for a completely other world below the surface. I'm not sure that I would go there. But I do think that these are novels that are trying to get us to investigate not only who the characters are, but who we are. And sonthere's always something else going on in any human conversation. There's always something else going on. And I think she captures that in the conversations among her characters, that they can be having the same conversation but with such varying motivations that you can see it and it becomes humorous. You know, Henry Tilney in Northanger Abbey, talking to Mrs. Allen, about Catherine Morland's chaperone about muslin, that whole conversation about clothing and shopping. You can read that as a love of fashion, you can read it as an indictment of consumer culture, you can read it as a kind of gender cosplay, or you can use it as an indictment of femininity. I mean, there's just so many different levels within the same conversation and you can try to understand how these characters are arguing with each other. So I think in some ways, what you're getting at is, Yes, there's something beneath the surface. So the text that you brought up, Gilbert and Gubar's The Madwoman in the Attic, I think that came out in 1979 - incredibly important book. Because a lot of second wave feminism, 60s and 70s, had said Jane Austen is not a primary author for us or not an author that can be as important to the second wave, because these novels end in marriage. And it was a moment in the feminist movement, when looking for something that expressed anger, that expressed alternative lifestyles, was seen as more important than reinforcing heteronormativity, which is what Austen was imagined as doing. So what I think what Gilbert and Gubar did is allowed for feminists and feminist critics and scholars and people beyond that circle, to look at Austen and say, “What if we didn't emphasize the ending? What if we emphasize the other parts of the story?” And of course, they took that to a lot of other different texts and the “madwoman” in the attic is actually a reference, as you know, to Jane Eyre, to Bertha Mason? What if you read Jane Eyre and centered Bertha Mason, which is of course exactly what Jean Rhys did in her novel Wide Sargasso Sea. But Gilbert and Gubar gave us a framework to say, “Let's look at the parts of these novels from a feminist perspective that maybe we haven't focused on.” And I think it opened up so much possibility for Austen, reading it through that lens of saying,”Maybe there's more here than the ending. Maybe there's more here than heteronormativity. There is a lot more going on.” And I'm really grateful to that book for doing that. I do think there is some tendency now to turn it all into, “Well, it doesn't mean this, it means this exactly the opposite.” To me, that's doing exactly what we shouldn't be doing. We're just closing down the text. … “Here's a clue. Now we'll find an answer. Now we've got this new clue, solve next mystery.” These are not mysteries with solutions. They are moral quagmires - and you can't solve a moral quagmire with a fact or an answer.Plain Jane: I love that. I love the way you say, “Don't shut down the text.” I love the way you describe that 1979 Madwoman in the Attic, because you're right. They were just, I guess at a time when you know, feminism was wearing Doc Martens and reading Hemingway … Devoney Looser: … and reading Kate Millett and Sexual Politics: Let's find the sexism. It was a sexism-identification moment, which is really important because a lot of people couldn't see it until people like Millett and others said, “Oh my gosh, there's sexism here in every single book, how do we not notice this?” Plain Jane: Yeah. And they were saying, These are women's lives, let's interrogate what's happening with stories by women, about women, really going in depth in their lives. And they happen to be genius, as well. You know, Devoney, you also say, in your book, The Making of Jane Austen, that Jane Austen has, in many ways, been the making of you. This is getting back to you a little bit, Devoney. In what ways is Jane Austen and the making of you? I know a few of those ways. But why did you write that? Devoney Looser: Well, I think, again, this is the reason this story resonates with people is because all of us who care about literature, and who allow books to lead us places, probably had moments like this. Mine is slightly more bizarre than most people's in that I now make a living from reading Jane Austen. And as you said, I read lots of other things, too. I read Jane Austen in the context of the history of women's writing, which has been very opening up of territory for me as a scholar, and I help lead people to read outside of her. But I've also been able to create a romantic life that started around conversations with her - and I know you know, this - that I met my husband, George Justice is also an Austen scholar. We met over a conversation and an argument on Jane Austen's books. Plain Jane: What were you arguing about again? What book? Was it Mansfield Park?Devoney Looser: It was Mansfield Park. So my husband George and I were introduced at a cocktail party that I was crashing. … And George had actually been invited. And we had a brief conversation that ended, but he came and found me because somebody said to him that I had worked on Jane Austen. And so he said, “I hear you work on Jane Austen. What's your favorite Jane Austen novel?” And I know, you know, George, Janet. So you know that he likes to ask these kind of puncturing questions, right. … … And I said, “Well, the one that I'm working on right now is Northanger Abbey.” And he said, “I didn't ask you which one you're working on. I asked you which one's your favorite.” He heard that I was working on it. But he wanted me to make an aesthetic, you know, you want to make a judgement about which one's the best. … So I said, Well, I guess my favorite is Pride and Prejudice. And George said very proudly, “Well, my favorite is Mansfield Park. … And so I said, “Well, Mansfield Park is my least favorite. And I like it the least because I don't like the heroine. Fanny Price is too much like me. She's boring. Plain Jane: You said that?!Devoney Looser: Yes. And George said at that moment that he said to himself in his head, “I'm gonna marry this woman.” So you really need to hear his side of it. I just thought, this guy's kind of needling me. And I'm shutting down his meddling with, you know, disarming honesty and sarcasm. But you know, I do mean it, I did at the time. I really felt like a very shy person and quiet person and I had more class sympathies with Fanny Price of all of Jane Austen's heroines. But I didn't like those parts myself. I didn't like being quiet and timid, and didn't appreciate her as a character, I think, in a way that I now do. But he did end up proposing to me that night. And I said, “No.” I said, “I don't believe in the institution of marriage.” But whatever. What I can say is that he was very persuasive. And within about a month we decided we'd have a Jane-Fairfax-and-Frank-Churchill-style secret engagement. And we got married. We got married about a year later. So George is very persuasive. Plain Jane: That's awesome. I did not know that he had proposed and that you had declined on that same evening. And I love it that you relate to Fanny Price and find that kind of complicated. Now I have to say, you have told me that story, Devoney. And I had forgotten the details about Fanny Price. But I learned them again, from the First impressions podcast, where they were talking about you on that podcast, and that you related to Fanny Price. And that got me thinking about who people relate to in Jane Austen novels. And I feel like Jane Austen is putting herself  - I feel like all authors, for much of the time -  are putting themselves in not just the positive aspects of characters … She's even probably in Mrs. Norris a little bit, you know? Think of your worst person, you know? There's a part of her that wants to be Lady Bertram, probably. And there's certainly a part of her that's Fanny Price. And there's certainly a part of her that's Emma, who's also a difficult character. So anyway …  does George love Fanny Price?Devoney Looser: I think George loves underdogs who triumph. And I think to him, he likes the idea of people who weren't born to it sticking up for themselves. And he likes the idea of there being greater opportunity for people who weren't necessarily born to opportunity. And I think that's the story of his grandparents and his parents. So I think that's where he came to the love of that particular plot, out of stories from his own family. Plain Jane: So we are talking about, we've been talking about, the way people take on Jane Austen for their causes. You also talk about the fact that Jane Austen has ... carried pop culture and high culture simultaneously. Almost maybe like almost no other artist, maybe Shakespeare can carry those two at the same time. And you also walk both of those worlds. Can you talk a little bit about that? How are we doing with those two things right now? I mean, Jane Austen's probably bigger than ever before, right, today? And are we kind of bringing the high culture of the scholarly and the fandom together in interesting ways? And in productive ways?Devoney Looser: Yeah, that's such a great question. And the “greater than ever before,” quite possibly, if only because of how communication is greater than ever before, right? … But there were moments where she definitely popped in popular culture before now, you know, millions of people saw that Broadway play in 1935 that moved to the West End in London, the next year. This was another moment of Austen pop culture saturation. Where I think if we were able to compare it, then, to now we might say she was in the imagination of the cultural imagination to a pretty great degree in these other moments, too. But let's not go there - now I'm in the weeds! But I do think there is something about being in both worlds that really speaks to my sense of our responsibility as scholars to be educators, but also to be trying to understand the world outside of the academy and seeing that as a talking across, not a talking down. And there are moments where it's easier for scholars to remember that than others, but the talking across has really made new scholarly ideas possible. For me, this is a divided identity. I think you're capturing that accurately in how you describe it, Janet, but I want to make sure that I'm saying it's not a one way street for me. When we talk about teaching, those of us who are educators, we talk about learning from our students, and people often roll their eyes at that … But I think back to an old, classic and educational theory of Paulo Freire's Pedagogy of the Oppressed, where he talks about differently located learners. And the Janeite community through JASNA has definitely brought home to me the ways that differently located learners can inspire each other, and teach each other. And I think that is just really, really crucial. And I love that Jane Austen has made this possible.Plain Jane: You know, we're in a way a lot of what we're talking about is her image. And how, you know, there's a lot under the surface of the Courtship and the Marriage Plot, that you've researched this, and written about it in The Making of Jane Austen. In what ways did her family contribute to this image? Can you talk a little bit about that? And why - why were they trying to create, if I have this right, a respectable sort of Aunt Jane? Do you feel like this is what she also would have perhaps wanted? I mean, class insult, class injury can be humiliating, and I feel like perhaps also Louisa May Alcott, some of these women writers who were writing for money, maybe did want to be seen first and foremost, as respectable. What do you think was going on with the family members painting her image?Devoney Looser: I think this is a really difficult, multi-layered question. And I, of course, have different ways of answering this. But I think that the ways that her family described her, were trying to head off criticism. And I think if you look at the ways that women writers were treated in this period, you can understand why they wanted to head off the criticism. They very much wanted her not to be seen as strident Bluestocking, morally suspect. They very much wanted to put her on the side of … the polite, the proper, the lady .... Not the bitter spinster, not the ugly woman who couldn't get married or who was having all sorts of morally questionable behaviors with men. But the woman who was very much doing the “femininity”, quote-unquote, 1810s and the 1820s. So at first, I think that's what her family is up to. And the extent to which she would have been excited about that, I don't know. But it does seem quite possible that she would have endorsed staying to the side of that. Because in the same way that 70s feminists brought us to see the ways that language was about Virgins and W****s - not that no one had ever noticed this. But I think in Second Wave feminism, the Women's Studies classes, let us look at the words that were used to describe women and their sexual experiences, and say, “Wow, this is really unbelievable,” right? So I think if we take that and we move that conversation back 150 years, I think the Austens were wise to the fact that you were not allowed to be anything other than one or the other. And it was very clear what you wanted to be if your choice was to be castigated as the woman writer so who is more virgin-like, or the woman writer who is more W***e-like, of course, she wanted to be on the side of the Virgin. It's a crime that this existed, right? It's a linguistic crime. But if you're a family trying to negotiate the reputation of your relative at the same time that some of you are clergymen and trying to make your way forward in polite society, titled society, elite society, of course ... She's a Public Woman. Those words aren't supposed to go together. You want to put her to the side of the one who wasn't looking for money, the one who wasn't looking for fame, the one who wasn't too learned. She was nice. She was doing this for her family. She wasn't doing this for fame or money, you see that? Already, you're talking about sides of a question, where putting your eggs in one basket results in a different outcome. So the extent to which Austen herself wanted that, what would be desirable of being on the other side of that? Very little, right?Plain Jane: Listening to you talk makes me really understand that so much more. And also realize that in a way they were doing what Jane Austen seemed to do with her novels, which was to keep herself out of it. And maybe she's not as out of it on the third and fourth rereading as we thought she was on the first rereading. But she's kind of keeping herself out of it and just letting the story, letting the characters, say what she really doesn't want to be seen saying particularly, perhaps.Devoney Looser: You know that I'm working on two contemporaries of Jane Austen, Jane and Anna Maria Porter. I'm writing this book, Sister Novelists: Jane and Anna Maria Porter in the Age of Austen. And where for Austen, we have 161 letters of hers [that] have survived. So when we try to say, “What did Jane Austen think?” The novels give us a certain amount to go on. But a lot of us say, well, “What did she say in her letters where we can assume that she was being more of a quote-unquote, authentic self?” … But the idea that we only have 161 of these to go on; for the Porter sisters, they were both novelists. And they wrote thousands of letters, which they painstakingly preserved. And so to be able to go through these thousands of letters between these two sisters who are looking at literary culture through the eyes of public women and literary women, and looking at the ways that they describe the things that they want people to believe and what they're actually doing behind the scenes, has been really illuminating for me. And I hope other people will be interested in reading about that too, people who are interested in Austen, people who are interested in the early 19th century and Regency culture, Victorian culture, because the Porter sisters lived longer than Jane Austen did. [And] the ways that they tried to navigate making decisions with agency and with, specifically, female agency and romantic agency and a culture that said that, as Austen puts it, their only power should be the power of refusal. And they, the Porter sisters, were doing things all the time that you weren't supposed to do. And we know it because they were writing about it with each other. They were innovators in historical fiction. And Jane Porter claimed, I think with with some accuracy, that she was the one who influenced and inspired Sir Walter Scott's Waverley, which was published in 1814. Plain Jane: Wow, you had us at Hello - our sisters writing to each other, during the Regency and beyond, and they have each other, they're doing historic fiction. I mean, I just think hashtag-Regency is going to blow up over these two sisters! I think that sounds like a lot of fun. I just feel like there is a hunger to broaden out these conversations, and you can see it, the conversations are being broadened out in such exciting ways, especially right now. Books, like The Woman of Colour, and then every conversation we can have about Bridgerton -  like anything to do with the Regency and people's lives and especially the lives that we're uncovering that have been overlooked: Women writers, Black citizens of the Regency in Britain, and it's just and so many others. It's just really exciting. So I feel like there's a hunger for these conversations. Devoney Looser: And I think it's absolutely crucial and important that we start to try to understand race relations in the early 19th century. And think about why we care about them so much. Now, that's what literature should do. I get really frustrated when people want to tell us that we're taking questions from the present and popping them back falsely under the past. This is not at all we're doing. Things are popping in our moment that we can see, we're also popping in Austen's moment. ,,, Maybe she doesn't write about them to the degree that some of us would now wish she had. But these questions are there. And we are having a real opportunity, through scholars like Gretchen Gerzina and Patricia Matthew, and others who are helping us look back to the abolition movement, look back to texts, like The Woman of Colour, which Lyndon Dominique edited in a fabulous edition for Broadview Press that everybody should run out and buy. This is a novel from 1809, an anonymous novel. All of these works are giving us new opportunities to read Austen in terms of race issues that were important in her own day and to her novels. And for very good reasons have popped up in ours, so I'm excited about the opportunity to open up these questions.I do think there is something about being in both worlds that really speaks to my sense of our responsibility as scholars to be educators, but also to be trying to understand the world outside of the academy and seeing that as a talking-across, not a talking-down. And there are moments where it's easier for scholars to remember that than others. But the talking across has really made new scholarly ideas possible.Plain Jane: And some of this is historians also - Gretchen Gerzina, in a previous episode, alerted me to the National Trust report that was done documenting the ties to the slave trade in the Great Houses in England. Such a simple thing, really. And very much a historic enterprise, not a political enterprise in any sense, other than [that] everything is political. But that's exciting. And then you've also contributed to this conversation about the legacy of slavery and the ties to the slave trade in the Austen family. Do you want to talk about that at all? I mean, this is something that's just been published in The Times Literary Supplement and then picked up a lot of places. Do you want to just give a takeaway on what was going on with your research on that and what you'd like people to keep in mind when they think about Austen's family and the slave trade?Devoney Looser: Absolutely. So the May 21 issue of the Times Literary Supplement, which is a weekly newspaper that anyone who cares about literature should subscribe to … I am very honored to have published it. I did a piece on Austen and abolition, looking deeply and very minutely into the Austen family's relationship to slavery and abolition. And people are asking a question now, “Was Austen pro-slavery or anti-slavery? Was the author's family pro-slavery or anti-slavery?” And because of things like the National Trust report that you just mentioned, and a freely available database called the Legacies of Slavery that's run out of UCL by a scholar named Catherine Hall and a team. This is a freely available database, George Austen's name shows up in that database, because he was a trustee for a sugar plantation in Antigua that was owned by somebody who was probably a student at Oxford. So this is the fact that we had, and that has been repeated, that Austen's implicated in the economics of slavery. And what my piece did, is tried to look at what that means, and to try to deepen that conversation. And what I, the takeaway, for me is that the Austen family can be described as both pro-slavery and anti-slavery. And this is probably true for a lot of 19th century families, frankly, where you would have members who were on different sides, quote-unquote, of these questions. But the moment we try to turn it into sides, we're missing an opportunity for further description and nuance. And what my piece shows is that George Austen probably never benefited financially from this trusteeship. He was a co-trustee. And I go into a lot of description about that. And that years afterward, 80 years after that, Henry Thomas Austen, we never noticed this before: Henry Thomas Austen was a delegate to an anti-slavery convention. So we have a member of the immediate Austen family, a political activist, against the institution of slavery and with the anti-slavery movement. So to me, this tells us that the Austen family was both of these things. And I think it's an additional piece of information for us to understand the ways that race and slavery come into Austen's novels and the ways that she is working with the difficulties and complexities of this issue that was central to the moment she lived in.Plain Jane: What do you love most about introducing people to Austen? And what surprises you when you teach - in the classroom, or in Great Courses, from people that you hear from all the many Janeite and fandom conversations that you so graciously, drop in on Zoom with? What do you love about introducing people to Jane Austen?Devoney Looser: Yeah, so these 24 30-minute lectures I did for the Great Courses, which is interestingly just rebranded itself as Wondrium. But I say there, and I say this at the beginning of my classes as well: I love these books. And I love the ways that these books have inspired me to be a better thinker and have created certain things in my life that have become possible and meaningful to me. But it is absolutely not required to me that anyone in my class come out loving them like I do. What I want is for students to find that thing that is meaningful to them. And that generates meaning for them - that's generative, to go back to that word again. And I think when students take me at my word, I'm very grateful. I want them to read closely and think about these things. But it is absolutely not required that they see in them what I see.—————Thank you for reading, listening and being here, my friends. Please stay safe and enjoy your remaining days of summer. We'll be back next week - and it's all about my conversation with definitive Austen biographer Claire Tomalin! I caught her at home, safe, enjoying her garden during the pandemic, and I'll share our conversation here, same time, same place, next week! Below are many of the authors that Devoney mentioned in this conversation, with links to finding out more.If you enjoyed this conversation, please do share it!And if you'd like to have more conversations like these dropped in your inbox, subscribe - it's free! More Reading and Cool Links:Gilbert and Gubar's The Madwoman in the Attic: https://www.npr.org/2013/01/17/169548789/how-a-madwoman-upended-a-literary-boys-clubPaulo Freire and The Pedagogy of the Oppressed: https://www.freire.org/paulo-freire/paulo-freire-biography/Gretchen Gerzina - https://gretchengerzina.com/about-gretchen-gerzina.htmlLyndon Dominque, editor: The Woman of Colour: https://broadviewpress.com/product/the-woman-of-colour/#tab-descriptionPatricia Matthew: https://www.montclair.edu/newscenter/experts/dr-patricia-matthew/UCL slavery database: https://www.ucl.ac.uk/lbs/ Devoney Looser's website: http://www.devoneylooser.com/The Wondrium/Great Courses on Jane Austen: www.thegreatcourses.com/janeausten Get full access to The Austen Connection at austenconnection.substack.com/subscribe

Greetings, and thank you for listening to Bluestocking! Questions or comments? Email me here.Helpful Links:Dr. Margaret Crocco on Texas TextbooksPBS Documentary The RevisionariesAvenue Q (musical)Kate McGee for The Texas Tribune on HB 3979National Archives' Rediscovering Black History BlogMe and White Supremacy by Layla F. SaadGood Ancestor PodcastNPR's Code Switch Podcast - Episode mentioned today: Tulsa: 100 Years LaterThe 1619 ProjectNice White Parents PodcastRachel CargleAlly Henny

Alex has been reading up on the origins of the feminist term Bluestocking, originally used to describe a man - typical - before telling us about the charming instagram-famous novel 'Hamnet'. Rhiannon delves into a new Tom Hanks film, tracing the history of news readers and translating that to today's news sources. Alex has been reading ‘The Ungrateful Refugee' and postulates on what it means to be a refugee. Meanwhile, Rhiannon has been reading ‘Cilka's Journey', diving into a passionate discussion about the lack of consent in imprisoned sex work but despite this, the blame that is attributed to women in these situations. We end with a few podcast recommendations to charm your ears. We are an accessible podcast so find transcripts on our linktree in our instagram bio @thegrandthunk. Follow us on social media @thegrandthunk or email us - thegrandthunk@gmail.com. We'd love to hear from you! Subscribe, rate, review and tell all your friends. Content Warning: rape and sexual violence during the discussion on 'Cilka's Journey' from 30 minutes. See below for a full list of what we discuss: Blue Stockings by Jessica Swale Brilliant Women: 18th-Century Bluestockings by Elizabeth Eger and Lucy Peltz Hamnet by Maggie O'Farrell News of the World The Ungrateful Refugee: What Immigrants Never Tell You by Dina Nayeri The Good Immigrant edited by Nikesh Shukla Cilka's Journey by Heather Morris The Tattooist of Auschwitz by Heather Morris Tom Allen on The Adam Buxton Podcast Strippers in the Attic podcast The Grand Thunk, the podcast in which Alex Blanchard and Rhiannon Kearns discuss the books they've been reading, the films and TV shows they've been watching and the podcasts they've been listening to!

Curl up with your fuzziest socks and beverage of choice as the Bluestockings share the works that bring them comfort and joy during the best of times and the worst of times.

To get live links to the music we play and resources we offer, visit This show includes the following songs: Royal South - I Don't Wanna Want You  Every Living Soul - Forever Is Over  New Middle Class - Give It Back  Olivia Fox - Elevator Doors  The BlueStocking - Bulletinawallet  Deborah Berg - Full Circle  Ingvi Thor Kormaksson - At First Sight feat. Veitan & Gugga Lisa  Beth Davidson - With My Clothes On  Kim Tavar - Tired, Do You Hear Me Now  rOzegold - Like Us  For Music Biz Resources Visit Visit our Sponsor Bandzoogle at: Visit our Sponsor Pivotal Awakening at: Visit our Sponsor Promilla at: Visit our Sponsor John Jordan/The Storm at:

To get live links to the music we play and resources we offer, visit This show includes the following songs: KALO - No Shame Gaby Castro - The Fight Hearth - The Angel Melanie Pierce - Illusions The BlueStocking - Don't Look Back Olivia Frances - Great Blue Alice Ray - I See You Language Arts - Sprout Yasmin de Laine - Hope Forest Leonie Evans - Sigh In My Heart For Music Biz Resources Visit Visit our Sponsor Bandzoogle at: Visit our Sponsor Pivotal Awakening at: Visit our Sponsor Rene Russell at: Visit our Sponsor Promilla at: