Podcast appearances and mentions of Francis Spufford

Music – Strength Of The Titans by Kevin MacLeod Link: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/5744-strength-of-the-titans License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ Please subscribe, rate, like and share this podcast (if you like it)... BOOKS MATTER: My reading: Standard Deviation by Katherine Heiney can be bought here https://uk.bookshop.org/p/books/standard-deviation-katherine-heiny/379765?ean=9780008105532 Cahokia Jazz by Francis Spufford: https://uk.bookshop.org/p/books/cahokia-jazz-from-the-prizewinning-author-of-golden-hill-the-best-book-of-the-century-richard-osman-francis-spufford/7619917?ean=9780571336883 My short stories in the Writing Salon anthologies can be bought here: https://amzn.eu/d/bNPEx1i https://amzn.eu/d/bedKEaG

On the podcast this week, Francis Spufford discusses his latest novel, Cahokia Jazz, with the Dean of Southwark, the Very Revd Dr Mark Oakley. The conversation was recorded at the Church Times Festival of Faith and Literature, which was held in Winchester in March (Features, 7 March). Set in an alternative America in the 1920s, Cahokia Jazz is “a detective novel with noir tendencies” which is “as inventive and unpredictable in its setting as it is in its thrilling plot”, Dr Oakley wrote in a review in the Church Times. Cahokia Jazz is available in paperback from the Church House Bookshop. https://chbookshop.hymnsam.co.uk/books/9780571336883/cahokia-jazz Francis Spufford's first novel, Golden Hill, won the Costa First Novel Award 2016; his second novel, Light Perpetual was longlisted for the 2021 Booker Prize. He has also written five highly praised works of non-fiction, including Unapologetic: Why, despite everything Christianity can still make surprising emotional sense, which was shortlisted for the 2016 Michael Ramsey Prize. Picture credit: Harvey Mills Find out about forthcoming Church Times events at https://www.churchtimes.co.uk/events Try 10 issues of the Church Times for £10 or get two months access to our website and apps, also for £10. Go to www.churchtimes.co.uk/new-reader

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for February 13, 2025 is: gallant • GAL-unt • adjective Someone or something described as gallant is very courageous and brave. Gallant is also sometimes used to mean “large and impressive” (as in “a gallant ship”), or to describe someone who has or shows politeness and respect for women. // Though they failed to reach the summit, the mountaineering team made a gallant attempt. See the entry > Examples: “He turned to go, and was promptly whacked across the backside by Miss Chokfi. ‘Ouch?' he said. ‘What was that for?' She was standing up very straight and gallant, though it still left her a foot and a half shorter than him, with the office stapler ready by her hand. ‘That was for not stopping him,' she said. ‘Was there anything else you need?' ‘Not a thing,' said Barrow, and tipped his hat to her.” — Francis Spufford, Cahokia Jazz: A Novel, 2024 Did you know? If you're familiar with the long-running comic strip “Goofus and Gallant,” created by Garry Cleveland Myers and published in the monthly children's magazine Highlights, you likely have a particularly good sense of the meaning of the adjective gallant. In the comic, the character of Goofus demonstrates to young readers all sorts of bad habits and behaviors, while Gallant provides examples of proper conduct and comportment when in circumstances similar to those of his ill-mannered counterpart. The characters' names were, of course, chosen with purpose. We record several different senses of gallant and all are compliments. Someone described as gallant may be smartly dressed, courteous and chivalrous, or valiant and brave. Goofus, bless his heart, is none of these things (while we do not define the adjective goofus, the Oxford English Dictionary does: “stupid, foolish”). Perhaps ironically, gallant comes from the Middle French verb galer, meaning “to squander in pleasures”; such squandering is something Goofus is likely to do, and Gallant never would.

In today's episode I have the pleasure of speaking with Rachel Cockerell, a London-based author, whose first foray into writing began as a family memoir, and evolved into a remarkable and innovative work of historical non-fiction called Melting Point. Melting Point is a great 2024 release from Headline, and will be coming out in Spring of 2025 in the States. The book was longlisted for the 2024 Baillie Gifford Prize, and explores the origins of the Zionist movement, and one of its particular, little-known chapters – the Galveston Plan.  Most interestingly, perhaps, is the structure – it's a polyphonic blend of primary sources and texts, which she splices to build a story arc. The book is an absolutely fascinating read that touches on identity, belonging, and the search for a place to call home. I thoroughly enjoyed it, and would strongly recommend it. Lit with Charles loves reviews. If you enjoyed this episode, I'd be so grateful if you could leave a review of your own, and follow me on Instagram at @litwithcharles. Let's get more people listening – and reading! Rachel Cockerell's four books were: Big Magic, Elizabeth Gilbert (2015) Lincoln in the Bardo, George Saunders (2017) The Old Ways, Robert Macfarlane (2012) Golden Hill, Francis Spufford (2016)

Blaise Agüera y Arcas is one of most important people in AI, and apart from his leadership position as CTO of Technology & Society at Google, he has one of those resumes or affiliations lists that seems to span a lot of very fundamental things. He's amazing; the thoughtfulness and generosity with which he communicates on this episode gently embraced our brains while lazering them to mush. We hope you have the same experience. References include:Blaise's own books Who Are We Now?, Ubi Sunt, and the upcoming What Is Intelligence?He references James C. Scott's Seeing Like a State, which we strongly recommend, Benjamin Peters' How Not to Network a Nation, and Red Plenty by Francis Spufford.Strong recommendation also to Benjamin Labatut's When We Cease to Understand the World.Roberto references Luciana Parisi's Abstract Sex (our favorite book!) and the work of Lynn Margulis with respect to biology and reproduction.Blaise references James E. Lovelock's project “Daisyworld” with respect to the Gaia hypothesis.He also references the Active Inference thesis, e.g. that of Karl J. Friston, and the work of Dan Sperber and Hugo Mercer on reason.The cellular automata work referenced here involves the Von Neumann cellular automaton and the Wolfram neural cellular automaton.Wish us a happy 1 year anniversary of the pod!

In this week's episode, host Daniel Raimi talks with Catherine Hausman, an associate professor at the University of Michigan, about the costs of not building new electricity transmission lines, particularly in the Midwestern United States. Hausman discusses the benefits of additional electricity transmission for consumer electricity prices, emissions reductions, and electrification of the economy; the companies that may gain or lose revenue if more transmission is built; and how companies that stand to lose revenue from more transmission are preventing the construction of new transmission. References and recommendations: “Power Flows: Transmission Lines, Allocative Efficiency, and Corporate Profits” by Catherine Hausman; https://www.nber.org/papers/w32091 “Transmission Impossible? Prospects for Decarbonizing the US Grid” by Lucas W. Davis, Catherine Hausman, and Nancy L. Rose; https://www.nber.org/papers/w31377 “Dog Man” books; https://pilkey.com/series/dog-man “Golden Hill: A Novel of Old New York” by Francis Spufford; https://www.simonandschuster.com/books/Golden-Hill/Francis-Spufford/9781501163883 “Project Hail Mary” by Andy Weir; https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/611060/project-hail-mary-by-andy-weir/

Life & Faith producer, Allan Dowthwaite, takes over the studio to mark 500 episodes of amazing conversations.Allan Dowthwaite, CPX's media director, normally runs the recording studio for the team. But in this special episode, marking twelve-and-a-half years of the podcast, he's commandeered the mic as your personal guide to Life & Faith's greatest conversations, organised into the following categories for your listening pleasure.Links are included to any episode you want to listen to in full.The cultural waters in which we swim, featuring Sydney Morning Herald Economics Editor Ross Gittins, political scientist Dale Kuehne, New York Times film writer Alissa Wilkinson, cultural critic Andy Crouch, and author Tim Winton.How Christianity explains our world, featuring cold case detective Jim Warner Wallace, author Marilynne Robinson, author Francis Spufford, and historian Tom Holland.Surprising stories, featuring Oxford mathematician John Lennox, Alex Gaffikin, who wintered on Antarctica for two years, Johnnie Walker, beloved authority on the Camino de Santiago, and the late scholar of African-American religion, Albert J. Raboteau.Indigenous Australians, featuring Yorta Yorta man William Cooper, Torres Strait Islander leader and pastor Gabriel Bani, and Aunty Maureen Atkinson, member of the Stolen Generation.Changing one's mind about faith, featuring ABC Religion & Ethics editor Scott Stephens and author Susannah McFarlane.Ordinary people, extraordinary acts, featuring Australian nurse Valerie...

At a Bethesda Baptist chapel two worshippers, separated in age by three decades, are drawn together by common interests, driven apart by divergent loves, before being reunited by the mysteries surrounding their small town. Francis Spufford describes Enlightenment (Jonathan Cape) as ‘a book in which everything is kindled into light by Sarah Perry's rapt, luminous attention: friendship, betrayal, faith, astronomy, the drizzle on the streets of Essex and the heavens above them.' Sarah Perry, author of Essex Girls, Melmoth and The Essex Serpent, read from the novel and talked about it with nature writer and novelist Helen Macdonald. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

What does it mean to be fully alive and at peace with ourselves and our neighbors in the anxiety and fear of contemporary life?Joining Evan Rosa in this episode is Elizabeth Oldfield—a journalist, communicator, and podcast host of The Sacred. She's author of Fully Alive: Tending to the Soul in Turbulent Times.Together they discuss life in her micro-monastery in south London; the meaning of liturgical and sacramental life embedded in a fast-paced, technological, capitalistic, obsessively popular society; the concept of personal encounter and Martin Buber's idea that “all living is meeting”; the fundamentally disconnecting power of sin that works against the fully aliveness of truly meeting the other; including discussions of wrath or contempt that drives us toward violence; greed or avarice and the incessant insatiable accumulation of wealth; the attention-training benefits of gratitude and the identify forming power of our attention; throughout it all, working through the spiritual psychology of sin and topography of the soul—and the fact that we are, all of us, in Elizabeth's words, “unutterably beloved.”About Elizabeth OldfieldElizabeth Oldfield is a journalist, communicator, and author. She hosts a beautiful podcast called The Sacred. And she's author of Fully Alive: Tending to the Soul in Turbulent Times. Follow her @esoldfield, and visit her website elizabetholdfield.comShow NotesIntentional living community; pulling on monastic lifestyle and framework; read more about Elizabeth Oldfield's micro-monastery here.People passing through the micro-monastery and the sharing of a meal and sitting in silence with othersCeltic prayer book - The Aidan Compline (https://www.northumbriacommunity.org/offices/monday-the-aidan-compline/)Fully Alive: Tending to the Soul in Turbulent Times by Elizabeth Oldfield (http://bakerpublishinggroup.com/books/fully-alive/421701)How you see your liturgical life, the rhythms of your life however else you might describe you spirituality as providing the soil of this book?A personal writing experience - communicating something of her tradition with the outside worldWhat it means to be fully alive to you?Everything is about relationships and connection; to be fully alive is to be fully connected with the soulBetween Man and Man (https://www.routledge.com/Between-Man-and-Man/Buber/p/book/9780415278270) and I and Thou by Martin Buber - “all living is meeting” (https://www.maximusveritas.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/iandthou.pdf)If all living is meeting, how are we failing in that regard?Unapologetic: Why, Despite Everything, Christianity Can Still Make Surprising Emotional Sense by Francis Spufford (https://www.harpercollins.com/products/unapologetic-francis-spufford?variant=32207439626274)Sin is disconnection; a turning inward“Elegy on the Lady Markham” by John Donne (https://www.poetrynook.com/poem/elegy-lady-markham-0)“As I Walked Out One Evening” by W.H. Auden (https://poets.org/poem/i-walked-out-one-evening)The Sacred podcast (https://www.theosthinktank.co.uk/comment/2017/12/06/introducing-the-sacred-podcast)Polarization, division, and the splitting of people - homophily and fight or flight responseJesus going to the margins, ignoring tribal boundaries and turning the other cheekSin and ReconciliationThe Givenness of Things: Essays by Marilynne Robinson, “I find the soul a valuable concept, a statement of the dignity of human life” (https://www.brethrenpress.com/product_p/9781250097316.htm)The soul is interesting and difficult to name but is so valuableRoom for uncertainty and poetry—we beat up our souls, keep ourselves distractedContemporary life is angry and greedyContempt is a poison for our souls and relationships and humanityStress and anxiety as a constantChristian non-violence traditionWe must feel our emotions - process them through the shared rituals of our communitiesDesire by Micheal O'Siadhail (https://www.baylorpress.com/9781481320061/desire/)Would you like to introduce your take on greed?Phyllis Tickle, dogged commitment of the scripture - the love of money is the root of all evilThe Parable of the Sower - Mark 4:19 (https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Mark 4%3A19&version=NIV)Made gods of wealth, greed, comfort, and connivenceGratitude is a medicine for greedOf Gratitude by Thomas Traherne? (https://www.cambridge.org/core/books/abs/works-of-thomas-traherne-vii/of-gratitude/161CCCE8293EE4034F65AB436AB4D3F9)“These are the Days We Prayed For” by Guvna B (https://genius.com/Guvna-b-these-are-the-days-lyrics)Notice and give thanks; misplaced desireAcadia, spiritual apathy, and heavy distractionAttention and discipline are formationThe Anxious Generation: How the Great Rewiring of Childhood is Causing an Epidemic of Mental Illness by Jonathan Haidt (https://www.anxiousgeneration.com/book)Community as accountability and rituals and set rhythms of lifeDivine Love, ultimate loveBaptism as a reminder of our death - love remainsQuiet space shared with others; honesty, vulnerability, emotional processingProduction NotesThis podcast featured Elizabeth OldfieldEdited and Produced by Evan RosaHosted by Evan RosaProduction Assistance by Kacie Barrett and Alexa RollowA Production of the Yale Center for Faith & Culture at Yale Divinity School https://faith.yale.edu/aboutSupport For the Life of the World podcast by giving to the Yale Center for Faith & Culture: https://faith.yale.edu/give

Bill and Joel are joined once again by the great Phil Christman for a guest podcast, this one about Cahokia Jazz, the alternate-history noir written by the incomparable Francis Spufford!

Laura's on a flying visit to London, and so of course we took the opportunity to get together and swap notes on our recent reading. Regular guest Phil Chaffee dialled in from New York to add his picks to the mix. Find out what we thought of summer it-book The Ministry of Time by Kaliane Bradley, we consider the auto fictional world of Deborah Levy, Kate reports back on Francis Spufford's new novel – and podcast book club read – Cahokia Jazz and we round it off with art-world memoir All That Glitters by Orlando Whitfield – unputdownable in Kate's opinion, find out why. It's also our first ever sponsored episode. Introducing Serious Readers, a company dedicated to creating the world's best reading lamps. Listen in for Kate's interview with founder Alex Pratt, and learn more about why your eyes might struggle under standard LED lighting. We know how much as readers you care about your eyes, so we were happy to tell you about a product that feels like just what they need. Listen in for all the details, and if you're interested to try them head to seriousreaders.com/BCR and use code BCR for £100 off any HD light. You have 30 days to decide if they're right for you. In the UK you'll also get free delivery. Outside of the UK the offer is still valid, but there would also be a shipping charge. BOOKS FEATURED IN THIS EPISODE The Ministry of Time by Kaliane Bradley Cahokia Jazz by Francis Spufford The Dragon Waiting by John M. Ford Real Estate by Deborah Levy All That Glitters by Orlando Whitfield SERIOUS READERS Like the sound of Serious Readers? Head to seriousreaders.com/BCR and use code BCR for £100 off any HD light, you'll also get free delivery in the UK, and you have 30 days to try them out. PATREON Support the show, and get extras in return Head over to our Patreon to find out how to support the pod, and the things you'll get in return, from book recommendations to extra episodes. At the higher tier you can join our monthly book club – if you look at that membership level you'll find a link to the full list of books for 2024. This month we're reading Wifedom by Anna Funder. Or to hear about books between shows come find the pod on Instagram or Threads @bookclubreviewpodcast

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for May 30, 2024 is: dynasty • DYE-nuh-stee • noun Dynasty refers to a group (such as a team, family, etc.) that is very powerful or successful for a long period of time. It is also often used for a family of rulers who rule over a country for a long period of time, as well as the period of time when a particular dynasty is in power. // The team's draft picks reflected the ownership's strategy of building a long-term football dynasty. See the entry > Examples: “The Vanderberg dynasty was in steel, railroads and textiles as well as munitions. Their money was so old that it underlay the United States like geology. Before there had been a United States, in fact, there had been Vanderbergs and they had already been rich.” — Francis Spufford, Cahokia Jazz: A Novel, 2024 Did you know? Dynasty has had quite the run in English. For over 600 years it's been used to refer to a ruling family that maintains power generation after generation. At the time dynasty was first used in English, for example, England was in the midst of rule by the Plantagenet dynasty, whose line of succession provided 14 kings, from Henry II to Richard III. Around the beginning of the 19th century, the word developed the figurative sense “a group or family that dominates a particular field for generations.” Nowadays, this sense of dynasty is often applied to sports franchises that have prolonged runs of successful seasons, divine right not required. Technically, any team is capable of becoming this type of dynasty, including not only Kings and Royals, but also Ducks.

On the podcast this week, Elizabeth Oldfield talks about her new book, Fully Alive: Tending to the soul in turbulent times. An extract from the book is published in the 24 May edition of the Church Times. Elizabeth is a journalist, public intellectual, and the host of the podcast The Sacred, which explores the deep values of a range of guests. Until recently, she was director of the think tank Theos. In Fully Alive, she explores what it means to live life to the full, drawing on theology, philosophy, sociology, economics, science, literature, and psychotherapy, and on her own life as a millennial feminist with a husband and two children, living with another family in an intentional community. Reviewing the book for the Church Times (Books, 17 May), Rachel Mann writes: “I can offer no higher praise than to say that this is a book for those who found oxygen and hope in Francis Spufford's Unapologetic; that is, for those who can't quite give up on the Song of Love despite all the evidence to the contrary.” Fully Alive is published by Hodder & Stoughton at £18.99 (Church Times Bookshop £15.19); 978-1-3998-1076-0. https://www.elizabetholdfield.com Try 10 issues of the Church Times for £10 or get two months access to our website and apps, also for £10. Go to www.churchtimes.co.uk/new-reader

Kate De Goldi is one of New Zealand's most celebrated authors, an Arts Foundation Laureate, and a voracious reader. She joins Susie to share three books she's loved; Cahokia Jazz by Francis Spufford, Hatch and Match by Ruth Paul, and Falling Animals by Sheila Armstrong.

Host Jo Reed and AudioFile's Robin Whitten discuss Andy Ingalls's narration of a literary detective novel. Ingalls delivers all the nuances of a full cast in Spufford's story set in an alternate universe. In an authoritative tone, Ingalls brings to life Cahokia, located on the banks of the Mississippi. In the novel, this ancient Indigenous society lives on in the 1920s, seeming to flourish in its diversity. But when Barrow discovers a mutilated body, the community's facade of racial coexistence is exposed. Ingalls is the perfect guide for this complex world. Read the full review of the audiobook on AudioFile's website. Published by Simon & Schuster. Find more audiobook recommendations at audiofilemagazine.com Dreamscape Publishing, an independent audiobook publisher, produces and publishes award-winning and bestselling titles, including those from Lisa Jewell, Jeneva Rose, and Annie Ernaux. For more information and to see Dreamscape's entire catalog, visit dreamscapepublishing.com. This episode is brought to you by BetterHelp. Give online therapy a try at betterhelp.com/AUDIOFILE and get on your way to being your best self. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Prize-winning author Francis Spufford was an atheist for over 20 years before finding his way back to faith. His book 'Unapologetic: Why, despite everything, Christianity can still make surprising emotional sense' was an unconventional response to New Atheism.  Hollywood screenwriter and bestselling novelist Andrew Klavan, also came to Christian faith as an adult from a secular Jewish background - a story he tells in his book 'The Great Good Thing'.  Justin hears both their conversion stories in this bonus edition of the podcast. The documentary format resumes next time. More info, book & newsletter: https://justinbrierley.com/surprisingrebirth/ Support via Patreon for early access to new episodes: https://www.patreon.com/justinbrierley/membership Support via PayPal: https://www.paypal.com/paypalme/brierleyjustin Support via Tax-deductible (USA): https://defendersmedia.com/portfolio/justin-brierley/ Buy the book or get a signed copy: https://justinbrierley.com/the-surprising-rebirth-of-belief-in-god/ Ep 13 show notes: https://justinbrierley.com/surprisingrebirth/episode-13-francis-spufford-andrew-klavan-a-celebrated-author-and-hollywood-screenwriter-come-to-faith The Surprising Rebirth of Belief in God is a production of Think Faith in partnership with Genexis, and support from The Jerusalem Trust & the Christian Evidence Society. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

How is New York City coping with the 175,000 migrants from the Southern border? New York Times reporter Andy Newman says the city's legal mandate to provide shelter to any who need it is being tested by a stream of migrants — some of whom were sent on buses by Southern governors.Also, Maureen Corrigan reviews Francis Spufford's Cahokia Jazz.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

How is New York City coping with the 175,000 migrants from the Southern border? New York Times reporter Andy Newman says the city's legal mandate to provide shelter to any who need it is being tested by a stream of migrants — some of whom were sent on buses by Southern governors.Also, Maureen Corrigan reviews Francis Spufford's Cahokia Jazz.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

With plans for are promised chat with Elizabeth Hand and Alix E. Harrow on temporary hold, Jonathan and Gary share some pleasant memories of the World Fantasy Convention, muse about whether the nature of conventions has changed in the wake of the pandemic, and speculate about next year's events in Glasgow, Niagara Falls, and elsewhere. They then touch upon some books they're looking forward to in 2024, including novels by Kelly Link, Nisi Shawl, Peter S. Beagle, and Paolo Bacigalupi, and some titles they'd recommend from 2023, including novels by Ian McDonald, Nina Allan, Geoff Ryman, Christopher Priest, Francis Spufford, Wole Talabi, and Nicola Griffith, as well as a few story collections, anthologies, and nonfiction books. By the end, it almost all comes into some sort of focus.

Francis Spufford is a child of his times. He was raised on a university campus by “serious and convinced” churchgoing parents, in an era when Christianity was “taken for granted” as part of most people's ordinary lives. His teenage years began two decades in which God was absent. In his 30s, Spufford committed what he calls a “classic, destructive male mistake of midlife”. He politely declines to provide any further details other than explaining: “They are my shames, but other people's privacy is involved.” That the crisis somehow led him back to God is both a miracle and a testament to the creative ways that a creative God breaks through into our everyday, he says. In this in depth interview with Premier Christianity's Emma Fowle, Francis unpacks some of his books, including the "sweary" Unapologetic and talks about why Christian art is sometimes a little bit rubbish. You can also read this interview in Premier Christianity magazine.

Nog nooit zo vaak werden Lot en Luc onderbroken door storm, telefoon, klanten, dagen… Maar als je samenwerken en samen lezen wil bespreken heeft dat ook tijd nodig… Dus laten we ons afleiden door regenwormen, bedelende meisjes en kleutervibes om ondertussen een hele lijst boeken de revue te laten passeren… Francis Spufford – Gouden Bergen […]

In this introductory trailer, Justin Brierley introduces a new long-form documentary podcast 'The Surprising Rebirth of Belief in God', telling the story of why new atheism grew old and secular thinkers are considering Christianity again. Featuring interviews with secular and Christian thinkers such as Jordan Peterson, Richard Dawkins, Alex O Connor, Louise Perry, Tom Holland, Dave Rubin, Douglas Murray, Alister McGrath, NT Wright, William Lane Craig, Jana Harmon, Bishop Robert Barron, Paul Kingsnorth and Francis Spufford, this series accompanies Justin's recently published book 'The Surprising Rebirth of Belief in God'. Could the tide of faith be ready to come in again in our generation? Get early access to new episodes and bonus content when you become a supporter: https://www.justinbrierley.com/surprisingrebirth Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Francis Spufford returns to Little Atoms and talks to neil Denny about his latest novel, the alternative history Cahokia Jazz. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode Lars speaks with Adrian Johns, who is a history professor at the University of Chicago. He recently published the book The Science of Reading (University of Chicago Press, 2023), in which he writes about the history of the science of reading since the early psychology experiments in the late nineteenth century measuring eye movements, to large sociological studies of reading, libraries and readability in the 1930s, the reading wars in the 1950s, psycholinguistics and phonics, current debates about reading, and much more.  We talk about early psychological research, psychophysics, the German pioneer Wilhelm Wundt (1832-1920), research on reading, Edmund Burke Huey (1870-1913), early research on eye tracking during reading, the readability of a text, the reading wars, phonics, the National Defense Education Act (1958), different ways of understanding reading comprehension, how we use the data from standardized tests, the importance of background knowledge for reading comprehension, the different ways we read different texts in different contexts, reading the Bible, as well as British pirate radio in the fifties and sixties.    Adrian Johns' books: The Science of Reading: Information, Media, and Mind in Modern America (Chicago, 2023) Death of a Pirate: British Radio and the Making of the Information Age (Norton, 2010) Piracy: The Intellectual Property Wars from Gutenberg to Gates (Chicago, 2009) The Nature of the Book: Print and Knowledge in the Making (Chicago, 1998)   Books mentioned:  Rudolf Flesch, Why Johnny Can't Read (1955) Jeanne Chall, Learning to Read: The Great Debate (1967) Edmund Burke Huey, The Psychology and Pedagogy of Reading (1908) Kirsten Macfarlane, Biblical Scholarship in an Age of Controversy (2021) Francis Spufford, Red Plenty (2010) Natalie Wexler, The Knowledge Gap (2019) See also Wexler's review article of Adrian Johns' book, which we address towards the end of the episode:  https://www.educationnext.org/evolving-science-of-how-we-read-book-review-the-science-of-reading-johns/   ---------------------------- Our logo is by Sveinung Sudbø, see his works on originalkopi.com The music is by Arne Kjelsrud Mathisen, see the facebook page Nygrenda Vev og Dur for more info.  ----------------------------  Thank you for listening. You can contact us on our facebook page or by email: larsogpaal@gmail.com There is no better way for the podcast to gain new interested listener than by you sharing it with friends, so if you find what we do interesting and useful, please consider doing just that. The podcast is still most in Norwegian, but we have a lot of episodes coming out in English.  Our blogs: https://paljabekk.com/ https://larssandaker.blogspot.com/   Alt godt, hilsen Lars og Pål

2 Sam 12:1-14 // Bill GormanIn this sermon, we explore the story of David and Nathan from 2 Samuel 11-12. We see the shocking nature of David's actions and how the Bible portrays the reality of dark chapters in our lives. Hidden sin leads to death and destroys our relationships with God, others, and ourselves.However, when our sins are exposed, it becomes a display of God's grace. It may be uncomfortable and unwanted, but it is what we need. We are encouraged to pray to be caught in our sins and to run to God for forgiveness and restoration.As we prepare for communion, we join in a prayer based on Psalm 51, recognizing our need for God's cleansing and renewal. Ultimately, the message reminds us of the transformative power of God's grace when our sins are brought into the light.Sermon Notes: https://www.bible.com/events/49098932 Prayer Requests:  https://ccefc.ccbchurch.com/goto/forms/2546/responses/new23.07.16

2 Samuel 12 // Paul BrandesIn this sermon, we explore the story of David and Nathan from 2 Samuel 11-12. We see the shocking nature of David's actions and how the Bible portrays the reality of dark chapters in our lives. Hidden sin leads to death and destroys our relationships with God, others, and ourselves.However, when our sins are exposed, it becomes a display of God's grace. It may be uncomfortable and unwanted, but it is what we need. We are encouraged to pray to be caught in our sins and to run to God for forgiveness and restoration.As we prepare for communion, we join in a prayer based on Psalm 51, recognizing our need for God's cleansing and renewal. Ultimately, the message reminds us of the transformative power of God's grace when our sins are brought into the light.Sermon Notes: https://www.bible.com/events/49098936 Prayer Requests: https://ccefc.ccbchurch.com/goto/forms/2574/responses/new23.07.16

Greetings, comrades, and glory to the utopian future glimpsed in our scientifically perfected podcast! Today we tighten our focus onto a subject we've touched on a few times: communism, that spectre that's been haunting Science Fiction almost since the beginning, and the way it intersects with the real-world Soviet Union, in the form of Francis Spufford's Red Plenty. It's an alternate-reality story about a nation that attempted to make science fiction of a sort a reality as well. But the Revolution eats its children... Support us on Patreon and listen to the show a week early! Adam's Patreon Phil's Patreon What Mad Universe?!? on Twitter Phil's Twitter Adam's Twitter What Mad Universe on Facebook What Mad Universe on Instagram What Mad Universe RSS Feed Engineer/Producer: Alex Ross Theme song by Jack Feerick (c) 2022 Adam Prosser and Philip Rice. Music (c) its respective creators. Used under a Creative Commons Non-Commercial Attribution 3.0 International License. This podcast is powered by Pinecast.

by Francis Spufford

Francis Spufford is an award-winning author of fiction and non-fiction. His 2012 book 'Unapologetic: Why, despite everything, Christianity can still make surprising emotional sense' responded to new atheism with a unique argument for the way faith engages our hopes, failures and longings. He joins Belle Tindall and Justin Brierley to discuss the way books ignite our imagination and how the Christian story shapes his own writing.https://www.seenandunseen.com/podcastThere's more to life than the world we can see. Re-Enchanting is a podcast from Seen & Unseen engaging faith and spirituality with leading figures in science, history, politics, art and education. Can our culture be re-enchanted by the vision of Christianity? Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

There's more to life than the world we can see.Justin Brierley & Belle Tindall introduce a new podcast from Seen & Unseen. Stories, guests and interviews that can re-enchant our vision of culture, science, politics and art. Recorded at Lambeth Palace Library, the new home of the Centre for Cultural Witness.The Re-enchanting podcast sees hosts, Justin Brierley and Belle Tindall, talk with guests about how Christianity can re-enchant culture, politics, the arts, the sciences, history, and so much more.Despite the increasingly scientific and secular age we live in, many people are still searching for a bigger story to live by. The podcast will feature a mix of guests - both with and without faith - and explore how those who have tired of modern materialism are the ones seeking to 're-enchant' the world. This podcast is about tracing their journey and work.Series one features conversations with the likes of Tom Holland, Louise Perry, Lord Michael Hastings, Francis Spufford and Marilynne Robinson. https://www.seenandunseen.com/ Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

You have probably mucked things up once or twice in your life. Congratulations, you're human. There's hope for all of us in the Easter story. ---  This week, Simon Smart and Justine Toh tiptoe through the minefield of ‘guilt', ‘sin', and ‘morality': three words and ideas that are offensive to the modern ear – no doubt partly due to the perception that Christians and the church have been all too judgmental of others.  The weighty, Christian baggage of these words aside – is there not something good about acknowledging the times we've hurt people and gotten things wrong? Simon and Justine discuss how The Picture of Dorian Gray, directed by Kip Williams for the Sydney Theatre Company, confronts viewers with the darkness of the human heart. And in discussing parenting fails and climate inaction, they explore the mismatch between the people we want to be and the people we actually are.  This episode of Life & Faith grapples with our human tendency to ‘muck things up' – a sanitised version of author Francis Spufford's working definition of ‘sin' – and how even this seemingly fatal flaw is not the whole human story. The hope of the Easter narrative is not just one of sin confronted, but conquered.   Also appearing in this episode: contributions from The Sacred podcast host Elizabeth Oldfield, New York Times columnist David Brooks, theologian Alister McGrath, author Marilynne Robinson, and author Francis Spufford.   ---  Explore:  Conal Hanna's article in The Guardian on the “teal paradox”  Elizabeth Oldfield's full interview – with transcript – with David Brooks for The Sacred.   Alister McGrath on why sin is such a useful idea  Marilynne Robinson on original sin  Life & Faith interview with Francis Spufford about Unapologetic: Why, Despite Everything, Christianity Can Still Make Surprising Emotional Sense.  Francis Spufford on your ruined life I Francis Spufford on your ruined life II 

John wants new gloves, Alison is foreshadowing, and Liz scrolls past spiders. Please email your letters of comment to comment@octothorpecast.uk and tag @OctothorpeCast (on Twitter or on Mastodon) when you post about the show on social media. Content warnings this episode: Spiders (chapter 6) Letters of comment Raj Bridget Bradshaw Chris Garcia Bigbug (Netflix) OSS 117 (Amazon) Brice de Nice (Hoopla) Lori Anderson Curt Phillips Chengdu is a shower (but not as bad as the BBC) They have opened Hugo nominations Conversions for Chinese language nominees: “A factor of 1.6 will be used when converting from English words to Chinese characters. As such the fiction category breakpoints will be: 1) Short Story: fewer than 7,500 English words or 12,000 Chinese characters. 2) Novelette: between 7,500/12,000 and 17,500 English words or 28,000 Chinese characters. 3) Novella: between 17,500/28,000 and 40,000 English words or 64,000 Chinese characters. 4) Novel: greater than 40,000 English words or 64,000 Chinese characters.” Nebula nominees are out Strange Horizons argues erroneously that Our Flag Means Death is fantasy, actually BSFA nominees are also out Everything Everywhere All at Once prop auction(s) Everything Everywhere All at Once shop Picks: John: Children of Time by Adrian Tchaikovsky (ebook, paperback, Amazon) Force Majeure Outer Dark Trilogy Part 2 Episode 1 - “In Space, No-One Can Smell Your Frog” The Dark Room by John Robertson Alison: Allegiance by George Takei Light Perpetual by Francis Spufford (ebook, paperback, Amazon) Liz: Los Espookys **(HBO, Now TV) Credits Cover art: ”MidJourney Into Space” by Alison Scott Alt text: Three adorable little rockets with faces corresponding to John, Alison and Liz above the text “Octothorpe 79”. Theme music: “Fanfare for Space” by Kevin MacLeod (CC BY 4.0) “Announcement” from Orange Free Sounds (CC BY-NC 4.0)

Until the 1970s, historical fiction was a scorned genre that belonged to Georgette Heyer and Jean Plaidy. Over recent decades, literary fiction has turned back to History, from Hilary Mantel's Thomas Cromwell trilogy to Helen Dunmore, Francis Spufford and Eleanor Catton. In the nineteenth century the historical novel had been more respected, with examples (sometimes impressive, sometimes absurd) from Scott, Dickens, and George Eliot.This lecture will examine the genre's vicissitudes (while noticing Georgette Heyer's novelistic virtues).A lecture by John Mullan recorded on 1 March 2023 at Barnard's Inn Hall, London.The transcript and downloadable versions of the lecture are available from the Gresham College website: https://www.gresham.ac.uk/watch-now/historical-fictionGresham College has offered free public lectures for over 400 years, thanks to the generosity of our supporters. There are currently over 2,500 lectures free to access. We believe that everyone should have the opportunity to learn from some of the greatest minds. To support Gresham's mission, please consider making a donation: https://gresham.ac.uk/support/Website:  https://gresham.ac.ukTwitter:  https://twitter.com/greshamcollegeFacebook: https://facebook.com/greshamcollegeInstagram: https://instagram.com/greshamcollegeSupport the show

We read many worthy books that didn't make it onto the podcast last year. This episode mentions 15 books that we love but didn't mention to you until now. Proper Confidence by Lesslie Newbigin - https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/273775.Proper_Confidence The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People by Stephen Covey https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/36072.The_7_Habits_of_Highly_Effective_People Peanut Butter and Dragon Wings by Sheri Zook https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/56169056-peanut-butter-and-dragon-wings Doing Good Better by William MacAskill https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/23398748-doing-good-better Unapologetic by Francis Spufford https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/15929332-unapologetic So Good They Can't Ignore You by Cal Newport https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/13525945-so-good-they-can-t-ignore-you Neither Complimentarian Nor Egalitarian by Michelle Lee-Barnwall https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/26266693-neither-complementarian-nor-egalitarian Principles: Life and Work by Ray Dalio https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/34536488-principles The Man Who Was Thursday by G K. Chesterton https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/184419.The_Man_Who_Was_Thursday The Clock of the Long Now by Stewart Brand https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/33279.Clock_of_the_Long_Now Amusing Ourselves to Death by Neil Postman https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/74034.Amusing_Ourselves_to_Death Man's Search for Meaning by Viktor Frankl https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/4069.Man_s_Search_for_Meaning The Platonic Tradition by Peter Kreeft https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/30072433-the-platonic-tradition Atheist Delusions by David Bentley Hart https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/863971.Atheist_Delusions The Supper of the Lamb by Robert Farrar Capon https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/157466.The_Supper_of_the_Lamb Follow Jaran on Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/74450648-jaran-miller. Follow Reagan on Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/93683928-reagan-schrock. Blue Dot Sessions kindly provided the music in this episode.

Isaiah 49.1-7, Psalm 40.1-11, 1 Corinthians 1.1-9, John 1.29-42; What are morning for? Are preachers called to be prophetic from the pulpit? How many sins does the Lamb of God take away? These questions and more on this episode of Strangely Warmed with guest Teer Hardy. Teer is one of the pastors serving Mt. Olivet UMC in Arlington, VA.Hosted by Taylor Mertins.-Don't forget to head over to https://www.crackersandgrapejuice.comClick on “Support the Show.”Become a patronSubscribe to CGJ+For peanuts, you can help us out….we appreciate it more than you can imagine.Follow us on the three-majors of social media:https://www.facebook.com/crackersnjuicehttps://www.instagram.com/crackersandgrapejuicehttp://www.twitter.com/crackersnjuice

Sunday Times bestselling debut author Joanna Quinn. Author of THE WHALEBONE THEATRE, a family saga set over the course of WW2.Joanna chats about:her journey to being published via journalism, an MA, motherhood, a PHD and a pandemicbeing inspired by what you knowwhale bonesthe perils of book promotion for introverted authorsGuest: Joanna Quinn IG: @joannabquinn Books: The Whalebone Theatre by Joanna Quinn Host: Kate Sawyer Twitter: @katesawyer IG: @mskatesawyer Books: The Stranding by Kate Sawyer & This Family by Kate Sawyer Joanna's recommendations: Books for fans of The Whalebone Theatre: The Cazalet Chronicles by Elizabeth Jane Howard, I Capture The Castle by Dodie Smith, Charlotte Gray by Sebastian Faulks, Life After Life by Kate Atkinson A book Joanna has always loved: Wolf Hall Trilogy by Hilary Mantel A book coming soon or recently released that Joanna recommends: Super-Infinite by Katherine Rundell Other books/things that came up during our chat: Arvon Writing Courses, The Village That Died For England by Patrick Wright, The Child That Books Built by Francis Spufford , Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy , The Wreckers by Bella Bathurst Novel Experience with Kate Sawyer is recorded and produced by Kate Sawyer - GET IN TOUCHTo receive transcripts and news from Kate to your inbox please SIGN UP FOR MY NEWSLETTER or visit https://www.mskatesawyer.com/novelexperiencepodcast for more information.

Nesse episódio discutimos o livro de 2010 Red Plenty de Francis Spufford.   Entenda como a União Soviética pretendia usar a cibernética para controlar a sua economia e trazer prosperidade para seu povo e o mundo.   Decida se você prefere viver na sociedade ocidental moderna ou sob o socialismo dos anos 1950 e 1960.   Descubra como se deu o experimento chileno com controle da economia usando computadores.   E decida se a economia pós escassez é possível ou não.     Acesse o site da Liga dos Leigos para a bibliografia completa do episódio e mais informações sobre os diletos membros da liga: https://ligadosleigos.com/   Entre em contato com a Liga em: contato@ligadosleigos.com   Siga-nos no Twitter em: @ligadosleigos

The long-awaited second season kicks off with an extended episode about the Good Shepherd himself, Jesus of Nazareth. Recommended and referenced resources include: Quotations: from Charles Dickens' The Life of Our Lord (http://www.ourfavouritebooks.co.uk/downloadindiv/dickens/The%20Life%20of%20Our%20Lord.pdf), JD Salinger's Franny and Zooey (https://mbird.com/literature/even-more-from-franny-and-zooey-jesus/), an interview with Zadie Smith (https://mbird.com/literature/the-hardest-thing-for-anyone/), and WH Auden in The Chimera (https://mbird.com/religion/jesus-fulfilled-none-of-w-h-audens-dreams/) Books and Literature: The Gospel of John: A Theological Commentary (https://amzn.to/3nQB9Qo) by David F. Ford, “The Gardener” (https://greatwar.nl/books/gardener/gardener.html) by Rudyard Kipling, War and Peace (https://amzn.to/3uy1l6d) by Leo Tolstoy, The Crucifixion (https://amzn.to/3Rh3g95) by Fleming Rutledge, Dominion (https://amzn.to/3uvwZl1) by Tom Holland, Kingdom Grace Judgment (https://amzn.to/3NPsoRo) by Robert Farrar Capon, Unapologetic (https://amzn.to/3amJ1pS) by Francis Spufford, “The Dog in the Red Bandana” (https://mbird.com/literature/the-dog-in-the-red-bandana-ray-bradbury/) by Ray Bradbury, and “Inscription Under a Roadside Crucifix” (https://www.consolatio.com/2005/02/written_beneath.html) by Victor Hugo Movies: The Gospel According to St Matthew (1964), Pier Pasolini dir. Artwork: Duccio's Maesta (https://www.wga.hu/html_m/d/duccio/maesta/index.html) Songs: “I Love You (Bollydub)” by Razor n Tape, “Gospel Rappin” by New Testament Youth Group, “Jesus is Waiting” by Al Green, “Look at What the Light Did Now” by Flo Morrissey and Matthew E White, "24K Magic" by Bruno Mars, “Simon Peter” by Sphinx, “Wonderful Savior” by Mavis Staples, “O Sacred Head Sore Wounded", “They Hung Him on the Cross”, “Crazy Boy Master” by JAZ & Bertie, “Resurrection Shuffle” by Tom Jones, “Jesus Is Here Today” by Sister Rosetta Tharpe, “Jesus” by The Velvet Underground, “Way Out Jesus” by Sammy Johns, “When He Was No One” by Swamp Dogg, “I Knew Jesus (Before He Was a Star)” by Glen Campbell, “He's Alive” by Dolly Parton Click here (https://open.spotify.com/playlist/2ZEDD3kbdFeuBjrMIhWi1V?si=058bfc64dedc426d) to listen to a playlist of the available tracks on Spotify.

Mick Herron chats about some of his favourite books and authors which include Francis Spufford, John Steinbeck, Gorky Park and The Wind In The Willows See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Lauren W. will be co-hosting this non-fiction quarter of Reading Envy Russia. We share books we have already read and freely recommend, and also chat about the piles and shelves of books we are considering. Let us know your recommendations and where you hope to start in the comments, or join the conversation in Goodreads.Download or listen via this link: Reading Envy 244: 2nd Quarter - Russian Non-Fiction Subscribe to the podcast via this link: FeedburnerOr subscribe via Apple Podcasts by clicking: SubscribeOr listen through TuneIn Or listen on Google Play Or listen via StitcherOr listen through Spotify Or listen through Google Podcasts Books we can recommend: Memories from Moscow to the Black Sea by Teffi Tolstoy, Rasputin, Others, and Me: The Best of Teffi by TeffiSecondhand Timeby Svetlana AlexievichThe Unwomanly Face of Warby Svetlana AlexievichLast Witnesses by Svetlana Alexievich, translated by Pevear & VolokhonskyZinky Boysby Svetlana AlexievichVoices of Chernobyl (also titled Chernobyl Prayer) by Svetlana Alexievich, translated by Keith GessenOther Russias by Victoria Lomasko, translated by Thomas CampbellThe Future is History by Masha Gessen Never Rememberby Masha Gessen, photography by Misha FriedmanWhere the Jews Aren't by Masha Gessen Pushkin's Children by Tatyana Tolstaya The Slynx by Tatyana TolstayaImperium by Ryszard Kapucinski, translated by Klara GlowczewskaA Very Dangerous Woman: The Lives, Loves and Lies of Russia's Most Seductive Spy by Deborah McDonald and Jeremy DronfieldPutin Country by Anne GarrelsLetters: Summer 1926 by Boris Pasternak, Marina Tsvetaeva, and Rainer Maria Rilke Sovietistan by Erika Fatland The Commissar Vanishes by David King Gulag by Anne Applebaum The Iron Curtain by Anne Applebaum The Magical Chorus by Solomon Volkov, translated by Antonina Bouis  Shostaskovich and Stalin by Solomon Volkov The Tiger by John Vaillant Owls of the Eastern Ice by Jonathan Slaght How to Tame a Fox (and Build a Dog): Visionary Scientists and a Siberian Tale of Jump-Started Evolution by Lee Alan Dugatkin and Lyudmila Trut Please to the Table by Anya von Bremzen Mastering the Art of Soviet Cooking by Anya von Bremzen Books we are considering: All Lara's Wars by Wojchiech Jagielski, translated by Antonia Lloyd-JonesGulag Archipelago by Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn, translated by Eric Ericson (there is a unabridged 1800+ pg, and an author approved abridged version, 400-some pages) Journey into the Whirlwind by Eugenia Ginzburg, translated by Paul Stevenson, Max Hayward Kolyma Tales by Varlam Shalamov, translated by John GladRiot Days by Maria AlyokhinaSpeak, Memory by Vladimir Nabokov The Life Written by Himself by Avvakum Petrov My Childhood by Maxim Gorky Teffi: A Life of Letters and Laughter by Edythe Haber Hope Against Hope by Nadezhda Mandelstam, tr. Max Hayward The Genius Under the Table: Growing Up Behind the Iron Curtain by Eugene Yelchin Putin's Russia: life in a failing democracy by Anna Politkovskaya ; translated by Arch Tait. A Russian diary: a journalist's final account of life, corruption, and death in Putin's Russia by Anna Politkovskaya Notes on Russian Literature by F.M. DostoevskyThe Sinner and the Saint: Dostoevsky and the Gentleman Murderer Who Inspired a Masterpiece by Kevin Birmingham The Most Dangerous Book: The Battle for James Joyce's Ulysses by Kevin BirminghamLess than One: Selected Essays by Joseph Brodsky Tolstoy Together by Yiyun Li The Border by Erika Fatland Symphony for the City of the Dead: Dmitri Shostakovich and the Siege of Leningrad by M.T. Anderson Red Plenty by Francis Spufford Lenin's Tomb: The Last Days of the Soviet Empire by David Remnick Bloodlands: Europe Between Hitler and Stalin by Timothy Snyder The Last Empire: Final Days of the Soviet Union by Serhii PlokhyThe Gates of Europe: A History of Ukraine by Serhii PlokhyChernobyl: The History of a Nuclear Catastrophe by Serhii PlokhyNuclear Folly: A History of the Cuban Missile Crisis by Serhii PlokhyMan with the Poison Gun: a Cold War Spy Story by Serhii PlokhyBabi Yar: A Document in the Form of a Novel by Anatoly Kuznetsov, tr. David Floyd Manual for Survival: An Environmental History of the Chernobyl Disaster by Kate Brown Plutopia: Nuclear Families, Atomic Cities, and the Great Soviet and American Plutonium Disasters by Kate BrownA Biography of No Place: From Ethnic Borderland to Soviet Heartland by Kate BrownOctober: The Story of the Russian Revolution by China Mieville Nothing Is True and Everything Is Possible: The Surreal Heart of the New Russia by Peter Pomerantsev Across the Ussuri Kray by Vladimir Arsenyev, translated by Slaght An Armenian Sketchbook by Vasily Grossman, translated by Robert and Elizabeth Chandler A Writer at War: Vasily Grossman with the Red Army by Vasily GrossmanThe Road by Vasily GrossmanStalking the Atomic City: Life Among the Decadent and Depraved of Chernobyl by Markiyan Kamysh Midnight in Siberia: A Train Journey into the Heart of Russia by David Greene Mamushka: Recipes from Ukraine & beyond by Olia HerculesRed Sands by Caroline EdenBlack Sea by Caroline Eden Tasting Georgia by Carla Capalbo  Other mentions:PEN list of writers against PutinNew Yorker article about Gessen siblings Thanksgivukkah 2013  League of Kitchens - Uzbek lessonLeague of Kitchens - Russian lessonMasha Gessen on Ezra Klein podcast, March 2022Related episodes:Episode 067 - Rain and Readability with Ruth(iella) Episode 084 - A Worthy Tangent with Bryan Alexander Episode 138 - Shared Landscape with Lauren Weinhold Episode 237 - Reading Goals 2022Episode 243 - Russian Novel Speed Date Stalk us online:Reading Envy Readers on Goodreads (home of Reading Envy Russia)Lauren at GoodreadsLauren is @end.notes on InstagramJenny at GoodreadsJenny on TwitterJenny is @readingenvy on Instagram and Litsy All links to books are through Bookshop.org, where I am an affiliate. I wanted more money to go to the actual publishers and authors. You can see the full collection for Reading Envy Russia 2022 on Bookshop.org.

On the podcast this week, we revisit an episode from a year ago, in which the Anglican novelist Francis Spufford talks about and reads from his second novel, Light Perpetual (Faber and Faber), which is now available in paperback from the Church House Bookshop: https://chbookshop.hymnsam.co.uk It was recorded last year at a one-day online event organised by the Church Times Festival of Faith and Literature. Since it was published last year, the book made the long list for the Booker Prize (News, 30 July 2021). Francis Spufford's first novel, Golden Hill (Reading Groups, 3 March 2017), won the Costa First Novel Award 2016. He has also written five highly praised works of non-fiction, including Unapologetic: Why, despite everything Christianity can still make surprising emotional sense (Books, 4 October 2013; Features, 7 September 2012), which was shortlisted for the 2016 Michael Ramsey Prize. The next Church Times Festival of Faith and Literature takes place online on Saturday (19 February). Find out more and book tickets at https://faithandliterature.hymnsam.co.uk/february-2022 Photo credit: Eamonn McCabe/Popperfoto Music for the podcast is by Twisterium

Francis Spufford is a storyteller who sees grace and beauty in the grimiest and grittiest of places. He challenges us to look closely and catch a glimpse of something wildly precious and extraordinary, even holy and eternal. Also, Mehmet Ozalp previews the inaugural Sydney Muslim Writers' festival and explains the significance of the pen in the Islamic faith.

On this final episode of The Writer and the Critic for 2021, your hosts, Kirstyn McDermott and Ian Mond discuss birthdays, Halloween and Jewish Stuff before moving on to wax lyrical about this month's books: Little Eve by Catriona Ward [6:35] and Light Perpetual by Francis Spufford [36:35]. If you've skipped ahead to avoid spoilers, please come back at 1:16:45 for final remarks. Next episode - in February 2022! - the two books up on the slab will be: When We Cease to Understand the World by Benjamin Labatut A Ghost in the Throat by Doireann Ní Ghríofa Read ahead and join in the spoilerific fun!  

Graphic Novels, Coffee Table Books, Uniquely Formatted Novels...Ryan, Hillary, and Jo are talking about cool physical books this month! Also, Hillary regales us with tales from her time living in NYC. This episode is extra long and extra fun. Enjoy! Click the link to purchase the book from our store, or click the (audiobook) link to get the audiobook on Libro.fm. Thank you for shopping local! Books Mentioned During This Episode RECENT READS Ryan, https://www.gibsonsbookstore.com/ryan-elizabeth-clark While We Were Dating by Jasmine Guillory (audiobook) The Book of Accidents by Chuck Wendig (audiobook) The Southern Book Club's Guide to Slaying Vampires by Grady Hendrix (Book Club) (audiobook) Bubble by Jordan Morris, Sarah Morgan, Tony Cliff, Natalie Riess (Podcast) Hillary, https://www.gibsonsbookstore.com/hillary Billy Summers by Stephen King (audiobook) Putting it Together: How Stephen Sondheim and I Created “Sunday in the Park with George” by James Lapine (audiobook) Jo, https://www.gibsonsbookstore.com/jo Great Circle by Maggie Shipstead (audiobook) Light Perpetual by Francis Spufford (audiobook) Golden Hill (audiobook) Klara and the Sun by Kazuo Ishiguro (audiobook) UNIQUE & COOL PHYSICAL BOOKS How to Be Both by Ali Smith Lincoln in the Bardo by George Saunders To Be or Not To Be by Ryan North Romeo and/or Juliet Plain Bad Heroines by Emily M Danforth Bubble by Jordan Morris, Sarah Morgan, Tony Cliff, Natalie Riess (Podcast) The Adventure Zone by The McElroys (Podcast) Station Eleven by Emily St John Mandel Maus by Art Spiegelman S. by JJ Abrams and Doug Dorst House of Leaves by Mark Z Danielewski Horrorstör by Grady Hendrix Hamilton: The Revolution by Jeremy McCarter What If? by Randall Munroe (XKCD) How to Invent Everything by Ryan North The Curious Reader by Mental Floss The Madman's Library by Edward Brooke-Hitching Norwegian Wood by Lars Mytting Buchanan-Smith's Axe Handbook by Peter Buchanan-Smith American Axe by Brett McCleod Woodland Craft by Ben Law The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up by Marie Kondo In the Mood for Colour by Hans Blomquist The Seed Garden: The Art and Practice of Seed Saving by Lee Buttala OTHER LINKS Shop The Laydown Gibson's Bookstore Website Purchase Gift Certificates!  Browse our Website by Category! Donate to the Bookstore! Check out our Events Calendar! Gibson's Instagram The Laydown Instagram Facebook Twitter TikTok Libro.fm (Our Audiobook Platform) Use the code LAYDOWN for 3 audiobooks for the price of 1!  Email us at thelaydownpodcast@gmail.com

Perry and David discuss recent award winners, the nominees for the Short Story category of this year's Hugos, and the books they've been reading. Letters of Comment (04:06) Awards (07:38) Ned Kelly Award winners (03:38) Davitt Awards (01:04) Children's Book Council of Australia Awards (02:55) Hugo Awards - Short Story Nominees (26:32) A Guide for Working Breeds by Vina Jie-Min Prasad (02:41) The Mermaid Astronaut by Yoon Ha Lee (03:09) Badass Moms of the Zombie Apocalypse by Rae Carson (02:31) Little Free Library by Naomi Kritzer (03:11) Metal Like Blood in the Dark by T. Kingfisher (04:47) Open House on Haunted Hill by John Wiswell (02:30) Our Rankings (05:56) What we've been reading (24:52) Light Perpetual by Francis Spufford (04:20) A Stairway to Paradise by Madeleine St. John (04:48) The End of the World is Bigger Than Love by Davina Bell (04:22) Say No to Death by Dymphna Cusack (11:15) New website (01:06) Windup (01:31) Illustration by Arthur Rackham, courtesy of Old Book Illustrations. Note: some links above are to Amazon.com. We receive a small affiliate commission for any purchases you make on Amazon via such links.

English writer Francis Spufford speaks to Kate Evans about his latest novel, Light Perpetual, and the books that shaped it and him

"I was wrestling with what certain states of being feel like as negatives." Novelist and publisher, Neil Griffiths, joined me to discuss his essay, 'Madness as Such', which is featured  in Trauma: Writing About Art and Mental Health (Dodo Ink). Neil talks candidly about his essay which reflects on his experiences of depression. Indeed, if you are affected by any  of the themes discussed in today's episode, I've reserved this episode's Rippling Points for a couple of links to charities. The Samaritans  Mind Reference Points: Books: Neil's Novels: As a God Might Be (Dodo Ink) Saving Caravaggio (Penguin) Betrayal in Naples (Penguin) Clair-Louise Bennett - Pond Charles Dickens - Bleak House Fyodor Doestoyevsky - Crime and Punishment Mathias Énard - Zone Eimear McBride - A Girl is a Half-Formed Thing Isobel Wohl - Cold New Climate - the inaugural novel of Neil's publishing company, Weatherglass Books Writers: Francis Spufford Essays: Neil's Review of Francis Spufford's True Stories and Other Essays on Review 31 BUY TRAUMA: WRITING ABOUT ART AND MENTAL HEALTH HERE Follow Liam on Twitter - @liamhbishop Follow the Rippling Pages on Instagram - @rippling_pages Enjoyed this episode - why not send a small donation to support with the running costs! Thank you! - https://ko-fi.com/liambishop

Novelist Susan Johnson and journalist Avani Dias join Cassie and Kate as they read Ella Baxter's New Animal and Francis Spufford's Light Perpetual; and Artistic Director of the Sydney Writers' Festival, Michael Williams, explains Debutante Balls and the program of the (forthcoming) Sydney Writers' Festival

Bill and Joel talk about a bunch of the books they read this year -- stay for some wide-ranging conversations about specific books and about literature as a medium! In no particular order: Francis Spufford! Jeff VanderMeer! Annie Dillard! Muriel Spark! John le Carre! Ted Chiang! PG Wodehouse! Fritz Leiber! Michael Moorcock! Ron Chernow! Douglas Adams! Denis Johnson! Adam Hochschild! Philip Roth! Shirley Jackson! Mr. Rogers! And, of course, more Rebecca West, because Black Lamb and Grey Falcon has taken over our lives!

Nicholas Hytner, who used to run the National Theatre, has a new project - The Bridge Theatre. Richard Bean (who wrote One Man Two Guvnors) and Clive Coleman discuss their play Young Marx, the theatre's opening production, which reveals how the man who brilliantly analysed the workings of the capitalist economy was hopeless with money. Stranger Things, the retro Netflix teen sci-fi series, was a surprise breakout TV hit last year. Can its sequel, Stranger Things 2, live up to the expectation? Boyd Hilton gives his verdict. Rosalind Porter, Deputy Editor of Granta, and essayist Francis Spufford discuss the revival of the essay - a literary form which last enjoyed a golden age in the 18th century and is finding new fans in the 21st century.And music from the Danish group Between Music, who perform their new concert AquaSonic underwater.Presenter Samira Ahmed Producer Jerome Weatherald.