Podcast appearances and mentions of Mick Herron

Skip the Queue is brought to you by Rubber Cheese, a digital agency that builds remarkable systems and websites for attractions that helps them increase their visitor numbers. Your host is Paul Marden.If you like what you hear, you can subscribe on iTunes, Spotify, and all the usual channels by searching Skip the Queue or visit our website SkiptheQueue.fm.If you've enjoyed this podcast, please leave us a five star review, it really helps others find us. And remember to follow us on Twitter  or Bluesky for your chance to win the books that have been mentioned in this podcast.Competition ends on 23rd July 2025. The winner will be contacted via Bluesky. Show references:  Sam Mullins, Trustee at SS Great Britainhttps://www.linkedin.com/in/sammullins/https://www.ssgreatbritain.org/ Transcriptions:  Paul Marden: What an amazing day out here. Welcome to Skip the Queue. The podcast for people working in and working with visitor attractions, I'm your host, Paul Marden, and today you join me for the last episode of the season here in a very sunny and very pleasant Bristol Dockyard. I'm here to visit the SS Great Britain and one of their trustees, Sam Mullins, who until recently, was the CEO of London Transport Museum. And I'm going to be talking to Sam about life after running a big, family friendly Museum in the centre of London, and what comes next, and I'm promising you it's not pipes and the slippers for Sam, he's been very busy with the SSGreat Britain and with other projects that we'll talk a little more about. But for now, I'm going to enjoy poodling across the harbour on boat number five awaiting arrival over at the SS Great Britain. Paul Marden: Is there much to catch in the water here?Sam Mullins: According to some research, there's about 36 different species of fish. They catch a lot of cream. They catch Roach, bullet, bass car. Big carpet there, maybe, yeah, huge carpet there. And then your European great eel is here as well, right? Yeah, massive things by the size of your leg, big heads. It's amazing. It goes to show how receipt your life is. The quality of the water is a lot better now. Paul Marden: Oh yeah, yeah, it's better than it used to be years ago. Thank you very much. All right. Cheers. Have a good day. See you later on. So without further ado, let's head inside. So where should we head? Too fast. Sam Mullins: So we start with the stern of the ship, which is the kind of classic entrance view, you know. Yeah, coming up, I do. I love the shape of this ship as you as you'll see.Paul Marden: So lovely being able to come across the water on the boat and then have this as you're welcome. It's quite a.Sam Mullins: It's a great spot. Isn't it?Paul Marden: Really impactful, isn't it? Sam Mullins:  Because the amazing thing is that it's going this way, is actually in the dry dock, which was built to build it. Paul Marden: That's amazing. Sam Mullins: So it came home. It was clearly meant to be, you know,Paul Marden:  Quite the circular story.Sam Mullins:  Yeah, yeah. Thank you. Paul Marden:  Thank you. Wow. Look at that view.Sam Mullins: So that's your classic view.Paul Marden:  So she's in a dry dock, but there's a little bit of water in there, just to give us an idea of what's going on. Sam Mullins: Well, what's actually going on in here is, preserving the world's first iron ship. So it became clear, after he'd come back from the Falklands, 1970 came back to Bristol, it became clear that the material of the ship was rusting away. And if something wasn't done, there'd be nothing left, nothing left to show. So the innovative solution is based on a little bit of science if you can reduce the relative humidity of the air around the cast iron hull of the ship to around about 20% relative humidity, corrosion stops. Rusting stops. It's in a dry dock. You glaze over the dock at kind of water line, which, as you just noticed, it gives it a really nice setting. It looks like it's floating, yeah, it also it means that you can then control the air underneath. You dry it out, you dehumidify it. Big plant that dries out the air. You keep it at 20% and you keep the ship intact. Paul Marden: It's interesting, isn't it, because you go to Mary Rose, and you go into the ship Hall, and you've got this hermetically sealed environment that you can maintain all of these beautiful Tudor wooden pieces we're outside on a baking hot day. You don't have the benefit of a hermetically sealed building, do you to keep this? Sam Mullins: I guess the outside of the ship is kind of sealed by the paint. That stops the air getting to the bit to the bare metal. We can go down into the trigger, down whilst rise up.Paul Marden:  We're wondering. Sam, yeah, why don't you introduce yourself, tell listeners a little bit about your background. How have we ended up having this conversation today.Sam Mullins: I'm Sam Mullins. I'm a historian. I decided early on that I wanted to be a historian that worked in museums and had an opportunity to kind of share my fascination with the past with museum visitors. So I worked in much Wenlock in Shropshire. I worked created a new museum in market Harbour, a community museum in Leicestershire. I was director of museums in St Albans, based on, you know, great Roman Museum at Verulamium, okay. And ended up at London Transport Museum in the 90s, and was directed there for a long time.Paul Marden: Indeed, indeed. Oh, we are inside now and heading underground.Sam Mullins: And you can hear the thrumming in the background. Is the dehumidification going on. Wow. So we're descending into thevery dry dock.Paul Marden: So we're now under water level. Yes, and the view of the ceiling with the glass roof, which above looked like a lovely little pond, it's just beautiful, isn't it?Sam Mullins: Yes, good. It sets it off both in both directions, really nicely.Paul Marden: So you've transitioned now, you've moved on from the Transport Museum. And I thought that today's episode, we could focus a little bit on what is, what's life like when you've moved on from being the director of a big, famous, influential, family friendly Museum. What comes next? Is it pipe and slippers, or are there lots of things to do? And I think it's the latter, isn't it? Sam Mullins: Yes. Well, you know, I think people retire either, you know, do nothing and play golf, or they build, you know, an interesting portfolio. I wanted to build, you know, something a bit more interesting. And, you know, Paul, there's that kind of strange feeling when you get to retire. And I was retiring from full time executive work, you kind of feel at that point that you've just cracked the job. And at that point, you know, someone gives you, you know, gives you a card and says, "Thank you very much, you've done a lovely job." Kind of, "Off you go." So having the opportunity to deploy some of that long term experience of running a successful Museum in Covent Garden for other organisations was part of that process of transition. I've been writing a book about which I'm sure we'll talk as well that's been kind of full on this year, but I was a trustee here for a number of years before I retired. I think it's really good career development for people to serve on a board to see what it's like, you know, the other side of the board. Paul Marden: I think we'll come back to that in a minute and talk a little bit about how the sausage is made. Yeah, we have to do some icebreaker questions, because I probably get you already. You're ready to start talking, but I'm gonna, I'm just gonna loosen you up a little bit, a couple of easy ones. You're sat in front of the telly, comedy or drama?Sam Mullins: It depends. Probably.Paul Marden: It's not a valid answer. Sam Mullins: Probably, probably drama.Paul Marden: Okay, if you need to talk to somebody, is it a phone call or is it a text message that you'll send?Sam Mullins:  Face to face? Okay, much better. Okay, always better. Paul Marden: Well done. You didn't accept the premise of the question there, did you? Lastly, if you're going to enter a room, would you prefer to have a personal theme tune played every time you enter the room. Or would you like a personal mascot to arrive fully suited behind you in every location you go to?Sam Mullins: I don't know what the second one means, so I go for the first one.Paul Marden: You've not seen a football mascot on watching American football or baseball?Sam Mullins: No, I try and avoid that. I like real sport. I like watching cricket. Paul Marden: They don't do that in cricket. So we are at the business end of the hull of the ship, aren't we? We're next to the propeller. Sam Mullins: We're sitting under the stern. We can still see that lovely, gilded Stern, saying, Great Britain, Bristol, and the windows and the coat of arms across the stern of the ship. Now this, of course, was the biggest ship in the world when built. So not only was it the first, first iron ship of any scale, but it was also third bigger than anything in the Royal Navy at the time. Paul Marden: They talked about that, when we were on the warrior aim the other day, that it was Brunel that was leading the way on what the pinnacle of engineering was like. It was not the Royal Navy who was convinced that it was sail that needed to lead. Sam Mullins: Yeah, Brunel had seen a much smaller, propeller driven vessel tried out, which was being toured around the country. And so they were midway through kind of design of this, when they decided it wasn't going to be a paddle steamer, which its predecessor, the world's first ocean liner, the Great Western. A was a paddle steamer that took you to New York. He decided that, and he announced to the board that he was going to make a ship that was driven by a propeller, which was the first, and this is, this is actually a replica of his patent propeller design. Paul Marden: So, this propeller was, is not the original to the show, okay?Sam Mullins: Later in its career, it had the engines taken out, and it was just a sailing ship. It had a long and interesting career. And for the time it was going to New York and back, and the time it was going to Australia and back, carrying migrants. It was a hybrid, usually. So you use the sails when it was favourable when it wasn't much wind or the wind was against. You use the use the engines. Use the steam engine.Paul Marden: Coming back into fashion again now, isn't it? Sam Mullins: Yeah, hybrid, yeah.Paul Marden: I can see holes in the hull. Was this evident when it was still in the Falklands?Sam Mullins: Yeah, it came to notice in the 60s that, you know, this world's first it was beached at Sparrow Cove in the Falkland Islands. It had lost its use as a wool warehouse, which is which it had been for 30 or 40 years. And a number of maritime historians, you and call it. It was the kind of key one realised that this, you know, extraordinary, important piece of maritime heritage would maybe not last too many war winters at Sparrow cope had a big crack down one side of the hull. It would have probably broken in half, and that would have made any kind of conservation restoration pretty well impossible as it was. It was a pretty amazing trick to put it onto a to put a barge underneath, to raise it up out of the water, and to tow it into Montevideo and then across the Atlantic, you know, 7000 miles, or whatever it is, to Avon mouth. So it's a kind of heroic story from the kind of heroic age of industrial and maritime heritage, actually.Paul Marden: It resonates for me in terms of the Mary Rose in that you've got a small group of very committed people that are looking to rescue this really valuable asset. And they find it and, you know, catch it just in time. Sam Mullins: Absolutely. That was one of the kind of eye openers for me at Mary rose last week, was just to look at the kind of sheer difficulty of doing conventional archaeology underwater for years and years. You know, is it 50,000 dives were made? Some immense number. And similarly, here, you know, lots of people kind of simply forget it, you know, it's never gonna, but a few, stuck to it, you know, formed a group, fund, raised. This is an era, of course, you know, before lottery and all that jazz. When you had to, you had to fundraise from the public to do this, and they managed to raise the money to bring it home, which, of course, is only step one. You then got to conserve this enormous lump of metal so it comes home to the dry dock in which it had been built, and that has a sort of fantastic symmetry, you know about it, which I just love. You know, the dock happened to be vacant, you know, in 1970 when the ship was taken off the pontoon at Avon mouth, just down the river and was towed up the curving Avon river to this dock. It came beneath the Clifton Suspension Bridge, which, of course, was Brunel design, but it was never built in his time. So these amazing pictures of this Hulk, in effect,  coming up the river, towed by tugs and brought into the dock here with 1000s of people you know, surrounding cheering on the sidelines, and a bit like Mary Rose in a big coverage on the BBC.Paul Marden: This is the thing. So I have a very vivid memory of the Mary Rose being lifted, and that yellow of the scaffolding is just permanently etched in my brain about sitting on the carpet in primary school when the TV was rolled out, and it was the only TV in the whole of school that, to me is it's modern history happening. I'm a Somerset boy. I've been coming to Bristol all my life. I wasn't alive when Great Britain came back here. So to me, this feels like ancient history. It's always been in Bristol, because I have no memory of it returning home. It was always just a fixture. So when we were talking the other day and you mentioned it was brought back in the 70s, didn't realise that. Didn't realise that at all. Should we move on? Because I am listening. Gently in the warmth.Sam Mullins: Let's move around this side of the as you can see, the dry dock is not entirely dry, no, but nearly.Paul Marden: So, you're trustee here at SS Great Britain. What does that mean? What do you do?Sam Mullins: Well, the board, Board of Trustees is responsible for the governance of the charity. We employ the executives, the paid team here. We work with them to develop the kind of strategy, financial plan, to deliver that strategy, and we kind of hold them as executives to account, to deliver on that.Paul Marden: It's been a period of change for you, hasn't it? Just recently, you've got a new CEO coming to the first anniversary, or just past his first anniversary. It's been in place a little while.Sam Mullins: So in the last two years, we've had a, we've recruited a new chairman, new chief executive, pretty much a whole new leadership team.One more starting next month, right? Actually, we're in July this month, so, yeah, it's been, you know, organisations are like that. They can be very, you know, static for some time, and then suddenly a kind of big turnover. And people, you know, people move.Paul Marden: So we're walking through what is a curved part of the dry dock now. So this is becoming interesting underfoot, isn't it?Sam Mullins: This is built in 1839 by the Great Western Steamship Company to build a sister ship to the Great Western which was their first vessel built for the Atlantic run to New York. As it happens, they were going to build a similar size vessel, but Brunel had other ideas, always pushing the edges one way or another as an engineer.Paul Marden: The keel is wood. Is it all wood? Or is this some sort of?Sam Mullins: No, this is just like, it's sort of sacrificial.So that you know when, if it does run up against ground or whatever, you don't actually damage the iron keel.Paul Marden: Right. Okay, so there's lots happening for the museum and the trust. You've just had a big injection of cash, haven't you, to do some interesting things. So there was a press release a couple of weeks ago, about a million pound of investment. Did you go and find that down the back of the sofa? How do you generate that kind of investment in the charity?Sam Mullins: Unusually, I think that trust that's put the bulk of that money and came came to us. I think they were looking to do something to mark their kind of, I think to mark their wind up. And so that was quite fortuitous, because, as you know at the moment, you know, fundraising is is difficult. It's tough. Paul Marden: That's the understatement of the year, isn't it?Sam Mullins: And with a new team here and the New World post COVID, less, less visitors, income harder to gain from. Pretty well, you know, all sources, it's important to keep the site kind of fresh and interesting. You know, the ship has been here since 1970 it's become, it's part of Bristol. Wherever you go in Bristol, Brunel is, you know, kind of the brand, and yet many Bristolians think they've seen all this, and don't need, you know, don't need to come back again. So keeping the site fresh, keeping the ideas moving on, are really important. So we've got the dockyard museum just on the top there, and that's the object for fundraising at the moment, and that will open in July next year as an account of the building of the ship and its importance. Paul Marden: Indeed, that's interesting. Related to that, we know that trusts, trusts and grants income really tough to get. Everybody's fighting for a diminishing pot income from Ace or from government sources is also tough to find. At the moment, we're living off of budgets that haven't changed for 10 years, if we're lucky. Yeah, for many people, finding a commercial route is the answer for their museum. And that was something that you did quite successfully, wasn't it, at the Transport Museum was to bring commercial ideas without sacrificing the integrity of the museum. Yeah. How do you do that?Sam Mullins: Well, the business of being an independent Museum, I mean, LTM is a to all sets of purposes, an independent Museum. Yes, 81% of its funding itself is self generated. Paul Marden: Is it really? Yeah, yeah. I know. I would have thought the grant that you would get from London Transport might have been bigger than that.  Sam Mullins: The grant used to be much bigger proportion, but it's got smaller and smaller. That's quite deliberate. Are, you know, the more you can stand on your own two feet, the more you can actually decide which direction you're going to take those feet in. Yeah. So there's this whole raft of museums, which, you know, across the UK, which are independently governed, who get all but nothing from central government. They might do a lottery grant. Yes, once in a while, they might get some NPO funding from Ace, but it's a tiny part, you know, of the whole. And this ship, SS Great Britain is a classic, you know, example of that. So what do you do in those circumstances? You look at your assets and you you try and monetise them. That's what we did at London Transport Museum. So the museum moved to Covent Garden in 1980 because it was a far sighted move. Michael Robbins, who was on the board at the time, recognised that they should take the museum from Scion Park, which is right on the west edge, into town where people were going to be, rather than trying to drag people out to the edge of London. So we've got that fantastic location, in effect, a high street shop. So retail works really well, you know, at Covent Garden.Paul Marden: Yeah, I know. I'm a sucker for a bit of moquette design.Sam Mullins: We all love it, which is just great. So the museum developed, you know, a lot of expertise in creating products and merchandising it. We've looked at the relationship with Transport for London, and we monetised that by looking at TFL supply chain and encouraging that supply chain to support the museum. So it is possible to get the TFL commissioner to stand up at a corporate members evening and say, you know, you all do terribly well out of our contract, we'd like you to support the museum as well, please. So the corporate membership scheme at Transport Museum is bigger than any other UK museum by value, really, 60, 65 members,. So that was, you know, that that was important, another way of looking at your assets, you know, what you've got. Sometimes you're talking about monetising relationships. Sometimes it's about, you know, stuff, assets, yeah. And then in we began to run a bit short of money in the kind of middle of the teens, and we did an experimental opening of the Aldwych disused tube station on the strand, and we're amazed at the demand for tickets.Paul Marden: Really, it was that much of a surprise for you. And we all can talk. Sam Mullins: We had been doing, we've been doing some guided tours there in a sort of, slightly in a one off kind of way, for some time. And we started to kind of think, well, look, maybe should we carry on it? Paul Marden: You've got the audience that's interested.Sam Mullins: And we've got the access through TFL which, you know, took a lot of work to to convince them we weren't going to, you know, take loads of people underground and lose them or that they jump out, you know, on the Piccadilly line in the middle of the service, or something. So hidden London is the kind of another really nice way where the museum's looked at its kind of assets and it's monetised. And I don't know what this I don't know what this year is, but I think there are now tours run at 10 different sites at different times. It's worth about half a million clear to them to the museum.Paul Marden: It's amazing, and they're such brilliant events. So they've now opened up for younger kids to go. So I took my daughter and one of her friends, and they were a little bit scared when the lights got turned off at one point, but we had a whale of a time going and learning about the history of the tube, the history of the tube during the war. It was such an interesting, accessible way to get to get them interested in stuff. It was brilliant.Sam Mullins: No, it's a great programme, and it was doing well before COVID, we went into lockdown, and within three weeks, Chris Nix and the team had started to do kind of zoom virtual tours. We all are stuck at home looking at our screens and those hidden London hangouts the audience kind of gradually built yesterday TV followed with secrets of London Underground, which did four series of. Hidden London book has sold 25,000 copies in hardback, another one to come out next year, maybe.Paul Marden: And all of this is in service of the museum. So it's almost as if you're opening the museum up to the whole of London, aren't you, and making all of that space you're you. Museum where you can do things.Sam Mullins: Yeah. And, of course, the great thing about hidden London programme is it's a bit like a theatre production. We would get access to a particular site for a month or six weeks. You'd sell the tickets, you know, like mad for that venue. And then the run came to an end, and you have to, you know, the caravan moves on, and we go to, you know, go to go to a different stations. So in a sense, often it's quite hard to get people to go to an attraction unless they've got visitors staying or whatever. But actually, if there's a time limit, you just kind of have to do it, you know.Paul Marden: Yeah, absolutely. Everybody loves a little bit of scarcity, don't they? Sam Mullins: Should we go up on the deck? Paul Marden: That sounds like fun to me.Sam Mullins: Work our way through.Paul Marden: So Hidden London was one of the angles in order to make the museum more commercially sound. What are you taking from your time at LTM and bringing to the party here at the SS Great Britain?Sam Mullins: Well, asking similar, you know, range of questions really, about what assets do we have? Which of those are, can be, can be monetised in support of the charity? Got here, Paul, so we're, we've got the same mix as lots of middle sized museums here. There's a it's a shop, paid admission, hospitality events in the evening, cafe. You know that mix, what museums then need to do is kind of go, you know, go beyond that, really, and look at their estate or their intellectual property, or the kind of experiences they can offer, and work out whether some of that is monetisable.Paul Marden: Right? And you mentioned before that Brunel is kind of, he's the mascot of Bristol. Almost, everything in Bristol focuses on Brunel. Is there an opportunity for you to collaborate with other Brunel themed sites, the bridge or?Sam Mullins: Yeah. Well, I think probably the opportunity is to collaborate with other Bristol attractions. Because Bristol needs to. Bristol's having a hard time since COVID numbers here are nowhere near what they were pre COVID So, and I think it's the same in the city, across the city. So Andrew chief executive, is talking to other people in the city about how we can share programs, share marketing, that kind of approach.Paul Marden: Making the docks a destination, you know, you've got We the Curious. Where I was this morning, having coffee with a friend and having a mooch around. Yeah, talking about science and technology, there must be things that you can cross over. This was this war. This feels like history, but it wasn't when it was built, was it? It was absolutely the cutting edge of science and technology.Sam Mullins: Absolutely, and well, almost beyond, you know, he was Brunel was pushing, pushing what could be done. It is the biggest ship. And it's hard to think of it now, because, you know, you and I can walk from one end to the other in no time. But it was the biggest ship in the world by, you know, some way, when it was launched in 1845 so this was a bit like the Great Western Railway. It was cutting edge, cutting edge at the time, as we were talking about below. It had a propeller, radical stuff. It's got the bell, too,Paul Marden: When we were on, was it Warrior that we were on last week at the AIM conference for the first. And warrior had a propeller, but it was capable of being lifted, because the Admiralty wasn't convinced that this new fangled propeller nonsense, and they thought sail was going to lead. Sam Mullins: Yeah. Well, this ship had, you could lift a you could lift a propeller, because otherwise the propeller is a drag in the water if it's not turning over. So in its earlier configurations, it was a, it was that sort of a hybrid, where you could lift the propeller out the way, right, set full sail.Paul Marden:  Right, and, yeah, it's just, it's very pleasant out here today, isn't it? Lovely breeze compared to what it's been like the last few days. Sam Mullins: Deck has just been replaced over the winter. Paul Marden:  Oh, has it really. So say, have you got the original underneathSam Mullins: The original was little long, long gone. So what we have replaced was the deck that was put on in the in the 70s when the ship came back.Paul Marden: Right? You were talking earlier on about the cafe being one of the assets. You've done quite a lot of work recently, haven't you with the team at Elior to refurbish the cafe? What's the plan around that?Sam Mullins: Yeah, we're doing a big reinvestment. You always need to keep the offer fresh anyway, but it was time to reinvest. So the idea is to use that fantastic space on the edge of the dock. It's not very far down to where the floating harbour is really well populated with kind of restaurants and bars and an offer, we're just that 200 meters further along the dock. So perhaps to create an offer here that draws people up here, whether they visit the ship, you know, or not. So it's money, it's monetising your assets. So one of the great assets is this fabulous location on the on the dockside. So with early or we're reinvesting in the restaurant, it's going to go in the auto into after some trial openings and things, Paul, you know, it's going to have an evening offer as well as a daytime offer. And then it's been designed so the lights can go down in the evening. It becomes, you know, an evening place, rather than the museum's all day cafe, yes, and the offer, and obviously in the evenings would similarly change. And I think our ambition is that you should, you should choose this as the place to go out in the evening. Really, it's a great spot. It's a lovely, warm evening. We're going to walk along the dockside. I've booked a table and in the boardwalk, which is what we're calling it. And as you pay the bill, you notice that actually, this is associated with Asus, Great Britain. So, you know, the profit from tonight goes to help the charity, rather than it's the museum cafe. So that's the,Paul Marden: That's the pitch.Sam Mullins: That's the pitch in which we're working with our catering partners, Eli, or to deliver.Paul Marden: Andrew, your CEO and Claire from Eli, or have both kindly said that I can come back in a couple of months time and have a conversation about the restaurant. And I think it would be rude to turn them down, wouldn't it?Sam Mullins: I think you should test the menu really fully.Paul Marden: I will do my best. It's a tough job that I have. Sam Mullins: Somebody has to do this work. Paul Marden: I know, talking of tough jobs, the other thing that I saw when I was looking at the website earlier on was a press release talking about six o'clock gin as being a a partnership that you're investigating, because every museum needs its own tipple, doesn't it?Sam Mullins: Absolutely And what, you know, I think it's, I think what people want when they go to an attraction is they, they also want something of the offer to be locally sourced, completely, six o'clock gym, you know, Bristol, Bristol beers. You can't always do it, but I think, I think it's where you've got the opportunity. And Bristol's a bit of a foodie centre. There's quite a lot going on here in that respect. So, yes, of course, the museum ought to be ought to be doing that too.Paul Marden: I was very kindly invited to Big Pit over in the Welsh Valleys about 8 or 12 weeks ago for the launch, relaunch of their gift shop offering. And absolutely, at the core of what they were trying to do was because it's run by Museums Wales, they found that all of their gift shops were just a bland average of what you could get at any of the museums. None of them spoke of the individual place. So if you went to big pit, the gift shop looked the same as if you were in the centre of Cardiff, whereas now when you go you see things that are naturally of Big Pit and the surrounding areas. And I think that's so important to create a gift shop which has things that is affordable to everybody, but at the same time authentic and genuinely interesting.Sam Mullins: Yeah, I'm sure that's right. And you know I'm saying for you is for me, when I when I go somewhere, you want to come away with something, don't you? Yes, you know, you're a National Trust member and you haven't had to pay anything to get in. But you think I should be supporting the cause, you know, I want to go into that shop and then I want to, I want to buy some of the plants for my garden I just seen, you know, on the estate outside. Or I want to come away with a six o'clock gin or, you know, whatever it might be, there's and I think, I think you're more likely to buy if it's something that you know has engaged you, it's part of that story that's engaged you, right, while you're here. That's why everyone buys a guidebook and reads it afterwards.Paul Marden: Yeah, it's a reminder, isn't it, the enjoyable time that you've had? Yeah, I'm enjoying myself up on the top deck. Sam Mullins:  But should we go downstairs? The bow is a great view. Oh, let's do that. I think we might. Let's just work our way down through.Paul Marden: Take a sniff. Could you travel with these smelly passengers? Oh, no, I don't think I want to smell what it's like to be a cow on board shit. Sam Mullins: Fresh milk. Just mind yourself on these companion, ways are very steep now. This is probably where I get completely lost.Paul Marden: You know what we need? We need a very good volunteer. Don't we tell a volunteer story? COVID in the kitchen. Wow. Sam Mullins: The Gabby.Paul Marden: Generous use of scent. Sam Mullins: Yeah, food laid out pretty much based on what we know was consumed on the ship. One of the great things about the ship is people kept diaries. A lot of people kept diaries, and many have survived, right? You know exactly what it was like to be in first class or in steerage down the back.Paul Marden: And so what was the ship used for? Sam Mullins: Well, it was used, it was going to be an ocean liner right from here to New York, and it was more like the Concord of its day. It was essentially first class and second class. And then it has a founders on a bay in Northern Ireland. It's rescued, fitted out again, and then the opportunity comes take people to Australia. The Gold Rush in the 1850s. Migration to Australia becomes the big kind of business opportunity for the ships. Ships new owners. So there's more people on board that used to it applies to and fro to Australia a number of times 30 odd, 40 times. And it takes, takes passengers. It takes goods. It does bring back, brings back gold from because people were there for the gold rush. They were bringing their earnings, you know, back with them. It also brings mail, and, you know, other. Kind of car goes wool was a big cargo from. Paul Marden: Say, people down and assets back up again.Sam Mullins: People both directions. Paul Marden: Okay, yeah. How long was it taking?Sam Mullins: Well, a good trip. I think it did it in 50 odd days. Bit slower was 60 odd. And the food was like this. So it was steerage. It was probably a bit more basic. Paul Marden: Yeah, yes, I can imagine. Sam Mullins: I think we might. Here's the engines. Let's do the engines well.Paul Marden: Yes. So now we're in the engine room and, oh, it's daylight lit, actually. So you're not down in the darkest of depths, but the propeller shaft and all of the mechanism is it runs full length, full height of the ship.Sam Mullins: Yeah, it runs off from here, back to the propeller that we're looking at. Okay, down there a guy's stoking the boilers, putting coal into into the boilers, 24 hour seven, when the engines are running. Paul Marden: Yes, that's going to be a tough job, isn't it? Yeah, coal is stored in particular locations. Because that was something I learned from warrior, was the importance of making sure that you had the coal taken in the correct places, so that you didn't unbalance the ship. I mean,Sam Mullins: You right. I mean loading the ship generally had to be done really carefully so, you know, sort of balanced out and so forth. Coal is tends to be pretty low down for yes, for obvious reasons.Paul Marden: So let's talk a little bit about being a trustee. We're both trustees of charities. I was talking to somebody last week who been in the sector for a number of years, mid career, interested in becoming a trustee as a career development opportunity. What's the point of being a trustee? What's the point of the trustees to the CEO, and what's the benefit to the trustees themselves? Sam Mullins: Well, let's do that in order for someone in the mid part of their career, presumably looking to assume some kind of leadership role. At some point they're going to be dealing with a board, aren't they? Yes, they might even be doing, you know, occasional reporting to a board at that at their current role, but they certainly will be if they want to be chief executive. So getting some experience on the other side of the table to feel what it's like to be a trustee dealing with chief executive. I think he's immensely useful. I always recommended it to to my gang at the Transport Museum, and they've all been on boards of one sort or another as part of their career development.Sam Mullins: For the chief executive. What's the benefit? Well, the board, I mean, very directly, hold the chief executive to account. Yes, are you doing what we asked you to do? But also the wise chief executive recruits a board that's going to be helpful in some way or another. It's not just there to catch them out. Yeah, it's it's there to bring their experience from business, from IT, from marketing, from other museums into the business of running the place. So here we've got a range of Trustees. We've been we've recruited five or six in the last couple of years qquite deliberately to we know that a diverse board is a good board, and that's diverse in the sense not just a background, but of education, retired, still, still at work, young, old, male, female, you know, you name in.Paul Marden: In all of the directionsSam Mullins:  Yeah. So a diverse board makes better decisions than one that just does group think all the time. It's, you know, it's a truism, isn't it? I think we all kind of, we all understand and understand that now and then, for the trustee, you know, for me, I particularly last couple of years, when the organization has been through huge changes, it's been really interesting to deploy my prior experience, particularly in governance, because governance is what it all comes down to in an organisation. You do learn over the course of your career to deploy that on behalf, you know, this is a great organisation, the story of Brunel and the ship and and, you know, his influence on the railways. And I travel down on the Great Western railways, yeah, the influence of Brunel is, you know, is enormous. It's a fantastic story. It's inspiring. So who wouldn't want to join? You know what in 2005 was the Museum of the year? Yes, I think we'll just go back there where we came. Otherwise, I never found my way.Paul Marden: Back through the kitchen. Sam Mullins: Back through the kitchen. It looks like stew is on the menu tonight. You've seen me at the mobile the rat.Paul Marden: And also the cat up on the shelf. He's not paying a lot of attention to the ratSam Mullins: Back on deck. Paul Marden: Wonderful. Yeah. So the other great endeavor that you've embarked on is writing, writing a book. Tell us a little bit about the book.Sam Mullins: Yeah, I've written a history of transport in London and its influence on London since 2000 since the mayoralty, elected mayoralty was, was started, you know, I was very lucky when I was running the museum where I had kind of one foot in TfL and one foot out. I knew lots of people. I was there for a long time, yes, so it was, it was easy to interview about 70 of them.Paul Marden: Right? I guess you've built trust levels, haven't you? Yeah, I don't mean that you don't look like a journalist walking in from the outside with an ax to grind. Sam Mullins: And I'm not going to kind of screw them to the Evening Standard, you know, tomorrow. So it's a book based on interviews, oral reminiscences. It's very much their story. So it's big chunks of their accounts of, you know, the big events in London. So what was it like to be in the network control room on the seventh of July, 2005 when the bombs went off? What was it like to be looking out for congestion charge the day it started? Yep. What was it like to kind of manage the Olympics?Paul Marden: You know? So you're mentioning these things. And so I was 10 years at British Airways. I was an IT project manager, but as well, I was a member of the emergency planning team. Yeah. So I got involved in the response to September the 11th. I got involved in some of the engagement around seven, seven, there's seminal moments, and I can, I can vividly remember myself being there at that time. But similarly, I can remember being there when we won the Olympics, and we were all sat in the staff canteen waiting to hear whether we'd won the Olympics, and the roar that erupted. There's so many of those things that have happened in the last 25 years where, you know, you've got, it's recent history, but it's real interesting events that have occurred that you can tell stories of.Sam Mullins: Yeah. So what I wanted to get in the book was a kind of sense of what it was like to be, really at the heart of those, those stories. And there are, you know, there are, there are people in TfL who made those big things happen? Yes, it's not a big, clumsy bureaucracy. It's a place where really innovative leadership was being exercised all the way through that 25 years. Yes, so it runs up to COVID, and what was it like when COVID struck? So the book's called Every Journey Matters, and it comes out in November.Paul Marden: Amazing, amazing. So we have, we've left the insides of the ship, and we are now under, what's this part of the ship? Sam Mullins: We're under the bow. There we go, and a bow spread that gets above our heads. So again, you've got this great, hulking, cast iron, black hull, beautifully shaped at the bow. Look the way it kind of tapers in and it tapers in and out.Paul Marden: It's a very three dimensional, isn't it? The curve is, is in every direction. Sam Mullins: Yeah,it's a great, great shape. So it's my sort of, I think it's my favourite spot. I like coming to look at this, because this is the kind of, this is the business, yeah, of the ship.Paul Marden: What have we got running along the front here? These these images in in gold.Sam Mullins: This is a figurehead with Victoria's Coat of Arms only sua Kim Ali points on top with it, with a lion and a unicorn.Paul Marden: It's a really, it's not a view that many people would have ever seen, but it is such an impressive view here looking up, yeah, very, very cool. And to stand here on the on the edge of the dry dock. Sam Mullins: Dry Docks in to our right, and the floating harbor is out to our left. Yeah.Paul Marden: And much going on on that it's busy today, isn't it? Sam Mullins: Yeah, it's good. Paul Marden: So we've done full loop, haven't we? I mean, it has been a whistle stop tour that you've taken me on, but I've loved every moment of this. We always ask our guests a difficult question. Well, for some it's a difficult question, a book recommendation, which, as we agreed over lunch, cannot be your own book. I don't think, I think it's a little unfair Sam Mullins: Or anything I've ever written before.Paul Marden: Yes, slightly self serving, but yeah.Sam Mullins: It would be, wouldn't it look the first thing that comes to mind is, I've actually been reading my way through Mick Herron's Slow Horses series, okay, which I'm a big fan of detective fiction. I love Ian Rankin's Rebus. Okay, I read through Rebus endlessly when I want something just to escape into the sloughhouse series Slow Horses is really good, and the books all have a sort of similar kind of momentum to them. Something weird happens in the first few chapters, which seems very inconsequential and. Suddenly it turns into this kind of roller coaster. Will they? Won't they? You know, ending, which is just great. So I recommend Mick Herron's series. That's that's been the best, not best, fiction I've read in a long time.Paul Marden: You know, I think there's something, there's something nice, something comforting, about reading a series of books where the way the book is structured is very similar. You can, you can sit down and you know what's going to happen, but, but there's something interesting, and it's, it's easy. Sam Mullins: It's like putting on a pair of old slippers. Oh, I'm comfortable with this. Just lead me along. You know, that's what, that's what I want. I enjoy that immensely.Paul Marden: And should we be? Should we be inviting our listeners to the first book in the series, or do they need to start once, once he's got his, got his, found his way? Sam Mullins: Well, some people would have seen the television adaptation already. Well, that will have spoilt the book for them. Gary Oldman is Jackson lamb, who's the lead character, okay, but if you haven't, or you just like a damn good read, then you start with the first one, which I think is called Sloughhouse. They're all self contained, but you can work your way through them. Paul Marden: Well, that sounds very good. So listeners, if you'd like a copy of Sam's book, not Sam's book, Sam's book recommendation, then head over to Bluesky and repost the show notice and say, I want a copy of Sam's book, and the first one of you lovely listeners that does that will get a copy sent to you by Wenalyn. Sam This has been delightful. I hope listeners have enjoyed this as much as I have. This is our first time having a @skipthequeue in real life, where we wandered around the attraction itself and hopefully narrated our way bringing this amazing attraction to life. I've really enjoyed it. I can now say that as a West Country lad, I have actually been to the SS Great Britain. Last thing to say for visitor, for listeners, we are currently midway through the Rubber Cheese Annual Survey of visitor attraction websites. Paul Marden: If you look after an attraction website and you'd like to share some information about what you do, we are gathering all of that data together to produce a report that helps people to understand what good looks like for an attraction website. This is our fourth year. Listeners that are interested, head over to RubberCheese.com/survey, and you can find out a little bit more about the survey and some of the some of the findings from the past and what we're looking for for this year. Sam, thank you so very much.Sam Mullins: Enjoyed it too. It's always good to rabbit on about what you do every day of the week, and being here and part of this really great organisation is huge privilege.Paul Marden: Thanks for listening to Skip the Queue. If you've enjoyed this podcast, please leave us a five star review. It really helps others to find us. Skip The Queue is brought to you by Rubber Cheese, a digital agency that builds remarkable systems and websites for attractions that helps them to increase their visitor numbers. You can find show notes and transcripts from this episode and more over on our website, skipthequeue fm. The 2025 Visitor Attraction Website Survey is now LIVE! Dive into groundbreaking benchmarks for the industryGain a better understanding of how to achieve the highest conversion ratesExplore the "why" behind visitor attraction site performanceLearn the impact of website optimisation and visitor engagement on conversion ratesUncover key steps to enhance user experience for greater conversionsTake the Rubber Cheese Visitor Attraction Website Survey Report

In the second episode of our special, in-person London series, we took a quick break for a drink at the Dirty Dicks - yes, that really is it's name, and it's great! In this episode we do Two Truths and a Lie, discuss Cold vs Hot openings in escape rooms, and give our recommendations for this month. This month's recommendations are: Jamie - The Code Book by Simon Lehna Singh Jon - Notes From an Execution by Danya Kukafka Mairi - The Electrifying Incident (2025) by Draknek & Friends Mike - Slow Horses by Mick Herron, and Prey (2017) by Arkane Note: There'll not be an unedited version of this recording, as there wasn't a lot we cut out! All links to our social media profiles and our Patreon programme over at https://linktr.ee/theinfiniteescaperoom

[…] Galvanisée par l’élection de son ami Bruno, la Salle 101 déporte à tout-va en chroniquant de petites choses sympathiques, de nature à érotiser le fascisme ambiant : Slow Horses & Dead Lions, roman – et série – de Mick Herron. La lance de Peretur, roman de Nicola Griffith. Re : Start, étrange chose de […]

Head Cases is the new book from acclaimed author John McMahon. Fans of Karen Slaughter's Will Trent, Criminal Minds, and Mick Herron's Slow Horses will devour this new series featuring an analytically brilliant FBI Agent, Gardner Camden, who has a blindness when it comes to interpersonal relationships. Couple that with a team of unusual agents assigned to a Patterns and Recognition Unit makes Head Cases a truly unique and fast paced read. McMahon's characters are richly drawn as they dive into a case where a presumed dead serial killer resurfaces. Strap in for a twsty ride. You'll want to grab this one before the sequel and the HBO series hits the air.

Head Cases is the new book from acclaimed author John McMahon. Fans of Karen Slaughter's Will Trent, Criminal Minds, and Mick Herron's Slow Horses will devour this new series featuring an analytically brilliant FBI Agent, Gardner Camden, who has a blindness when it comes to interpersonal relationships. Couple that with a team of unusual agents assigned to a Patterns and Recognition Unit makes Head Cases a truly unique and fast paced read. McMahon's characters are richly drawn as they dive into a case where a presumed dead serial killer resurfaces. Strap in for a twsty ride. You'll want to grab this one before the sequel and the HBO series hits the air.

Tenemos que hablar de “Adolescencia”, serie de Netflix que es el acontecimiento audiovisual del momento como un pertinente, acertado y desolador retrato de nuestro tiempo y de los elementos que forjan la personalidad de las nuevas generaciones. En La Música Clásica De Nuestro Tiempo con Iker González Urresti escuchamos la banda sonora de Jung Jae-il para “Mickey 17”, quizá lo mejor de la película de Bong Joon-ho, y en Leer cine, la biblioteca sonora de Carlos López-Tapia, “En el país de los espías” de Mick Herron. Y como siempre las recomendaciones de Colgados de la plataforma con Mary Carmen Rodríguez (también editora del podcast) y la crítica de las favoritas “Por todo lo alto”, “Ghostlight”, “Misericordia”, “Secretos de un crimen”, “Morlaix” y “¡Lumière! La aventura continua”. ¡Muchas gracias por escucharnos!

Episode 160 March 13, 2025   Themed merchandise is the way to my heart Full Circle On the Needles 2:36 ALL KNITTING LINKS GO TO RAVELRY UNLESS OTHERWISE NOTED.  Please visit our Instagram page @craftcookreadrepeat for non-Rav photos and info     Bay Area Yarn Crawl (not Rav link) Sock Madness season  Mystery gnome (not Rav link) Would you rather kal (not Rav link)   Succulents 2025 Blanket CAL by Mallory Krall, Hue Loco DK in Terrarium– DONE!!   Llama llama duck by Adrienne Fong, C W D: Handcrafted Products for the Mind, Body & Soul BFL Alpaca Nylon Sock in Sutro Baths   Metropolitan Pullover by Tori Yu, Three Irish Girls Adorn Sock in Rosemary, Shibui Knits Silk Cloud in Ink On the Easel 10:08 Cortney tours the Smithsonian Museums! National Gallery of Art, Natural History Museum, Sackler Gallery, Freer Gallery, Hirshhorn, National Portrait Gallery, National Museum of American Art, and back to the National Gallery of Art + East wing.   Wedding bouquet gift for Ellen. Upcoming: Daffodil Week! On the Table 19:31 Crispy Potato Tacos Recipe   Yuzu Miso Soba Noodle Soup   Flour + Water (San Francisco) pasta tasting menu   Sushi Taro (Dupont Circle. Washington D.C.) tasting menu   Preserve (Annapolis)    Zesty Artichoke Sauce from Everyday Vegetarian On the Nightstand 30:47 We are now a Bookshop.org affiliate!  You can visit our shop to find books we've talked about or  click on the links below.  The books are supplied by local independent bookstores and a percentage goes to us at no cost to you!   The Art of Gathering by Priya Parker Tartufo by Kira Jane Buxton Battle Royal and Codename Charming by Lucy Parker The Emperor and the Endless Palace by Justinian Huang (audio) Nobody Walks by Mick Herron (audio)  Leave the Grave Green by Deborah Crombie (audio) The Collaborators by Michael Idov  Martyr! By Kaveh Akbar  The River has Roots by Amal El-Mohtar   The Story of the Forest by Linda Grant   Eco-Lit, selections from National Museum of Natural History plus a few of my own! This list will likely grow…

Episode 159 February 27, 2025 On the Needles 1:27 ALL KNITTING LINKS GO TO RAVELRY UNLESS OTHERWISE NOTED.  Please visit our Instagram page @craftcookreadrepeat for non-Rav photos and info     Baby hat, doodle knit directory by Jamie Lomax, Lemonade Shop simple sock in Dunks– DONE!!   Bankhead hat by Susie Gorlay, Blue Sky Fibers Woolstok in Midnight Sea–DONE!!   Succulents 2025 Blanket CAL by Mallory Krall, Hue Loco DK in Terrarium   Llama llama duck by Adrienne Fong, C W D: Handcrafted Products for the Mind, Body & Soul BFL Alpaca Nylon Sock in Sutro Baths   Filoli Cowl by Ksenia Naidyon, AVFKW Floating in Current and Marine Layer (70% Alpaca, 20% Silk, 10% Cashmere goat), AVFKW Wild Bloom in Quartz and Rain Cloud (41% Alpaca, 35% Silk, 13% Merino, 10% Yak)-- DONE!!     On the Easel 10:15 Half-way of the Secret 100-Day!    Klaus Mäkelä & Yuja Wang | Ravel Piano Concerto for the Left Hand in D major   On the Table 18:28   Julia Turshen signing with Nina LaCour   Mustard ponzu chicken and broccoli from Ali Slagle substack   Boyfriend salmon from Justine Cooks   Smitten Kitchen Marsala Meatballs    A diy potato & leek crostada with hasty pie crust   On the Nightstand 29:15 We are now a Bookshop.org affiliate!  You can visit our shop to find books we've talked about or click on the links below.  The books are supplied by local independent bookstores and a percentage goes to us at no cost to you!   The Secret Hours by Mick Herron (audio) Everyone on This Train is a Suspect by Benjamin Stevenson (audio) All Fours by Miranda July The Blue Hour by Paula Hawkins   The Blue Hour by Paula Hawkins All the Beauty in the World by Patrick Bringley Life Cycle of the Common Octopus by Emma Knight

Described by Mick Herron as ‘seductive, entrancing, and quite off the wall', Rachel Kushner's fourth novel Creation Lake (Cape) reaffirms her position as one of America's most exciting and accomplished writers of fiction. In a reimagining of the spy novel for an age of ecological crisis, Kushner leads us to a remote Neanderthal cave in rural France where the enigmatic Bruno Lacombe leads his followers in a radical project to reject and undermine the modern world. ‘I've never read anything like it', writes Brett Easton Ellis. Rachel Kushner was joined in conversation by the novelist and critic Adam Thirlwell.Find more events at the Bookshop: https://lrb.me/eventspodGet Creation Lake: https://lrb.me/creationlakepod Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Find all previous and future episodes listed here or in your podcast app under “Barbican Station”. In this episode we discuss Mick Herron's second novel in the Oxford series, The Last Voice You Hear, with prolific author, Antony Johnston. We start with some spoiler free discussion of the book before getting into the novel's take … Continue reading Barbican Station – The Last Voice You Hear by Mick Herron – Explored

Find all previous and future episodes listed here or in your podcast app under "Barbican Station". In this episode we discuss Mick Herron's second novel in the Oxford series, The Last Voice You Hear, with prolific author, Antony Johnston. We start with some spoiler free discussion of the book before getting into the novel's take … Continue reading Barbican Station – The Last Voice You Hear by Mick Herron – Explored

Hi Smooches! We haven't died, just fallen off the face of the earth for a bit. On this episode, which we recorded way back in October 2024, we talk with Emma Barry about her latest release, Bad Reputation. Because it took us so damn long to put out this episode, Emma Barry's next book, Bold Moves, will be releasing very soon! So, you're welcome for the shorter wait. Spoilers ahead!WHERE TO FIND USFind us on Instagram at:⁠https://www.instagram.com/makeoutalreadypod⁠Find us on Threads at:⁠https://www.threads.net/@makeoutalreadypod⁠Liz's author links:⁠https://linktr.ee/ellediazromance⁠Subscribe to Liz's YouTube channel:⁠https://youtube.com/@ellediazromance?si=dl14EFyyCtYoolui&sub_confirmation=1⁠Books/authors we mentioned:Emma Barry's incredible books: https://authoremmabarry.com/books-2/Mick Herron's Slow Horses thriller seriesGail Carriger's steampunk fictionLisa Kleypas' Devil in SpringKathy Yardley's urban fantasy

Another amazing episode is ready.  This week we spoke with author Rufi Thorpe about her new novel, Margo's Got Money Troubles.  This is a hilarious novels about the trials and and tribulations of single motherhood, addiction, family, and sex work. Listen to learn more.Author Reads1. Vantage Point by Sara Sligar2. This is Why We Lied by Karin Slaughter3. Slough House by Mick Herron

Episode 155 January 2, 2025! On the Needles 1:14 ALL KNITTING LINKS GO TO RAVELRY UNLESS OTHERWISE NOTED.  Please visit our Instagram page @craftcookreadrepeat for non-Rav photos and info   Weather or Knot Scarf by Scott Rohr, HolstGarn Coast in Butterfly, Black, Charcoal, Silver Grey, Wisteria, Freesia, Passion Flower: –DONE!!   Wildcat Warmth Easy Stripes Blanket by Joan of Dark, Knit Picks Brava Worsted in Dove Heather and Eggplant– DONE!!   Gnana's Visit by Sarah Schira, Little Squirrel Yarn Oak Sock in Gnana's House ( C1 Raspberry Jam, C2 Flint, C3 Tinsel, C4 Marshmallow) plus Dream in Color Smooshy in Green Light from previous kit– DONE!!   Gnome News is Good News by Sarah Schira, Lollipop Yarn Quintessential in We Need a Little Christmas, KnitPicks Stroll fingering in Strawberry– DONE!!   Twinkle Toes Saxe Point Socks by Andrea Rangel, Gauge Dyeworks fingering in Twinkle–DONE!!   Full Spectrum by Andrea Rangel, Koigu Painter's Palette Premium Merino in black and 861 (turquoise, olive, purple, black 2009!)   Succulents 2025 Blanket CAL by Mallory Krall, Hue Loco DK in Propagation   Cortney is working on the Pressed Flower Pullover by Amy Christoffers in Neighborhood Fiber Studio DK Ramblewood and Suri Loft Mondawmin (which is burgundy and hot pink). On the Easel 15:17 2025 Scenic Route Calendars! New secret 100-Day project with Daria and Marcy.   On the Table 21:42 upside-down cranberry cake – smitten kitchen   Broccoli Cheddar Beans with Crispy Cheddar Panko by Carolina Gelen   Swiss Chicken Cutlets Crisp Green Salad with Caramelized Citrus Dressing by Carolina Gelen   Cocktail Club Gingerbread cake–VERY forward on the molasses. Christmas for 26 people. Some family favorites. New favorite: Chicken with garlic & shallots (shallots added to this recipe). On the Nightstand 39:28 We are now a Bookshop.org affiliate!  You can visit our shop to find books we've talked about or click on the links below.  The books are supplied by local independent bookstores and a percentage goes to us at no cost to you! The City in Glass by Nghi Vo  Real Tigers, Spook Street, London Rules, Joe Country, Slough House, Bad Actors by Mick Herron (audio) The Examiner by Janice Hallett  A Fellowship of Bakers and Magic by J. Penner  The Teller of Small Fortunes by Julie Leong The City and Its Uncertain Walls by Huruki Murakami, trans by Philip Gabriel   Noel Nook:  Slay Bells Ring by Nancy Robards Thompson (maddie and jenna) Brightly Shining by Ingvild H. Rishøi, trans by Caroline Waight A Jingle Bell Mingle by Julie Murphy and Sierra Simone (sunny and issac) Season of Love, For Never and Always, Hers for the Weekend by Helena Greer  The Christmas Countdown by Holly Cassidy Make the Season Bright by Ashley Herring Blake (Brighton & Charlotte) One Week in January by Carson Ellis Clytemnestra by Costanza Casati Glass Houses by Louise Penny Life in Five Senses by Gretchen Rubin On the Horizon 1:02:37 Yearly goals 2025 Monica's  2024 Wrap-up/2025 Goals: Needles: 17,674 yards in 33 projects, knit 2 sweaters with pre 2022 yarn. Coming up: Succulents blanket CAL, Colorwork cuff club    Table: Started Cocktail Club for entertaining goal. Coming up: Great British bake off bakes   Read 175 books, completed most of Storygraph Reads the World and Tacoma Extreme Reader Challenges.  Coming up: Repeat Read the World and Tacoma Extreme!   Cortney's 2024 Wrap-up/2025 Goals:   Needles: finished the Mondo Cable Cardi & WORE it!! Aiming to: work more regularly on the Pressed Flower pullover, make/mend a garment each season. HOW: use a Make9 grid to inspire and achieve.   Easel: painted a book cover series for Nancy Robards Thompson via Tulle Publishing. Completed several “pretend” Field Guides. Did some plein air painting. Completed a secret 100-Day project with Daria. Gouachevember! Scenic Route calendar. Aiming to: paint a seasonal landscape/botanical, try a seasonal color palette, Fill a sketchbook each season. HOW: keep ref material at the ready, visit new flower mart, check museum on-line catalogues for “famous” seasonal landscapes…   Table: Cocktail Club is very inspiring! Teaching the boys how to prepare their favorites is heart-warming. Aiming to: seek out seasonal recipes, go to Farmer's market with seasonal list, look at favorite restaurant seasonal menus. Local, seasonal cookbooks!   Nightstand: read 68 fiction, many other art & cook books. “Found” my favorite genre: environmental lit. Aiming to: read a little more. Seasonally!  What Should I Read Next seasonal reading episode HOW: use the big library lists, esp Tacoma Public Library Extreme Reader resources.   Also: Cortney's winter playlist on Spotify.  

A wintry BH amid warnings for snow, ice and freezing rain. BH listeners tell us how they're looking out for their neighbours. Authors Lee Child and Mick Herron discuss how to adapt novels to the big screen. Maggie Philbin of Tomorrow's World fame explains the difficulty of predicting the future, and on the papers – Brompton Bike's Will Butler Adams, the Sun on Sunday's Kate Ferguson and Gawain Towler, Reform's former press man.

On this special episode of the Energy Security Cubed Podcast, Kelly Ogle and Joe Calnan discuss major events in global and Canadian energy security in 2024, and what to watch for into the future. // Donate to CGAI here: https://buy.stripe.com/28o29deEmeCH1ck8ww // Guests: 10:31 - Dr. Ilia Bouchouev, former President of Koch Global Partners and an adjunct Professor at New York University. 17:05 - Jakob Larsen, Head of Maritime Safety & Security at international shipping association BIMCO. 22:51 - Trevor Tombe, Professor of Economics at the University of Calgary. Find Trevor's article for The Hub here: https://thehub.ca/2024/04/30/trevor-tombe-the-trans-mountain-pipeline-was-worth-every-penny/ 30:11 - Scott Kennedy, Trustee Chair in Chinese Business and Economics at the Center for Strategic and International Studies 40:26 - RJ Johnston, Senior Director of Research at Columbia University's Center on Global Energy Policy 47:45 - Dan Ujczo, senior counsel in the International Trade and Transportation practice groups at Thompson Hine LLP. // - Kelly Ogle is CEO of the Canadian Global Affairs Institute. - Joe Calnan is a Fellow and Energy Security Forum Manager at the Canadian Global Affairs Institute. // What did Joe read in 2024? - "War and Peace", Leo Tolstoy: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/656.War_and_Peace - "The Face of Battle: A Study of Agincourt, Waterloo, and the Somme", by John Keegan: https://www.amazon.com/Face-Battle-Study-Agincourt-Waterloo/dp/0140048979 - "Slow Horses", Mick Herron: https://www.amazon.ca/Slow-Horses-Deluxe-Mick-Herron/dp/1641292970 // What did Kelly read in 2024? - "The Porcelain Moon: A Novel of France, the Great War, and Forbidden Love" by Janie Chang: https://www.amazon.com/Porcelain-Moon-Novel-France-Forbidden/dp/0063072866 - "Ascent to Power: How Truman Emerged from Roosevelt's Shadow and Remade the World", by David L. Roll: https://www.amazon.com/Ascent-Power-Truman-Emerged-Roosevelts/dp/0593186443 - "Takeover: Hitler's Final Rise to Power", by Timothy W. Ryback: https://www.amazon.com/Takeover-Hitlers-Final-Rise-Power/dp/0593537424 // Interview recording Date: December 31, 2024 // Energy Security Cubed is part of the CGAI Podcast Network. Follow the Canadian Global Affairs Institute on Facebook, Twitter (@CAGlobalAffairs), or on LinkedIn. Head over to our website at www.cgai.ca for more commentary. // Produced by Joe Calnan. Music credits to Drew Phillips.

New York City: Legendary interrogator Malcolm Chaucer is known as The Oracle. There is no subject he cannot break, no secret he cannot unlock. The key to his uncanny ability: eight years as the victim of experimental torture at the hands of a North Korean madman. Chaucer is a broken man, with a unique psychology that makes him both incapable of lying, and a near perfect lie detector.A routine interrogation of a witness to the murder of a Korean national leads to an explosive revelation: the assassin was none other than Tempest MacLaren, Chaucer's ex-wife. A frantic, last minute warning is all he can give her before a North Korean assassin shows up on her doorstep.And later that night, two more assassins target Chaucer for death. Chaucer discovers his drops compromised, his handler dead, and a million-dollar bounty on his head. Can he survive long enough to find his ex-wife and use his unique abilities to tell friend from foe, and truth from lies. And will he uncover the secret that is the Year of the Rabbit?Year of the Rabbit combines the man-on-the-run paranoia of Six Days of the Condor, the colorful characters of Mick Herron's Slough House series, and the raw fun of Lee Child's Jack Reacher series. Pick up your copy of Year of the Rabbit today!Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/houseofmysteryradio. Become a member at https://plus.acast.com/s/houseofmysteryradio. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Episode 154 December 5, 2024 On the Needles 2:00 ALL KNITTING LINKS GO TO RAVELRY UNLESS OTHERWISE NOTED.  Please visit our Instagram page @craftcookreadrepeat for non-Rav photos and info     Weather or Knot Scarf by Scott Rohr, HolstGarn Coast in Butterfly, Black, Charcoal, Silver Grey, Wisteria, Freesia, Passion Flower:    Fleetwood sweater by Tanis Lavallee, Teal Torch Knits DK in mermaid gradient, Berroco Vintage in Cast Iron --DONE!!   Full Spectrum by Andrea Rangel, Koigu Painter's Palette Premium Merino in black and 861 (turquoise, olive, purple, black 2009!)   Wildcat Warmth Easy Stripes Blanket by Joan of Dark, Knit Picks Brava Worsted in Dove Heather and Eggplant   Gnana's Visit by Sarah Schira, Little Squirrel Yarn Oak Sock in Gnana's House ( C1 Raspberry Jam, C2 Flint, C3 Tinsel, C4 Marshmallow) plus Dream in Color Smooshy in Green Light from previous kit   CORTNEY ‘s sweater project: Pressed Flowers Pullover by Amy Christoffers in Neighborhood Fiber Studio DK Ramblewood and Suri Loft Mondawmin. On the Easel 13:47 Gouachevember complete Studio calendar SOLD OUT!   18:04 applause! On the Table 20:00  Yes Cocktail Co.   PB&J cake from 100 Afternoon Sweets     Green bean casserole from SmittenKitchen.com   Mushroom kimchi mapo tofu from Ottolenghi Comfort  Butternut tamarind coconut stew   My own “invention”! Italian Stew? Mire poix with sausage, seasonings, diced tomatoes, and gnocchi. The Jenny R. salad for Thanksgiving! Three-color cabbage salad with crispy chickpeas (I used pepitas). And her awesome yogurt/lime dressing. On the Nightstand 35:49 We are now a Bookshop.org affiliate!  You can visit our shop to find books we've talked about or click on the links below.  The books are supplied by local independent bookstores and a percentage goes to us at no cost to you!   Noel Nook: Gingerdead House by Nancy Warren (audio) Wreck the Halls by Tessa Bailey  The Wood at Midwinter by Susanna Clarke   Dead Lions by Mick Herron (audio) Maame by Jessica George (audio) Buried Deep and Other Stories by Naomi Novik The Grey Wolf by Louise Penny There are Rivers in the Sky by Elif Shafak In Universes by Emet North   The Nature of the Beast by Louise Penny A Great Reckoning by Louise Penny Whale Fall by Elizabeth O'Connor Clear by Carys Davies

Episode 152 November 11,  2024 On the Needles 1:26 ALL KNITTING LINKS GO TO RAVELRY UNLESS OTHERWISE NOTED.  Please visit our Instagram page @craftcookreadrepeat for non-Rav photos and info     Weather or Knot Scarf by Scott Rohr, HolstGarn Coast in Butterfly, Black, Charcoal, Silver Grey, Wisteria, Freesia, Passion Flower:    OMG Heel Socks by Megan Williams, Destination Yarn Postcard in Yosemite– DONE!!    Peace and Joy socks by KnittenKristen, Gauge DyeWorks Trifecta Fingering in Jack o'lantern with pumpkin mini– DONE!!   Colorwork Cuff Club by Summer Lee, Three Irish Girls Adorn Sock in Elixir (2010! Carpe yarnem!)-- DONE!!   Fleetwood sweater by Tanis Lavallee, Teal Torch Knits DK in mermaid gradient   Full Spectrum by Andrea Rangel, Koigu Painter's Palette Premium Merino in black and 861 (turquoise, olive, purple, black 2009!) On the Easel 9:51 2025 Calendar–stay tuned. Gouachevember! Travel sketches On the Table 14:56 Streamlined Mushroom soup from Weekday Vegetarians: Get Simple (link to her blog article about the Moosewood recipe this one is based on)   mushroom rockefeller from What Goes With What by Julia Turshen   mushroom swiss burger rice from What Goes With What by Julia Turshen   Creamy Spinach-Artichoke Chicken Stew On the Nightstand 23:25 We are now a Bookshop.org affiliate!  You can visit our shop to find books we've talked about or click on the links below.  The books are supplied by local independent bookstores and a percentage goes to us at no cost to you! Slow Horses by Mick Herron (audio) The Great Witches Baking Show and Baker's Coven by Nancy Warren (audio) Ornithologist's Field Guide to Love by India Holton  A Song to Drown Rivers by Ann Liang The Empusium: a health resort horror story by Olga Tokarczuk, trans by Antonia Lloyd-Jones Creation Lake by Rachel Kushner Playground by Richard Powers The Wedding Witch by Erin Sterling   The Plot by Jean Hanff Korelitz There are Rivers in the Sky by Elif Shafak

A special episode! Anna chats with author Chris Hammer about his new crime novel THE VALLEY, the fourth in the Nell Buchanan and Ivan Lucic series. Chris' award-winning debut SCRUBLANDS was an instant bestseller and is now a TV series.  THE VALLEY is his seventh novel and follows detectives Nell and Ivan as they investigate a murder in rural Australia and the victim's connections with logging, politics and an abandoned gold mine.  We discuss why Chris has been compared to Shakespeare and how the Australian landscape inspires his stories.   Chris recommends books by Peter Temple and the TV show Slow Horses based on the books by Mick Herron. Coming up: Intermezzo by Sally Rooney Follow us! Email: booksonthegopodcast@gmail.com Instagram: @abailliekaras / @thehammernow Chris: https://chrishammerauthor.com/ Credits Artwork: Sascha Wilkosz  

Disclosure: We are part of the Amazon Affiliate/LTK Creator programs. We will receive a small commission at no cost if you purchase a book. This post may contain links to purchase books.In this episode, we sit down with contemporary romance author Emma Barry, who shares insights into her writing journey, her latest releases, and some incredible book recommendations. Emma writes about love, connection, and the ways we heal through relationships—all while balancing life as a college literature instructor and mother of twins. Here's what you can expect in today's episode:Discussion Highlights:Emma's New Release: Bad Reputation (https://amzn.to/3UnHUtY) —a celebrity romance featuring a Hollywood actor and an intimacy coordinator, perfect for fans of shows like Bridgerton and Outlander.Audiobook Excitement: The audiobook for Bad Reputation is narrated by Aaron Shedlock and Summer Wharton, who deliver standout performances.Chick Magnet (https://amzn.to/48mLRVA): A romance about a chicken influencer and her grumpy veterinarian neighbor. Yes, you heard that right—chicken influencers are real!Emma's Romance Journey: From a single Google search to devouring 200 romance novels while breastfeeding, Emma shares how her love for the genre ignited her writing career.Emma Barry's Book Recommendations:Slow Horses by Mick Herron (https://amzn.to/3UnHUtY) Luck of the Draw by Kate Clayborn (https://amzn.to/40hliPs) – My Sister, the Serial Killer by Oyinkan Braithwaite (https://amzn.to/3Nzdvoy) We Could Be So Good by Cat Sebastian (https://amzn.to/3C4QWpa) A Place of Greater Safety by Hilary Mantel (https://amzn.to/4fcWDj7)Where to Find Emma Barry:Website: authoremmabarry.comInstagram: @authoremmabarryBlue Sky: @authoremmabarryGet More Book Recommendations with Bonus Podcast Episodes!Do you love discovering your next favorite read? You can get even more book recommendations with bonus podcast episodes exclusively on my Substack! I'm releasing 1-2 new weekly episodes with handpicked book suggestions to help you find your next great read. These bonus episodes dive deep into must-read books, new releases, and hidden gems across all genres.Sign up now to never miss an episode and keep your reading list fresh!https://wtrnblog.substack.com/Music from #Uppbeat (free for Creators!): https://uppbeat.io/t/mood-maze/trendsetterLicense code: IP29FC0QKB6DV2UE

durée : 00:01:54 - Les 80'' - par : Nicolas Demorand - Nicolas Demorand conseille la série "Slow Horses", déjà quatre saisons, tirées des livres du romancier britannique Mick Herron.

Obiora, Ayisha and Chris return for Episodes 5&6 of 'Slow Horses' Season 4. They begin their discussion with Frank Harkness and his background (10:37), before touching on the role of River's mum in Les Arbres, David Cartwright's possible other grandson (38:30), Jackson Lamb (56:06) AND MUCH MOREYou can support us here - https://buymeacoffee.com/popcornfordinnerSubscribe to our Newsletter via - https://popcornfordinnerpod.com/#newsletterAlso available on Youtube - https://youtu.be/9-NqT2xGv7c Hosts: Obiora Ifeacho and Ayisha BelgoreGuest: Chris ConnorProducer: Chinedu Iheji

Actors and comedians have usually played Donald Trump as larger than life, almost as a cartoon. In the new film “The Apprentice,” Sebastian Stan doesn't play for laughs. He stars as a very young Trump falling under the sway of Roy Cohn (played by Jeremy Strong)— the notorious, amoral lawyer and fixer.  “Cohn took Donald Trump under his wing when Donald was a nobody from the outer boroughs,” the film's writer and executive producer Gabriel Sherman tells David Remnick. He “taught him the dark arts of power brokering … [and] introduced him to New York society.” Sherman, a contributing editor to New York magazine, also chronicled Roger Ailes's rise to power at Fox News in “The Loudest Voice in the Room.” Sherman insists, though, that the film is not anti-Trump—or not exactly. “The movie got cast into this political left-right schema, and it's not that. It's a humanist work of drama,” in which the protégé eventually betrays his mentor. It almost goes without saying that Donald Trump has threatened to sue the producers of the film, and the major Hollywood studios wouldn't touch it.  Sherman talks with Remnick about how the film, which opens October 11th, came to be. Plus, Jill Lepore is a New Yorker staff writer, a professor of history at Harvard University, and the author of the best-seller “These Truths” as well as many other works of history. While her professional life is absorbed in the uniqueness of the American experience, she finds her relaxation across the pond, watching police procedurals from Britain. “There's not a lot of gun action,” she notes, “not the same kind of swagger.” She talks with David Remnick about three favorites: “Annika” and “The Magpie Murders,” on PBS Masterpiece; and “Karen Pirie,” on BritBox. And Remnick can't resist a digression to bring up their shared reverence for “Slow Horses,” a spy series on Apple TV+ that's based on books by Mick Herron, whom Lepore profiled for The New Yorker.

Obiora and Chris are shuffling between London and Lavande as they cover Episodes 3&4 of 'Slow Horses' Season 4. They begin their discussion by following River's missions out on the field (6:39), then they discuss the connection between Les Arbres and West Acres, what David Cartwright knows about France, the picture River found (57:00) AND MUCH MOREYou can support us here - https://buymeacoffee.com/popcornfordinnerSubscribe to our Newsletter via - https://popcornfordinnerpod.com/#newsletterHost: Obiora IfeachoGuest: Chris ConnorProducer: Chinedu Iheji

The Apple TV+ show Slow Horses is a critical darling; it has received rave reviews since it first came out in 2022, and with season four in full swing, some critics are begging you to watch. But does this season deserve the hype? Or has the show's premise run its course? The series, an anti-James Bond drama starring an unkempt Gary Oldman as the head of MI5's flunky spy department, is based on the Mick Herron spy novel series, Slough House. Lilah is joined by a diehard fan of the novels, FT columnist and executive editor Robert Shrimsley, and the FT's chief features writer Henry Mance.-------Want to stay in touch? Lilah is on Instagram @lilahrap, and email at lilahrap@ft.com. And we're grateful for reviews on Apple and Spotify!-------Links (all FT links get you past the paywall): – Dan Einav's review of this season of Slow Horses: https://on.ft.com/4dhrPfM– Henry interviewed one of the show's stars, Kristin Scott Thomas, for our Lunch with the FT series: https://on.ft.com/4dbTCyj.– Robert is on X @robertshrimsley. Henry is @henrymance, though he'd like you to quit the platform and meet him on BlueSky at @henrymance.bsky.social– Here's Henry's round-up of great Lunches: https://on.ft.com/3TAEzXP -------Special FT subscription offers for podcast listeners are here: http://ft.com/lifeandartRead a transcript of this episode on FT.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this captivating episode of the Spybrary Spy Podcast, join host Shane Whaley as he sits down briefly with the legendary actor Gary Oldman, who portrays the enigmatic Jackson Lamb in the hit TV adaptation of Mick Heron's "Slow Horses." Gary Oldman reveals how Jackson Lamb first appeared on his radar and the differences working with spy authors Mick Herron and John le Carré on Slow Horses and Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy. A big thank you to Catherine Spillane and Gary 'The Fixer' Dexter for arranging this short but sweet chat with Gary Oldman. Join 4000 other spy fans talking spy books, spy movies, spy history and spy tv shows in our free online community

Remembering Ed Kranepool.  College Grades?  Diva Suprema Angela Gheorghiu, not a fan of encores.  Restaurant Sounds.  Museum Update.  Mick Herron.  The key to underwater listening.  Custard Man Ted Drewes. Credits: Talent:  Tamsen Granger and Dan Abuhoff Engineer:  Ellie Suttmeier Art:  Zeke Abuhoff

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The losers, misfits, and boozers are back! Obiora, Ayisha, and Chris discuss the return of 'Slow Horses' with Episodes 1&2 of the recently released 4th season. They cover the season premiere (13:01), Emma Flyte as the new head of The Dogs (37:14), Jonathan Pryce's larger role as David Cartwright (40:57), and SO MUCH MORE. You can support us here - https://buymeacoffee.com/popcornfordinnerSubscribe to our Newsletter via - https://popcornfordinnerpod.com/#newsletterAlso available on Youtube - https://youtu.be/M6T_j2Rk7SMHosts: Obiora Ifeacho and Ayisha BelgoreGuest: Chris ConnorProducer: Chinedu Iheji

Bookwaves/Artwaves is produced and hosted by Richard Wolinsky. Links to assorted local theater & book venues   Mick Herron, “Slow Horses” and “The Secret Hours”. Mick Herron discusses his latest novel, “The Secret Hours,” now out in trade paperback, and the Slough House series of of spy novels and stories with host Richard Wolinsky. Mick Herron has written eight books in the Slough House series of novels about a tiny corner of MI5 for rejects and misfits, people who have screwed up but not been fired. They are known collectively as “Slow Horses,” which is the title of the television series starring Gary Oldman as their boss, Jackson Lamb. A new season of “Slow Horses” began this week on Apple+. “The Secret Hours” is located in the same world as the series, but serves as a stand-alone novel about an inquiry into MI5's past, set up by a conservative government out to rein in the Secret Service. In the interview, Mick Herron discusses the origins of the book and of the Slough House series, as well as his career as a writer, and his writing process. Recorded via Zencastr September 22, 2023 Complete Interview.   Naomi Iizuka, Playwright and Television Writer Naomi Iizuka, playwright and screenwriter, “translator” of Shakespeare's Richard II, at the Magic Theatre through September 15, 2024, in conversation with Richard Wolinsky, While known for plays such as Good Kids and Polaroid Stories, she has also worked in the writers' rooms of several television shows, including Bosch: Legacy, The Terror, and The Sympathizer. In this Part Two of a two part interview, she talks about her work in television, as well as her work as drama professor at UC San Diego. Complete Intervew.     Book Interview/Events and Theatre Links Note: Shows may unexpectedly close early or be postponed due to actors' positive COVID tests. Check the venue for closures, ticket refunds, and vaccination and mask requirements before arrival. Dates are in-theater performances unless otherwise noted. Some venues operate Tuesday – Sunday; others Wednesday or Thursday through Sunday. All times Pacific Time. Closing dates are sometimes extended. Book Stores Bay Area Book Festival  See website for highlights from the 10th Annual Bay Area Book Festival, June 1-2, 2024. Book Passage.  Monthly Calendar. Mix of on-line and in-store events. Books Inc.  Mix of on-line and in-store events. The Booksmith.  Monthly Event Calendar. BookShop West Portal. Monthly Event Calendar. Center for Literary Arts, San Jose. See website for Book Club guests in upcoming months. Green Apple Books. Events calendar. Kepler's Books  On-line Refresh the Page program listings. Live Theater Companies Actors Ensemble of Berkeley. The Imaginary Invalid. Free Moliere in the Park,  August 24 – Sept. 8. John Hinkel Park Amphitheatre. See website for specific days and times, and for staged readings at LaVal's Subterranean Theater. Actor's Reading Collective (ARC).  See website for upcoming readings. Actors Reading Writers. Four Legs Good: Stories about bipedal and quadripedal creatures. September 9, 7 pm. Berkeley City Club. African American Art & Culture Complex. See website for calendar. Alter Theatre. See website for upcoming productions. American Conservatory Theatre Noel Coward's Private Lives, September 12 – October 6, Toni Rembe Theatre. Aurora Theatre  Fallen Angels by Noel Coward, October 19 – November 17. Eureka Day staged reading to celebrate Broadway debut, September 23, 2024. Awesome Theatre Company. Por La Noche (By Night), October 11 – 26, 2024. See website for information. Berkeley Rep. Mexodus, September 13 – October 20, Peet's Theatre. Berkeley Shakespeare Company. See website for upcoming shows. Boxcar Theatre. New Years Eve at the Speakeasy, Jan. 1, 2025. Magic Man, Jan 3 – June 2, Palace Theatre. Brava Theatre Center: New Roots Theatre Festival, November 14-17. See calendar for current and upcoming productions. BroadwaySF: Wicked, August 28 -October 13, Orpheum. See website for events at the Orpheum, Curran and Golden Gate. Broadway San Jose:  Spiderman: Across the Spider-Verse in Concert, October 9-10. 2024. Clue, October 29 – November 3, 2024. California Shakespeare Theatre (Cal Shakes). As You Like it, September 12 – 29. Center Rep: Arsenic and Old Lace by Joseph Kesselring September 8 -29. Lesher Center for the Arts. Central Works  The Contest by Gary Graves, Oct. 19 – Nov. 17. Cinnabar Theatre. Oklahoma! Sept 13 – 29, Warren Theatre, Sonoma State University. Club Fugazi. Dear San Francisco ongoing. Check website for Music Mondays listings. Contra Costa Civic Theatre In Repertory: Hamlet and Rosencranz and Gildenstern Are Dead, September 7 – 22. Curran Theater: See website for special events.. Custom Made Theatre. In hibernation. Cutting Ball Theatre. See website for information and notice of a final production. 42nd Street Moon. See website for upcoming productions. Golden Thread  11 Reflections: San Francisco, October 4-5, Brava Theatre Center. See website for other events. Hillbarn Theatre: Wait Until Dark, October 17 – November 3. Lorraine Hansberry Theatre. The Black Feminist Guide to the Human Body by Lisa B. Thompson, directed by Margo Hall. September 19 – October 6, 2024.  Fort Mason. Lower Bottom Playaz  See website for upcoming productions. Magic Theatre. Richard II by William Shakespeare, translated by Naomi Iizuka. August 21 – September 15, extended. See website for other events. Marin Theatre Company Yaga by by Kat Sandler, October 10 – November 3, 2024. Mission Cultural Center for Latino Arts Upcoming Events Page. New Conservatory Theatre Center (NCTC) Ride the Cyclone by Jacob Richmond & Brooke Maxwell, September 20 – October 20. My Brother's Gift, based on the writings of Eva Geiringer Schloss and the poetry and paintings of Heinz Geiringer, every Sunday in October at 1 pm. Oakland Theater Project.  Angels in America, Parts I & II, September 27 – October 26, Marin Shakespeare Company, San Rafael. Odd Salon: Upcoming events in San Francisco & New York, and streaming. Pear Theater. Once On This Island, September 13 – October 13, 2024. Presidio Theatre. See website for complete schedule of events and performances. Ray of Light: Legally Blonde, September 7-29, 2024, Victoria Theatre. See website for Spotlight Cabaret Series at Feinstein's at the Nikko. San Francisco Playhouse. Evita, June 27-September 7. 2024. The Play That Goes Wrong, September 21 – November 9. SFBATCO.  Ten Year Turn-Up, September 20, Verdi Club, SF. See website for upcoming streaming and in- theater shows. San Jose Stage Company: See website for upcoming schedule. Shotgun Players.  Choir Boy by Tarrell Alvin McCraney. September 24 – October 20. South Bay Musical Theatre: No, No Nanette,  Sept 28 – Oct. 19. Saratoga Civic Theater. Stagebridge: See website for events and productions. Storytime every 4th Saturday. The Breath Project. Streaming archive. The Marsh: Calendar listings for Berkeley, San Francisco and Marshstream. Theatre Lunatico  See website for upcoming productions. Theatre Rhino  Fallin written and directed by John Fisher, August 29 – September 15. Streaming: Essential Services Project, conceived and performed by John Fisher, all weekly performances now available on demand. TheatreWorks Silicon Valley. King James by Rajiv Joseph, October 9 – November 3,  2024. Word for Word.  See website for upcoming productions. Misc. Listings: BAM/PFA: On View calendar for BAM/PFA. Berkeley Symphony: See website for listings. Chamber Music San Francisco: Calendar, 2023 Season. Dance Mission Theatre. On stage events calendar. Oregon Shakespeare Festival: Calendar listings and upcoming shows. San Francisco Opera. Calendar listings. San Francisco Symphony. Calendar listings. Filmed Live Musicals: Searchable database of all filmed live musicals, podcast, blog. If you'd like to add your bookstore or theater venue to this list, please write Richard@kpfa.org                                   . The post September 5, 2024: Mick Herron, Master of Spy Thrillers appeared first on KPFA.

Will Smith (creator, Slow Horses) discusses comedy in drama, building off of author Mick Herron's plots, his work on Veep and The Thick of It with Armando Iannucci, and the reason why this show works as well as it does.Come see Ben Blacker's live show, RETROSPECS, on Sunday, September 29, 2-4pm PT at the Elysian Theater in LA! In Retrospecs, we dig those old scripts by established writers out of their drawers and expose them to the warm light of the stage. Starring actors you know and love from TV, film, comedy, and the stage. From Girls to Gilmore Girls, from the Big Bang Theory to Buffy, get NEW EPISODES of your favorite shows, written by writers who never wrote for those shows!The Sept 29 show features a Seinfeld written by David Iserson (New Girl; The Spy Who Dumped Me) and Succession written by the notorious parody account creator Fake Carol Lombardini. Starring Paul Scheer (The League), Hannah Simone (New Girl), Sherry Cola (Nobody Wants This), and more!Live or streaming/VOD tickets here: https://www.elysiantheater.com/shows/retrospecsTHE WRITERS PANEL IS A COMPLETELY INDEPENDENT PRODUCTION.Follow and support the show by subscribing to Ben Blacker's newsletter, Re:Writing, where you'll also get weekly advice from the thousands of writers he's interviewed over the years, as well as access to exclusive live Q&As, meet-ups, and more: benblacker.substack.comSOCIALS:Bluesky: bsky.app/profile/benblacker.bsky.socialTwitter: twitter.com/benBlacker Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Ben and Nemone put Jackson Lamb from Slow Horses on the couch. Gary Oldman's version of Mick Herron's character has become household name, and you can see why. A man with many layers, a million secrets, and a lightning rod for other's emotions – perhaps he is the perfect Freudian analyst. Nemone gives us a crash course in transference and counter-transference, looks at why people mask and create false selves, and what drives people into a career where they hide their true selves from everyone, including themselves. This is the PERFECT watching companion to Season 4 of Slow Horses, coming 4th September on AppleTV+! And if you want to look at false selves, then listen back to our episode on The Morning Show's Jennifer Aniston and Reese Witherspoon. We want to hear about any theories we might have missed, what you've thought of the show so far and your character suggestions. Please drop the team an email (which may be part of the show): shrinkthebox@sonymusic.com NEXT CLIENTS ON THE COUCH. Find out how to view here Carrie Bradshaw, Sex and the City (selected episodes) CREDITS We used clips from Season 1 of Slow Horses. It's available to watch on AppleTV+. Starring: Gary Oldman - Jackson Lamb Jack Lowden - River Cartwright Kristin Scott Thomas - Diana Taverner Saskia Reeves - Catherine Standish Rosalind Eleazar - Louisa Guy Christopher Chung - Roddy Ho Created by: Mick Herron Will Smith Directed by: James Hawes Jeremy Lovering Saul Metzstein Produced by: Iain Canning Hakan Kousetta Jamie Laurenson Gail Mutrux et al. We would love to hear your theories: shrinkthebox@sonymusic.com A Sony Music Entertainment production. Find more great podcasts from Sony Music Entertainment at sonymusic.com/podcasts. To bring your brand to life in this podcast, email podcastadsales@sonymusic.com. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

ANTONIA SENIOR, writer, critic, journalist and podcaster chats to Paul about Spymasters - the book and the podcast, the Cambridge Five, historical fiction and Spymasters podcast Writer and journalist Antonia Senior interviews all the best writers on espionage. Each episode will bring you fascinating stories on spies, covert action and more – delving in to fact and fiction, past and present. Antonia can be found on X @Tonisenior. Do please follow us on X @SpyMastersPod and spread the word. We will be grateful for any and all support. Should you be an author, with a relevant new or backlist title, interested in appearing on the podcast do get in touch at spymasters@aspectsofhistory.comSpymasters Aspects of History - the book.Mentions (no particular order): SJ Parris, George Blake, Elizabeth Buchan, Calder Walton, the Cambridge Five, Edith Cavell, Mick Herron, David McCloskey, Merle Nygate, Patrick O'Brian, Hilary Mantel, Mary Renault. Recommendations: Precipice Robert Harris, The CIA Hugh WilfordPaul Burke writes for Monocle Magazine, Crime Time, Crime Fiction Lover and the European Literature Network, Punk Noir Magazine (fiction contribution). He is also a CWA Historical Dagger Judge 2024. His first book An Encyclopedia of  Spy Fiction will be out in 2025.Music courtesy of  Guy Hale KILLING ME SOFTLY - MIKE ZITO featuring Kid Anderson. GUY HALEProduced by Junkyard DogCrime TimeCrime Time FM is the official podcast ofGwyl Crime Cymru Festival 2023CrimeFest 2023CWA Daggers 2023& Newcastle Noir 20232024 Slaughterfest, National Crime Reading Month, CWA Daggers

There's a funny smell in the studio today... is it the smell of the 1970s? Is it the smell of Homme?Also, keep an eye out for Parish notices, some recurring garden chat, and recommendations for mole repellent.Plus, Fi speaks to the author Mick Herron about the reissue of his book 'Down Cemetery Road', 21 years after it was first published.There's also a discussion about quite a serious news story, if you're affected by any of the issues raised then please email feedback@times.radioIf you want to contact the show to ask a question and get involved in the conversation then please email us: janeandfi@times.radio.Follow us on Instagram! @janeandfiPodcast Producer: Eve SalusburyExecutive Producer: Rosie Cutler Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Today Catherine reviews three books, The Trees by Percival Everett, The Secret Hours by Mick Herron and Fruit of the Dead by Rachel Lyon.

Abir Mukherjee is the hugely successful writer of five historical crime novels. He created the Wyndham and Banerjee series of thrillers, starting in 1919 India, each book progressing towards Partition.His brand new novel - Hunted - is a stand alone contemporary edge of the seat thriller which took Abir over three years to write and resulted in him forming a mentoring group with luminaries such as Val McDermid, Lee Child, Mick Herron and Ruth Ware who all gave different advice on how to craft a contemporary thriller.Abir explains the writing process and 'turning things up to eleven,' with the action; why his starting point for his books is always his personal anger and he and Natalie bond over living in Surrey and share their fears about just how posh their kids are turning out..! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Chris and Andy talk about the news that Apple TV will be making a ‘For All Mankind' spinoff called ‘Star City,' and adapting another one of Mick Herron's novels (author of ‘Slow Horses') for a show starring Emma Thompson (1:00). Then, they talk about an article in Harper's that looks at the role private equity firms have played in the TV industry over the past decade (13:38), before discussing the penultimate episode of ‘Shogun' (29:07) and episodes 4 and 5 of ‘Ripley' (59:09). Read the Harper's piece here. Hosts: Chris Ryan and Andy Greenwald Producer: Kaya McMullen Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

This week on Sinica, I speak with veteran China analysts Thomas Fingar and David M. Lampton — Mike Lampton — about a paper they published in the Winter 2024 edition of the Washington Quarterly. It's an excellent overview of how and why the bilateral relationship took such a bad turn roughly 15 years ago, citing mistakes both sides made and the reasons why China shifted around that time from one of its two basic behavioral modes — more open, tolerant, and simpatico in its foreign policy — to the other mode, which is both more internally repressive and externally assertive.Thomas Fingar is Shorenstein APARC Fellow in the Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies at Stanford University. He was Assistant Secretary of State for Intelligence and Research. He served as the first deputy director of national intelligence for analysis and as chairman of the National Intelligence Council — and he's the author of many books, including most recently From Mandate to Blueprint: Lessons from Intelligence Reform.Mike Lampton is Professor Emeritus and former Hyman Professor and Director of SAIS-China and China Studies at the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies, and Senior Research Fellow at the Foreign Policy Institute. Mike was also formerly President of the National Committee on United States-China Relations.05:04 – The problem with the use of the term "autocracy" to describe China's system09:18 – Analysis of the motivation behind China's actions, questioning the assumption that all decisions are solely for perpetuating the Communist Party's power.10:25 – Rethinking Xi Jinping's personal influence over China's policy decisions: the checks on his power within the Chinese political system.15:58 – Critique of deterministic theories in political science regarding state behavior, particularly concerning China's foreign policy and domestic policy actions.19:13 – The importance of avoiding oversimplified and deterministic explanations for Chinese behavior on the global stage.23:43 – Discussion on the perception of China as an unstoppable juggernaut and the consequences of such a view for international relations and domestic policies in the U.S.24:41 – Analysis of the notion that China seeks to recreate an imperial tribute system in its foreign relations and regional strategy.28:09 – Introduction of the concept of two strategic constellations that have historically guided China's policy focus: national/regime security and economic/social development.33:11 – Exploration of factors leading to China's shift from prioritizing economic and social development to focusing more on national and regime security.37:38 – Examination of the internal and external dynamics contributing to China's policy shifts and the impact of globalization on societal and political tensions.48:47 – Reflection on the post-9/11 period as a time of relatively smooth U.S.-China relations and speculation on the role of international crises in shaping bilateral dynamics.52:59 – Discussion on the challenges and opportunities for the U.S. and China to adjust their policies and rhetoric to manage tensions and avoid further exacerbating the bilateral relationship.Recommendations: Tom: The novels of Mick Herron (author of Slow Horses); the novels of Alan Furst, including Night Soldiers and The Polish Officer.Mike: Philip Taubman, In the Nation's Service (a biography of George Schultz); and Liz Cheney, Oath and HonorKaiser: The Magician, by Colm Tóibín — an unconventional novelized biography of Thomas MannSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

You can find Marty at his website www.martyohlhaut.com/ while you can find Grace on Instagram at @grace.ly_author) Our website www.perksofbeingabooklover.com. Instagram - @perksofbeingabookloverpod FaceBook - Perks of Being a Book Lover. To send us a message, go to our website and click the Contact button. This week we talk to the father-daughter team of Marty Ohlhaut and Grace Ly. They have written a travel memoir called Tent for Seven: A Camping Adventure Gone South Out West. This book is based on the true story of their family camping trip to the Canadian Rockies which went horribly wrong in the 1990s. Marty, his wife Jolene, and their 5 children flew from Charlotte NC to the Pacific Northwest and then drove a van to several spots in the majestic Canadian mountains. They camped in their family tent, lovingly referred to as Big Blue. While there, so many things went awry but most importantly, Jolene was severely injured and had to be taken to a hospital where she spent many days. The Ohlhaut family was in disarray but Good Samaritans named the Walshes came to the rescue. This family is genetically predisposed to adventure. You will hear Marty talk about some wild things he has seen and done, and even though Grace doesn't doesn't mention it, she also is an adventure seeker. She dog sleds in Finland and rock climbs in Colorado. Carrie and I are so boring in comparison. Books Discussed in this Episode: 1- Tent for Seven: A Camping Adventure Gone South Out West by Marty Ohlhaut and Grace Ly 2- A Walk in the Woods: Rediscovering America on the Appalachian Trail by Bill Bryson 3- Into Thin Air by Jon Krakauer 4- Tread of Angels by Rebecca Roanhorse 5- The Scent of Burnt Flowers by Blitz Bazawule 6- A Short History of Nearly Everything by Bill Bryson 7- In Harm's Way by Doug Stanton 8- Slow Horses by Mick Herron 9- Standing by the Wall: The Collected Slough House Novellas by Mick Herron (novellas) 10- The Future by Naomi Alderman - 5 star read recommended by Shelley Anderson @shelleyanderson4127 11- Angle of Repose by Wallace Stegner Shows mentioned-- 1- Slow Horses (Apple +)   Link mentioned: A Poem-a-Day email service - go to www.poets.org to sign up  

You can find Marty at his website https://www.martyohlhaut.com/ while you can find Grace on Instagram at @grace.ly_author) Our website www.perksofbeingabooklover.com. Instagram - @perksofbeingabookloverpod FaceBook - Perks of Being a Book Lover. To send us a message, go to our website and click the Contact button. This week we talk to the father-daughter team of Marty Ohlhaut and Grace Ly. They have written a travel memoir called Tent for Seven: A Camping Adventure Gone South Out West. This book is based on the true story of their family camping trip to the Canadian Rockies which went horribly wrong in the 1990s. Marty, his wife Jolene, and their 5 children flew from Charlotte NC to the Pacific Northwest and then drove a van to several spots in the majestic Canadian mountains. They camped in their family tent, lovingly referred to as Big Blue. While there, so many things went awry but most importantly, Jolene was severely injured and had to be taken to a hospital where she spent many days. The Ohlhaut family was in disarray but Good Samaritans named the Walshes came to the rescue. This family is genetically predisposed to adventure. You will hear Marty talk about some wild things he has seen and done, and even though Grace doesn't doesn't mention it, she also is an adventure seeker. She dog sleds in Finland and rock climbs in Colorado. Carrie and I are so boring in comparison. Books Discussed in this Episode: 1- Tent for Seven: A Camping Adventure Gone South Out West by Marty Ohlhaut and Grace Ly 2- A Walk in the Woods: Rediscovering America on the Appalachian Trail by Bill Bryson 3- Into Thin Air by Jon Krakauer 4- Tread of Angels by Rebecca Roanhorse 5- The Scent of Burnt Flowers by Blitz Bazawule 6- A Short History of Nearly Everything by Bill Bryson 7- In Harm's Way by Doug Stanton 8- Slow Horses by Mick Herron 9- Standing by the Wall: The Collected Slough House Novellas by Mick Herron 10- The Future by Naomi Alderman - 5 star read recommended by Shelley Anderson @shelleyanderson4127 11- Angle of Repose by Wallace Stegner Shows mentioned-- 1- Slow Horses (Apple +) Links mentioned-- www.poets.org to sign up for the Poem-a-day email

On this episode of Currently Reading, Meredith and Kaytee may have died and come back to life after recording this week. They are joined by none other than Knox McCoy and Jamie Golden of the Popcast! They are discussing: Bookish Moments: reading clickers and reading to our kiddos Current Reads: all the great, interesting, and/or terrible stuff we've been reading lately Deep Dive: Knox and Jamie's top 5 books of 2023, plus each guest brought their favorite reading experience The Fountain: we visit our perfect fountain to make wishes about our reading lives Show notes are time-stamped below for your convenience. Read the transcript of the episode (this link only works on the main site) .  .  .  .  .  1:11 - The Popcast 3:21 - Our Bookish Moments of the Week 3:39 - Tiktok scrolling ring 4:05 - Kindle remote clicker 7:53 - Butcher & Blackbird by Brynne Weaver 9:32 - Unhinged by Vera Valentine 10:20 - Fabled Bookshop 10:26 - Cold People by Tom Rob Smith 11:56 - Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel 13:35 - Persuasion by Jane Austen 13:44  - Our Current Reads 14:07 - Everyone On This Train Is a Suspect by Benjamin Stevenson (Jamie) 14:15 - Everyone in My Family Has Killed Someone by Benjamin Stevenson 16:11 - Slow Horses by Mick Herron 16:47 - Chain Gang All Stars by Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah (Knox) 19:19 - Warcross by Marie Lu (Kaytee) 19:31 - What Should I Read Next Podcast  20:13 - Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card 20:15 - Slay by Brittney Morris 20:16 - Ready Player One by Ernest Cline 21:50 - Wildcard by Marie Lu 22:34 - The Future by Naomi Alderman (Meredith) 23:53 - The Power by Naomi Alderman 27:52 - The Anomaly by Herve Le Tellier 28:11 - Deep Dive: Knox and Jamie's Top 5 Books of 2023 28:42 - Divine Rivals by Rebecca Ross 28:44 - Congratulations! The Best is Over by R. Eric Thomas 28:49 - The Fragile Threads of Power by V.E. Schwab 28:56 - The Heaven and Earth Grocery Store by James McBride 29:38 - The Road of Bones by Demi Winters (Jamie #5) 32:23 - Clytemnestra by Costanza Casati (Knox #5) 32:41- The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller  34:16 - All My Knotted-Up Life by Beth Moore (Jamie #4) 37:39 - The Fish That Ate the Whale by Rich Cohen (Knox #4) 39:48 - The Monk of Mokha by Dave Eggers 40:16 - Draco Malfoy and the Mortifying Ordeal of Being In Love by isthisselfcare (Jamie #3) 42:14 - Archive of Our Own 42:16 - Fanfiction.net 43:29 - All The Young Dudes by MsKingBean89 44:43 - Traffic by Ben Smith (Knox #3) 46:24 - Drowning by T.J. Newman (Jamie #2) 46:35 - Falling by T.J. Newman 49:04 - Demon Copperhead by Barbara Kingsolver (Knox #2) 52:07 - Yellowface by R.F. Kuang (Jamie #1) 56:14 - Thank You For Listening by Julia Whelan (Knox #1) 59:16 - Knox and Jamie's Favorite Reading Experiences of 2023 1:00:43 - Hot and Bothered by Jancee Dunn (Jamie) 1:04:37 - Starter Villain by John Scalzi (Knox) 1:06:00 - The Kaiju Preservation Society by John Scalzi 1:06:22 - Meet Us At The Fountain 1:07:08 - I wish more of us would print our book covers to keep in a book to reflect on. (Jamie) 1:07:10 - Canon Ivy 2 Mini Photo Printer 1:09:46 - Mother Horror on Instagram 1:10:32 - I want to press two books into the hands of listeners (Jamie) 1:11:08 - We Are the Light by Matthew Quick (specifically for dudes, touches on masculinity without being bro-ish) 1:11:32 - Open Throat by Henry Hoke (specifically for writers) 1:13:35 - I would like to read the same book, but with a different take - with more humor and snark (Kaytee) 1:13:38 - Monsters by Claire Dederer 1:16:49 - I wish everyone would listen to the Popcast (Meredith) 1:16:56 - The Popcast 1:17:28 - The Popcast on Instagram 1:18:34 - The Popcast Patreon 1:20:46 - @KnoxMccoy on Instagram 1:20:48 - @Jamiebgolden on Instagram Support Us: Become a Bookish Friend | Grab Some Merch Shop Bookshop dot org | Shop Amazon Bookish Friends Receive: The Indie Press List with a curated list of five books hand sold by the indie of the month. January's IPL is brought to you by our anchor store, Fabled Bookshop in Waco, TX. Trope Thursday with Kaytee and Bunmi - a behind the scenes peek into the publishing industry All Things Murderful with Meredith and Elizabeth - special content for the scary-lovers, brought to you with the special insights of an independent bookseller The Bookish Friends Facebook Group - where you can build community with bookish friends from around the globe as well as our hosts Connect With Us: The Show: Instagram | Website | Email | Threads The Hosts and Regulars: Meredith | Kaytee | Mary | Roxanna Affiliate Disclosure: All affiliate links go to Bookshop unless otherwise noted. Shopping here helps keep the lights on and benefits indie bookstores. Thanks for your support!

Welcome to Multiverse News, Your source for Information about all your favorite fictional universes.  Fans of George R.R. Martin's epic world of Westeros and beyond got a New Year's treat when the author announced on his personal blog that the spin-off series Nine Voyages will now be animated rather than live action. Citing budgetary constraints that would have kept the live action show from reaching its full potential, Martin voiced his support for the media move while including that three animated projects are currently on the table though not all are greenlit. Martin also hinted at the possibility of graphic novels. In a move that absolutely looks to compete with streaming giants Netflix, Hulu, and Disney+, Warner Brothers Discovery and Paramount Gylobal CEOs officially entered talks to merge the two media companies. Both left 2023 with long-term debt loads, but with Warner Bros. market capitalization valued at $28.4 billion, perhaps there's room for both to turn around and become a real competitor in the wild world of streaming. Burnished into action by the controlling interest in Paramount having already been in talks to sell to Skydance, Warner Brothers Discovery has the opportunity to acquire such film franchises as Terminator, Transformers, Mission: Impossible, Star Trek, and more, as well as Paramount's television rights including CBS, BET, and MTV to name a few. This feels like an interesting move by Warner Brothers who made a similar acquisition with Discovery back in 2022. It seemed like it would be the year the box office failed due to the combined writer's and actor's strikes, a huge change in streaming trends, as well as audience taste changing. However, this was simply not the case. Among stand-out films like Barbie, Oppenheimer, and Five Nights at Freddy's as well as franchise films and both Taylor Swift and Beyonce's concert films, 2023 rang in an impressive $9 billion box office total. The studios that held up best in order of money brought in were Universal ($1.93 billion), Disney ($1.89 billion), and Warner Bros. ($1.4 billion). Netflix has released the first trailer for Zack Snyder's Rebel Moon Part Two: The Scargiver following the debut of Part One: A Child of Fire. The film will debut on Netflix on April 19, 2024. Part One, A Child of Fire saw a solid debut for Netflix, racking up nearly 24 million views in its first three days of release. Following the conclusion of What If? Season 2, Marvel released a first look of What If? Season 3 featuring Bucky Barnes and the Red Guardian. As for when Season 3 will drop, the first look simply says, soooon. Christopher Landon is no longer directing Scream VII. The director dropped out of the feature, capping a tumultuous few months for the embattled project that has included the exits of its two lead actors. The first episode of “Percy Jackson and the Olympians” brought in 13.3 million viewers in its first six days on Disney+ and Hulu. “Slow Horses,” the hit Apple TV+ series based on Mick Herron's spy series of the same name, has been renewed for a fifth season. As of January 1, 2024, the first iteration of the character of Mickey Mouse dubbed Steamboat Willie officially entered the public domain and is no longer a protected character under copyright laws.

Melissa Lucashenko writes about big ideas and brutal experiences, but she does so with grace, with generosity and – maybe above all else – a rich sense of humour. In this episode, from Schwartz Media's podcast Read This, Michael sits down with Melissa for a conversation about her new book, Edenglassie, and they discuss history, eccentric characters, and why writing a love story is a revolutionary act. Reading list: Hard Yards, Melissa Lucashenko, 1999 Too Flash, Melissa Lucashenko, 2002 Mullumbimby, Melissa Lucashenko, 2013 Too Much Lip, Melissa Lucashenko, 2018 Edenglassie, Melissa Lucashenko, 2023 The Fortunes of Richard Mahony, Henry Handel Richardson, 1925 For the Term of His Natural Life, Marcus Clarke, 1874 The Secret Hours, Mick Herron, 2023 Gunflower, Laura Jean McKay, 2023 You can find these books and all the others we mentioned at your favourite independent book store. Or if you want to listen to them as audiobooks, you can head to the Read This reading room on Apple Books. Socials: Stay in touch with Read This on Instagram and Twitter Guest: Melissa Lucashenko

Apple TV Plus recently launched Season 3 of Slow Horses starring Gary Oldman as the disheveled, flatulent, and often drunk Jackson Lamb. It is also midway through its Monarch Legacy of Monsters show that expands Legendary's Monsterverse. I had an opportunity to speak with some of the creative folks behind both shows. First, I'll be speaking to Oldman and co-star Jack Lowden about where their characters are in this latest season of Mick Herron's espionage tale. Then I will talk to the people behind the camera who are bringing Godzilla to the small screen.

Narrator Adenrele Ojo joins AudioFile's Robin Whitten to discuss narrating Stacey Abrams's ROGUE JUSTICE. It's one of AudioFile's 2023 Best Mystery & Suspense Audiobooks and an intense listening experience. Ojo returns to portray the smart, feisty Supreme Court clerk Avery Keene. Abrams has written a complex plot that sweeps Avery into a dangerous situation, this time involving a threat to the power grid. Ojo discusses the fun and challenges of narrating mystery series, and what she loves best about narrating suspense audiobooks. Read AudioFile's review of the audiobook. Published by Random House Audio. AudioFile's 2023 Best Mystery & Suspense Audiobooks are: ALL THE SINNERS BLEED by S.A. Cosby, read by Adam Lazarre-White BIRNAM WOOD by Eleanor Catton, read by Saskia Maarleveld DEAD MAN'S POSE by Susan Rogers, John Roosen, read by Rupert Degas ROGUE JUSTICE by Stacey Abrams, read by Adenrele Ojo THE SECRET HOURS by Mick Herron, read by Gerard Doyle VERA WONG'S UNSOLICITED ADVICE FOR MURDERERS by Jesse Q. Sutanto, read by Eunice Wong For the full list of 2023 Best Audiobooks visit our website. Support for AudioFile's Behind the Mic comes from HarperAudio. Get up-close to artists you admire with Willie Nelson's Energy Follows Thought, Melissa Etheridge's Talking to My Angels, and Jada Pinkett Smith's Worthy. Listen to samples at www.hc.com. Adenrele Ojo photo by Michael Roud Photography. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

People with very different visions of what a just peace between Israel and the Palestinians might look like must work together to stop the war: That's what D.D. Guttenplan argues.  He's Editor of The Nation.Also:Also: “Slow Horses,” the British spy series based on the books by Mick Herron, is starting its season 3 this week.  John Powers has our review.Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

In this show, we're excited about two books — Black River Orchard by Chuck Wendig and The Secret Hours by Mick Herron. Then Craig from Overdue Podcast shares why he loves the game Connections. Links Black River Orchard by Chuck Wendig Chuck Wendig's website Terrible Minds Chuck Wendig's book tour schedule Wanderers by Chuck Wendig The Book of Accidents by Chuck Wendig Star Wars: Aftermath by Chuck Wendig The Secret Hours by Mick Herron Slow Horses series by Mick Herron Video: Slow Horses trailer Connections on New York Times Games The New York Times Finds a Match With the Word Game Connections Listen to the Overdue Podcast Twitter: Overdue Podcast Transcript of this episode. The Library of Lost Time is a Strong Sense of Place Production! https://strongsenseofplace.com Do you enjoy our show? Want access to fun bonus content? Please support our work on Patreon. Every little bit helps us keep the show going and makes us feel warm and fuzzy inside - https://www.patreon.com/strongsenseofplace As always, you can find us at: Our site Instagram Facebook Twitter Patreon Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

A group of mall Santas celebrating Christmas Eve discover that there is a stranger in their midst. "The Usual Santas" appears in Mick Herron's collection DOLPHIN JUNCTION, published by Soho Press (US) and John Murray (UK), 2021.