Podcasts about other fictions

Richard starts off this week's show with a Malthouse Theatre 2025 season overview with Artistic Director Matt Lutton. Gunai/Kurnai woman and curator Amanda Haskard talks ACMI's major exhibition The Future and Other Fictions. And three interviews about Melbourne Fringe: performer and choreographer Alix Kuijpers tells Richard about Grim Grinning Ghosts, Mitch Jones (Oozing Future) discusses new alt-circus/theatre performance Apocrypha, and Oli Mathiesen talks about about the Aotearoa production The Butterfly Who Flew Into The Rave.

On this edition of The Weekly Reader, we review two new novels full of weird events, bizarre coincidences, and almost unbelievable outcomes: Real Life and Other Fictions, by Susan Coll, and The Husbands, by Holly Gramazio.  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Tales of love jihad, Muslim appeasement, population growth and forced conversions are made up – yet are incredibly popular throughout India. Social media, journalists and even the prime minister have spread them.In their new book "Love Jihad and Other Fictions", authors Sreenivasan Jain, Mariyam Alavi and Supriya Sharma apply the rules of journalism to bust some of the most damaging falsehoods.On Scroll Ideas, Shoaib Daniyal speaks to Jain and Alavi to unpack the danger this poses to Indian democracy.Producer: Karnika Kohli and Avinash KumarHost: Shoaib Daniyal

Misinformation and fake news pose significant challenges in the electoral context in India, influencing public opinion, political discourse, and ultimately, democratic processes. With the widespread use of social media and messaging platforms, false narratives can spread rapidly, often targeting specific communities or political factions. This phenomenon not only undermines the credibility of information but also exacerbates societal divisions and hampers informed decision-making among voters. In India, where diverse perspectives and identities intersect, the proliferation of misinformation can further polarise communities and distort electoral outcomes. Love Jihad and Other Fictions is a book that debunks the viral falsehoods tearing India apart. Co-authored by three award-winning journalists – Sreenivasan Jain, Supriya Sharma and Mariyam Alavi – the book interrogates inflammatory conspiracy theories centred around the assertion that India's minorities are plotting to weaken Hindus. Once confined to the fringe, these claims are today amplified by politicians, the mainstream media, and countless social media posts, a trend likely to accelerate as the Lok Sabha election approaches. A book like this, which debunks these divisive theories through hard nosed journalistic scrutiny, has never felt more timely. In this episode of BIC Talks, the authors of the book, Sreenivasan Jain and Supriya Sharma, along with Vasu HV from Eedina.com are in conversation with Journalist, Dhanya Rajendran. This is an excerpt from a conversation that took place in the BIC premises in March 2024. Subscribe to the BIC Talks Podcast on your favorite podcast app! BIC Talks is available everywhere, including Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Castbox, Overcast, Audible and Amazon Music.  

This episode's guests are Gavin Hogg and Bruce Lindsay and we are discussing Ivor Cutler, poet, writer, teacher and musician, who was born Jan 15th 1923 and so is a close chronological contemporary of Philip Larkin, although their paths never crossed. We look at their surreal sense of humour, their different experiences of World War II, their approach to poetry, letter writing, jazz, public performance and the cultural landscape of Britain in the twentieth century. Bruce Lindsay, Ivor Cutler: Life Outside the Sitting Room (Equinox, 2023) https://www.equinoxpub.com/home/ivor-cutler/ Gavin Hogg and Hamish Ironside, We Peaked At Paper An Oral History of Fanzines (Boatwhistle Press, 2022) https://www.boatwhistle.com/we-peaked-at-paper Ivor Cutler poems referenced: A Flat Man; Is that your Flap, Jack?; Creamy Pumpkins; Cycling; Giant: I Believe in Bugs; Mud; Pass the Ball, Jim ; Pickle Your Knees, Sleepy Old Snake; Life in A Scotch Sitting Room Vol 2 John Peel Sessions: https://peel.fandom.com/wiki/Ivor_Cutler Philip Larkin poems referenced: Bridge for the Living, Aubade, Essential Beauty, Mr Bleaney, Church Going The Sunday Sessions (Faber and Faber, 1980) The Selected Letters of Philip Larkin ed. Anthony Thwaite (Faber, 1993) Letters to Monica by Philip Larkin ed. Anthony Thwaite (Faber, 2011) Read more about Brunette Coleman in Trouble at Willow Gables and Other Fictions ed. James Booth (Faber and Faber, 2002) Other cultural references Centipede (band), John Peel, The Fall, Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds, Albert Ammonds, Miles Davis, Robert Wyatt, Spike Milligan, The Goons, John Betjeman, John Cooper Clark, Van Morrison, Linton Kwesi Johnson Forces of Victory (1979), Harold Pinter, Charlie Parker, Neil Ardley, Count Basie, Charlie Parker, Thelonious Monk, Sidney Bechet. Interludes – Thelonious Monk (Round Midnight and Thelonius) Produced by Lyn Lockwood and Gavin Hogg PLS Membership and information: The Philip Larkin Society – Philip Larkin Theme music: 'The Horns Of The Morning' by The Mechanicals Band. Buy 'The Righteous Jazz' at their Bandcamp page: https://themechanicalsband.bandcamp.com/album/the-righteous-jazz

In this episode, Lyn talks to Dr James Underwood, Senior Lecturer in English Literature at the University of Huddersfield and Deputy Director of the Ted Hughes Network. James's book Early Larkin (2021) reveals so many aspects of Larkin's less well known writing and charts Larkin's growth into the towering poet he eventually became. We look at poems, letters and prose, and how Larkin shaped his world through his writing. Larkin poems referred to- -Livings, Dockery and Son, The Whitsun Weddings, Afternoons, The Mower, Dublinesque, The Winter Palace, I See A Girl Dragged By The Wrists, Femmes Damnes, A School in August. Other writers and references: Maeve Brennan The Philip Larkin I Knew (2002), James Booth Philip Larkin, Life, Art and Love (2014),Selected Letters of Philip Larkin 1940-1985 (1992 ed. Anthony Thwaite), Trouble at Willow Gables and Other Fictions by Philip Larkin (2002 ed. James Booth), W. B. Yeats, “Sailing to Byzantium” from The Poems of W. B. Yeats: A New Edition. Nick Cave The Red Hand Files, The Vampires Wife blog Our favourite Larkin poem. Presented by Lyn Lockwood. Theme music: 'The Horns Of The Morning' by The Mechanicals Band. Buy 'The Righteous Jazz' at their Bandcamp page: https://themechanicalsband.bandcamp.com/album/the-righteous-jazz Audio editing by Simon Galloway. Follow us and get it touch on Twitter - https://twitter.com/tiny_air Find out more about the Philip Larkin Society here - http://philiplarkin.com/

In today’s episode of Words on a Wire host, Daniel Chacon interviews author Fred Arroyo. Fred Arroyo is the author of Western Avenue and Other Fictions and The Region of Lost Names: A Novel. A recipient of an Individual Artist Program Grant from the Indiana Arts Commission, Arroyo’s fiction is a part of the Library of Congress series Spotlight on U.S. Hispanic Writers. Arroyo’s writing is also included in Camino del Sol: Fifteen Years of Latina and Latino Writing and The Colors of Nature: Essays on Culture, Identity and the Natural World.

Our guest on this episode is David Quantick - journalist, essayist, writer of television shows Veep and The Thick Of It, horror novel All My Colours (2019, Titan Books), soon-to-be released novel Night Train (2020, Titan Books) and much, much more! A few months ago, David Quantick tweeted about his enjoyment of Trouble At Willow Gables and other Brunette Coleman works by Philip Larkin. In this episode he joins us to talk about Brunette Coleman and in particular her essay What Are We Writing For? (1943), poem Femmes Damnes and the wider ‘schoolgirl’ writing of Philip Larkin. More Larkin stuff discussed: Jill, A Girl in Winter, The Whitsun Weddings, Afternoons, An Arundel Tomb, Mr Bleaney, A School in August, Aubade. Other writers, books and shows: George Orwell Boys Weeklies (1940) (Available here: https://orwell.ru/library/essays/boys/english/e_boys ), Harry Potter, Mallory Towers, the James Bond books of Ian Fleming and Martin Amis, JRR Tolkien, CS Lewis, Frank Richards, Downton Abbey, Call the Midwife, Orange is the New Black. Trouble at Willow Gables and Other Fictions ed. By James Booth (2002) Faber and Faber. Presented by Lyn Lockwood. Theme music: 'The Horns Of The Morning' by The Mechanicals Band. Audio production by Simon Galloway. Follow us and get it touch on Twitter - https://twitter.com/tiny_air Find out more about the Philip Larkin Society here - http://philiplarkin.com/

C Derick Varn continues his conversation with Ed Simon. Ed Simon is an editor at Berfrois, a British magazine of “Literature, Ideas, Tea,” and a staff writer at The Millions, which the New York Times has called the “indispensable literary site.” Simon is also the author of "America and Other Fictions" from Zero Books. The conversation begins with Derick explaining the American Southern Left and their alienation, but quickly moves on to the significance of the 2016 American presidential election, Ta-Nehisi Coates, whether race or economics were most significant in 20016, and the way in which the political chattering classes cynically frame questions, white Evangelicals, the DSA, and so on and so on...

Ed Simon returns to the show to discuss his new book America and Other Fictions, published by Zero Books. The collection of essays is subtitled “on Radical Faith and Post-Religion,” and the book explores a variety of subjects that explore the inherently religious nature of the American project, even its irreligious aspects. Danny and Ed discuss: the uses of relgious language for the Left, Bob Dylan as American prophet, and the dual nature of the American Civil Religion. In addition, Ed explains his influences and creative processes as a writer and explains why Pittsburgh is so instrumental in his development.

It's the beginning of the month, and that means it's time once again for the Two Guys with PhDs to delve into the latest Previews catalog. For November, there are a lot of interesting solicitations, more than the guys had expected for titles being released in the aftermath of the holidays. Some of the great upcoming comics they highlight include Murder Book, Demo, and Tex: The Lonesome Rider (Dark Horse); Effigy #1, Fables: The Wolf among Us #1, and Ocean/Orbiter Deluxe Edition (DC/Vertigo); The Squidder, and Imaginary Drugs (IDW Publishing); Casanova: Acedia #1, The Dying and the Dead #1, Criminal Special Edition One-Shot, and Big Hard Sex Criminals (Image Comics); Star Wars #1 and The Unbeatable Squirrel Girl #1 (Marvel); Pirate Eye: Exiled from Exile #1 and Princeless: The Pirate Princess #1 (Action Lab Entertainment); Museum of Mistakes: The Fart Party Collection (Atomic Book Company); Fungus: The Unbearable Rot of Being (Big Planet Comics); the five new King Features titles from Dynamite Entertainment; First Year Healthy (Drawn and Quarterly); five Thunderbirds volumes from Egmont UK; Spawn of Mars and Other Stories, Foolbert Funnies: Histories and Other Fictions, and Treasury of Mini Comics Vol. 2 (Fantagraphics); Fatherland: A Family History (Liveright); March Book Two (Top Shelf Productions); and Manga Classics: The Scarlet Letter (Udon Entertainment). Plus, Derek and Andy recommend a few titles in the “Books” section of the catalog, such as Bart Beaty's Twelve-Cent Archie, Andrew Hoberek's Wonder Woman: Bondage and Feminism in the Marston/Peters Comics, and Sarah Lightman's edited collection, Graphic Details: Jewish Women's Confessional Comics. There's a lot packed into this episode of solicits and recommendations, so listen carefully and take notes!

Daniel & Ben talk with Fred Arroyo, author of “The Region of Lost Names” (2008) and “Western Avenue and Other Fictions” (2012). Arroyo explains why “Western Avenue” is more of a novel told in a cycle of short stories, and why it’s a companion to “Region of Lost Names.” He also explains why he refers to the central figures in his work as “people,” not “characters.” Arroyo also describes how he approaches endings. In this week’s Poem of the Week, Ben reads “The Word ‘Class’ Should Not Appear in The Poem,” from Karen Fiser’s collection, “Words Like Fate and Pain.”

This week’s guest Christina Milletti is the author of the 2006 short story collection “The Religious & Other Fictions” published by Carnegie Mellon University Press. Her stories have appeared in the Chicago Review, Harcourt’s Best New American Voices, Pennsylvania English, and the Alaska Quarterly Review. There are many Christina Millettis. She is an author, mother, wife, and an Associate Professor … Read more about this episode...