Blackwell Online Podcasts

Madeleine Bunting is a journalist who writes for The Guardian. 'The Plot' is her book about discovery, people, the passing of time and most importantly, a place. That place is a one acre plot of land on the North York moors. Madeleine's father, an artist and visionary, had strong connections with this plot, erecting the chapel that stands there. Seeking to understand her father's passion for the area after his death, Madeleine soon discovers that this simple acre of land has many secrets to tell...

Paul Kriwaczek is a writer, director and producer. In 'Babylon', Paul tells the story of ancient Mesopotamia, the area of the Tigris-Euphrates river system that gave birth to the first civilisations. From the earliest settlements around 5400 BC, to the eclipse of Babylon by the Persians in the sixth century BC, 'Babylon' charts the rise and fall of dynastic power, the numerous material, social and cultural innovations and most specifically, the glory of Babylon - 'gateway to the gods'.

In this latest Blackwell Classics podcast, we return to the interview recently recorded with Alastair Blanshard to complete our two-part special on his book 'Sex: Vice and Love from Antiquity to Modernity'. Mirroring the structure of the book, part one of the interview focussed on sex in classical Rome. Now with part two, we turn to Greece, looking at Greek love, homosexuality and the impact they have had on our modern views.

Catherine O'Flynn is an English novelist. Her debut title, 'What Was Lost', was a huge success winning the First Novel prize at the Costa Book Awards in 2008 as well as being long listed for the 2007 Man Booker and Orange prizes. Catherine's new novel, 'The News Where You Are', is set, like her first, in her home town of Birmingham and follows the story of local TV news presenter Frank. Frank is coming to terms with significant changes in the world around him, leading him to take a drastic look at his life, a life that is well hidden beneath his on-screen persona.

British philosopher Julian Baggini returns to our show for a second time, joining us today to talk about his new book, 'Complaint'. The book carries the sub-title 'From Minor Moans to Principled Protests', and runs the full gamut of objections. From trivial grumbles about bad weather and public transport to the paradigm-shifting political protests of Nelson Mandela and Martin Luther King, Baggini gives philosophical answers to why we complain and how each case is perceived.

American journalist Emma Larkin has been travelling to Burma and secretly reporting on the country for over 15 years. In her new book, 'Everything is Broken', Larkin, who writes under a pseudonym, focuses on Burma's history of the last few years, following a devastating tropical cyclone that hit in 2008. Astonishingly, the country's regime not only blocked all international aid from entering the area but provided little relief themselves. 'Everything is Broken' not only exposes the extent of the damage, but provides a singular portrait of the generals responsible for compounding the tragedy.

Alastair Blanshard joins us for the latest Blackwell Classics podcast, in a two-part special about his book 'Sex: Vice and Love from Antiquity to Modernity'. The book examines the impact that sexual fantasies in the classical world have had on modern Western culture, charting the evolution of erotic discourse from antiquity to the present day. Part one of the interview focuses on sex in classical Rome and we will be returning with Alastair for part two, on Greece, in the next programme.

Marek Kohn is an author and journalist, specialising in science and society. Having published books on drug use in post-war Britain ('Dope Girls') and the 'Englishness' of evolutionary theory ('A Reason for Everything'), Kohn is back with a new book with the British Isles at the centre. 'Turned Out Nice' offers a stark view on how the climate, wildlife, terrain and inhabitants of Britain and Ireland may change over the course of the forthcoming century due to the ever-increasing threat of global warming. Using what we know about climate change today, Kohn shows how our small corner of the planet will be vastly different from today...

Stuart Kelly is a freelance critic and writer and the Literary Editor of Scotland on Sunday. In his new paperback, 'The Book of Lost Books - An Incomplete History of All the Great Books You'll Never Read', Kelly provides an witty and enjoyable account of history's books that never quite saw the light of day. From authors of varying degrees of fame and popularity, Kelly unearths the books that were destroyed, misplaced, never finished, or never even begun - from ancient Greek and Arabic masters through Shakespeare, Dante and Hemingway right up to the present day.

With over seventy dazzling writers, from outsiders to insiders, from classic to cutting-edge, 'City-pick Amsterdam' has some of the finest writing on this amazing and unique city. The celebrate the release, we sent our podcast host George Miller to the Dutch captial to spend some time with co-editor Victor Schiferli to get an insider's view on the city and further insight into the book. The resulting interview and audio diary, recorded in a number of historic Amsterdam locations including Spui Square, Vondelpark, and the infamous Red Light District, complete with tram bells, ticking bicycles and the sounds of the bustling city, makes for fascinating listening.

Robert Rowland Smith is a former Prize Fellow of All Souls College, Oxford and a lecturer and writer on philosophy, literature and psychoanalysis. In his book 'Breakfast with Socrates', Robert provides philosophical musings on the happenings of everyday life providing an hour-by-hour commentary on everything we do. From getting ready in the morning, through our day at work, to evening social activities and back to bed again, 'Breakfast with Socrates' tells us what history's greatest philosophers have said about the meaning behind everything we do.

Lucy Worsley is Chief Curator of the Historic Royal Palaces and a leading young historian. With that, Lucy is more than qualified to take readers on a historical tour of Kensington Palace, as she does in her new title 'Courtiers'. The book tells the story of the Georgian court from the perspective of the numerous royal servants for whom the palace was home, while throwing new light on the dramatic life of George II and Queen Caroline.

Matthew Crawford is a motorcycle mechanic and a philosopher. In 'The Case for Working with Your Hands', Matthew utilises his knowledge of both fields to argue that the skilled manual trades and much more fulfilling that your average office job. Drawing on the work of our greatest thinkers, from Aristotle to Heidegger, Karl Marx to Iris Murdoch, as well as on his own experiences as an electrician and motorcycle mechanic, Crawford delivers a radical, timely and extremely enjoyable re-evaluation of our attitudes to work.

Joe Moran joins us to discuss his new paperback, 'On Roads: A Hidden History'. The book presents a history of Britain's roads, showing how a relatively simple road system turned into a maze-like pattern of roundabouts, flyovers, and spaghetti junctions. Revealing numerous quirky nuggets of history along the way on subjects ranging from speed limits and driving on the left, to the to the unwritten laws of traffic jams, Moran uses a unique blend of travel writing, anthropology, history and social observation to explore how Britain's roads have their roots in unexpected places...

Paul Collier is Professor of Economics at Oxford University. When he released 'The Bottom Billion', he significantly changed the way that poverty in world's poorest countries is perceived. Now, with 'The Plundered Planet', he is back with an even bigger ambition: to reconcile the needs of the ever-growing global population with a sustainable environmental future. Collier provides an ethical framework on which to agree future policy and based on his own ground-breaking research into these issues, offers realistic and sustainable solutions.