In this interview, part of the Conversations with Translators series, I talk to David Bellos of Princeton University about his book on translation, Is That a Fish in Your Ear?,… Read More
David Bellos: what makes a translation good?
Category: podcast
Dur’s beer fer dogs: the joys of Liverpudlian English
Tony Crowley’s new Liverpool English Dictionary is a treasure trove for anyone interested in the rich variety of spoken and written language found in this country. I suspect that even… Read More
Chris Chambers on the sins of psychology
“Remember that science is nothing more than a competition for status in a field of storytellers. You are doing what the system requires of you [in committing fraud], and, in… Read More
Marina Frolova-Walker: Russianness in music
“In Russian music you have a very different portrayal of Russia [from the one you find in literature], which has very strong rhythms, very festive images. It’s very bright, very… Read More
Greg Garrett: still life with zombies
I spoke recently to Greg Garrett, who is professor of English at Baylor University in Texas, where he teaches fiction and screenwriting, literature, film, popular culture, and theology. Greg’s latest… Read More
Ingrid Tague: how we came to love pets
The eighteenth century was when pet-keeping went mainstream. The first recognizable pet shops were set up, the first missing dog ads appeared in the newspapers. Over the course of the… Read More
Ronald Hutton: the lurking fear of witches
“The fear of bad magic lurks below the skin of Western society. At times it comes up above the surface.” In his new book, The Witch: A History of Fear… Read More
Rosalyn LaPier: the Blackfeet’s “invisible reality”
My guest on this week’s programme is Rosalyn LaPier who’s associate professor in the Environmental Studies Program at the University of Montana and a research associate at the National Museum… Read More
Rachel Sherman: living on Uneasy Street
New School sociologist Rachel Sherman interviewed fifty affluent residents of New York (the most unequal city in the United States) to find out their attitudes to wealth. She writes of… Read More
Helen Fry on The London Cage: “It’s a house of secrets…”
The ‘house’ in question was in Kensington Palace Gardens and, as far as its clandestine wartime function was concerned, did not officially exist. In 1940 four mansions were requisitioned to… Read More