The Essay Podcast
Leading writers on arts, history, philosophy, science, religion and beyond, themed across a week - insight, opinion and intellectual surprise.
Episodes to download
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Nat Segnit - The Other Ibiza—Strange Strolls
Thu 13 Feb 2020
4/5 Writer and walker Nat Segnit seeks recovery and retreat in the unseen mountains of Ibiza.
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Stephanie Victoire - Dark Hollow Falls—Strange Strolls
Wed 12 Feb 2020
3/5 Writer Stephanie Victoire has a haunting hike in the Blue Ridge Mountains of Appalachia.
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Michael Donkor - On Wandsworth Bridge—Strange Strolls
Tue 11 Feb 2020
2/5 Writer Michael Donkor crosses Wandsworth Bridge, from childhood memory to adulthood
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Jenn Ashworth - The Abiding Mental Riches of Preston—Strange Strolls
Mon 10 Feb 2020
1/5 Lancastrian writer Jenn Ashworth ponders the promises of Preston's Harris Library.
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10: The Resurrection—The Escape Artist
Fri 31 Jan 2020
10/10 The extraordinary life of Arthur Cravan and his influence on modern art.
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9: The Missing—The Escape Artist
Thu 30 Jan 2020
9/10 The extraordinary life of Arthur Cravan and his influence on modern art.
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8: The Echo—The Escape Artist
Wed 29 Jan 2020
8/10 The extraordinary life of Arthur Cravan and his influence on modern art.
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7: The Love Story—The Escape Artist
Tue 28 Jan 2020
7/10 The extraordinary life of Arthur Cravan and his influence on modern art.
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6: The Persona—The Escape Artist
Mon 27 Jan 2020
6/10 The extraordinary life of Arthur Cravan and his influence on modern art.
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5: The Deserter—The Escape Artist
Fri 24 Jan 2020
5/10 The extraordinary life of Arthur Cravan and his influence on modern art.
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4: The Living Artwork—The Escape Artist
Thu 23 Jan 2020
4/10 The extraordinary life of Arthur Cravan and his influence on modern art.
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3: The Most Hated Art Critic in France—The Escape Artist
Wed 22 Jan 2020
3/10 The extraordinary life of Arthur Cravan and his influence on modern art.
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2: The Boxer—The Escape Artist
Tue 21 Jan 2020
2/10 The extraordinary life of Arthur Cravan and his influence on modern art.
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1: The Poet—The Escape Artist
Mon 20 Jan 2020
1/10 The extraordinary life of Arthur Cravan and his influence on modern art.
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Philippa Gregory on Jane Eyre—Open Endings
Fri 27 Dec 2019
5/5 Historical author Philippa Gregory writes a new end for Charlotte Bront毛's Jane Eyre.
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Elif Shafak on Anna Karenina—Open Endings
Boxing Day 2019
4/5 Elif Shafak chooses Leo Tolstoy's Anna Karenina.
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AL Kennedy on The Wind in the Willows—Open Endings
Christmas Day 2019
3/5 AL Kennedy chooses Kenneth Grahame's The Wind in the Willows
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Bernardine Evaristo on Mrs Dalloway—Open Endings
Christmas Eve 2019
2/5 Man Booker Prize winner Bernardine Evaristo chooses Virginia Woolf's Mrs Dalloway.
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Ian Rankin on Lord of the Flies—Open Endings
Mon 23 Dec 2019
1/5 Ian Rankin chooses William Golding's Lord of the Flies.
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John Ocansey—Legacies of 1619
Fri 22 Nov 2019
5/5 Caryl Phillips reflects on young African John Ocansey exercising his freedom in Liverpool.
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Mary Prince and Sally Hemings—Legacies of 1619
Thu 21 Nov 2019
4/5 Author Anne Bailey reflects on two remarkable women, Mary Prince and Sally Hemings.
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Sarah Forbes Bonetta—Legacies of 1619
Wed 20 Nov 2019
3/5 David Olusoga on the life of a girl sold into slavery and gifted to Queen Victoria.
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Isaac—Legacies of 1619
Tue 19 Nov 2019
2/5 Daina Ramey Berry reflects on Isaac, whose life ended in a final act of defiance.
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Philip Quaque—Legacies of 1619
Mon 18 Nov 2019
1/5 Caryl Phillips reflects on the life of African priest Philip Quaque.
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Episode 5—The Weimar Years
Fri 15 Nov 2019
5/5 Ute Lemper looks at the enduring appeal of Weimar music and song.
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Episode 4—The Weimar Years
Thu 14 Nov 2019
4/5 Film critic Clarisse Loughrey looks at the cinema of the Weimar Republic.
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Episode 3—The Weimar Years
Wed 13 Nov 2019
3/5 Author Katie Sutton looks at sexuality in the Weimar Republic.
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Episode 2—The Weimar Years
Tue 12 Nov 2019
2/5 Camilla Smith looks at the art of the Weimar Republic.
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Episode 1—The Weimar Years
Mon 11 Nov 2019
1/5 Historian Jochen Hung presents his view of the Weimar Republic from Berlin.
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Fiery the Angels Fell - David Thomson—Blade Runner at 40
Fri 8 Nov 2019
5/5 Film critic and historian David Thomson stares back at Ridley Scott's puzzling future.
Death in Trieste
A 1760s murder still informs ideas about aesthetics, a certain sort of sex, and death.
Watch: My Deaf World
Five compelling experiences of what it is like to be deaf in 21st-century Britain.
The Book that Changed Me
Five figures from the arts and science introduce books that changed their lives and work.
Download The Essay
Download all the episodes from the series and listen at your leisure.
