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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Thrums—Five Imaginary Scottish Places
Tue 2 Jun 2015
2/5 Literary critic Stuart Kelly discusses JM Barrie's fictional Scottish town called Thrums.
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Show Me the Way to Tillietudlem—Five Imaginary Scottish Places
Mon 1 Jun 2015
1/5 Literary critic Stuart Kelly explores the fictional locations of novelist John Galt.
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Hay Festival: Gillian Clarke—Why I Write
Fri 29 May 2015
5/5 At the 2015 Hay Festival, Welsh poet laureate Gillian Clarke explains why she writes.
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Hay Festival: Frank Cottrell Boyce—Why I Write
Thu 28 May 2015
4/5 At the 2015 Hay Festival, novelist Frank Cottrell Boyce explains why he writes.
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Hay Festival: Horatio Clare—Why I Write
Tue 26 May 2015
3/5 At the 2015 Hay Festival, author and journalist Horatio Clare explains why he writes.
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Hay Festival: Alex Clark—Why I Write
Tue 26 May 2015
2/5 Literary journalist and writer Alex Clark explains why she writes.
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Hay Festival: Daniel Hahn—Why I Write
Mon 25 May 2015
1/5 Editor and translator Daniel Hahn explains why he writes.
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Some Kind of Genius—Being Orson
Fri 1 May 2015
5/5 Film critic David Thomson explores Orson Welles's complicated relationship with failure.
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F for Fake—Being Orson
Thu 30 Apr 2015
4/5 Sarah Churchwell discusses film-maker Orson Welles's capacity for self-mythologising.
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Why Citizen Kane Matters—Being Orson
Wed 29 Apr 2015
3/5 Film critic Peter Bradshaw gives his personal take on Orson Welles's film Citizen Kane.
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He that Plays the King—Being Orson
Tue 28 Apr 2015
2/5 Exploring Orson Welles's Shaksepeare film trilogy: Macbeth, Othello and Chimes at Midnight
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Boy Wonder—Being Orson
Mon 27 Apr 2015
1/5 Simon Callow tracks Orson Welles's transformation from schoolboy to prodigy.
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Sid James—British Film Comedians
Fri 17 Apr 2015
5/5 Columnist and historian Simon Heffer explores the life and work of comic actor Sid James.
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Tony Hancock—British Film Comedians
Thu 16 Apr 2015
4/5 Columnist and historian Simon Heffer on the life and work of comic actor Tony Hancock.
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Terry-Thomas—British Film Comedians
Wed 15 Apr 2015
3/5 Columnist and historian Simon Heffer discusses the life and work of actor Terry-Thomas.
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Alastair Sim—British Film Comedians
Tue 14 Apr 2015
2/5 Columnist and historian Simon Heffer discusses the life and work of actor Alastair Sim.
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Will Hay—British Film Comedians
Mon 13 Apr 2015
1/5 Simon Heffer on the career of actor Will Hay, best known for his anti-authoritarian roles.
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Lead Us Not into Temptation—On Earth, as It Is in Heaven
Fri 3 Apr 2015
5/5 Poet and author Andrew Motion considers the penultimate lines of the Lord's Prayer.
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Forgive Us Our Trespasses—On Earth, as It Is in Heaven
Thu 2 Apr 2015
4/5 Michigan-based poet and undertaker Thomas Lynch considers a line from the Lord's Prayer.
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Give Us This Day Our Daily Bread—On Earth, as It Is in Heaven
Wed 1 Apr 2015
3/5 Rabbi Julia Neuberger considers the middle section of the Lord's Prayer.
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Thy Kingdom Come...—On Earth, as It Is in Heaven
Tue 31 Mar 2015
2/5 Muslim academic Mona Siddiqui explores the second section of the Lord's Prayer.
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Art in Heaven—On Earth, as It Is in Heaven
Mon 30 Mar 2015
1/5 Author Ali Smith discusses the first lines of the Lord's Prayer.
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Jimmy Rowles—Meeting the Giants of Jazz
Fri 20 Mar 2015
5/5 Martin Gayford describes his encounters with pianist Jimmy Rowles.
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Sonny Rollins—Meeting the Giants of Jazz
Thu 19 Mar 2015
4/5 Martin Gayford recalls the lessons that he learnt from meeting saxophonist Sonny Rollins.
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Ruby Braff—Meeting the Giants of Jazz
Wed 18 Mar 2015
3/5 Martin Gayford remembers revealing telephone conversations with cornettist Ruby Braff.
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Marian McPartland—Meeting the Giants of Jazz
Tue 17 Mar 2015
2/5 Martin Gayford recalls his meetings with British-American pianist Marian McPartland.
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Doc Cheatham—Meeting the Giants of Jazz
Mon 16 Mar 2015
1/5 Martin Gayford recalls touring with octogenarian trumpeter Doc Cheatham.
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Philip Hoare—Swimming Stories
Fri 13 Mar 2015
5/5 Philip Hoare describes how he used to avoid the water before overcoming his reticence.
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Kamila Shamsie—Swimming Stories
Thu 12 Mar 2015
4/5 Kamila Shamsie describes a time with friends in Byron Bay, Australia.
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Marcus O'Dair—Swimming Stories
Wed 11 Mar 2015
3/5 Marcus O'Dair describes swimming in Ullswater in the Lake District with his mother.
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.
