Book Shambles With Robin And Josie

Laura Bates returns to Book Shambles to talk to Robin and Josie about her new book Men Who Hate Women. They chat about the dark misogyny on the internet uncovered when writing the book, what to say at parties when someone makes an offensive joke and point out the book is called Men Who Hate Women, not All Men Hate Women. It's important to note that due to the content of Laura's book this episode does contain discussion about topics of abuse, sexual assault and other subject matters that may upset or cause triggering responses for some listeners. To hear 15 extra minutes of chat, including why Josie struggles with a particular Netflix show, become a supporter at patreon.com/bookshambles

Robin chats with journalist and author Jo Marchant, author of the new book The Human Cosmos. They talk about our changing relationship with the night sky as light pollution and such things change what we see when we look up. And they wander through cave paintings, lunar cycles and how science can give us a different perspective of being human. To hear an extended version of this interview, subscribe to our Patreon at patreon.com/bookshambles

A Shambles regular, Natalie Haynes, joins Robin and Josie to chat about her brand new book Pandora’s Jar. They chat about the women of the classics, how Medusa is misrepresented, what’s right and wrong and The Clash of the Titans and writing an introduction after you’ve written the rest of the book. Robin, Josie and Natalie always embrace too many tangents and so to hear an extra 15 minutes of chat you can become a Patreon supporter at patreon.com/bookshambles

On this episode of Science Book Shambles Robin is joined by regular Book Shambles co-host Josie Long to chat with Dr Kat Arney about her new book Rebel Cell. They talk about cancer in dinosaurs, current cancer research and tales of Victorian chimney sweeps... To hear an extended version of this interview, subscribe to our Patreon at patreon.com/bookshambles

You may best know Ian for his live tweeting of the House of Commons or his podcast Remainiacs, but today he joins us to talk about his new book, How to Be A Liberal. He chats with Robin about the history of liberalism, where it's gone wrong and right and what the hell we do about the absolute chaos of the world right now. Be sure to support the podcast at patreon.com/bookshambles

Robin Ince chats to Nobel Prize winner Sir Paul Nurse about his thoughts on the UK's position on COVID-19, the possibility of life on Venus and his new book, What is Life? To hear an extended version of this interview, subscribe to our Patreon at patreon.com/bookshambles

It's been almost three years since we had Tim Harford (BBC's More or Less) on the show so we're delighted to have him back in the virtual studio to talk about his new book How to Make the World Add Up. They chat about that, what got Tim interested in economics and statistics, how facts can be misused and then Tim blows Josie's mind with the real rules of Monopoly. Over 15 mins of extra chat for Patreon subscribers this episode. Sign up at patreon.com/bookshambles

We've been trying to get Ruby Wax on Book Shambles for ages and it took a pandemic to get everyone's diaries to line up! Ruby joins Robin and Josie to talk about her new book, And Now for the Good News, as well as making positive change, why Robin is popular with turkeys, sniffing out companies BS when it comes to 'good deeds' and a whole lot more. Extended edition for Patreon subscribers as always. Enjoy around 15 percent more Ruby, Josie and Robin this week by subscribing at patreon.com/bookshambles

Matt Haig returns to Book Shambles as he sits atop the Sunday Times bestseller list with his new novel The Midnight Library. He chats to Robin about the book, favourite libraries, anxiety during a pandemic, David Cronenberg and much more. Extended edition for Patreon subscribers as always. Become one at patreon.com/bookshambles

This week Robin is joined by bestselling author, neuroscientist and broadcaster David Eagleman to talk about his latest book Livewired - The Inside Story of the Ever-Changing Brain. They chat about brain plasticity, why we don’t look for the rearview mirror when walking, the criminal brain, the power of suggestion within fiction and how David broke his hand the day before we recorded... As always, extended edition for Patreon supporters. Sign up at patreon.com/bookshambles

On this episode Robin and Josie are joined by the poet Rachel Long whose debut book My Darling From the Lions has just been released. They chat about shifting from writing bad novels to good poetry, being expected to be an expert on your entire gender and race and discovering poetry on a park bench during a lunch break... Also Robin introduced Josie to some girl's ghost story annuals from the 70s. As always, extended edition for Patreon supporters. Sign up at patreon.com/bookshambles

Author of the New York Times bestseller The Vanishing Half joins Robin to talk about the book, the inspiration for its story and what it's like having a book crop up on countless 'anti-racist' reading lists. They also chat about James Baldwin, SE Hilton and mourn the loss of book talks and tours. Before Brit joins the show Robin and Josie catch up about current reading, old Marie Claire magazines and more. As always, extended edition for Patreon supporters. Sign up at patreon.com/bookshambles

The very last episode from the studio days back at the start of the year, Robin chats with Paul Tonkinson about his book 26.2 Miles to Happiness. That means they talk of Paul's love of running, Robin's hatred of running and favourite books about running... Support the show by pledging at patreon.com/bookshambles

Adam Kay's first book in 2017, This is Going to Hurt, was the bestselling non-fiction title of the decade in the UK and now he's edited an anthology of stories titled Dear NHS: 100 Stories to Say Thank You. He joins Robin and Josie to talk about the book, the incredible NHS compared to US healthcare, COVID, why children aren't learning enough about the body in education and the issues with having a famous patient. To hear a super extended edition of this week's episode, you can subscribe and support us at patreon.com/bookshambles Pledgers get an extra 30 mins of chat with Robin, Josie and Adam this week.

Robin and Josie are joined by the 2019 Booker Prize winner Bernardine Evaristo on this week's episode. They chat about her incredible prize winning novel Girl, Woman, Other, sharing a car ride from Latitude, why people are scared of poetry and the power of an increased platform. To hear an extended edition of this, and every, episode of Book Shambles you can become a Patreon subscriber by visiting patreon.com/bookshambles

After a couple of years, Richard Holloway, award winning author and former Bishop of Edinburgh, returns to Book Shambles, albeit remotely. He chats to Robin and Josie about his new book, The Stories We Tell Ourselves which looks at the power, both good and bad, of stories. They look at today's political landscape, grappling with our past and Josie is shocked to learn Richard's never read a Kurt Vonnegut novel. Get an extended version of this, and every, episode of Book Shambles by becoming a Patreon subscriber at patreon.com/bookshambles

Today Josie and Robin are joined by two brilliant authors, Curdella Forbes and Clare Mackintosh. First up they chat to Curdella about her new book, A Tall History of Sugar, and the blending of fact and fiction in that latest, acclaimed novel. In the second interview they are joined by multiple Sunday Times bestseller Clare Mackintosh and chat about the real life tragedy behind her latest novel After the End. To hear the full version of both of these interviews, become a Patreon supporter at patreon.com/bookshambles. Subscribers get extended versions of each and every episode. This week there's a bonus 45 mins of content

Two guests on today's episode. Comedian and novelist Nick Revell joined Robin and Josie in the studio earlier this year to talk about how comedy has changed and reading for research for routines. Then in isolation Robin chats with Ian Stone about his new book To Be Someone about his relationship with The Jam and the violence of the 70s music scene. To hear the full version of both of these interviews, become a Patreon supporter at patreon.com/bookshambles. Subscribers get extended versions of each and every episode. This week there's a bonus 45 mins of content.

On today's episode we have two guests whose books look at two different angles of human evolution. Dave Coplin's Rise of the Humans looks at our evolving and changing relationship with technology while Gaia Vince's Transcendence looks at human evolution as it relates to culture and the objects we create. They both chat to Robin and Josie about their books, the state of humans right now, and why Robin is bad at video games... To hear the full version of both of these interviews, become a Patreon supporter at patreon.com/bookshambles. Subscribers get extended versions of each and every episode. This week there's a bonus 45 mins of content.

On this week's episode Robin and Josie chat with author Dina Nayeri about her new book The Ungrateful Refugee in which she looks back at her journey from leaving Iran as an 8 year old and arriving in the United States as a refugee with her family. They talk about the refugee experience, finding creativity during lockdown, the power of short stories and the challenges of teaching children about difficult subjects. As always Book Shambles Patreon supporters get an extended edition of this week's episode plus, those at the behind the scenes tier, this week also get to watch the episode! Support us at patreon.com/bookshambles