First, an apology. I was asked by English PEN to respond to any line, phrase or word from the 4 articles that make up the PEN Charter—and I’m afraid I’ve taken up this offer in the manner of a gues…

Books we think you might enjoy on a plane, by the pool or in the park. Andy, Nicky and our old friend Una McCormack discuss the following fantastic beach reads - Birch reads? - and a novel from Back...

Join the Oregon Symphony for a hauntingly surreal evening celebrating the music from David Lynch’s mysterious town of Twin Peaks.

Described by Ian McEwan as ‘a treasure of English contemporary writing’, the Yorkshire-born novelist’s career spanned 50 years

During Covid, I happened to be stranded in the US. I had gone to be with my daughter for her first baby’s delivery and the day I arrived, all the airports shut down. I stayed for 15 months – until I’d...

Safety, comfort, justice and a wide, wide platform on which to dream: in its breadth and depth, the code is a blueprint for a better world.

Safety, comfort, justice and a wide, wide platform on which to dream: in its breadth and depth, the code is a blueprint for a better world.

For 75 years, Woman’s Hour has brought us the most iconic and inspirational women from all over the world, delving into their lives and opinions, desires and lessons to others. Now, their wise words a...

Urgent global action is needed to halt the imminent execution of humanitarian aid worker, Pakhshan Azizi.

For this year’s Hallowe’en episode our subject is the Old English poem,  Beowulf , composed somewhere in England more than a thousand years ago. The atmospheric tale of supernatural monsters and ...

I wrote this post in 2016, soon after Donald Trump’s first presidential victory. Re-reading it today, soon after his second, feels hollow. It’s painful to think that we could repeat our mistake, impos...