Freedom, Books, Flowers & The Moon

With Stig Abell and Thea Lenarduzzi – our History editor David Horspool on the (uniquely?) violent English and seven centuries' worth of pacification; Mark Hutchinson on the lesser-known modernist poet Basil Bunting and his love-hate relationship with T. S. Eliot; Fiona Green on a bold new collection of Emily Dickinson poems – does it bring us closer to the reclusive poet herself?; and finally, we have a recording of the late Robert Conquest, a man best known for his groundbreaking work as a historian, reading his poem "The Rokeby Venus" in 1960.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

With Stig Abell, Thea Lenarduzzi and Michael Caines. Three extracts of spooky stories for Halloween. Stig reads from Dracula by Bram Stoker; Thea from Mr Jones by Edith Wharton; and Michael from Two Doctors by MR James. Find out more at www.the-tls.co.uk  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

With Stig Abell and Thea Lenarduzzi – Elaine Showalter on how extreme misogyny turned Clinton vs Trump into woman vs man; Jonathan Barnes on the long shadow of Bram Stoker's 'Dracula'; Houman Barekat on 250 years of 'Index on Censorship' and the mutable and myriad threats to free speech; Lara Feigel on two books, by the late Sue Lloyd-Roberts and Lara Pawson, about violence and the sufferings of women around the world – how much progress is there?  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Toby Lichtig talks to Ali Smith about her new novel, Autumn; plus, an exclusive extract read by the author. Find out more: the-tls.co.uk  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

With Stig Abell and Thea Lenarduzzi – Ruth Scurr on Beryl Bainbridge's life, love and works; Jessica Loudis on two memoirs, of New York City and the Chelsea Hotel; ruthless and high-minded or likeable and good-natured? Dinah Birch on the ever-enigmatic J. M. W. Turner; and finally, we're joined by the TLS's resident Shakespearean Michael Caines to talk us through a new compendium of writing on the playwright. Just don't call him the Bard. Find out more: www.the-tls.co.uk  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

With Stig Abell and Thea Lenarduzzi – Adam Kuper on French structuralist and hoarder of myths Claude Lévi-Strauss; Joe Paul Kroll on what happened when a slightly belligerent group of eminent German writers visited America; Laura James on the intractable paradox of aid in Africa and different approaches to nation-building; finally, TLS Poetry Editor Alan Jenkins discusses the enigmatic poet Louis Aragon, and reads his new translation "Elsa at the Mirror". Find out more at www.the-tls.co.uk  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Terry Eagleton gives the Theos annual lecture, on the not un-problematic, not un-high-stakes, and not un-incendiary twin matters of The Death of God and the War on Terror. Find our more: www.the-tls.co.uk  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

With Stig Abel and Thea Lenarduzzi: Tim Crane guides us through our philosophy special edition (including on how the brain works); Lisa Hilton helps to recover the voices of Parisian wartime women; Anna Katharina Schaffner explains why the Nazis were all high. Plus Andrew Motion reflects on his freedom from the role of Poet Laureate, and reads his poem "Evening Traffic".  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

The novelist in conversation, with Michael Caines, about her latest novel, The Gustav Sonata, and forty years as a published author. www.the-tls.co.uk  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

With Stig Abell and Thea Lenarduzzi – Marcia Zug on marriage in America (plus the pros and cons of mail-order brides); Laura Freeman on Beatrix Potter's naughty charm; Paul Duguid considers the implications of unrestrained information for all – is more necessarily better?; and finally, Robert Potts reads "Gift", a poem by the concrete poet Ian Hamilton Finlay, first published in the TLS in 1960.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

With Stig Abell and Thea Lenarduzzi – Mark Ford on Thomas Hardy's unlikely London romance; Hirsh Sawhney on Aravind Adiga's captivating new novel and his messy portrait of India; to tie in with a special run of features on the Middle East, TLS editors Robert Irwin and Toby Lichtig discuss the challenges, historical and present, facing the region; and finally, Mark Ford reads Thomas Hardy's poem "Coming Up Oxford Street: Evening", from 1872.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

With Stig Abell and Lucy Dallas. Including Ferdinand Mount on what defines England and its inhabitants; David Horspool on responses to Hitler and his ideas; and Mika Ross-Southall on Nick Cave's savagely sad album.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

With Stig Abell and Lucy Dallas. Raymond Tallis on the ongoing threat to the NHS; Bee Wilson on descriptions of pregnancy and childbirth; and Marjorie Perloff on seeing O.J. Simpson as Othello.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

With Stig Abell and Lucy Dallas: Clare Lowdon on Safran Foer's great big dazzling novel; Mary Beard on what makes Classics relevant; and Can Dundar on being imprisoned by the Turkish state for telling the truth.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Toby Lichtig from The TLS chats to author Eimear McBride about her latest novel, The Lesser Bohemians. Find out more: the-tls.co.uk  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

With Thea Lenarduzzi and Toby Lichtig – Edward Luttwak on the global unravelling occasioned by the Panama Papers; Mary Beard on the enigmatic Emperor Nero, matricidal monster and lover of music; and Hermione Hoby on the difficult beauties of Hollywood, from Babra Streisand to Meryl Streep; plus, a look ahead to next week's special edition of the show.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

With Stig Abell and Thea Lenarduzzi – Patrick Wilcken brings us the real Brazil, a country at breaking point; Francesca Wade considers the radical interior designs, and desires, of the Bloomsbury Group; Toby Lichtig on the failures and successes of Geoff Dyer; and Rachel Hadas reads her poem, "Raw Jute".  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

With Stig Abell and Thea Lenarduzzi – Thomas Meaney on death (and what to do with the remains) in the West; Professor Amy Knight on how Putin keeps getting away with murder; Edmund White reconsiders Pale Fire, Nabokov's "great gay comic novel", and reads from the novel's opening.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

This week: Andrew Motion on Housman's hidden corners; Trev Broughton on rediscovering Charlotte Bronte; and DJ Taylor on the myths of the Sixties. Plus Andrew Motion reads from Housman's A Shropshire Lad.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

The TLS podcast, with Stig Abell and Thea Lenarduzzi – this week: why eat meat?; how political was Shakespeare, and does it matter?; the ethics of dust at the Houses of Parliament; a report from Taksim Square, as Turkey reels. Discover more: the-tis.co.uk  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.