Litopia All Shows

There is only one Steven Berkoff. Perhaps there’s only room for one. What happens when an enfant terrible of the British theatre grows up? They become Steven Berkoff, that’s what. Prepare yourself for an encounter like no other. Bad boy Berkoff is every bit as bad as you’ve heard, and then some. But in this searingly honest encounter with Garry, he bares the soul of a great actor. “Great actors are stupid” he spits out, contemptuously. Typical Berkoff. Uncensored, unrestrained, unleashed. The sort of radio you only get right here, on Litopia. Pass it on. Download the show as mp3 file Subscribe in iTunes  

Links to stories mentioned in this show... A Gronking To Remember Suit Gets Strange While Amazon Argues Liability Would Chill Speech And Art Mom’s Story Of Raising ‘Princess Boy’ Facing Library Censorship - Gay Star News Florida Man, Accused Of Terrorism Based On Book Collection, Set Free - The Intercept Brussels Tries To Ban Selfies At Tourist Landmarks; Need Permission To Photograph Eiffel Tower? Europe Is Not Banning Tourist Photos Of The London Eye, Says Eu Blog Follow-ups:  Appeals Court Upholds Verdict Against Apple  Best-Selling Maine Author Tess Gerritsen Drops Lawsuit Over 'Gravity' - The Portland Press Herald  Court Revives Ann Rule’s Suit Against Rick Swart  9th Circuit: Actress’s Work May Have Been Hijacked, But It Wasn’t Infringed >>>>>>>>>>>>>> Download the show as mp3 file Subscribe in iTunes

Links mentioned in the show: After 800 years, Britain finally asks: Do we need a written constitution? Amazon is going to start paying authors according to how many pages people read Authors Guild Announces 'Fair Contract' Initiative Simply Read Books Faces Complaints of Late Payments, Breached Contracts SCOTUS rules in favor of man convicted of posting threatening messages on Facebook Follow ups: Sirius Beats Fla. Case Over Pre-1972 Songs Brian Williams to Stay at NBC, but Not as News Anchor 'Gravity' Author Tess Gerritsen Says Latest Court Ruling 'Could Be Devastating to All Writers' Northwestern to settle suit involving book on Leopold and Loeb murder trial Apple Loses Bid to Oust Monitor >>>>>>>>>>>>>> Download the show as mp3 file Subscribe in iTunes

A history of one aspect of the Nazi genocide is brought to present day Parisian suburbs via a massacre in an Algerian village. Extremism, integration, ghettos, religion – all the elements are refashioned to their new context. A memorably good book by an excellent writer and thinker. Fresh. Photo - John Perivolaris Download the mp3 file Subscribe in iTunes >>> From recent débuts to classics, fiction to non-fiction, memoirs, philosophy, science, history and journalism, Burning Books separates the smoking from the singeworthy, looking at the pleasures (and pains) of reading, the craft of writing, the ideas that are at the heart of great novels as well as novels that try to be great, but don’t quite make it. http://litopia.com/shows/burn/  

From The Two Ronnies to Blackadder…from Benny Hill to Marty Feldman… the golden years of British television comedy produced some of the funniest shows and larger-than-life characters the world has ever seen. Garry’s guest tonight COLIN EDMONDS has dominated British television comedy writing for four decades – and he knew them all… the stars, the monsters, the legends and the lunatics! Click to buy from Amazon If names such as Les Dawson, Lilly Savage, Paul Daniels, Julian Clary, Barbara Windsor and – of course – Bob Monkhouse – evoke fond memories… then you’re going to love tonight’s show! Of course, the tradition of bawdy British comedy goes right back to the world of the music hall… from which Colin draws his inspiration for his new novel, Steam, Smoke & Mirrors: with insights and extracts from the secret journals of Professor Artemus More PhD (Cantab) FRS.  Set in a Steampunk vision of Victorian Britain Steam, Smoke & Mirrors is “Victorian science fiction”, says Colin: “It’s so sexy! Men in

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Can’t seem to shake the memoirs thing . . . This time it’s James Joyce writing about himself as the character Stephen Dedalus, a precocious, self-regarding artiste who one day is destined to become James Joyce. Not necessary. Photo by ☰☵ Michele M. F. Download the mp3 file Subscribe in iTunes >>> From recent débuts to classics, fiction to non-fiction, memoirs, philosophy, science, history and journalism, Burning Books separates the smoking from the singeworthy, looking at the pleasures (and pains) of reading, the craft of writing, the ideas that are at the heart of great novels as well as novels that try to be great, but don’t quite make it. https://litopia.com/shows/burn/  

Random House told it should pay to quote Joseph Goebbels in biography Hugo award nominees withdraw amid 'Puppygate' storm Charlie Hebdo Honor Sparks Controversy Amazon sued over Gronking book cover photo Screenwriter SLAPPs Down Libel-in-Fiction Claim 'Huge inequality' in writer earnings Journalists face increasing dangers Courtney Love Is Sued by Co-Writer of Her Memoir Follow ups: Disney Beats 'Pirates of the Caribbean' Copyright Lawsuit Photo of Gronk by Megan Asbeck   >>>>>>>>>>>>>> Download the show as mp3 file Subscribe in iTunes

Garry is joined in the studio by the award-winning stand-up comedian John Moloney (twice won Best Live Performer at the London Comedy Festival) whose four-part Radio 4 series The John Moloney Show kicks off on Tuesday 12th May. Influenced by Les Dawson, Dave Allen, The Jam and West Ham United, John’s stand-up comedy is a finely crafted blend of wordplay, one-liners and cat molesting. His radio producer says that observing him at work is “like watching a masterclass unfold. He’s like a conductor and the audience is his orchestra.” Born in on the fringes of East London in Ilford, a part of Essex where he says “a man feels over-dressed if he has two ears”, ex-teacher Moloney is now the driving force behind the acclaimed Balham Comedy Festival which returns in July. He has strong and perhaps unexpected views on class, comedy and stadium comedians, and a background in traditional Irish music. The Balham Comedy Festival runs from the 10th to the 18th of July this year... click here for full programme and booking!

Garry’s guest tonight is Terry Alderton, one of Britain’s most exciting comedians and a man Frank Skinner dubbed “a flipping genius”… only he didn’t say flipping. Famous for his roles in TV hits such as EastEnders and London’s Burning, Terry’s first love was Southend United Football Club – he played in goal for their youth team – but the stage was where he really scored. Terry’s gift for mimicry made him a rising star in what we used to call old school mainstream comedy. But his originality and risk-taking appealed to young club audiences too and in 1999 he was nominated for a Perrier Award. Prime time Saturday night entertainment shows like Red Alert and The Joy of Text beckoned…he was only weeks away from Masonry and a round of golf with Lynchy and Tarby. But that wasn’t where Alderton wanted his career to go. In 2005 he experienced an epiphany that made his act far from mainstream – he started having conversations on stage with the voices in his head. The new act proved a hit with audiences the world over

Author David Lodge stars as his thinly disguised protagonist, Old Man Bates, who is entering retirement, uselessness, and, worst of all, permanent deafness, in this tragi-comi-tragic tale of David Lodge, starring as his protagonist. Largely good. Picture by clogsilk   >>> Download the mp3 file Subscribe in iTunes >>> From recent débuts to classics, fiction to non-fiction, memoirs, philosophy, science, history and journalism, Burning Books separates the smoking from the singeworthy, looking at the pleasures (and pains) of reading, the craft of writing, the ideas that are at the heart of great novels as well as novels that try to be great, but don’t quite make it. https://litopia.com/shows/burn/  

In the early 80s, Britain’s pubs and clubs were full of angry, funny, working class poets inspired by punk, reggae and protest. This brave new wave of radical wordsmiths made folk heroes of Seething Wells, Garry Johnson, Ginger John, Attila The Stockbroker, Porky the Poet and one of Garry’s guests today Tim Wells – all of whom will be celebrated next month at the British Library’s Taking Liberties event, ‘Ranting poets, 'zines & Angry Kids of the ’80s’.  Tim is also the founding editor of poetry zine Rising and a mean Ska DJ. Who were these funny, chippy backstreet upstarts, what did they want then - and what do poets want today? Joining Garry and Tim in the studio is young, spiky Swindon poet Emily Harrison - Bang Said The Gun’s Poet in Residence and one of eight poets to have their work on the theme of London showcased at Boxpark, Shoreditch.  She is currently working on her next collection, confronting a search for love against the stark, yet humanising backdrop of the psychiatric institutio

It's Easter, everybody! Time for daffodils... daylight savings... and life-sized chocolate statues of Benedict Cumberbatch. So how about we put aside Ebola, Somalian jihad, narcotraficantes, the heart-wrenching demise of a literary titan-- not to mention the greatest extinction event in the history of planet earth. Let's leave those topics for past and future shows, shall we? (We've got a rip-roarin' summer planned for Litopia After Dark!) Instead let's chat with dyed-in-the-mohair mod Ian Moore, one of the UK's leading stand-up comics. Ian is living the ex-pat dream in France. Raising a family amid barnyard animals, wearing bespoke suits, gigging across the world-- and even (keep down your jealous bile) hosting the Meat and Poultry Processing Awards of 2014. Ian's latest book, C'est Modnifique!: Adventures of an English Grump in Rural France proves more of the hilarious same. Tonight he joins us to talk escaped livestock, gigs gone w

  New Class Action Suit Filed Against Penguin Random House Author Solutions’ Deceptive Practices Florida gone wild: Columnist Daniel Tilson gets harassed by police for using Beatles lyric In Florida, officials ban term 'climate change' Marvin Gaye's heirs win $7.4 million for 'Blurred Lines' plagiarism “Blurred Lines”: Society’s Mixed Signals on Copying and Intellectual Property Rights 'Blurred Lines' verdict could alter music industry Oprah Winfrey Wins Tough Trademark Fight Over “Own Your Power” New App Will Filter Obscenities Out Of Your Books -- And It's A Big Freaking Deal Purdue involved in lawsuit over textbook deal with Amazon Ala. agency closes abuse complaint regarding Harper Lee Photo by Jeremy Kunz   >>>>>>>>>>>>>> Download the show as mp3 file Subscribe in iTunes

One of the world’s great authors goes back in time and space – from the Jerusalem of the 1940s to the Eastern Europe of the 19th Century, from a boy's heart to a mother’s face to a father’s brain – and brings back everything, but not enough. Cuts close and hurts so good. Wizardly? Masterful. >>> Download the mp3 file Subscribe in iTunes >>> From recent débuts to classics, fiction to non-fiction, memoirs, philosophy, science, history and journalism, Burning Books separates the smoking from the singeworthy, looking at the pleasures (and pains) of reading, the craft of writing, the ideas that are at the heart of great novels as well as novels that try to be great, but don’t quite make it. https://litopia.com/shows/burn/  

They're the latest Manchester sensations - swaggering rockers with more than a hint of Oasis about them. No wonder Alias Kid were snapped up by music maven Alan McGee, the svengali who gave Oasis to the world! As band manager and the boss of Creation Records, McGee has been associated with some of the biggest names in British independent rock, including Oasis, the Libertines, Primal Scream and The Jesus & Mary Chain. Now he joins Garry with his latest protégées who play live in our studio. As ever the lively chat is interspersed with the best new sounds around proved by the Ming City Rockers, the Amphetameanies, Shotgun House, The Crunch, 1Eye, Iron Chin, Last Seen Laughing, The Cundeez, Bambu Sauce, Knock Off,  3 Stone Monkey, the Kombi Killers, Phoenix 23, The Black Bullets, and the not so contemporary music of Jimmy Parramore.  Full show notes - and links - on the show page! Remember – we’re keen to discover, play and support new bands and new talent – send us a music submission via the li

Meet Susan Blackmore, the world’s foremost expert on memes. The intro to her seminal work The Meme Machine was written by none other than genius biologist and fundamentalist atheist blowhard Richard Dawkins. Her lectures on TED receives millions of views— even despite TED's dishwater-dull format when compared to Litopia After Dark (rowr!) “Man becomes, as it were, the sex organs of the machine world,” said Marshal McLuhan. Never has this been more true.  (Full quote: Man becomes, as it were, the sex organs of the machine world, as the bee of the plant world, enabling it to fecundate and to evolve ever new forms.) But do memes actually exist?  Or are they simply metaphors to observe our shifting culture? And who is Susan Blackmore anyway? After an out of body experience she studied the paranormal for 24 years, only to arrive at the conclusion it was bollocks— all of it.  So who’s to say she won’t soon say the same about memes? But wait, there’s more! Now she’d like for us to consider what she

You might think that landing a coveted job presenting BBC TV’s Top Gear would be the peak of most people’s careers. Not for tonight’s guest, Beki Adam. For her, presenting the most widely-watched factual television programme in the world was just the start of a long, and very strange journey... that may yet take her to a seat in the British Parliament. Predecessor of the infamous, bigoted and fisticuffy Jeremy Clarkson, Beki is the opposite of a petrolhead: she runs an organic farm. She has an environmental conscience. She spent seventeen years as a Buddhist nun. And now she's running for Parliament. Against none other than the Right Honorable Sir Arthur Nicholas Winston Soames-- Conservative Party stalwart and grandson of Winston Churchill. Beki’s election opponent, The Right Honorable Nicholas Jabba Soames But is she cut out to be a politician? Her history will surely be called into question: when confronted by catastrophic flooding in Bangladesh, her reaction was to&nbs

The name Michael Arlen will mean nothing to most readers but Arlen was once the cream of the jazz age novelists, the envy of Hemingway, Fitzgerald and Maugham, the owner of speedboats and a villa on the Mediterranean. Then he fell completely into obscurity. By the time his son was born, the golden days were past tense, with the father coasting on his stardust. This is the story of that. Sage butter. >>> Download the mp3 file Subscribe in iTunes >>> From recent débuts to classics, fiction to non-fiction, memoirs, philosophy, science, history and journalism, Burning Books separates the smoking from the singeworthy, looking at the pleasures (and pains) of reading, the craft of writing, the ideas that are at the heart of great novels as well as novels that try to be great, but don’t quite make it. https://litopia.com/shows/burn/  

Daisy Waugh is literary royalty.  Following in the footsteps of her legendary grandfather Evelyn and her journalist/author father Auberon, Daisy is a popular columnist and novelist in her own right. According to her regular column in the Sunday Times she promoted her last book, “a feminist diatribe modern motherhood” by “lying on a giant, polystyrene cut-out of my own name. In a tight red satin skirt which didn’t belong to me, and some magnificent shoes covered in velvet and jewels, on loan from Manolo Blahnik.” To promote her latest novel— she sits down with us! But before we get to Honeyville— the pet name of the only town in Colorado where prostitution was legal in 1913— she gripes about trying to make it as a Hollywood screenwriter. She also opens up about being a Waugh, an atheist who loves the Tarot and the personal repercussions of her successful and divisive I don’t know why she bothers: Guilt-free Motherhood for Thoroughly Modern Women. B