This week, Dennis Zhou joins us to illuminate the activism, anarchism and agility of the poet Gary Snyder; and Hannah Skoda reports from the Globe on a bold reinterpretation of the life of Joan of Arc.
'Collected Poems' by Gary Snyder, edited by Jack Shoemaker and Anthony Hunt
This week, we talk to Jonathan Spector about the European premiere of his play at the Old Vic; and Dimitra Fimi unpacks what's behind the new tv series The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power.
Eureka Day, The Old Vic, London, until October 31
The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power, Amazon Prime
This week, Thea Lenarduzzi joins us to explain how she captured the stories of her Italian grandmother; and Edmund Gordon admires how Ian McEwan’s new novel juxtaposes an individual life with memorable social and political events.
Alex Clark and Lucy Dallas are joined by Rohan Maitzen to discuss the new novel by Maggie O’Farrell, an ingenious and daring Browning version; and Sarah Hill charts musician Vashti Bunyan’s epic walk from London to Scotland in search of freedom.
‘The Marriage Portrait’ by Maggie O’Farrell
‘Wayward: Just Another Life to Live’ by Vashti Bunyan
‘Stories I Might Regret Telling You: A Memoir’ by Martha Wainwright
‘This Woman’s Work: Essays on Music’ edited by Sinéad Gleeson and Kim Gordon
In the last of our August highlights programmes, Alex Clark and Lucy Dallas talk self-improvement with Kathryn Hughes and step into the mire of Westminster with Edward Docx. And we revisit a magical Hay Festival moment courtesy of correspondents Lyse Doucet and Sana Safi.
This week, Alex Clark and Lucy Dallas look back at a riveting and prescient conversation with climate writer David Wallace-Wells; plus Margaret Drabble on the allure of roses, and Jeremy Mynott on our affinity with birds.
In this week’s look at the highlights of the last year, Mary Norris explores Margaret Atwood’s dystopian fantasies, and we hear about James Joyce from Booker long-listed novelist Audrey Magee and poet Paul Muldoon.
This week, Alex and Lucy look back over some recent highlights, including Mary Beard’s survey of the Romans at play, and the best summer reads. Plus: we hear from a cat called Vincent Price.
This week, Roy Foster introduces us to a Devonshire debutante turned IRA terrorist, and Emile Chabal explains how Marine Le Pen created the phenomenon of ‘cat-washing'.
'Heiress, Rebel, Vigilante, Bomber: The Extraordinary Life of Rose Dugdale' by Sean O’Driscoll
'Qu’est-ce que L’actualité Politique?: Événements et Opinions au XXIe Siècle' by Luc Boltanksi and Arnaud Esquerre
'Marginal Men and Micks on the Make' by Roy Foster
This week, we go in search of the woman who created William Brown, beloved outlaw of the suburbs; and take a look at the sporting scene in the Middle East ahead of this winter’s men’s Fifa World Cup.
‘Richmal Crompton, author of Just William: A Literary Life’ by Jane McVeigh
'Routledge Handbook of Sport in the Middle East', edited by Danyel Reiche and Paul Michael Brannagan
'The Business of the Fifa World Cup', edited by Simon Chadwick, Paul Widdop, Christos Anagnostopoulos and Daniel Parnell
This summer we’re celebrating the serendipity of second-hand books - let us know your finds by writing to letters@the-tls.co.uk or tweeting us @TheTLS
This week, Jonathan Bate leads us a merry dance in search of fresh woods and pastures new; and Philip Ball explains the importance of the mysterious Higgs Boson.
‘A History of Arcadia in Art and Literature: Volume 1: Earlier Renaissance; Volume 2: Later Renaissance, Baroque and Neoclassicism’ by Paul Holberton
‘Elusive: How Peter Higgs solved the mystery of mass’ by Frank Close.
Alex Clark and Toby Lichtig are joined by Devoney Looser, who scrutinises the naval career of Charles Austen, Jane’s youngest brother, in the dying days of the slave trade; and Jeremy Allen talks us through the art of waiting tables in Paris.
This week, Lucy and Alex are joined by fiction and politics editor Toby Lichtig to reveal what’s hot in summer reading, with recommendations from TLS contributors; and Henry Hitchings takes a stroll through the complex world of cryptocurrency and one of its most charismatic characters.
This week, Alex Clark and Lucy Dallas are joined by Paul Muldoon to celebrate Bloomsday with a close reading of the very first few words of Ulysses; there’s news from the world of Ukrainian literature; and Toby Lichtig catches up with Tessa Hadley at the Hay Festival.