This week, novelist Francis Spufford explains why the Blitz proved fertile territory for fantasy and the occult; and Darra Goldstein on the hidden properties of kimchi and sourdough. 

'Nonesuch', by Francis Spufford

'Adventures in Fermentation: From ancient origins to culinary frontiers, an exploration of the microbes that shape the world we live in', by Johnny Drain

'Ferment: The life-changing power of microbes', by Tim Spector

Produced by Charlotte Pardy

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This week, Peter Filkins, winner of the inaugural Freudenheim Translation Prize, joins us with chair of the judges Boyd Tonkin to talk about the mercurial genius of Elias Canetti; and a poem in praise of Tuesdays by Jamie McKendrick.

'The Book Against Death', by Elias Canetti, translated by Peter Filkins

'Mardi Gras', by Jamie McKendrick

Produced by Charlotte Pardy

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This week, Mary Beard dons her VR set to experience a Roman cataclysm; and Mary Hitchman on the history of humanity's fascination with the moon.

'The Last Days of Pompeii: The immersive exhibition', Immerse LDN, Excel, London, until March 15

'The Medieval Moon', by Ayoush Lazikani

Produced by Charlotte Pardy

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This week, Nick Enfield explores the benefits of playing games - whether or not you keep score; and Mike Jakeman on how the football World Cup has got bigger and bigger.

'The Score: How to stop playing someone else's game', by C Thi Nguyen

'World Cup Fever: A footballing journey in nine tournaments', by Simon Kuper

'The Power and the Glory: A new history of the World Cup', by Jonathan Wilson

Produced by Charlotte Pardy

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As January draws to a close, we take a look back through some of the conversations we have had so far in 2026. 

First, publisher Alessandro Gallenzi joined us to reveal how he turned literary detective and uncovered Dylan Thomas's youthful plagiarism, then Joanna Kavenna explains why she invented a game to write her new novel, Tristram Fane Saunders surveys the poetic landscape and Maria Scott talks us through her discovery of photographs of Jeanne Duval, muse and lover of Charles Baudelaire.

Produced by Charlotte Pardy

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This week, Maria Scott on recently discovered photographs of Jeanne Duval, muse and lover of Charles Baudelaire; and Pratinav Anil weighs up the case for and against reparations.

'Reparations: Slavery and the tyranny of imaginary guilt', by Nigel Biggar

'The big payback: The case for reparations for slavery and how they would work', by Lenny Henry and Marcus Ryder

Produced by Charlotte Pardy

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This week, Tristram Fane Saunders surveys the poetic landscape; and Toby Lichtig on a rediscovered slice of life in 1930s Berlin.

'A History of England in 25 Poems', by Catherine Clarke

'Rhyme and Reason: A short history of poetry and people (for people who don't usually read poetry)', by Mark Forsyth

'Endless Present: Selected articles, reviews and dispatches, 2010-23', by Rory Waterman

'The Privatisation of Poetry', by Andy Croft

'Beautiful Feelings of Sensitive People: Screen grabs of British poetry in the 21st century', by Andrew Duncan

'Berlin Shuffle', by Ulrich Alexander Boschwitz, translated by Philip Boehm

Produced by Charlotte Pardy

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This week, Joanna Kavenna explains why she invented a game to write her new novel; how to survive life online; and a new poem.

'Seven', by Joanna Kavenna

'This Is for Everyone', by Tim Berners-Lee with Stephen Witt

'Enshittification: Why everything suddenly got worse and what to do about it', by Cory Doctorow

'How to Save the Internet: The threat to global connection in the age of AI and political conflict', by Nick Clegg

'The Future', by Jesse Nathan

Produced by Charlotte Pardy

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This week, publisher Alessandro Gallenzi reveals how he turned literary detective and uncovered Dylan Thomas's youthful plagiarism; and Norma Clarke on the stunning work of two 18th-century women portrait artists.

'Mrs Kauffman and Madame Le Brun: The entwined lives of two great eighteenth-century women artists' by Franny Moyle 

Produced by Charlotte Pardy

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This week, we introduce a very festive issue; and Toby Lichtig on the puppeteers pulling the strings of this season's big productions.

'The Pelican Child', by Joy Williams

'The BFG', by Roald Dahl, adapted by Tom Wells RSC, Stratford-upon-Avon

'Pinocchio', by Carlo Collodi, adapted by Charlie Josephine, Globe Theatre

Produced by Charlotte Pardy

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This week, Lily Herd heads for outer space in the company of a prodigious imagination; and Andrew Motion joins us with a wonderful new poem.

'Collected Stories' by Cixin Liu, translated by John Chu, Andy Dudak et al

'All that We See or Seem', by Ken Liu

'Snow', by Andrew Motion 

Produced by Charlotte Pardy

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This week, Devoney Looser on what we don't know about Jane Austen; and Peter Swaab introduces a previously unpublished story by the great Sylvia Townsend Warner. 

'Jane Austen in 41 Objects', by Kathryn Sutherland

'Jane Austen’s Bookshelf: The women writers who shaped a legend', by Rebecca Romney

Jane Austen and George Eliot: The lady and the radical', by Edward Whitley

'Wild for Austen: A rebellious, subversive, and untamed Jane', by Devoney Looser

'The Pursuit and the End', by Sylvia Townsend Warner

Produced by Charlotte Pardy

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This week, Camille Ralphs confides the highs and lows of travelling by Greyhound bus; and Alev Adil boards a train to join current night owls and bygone tourists.

'Greyhound', by Joanna Pocock

'Moonlight Express: Around the World by Night Train', by Monisha Rajesh

'To the Sea by Train: The Golden Age of Railway Travel', by Andrew Martin

Produced by Charlotte Pardy

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This week, Damian Flanagan explores the complex history of the Japanese masterpiece The Tale of Genji; and Miranda France on the eventful life and enduring work of Miguel de Cervantes.

'The Tale of Genji', by Murasaki Shikibu

'El Verano de Cervantes', by Antonio Muñoz Molina

'El Cautivo', directed by Alejandro Amenábar

Produced by Charlotte Pardy

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This week, TLS contributors select their favourites from 2025; plus an interview with CD Rose, winner of this year’s Goldsmiths Prize.

‘We Live Here Now’, by CD Rose

Produced by Charlotte Pardy

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This week, how well does Alan Hollinghurst's novel The Line of Beauty translate to the stage? And Toby Lichtig interviews the newest winner of the Booker Prize, David Szalay.

'The Line of Beauty', by Jack Holden, based on the novel by Alan Hollinghurst, Almeida Theatre, London, until November 29

'Flesh', by David Szalay

Produced by Charlotte Pardy

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This week, Terri Apter reviews a quartet of books exploring the impact of parenthood on identity, particularly for women; and we revisit Helen Garner, as she wins the Baillie Gifford Prize for Non-Fiction.

'Four Mothers: A year of motherhood around the world', by Abigail Leonard

'The Republic of Parenthood: On bringing up babies', by Rhiannon Lucy Cosslett

'Second Life: Having a child in the digital age', by Amanda Hess

'Childless by Choice: The meaning and legacy of a childfree life', by Helen Taylor

'How to End a Story: Collected Diaries', by Helen Garner

Produced by Charlotte Pardy

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This week, Lily Herd introduces us to the concept of Fascist Yoga; and Mark Storey on America’s ghosts.

‘Sick Houses: Haunted Homes and the Architecture of Dread’, by Leila Taylor

‘Haunted States: An American Gothic Guidebook’, by Miranda Corcoran

Produced by Charlotte Pardy

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This week, Margaret Drabble enjoys an enthralling biography of an adventure writer and his entourage; and Thea Lenarduzzi on the gothic mystery at the heart of her new book.

'Storyteller: The life of Robert Louis Stevenson', by Leo Damrosch

'The Tower', by Thea Lenarduzzi

Produced by Charlotte Pardy

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This week, Mary Beard grapples with a noisy new version of Euripides at the National Theatre; and Norma Clarke on the mysterious world of Helen DeWitt's new novel.

'Bacchae', by Nima Taleghani, after Euripedes, Olivier Theatre, National Theatre, London, until November 1

'Your Name Here', by Helen DeWitt and Ilya Gridneff

Produced by Charlotte Pardy

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