The Essay Podcast
Leading writers on arts, history, philosophy, science, religion and beyond, themed across a week - insight, opinion and intellectual surprise.
Episodes to download
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Paul Robeson in Five Songs: 4. Zog Nit Keynmol
Wed 15 Apr 2020
Paul Robeson's life and struggle through songs .Tayo Aluko on Robeson's Zog Nit Keynmol.
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Paul Robeson in Five Songs: 3. The Canoe Song
Wed 15 Apr 2020
Paul Robeson's life and struggle told through music. Matthew Sweet on the Canoe Song.
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Paul Robeson in Five Songs: 1. No More Auction Block
Wed 15 Apr 2020
Paul Robeson's life and struggle through song. Shana Redmond on No More Auction Block.
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Paul Robeson in Five Songs: 2. Ol' Man River
Wed 15 Apr 2020
The life of Paul Robeson in songs. Granddaughter Susan Robeson on Ol' Man River.
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The Preseli Mountains—Higher Thoughts and the Meaning of Welsh Mountains
Fri 20 Mar 2020
5/5 Jon Gower explores the five mountain ranges of Wales.
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Epynt—Higher Thoughts and the Meaning of Welsh Mountains
Thu 19 Mar 2020
4/5 Jon Gower explores the five mountain ranges of Wales.
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The Brecon Beacons—Higher Thoughts and the Meaning of Welsh Mountains
Wed 18 Mar 2020
3/5 Jon Gower explores the five mountain ranges of Wales.
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The Black Mountains—Higher Thoughts and the Meaning of Welsh Mountains
Tue 17 Mar 2020
2/5 Jon Gower explores the five mountain ranges of Wales.
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Snowdonia—Higher Thoughts and the Meaning of Welsh Mountains
Mon 16 Mar 2020
1/5 Jon Gower explores the five mountain ranges of Wales.
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Yolande Mukagasana—Women Writers to Put Back on the Bookshelf
Fri 6 Mar 2020
5/5 Zoe Norridge describes translating the testimony of a Rwandan survivor.
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Storm Jameson—Women Writers to Put Back on the Bookshelf
Thu 5 Mar 2020
4/5 A Yorkshire-born writer with a European outlook who campaigned for World War II refugees.
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Margaret Oliphant—Women Writers to Put Back on the Bookshelf
Wed 4 Mar 2020
3/5 The Scottish writer whose comic heroine Miss Marjoribanks bucks 19th-century conventions.
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Lady Mary Wroth—Women Writers to Put Back on the Bookshelf
Tue 3 Mar 2020
2/5 The English Renaissance poet whose reputation at court was ruined by her writing.
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Charlotte Turner Smith—Women Writers to Put Back on the Bookshelf
Mon 2 Mar 2020
1/5 The Romantic poet who inspired Wordsworth is profiled by Sophie Coulombeau.
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Sophie Coulombeau - Walking Matilda—Strange Strolls
Fri 14 Feb 2020
5/5 In York, author and academic Sophie Coulombeau finds a city and self changed by motherhood
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Nat Segnit - The Other Ibiza—Strange Strolls
Thu 13 Feb 2020
4/5 Writer and walker Nat Segnit seeks recovery and retreat in the unseen mountains of Ibiza.
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Stephanie Victoire - Dark Hollow Falls—Strange Strolls
Wed 12 Feb 2020
3/5 Writer Stephanie Victoire has a haunting hike in the Blue Ridge Mountains of Appalachia.
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Michael Donkor - On Wandsworth Bridge—Strange Strolls
Tue 11 Feb 2020
2/5 Writer Michael Donkor crosses Wandsworth Bridge, from childhood memory to adulthood
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Jenn Ashworth - The Abiding Mental Riches of Preston—Strange Strolls
Mon 10 Feb 2020
1/5 Lancastrian writer Jenn Ashworth ponders the promises of Preston's Harris Library.
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10: The Resurrection—The Escape Artist
Fri 31 Jan 2020
10/10 The extraordinary life of Arthur Cravan and his influence on modern art.
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9: The Missing—The Escape Artist
Thu 30 Jan 2020
9/10 The extraordinary life of Arthur Cravan and his influence on modern art.
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8: The Echo—The Escape Artist
Wed 29 Jan 2020
8/10 The extraordinary life of Arthur Cravan and his influence on modern art.
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7: The Love Story—The Escape Artist
Tue 28 Jan 2020
7/10 The extraordinary life of Arthur Cravan and his influence on modern art.
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6: The Persona—The Escape Artist
Mon 27 Jan 2020
6/10 The extraordinary life of Arthur Cravan and his influence on modern art.
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5: The Deserter—The Escape Artist
Fri 24 Jan 2020
5/10 The extraordinary life of Arthur Cravan and his influence on modern art.
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4: The Living Artwork—The Escape Artist
Thu 23 Jan 2020
4/10 The extraordinary life of Arthur Cravan and his influence on modern art.
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3: The Most Hated Art Critic in France—The Escape Artist
Wed 22 Jan 2020
3/10 The extraordinary life of Arthur Cravan and his influence on modern art.
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2: The Boxer—The Escape Artist
Tue 21 Jan 2020
2/10 The extraordinary life of Arthur Cravan and his influence on modern art.
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1: The Poet—The Escape Artist
Mon 20 Jan 2020
1/10 The extraordinary life of Arthur Cravan and his influence on modern art.
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Philippa Gregory on Jane Eyre—Open Endings
Fri 27 Dec 2019
5/5 Historical author Philippa Gregory writes a new end for Charlotte BrontΓ«'s Jane Eyre.
Death in Trieste
A 1760s murder still informs ideas about aesthetics, a certain sort of sex, and death.
Watch: My Deaf World
Five compelling experiences of what it is like to be deaf in 21st-century Britain.
The Book that Changed Me
Five figures from the arts and science introduce books that changed their lives and work.
Download The Essay
Download all the episodes from the series and listen at your leisure.
