The TLS Podcast

James Waddell on the disorderly history of alphabetic order; Beejay Silcox, who fled Cairo for Western Australia as the coronavirus spread, tells a tale of star-crossed lovers; Jordan Sand gives a short cultural history of mask-wearingA Place for Everything: The curious history of alphabetical order by Judith Flanders Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Lawrence Douglas, in Massachusetts, on the presidential past, present and future of Donald Trump; Irina Dumitrescu, in Germany, on books as escape (attempt) and reading the plague into plague-free books; Lucy Dallas presents this month’s round-up of audio / visual offerings A Very Stable Genius: Donald Trump’s testing of America, by Philip Rucker and Carol LeonnigUnmaking The Presidency: Donald Trump’s war on the world’s most powerful office, by Susan Hennessey and Benjamin WittesAmerican Carnage: On the front lines of the Republican civil war and the rise of President Trump, by Tim Alberta Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

William Shakespeare, the writer who – above all others, perhaps – keeps giving and giving. Michael Caines takes us through the latest research, theories and discoveries (or not, as the case may be); Why do women read more fiction than men? Lucy Scholes returns to the age-old conundrumDeath by Shakespeare: Snakebites, stabbings and broken hearts by Kathryn HarkupUntimely Death in Renaissance Drama by Andrew GriffinShakespeare in a Divided America by James ShapiroShakespeare and Trump by Jeffrey R. Wilson‘Infecting the teller – The failure of a mathematical approach to Shakespeare’s authorship’ by Brian Vickers, in this week’s TLSWhy Women Read Fiction: The stories of our lives by Helen Taylor Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Today an edition of our new daily podcast - Stories of our times. Our new free daily news podcast takes you to the heart of the stories that matter, with exclusive access and reporting. Published for the start of your day, it is hosted by Manveen Rana and David Aaronovitch.If you want to hear more please search for Stories of our times and subscribe wherever you get your podcasts.With reading on the rise under the lockdown, TLS editor Stig Abell suggests three books for a little escapism during these uncertain times. Stories of our times is the new daily podcast from The Times. Listen to more episodes here Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Ellen Crowell investigates an early-twentieth-century tale of doomed lesbian romance, decadent cryptography, morphine-induced suicide and more; Richard Smyth on the joys of bird-watching during lockdown; Michael Caines reads his poem “Decadence” Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

A recovering Alexander van Tulleken shares some thoughts on the British response to Covid-19; What cultural things are people doing to pass the time in isolation? We asked a selection of our writers, and Lucy Dallas joins us (from what sounds like a small tin box) to pluck at the results Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Samuel Graydon reviews two new albums, by the folk troubadour Sam Lee and indie rock band Cornershop, both of which offer innovative and intelligent musical perspectives on modern England; the TLS’s arts editor Lucy Dallas presents this month’s ‘Audio/Visual’, a monthly round-up of listening and watching; Josephine Livingstone grapples with the 'omnivore paradox' in the arts sector: why broader tastes in art have not led to wider participationFeatured works Old Wow by Sam LeeEngland is a Garden by CornershopAudio: ‘Reply All’, the podcastVisual: ‘Five Guys a Week’, Channel 4Entitled: Discriminating tastes and the expansion of the arts by Jennifer C. LenaSteal as Much as You Can: How to win the culture wars in an age of austerity by Nathalie OlahSmashing It: Working class artists on life, art and making it happen, edited by Sabrina Mahfouz Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Tim Parks talks us through the lockdown from Milan; A. N. Wilson explains the Prayer Book Controversy of the 1920s, and why it's a bit like Brexit; and Anna Girling looks back on the - failed - poetic and critical career of Richard AldingtonRichard Aldington, Two volumes, by Vivien Whelpton Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Frances Wilson gets implausibly angry about the hypocrisy of Patrick O’Brian; Michèle Roberts makes the case for the forgotten author of the nineteenth century, George Sand; Miranda Seymour turns literary detective to identify a new work by Ada Lovelace. And Roz Dineen fails to be enticed by cakes.Romans 1 & 2 George Sand; Edited by José-Luis Diaz and Brigitte DiazPatrick O’Brian – A very private life Nikolai Tolstoy Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Edmund Gordon discusses whether Hilary Mantel's final Cromwell novel lives up to its billing - and whether, at 900-odd pages, it is the right length; Muriel Zagha looks at the female gaze in French cinema, with respect to the new film Portrait of a Lady on Fire; Irina Dumitrescu talks about how to write well, and when to break the rulesThe Mirror & the Light, by Hilary MantelPortrait of a Lady on Fire, by Céline SciammaWhy They Can't Write, by John WarnerWriting to Persuade, by Trish HallEvery Day I Write the Book, by Amitava Kumar  First You Write a Sentence, by Joe MoranMeander, Spiral, Explode, by Jane Alison Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.