

Better Known
Ivan Wise
Each week, a guest makes a series of recommendations of things which they think should be better known. Our recommendations include interesting people, places, objects, stories, experiences and ideas which our guest feels haven't had the exposure that they deserve.
Episodes
Mentioned books

Dec 27, 2020 • 30min
Anjula Mutanda
Anjuna Mutanda discusses with Ivan six things which she thinks should be better known.
Anjula is a highly respected relationship and clinical therapist, mental health expert, psychologist, presenter, author, social scientist, and media consultant.
Most recently, Anjula presented Sextape, a major four-part relationship series on Channel 4. Anjula was the behavioural expert on season 2 of Make or Break (My5 April 2019). She was the resident psychologist on 50 Ways to Kill your Lover. She makes regular guest appearances on programmes such as Good Morning Britain, Lorraine, BBC Breakfast, and The Alan Titchmarsh Show. She was the resident psychologist on ITV's This Morning for five years.
Her first self-help book Celebrity Life Laundry was published by John Blake Publishing in 2007 and her second self-help book How to do Relationships was published by Vermillion in 2013 which she wrote for RELATE, the number 1 relationship charity.
She is Vice President for RELATE, and has worked alongside Ruby Wax and Prof Tanya Byron to represent the brand. She is also the Media and Diversity ambassador for The National Counselling Society.
She is a senior practitioner and holds the status of MBACP. She is registered with The British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy and the NCS where she is a Fellow.
Shinrin-Yoku https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2019/jun/08/forest-bathing-japanese-practice-in-west-wellbeing
Drs Mamie Phipps Clark and Kenneth Clark https://www.naacpldf.org/ldf-celebrates-60th-anniversary-brown-v-board-education/significance-doll-test/
The fawn response https://thedawnrehab.com/blog/trauma-and-the-fawning-response/
National Civil rights museum in Memphis https://www.civilrightsmuseum.org/
A fantastic fear of everything https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Fantastic_Fear_of_Everything
Queen of Katwe https://www.nytimes.com/2016/09/23/movies/queen-of-katwe-review.html
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Dec 20, 2020 • 29min
Alice Clark-Platts
Novelist Alice Clark-Platts discusses with Ivan six things which she thinks should be better known.
Alice Clark-Platts is the author of the best-selling The Flower Girls, published by Bloomsbury Raven in 2019.
Her crime novels Bitter Fruits and The Taken are published by Penguin Random House. The Taken was also shortlisted for the Dead Good Reader Awards for Best Police Procedural.
Alice’s short fiction has been published in numerous works. She is the founder of the Singapore Writers’ Group. Alice conducts regular writing workshops and teaches creative and non-fiction writing at La Salle College of the Arts. She teaches a regular online novel writing course Telling Yourself the Story.
Her new novel, Fire Mountain, will be published by Bloomsbury in 2022.
Dorothy Whipple https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/books/features/forgotten-authors-no-31-dorothy-whipple-1666062.html
Chilli Crab https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chilli_crab
Durham Cathedral online masses https://www.youtube.com/user/durhamcathedral1093
Eastern & Oriental hotel in Penang https://www.eohotels.com/
Island of Bawah https://www.i-escape.com/bawah-reserve
Mary Westmacott https://www.agathachristie.com/about-christie/family-memories/the-mary-westmacotts
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Dec 13, 2020 • 30min
Richard Bradford
Richard Bradford discusses with Ivan six things which he thinks should be better known.
Richard Bradford is Professor of English and Senior Distinguished Research Fellow at Ulster University. He is the author of six highly acclaimed literary biographies The Life of a Long-Distance Writer: A Biography of Alan Sillitoe, First Boredom, Then Fear: The Life of Philip Larkin and Lucky Him: The Life of Kingsley Amis, Martin Amis: The Biography, The Man Who Wasn’t there: A Life of Ernest Hemingway and Orwell: A Man of Our Times. His Devils, Lusts and Strange Desires: The Life of Patricia Highsmith is out in 2021.
George Orwell Predicted Brexit https://www.rte.ie/brainstorm/2020/0120/1109640-how-george-orwell-predicted-the-future/
Hemingway the Compulsive Liar https://popularculturereview.wordpress.com/2019/08/28/rollyson/
What is High Quality Literature? https://www.timeshighereducation.com/opinion/is-shakespeare-any-good
Why Kingsley Amis and Philip Larkin Fell Out https://www.lrb.co.uk/the-paper/v34/n24/christopher-tayler/keep-yr-gob-shut
Nasty Writers https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/books/reviews/literary-rivals-feuds-and-antagonisms-world-books-richard-bradford-book-review-author-exposes-importance-literary-success-9773234.html
How Patricia Highsmith was a very peculiar individual https://www.nybooks.com/articles/2009/07/02/this-woman-is-dangerous/
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Dec 6, 2020 • 30min
Guy Leschziner
Guy Leschziner discusses with Ivan six things which he thinks should be better known.
Guy Leschziner is a consultant neurologist and sleep physician, broadcaster and author. He heads the Sleep Disorders Centre at Guy's Hospital, one of Europe's largest and busiest clinical sleep services. He is presenter of Mysteries of Sleep and The Compass: The Senses on BBC World Service and Radio 4, and is author of "The Nocturnal Brain: Nightmares, Neuroscience and the Secret World of Sleep" (Simon and Schuster, 2019). The Compass: The Senses is available on BBC Sounds and will be broadcast in December on BBC Radio 4.
Storytelling in medicine https://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/news/articles/medicine-and-the-art-of-storytelling
The Thames http://www.jesselogister.com/5-unknown-london-attractions-along-the-thames/
Sleep and the brain https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/articles/1hs2pJsYBxCHNJF5VkDh4QV/10-ways-to-improve-the-quality-of-your-sleep
Sherry http://www.wineanorak.com/sherry.htm
Joy of creation with hands https://www.telegraph.co.uk/men/the-filter/11568000/A-new-generation-is-discovering-the-joy-of-making-things-by-hand.html
Scientific literacy https://researcherblogski.wordpress.com/2015/03/03/scientific-literacy-why-is-it-important-and-how-do-we-increase-it/
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Nov 29, 2020 • 30min
Eleanor Fitzsimons
Eleanor Fitzsimons discusses with Ivan six things which she thinks should be better known.
Eleanor Fitzsimons is a writer and researcher who lives in Dublin. She is the author of Wilde’s Women (Duckworth, 2015), which won the silver medal in the Biography category of the 2018 Independent Publisher (IPPY) Awards. She is an honorary patron of the Oscar Wilde Society and a member of the editorial board of society journal The Wildean. Her second book, The Life and Loves of E. Nesbit (Duckworth, 2019), was a Sunday Times Book of the Year 2019, and was included in the Washington Post Top 50 Non-Fiction Books of 2019. In 2020, she was shortlisted for the Dalkey Emerging Writer Award and won the Rubery Book Award for Non-Fiction. She has worked as a television researcher for the Irish national broadcaster RTÉ and was a contributor to The Importance of Being Oscar (BBC2, April 2019).
The Diaries of George Bernard Shaw https://www.amazon.co.uk/Diaries-1885-97-Earlier-Fragments-1875-1917/dp/0271003863
The Tetrapod imprints on Valentia Island, County Kerry https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/tetrapod-trackway
The Short Fiction of Maeve Brennan https://www.irishtimes.com/culture/heritage/maeve-brennan-a-writer-who-was-at-home-in-neither-ireland-nor-america-1.3996762
The ancient Japanese art of Kintsugi https://www.nbcnews.com/better/health/how-japanese-art-technique-kintsugi-can-help-you-be-more-ncna866471
The Trier Amphitheater https://www.trier-info.de/en/places-of-interest/the-amphitheatre
The Vaughan Bequest at the National Galleries of Scotland and Ireland https://www.nationalgallery.ie/art-and-artists/exhibitions/past-exhibitions/turner-vaughan-bequest
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Nov 22, 2020 • 29min
Alex Wheatle
Novelist Alex Wheatle discusses with Ivan six things which he thinks should be better known.
Alex Wheatle was born in London of Jamaican parents. His first book, Brixton Rock (1999), tells the story of a 16-year old boy of mixed race, in 1980s Brixton.
His most recent novels, Liccle Bit (2015), Crongton Knights (2016) - winner of the Guardian Children's Fiction Prize - and Straight Outta Crongton (2017), are novels for young adult readers, focusing on the lives of teenagers and families on the fictional South Crongton council estate.
In 2010, he wrote and toured the one-man autobiographical performance, Uprising. His play, Shame & Scandal, had its debut at the Albany Theatre, Deptford in October 2015. He was awarded an MBE for services to literature in 2008.
Right Time by the Mighty Diamonds https://inreviewonline.com/2015/07/17/right-time/
The Black Jacobins by CLR James https://www.bl.uk/20th-century-literature/articles/an-introduction-to-c-l-r-jamess-the-black-jacobins
Exodus by Bob Marley and the Wailers https://www.bbc.co.uk/music/reviews/8dcz/
Babylon https://www.rollingstone.com/movies/movie-features/babylon-controversial-cult-reggae-movie-returns-804272/
Huckleberry Finn https://www.vqronline.org/essay/huckleberry-finn-and-problem-freedom
Moss Side Massive by Karline Smith https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/moss-side-massive-karline-smith/1002107207
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Nov 15, 2020 • 29min
Tom Chivers
Science writer Tom Chivers discusses with Ivan six things which he thinks should be better known.
Tom Chivers is science editor at UnHerd.com. His second book, How To Read Numbers: A Guide to Statistics in the News (and Knowing When to Trust Them), will be published by Weidenfeld & Nicolson in March 2021. He is a two-time winner of the Royal Statistical Society's Statistical Excellence in Journalism award, and was once told by Terry Pratchett that he was "far too nice to be a journalist".
Goodhart’s Law https://unherd.com/2020/04/we-cant-put-too-much-faith-in-covid-19-statistics/
Kill Team https://www.goonhammer.com/getting-started-kill-team/ and https://unherd.com/2020/03/self-isolation-is-feeding-my-warhammer-addiction/
Selection bias https://unherd.com/2019/09/statistically-you-shouldnt-believe-the-news/
Red kite https://unherd.com/2019/11/let-loose-the-lynxes/
Coordination games https://unherd.com/2020/03/would-you-take-a-coronavirus-risk/
Naomi Novik’s Temeraire series https://www.npr.org/2016/06/14/481391755/temeraire-and-laurence-at-peace-at-last-in-league-of-dragons
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Nov 8, 2020 • 27min
Emma Bridgewater
Emma Bridgewater discusses with Ivan six things which she thinks should be better known.
Emma Bridgewater grew up in Oxford, the eldest of a large family. After studying English at London University, she joined a small knitwear firm, but soon realised that what she really wanted to do was start her own company. Her ‘eureka moment’ came in 1985, when she was searching for a pretty cup and saucer for her mother’s birthday. Discovering that everything in the shops was either delicate and formal, or heavy and clunky, she realised there was a gap in the market for pottery that was both beautiful and practical, and that reflected the relaxed, colourful, mismatched home she’d grown up in.
Emma sketched out a mug, bowl and jug, and found a pottery in Stoke-on-Trent, the home of British ceramics to make them up. She then set about decorating them using cut-out sponges – a traditional technique that was to become her signature style. The designs were snapped up by Liberty, Harrods, and The General Trading Co, and Emma Bridgewater Ltd was born. The company now has a turnover of over £20m a year, and Emma Bridgewater products are sold worldwide.
As the company grew, Emma was determined to keep production of the pottery in Stoke-on-Trent, and in 1996, bought a Victorian factory there. Emma Bridgewater Ltd is now one of the largest employers of potters in the area. In recognition of her work championing manufacturing in Stoke-on-Trent, Emma has honorary degrees from the University of Staffordshire and Keele University, and in 2013, she was awarded a CBE for Services to Industry.
Country Music https://www.theguardian.com/music/country
Holy Wells http://www.davidfurlong.co.uk/holywellslond.htm
Neglected English towns https://www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/destinations/europe/united-kingdom/england/articles/forgotten-english-villages-2020/
Winter Savoury and Lovage http://www.herbexpert.co.uk/forgotten-herbs-grow-sorrel-lovage-summer-savory-angelica.html
Chimomanthus https://www.rhs.org.uk/Plants/29215/Chimonanthus-praecox/Details
Lardy cake https://www.bbc.co.uk/food/recipes/lardy_cake_80839
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Nov 1, 2020 • 28min
Andrew Lownie
Andrew Lownie discusses with Ivan six things which he thinks should be better known.
Andrew Lownie was educated at Magdalene College, Cambridge, where he was Dunster History Prizeman and President of the Union, before taking his Master’s and doctorate at Edinburgh University. A Fellow of the Royal Historical Society, he later returned to Cambridge as a visiting fellow at Churchill College.
He has been a bookseller, publisher and journalist, writing for the Times, Telegraph, Wall Street Journal , Spectator and Guardian, and since 1988 has run his own literary agency specialising in history and biography.
He is President of the Biographers Club, sits on the advisory board of Biographers International Organisation and is a Trustee of the Campaign for Freedom of Information.
The author John Buchan and his writing https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/profiles/2lWTsMM9FyLFMSTgCtrl91k/john-buchan
Ave Maria https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ave_Maria_(Vavilov)
Haggis https://www.bbcgoodfood.com/howto/guide/what-haggis
The Campaign for Freedom of Information https://www.cfoi.org.uk/
The Writers Museum in Edinburgh https://www.edinburghmuseums.org.uk/venue/writers-museum
House histories http://www.londonhousehistories.co.uk/index.php?lang=en-
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Oct 25, 2020 • 30min
Viv Groskop
Viv Groskop discusses with Ivan six things which she thinks should be better known.
Viv Groskop is a writer, critic, broadcaster and stand-up comedian. She is the author of How to Own the Room: Women and the Art of Brilliant Speaking, also a Top 10 iTunes podcast, now in its 8th series, featuring guests like Hillary Clinton, Margaret Atwood, Nigella Lawson, Julie Andrews, Sarah Hurwitz (Michelle Obama’s speechwriter). Her latest book is Au Revoir Tristesse: Lessons in Happiness from French Literature. She has presented Front Row and Saturday Review on BBC Radio 4, is a regular on BBC1’s This Week and has hosted book tours for Graham Norton, Jo Brand and Jennifer Saunders.
Saturday Night Live's The Californians https://www.dailycal.org/2019/12/06/why-the-californians-skit-from-snl-is-the-best-of-all-time/
The poetry of Anna Akhmatova https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poets/anna-akhmatova
Lipcote https://www.lipcote.com/
The music of Janis Ian https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-QPF-duKQro
Vermouth and vermuterias https://vinepair.com/wine-blog/youre-probably-drinking-storing-and-making-cocktails-with-your-vermouth-wrong/
“Yes and” as a verb — the improv concept https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yes,_and...
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