Culture / Podcast

Meet the Writers

Want to know more about the authors behind your favourite books? Tune in to discover the methods of – and inspiration behind – some of the world’s most exciting writers. Every Sunday, Georgina Godwin hosts an in-depth discussion with the person behind the prose.

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Charles Hecker: Russia’s zero-sum game:

Charles Hecker’s 40-year career has seen him travelling and reporting from both the Soviet Union and Russia. He has worked as a journalist and a geopolitical risk consultant, and has lived in Miami, Moscow and now London. His new book, ‘Zero Sum: The Arc of International Business in Russia’, charts the rollercoaster story of Western capitalists and their misadventures in post-communist Russia. He sits down with Georgina Godwin to share details of his upbringing, reading at the University of Pennsylvania and his foray into geopolitics.

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Episode	Date	Description	Download	Play
478	12 Jan 2025 30 min	Charles Hecker: Russia’s zero-sum game Charles Hecker’s 40-year career has seen him travelling and reporting from both the Soviet Union and Russia. He has worked as a journalist and a geopolitical risk consultant, and has lived in Miami, Moscow and now London. His new book, ‘Zero Sum: The Arc of International Business in Russia’, charts the rollercoaster story of Western capitalists and their misadventures in post-communist Russia. He sits down with Georgina Godwin to share details of his upbringing, reading at the University of Pennsylvania and his foray into geopolitics.	Download Share X Facebook LinkedIn LINE Email	Play
477	5 Jan 2025 27 min	This year’s highlight: Zeinab Badawi “Education for girls is the family business,” says Sudanese-British broadcast journalist Zeinab Badawi. She tells us about her family and career, and what it’s like to interview the world’s most notable politicians on BBC’s ‘Hard Talk’. Badawi explains how her groundbreaking TV series, ‘The History of Africa’, for which she visited 34 African countries over seven years, led her to write her debut book ‘An African History of Africa’.	Download Share X Facebook LinkedIn LINE Email	Play
476	29 Dec 2024 31 min	The women behind Charleston Literary Festival We look back at the Charleston Literary Festival in South Carolina. Its roots lie in Charleston House in the UK, home of radical writers, artists and thinkers. Georgina Godwin speaks to executive director Sarah Moriarty and artistic director Diana Reich about the origin of the festival. Plus: development director Suzanne Pollak, co-founder of the Charleston Academy of Domestic Pursuits, shares her thoughts on the reading community in the US.	Download Share X Facebook LinkedIn LINE Email	Play
475	22 Dec 2024 36 min	Julie Taymor: the pride of writing for film and stage Julie Taymor is a tour de force when it comes to penning scripts for theatre, film and opera. Her 1997 stage adaptation of Disney’s ‘The Lion King’ secured 11 Tony Award nominations, including a win for best direction. It is now the third-longest-running show on Broadway of all time and is celebrating its 25th anniversary. Her 1999 directorial debut, ‘Titus’, earned her an Oscar nomination for best costume design, while her 2002 film, ‘Frida’, led to five nominations. Here she joins Georgina Godwin to speak about her stellar career, working with international theatre companies and her upbringing in 1960s America.	Download Share X Facebook LinkedIn LINE Email	Play
474	15 Dec 2024 29 min	Lindsey Hilsum’s world in poems As Channel 4’s international editor, Lindsey Hilsum has seen war in six continents across more than two decades. As a witness to the catastrophic effects of conflict, Lindsey would carry works of poetry with her to try and make sense of the world. She speaks to Georgina Godwin about her book, ‘I Brought the War with Me”, which collates her favourite poems alongside memories of her own work, whether speaking to child soldiers in Uganda, soldiers in Ukraine or giving testimonies of the Rwandan genocide.	Download Share X Facebook LinkedIn LINE Email	Play
473	8 Dec 2024 28 min	Namita Gokhale Namita Gokhale is the author of 25 works of fiction and non-fiction. Her oeuvre spans various genres including novels, short stories, Himalayan studies, mythology, anthologies, books for young readers and a play. She speaks to Georgina Godwin about her childhood, illustrious career and being the recipient of many awards.	Download Share X Facebook LinkedIn LINE Email	Play
472	1 Dec 2024 37 min	2024 Baillie Gifford Prize for Non-Fiction 2024: Richard Flanagan After winning the 2024 Baillie Gifford Prize for Non-Fiction, Richard Flanagan joins Georgina Godwin to discuss ‘Question 7’, his life and career, and his plans after winning the prize. Described by Peter Carey as maybe just being “the most significant work of Australian art in the last 100 years”, ‘Question 7’ is a love letter to his island home, his parents and the terrible past that delivered him to that place.	Download Share X Facebook LinkedIn LINE Email	Play
471	24 Nov 2024 30 min	The musical adventures of Mike Batt Mike Batt is known for raising the popularity of one of the most well-known British novelty pop acts of the 1970s, The Wombles. Batt wrote and composed the theme song to the children’s TV series, which led to the rising popularity of ‘The Wombling Song’. Batt has also worked with artists such as Katie Melua and others on his Dramatico Label, and co-wrote 'The Phantom of The Opera’. He sits down with Georgina Godwin to discuss his memoir, ‘The Closest Thing to Crazy: My Life of Musical Adventures’.	Download Share X Facebook LinkedIn LINE Email	Play
470	17 Nov 2024 30 min	Yulia Mykytenko and her hope for Ukraine As the first female commander in the Ukrainian military, Yulia Mykytenko has seen the horrors of war. Yulia is both a squadron leader and a role model for women wanting to fight for their country on the frontlines and in the background. Telling Lara Marlowe of her entry into Ukraine’s forces, ‘How Good It Is I Have No Fear of Dying’ recounts her student days giving out flyers for an independent Ukraine up to her current military service in the face of Russia’s invasion. Yulia and Lara speak to Georgina Godwin about their collaborative writing process, the uses of poetry, hope for Ukraine’s future and Volodymyr Zelensky’s great plan to win the war.	Download Share X Facebook LinkedIn LINE Email	Play
469	10 Nov 2024 33 min	Jan Gradvall’s ties with Abba As one of Sweden’s most prominent music journalists, Jan Gradvall has a close and fond relationship with his nation’s top musical export, Abba. In ‘The Book of Abba: Melancholy Undercover’, Gradvall explores the love, heartbreak and connections between each member of the pop group, from Eurovision to beyond. He sits down with Georgina Godwin to discuss his journalistic career, his former role as head of the Swedish Music Hall of Fame and the possibility of the pop group coming back again.	Download Share X Facebook LinkedIn LINE Email	Play
468	3 Nov 2024 29 min	Gabriel Gatehouse We look at conspiracy theories that have emerged through US politics with Gabriel Gatehouse, author of ‘The Coming Storm’. The podcaster and former international editor of the BBC’s ‘Newsnight’ joins Georgina Godwin to discuss his career so far, his thoughts about the two major presidential candidates and the underbelly of the internet, which is host to fringe forums such as 4chan and QAnon.	Download Share X Facebook LinkedIn LINE Email	Play
467	27 Oct 2024 29 min	Peter Godwin Writing a fourth memoir is somewhat unheard of but for Peter Godwin it’s an even more personal note. Not a grief memoir so much as an exploration in memory of the passing of his mother, the end of his marriage and moving on, Peter shares the poignant moments of his life so far in ‘Exit Wounds’. He joins Georgina Godwin – his sibling – to discuss childhood memories of their mother, the process of his latest work and writing multiple autobiographies of his life so far.	Download Share X Facebook LinkedIn LINE Email	Play
466	20 Oct 2024 27 min	Lee Mylne Known as the “Queensland Expert” for ‘The Telegraph’, Lee Mylne’s journalism is enjoyed around the world thanks to her expertise in travel and tourism. As a writer of many travel books including ‘Explore Australia’ and ‘Frommer’s Portable Australia’s Great Barrier Reef’, she shares the vast knowledge which has gained her many national awards. She joins Georgina Godwin in Brisbane, Australia, to discuss her career so far, where travel writing sits within journalism and her dream locations to cover.	Download Share X Facebook LinkedIn LINE Email	Play
465	13 Oct 2024 28 min	Evie Wyld Multi-prize winner Evie Wyld is no stranger to writing intricate, thought-provoking novels to challenge readers globally. Her latest novel, “The Echoes”, proves that. It’s a story about an everyday couple living in London but embedded within secrecy, with one looking on from the afterlife. Evie joins Georgina Godwin to discuss her work, her upbringing from New South Wales, Australia, to Peckham, South London, and running her own independent bookshop, Review.	Download Share X Facebook LinkedIn LINE Email	Play
464	6 Oct 2024 27 min	The Afghan women writers who witnessed the fall of Kabul The resurgence of the Taliban in August 2021 sent shockwaves throughout the world. Images from Afghanistan showed fear, panic and unrest looming. With the country back under Taliban rule, a group of Afghan women writers feared the worst. They kept in touch with the Untold Narratives, a development programme dedicated to writers from marginalised communities or conflict zones. It was a group of messages from these writers detailing their lives that the collective curated into a diary ‘My Dear Kabul’. Georgina Godwin speaks to the director, Lucy Hannah, and co-editor, Sunila Galappatti, about the process of recording the diary entries. We’ll also hear from one writer about life in Kabul today.	Download Share X Facebook LinkedIn LINE Email	Play

Culture / Podcast

Meet the Writers

Latest episode

Latest episodes

Charles Hecker: Russia’s zero-sum game

This year’s highlight: Zeinab Badawi

The women behind Charleston Literary Festival

Julie Taymor: the pride of writing for film and stage

Lindsey Hilsum’s world in poems

Namita Gokhale

2024 Baillie Gifford Prize for Non-Fiction 2024: Richard Flanagan

The musical adventures of Mike Batt

Yulia Mykytenko and her hope for Ukraine

Jan Gradvall’s ties with Abba

Gabriel Gatehouse

Peter Godwin

Lee Mylne

Evie Wyld

The Afghan women writers who witnessed the fall of Kabul