Prepare to have the solid foundations of your world rocked as Alex shares her antipathy for Normal People’s protagonist, Connell, excellently played by Paul Mescal. Daisy Edgar Jones’ bangs prompt Alex and Rhiannon to discuss how their lockdown fringes are faring. Rhiannon sings The Wheel theme tune for us after hearing an inspiring poem from Nobel Laureate poet, Louise Gluck. We deliberate no-platforming and cancel culture as allegations have emerged concerning one of the actors in a show we review. Rhiannon tells us about politician Jess Phillips’ punchy guide to change whilst Alex has been reading about the transformative capacity of education and the multiple perspectives of history in Tara Westover’s memoir Educated. We discuss Elif Shafak’s latest novel as well as Industry, the rollicking exploration of sex and drugs in the finance world. We talk about male nudity and sex scenes as well the importance of loving your work and not depending overly on productivity for validation.
We are an accessible podcast so find transcripts in our linktree bio on our instagram @thegrandthunk. Follow us on social media @thegrandthunk or email us - thegrandthunk@gmail.com. We’d love to hear from you! Subscribe, rate, review and tell all your friends.
The Grand Thunk, the podcast in which Alex Blanchard and Rhiannon Kearns discuss the books they've been reading, the films and TV shows they've been watching and the podcasts they've been listening to!
See below for a full list of what we discuss:
Normal People - BBC iPlayer
The Wild Iris - Lousie Gluck
The Wheel - BBC iPlayer
Actors on Actors - Variety - YouTube
Truth to Power: 7 Ways to Call Time on BS - Jess Phillips
Educated - Tara Westover - Memoir
10 minutes and 38 seconds in This Strange World - Elif Shafak
Industry - HBO, viewed on BBC iPlayer
How to Fail with Elizabeth Day - Elizabeth Gilbert
The Guilty Feminist
