Shows
Behind The SpineS10E12 Acts of Resistance: Amber Massie-Blomfield on art’s contribution to global activism“Under the most oppressive circumstances, where the intent is to not only end their lives, but end almost any evidence of their existence or their humanity on the planet, people make art. They lean into making art.”~Amber Massie-Blomfield
Art can change the world. Whether it's the work of painters, writers, dancers or musicians, throughout history art has made a real difference in upending the status quo and fighting back against injustice.
Acts of Resistance is a new book which highlights some of the times creators have used their art to transform history. Author Amber Mass...2024-12-1850 minBehind The SpineS10E11 A Concert For Christmas: Helen Hawkins’ peak Hallmark novel, with a twist“Having the darkness makes the lighter bits… light. And when there is that happy end, you feel like they’ve earnt it. And it’s all the brighter for the trauma that they’ve been through” ~Helen Hawkins
A traditional Hallmark book or film has a very clear path - a tried and true narrative loved by audiences. But this is a Christmas love story that hits a depth of emotion rarely covered by the typical novel in this genre.
A Concert For Christmas is the debut novel from Helen Hawkins and brings us the beauty of a...2024-12-1129 minBehind The SpineS10E10 Bard Boy: Louise Kulup brings Hamnet Shakespeare back to life“It's that juxtaposition of very grand figures from history and the very bog standard person. They're also two boys who are overlooked by life, and I think that connected them.” ~Louise Kulup
Little is known about Hamnet Shakespeare, the son of the Bard himself, who died aged 11. But it’s thought his death shaped much of Shakespeare’s late works, including the famously melancholy King John. But now Hamnet has been brought to life in an unique and exciting way.
Louise Kulup is the author of ‘Bard Boy’, which sees Hamnet return from the grave to haunt (an...2024-12-0442 minBehind The SpineS10E9 The Unexpected: Ellen Wiles questions conventional ways to raise children“It really caught my attention in 2016, when there was the first ever case in Canada where two platonic female friends were granted the right to be co-mothers on a birth certificate. And I thought, how astonishing is that?” ~Ellen Wiles
We’ve all heard the pact two platonic friends make, that if they’re both single by 40 they’ll get married. But what about making that same pact about having children instead? Would you raise a baby with your best friend?
Ellen Wiles is the author of The Unexpected, a novel which explores exactly this situation...2024-11-2729 minBehind The SpineS10E8 Crash The System: The Jerky Boys star Kamal Ahmed on his thrilling new project“We had the tapes and I was just giving them out. And by me giving the tapes out, it spread all across the country - the world!” ~Kamal Ahmed
The Jerky Boys were a global phenomenon in the 90s - a comedy duo who rose to fame by prank calling unsuspecting recipients, and selling the recordings on comedy albums. Now, Kamal Ahemd, one side of that duo, is using the very tactics that jumpstarted his career decades ago to get his latest project off the ground.
Since leaving The Jerky Boys in 2000, Kamal has directed 8 full...2024-11-2033 minBehind The SpineS10E7 Heart, Be At Peace: Donal Ryan on dealing with rejection, polyphonic writing and time“Every single thing I ever wrote was rejected by myself. I burnt nearly everything I wrote throughout my twenties because I was so ashamed of how bad it was.” ~Donal Ryan
Donal Ryan is an author who’s not only dealt with rejection, but has flourished despite it - winning awards, writing bestsellers and becoming one of Ireland’s best loved authors. But what did it take for him to succeed against the odds?
Donal’s latest novel, Heart, Be At Peace reintroduces us to the original cast of characters from his 2013 book The Spinning Heart. Mee...2024-11-1338 minBehind The SpineS10E6 The Problem of Fragmentation: Peter Garrett on A New Kind of Dialogue“If we’re not on the same page as the underlying storyline, then we have fragmentation. And that fragmentation is really, very dangerous. It’s what’s breaking apart the world.” ~Peter Garrett
Humanity’s story has become fragmented and our understanding of one another disconnected. And when we no longer share a common story, cracks start to show in every area of life.
Peter Garrett, author of A New Kind of Dialogue, explores this concept in his book - he calls it the fragmentation in consciousness. And through the book he proposes Dialogue as the solution...2024-11-0634 minBehind The SpineS10E5 Sun Lounger Fiction: Wine expert Helen McGinn on the secrets of a prolific writer“I saw someone with my book on holiday. I think we both ended up having a tear because it was just so lovely. That’s the goal, to see somebody out there reading your words!” ~Helen McGinn
Once an author releases her fourth book in as many years, she learns a thing or two about writing a good novel - reflections become lessons, confidence builds and goals become clearer.
Helen McGinn is an award-winning wine expert and author. The Knackered Mother’s Wine Guide is her first book, but her foray into fiction began during lockdown...2024-10-3033 minBehind The SpineS10E4 Entitlement: Rumaan Alam on how money defines and controls us“It felt so powerful a moment of realisation to me, that the sum of who I am may be, in some significant way, measured in dollars.” ~Rumaan Alam
Money controls us all, whether we have a lot of it, or not enough. And exposure to money can force people to do questionable things - and even stray from their morals and beliefs.
Rumaan Alam is the New York Times bestselling author of Leave the World Behind, which was adapted for the screen by Netflix. His new book ‘Entitlement’ follows protagonist Brooke, a middle-class woman who finds he...2024-10-2339 minBehind The SpineS10E3 The Future of Football: Graham Sibley on the game post-covid“It looked like the club was going to just disappear completely. And then luckily, it was rescued by a tech millionaire, basically. It sounds like something that would happen far, far higher up the food chain.” ~Graham Sibley
Worldwide cancellations and small clubs on the brink of extinction—COVID-19 turned the football world upside down. Though life is back to normal, there’s plenty about football that has been changed forever.
Graham Sibley, host of the Sound of Football podcast, explores how the game has evolved post-COVID. From the fate of small non-league clubs to the Euro...2024-10-1652 minBehind The SpineS10E2 History’s Famous Figures At 18: Alice Loxton on the teenage lives of history’s greatest people“I love finding out people’s back stories. It’s the grittier, it’s the weirder, it’s the bits where people’s lives go wrong that shines a light on their glories later on.” ~Alice Loxton
History’s most famous figures are remembered only for their great deeds and achievements, but rarely for their lives before. What were the likes of Empress Matilda, Richard Burton or Chaucer like when they were teenagers - when they were just 18?
Alice Loxton, one of Britain’s most exciting young historians, explores this in her new book Eighteen: A History of Brita...2024-10-0945 minBehind The SpineS10E1 The Silence in Between: Josie Ferguson on separation from loved ones and wartime tragedy“I had a friend who read an early version of the book, and she just said, well, I mean, it's a bit far fetched though, isn't it? And I was like, no, no, no, this did happen.” ~Josie Ferguson
Being separated from a loved one, never sure when you might be reunited again - a familiar feeling for many of us, having lived through the COVID lockdowns. But for Berlin residents alive in 1961, when the Berlin Wall was put up almost overnight, this happened on a devastating scale.
Josie Ferguson is the debut novelist of The...2024-10-0240 minBehind The SpineThe Art That Will Change How You See Mental Illness Forever with Matt Ottley💬 “When I’ve been really unwell, I lose the ability to understand spoken language. But what happens is I hear music with crystal clarity in my mind.”
Did you know that bipolar disorder can fuel intense creativity?
We often fear complex mental health issues - words like psychotic and mental are regularly used to describe villains across TV and film. But this stigma and prejudice is not just inaccurate, it also fails to account for the wide range of lived experiences of people with these conditions.
Capturing what it’s like to live with bipola...2024-08-1445 minBehind The SpineS9E12 The Puzzle Wood: Rosie Andrews on gothic storytelling“That experience of going under the ground and feeling how alienating it feels down there. That feeds very nicely into the sort of gothic ideas that we're talking about here, that sense of the past is oppressive.” – Rosie Andrews
Somewhere on the border between Wales and England, Miss Catherine Symonds arrives at the shadowy Locksley Abbey to take on the role of governess. She’s traveling in disguise, because what she’s really after is uncovering the circumstances surrounding her sister Emily’s death. Emily was the previous governess.
In The Puzzle Wood, author Rosie Andrews delve...2024-05-0827 minBehind The SpineS9E11 Life Finds a Way: Sarah Agha on authentic narratives“Yes, there is oppression and hardship, but there’s also culture and joy and beauty and love and friendship. I think sometimes even we forget that there is life, and life always finds a way, even under occupation.” – Sarah Agha
What gives you a sense of identity and makes you feel connected to your community, your people? The narratives we build through art are at the heart of these identities. As we explore in this episode, getting them right is crucial, especially if you are Palestinian today.
The Arab Film Club showcases exceptional cinema from the Arab...2024-05-0129 minBehind The SpineS9E10 One of the Good Guys: Araminta Hall on patriarchy and female fear“I've certainly met men like Cole and you are fooled by them because they're fooling themselves. They're so dangerous and insidious for that reason, because you are actually sucked in a bit” - Araminta Hall
Are you “one of the good guys”, supportive of women’s rights and equality and opposed to gender injustice? This episode will make you think twice. Cole has escaped to the coast after his marriage imploded, and finds himself caught up in a media firestorm after two feminist activists go missing in the area.
One of the Good Guys is the sixth...2024-04-2439 minBehind The SpineS9E9 Death On The Thames: Alan Johnson on politics, the police and misogyny“This senior copper said to me, Well, you have to remember we're dealing with criminals who know no restraints at all, who are just absolutely hard bastards with no emotion and no compassion. We have to have a few of them in our ranks to balance it out.” - Alan Johnson
Alan Johnson is a well-known name in British politics, having held a range of cabinet positions in both Blair and Brown governments, including Home Secretary and Secretary of State for Health. Utilising his insider knowledge, he’s created a compelling, authentic and truly immersive series of crime...2024-04-1739 minBehind The SpineS9E8 Hard By A Great Forest: Leo Vardiashvili on lost family and a rediscovered homeland“I didn't get to see my family or Georgia for 17 years. So when I did go back, I found it really strange, really surreal. That was very emotional for me. So I started writing it really trying to make sense of it in my own head.” -Leo Vardiashvili
Inspired by his own estrangement from his homeland, Leo Vardiashvili tells the story of a family torn apart as they wrestle with the events of the past.
Hard By A Great Forest is told through the eyes of Saba, who is forced to leave London and return to G...2024-04-1029 minBehind The SpineS9E7 Compliance in the Wild: Christian Hunt, the consumer rights vigilante“I am probably the consumer from hell when it comes to this stuff, and I do like to believe that I’m fighting on behalf of other people. Some sort of consumer rights, compliance vigilante.” -Christian Hunt
If you’ve ever spotted a road sign that makes no sense at all, or been sent round in circles trying to cancel a TV subscription, you’re not alone. Society relies on us complying with rules on a daily basis, but sometimes the rules laid out for us are confusing.
Christian Hunt is an expert in compliance and risk ma...2024-04-0341 minBehind The SpineS9E6 A Sign of Her Own: Sarah Marsh on deafness and deaf history“There are many, many ways to be a deaf person, but the important thing is to think about the ways in which you embrace it” -Sarah Marsh
The word ‘deaf’ encompasses so many different lived experiences. And by its very nature it’s hard to communicate what it means - what it feels like - to be deaf. But through writing, anything is possible.
Sarah Marsh is the author of A Sign of Her Own: The vivid historical novel of a Deaf woman's role in the invention of the telephone. Through the novel’s protagonist, Ellen Lark...2024-03-2726 minBehind The SpineS9E5 The Escape Room: L.D. Smithson on the Reality TV Show of Nightmares“What we want is people in extreme situations. We enjoy watching people pushed to their emotional limits.” - L.D. Smithson
Have you ever watched a reality TV show and thought ‘I could do that’? It’s one thing watching the events unfold on-screen. It’s another thing entirely being in the thick of it, watching the essence of your personality unravel under the pressure. Now imagine the stakes were much higher. A game where death is a very real threat.
The Escape Room is the latest novel from Leona Deakin, writing under the pseudonym L.D. Smithso...2024-03-2030 minBehind The SpineS9E4 The Cypress Maze: Fiona Valpy on dual-timeline fiction, a war-time heroine and shared grief“She felt she had a duty to protect all these people. And the Villa very much became, for Iris, a refuge for everybody” - Fiona Valpy
In the past, a wartime heroine shelters people from the ravages of war. In the modern era, the villa once used for refuge is up for demolition, and its extraordinary past may be the only thing that can save it.
The Cypress Maze is the latest novel from prolific writer Fiona Valpy. As a dual-timeline novel, we spend time in both 1943 and 2015, at the Villa delle Colombe. Moving from an I...2024-03-1333 minBehind The SpineS9E3 A Tattoo’s Story: Joelle Taylor on the female form, queer futurism and activism“They’re kind of flags mounted in occupied territory. That's the idea of a tattoo on the female form. Because the female form is a political space. It's a space of contention and conflict.” - Joelle Taylor
A tattoo can tell the most profound story. Many have deep meanings to the people who wear them, and all of them serve as time capsules, allowing a person to revisit a moment in time again and again.
Accomplished poet and playwright Joelle Taylor’s debut novel The Night Alphabet introduces us to the heavily tattooed Jones, who regales...2024-03-0640 minBehind The SpineS9E2 A Man of Understanding: Diana Janney on poetry, philosophy and fractured souls“What a great idea if, through this grieving process both of them could heal - could come to understand the other through the vehicle of poetry” - Diana Janney
Poetry and philosophy bring together two fractured souls, 12 year old Rufus Ellerton whose parents have died, and his grandfather Horatio who’s now tasked with raising him.
Diana Janney’s latest novel is a beautiful, musical piece of writing, which weaves poetry and philosophical musings into the prose. A Man of Understanding follows the story of Rufus (Blue) as he moves to a finca in Majorca with his...2024-02-2826 minBehind The SpineS9E1 Murder on Lake Garda: Tom Hindle on the nature of family, memory and lies“No one wakes up a horrible person. It's something that takes hold over time. It's about worldview, formative experiences, and what you were told growing up as a kid. And I try very hard to think about that stuff because… you can feel it.” - Tom Hindle
In the idyllic setting of Italy’s largest lake, Lake Garda, the illustrious Heywood family gather for a wedding when horror strikes. Someone has been murdered… but who is the killer? And will they strike again?
Tom Hindle is making quite the name for himself in the whodunit genre, wit...2024-02-2133 minBehind The SpineJFK Assassination, What Really Happened?: 60th Anniversary Special with Mark Taylor“Height of the Cold War, the Cuban Missile Crisis had happened just a year before. The last thing you want is to show the world’s superpower to be so incompetent that they shot their own president. And you can understand why they would cover that up and try to hide it.”
In memory of US President John F Kennedy, and to mark the 60th anniversary of his assassination, we peer beyond the conspiracy theories to find out what really happened on the fateful day. Did Lee Harvey Oswald really fire all three shots, as the official reports...2023-11-2250 minBehind The SpineS8E12 Wedding Drama: Kate Sawyer on ‘This Family’ - a story of the unseen“How many weddings have you gone to where you don't really know very many other people at the wedding? And it's trying to make those connections of who is who. It was something I wanted to recreate for the reader.”
Between deciding the guest-list and actually getting everyone together under one roof, wedding days can be… chaotic, to say the least. Beneath the jubilance often lies a web of unresolved family dramas and conflict. The question is, will it bubble up to the surface?
Kate Sawyer’s new novel ‘This Family’ is set over a single summe...2023-08-2334 minBehind The SpineS8E11 As Rich as the King: Abigail Assor’s bittersweet love-letter to Casablanca“Loving a country is also never ceasing to be demanding. Through that book I asked my city to do something else, to change the system. I have a bittersweet relationship with the city. I love it. And at the same time, I have a little bit of anger.”
Casablanca, the largest city in Morocco, is a city of great inequality - a patriarchal system run by a monarchy. And in ‘As Rich as the King’, we see how that inequality impacts the life of sixteen-year-old French teenager Sarah.
Abigail Assor’s brilliantly poignant novel is inspired b...2023-08-1624 minBehind The SpineS8E10 My Men: Victoria Kielland on the most infamous serial killer you’ve never heard of“Her love is quite possessive, wanting to become the other person, owning the man, or becoming whole and finally complete. But the thing is, she's never going to complete herself because the wound is too deep.”
Between 14 and 40. That’s how many men were killed by Belle Gunness. Yet despite the terrible atrocities of ‘America’s first female serial killer’, there’s a good chance you’ve never heard her name.
In ‘My Men’, a new novel from Victoria Kielland, we learn the tortured and troubled history of this Norwegian-born serial killer, taking a glimpse into her twisted wor...2023-08-0935 minBehind The SpineS8E9 Scorched Grace: Margot Douaihy on the hardboiled genre and a queer, heavily tattooed nun“I wanted to start with a very unstable, shaky foundation in order to create a world of voltage and heat and fire. Each book in the series is its own little storm.”
The hardboiled genre has received a complete makeover. Holiday is a queer, chain-smoking, heavily tattooed nun, covered completely in her nun’s habit. And her amateur sleuthing skills are taking the literary world by storm.
Scorched Grace is the first of a brand new series of books from Margot Douaihy. In the novel, Holiday attempts to uncover the mystery behind a shocking arson attack...2023-08-0234 minBehind The SpineS8E8 Hokey Pokey: Kate Mascarenhas on a gothic horror in a grand hotel“What you want from that gothic house is the sense of being overwhelmed by scale, while also having a sense of unease and claustrophobia as well. Those two things, twinned together.”
The Regent Hotel in Birmingham may be grand, but beneath its opulence, cocktail parties and fine dining, lies a gothic nightmare of murder, deception and mystery.
Hokey Pokey, the new book from Kate Mascarenhas, follows Nora Dickinson, who finds herself locked in the Regent with a host of high society guests during a terrible snow storm. And while they’re shut off from the outsid...2023-07-2634 minBehind The SpineS8E7 The Contest: Karen Hamilton on the jeopardy and dangers of a mountaintop thriller“One person told me he got to a point where he didn't actually care whether he lived or died. He felt so ill that he had hallucinations. So it's a risk. It's a risk.”
For the people who’ve climbed Mount Kilimanjaro, making it to the summit is more than a battle of fitness or of money. It’s a challenging test of one’s mental fortitude unlike no other. Throw into the mix a little deception, trickery and deceit - and that climb can become deadly.
In Karen Hamilton’s latest book ‘The Contest’, she introduces a...2023-07-1927 minBehind The SpineS8E6 Outside, the Sky is Blue: Christina Patterson on the tragedy and joy of her family memoir“I don't think anyone could have looked at the Patterson family and said, “oh, what a conventionally successful party”. But I did want to honour them. And I realised I was actually and am proud of them because they did it. They loved, they were good, they were decent, they were kind, they were courageous.”
Though Christina Patterson’s family may not be “conventionally successful”, they are extraordinary. Despite much tragedy, Christina looks back on her family’s story with joy.
In her new memoir, ‘Outside, the Sky is Blue’, she relives the rocky history of her family, explo...2023-07-1231 minBehind The SpineS8E5 Kala: Colin Walsh on terrors of the past and a town of dark secrets“Kala is the Sinatra of the book. You have all these different perspectives on her. My hope was that having these panoramic perspectives would create spaces for the reader to create their own relationship to Kala.”
A town with a series of dark secrets, upended by the reopening of a decades old-wound. When the horrors of the past have scarred and warped their victims over time, how does despair manifest when it all comes back to haunt them?
Kala is the debut novel from Colin Walsh. The book takes us to the Irish village of Kinl...2023-07-0536 minBehind The SpineS8E4 The Dive: Sara Ochs on the dark underbelly of an island paradise“It's so welcoming. The people are wonderful. It's beautiful. It was really where I thought I could see myself living and building a life. And then when I found out about that murder, it did raise the hairs on the back of my neck.”
How does a place you love transform into a place of fear? Can the beauty of an island paradise ever outshine the darkness that lies beneath the surface?
The Dive is the debut novel from Sara Ochs. The thriller takes place on the fictional island of Koh Sang in Thailand, where back...2023-06-2827 minBehind The SpineS8E3 The Girls of Summer: Katie Bishop on the fallibility of memory“Having that realisation of looking back on a memory that they really prized and valued, and realising that it was something a little bit darker and that they were perhaps taken advantage of. It is something that's really troubling for people.”
Is there a moment in your life that you look back on with nothing but fondness? A golden moment where life was perfect? How closely do you think that memory holds up to reality?
We’re all guilty of looking back with rose-tinted glasses from time-to-time - but just how fallible can our memory really...2023-06-2133 min
Behind The SpineS8E2 Go As A River: Shelley Read on the rocky path of adversity“Her story in my mind is sort of a two steps forward, one step back kind of journey. It's not that we face one major challenge in our life and suddenly we are these wise and capable people.”
In life, there isn’t one straight road out of adversity and grief. And so, when charting your characters’ journeys through hardship, authenticity means lingering in the messiness.
Shelley Read’s new book ‘Go As A River’ is a wonderful coming-of-age story, which opens in 1940s rural Colorado. It follows the story of teenager Victoria Nash, and her struggle t...2023-06-1436 minBehind The SpineS8E1 One Moment: Becky Hunter on the strength we find in grief“It’s that question ‘What if?’ ‘What if I had done this differently?’ And it's something I'm really obsessed with in my own life.”
The death of a main character is often a controversial and difficult moment in any work of literature - but what if it happens in the first few pages?
Stirred by her own experiences of losing a close friend far too soon, Becky Hunter’s debut novel One Moment sees death not as the end, but as the beginning. After a tragic opening, Scarlett watches down on her best friend Evie, as she wrestles...2023-06-0734 minBehind The SpineS7E12 Hotel 21: Senta Rich on kleptomania and control“The reason I thought the cleaner had taken my brush wasn’t because of value. It was to get back at me, you see.”
What started as the innocuous tale of a missing hairbrush, potentially stolen by a hotel cleaner, quickly turned into an exciting novel about kleptomania and control.
It may have been just a small and fairly innocuous moment in Senta Rich’s life, but she morphed it into something spectacular - her debut novel Hotel 21. In the book we follow hotel cleaner Noelle, a seemingly model employee who can’t help taking little ‘sou...2023-04-1931 minBehind The SpineS7E11 Andy Africa: Stephen Buoro on coming of age in the shadow of colonialism“He’s carrying this post-colonial sense that many Black people, many Nigerians and Africans feel. Like, we feel we are subservient - we are not good enough as white people.”
Andrew Aziza is a 15 year old boy growing up in Kontagora in Northern Nigeria, wrestling with issues of politics, identity and spirituality. Faced with a feeling that Africa is “cursed”, he finds himself longing to be with a blonde, white woman from the West.
Stephen Buoro is the author of The Five Sorrowful Mysteries of Andy Africa, a coming-of-age story that follows an intelligent and highly emo...2023-04-1228 minBehind The SpineS7E10 Collected Works: Lydia Sandgren on a decade of writing and the musicality of storytelling“I became more curious, I think. The longer I’ve written, the more curious I have become. I was somehow liberated when I started to work. I felt like I became more free.”
Is it ever too late to finish writing that novel you started all those years ago? Creating a truly great novel takes time - sometimes longer than you think. Today’s author spent an entire decade writing her newly released debut novel, and it was certainly worth the wait.
Lydia Sandgren is the author of Collected Works, a massive 700 page novel that follows...2023-04-0537 minBehind The SpineS7E9 The Garnett Girls: Georgina Moore on family love, betrayal and secrets“The girls really want to bring someone home that doesn’t just try to fit in. They want someone who’s going to bring something new to the family lore, to family legend, to the Garnett way of life.”
Every family has their own traditions, habits and customs that often seem alien to the outside world. And for large, close-knit families whose lives are entirely intertwined, this can make for a daunting experience for new partners.
The Garnett Girls certainly have their own way - whether they believe it’s the right way is up for debate...2023-03-2934 minBehind The SpineS7E8 Violence Against Women: Ayesha Mago on the Sexual Violence Research Initiative“There is such an unbelievable amount of violence. There is so much unnecessary hurt that women and children are suffering. There have got to be solutions, and we have to keep trying to find those.”
No matter where you are in the world, violence against women is frighteningly prevalent, taking many forms and rooted in the power imbalance between the genders.
Ayesha Mago is the global advocacy director of the the Sexual Violence Research Initiative, an organisation which works to advance research on violence against women and violence against children in low and middle-income countries. In t...2023-03-2228 minBehind The SpineS7E7 The Witch in the Well: Camilla Bruce on obsession, female rivalry and the supernatural“If someone wants to write a story that you have researched and really gotten involved with emotionally - if you see someone do it in a different way that opposes your own views - how would that make you feel?”
Have you ever had the feeling someone else might be writing the exact same story as you, at the exact same time? Have you ever felt desperate to finish your book in case someone pips you to the post?
Well, in The Witch in the Well rivalry, jealousy and hatred run amuck as this very scen...2023-03-1528 minBehind The SpineS7E6 International Women’s Day special: Dean Peacock on feminist peace and decoupling masculinity from war and violence“Faced with a more precarious claim on power, the film industry is depicting men in more stereotypically powerful ways. The big question is ‘what do we do about it’?”
The global feminist movement has the same budget as one F35 fighter plane. That alone shows you how much of a chasm there is between the funding for peace and the funding for war.
In this International Women’s Day special, we speak to Dean Peacock, director of the Mobilising Men for Feminist Peace programme for the Women’s International League for Peace & Freedom. In this episode he e...2023-03-0838 minBehind The SpineS7E5 The Unseen Caribbean: Kevin Jared Hosein on the dark history of Trinidad“It is as foreign to some people here, as it would be to someone not living here. There’s a kind of feral nature to it that I wanted to capture."
Many of us hold a picture postcard view of the Caribbean - steel drums, calypso music and coconut trees - but places like Trinidad have a shockingly dark past.
Kevin Jared Hosein is the author of ‘Hungry Ghosts’, a book which explores the impact of colonialism on Trinidad, taking us back in time to a snapshot in the country’s history when Trinidadians experienced subhuman li...2023-03-0130 minBehind The SpineS7E4 How To Be Kind: Benjy Kusi on acceptance, empathy and why you shouldn’t fear ignorance“We need to get our heads out of the sand, and be open and aware to learning new things, in order to gain new inclusive habits which will enable us to be more sensitive and kinder to others.”
Our modern world is a more accepting one, but also a busier one. While we understand better than ever the importance of being kind - it can be difficult to find the time to actually practise kindness.
Benjy Kusi is a diversity, inclusion and wellbeing consultant, and the author of self-help guide ‘Hope this Helps: How to be Kin...2023-02-2243 minBehind The SpineS7E3 Supernatural Belief: Katy Hays on tarot cards, ambition and toxic relationships“It’s so strange, this idea that parts of your life are already determined. And would you want to know? I wouldn’t want to know.”
Do you believe in the supernatural? If not, what would make you believe? Or perhaps the question is, where? As a gothic museum home to people with outlandish theories, The Cloisters is the perfect breeding ground for supernatural belief.
‘The Cloisters: The Secret History for a New Generation’ is the new novel from Katy Hays. It follows the story of Ann Stilwell who discovers a once-thought lost deck of 15th-century I...2023-02-1541 minBehind The SpineS7E2 A Crime Series: Simon Mason on creating a fresh new universe in a familiar setting“What I trust is if my stories are not so much plot driven but character driven, then the possibilities are endless”.
Crime is a genre we all know and love. But what are the perfect ingredients for crafting a crime story that keeps you coming back for more - that stokes the desire to return for a whole series of novels?
Well, if you want the recipe, look no further than Simon Mason. He’s the author of ‘A Killing in November’ and ‘The Broken Afternoon’, two novels in the DI Wilkins series - an incredible uni...2023-02-0834 minBehind The SpineS7E1 Tensions in the Workplace: Gabriella Braun on the hidden truths behind our behaviour at work“Conflict isn’t just between people, it’s within us. We all have inherent contradictions within us. That is the way we’re built.”
Feuds, power struggles, tensions and conflict - the workplace can so easily become a hotbed of hostility. Toxic work cultures are frighteningly common - but why? And what can we do about it?
Gabriella Braun gets to the very root of this problem in her non-fiction novel All That We Are: uncovering the hidden truths behind our behaviour at work - an essential piece of reading that should be mandatory for everyone...2023-02-0138 minBehind The SpineTrailer: Series 7Series 7 is about to launch, and it’s time to whet your appetite for our most international series to date. Find out what’s coming up, and hear a teaser of our conversation with Gabriella Braun, Director of Working Well, who’ll be kicking the series off by discussing her new book All That We Are: Uncovering the hidden truths behind our behaviour at work.
Tune in from Wednesday 1st February for the return of Behind The Spine.
Your host is inkjockey founder Mark Heywood.
Behind The Spine is an inkjockey production, and the aud...2023-01-2501 minBehind The SpineBONUS: Writing Salon Volume II previewAhead of Series 7 which goes live in February, we share some exciting news from our sister project, The Writing Salon.
Your host is inkjockey founder Mark Heywood.
Behind The Spine is an inkjockey production, and the audio accompaniment to The Writing Salon. Sign up to the newsletter here.
You can buy copies of our anthology series here.
You can view the full transcript here.
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Twitter: https://twitter.c...2022-12-2806 minBehind The SpineS6E12 Be More Grace: Fran Littlewood on midlife heroines and refuting the narrative“This is an expression of everything I feel, in the midlife women around me, this sort of simmering rage that we’re living with. You’re supposed to be the perfect mother, the perfect wife, the perfect daughter, the perfect friend. It’s a huge, huge pressure.”
Held to an incredibly high standard by society and squeezed from all sides, women are fed an ideal that is impossible to live up to. And for women of a certain age, there’s the prevailing narrative that they’re “past it…invisible and unfuckable”.
Refuting this narrative is Fran Littlewood. I...2022-12-2132 minBehind The SpineS6E11 Humour in the Face of Death: Catherine Newman on grief, laughter and polenta cake“Anyone who has spent time in a hospice or sat by the bedside of a dying person knows this…it can be a lot of time to fill. Often weeks on end of sitting around. It’s like hosting a really bad dinner party.”
The dramatisation of death is common to see on page, stage and screen - usually all focused around the dying breaths and final moments. But those moments are fleeting, and for those waiting to die, it can be a long, mundane and even funny experience at times.
Catherine Newman is the author o...2022-12-1434 minBehind The SpineS6E10 Messy Lives: Susannah Dickey on flawed characters and keeping it real“Grief doesn’t experience time in a linear model. You don’t just grow out of grief by dint of the days passing. That’s why Lily doesn’t have a typical arc - that eureka moment at the end”.
Characters won’t always align with your views, or do the things you expect of them. The most authentic and compelling characters are those who lead messy lives and make infuriating decisions - because that’s real.
Susannah Dickey is a Northern Irish writer and the author of Common Decency. In the novel we follow neighbours Lily...2022-12-0735 minBehind The SpineS6E9 A Nonfiction Novel: Juan Gabriel Vasquez on the story the facts don’t tell“Novels can open a space in which opposing ideas are valid at the same time. In which reality is considered in a complex way.”
What defines a novel? Can the genre deal in both fiction and fact? It may seem contradictory, but the ability to play with facts in a novel may actually bring the truth behind them into focus more clearly.
Juan Gabriel Vasquez is widely heralded as one of the world’s greatest living novelists. In his new book Retrospective, he charts the barely fictionalised and extraordinary life of the Colombian film director Sergio...2022-11-3032 minBehind The SpineS6E8 The Metaverse: Zillah Watson on the present and future of virtual reality“I don’t think people have got enough of a taste of what [VR] can offer to really see where it’s going.”
It’s been billed as the future of technology, poised to transform entertainment, but virtual reality still hasn’t hit the mainstream. The technology is being used in increasingly interesting and sophisticated ways, but just how far is it from becoming a staple in everybody’s home?
Zillah Watson is a London-based consultant on VR and immersive content. In this episode she explores the knowns and unknowns of virtual reality’s future, she discusses the...2022-11-2334 minBehind The SpineS6E7 Romantic Comedies: Emma Hughes on stigmas, dating apps and comedy baubles“There is strange conspiracy of silence around romantic comedies”
Despite the genre’s huge share of the market, there’s a notion that romantic comedy is without substance and not worthy of critical acclaim. Today’s guest is here to explain why that couldn’t be further from the truth.
Emma Hughes is the author of No Such Thing As Perfect, a romantic comedy about Laura Morrison, and her experience trialling a new, ground-breaking dating service called Cupid, that promises to find her perfect match. But is there really a formula to finding love?
In this ep...2022-11-1634 minBehind The SpineS6E6 A Reimagined Britain: Jane Thynne on a dystopian, Nazi history“The great pleasure of it was to keep the original London, and lay over it a sheen of how it would have changed. It becomes frighteningly easy to imagine this happening.”
What would Britain look like if there was never a Second World War? What if, instead, Britain allowed the Nazi regime to take hold of the country, forming a peaceful Alliance with Germany?
This dystopian version of history is the setting for Jane Thynne’s new novel Queen High, a sequel to Widowland. In this episode we explore this new world, and the unexpected but no...2022-11-0928 minBehind The SpineS6E5 Rare Books: Oliver Darkshire on the allure of ancient tomes“These collectors feel like they have accrued, or put together this cast of characters in one place. These friends who they have grown to know.”
To be human is to love rarity - a rare object grants its owner a sense of power, joy and worthiness, that is simply unexplainable. While few of us are ever lucky enough to possess the kinds of rarities you might find in a museum - collectors are a different breed.
Oliver Darkshire is the author of Once Upon A Tome: The misadventures of a rare bookseller, which chronicles his many...2022-11-0230 minBehind The SpineS6E4 Horror: Isaura Barbé-Brown on final girls, jump scares and the gender fear gap“It’s mostly women I know, who love horror films in that way, because nothing’s really scarier than the real world things that can happen to us.”
For all the horror movie characters who end up as corpses - victims to the slaughter - there are those who escape their demise. One particular type of survivor - the ‘final girl’ - is the subject of much fascination for today’s guest.
Isaura Barbé-Brown is a horror expert, and writes for the British Film Institute, Den of Geek, and the Bloody Women journal from Final Girls. In...2022-10-2640 minBehind The SpineS6E3 Medieval Britain: Amy Jeffs on nature, the supernatural, and demons“These poems and artefacts; they inspire more questions than they answer with their narrative incompleteness. They are those areas of black ink - that silence - and I think it’s so enticing.”
For the people who lived during the medieval times, the supernatural and natural were not separate. They were intertwined. At a time when nature dominated the landscape, superstition and the belief in fantastical stories were a part of life - a way to make sense of the mysteries of the world.
Amy Jeffs is an art historian specialising in the Middle Ages, and th...2022-10-1939 minBehind The SpineS6E2 Empowerment Through Music: Malaki Patterson on transforming young lives“When you have nothing, you’re at your most creative”
How were your school music lessons - did they inspire you, or leave you wanting? For many the music curriculum fails to speak to them, for others it’s unaffordable to even take part. As vital as music education is, there’s a great deal of inequality and inaccessibility that needs to be addressed.
Malaki Patterson is the Artistic Director of The Music Works, a Gloucester-based charity that aims to transform young lives through music, working with young people from all backgrounds, many of whom come from...2022-10-1230 minBehind The SpineS6E1 Investing in People: Tom Higham on immersive art, levelling up and the future of the arts“It feels so risky for the public purse to invest in individuals rather than in things. Backing people feels like a really progressive thing to do.”
In this era of new tech, where should the money flow? Our guest today argues we need to spend less on technology and invest more in people.
Tom Higham is the Creative Director of international media arts agency Mediale. In this episode he discusses the failings and opportunities within the arts industry, he addresses his concerns with the UK’s levelling up agenda, and he highlights an incredible artwork he’s h...2022-10-0538 minBehind The SpineTrailer: Series 6Series 6 is right around the corner, and what a series it is! We’ll be diving into the world of the metaverse, looking at the mythology of the British landscape, and we’ll be joined by one of the world’s greatest living novelists. And for our first episode we’ll be in the company of Tom Higham, creative director of international media arts agency Mediale. Tune in from Wednesday 5th October - and stay with us right up until Christmas.
Your host is inkjockey founder Mark Heywood.
Behind The Spine is an inkj...2022-09-2101 minBehind The SpineS5E12 The Marriage Pact: Emily Houghton on an idyllic past and catastrophic present“There’s a huge feeling that a relationship will fix you…and it doesn’t always matter if it’s the right relationship, as long as you’re kinda in one.”
Being single, especially old and single, is not looked upon favourably in society. It’s no wonder then that people rush to make marriage pacts with their childhood best friends - a bizarre yet completely understandable byproduct of societal standards. But do those pacts ever work out?
In her latest book ‘Last Time We Met’, Emily Houghton brings us the story of Eleanor and Fin, who promise the...2022-08-0329 minBehind The SpineS5E11 Older Women: Jane Campbell on sensuality, unforgettable characters and false narratives"Old women are so much more than this. So much more. They are still complete human beings."
Purple hats, knitting needles and gnarled hands - this is how older women are usually portrayed and thought of. The pervading narrative is that they are no longer interesting. But this couldn’t be further from the truth.
In her debut book Cat Brushing, Jane Campbell disrupts the stereotypes about older women. Through a collection of short stories she explores the lives of thirteen unforgettable characters, in a range of fierce, sensual and vivid narratives.
In thi...2022-07-2729 minBehind The SpineS5E10 A Toxic Family: Rebecca Wait on sibling rivalries, awful parents and intergenerational traumaDespite the common belief that parents just want to do right by their kids, we don’t always see it pan out like that. There are some terrible parents out there, and the dynamic of a toxic family is not an uncommon sight in literature. So what’s going on? What drives these difficult relationships?
In Rebecca Wait’s new novel ‘I’m Sorry You Feel That Way’, she tackles these questions, following the lives of Celia - a pretty awful mother - her son Michael, and twin girls Alice and Hanna.
In this episode we learn how...2022-07-2033 minBehind The SpineS5E9 Inherited Trauma: Angela Findlay on bearing the guilt of our ancestorsIf you learnt of darkness within your family tree - if you discovered an ancestor caused unimaginable pain - would you feel shame? Would you feel guilt?
Bearing the guilt of our forebears may seem counterintuitive, after all, we’re not to blame for their actions. And yet it’s more common than you’d imagine. In her debut book ‘In My Grandfather’s Shadow’, Angela Findlay comes face-to-face with her own inherited trauma, uncovering the life of her dead grandfather, who was a decorated German General during the Second World War.
In this episode we learn how...2022-07-1335 minBehind The SpineS5E8 Life in Berlin: Bea Setton on authenticity, shortcomings and writing for the sensesWhen we go on holiday, travel, or relocate, we’re often looking to ‘get away from it all’. What we rarely consider is how difficult that is, especially when it’s our own personal shortcomings that we’re trying to escape. That’s certainly true for the character of Daphne Ferber, who arrives in Berlin for a fresh start, not expecting to run into more drama than she left behind.
Berlin, the debut novel from author Bea Setton, presents us with the most fascinating and incredibly authentic character. Daphne is in her 20s, in a new city, coming face-t...2022-07-0637 minBehind The SpineS5E7 Being a Better Ancestor: Ella Saltmarshe on long-time thinkingIn this fast-paced world, it’s easy to get caught up in the everyday - to have your mind dominated by short-term goals. But how often do you stop and consider the future? Whether it’s for our own personal development, or for the sake of the planet, short-term thinking can severely hold us back.
That’s why Ella Saltmarshe co-founded the Long Time Project, whose goal is to find new ways to help us care about the long-term future. She also presents a podcast called The Long Time Academy, which aims to change the way we choose...2022-06-2933 minBehind The SpineS5E6 Telling A Story With No Voice: Paddy Crewe on the adventures of Yip TolroyYip is a 4ft nothing hairless mute. Born in 1815 and unable to talk, he’s presented with various challenges in his early life. And though he later learns to write, his hardships never cease. In the midst of the Georgia Gold Rush, he gets caught up in a brawl, meeting an unlikely companion while on the run from the law.
My Name is Yip is the debut novel from Paddy Crewe, and it’s an astonishingly brilliant read. Paddy has expertly taken on the challenge of telling the story of a man with no voice. Told as a fi...2022-06-2229 minBehind The SpineS5E5 A New Perspective on Thomas Hardy: Elizabeth Lowry on marriage, regret and resurrectionWhen Thomas Hardy’s wife died, his world was forever changed. Though his marriage to Emma Gifford was tumultuous, his grief was still paralysing. After Emma’s death Hardy discovered and read her diaries, and later burnt them. But why did he burn them? What words were written inside? Why did they evoke such a reaction?
We will never know the answers to these questions, but author Elizabeth Lowry has done an incredible job of filling in the gaps. Through extensive research and some very good best guess-work, she’s raised the diary from the ashes, bringing Emma’s...2022-06-1530 minBehind The SpineS5E4 The Special Operations Executive: Kate Vigurs uncovers the stories of 39 female secret agentsWould you give up your life and put everything on the line for your country? If you were plucked off the street and asked to serve as a secret agent overseas during wartime, would you say yes? These are the decisions that The Special Operations Executive agents had to come to terms with.
SOE was formed in 1940, and the organisation’s F section sent more than four hundred agents into France. But while some are widely known – others have had their stories largely overlooked. In her new book ‘Mission France’ Dr Kate Vigurs uncovers the stories of the 39 f...2022-06-0837 minBehind The SpineS5E3 The Business of Art: Kerri Layton on making money, pivoting, and Backstage BadassesMost of us are in the writing game because we love the creative journey. The business of writing however? Well, we’re not always great at that. But if you want to make money and turn your passion into a career, the business is just as important as the writing, and needs to be thought about early in the process. And that’s where many of us could use a little help.
Kerri Layton is a performing arts business coach and founder of Backstage Badasses. Through various courses and resources she empowers writers, actors, performers and dancers to t...2022-06-0134 minBehind The SpineBONUS EP: Cazz Lander Sets SailWe’ve brought you all the build to Cazz Lander’s Great British Row, and now the adventure athlete and her partner Andre have finally set sail. Catching Cazz just a few days before launch, Mark gets up close and personal with the mighty boat she’ll be calling home, and finds out how she’s feeling. Enjoy this bonus episode, and stay tuned for regular updates from the boat.
Find out more about and donate to the Royal Marsden Cancer Charity here.
Your host is inkjockey founder Mark Heywood.
Behind The Spine is an in...2022-05-2712 minBehind The SpineS5E2 The cult of celebrity influencers: Louise O’Neill on fame spirals and addictive relationshipsSocial media influencers live the lives we wish we lived - perfect and flawless… Or so we think. IDOL is the story of online health and wellness guru Samantha Miller, whose spiral downwards shows that life behind the camera lens is not always so rosy - that we don’t always know who we’re idolising.
Louise O’Neill is a prolific Irish author with multiple titles to her name. Through IDOL she draws on some of her own, testing experiences with social media, digging into its darker side. And through a tumultuous relationship she also plays with the...2022-05-2529 minBehind The SpineS5E1 Immersive dance experiences: Alexander Whitley on storytelling through the human bodyThe abstract narratives offered through dance performances allow each audience member to experience a story unique to them - to draw their own conclusions of the events that are unfolding. It’s no surprise then that dance has become the perfect playground for experiments with immersive technologies, like virtual reality.
Alexander Whitley is a London-based choreographer working at the cutting edge of British contemporary dance. Through a number of mesmerising projects he’s reinventing the landscape of dance.
In this episode we discuss the powerful possibilities of storytelling through the human body, we find out how...2022-05-1835 minBehind The SpineTrailer: Series 5We’re back with series 5 of the podcast, with an exciting cast of new guests and the return of the Behind The Spine Writing Competition. Mark shares a taste of what’s to come, including a conversation with choreographer Alexander Whitley - going live on the 18th March.
Your host is inkjockey founder Mark Heywood.
Behind The Spine is an inkjockey production, and the audio accompaniment to The Writing Salon. Sign up to the newsletter here.
2022-05-1102 minBehind The SpineS4E12 Drift: Caryl Lewis on nature’s duality and the fight against cultural erasureNature is as beautiful as it is destructive. For those who live each day surrounded by it, nature isn’t always something to be romanticised.
In her English language debut, esteemed Welsh writer Caryl Lewis tackles nature’s duality beautifully through the character of the sea, drawing on her own connection and closeness to the landscape. ‘Drift’ moves between the Welsh coast and war-torn Syria to tell the unusual and captivating love story of Nefyn and Hamza.
In this episode we delve into Caryl’s love of the Welsh language and heritage, we...2022-04-0627 minBehind The SpineS4E11 Lessons In Chemistry: Bonnie Garmus on equality, unapologetic characters and intellectual dogsFemale representation in the sciences is getting better. It’s still not good enough, but we have come a long way. Set in the 1960s, Lessons In Chemistry is a novel which serves to remind us of just how far we’ve come, by recognising the struggles of the not too distant past.
Bonnie Garmus’ debut novel tells the tale of chemist Elizabeth Zott, an unconventional heroine on a mission to upend the status quo. The book’s not out till the 5th of April, and it's already being turned into a TV series. It’s that good.
...2022-03-3028 minBehind The SpineS4E10 Enabling Creativity: Victoria Tillotson on building a brighter futureThe daily grind has a habit of stifling creativity. You may be struggling to innovate in a way you know you’re capable of - you may be burnt out without even knowing it. Sometimes it pays to take a step back. That’s why spaces like Watershed are so important, offering creators a chance to play with their ideas and to experiment in a safe environment.
Watershed is the South West of England’s leading film, culture and digital media centre. Victoria Tillotson is the organisation’s Talent Development Lead and supports artist development within it...2022-03-2326 minBehind The SpineS4E9 Comedy: Liam Pape on cracking a jokeWhether you’re a stand-up facing an audience, or a writer thinking up jokes for the big screen, comedy is hard. As society becomes more culturally diverse, and as much of what we watch comes from the US, landing a joke is getting more tricky. Not only that, comedians these days also have to deal with social media’s ‘cancel culture’. So how are things shaping up for the future of the genre?
Liam Pape is the founder of The West End Comedy Club in London. The club offers weekday performances for both established and up-and-coming comedians, with man...2022-03-1627 minBehind The SpineS4E8 Counter Terrorism: Anne Craanen on radicalisationAlthough the internet grants us access to boundless knowledge, algorithms and social media platforms create a very tribal online experience where our own beliefs are confirmed, instead of challenged. And it’s within these echo chambers that terrorists and violent extremists are able to radicalise others to their cause.
Anne Craanen is a senior research analyst Tech Against Terrorism, and host of the organisation’s podcast. She and the team supports the tech industry tackle terrorist exploitation of the internet, whilst respecting human rights.
In this episode we find out about the push and pull fact...2022-03-0930 minBehind The SpineS4E7 The Flames: Sophie Haydock on rewriting the narrativeWhen an artist chooses to portray someone’s image in a painting, they get to call the shots - to tell that person’s story however they see fit. A painting says more about the artist than it does of their muse. So what would happen if the painted could tell their own story?
Sophie Haydock’s debut novel The Flames - out later this month - answers that question, in a breathtakingly unique way. Part fiction, part fact, she tells the story of the four women who posed for the artist Egon Schiele in Vienna more than 1...2022-03-0236 minBehind The SpineS4E6 Battling Setbacks: Cazz Lander on training for the rowThroughout the course of this series we’re following the journey of adventurer and extreme sports enthusiast Cazz Lander as she prepares to row 2000 miles along the coast of Great Britain. A lot has moved on since we caught up in episode 1, and after a raft of setbacks, training is in full swing.
Now in South Africa, the team of Cazz and her partner Andre are making great strides towards their goal of hitting the Great British waters in June, despite not yet having had a chance to row in the boat they’re going to use.
2022-02-2320 minBehind The SpineS4E5 Writing Competition: The WinnersDuring series 3 of the podcast we launched the Behind The Spine writing competition. You were tasked with writing a short story of no more than 1000 words, based on one of the writing lessons we’ve learnt from our many amazing guests. And you well and truly delivered! With entries from all over the world, it was hard to narrow down our choices, but two winners emerged.
‘A Homecoming’, by Michelle Witton
‘A Teacher’s Note’ by Damian Clarke
In this special episode their stories have been brought to life by actors Sara...2022-02-1630 minBehind The SpineS4E4 Borussia Dortmund: Terry Duffelen on the love of a football clubBorussia Dortmund is one of Europe’s most celebrated football clubs. Its story is one of tenacity, rule-breaking and of fighting the power. As a German club you might find it unusual to discover that one of the club’s biggest supporters is a bloke from Croydon.
Terry Duffelen fell in love with Borussia Dortmund some years ago, and co-founded the long-running Yellow Wall, Borussia Dortmund podcast. He's also just released his debut book Borussia Dortmund: A history in black and yellow.
In this episode we explore why football, and sport in general, is one of the...2022-02-0933 minBehind The SpineS1E22 Magic & Panto: Owning the stage with Debbie McGeeMagicians and their magic are only one half of the story - the job of a magician’s assistant may seem simple on the face of it, but without them, the whole show falls apart. You only have to watch the lovely Debbie McGee in action to know this is true! In this episode, Debbie explains how her training as a ballet dancer allowed her to excel on stage - able to hold an applause for longer than anyone else. She also discusses her many years performing in panto, playing to the crowd, and being “the biggest giggler in the...2020-09-0938 minBehind The SpineS1E21 Mudlarking: Relics of the River Thames with Lara MaiklemObjects are storytellers. They hold precious memories, they are entangled in our everyday lives - but some have uncomfortable stories, and are cast into the river, never to be seen again. That is, until the mudlarks! Lara Maiklem is the author of ‘Mudlarking: Lost and Found on the River Thames’. Whether intentionally discarded, or swept up long ago by the waters, Lara pieces together London’s history through the items that uncover themselves at low tide, often decades after they first went missing. In this episode, Lara describes how she has become part of hundreds of strangers’ stories over the year...2020-09-0238 minBehind The SpineS1E20 In At The Deep End: Love, lust and control with Kate DaviesSexuality is one of the biggest ways in which we identify and understand ourselves. And yet there’s an educational void when it comes to same sex relationships. That’s why Kate Davies wrote ‘In at the Deep End’. Drawing on her own experiences, the book explores the story of a woman who comes out as a lesbian later in life, with no knowledge of what to expect. It tackles issues of a controlling relationship, lust vs love, and the difficulties of being thrust headlong into the unknown. In this episode she discusses the need to write more honest accounts...2020-08-2630 minBehind The SpineS1E19 Disability & Sex: More than a sex toy with Andrew GurzaYou probably take it as a given, the ability to masturbate, but for some people, that simple act is impossible. For various reasons, many disabled people struggle to pleasure themselves, and some simply can't do it. Andrew Gurza is the co-founder and chief disability officer of ‘Handi’, which develops sex toys for people with hand limitations. Andrew says sexual pleasure is a human right, and that fact is backed up by the World Health Organization no less! In this episode he explains how he’s smashing taboos, how Handi isn’t just about sex toys, that it’s a movement t...2020-08-1931 minBehind The SpineS1E18 War: How social media is reshaping conflict with David PatrikarakosThe 21st century has brought about a new meaning to “a war of words”. War is no longer confined to the battlefield - it’s up to each side of a conflict to win the narrative battle too. With individuals like the Palestinian social media activist Farah Baker able to tweet in real-time about an ongoing conflict, the likes of Twitter and Facebook have brought us closer than ever before to the front-lines of wars around the world. David Patrikarakos is a journalist, and author of ‘War in 140 Characters: How Social Media Is Reshaping Conflict in the Twenty-First Century’. In this ep...2020-08-1230 minBehind The SpineS1E17 Slavery: An untold history with Vincent BrownThe relationship between slave and master. If we go by what we see on screen and in literature, it would appear that’s the only narrative that exists around slavery. But the slave trade was a global phenomenon, connecting countries and continents around the world. The history books are rarely written on a global scale, so inconvenient truths from our past are often unintentionally, and intentionally left out. Professor Vincent Brown is Charles Warren Professor of American History and Professor of African and African American Studies at Harvard University. In his latest book ‘Tacky’s Revolt’, an account of the larg...2020-08-0532 minBehind The SpineS1E16 Diversity: Celebrating all people with Sunny SinghWhether it’s the racial divides highlighted by #OscarsSoWhite or the unhelpful stereotypes portrayed in films like ‘The Help’, the stories of people of colour remain under-represented and are often ill informed. And with the #BlackLivesMatter movement gaining worldwide recognition, it’s clear we need to step up. Many of the issues stem from the fact that publishers are simply failing to put out enough work written by people of colour. That’s where our guest Professor Sunny Singh comes in. She and Nikesh Shukla set up the Jhalak Prize to celebrate books by British BAME writers. In this episode sh...2020-07-2931 minBehind The SpineS1E15 Medicine: Stories from intensive care with Aoife AbbeyThe long life of shows like Casualty, which has been running since 1986, highlight our obsession with the drama of the hospital. But how many times have you felt the scripting drift too far from reality? Aoife Abbey is the writer of ‘Seven Signs of Life: Stories from an Intensive Care Doctor’ and brings a captivating insight into the actual experiences of those on the front line of medicine. This episode reminds us of a writer’s responsibility to tell the story accurately, it explores how art can, and should be used to highlight issues that have been left in the da...2020-07-2225 minBehind The SpineS1E14 Navigation: The art of wayfinding with Alison RichingsFrom Central Perk cafe in Friends, to Corrie’s Rovers Return, building up a memorable environment is essential in storytelling. Our own lives and emotions are heavily influenced by the places we visit, so it stands to reason that location affects our characters’ lives too. This episode delves into the often unseen art of Wayfinding. Alison Richings from Endpoint explains the impact a poorly laid out building or space can have on our mood, the benefits and risks of familiar locations, and proves that wayfinding is about a lot more than just signs!
2020-07-1531 minBehind The SpineS1E13 The Apocalypse: Starting from scratch with Lewis DartnellWould you have the skills to survive in the immediate aftermath of an apocalypse? Popular culture often focuses on the lead up to the devastating event, or life as it unfolds sometime after. Professor Lewis Dartnell, however, focuses on the days, weeks and months after the fallout, and in his book “The Knowledge”, details the tools humanity would need to survive. This episode will help you re-think the apocalypse genre and think about how we need to feed our souls, not just our stomachs.
2020-07-0830 minBehind The SpineS1E12 Photography: More than meets the eye with Michael PritchardWhether it’s the Vietnamese Buddhist monk set ablaze on a busy street in Saigon, or a pair of squabbling mice in a tube station, photographs are able to evoke the most intense, emotional responses. Dr Michael Pritchard is director of education and public affairs at the Royal Photographic Society, and in this episode he explores the depth of thought that goes into capturing the perfect image. As the entire world now holds the power to take a photo, what does it take to be a cut above the rest?
2020-07-0128 minBehind The SpineS1E11 Religion: The story of us with Cardinal Vincent NicholsReligion is a force that guides many through what’s right and wrong, it’s that sense of meaning, that feeling of community… it’s the story of mankind, resonating through the ages. In this episode, Cardinal Vincent Nichols, Archbishop of Westminster, explores his role in the story of the liturgy, and where that fits within many people’s unique and deeply personal understandings of faith. In a conversation garnished with thought-provoking reflections, the Archbishop discusses the prevalence of divisive storytelling and fake news, dispels the myth of individualism, and shares the lessons he’s learnt over the years.
2020-06-2426 min