The Essay Podcast
Leading writers on arts, history, philosophy, science, religion and beyond, themed across a week - insight, opinion and intellectual surprise.
Episodes to download
-
![]()
Cornerstones: Quartz
Mon 9 Jan 2017
Linda Cracknell reflects on the appeal of the quartz on Ben Lawers, her local Munro.
-
![]()
Poet Kenneth Steven on the Scottish islands
Fri 23 Sep 2016
Poet Kenneth Steven writes on the remote islands of St Kilda.
-
![]()
Poet Kenneth Steven reflects on Scottish island life
Thu 22 Sep 2016
Poet Kenneth Steven writes on Raasay, an island close to Skye.
-
![]()
Poet Kenneth Steven reflects on Scottish island life
Wed 21 Sep 2016
Kenneth Steven looks at Rum, a wild and windswept Hebridean island.
-
![]()
Poet Kenneth Steven on Scottish island life
Tue 20 Sep 2016
Poet Kenneth Steven writes on Hoy in the archipelago of the Orkney islands
-
![]()
Poet Kenneth Steven reflects on Scottish island life
Mon 19 Sep 2016
Kenneth Steven writes on the Hebridean island of Iona.
-
![]()
Shakespeare 400. Joan Fitzpatrick on Wolf All? Shakespeare and food
Wed 27 Apr 2016
Joan explores the symbolism of food and eating in Shakespeare's plays
-
![]()
Shakespeare 400. James Loxley on Undiscovered Countries: Shakespeare and the Nation
Tue 26 Apr 2016
James explores the light Shakespeare throws on national identity, then and now
-
![]()
Minds at War: Sean O'Casey's "The Silver Tassie"
Fri 15 Apr 2016
Playwright and academic Elizabeth Kuti explores Sean O'Casey's "The Silver Tassie"
-
![]()
Minds at War: Father Browne's war photograph
Thu 14 Apr 2016
Photographer John D McHugh explores one of the war photos taken by Fr Francis Browne
-
![]()
Minds at War: "O' Connell Street"
Wed 13 Apr 2016
Poet and academic Gerald Dawe explores Francis Ledwidge's poem "O'Connell Street".
-
![]()
Minds at War: "The Last September"
Tue 12 Apr 2016
Dr Heather Jones of the LSE explores Elizabeth Bowen's novel "The Last September"
-
![]()
Minds at War: "Ulysses"
Mon 11 Apr 2016
The writer Fintan O'Toole reflects on James Joyce's novel "Ulysses"
-
![]()
Handel: Music for the Royal Fireworks
Fri 4 Mar 2016
Stephen Johnson studies the audience's reaction to Handel's Music for the Royal Fireworks
-
![]()
Beethoven: Piano Concerto No 4
Thu 3 Mar 2016
Stephen Johnson considers how Beethoven's Piano Concerto No 4 thrilled the first audience
-
![]()
Shostakovich: Symphony No 5
Wed 2 Mar 2016
Stephen Johnson considers how Shostakovich's Symphony No 5 surprised it's first audience
-
![]()
Byrd: Mass for Four Voices
Tue 1 Mar 2016
Stephen Johnson considers how Byrd's Mass for 4 voices was received by its first audience
-
![]()
Mahler's Symphony No 8
Mon 29 Feb 2016
Stephen Johnson considers how Mahler's Symphony no 8 was received by its first audience.
Death in Trieste
A 1760s murder still informs ideas about aesthetics, a certain sort of sex, and death.
Watch: My Deaf World
Five compelling experiences of what it is like to be deaf in 21st-century Britain.
The Book that Changed Me
Five figures from the arts and science introduce books that changed their lives and work.
Download The Essay
Download all the episodes from the series and listen at your leisure.
