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PODCAST

Lit with Charles

Welcome to Lit With Charles, a podcast on all things literary! I"m Charles Pignal, and every fortnight I’m asking guests about the four books which have made the biggest impact on their lives and work. If you"re like me, you love literature – but maybe aren"t always sure what you should be reading. The aim of this podcast is to make literature exciting and accessible; in each episode writers, artists, and other interesting people are giving real recommendations, to help you discover new books

arts books

All Episodes

00:41:56

Oluwaseun Olayiwola, author of "Strange Beach"

Lit with Charles ·

2025/03/10

Today, I’ve got an absolute treat for you: I sat down with Oluwaseun Olayiwola—poet, choreographer, and all-around creative powerhouse—to talk about his latest collection of poems, Strange Beach.Oluwaseun is one of those rare artists who moves seamlessly between the page and the stage. As a choreographer, his work has graced performance spaces from London to Paris, and as a poet, he’s got a voice that feels like it’s bending language in real time. His collection Strange Beach grapples with

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00:43:46

Ben Markovits, author of "The Rest of Our Lives"

Lit with Charles ·

2025/02/24

In this episode of Lit with Charles, I sit down with Benjamin Markovits to discuss his latest novel, The Rest of Our Lives. This beautifully reflective book follows Tom, a middle-aged father who, after dropping his youngest daughter at college, keeps driving, embarking on an unplanned journey that forces him to confront the unresolved trauma of an affair, a failing marriage, and a mysterious health condition. Blending the themes of a road trip novel, midlife crisis, and personal reckoning, Markovits

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00:47:09

Maryam Diener, author of "Parallel Lives"

Lit with Charles ·

2025/02/10

The improbable destinies of two Soviet female spies, connected by a modernist building in North London, is an intriguing premise for any spy novel, let alone one that introduces elements of architectural design in its story. But when those destinies reflect a larger literary opus and sources of inspiration, as they do for today’s guest, then the conversation expands significantly. My guest today is Maryam Diener, an Iranian-born author, publisher and poet, whose work has been translated into French,

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00:38:23

Michael Amherst, author of the "The Boyhood of Cain"

Lit with Charles ·

2025/01/27

Childhood, and specifically adolescence, is a period of life that can be pretty tough and at times traumatic. It’s very fertile ground for literature but it’s not easy to get right. In this episode, I'm joined by Michael Amherst, the author of the upcoming novel The Boyhood of Cain which deals with the period of adolescence, and themes of moral & sexual turmoil. The book feels timeless, with an eeriness that mirrors the protagonist’s growing confusion about himself and the world around

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00:50:32

Rachel Cockerell, author of "Melting Point"

Lit with Charles ·

2025/01/13

In today’s episode I have the pleasure of speaking with Rachel Cockerell, a London-based author, whose first foray into writing began as a family memoir, and evolved into a remarkable and innovative work of historical non-fiction called Melting Point.Melting Point is a great 2024 release from Headline, and will be coming out in Spring of 2025 in the States. The book was longlisted for the 2024 Baillie Gifford Prize, and explores the origins of the Zionist movement, and one of its particular,

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00:35:55

The Best Books I've Read This Year

Lit with Charles ·

2024/12/16

Well, we’ve made it to the end of 2024. I love putting together this list each December because it forces me to look back on a year of reading, try to create some order out of the chaos, and figure out what it is about the stories that I came across that I did and didn’t appreciate.Some books were clear losers. But some took me on crazy journeys, which I knew from the first few pages would stay with me long after the story was finished. I don’t want to spoil my picks here, so I’m not going to say

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00:42:12

Lionel Barber, author of "The Gambling Man"

Lit with Charles ·

2024/12/02

There’s something about the idea of a ‘genius’ that has always captivated us. Whether it’s the artist painting their masterpiece or the entrepreneur betting on the future, we’re captivated by people who seem to see the world differently – and stake everything on that vision. While Elon Musk and Jeff Bezos might be household names, there’s one figure who I’d argue is even more fascinating: the maverick billionaire investor and founder of SoftBank, Masayoshi Son. Equal parts visionary and gambler,

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00:45:21

Susanna Crossman, author of "Home is Where We Start"

Lit with Charles ·

2024/11/18

The memoir is a fascinating form to explore. I’m always intrigued as to how an author can adapt their life and fit it into the confines of a page. How does one capture all its complexities, contradictions, and fleeting moments, in a narrative that feels both honest and coherent? My guest today is Susanna Crossman, a British-French writer, essayist, and clinical arts therapist, who has just published Home is Where We Start with Penguin Random House. The book is her own account of growing up in ‘the

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00:46:30

Arthur Larrue, author of "La Diagonale Alekhine"

Lit with Charles ·

2024/11/04

So this episode is a bit unusual for a variety of reasons. First of all, it’s with a good friend of mine – novelist Arthur Larrue. As you might have guessed from his name, though, Arthur Larrue is French and this entire interview is conducted in French. So unless you speak French, or are trying to test your linguistic abilities, this episode might not be the one for you. However, if you are a fellow Francophone, join me for a lively and insightful chat with an author who has navigated both the

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00:46:34

Mid-Season Episode: 10 Questions for Charles

Lit with Charles ·

2024/10/21

Welcome to this very special episode of the Lit With Charles podcast, where instead of interviewing an interesting guest, I’m actually responding to 10 listeners’ burning questions! Today, you’ll get to hear about my earliest memory of falling in love with reading, and how Stephen King's thrilling tales resonated in my pre-teen years. I’ll be spilling the beans on why Roberto Bolaño's 'The Savage Detectives' didn't click for me, and chatting about my scepticism around 'must-read' lists – like those

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00:39:00

Vanessa Beaumont, author of "The Other Side of Paradise"

Lit with Charles ·

2024/10/07

Today I sat down with Vanessa Beaumont, a former literary agent and novelist about her debut novel The Other Side of Paradise which follows Jean Buckman, a young American newspaper heiress, who arrives in London in the glittering 1920s, and evolves throughout the story, through personal tragedy and loss. Over the course of the story, we watch her grapple with the pressures of mid-Century society on a woman, what it means to do one’s duty, and the pull of desire in the face of it all. It’s kind of a

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00:42:02

Eric Chacour, author of "What I Know About You"

Lit with Charles ·

2024/09/23

Today I sat down with Éric Chacour, a Canadian novelist born to Egyptian parents, to discuss his stunning debut novel. What I Know About You has captivated readers in its original French, winning the prestigious Prix Femina des Lycéens, and been translated into numerous languages, and with Pablo Strauss’ 2024 translation, now makes its grand entrance into the English-speaking world.Eric's novel, which he spent 10 years working on before it was published in 2023, is a richly woven tapestry of

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00:50:15

Florence Gaub, author of "The Future"

Lit with Charles ·

2024/09/09

In this week's podcast episode, I sat down with Florence Gaub, the Director of Research at the NATO Defense College in Rome. A World Economic Forum’s Global Future Council member, and Vice-President of the European Forum Alpbach, Florence is a master of strategic foresight and international security. Her latest book, The Future, is a must-read, exploring how humanity's visions of tomorrow have shifted in different historical contexts. Our conversation spanned various domains, from the

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00:46:59

Charlie Higson, author of "On His Majesty's Secret...

Lit with Charles ·

2024/08/27

My guest today is the writer Charlie Higson, author of On His Majesty’s Secret Service, the latest Bond continuation novel. Written to coincide with King Charles's coronation and the 60th anniversary of On Her Majesty's Secret Service, the book brings Bond into the modern era in a narrative that identifies very real geopolitical threats with some good old Bondian adventure. For those of you to whom the name Charlie Higson his familiar, that’s because he was one of the writers and

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00:41:05

Robert P. Kolker & Nathan Abrams, authors of...

Lit with Charles ·

2024/08/12

Stanley Kubrick was a visionary American filmmaker, whose groundbreaking work redefined cinema. Renowned for his meticulous attention to detail, visual innovation and the complexity of his narratives, Kubrick's films crossed many genres. Perhaps most interestingly for Lit With Charles listeners, many of his most famous movies also began their lives as books. 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968) set new standards in science fiction, while A Clockwork Orange (1971) delved into dystopian violence. His

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00:48:06

Leïla Slimani, author of "The Country of Others" &...

Lit with Charles ·

2024/07/29

Leila Slimani is a highly acclaimed French-Moroccan author who has written some absolutely fantastic novels over the last few years. She burst into the mainstream consciousness when she won the prestigious Prix Goncourt in France in 2016 for her second novel Chanson Douce, which was translated into English in 2018 as The Perfect Nanny in the US, or Lullaby in the UK.She followed this up with non-fiction work as well as a fantastic trilogy which is two-thirds finished, called “Le Pays des Autres”

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00:45:04

Aniefiok Ekpoudom, author of "Where We Come From:...

Lit with Charles ·

2024/07/15

The London-based writer and journalist, Aniefiok Ekpoudom, joins me today to discuss his recent debut book, Where We Come From, which is a ‘history of rap, home and hope in modern Britain’, recently published by Faber & Faber in the UK. When grime music emerged in the early 2000s, born on the streets of East London, it fused elements of UK garage, drum and bass, and dancehall into a dynamic, fast-paced sound. With raw authenticity and sharp lyrical narratives, grime quickly made its mark, both

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00:43:49

Ilaria Bernardini, author of "We Will Be Forest"

Lit with Charles ·

2024/07/01

Italian literature is widely known for its rich tradition of passion, intellect and innovation, and it has always been a standard-bearer for imaginative & emotive literature.This week I'm speaking with the Italian author, screenwriter and BAFTA Award nominee, Ilaria Bernardini. One of Italy’s leading contemporary novelists, Ilaria has penned nine novels, one graphic novel, and two collections of short stories, as well as being a screenwriter collaborating with the legendary director

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00:46:53

Peter Singer, philosopher and author of "Animal...

Lit with Charles ·

2024/06/17

This week, I had the pleasure of speaking with Peter Singer, one of the world’s leading moral philosophers, known for his work in building the philosophical foundations of the modern animal rights movement, which he helped develop with his landmark book “Animal Liberation” published in 1975 which was one of the first to highlight hideous conditions of animal suffering and the vacuity of “speciesism”.He is a prominent advocate of Utilitarianism, and over the years, he’s written about euthanasia,

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00:46:25

Katie Gee Salisbury, author of "Not Your China Doll"

Lit with Charles ·

2024/06/03

The 1930s Hollywood star Anna May Wong was a trailblazer in the Golden Age of Hollywood. While navigating the treacherous waters of racial prejudice, she carved a path to international fame, becoming the first Chinese-American bona fide Hollywood movie star. This week, I had the pleasure of speaking with author Katie Gee Salisbury, who’s written a biography of Anna May Wong called Not Your China Doll, published earlier this year to huge acclaim. In today’s episode, Katie and I discuss, as always,

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