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PODCAST

The Grand Thunk

The Grand Thunk

The podcast in which Rhiannon Kearns and Alex Blanchard discuss what they"ve been reading, watching and listening to. Listen every Wednesday for your mid week top-up of culture and fun!

arts books

All Episodes

00:46:03

22 - Carrying the Baggage, Mis-Diagnosing...

The Grand Thunk ·

2021/06/14

Rhiannon has been watching the BAFTAs, hosted by Richard Ayoade, while Alex has been tracing the history of the phrase ‘call me by your name’ and its importance in queer culture and music. Rhiannon read The Rosie Project and has been mulling over the swiftness with which people diagnose characters with neurodiversity based on stereotypes. Meanwhile, Alex loved an Italian novel called A Girl Returned, with its gritty and entrancing characters. Netflix’s documentary, Sherpa, captivated Rhiannon as it

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00:45:41

21 - On Understanding Palestine, Loving Dolly...

The Grand Thunk ·

2021/06/07

We’re back with an nauseatingly nostalgic episode, starting with a few tips on Eurovision scoring systems and implement-free pineapple dining experiences. Rhiannon has been closely following Naomi Osaka stepping back from post-match press conferences, asking the question - are they now defunct? Alex has been indulging in her love of all things Dolly Alderton touches, reading Everything I Know About Love and reminiscing about the High Low. Rhiannon has been on a similarly nostalgic journey with the

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00:52:19

20 - Wedding Madness, Camus’ Woke Speeches and Facing...

The Grand Thunk ·

2021/05/31

Alex has been exploring Camus’ surprisingly woke speeches, exploring the role the artist has to play in politics and understanding whilst Rhiannon has been facing her mortality in Atul Gawande’s book about standards of care for the elderly. Alex shares with us the importance of generalists and having hobbies in a world that prioritises hyper specialisation. Rhiannon has discovered Olivia Colman’s secrets for securing a partner in the National Theatre’s Life in Stages, whilst Alex has been

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00:49:28

19 - Ben Barnes’ Eyes, Eurovision and Opinionated Women

The Grand Thunk ·

2021/05/24

A packed episode this week! Rhiannon has started falling in love with Netflix’s new fantasy show, ‘Shadow and Bone’ and Alex is still getting to grips with motherhood through Candice Brathwaite’s ‘I Am Not Your Baby Mother’, a memoir/manifesto about being a black British mother. Rhiannon has been digging into the frank and opinionated world of Katherine Ryan with her podcast ‘Telling Everyone Everything’. It was Eurovision this week and in celebration, Rhiannon watched ‘The Story of Fire Saga’, the

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00:48:45

18 - Naturist or Naturalist, Delving into Fantasy and...

The Grand Thunk ·

2021/05/17

Rhiannon has truly embraced moving to the countryside and is brimming with tall tales of grass growing and cheeky pigeons. Alex has been admiring Billie Eilish’s new look and they discuss the controversy surrounding this transition from iconic look to iconic look. Alex has also been deep-diving into notions of a separate genius and what that means for the conscious mind, but more importantly, what does this mean for Philip Pullman’s work? Rhiannon has been reading the beautiful book ‘Where the

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00:54:22

17 - Giving Birth, Giving in to the Bake Off and...

The Grand Thunk ·

2021/05/10

Alex has a surprise for Rhiannon as she finally watches the Great British Bake Off and she revels in James McAvoy’s baking charisma. Alex has also been deep-diving into the world of childbirth whilst reading the incredibly rousing ‘Give Birth Like a Feminist' by Milli Hill. Meanwhile, Rhiannon discusses the importance of mutuality in eliminating the racism in our systems through her reading of ‘What White People Can Do Next’, a provoking and explorative book by Emma Dabiri. Whilst Alex has been

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00:58:13

16 - The Grand Guest: Haley McGee and The...

The Grand Thunk ·

2021/05/03

Welcome to our first 'Grand Guest' with the captivating Haley McGee. Haley is an actor, podcast host, playwright and most recently, an author. Her funny and vulnerable memoir explores the cost of love as Haley struggles to get out of debt. The only items she has to sell to get out of debt have been given to her by her exes but how much should they be sold for? Haley pose some challenging questions, ‘Is the mixtape from your first love worth more than the vintage typewriter from a philanderer? Do the

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00:51:29

15 - Thumb up the Bum of a Pineapple, Conspira-sea...

The Grand Thunk ·

2021/04/26

It’s Episode 15 and we’re adoring the sunshine! Alex tells us about a sentimental and charming novel about moving past grief while Rhiannon has been exploring Roisin Conaty’s comedy, GameFace. Alex has taken one for the team and watched Seaspiracy and divulges all the dirty secrets of the sea. Rhiannon, however, has been reading critique of Seaspiracy (see below), giving context to this dramatic documentary. Rhiannon regales us with a story about Rosamund Pike with her thumb up the bum of a

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00:49:37

14 - Butler Fantasies, Blaming Women and being a...

The Grand Thunk ·

2021/04/19

Alex has been reading up on the origins of the feminist term Bluestocking, originally used to describe a man - typical - before telling us about the charming instagram-famous novel 'Hamnet'. Rhiannon delves into a new Tom Hanks film, tracing the history of news readers and translating that to today’s news sources. Alex has been reading ‘The Ungrateful Refugee’ and postulates on what it means to be a refugee. Meanwhile, Rhiannon has been reading ‘Cilka’s Journey’, diving into a passionate discussion

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00:52:43

13 - Trans Women are Women, a Plethora of Podcasts...

The Grand Thunk ·

2021/04/12

Welcome back! We’re so happy to be back and regaling you with all sorts of nonsense as well as a few recommendations! Rhiannon tells us about the fight for uni degrees for women in the play ‘Blue Stockings’ in a tangential discussion of her recent move. Alex divulges her obsession with the charming and sentimental ‘Anne with an ‘E’’ after Rhiannon entertains us with Dawn French’s warming novel ‘Because of You’. We touch on the Women’s Prize and firmly assert that trans women are women in the wake of

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00:47:30

12 - Telescopic Penises, Comfort Women and the...

The Grand Thunk ·

2021/03/01

We kick the episode off with Abi Daré’s The Girl with the Louding Voice, an inspiring and informative book with a phenomenal and surprising use of language that has completely invigorated Alex. Both of us watched The Dig and we revel in the beauty of its subtle and artful pace, as well as the astonishing acting of Ralph Fiennes and Carey Mulligan. Alex tries not to cry as she discusses How We Disappeared, the story of Wang Di, a comfort woman during World War 2. Rhiannon has been exploring all

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00:50:45

11 - A Feminist Genghis Khan, Sexual Awakenings and...

The Grand Thunk ·

2021/02/22

A packed episode begins with musical delights as both Bridgerton and the infamous Handforth Parish Council meeting have been put to music. Rhiannon looks at weddings from a hilarious new angle with the podcast Who Shat on the Floor at My Wedding and we both reminisce about the first sex scene we ever read in Malorie Blackman’s Noughts and Crosses. Alex tells us about Bernadine Evaristo’s Blonde Roots, a world of slavery inverted whilst Rhiannon has been reading Lustre by Raven Leilani. We are an

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00:53:19

10 - Honey Traps, Breaking Up Relationships and...

The Grand Thunk ·

2021/02/15

Happy Valentine’s Day! We’ve got an episode full of goodies here for you today! This week’s podcast heralds a new segment, ‘Well, Who’d a Thunk?’, for those all those eye-catching and sometimes eye-watering stories that just confirm that the madness of humanity isn’t going anywhere. We catch up on It’s A Sin, raving about the joy and heart-break of this brilliant show. Alex shares her thoughts on Promising Young Woman, a toxic revenge story of magnificent proportions, whilst Rhiannon opens our eyes

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00:59:16

9 - It's a Sin, That's My Wife and the Pluralities of...

The Grand Thunk ·

2021/02/08

This week we dive into the TV masterpiece, It’s a Sin, that has swept the nation and has been recommended to us on multiple occasions (thank you listeners!). It’s A Sin arrives in all its glory and we are in love.  Synchronicity emerged in our reading this week, as Alex was consumed by Detransition, Baby by Torrey Peters and Rhiannon sank into She Wants It by Joey Soloway. Both books offered incredible insight into the journeys and pluralities within transitioning. Alex shares another comedy song

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00:52:54

8 - Locked-In Syndrome, Celebrities in Lockdown and...

The Grand Thunk ·

2021/02/01

This week’s podcast saw an unexpected turn to economics, as Alex does her best to explain what is being lauded as the democratisation of finance, the ongoing battle between Reditters and the hedgefund giant, Melvin Capital. We’ve attached some links below for those of you who are still confused and need Trevor Noah pretending to be Margot Robbie to explain. Rhiannon has been reading the memoir of Jean-Dominique Bauby, written with the blinking of his eye, as he chronicles life with locked-in

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00:57:13

7 - Bondage Spiders, That Bridgerton Scene and the...

The Grand Thunk ·

2021/01/25

Who hasn’t seen Bridgerton? Well, we have and we delve into all the scandalous details of this period drama with a modern twist, including that scene (Content Warning), the costumes and the colour conscious casting. Rhiannon rhapsodies about the highlight of the inauguration, Amanda Gorman’s The Hill We Climb. Meanwhile, Alex has been finding out the salacious secrets of S&M spiders from the New Scientist. Rhiannon is back to tell us her final thoughts on Hanya Yanagihara’s A Little Life whilst

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00:56:01

6 - Controversial Connell Opinions, No-Platforming...

The Grand Thunk ·

2021/01/18

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

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00:58:44

5- Lessons from an Octopus, 100 NASA Tampons and the...

The Grand Thunk ·

2021/01/11

What a pithy week, with plenty of startling tonal changes! Both of us watched the first released episode of The Great and we discuss the role of coarse humour in period dramas. Maggie Nelson’s The Argonauts has us thinking about auto-theory and non-normative motherhood, as well as the representation of motherhood and disability in popular culture. Rhiannon recommends a couple of podcasts, including Nadyia Hussain on How to Fail with Elizabeth Day discussing parenthood and speaking out. (CW: sexual

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00:50:47

4 - Heroes of the Paralympics, An Ode to The High Low...

The Grand Thunk ·

2021/01/04

We dive straight into a hilarious clip from Aisling Bea’s This Way Up, followed by the guiltiest of pleasures, Outlander, and a debate about its portrayal of sexual violence. Rhiannon discusses the documentary Rising Phoenix, which looks at the history of the Paralympics and the empowering beauty of high level sports. In Alex’s reading of Zadie Smith’s Intimations, we talk about carving meaning out of time, particularly during lockdown where we have so much of it. We finish by nattering about

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00:53:05

3 - Multiple Truths, Healing Poetry And Giving up on...

The Grand Thunk ·

2020/12/28

Episode 3 extends the discussion of the fallibility of journalism through Clarissa Ward’s autobiography as well as the importance of believing in the trivialities of life in order to avoid getting lost in the existential. We discuss the lyrical letter from a son to his mother On Earth We’re Briefly Gorgeous by Ocean Vuong as well as exploring the healing nature of poetry with the Poetry Pharmacy. We also both talk about books we’ve struggled to get into and we debate when it is right to give up on a

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