Ask Penguin

 This week on the Penguin Podcast, Isy Suttie talks to best-selling author, Salley Vickers.   Salley joins us to talk about her latest novel, The Gardener.   Isy and Salley also discuss psychoanalysis and its benefits, her affection towards children and their curiosity towards the mysteries of life, the power and different layers of silence, and how gardening during lockdown helped...

 This week on the Penguin Podcast, Derek Owusu talks to playwright and poet, Yomi Sode.   Yomi joins us to discuss his debut poetry collection, Manorism.   Derek and Yomi also discuss the influence of Caravaggio and the double standards of celebrating the art and the artist, the power of stillness to create reflection, how pop culture influences poetry, and cultural appropriati...

 This week on the Penguin Podcast, our new host Athena Kugblenu talks to bestselling author and screenwriter, Gabrielle Zevin.   Gabrielle joins us to discuss her latest novel, Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow.   They also discuss literature and gaming, why we need to merge our online selves with our real-life selves, the importance of love in friendships, how our identities shift...

 This week on the Penguin Podcast, Nihal Arthanayake talks to former journalist and best-selling novelist, Robert Harris.   Robert joins us to discuss his latest work of epic historical fiction, Act of Oblivion , out now in hardback.   He also discusses his observations on the static nature of history and humanity, how journalism informs his ability to write fiction, the potential o...

This week on the penguin podcast, Isy Suttie is joined by bestselling author, Lisa Jewell.   Lisa joins the Penguin Podcast to discuss her latest novel, The Family Remains, the long-awaited sequel to her New York Times best-seller, The Family Upstairs.   They also discuss Lisa’s development from writing relationship novels to psychological thrillers, why a nameplate from outside her chil...

This week on the penguin podcast, Derek Owusu is joined by Booker and Costa shortlisted novelist, Nadifa Mohamed.   Nadifa joins us to discuss her latest novel, The Fortune Men, a fictional account of the life of Mahmood Hussein Mattan, who was wrongly convicted and executed in 1952.    They also discuss Nadifa's love for travelling, her interest in cars and which model she gifted h...

This week, we bring you the live-streamed episode of the Penguin Podcast, featuring Nihal Arthanayake talking to writer, rapper and campaigner, Darren McGarvey about his most recent work, The Socal Distance Between Us.   Clear and insightful, together they discuss the roles of anger and optimism in positive social change, the power of emotional range in persuasiveness, how beneficial real lif...

This week on the Penguin Podcast, Isy Suttie is joined by author, radio presenter and pop legend, Jarvis Cocker.   Jarvis talks to Issy about his first memoir, 'Good Pop, Bad Pop'.   He also discusses why outer space and The Beetles were so influential to him, why he thinks everyone is creative, what he needs for his creativity, and what he wanted for Pulp as a revolutionary force. &nbsp...

This week on the Penguin Podcast, Isy Suttie joined by Irish book award winner and best-selling author, Sinead Moriarty. Sinead talks to Issy about her latest novel, Your, Mind, Ours, a novel about what it takes to create a 'blended' family. They also discuss why families are the primary focus within her novels, the importance of the first draft, the special note she has pinned above her work desk...

This week on the Penguin Podcast, Nihal Arthanayake is joined by Booker Prize-winning novelist and playwright, Damon Galgut. Recording from the legendary literary festival at Hay, Nihal talks to Damon about his latest novel, The Promise, which was awarded the 2021 Booker Prize. As well as the intricacies of his novel, they also discuss how the rhythms of Jazz connect with Damon's internal and writ...

This week on the Penguin Podcast, Derek Owusu is joined by presenter, TV personality, actress and children's author, Alison Hammond. Alison speaks to Derek about her brand new children's book, Black in Time: The Most Awesome Black Britons from Yesterday to Today. As well as Black British history, Alison and Derek also discuss Alison's profound love for bandanas, her recreating the atmosphere of Ja...

This week on the Penguin Podcast, new host Derek Owusu is joined by Poet, activist, musician, actor, presenter and children's author, Benjamin Zephaniah! Benjamin speaks to Derek about his journey into poetry and spoken word, the excitement at receiving a letter from Bob Marley, the life of his mother when she first came to England, existential fear and human mortality, and the importance of medit...

This week on the Penguin Podcast, Isy Suttie is joined by restaurateur and author, Asma Khan. Asma speaks to Isy about her most recent work, her cookbook/memoir, Ammu. They also discuss food and its connection to memory, how revelatory the writing process was for her, how a pair of blue jeans changed her life, and the gentle expressions of love through cooking. Don't forget to follow the show so y...

This week on the Penguin Podcast, Nihal Arthanayake is joined by award-winning writer and poet, Hanif Abdurraqib Hanif speaks to Nihal about his most recent work of nonfiction, A little Devil in America , which won the 2021 Gorden Burn Prize. They also discuss how Hanif manages to write 25000 words a month, how important Soul Train was to Black American culture, his reasons for disliking the Acade...

This week on the Penguin Podcast, Isy Suttie is joined by debut novelist Bonnie Garmus. She speaks to Isy about her debut novel, Lessons in Chemistry, and also discusses her reluctance to change any keyboard she's grown used to, often still using it when the key have come loose, her passion for swimming, what she learnt as a copywriter, the usefulness of lies in society, and how she wrote her firs...

This week on the Penguin Podcast, Isy Suttie is joined by national treasure, poet and children’s author, Michael Rosen.  He speaks to Isy about his experiences before and after contracting Covid, how to create more impactful life writing, what he now knows about death, and his yearning to understand the meanings of naughty words in Yiddish. Don't forget to follow the show so you never miss an...

This week on the penguin podcast, Nihal Arthanayake is joined by theoretical physicist, futurist, and popularizer of science, Michio Kaku. Together they discuss string theory, the unifying threads of different religious beliefs, human curiosity and the barriers to scientific thinking. Don't forget to follow the show so you never miss an episode, and do leave us a review as it really does help. To...

This week on the Penguin Podcast, Nihal Arthanayake is joined by renowned essayist and novelist, Pankaj Mishra, to discuss his new novel, Run and Hide. Together they discuss the meaning of art and the novel, the Tibetan landscape and the Himalayas, nostalgia, and wood-panelled train compartments. Don't forget to follow the show so you never miss an episode, and do leave us a review as it really do...

Claire Fuller, who recently won the Costa Novel of the Year for her latest book, Unsettled Ground , joins Nihal Arthanayake on the podcast this week. Together they discuss the importance of music in her creative process, what she doesn't like about being a novelist and how a book by Miranda July might just have kickstarted her writing career. Don't forget to follow the show so you never miss an ep...

Last time we brought you some of the most exciting debut novelists to look out for in 2022, so this week we're introducing you to some of the best new non-fiction writers to add to your reading list this year. It's a veritable treasure chest of books, from a comic memoir to ornithology, mental health, family and cultural history, and an exploration of how the Earth, as we know it, came to be. In t...

A new year = new books, and there are plenty of brilliant new stories to look out for this year. To get your 2022 reading list started, we've brought together five of this year's most exciting debut novelists. Speaking to Isy Suttie, they introduce us to themselves and their books, and give us some insight into their inspirations and aspirations. From a darkly comic dystopia to sumptuous historica...

As we approach the end of 2021, we're revisiting some of the most memorable moments on the Penguin Podcast this year. Conn Iggulden takes his writing research extremely (and we mean, *extremely*) seriously, Emma Dabiri gives us a tour of her bookshelves, Owen Jones tells us exactly which Keir he named his feline friend after, Hafsa Zayyan's shares why her grandfather sends her letters back to her,...

As we approach the end of 2021, we're revisiting some of our favourite moments on the Penguin Podcast this year. Zadie Smith and Nick Laird tell us about the unexpectedly colourful spectrum of noise that helps them work, Adam Kay reveals the best way to avoid being distracted by social media while trying to write a book, Ashley Audrain discusses the song that had a huge influence on her debut nove...

The Pulitzer Prize-winning author Richard Powers joins Nihal Arthanayake to discuss his thirteenth novel, ‘Bewilderment’. Using objects like Bach’s Goldberg Variation 18, an unsmoked hickory nut, and a petrified piece of redwood, Powers transport us to his home in the Great Smoky Mountains, musing on the importance of sense as an entranceway to curiosity, writing as a resistance of habituation, an...

In this special live recording at The London Palladium, Dolly Alderton speaks to award-winning actor and writer Stanley Tucci to discuss his new food memoir, Taste: My Life Through Food . Stanley speaks passionately about food, and shares with Dolly the ways in which it’s been inextricably intertwined with his life. He recalls early memories of TV chefs, tells us some favourite recipes, and explai...