Behind The Spine

Living with a chronic illness can mean different things to different people. Not only does the term cover a wide spectrum of conditions and disabilities, even those affected by the same form of chronic illness may experience it differently. That’s why it can be hard to find treatments, assistance and solutions - and why the space is riddled with misinformation. That’s where our guest Natasha Lipma...

Heartwarming moments around the dinner table with three friends, and the horror and suspense driven by a ghost from the past. Wahala is a book that walks between two genres seamlessly and masterfully. The debut novel from author Nikki May was almost locked away for good. But the strength of her characters meant she couldn’t give up on them, and we’re glad she forged on. This book follows the stori...

From the UK to Turkey. That’s the distance today’s guest is set to travel this year. But this isn’t your usual holiday trip. Cazz Lander is preparing to row 2000 miles along the coastline of Great Britain. Battling the tides, the currents, the unpredictable weather patterns, she and her partner Andre will be unassisted and unsupported. The pair will have to carry all of their food and provisions o...

New year, new series! The fourth installment of the podcast brings a host of new features. Alongside our usual lineup of fascinating interviews, we’ll also be following the journey of adventurer and extreme sports enthusiast Cazz Lander, as she prepares to row along the coastline of Great Britain. We’ll also bring you a special episode featuring voice acted renditions of the winning entries from o...

The Battle of Cable Street lives on. It may have been just a blip in London’s history, but the sentiment of the day continues to permeate throughout the ages. The coming together of a community against a common enemy, rising up against oppression - well, that narrative is always being retold. That’s why this event has been deemed worthy of remembrance. Marking 85 years since the battle, Father Ala...

A battle of morals, of defiance, of unity against oppression. The people who rose up in the Battle of Cable Street did so to oust the toxicity of fascism. For next week’s episode we hear from Father Alan Green, one of the faith leaders who joined residents and community leaders to remember the Battle 85 years on. But first we set the scene with this special, exploring the history that led up to th...

Following our discussion with Halloween expert and award-winning author Lisa Morton, we’re delving deeper into the origins of some of the most famous Halloween stories. In particular we discover the genesis of the Jack-o’-lantern, which owes its name to one Stingy Jack, a blacksmith who sold his soul to the Devil. We go on an intriguingly ghoulish exploration through the many variations of Jack’s...

Halloween is nearly upon us, a holiday rich in folklore, cultural adaptation and religious propaganda. To delve deep into its history we’ve called in the expert of all experts. Lisa Morton has written many, many books on the subject, including Trick or Treat: A History of Halloween, and is a six-time winner of the Bram Stoker award. In this episode we learn the origins of Halloween as a Celtic fes...

Emboldened by our discussion with Sumana Roy, author of How I Became A Tree, this special episode is inspired by her thoughts on the natural world. Here we explore the ‘us and them’ mentality that has created our fractured relationship with nature, we discuss the important role of language in fostering a deeper connection between humans and nature, and we share a beautiful recording of the dawn ch...

If you had the chance to step outside the bounds of our manmade reality, and live life as something else, what would it be? For today’s guest, Sumana Roy, she would be a tree. Sumana’s book ‘How I Became A Tree’, originally published in India in 2017, has just been released to a global audience. Hailed as ‘a love song to plants and trees’, the book examines what it means to be human in a natural w...

This special episode draws on our conversation with Tom Chivers, author of ‘London Clay’, examining the role of places and locations in literature and how they should be treated as characters in their own right. Here we display the importance of writing for all of the senses, we explore the interconnectedness of the past and the present, and we explain how memories and emotions influence the way w...

Beneath London, within its walls, down its secret passageways and ancient riverbeds is a rich and complex history. The city’s past influences its present - even those parts which are long forgotten or out of sight. Our guest today is Tom Chivers, author of London Clay: Journeys in the Deep City. The book reads like a detective story, examining London through its geology, its hidden landscape and t...

Following each interview of this new series, we’ll be diving deeper into one aspect of that conversation. In this episode we’re reflecting on our conversation with Jules Williamson, looking more closely at a point she raised about the ways in which different cultures around the world view death and rebirth. Most religions believe death is not the end, that it’s simply a new chapter in another of l...

What we see on screen or read in books affects our behaviour in the real world - literature and cinema have a real power to influence. So it’s no surprise to know that invisibility has an impact too. Not seeing ourselves, or people like us represented on screen can be damaging in unimaginable ways. That’s why Off the Rails, a film directed by today’s BAFTA nominated guest Jules Williamson, is such...

Following each interview of this new series, we’ll be diving deeper into one aspect of that conversation. In this episode we’re reflecting on our conversation with Felix Marquardt, homing in on the topic of addiction. Addiction is a trait shared by many of society's best-loved characters, from James Bond to Sherlock Holmes. We explore why we find ourselves drawn to these types of characters, we ex...

The history of the world is a history of travel and of cultures connecting, and yet far too many of us still view ‘migration’ as a dirty word - made all too clear by the global reaction to the current crisis in Afghanistan. But Felix Marquardt, author of ‘The New Nomads’, is flipping that perspective, taking control of the narrative, and teaching us that travel is beautiful. Felix also explains ho...

Series 3 has arrived! The show has a fresh new look, combining the usual mix of fascinating guests with deeper dives into certain narrative forms. Mark shares a taste of what’s to come.

In the past self-publishing wasn’t synonymous with quality, but that’s changing at an exciting pace. Access to an online world of professionals is sweeping away the stigma, as self-published authors are now competing at the highest level. Ricardo Fayet is co-founder of self-publishing marketplace Reedsy , and author of ‘ How to Market a Book: Overperform in a Crowded Market ’. In this episode he s...

Jazz is a quintessential part of American history, a genre that transcends music alone. It’s humble beginnings are kept alive by aficionados, who not only celebrate its history, but champion its future too. Brian Newman is one such man, a musician, singer, trumpet player and pioneer, who regularly performs with Lady Gaga no less! Delving into the past, Brian tells us how he started out, and the jo...

Writers are becoming increasingly aware that in order to create a true reflection of society in their work, diversity and representation need to be placed firmly at the top of the agenda. For a long time the voice of the minority has been silenced, and though the landscape is improving, plenty more work still needs to be done. Colin Grant is director of the Writers Mosaic , a new initiative funded...

A trillion dollars is an immense amount of money, and yet it can so easily be made to feel small. When you’re tasked with saving the environment, ending world poverty, or settling on the Moon, you can spend it pretty quickly. This is the premise of Rowan Hooper’s latest book ‘How To Spend a Trillion Dollars’. In the book the New Scientist journalist explores many issues that could be advanced or s...

Each of life’s narratives are interconnected, and it’s at these intersections where we can find true inspiration. For the author Tony Kent , his amateur career as a boxer has given him the combative edge in his professional career as a criminal barrister, and his law career has given him the storytelling chops and unrivalled insider knowledge needed to propel his writing career forwards. Tony’s fi...

To celebrate a year to the day since Behind The Spine made its debut, Mark Heywood finds himself on the other side of the podcast desk, being interviewed by producer Ollie Guillou. Reflecting on two series worth of incredible conversations, Mark shares the lessons he’s learnt and explains why he believes there really is a narrative in everything. Woven throughout the conversation are specially sel...

As we all begin to look more closely at our own habits and how they impact the health of the planet, we’ve started reaching into the history books for answers. Markets, once a relic of the past, are growing rapidly in popularity because of the way they allow us to live more consciously. Will Cutteridge is taking that ethos one step further by making sustainability an active part of his brand new m...

Gin has been on one hell of a journey, from earning the name ‘Mother’s Ruin’ during the Gin Craze of the 18th century, to becoming a symbol of sophistication and decadence in recent years. Hilary Whitney and her husband Ian Hart are two people we have to thank for the resurgence of gin in Britain. Together they launched Sacred Spirits in 2008, with the aim of reframing its connection with the city...