The Waterstones Podcast

As a psychotherapist with over 30 years of experience Julia Samuel knows that change can present moments of crisis and crisis can force moments of extreme change. Her new book, This Too Shall Pass, looks at the moments of change any of us might face in our lifetime and as well as speaking to her about that, we wanted to know what lessons from her book might help us all to navigate the current cris...

A little bonus episode for you, recorded with Jessie Ware and Lennie Ware of Table Manners podcast fame when they came to launch their cookbook at Waterstones Piccadilly. What happens when you combine their passion for food with an equally greedy host and a fine selection of cheese from Paxton and Whitfield? A recipe for disaster? Far from it. Enjoy Books mentioned: Table Manners

In these uncertain times we bring you a podcast that confronts our fears and anxieties to bring a note of hope and even some ideas about what we can do to make the world a better place afterwards. Jenny Offill speaks to us from America about the current coronavirus pandemic, and how she managed to engage with climate change, the opioid crisis and American politics in her new novel, Weather . Rosma...

Memory gives us the chance to speak to three authors who all approach this theme from completely different directions. Eimear McBride takes us to a series of hotel rooms to see what memories they unearth and how they can warp and change over time. Bestselling food writer Meera Sodha shares some of her first food memories and why preserving family recipes is so important. And Nicci Gerrard shares h...

There is something unique about the bond of motherhood but with social media adding to the pressures already present, how do we keep our expectations realistic when it comes to being a good parent? And does history have anything to teach us about our modern approach? Maggie O’Farrell talks about bridging the gap of 400 years in her fictional portrait of Anne Hathaway and the Shakespeare family in...

What is it that short stories can do that novels cannot? Why does it appeal to some writers and not others? In this episode we embrace the short form and talk to three female writers keen to engage with this unique form of storytelling. Zadie Smith straddles the Atlantic to look at the differences between story culture in the US, UK and beyond. Julia Armfield invokes body horror and genre as she p...

Books have provided the inspiration for countless films, plays, musicals, TV series, and other works of art. In Adaptation we speak to R. J. Palacio about seeing her best-seller, Wonder, transferred to the big screen. We hear from Neil Gaiman about the different ways he has adapted his own work into other forms and which he thinks have worked the best. And Margaret Atwood speaks to us about seeing...

At the start of a new year, and indeed a new decade, we’re taking the theme of Changes to allow us to talk to Dr Rangan Chatterjee about the simple ways in which we can genuinely change our health, happiness and fulfilment without having to take out a gym membership or clear the diary. We also hear from Emily Dean about how losing her sister, mother and father in the space of three years, forced a...

Beware: this episode may make you hungry. We’re joined by gourmand Jay Rayner to look back at the life experiences that shaped his taste as he searches for the ingredients for My Last Supper . Michael Palin shares his experiences of eating around the world and how food can be a great unifier of people who may not even share a language. And Lara Williams talks about subverting the idea of appetite...

Malcolm Gladwell brings fascinating anecdotes and insight to why humans are so bad at reading each other on first meeting, drawing on events that end in tragedy, wrongful conviction or compromised security. We also look at another meaning to meeting entirely: that between author and character. Sally Rooney talks about the absurdity of ascribing real psychology to figments of her imagination, peopl...

Author and bookshop owner Ann Patchett joins us to talk about why a bookshop should be at the heart of any community and why book design is more important than ever. Jason Reynolds talks about what binds communities together and gives us his perspective on black culture and its influence around the world. And we also hear from an event around Pride in London at which Zing Tsjeng and Amrou Al-Kadhi...

Culture comes in many forms and we’ve tried to cram as much as we can into this week’s episode. Richard Ayoade takes us to the movies with his inimitable perspective on perhaps the best cabin crew dramedy ever filmed: View From the Top starring Gwyneth Paltrow. We get the chance to speak to cultural icon Debbie Harry , who shares what it was like to be in the New York of the 1970s involved in musi...

Robert Macfarlane joins us in the studio to talk about the world outside, the climate emergency and how the landscape has shaped his writing and thought over the years. With climate strikes becoming a regular feature we also speak to veteran activist and essayist, Rebecca Solnit , about whether we should be hopeful about the future of the planet. And we actually head outside with the microphone to...

You don’t start a new podcast season at this time of year without injecting some thrills and chills. Stephen Chbosky, author of The Perks of Being A Wallflower has made us wait 20 years for another novel but with Imaginary Friend he’s back with a bang. He spoke to us about where his idea for it came from and how he provokes reactions from readers. We also get to hear a genuine ghostly encounter fr...

For our final episode in season one we tackle our nearest (if not dearest). Jeanette Winterson talks about how being adopted has shaped her concept of family and why the future may not look great for its traditional form. A. M. Homes , another adopted child, talks about the differences of writing about family in fiction and memoir. And to finish off we hear from Emilie Pine about her honest and fr...

Elizabeth Day , creator of the How To Fail with Elizabeth Day podcast and book joins the team to share failures and to see what their connection is to success. After putting so many of her personal failures in her book, would Elizabeth have any new ones to share? We hear from Man Booker Prize-winner Arundhati Roy about becoming a global sensation with her debut, Man Booker Prize-winning novel and...

What do we mean by perfection and is the pursuit of it a pointless exercise? We hear from poet Charly Cox about why just the word alone is enough to induce anxiety, Sebastian Faulks considers where in the arts perfection might lie and why capturing it might mean a journey to perfection and then back again. Finally we hear from novelist Gabriel Tallent who shares the sheer blood, sweat and tears of...

Hannah Witton joins Will and Holly in the studio to talk about Sex. As a sex-positive vlogger on YouTube , author of Doing It and The Hormone Diaries , plus a podcaster in her own right, Hannah Witton is the perfect guest to discuss why we’re so silly about sex writing in the UK and what makes for great sex on the page and between the sheets. They also listen to broadcaster and author, Caitlin Mor...

Will, Dan and Holly talk about friendship with book recommendations coming straight away from Holly, who loves Expectation by Anna Hope. Dan talks about a Waterstones event for Empathy Day and how reading, empathy and friendship are all connected. We get to hear from Waterstones Children’s Book Prize-winner Angie Thomas talking about friendship in the wake of her huge success with The Hate U Give....

In this first episode we get to meet hosts Will Rycroft, Holly Davies and Dan Bird as they talk with bestselling author and screenwriter David Nicholls about their beginnings with books. Nicholls also shares his experiences as actor which feed directly into his new novel, Sweet Sorrow , which charts one life-changing summer as Charlie meets Fran during rehearsals for Romeo and Juliet and the two e...

Welcome to the Waterstones Podcast, a chance to hear authors going beyond the book to talk about the themes and ideas that obsess us all. This is a books podcast with a difference, drawing on the regular appearances of authors nationwide in our events and the more intimate conversations recorded in the studio, each episode will take a different theme and see where it takes us. As Dylan Thomas said...