Advertise on podcast: Better Known

Youssef Rakha discusses with Ivan six things which should be better known. Youssef Rakha is an Egyptian author working in Arabic and English. He is the author of The Book of the Sultan’s Seal; The Crocodiles; Paulo, which was longlisted for the International Prize for Arabic Fiction and won a Sawiris Cultural Award; and The Dissenters, which was nominated for the Dublin Literary Award. His new book is Postmuslim, which is available at https://peninsulapress.co.uk/products/postmuslim Beer in the Snooker Club (1964) by Waguih Ghali. Evidently the first Egyptian novel to be written in English, a massive early influence, and an occasion to revisit the normalization debate. https://www.theguardian.com/books/2010/dec/05/beer-in-snooker-club-ghali-review The 1977 song Zahma by the legendary singer Ahmad Adaweya. Composed by the equally legendary Hany Shenouda and the unrecognized bard Hassan Abu Etman. A landmark song that massively influenced urban folk and pop music and, for me at least, defines the sound of Cairo. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=djqFU71juWM The Mummy, aka The Night of Counting the Years (1969) by Shadi Abdel Salam. A one-of-a-kind film on which I wrote a whole monograph. https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0064703/ Samir Rafi’s 1949 painting Life’s Tragedy, and Cairo’s Surrealist/Marxist Art et Liberte movement (1938–1948). https://www.barjeelartfoundation.org/collection/lifes-tragedy-samir-rafi/ The Egyptian tradition of melodic Quran recitation as exemplified by the one-man opera known as Mustafa Ismail. One very short example of what he can do, from Surat Fatir: Verse 22. https://www.youtube.com/shorts/LvOH_D0CTI0 Egypt’s cultural Golden Age in the Life magazine-like photography of Farouk Ibrahim. https://www.thenationalnews.com/mena/egypt/2023/03/21/farouk-ibrahim-the-most-famous-egyptian-photographer-youve-never-heard-of/ This podcast is powered by ZenCast.fm

Jean Findlay discusses with Ivan six things which should be better known. Jean Findlay is the author of Chasing Lost Time – the Life of CK Scott Moncrieff, Soldier, Spy and Translator published in 2014 by Chatto and Windus, London, and by FSG, New York. The Queen's Lender was awarded the Hawthornden Fellowship 2018 and Lavigny International Writer’s Fellowship 2019. Her new book is The Bohemian Queen: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Bohemian-Queen-Queens-Europe-2026/dp/1910895849. The origin of the term Bohemian https://villagepreservation.org/2013/04/16/how-bohemians-got-their-name/ That Europe had a war that lasted Thirty years https://www.gresham.ac.uk/watch-now/30-years-war-1618-48-and-second-defenestration-prague Sectarianism didn’t originate in Glasgow and Edinburgh https://fpc.org.uk/northern-ireland-still-a-deeply-divided-society/ There are 250 types of bumble bees www.bumblebeeconservation.org People have been using fake news to slander and discredit public figures since the beginning of time https://theconversation.com/medieval-england-loved-rumours-conspiracies-and-fake-news-about-queens-227111 That Gregorian Chant hits a sound level that heals your body https://www.tfp.org/how-gregorian-chant-benefits-the-health-of-the-bodyand-soul/ This podcast is powered by ZenCast.fm

Roie Oknin discusses with Ivan six things which should be better known. Roie Oknin is an author, multidisciplinary artist, and medical student. He is the author of Ramen, Existential Crises, his debut novel, which is available at https://blackwells.co.uk/bookshop/product/Ramen-Existential-Crises-by-Oknin-Roie/9789655962765. Alongside his literary and artistic practice, he works as an ophthalmology researcher and holds a B.A. in Psychology and a B.Sc. in Neuroscience. Colour words: The order in which languages develop basic colour words. Honey process coffee: Despite the name, it has nothing to do with honey. How we see colour: How we perceive millions of colours using signals from only three types of cone cells in our retina. The prosecutor’s fallacy: How easily we confuse two probabilities that sound almost identical but mean very different things. Evolution: Why it is not really the ladder, as we often imagine, but a branching process with no intended endpoint. The stockings experiment: A social psychology experiment involving identical pairs of stockings, showing how little access we may have to the reasons behind some of our own decisions. This podcast is powered by ZenCast.fm

Kevin McManus discusses with Ivan six things which should be better known. Kevin McManus is an Irish writer and poet from Co. Leitrim whose work is rooted in place, memory, and the quiet emotional currents of everyday life. He has published several works of fiction and poetry, often focusing on crime fiction and the rural Irish landscape. The Light at Evening is semi-autobiographical as it reflects experiences of his own over recent years: he works as a secondary school teacher, his wife is a cancer survivor and his father passed away in 2024. It is available at https://kevinmcmanusbooks.com/books/the-light-at-evening-kevin-mcmanus/B0GHZV418J. The Irish Bouzouki. A distinctive instrument that has become an important part of the sound of Irish folk and traditional music, but one that remains surprisingly unfamiliar outside that world. The Opening and Closing Lines of Irish Conversations. All those phrases that aren't really questions and don't require answers: "What's the craic?" "What's the story?", "How are you?" "How are things?" And the elaborate ritual of leaving: "Right so", "Sure look", "Anyway", "I'll let you go", and "We'll talk to you." "Martha" by Tom Waits. A beautiful song from his 1973 album Closing Time, in which a man contacts a woman he loved many years earlier. The Slow Set at an Eighties Disco. That moment when the DJ put on a few slow songs and the whole atmosphere of the disco changed. A largely vanished social ritual from the days before mobile phones, social media and dating apps. The Friends of Eddie Coyle (1973). A wonderfully understated crime film starring Robert Mitchum. Bleak, atmospheric and completely lacking in Hollywood glamour. The Talk of the Town by Ardal O'Hanlon. Ardal O'Hanlon is known primarily as an actor and comedian, particularly from Father Ted, but his novel The Talk of the Town deserves considerably more attention. This podcast is powered by ZenCast.fm

Norman Lamb discusses with Ivan six things which should be better known. Sir Norman Lamb is the former Liberal Democrat MP for North Norfolk and a former Minister of State for Care and Support. Knighted in 2019 for services to mental health, he also chaired South London and Maudsley Foundation Trust from 2020 to 2025. His new book is Be More Human, which is available at https://www.hachette.co.uk/titles/norman-lamb/be-more-human/9781805017752/. Doing something for somebody else https://www.kcl.ac.uk/helping-others-create-change-professor-sir-sam-everington The healing power of nature https://www.gov.uk/government/case-studies/woodland-restoration-at-whitewoods-offers-a-natural-health-service-to-the-community Alternatives to locking people up https://www.livingwellsystems.uk/trieste Ibrahim Maalouf https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ibrahim_Maalouf Rosie Phillips https://www.rosiephillipsart.com/ Shrinking https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2024/oct/16/shrinking-season-two-review-harrison-ford-comedy-apple-tv This podcast is powered by ZenCast.fm

Chris Wilkins is a political consultant, strategist and writer and co-founder of global campaigns & advisory firm the Hanwell Group. Beginning his career as a political advisor to the Rt Hon Ann Widdecombe in Westminster, Chris went on to become the youngest Director of the renowned Conservative Research Department (CRD) in over 30 years. He later served in the government of David Cameron before becoming Downing Street Director of Strategy and Chief Speechwriter to Prime Minister Theresa May. Chris sits on the Board of Centrepoint, the youth homelessness charity whose patron is the Prince of Wales. The music of Martyn Joseph: I grew up listening to Martyn’s music and have seen him in concert many times. He’s been described as the ‘Welsh Springsteen’. Centrepoint’s 2037 ambition: I sit on the Board of the youth homelessness charity Centrepoint. It’s our ambition to end youth homelessness by 2037 - and we have a strategy to get there. The virtues of a Rhodia pad and HB pencil: I love nothing more than a Rhodia writing pad and a good HB pencil. But the real point of this is that it’s a reminder to step away from the laptop, stop worrying about the email inbox and to take time to think. The joy of making music: I grew up learning to play instruments and played in various county orchestras and jazz bands. Every child should be able to do this. Maya Angelou quote: the great American poet Maya Angelou once wrote “people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel”. A Six Nations game in Cardiff: there’s nothing better in life than Cardiff on international day. The Principality Stadium, which my father helped to build, is the best rugby stadium in the world This podcast is powered by ZenCast.fm

Actor Joseph Millson discusses with Ivan six things which should be better known. Joseph Millson has been a busy and well known actor for over thirty years, an associate artist of the Royal Shakespeare company, he has won many awards for his work on stage and screen. His film and TV work includes Casino Royale, The Last Kingdom, Holby City, Banished, The Sarah Jane adventures, Peak Practice and many, many more. He has a masters degree in screenwriting and has written many films as well as for television. His first feature film as writer/director 'Signs Of Life' won rave reviews and was released digitally and in cinemas across the world. The film won best feature film at the Berlin Indie Film Festival and the London Independent Film festival. Joseph’s memoir 'Work And Other Four Letter Words' was a number one best seller on Amazon, it was shortlisted for the 2021 Theatre Book Prize and received five star reviews in the national press and from renowned writers such as Irvine Welsh and Russell T Davies. His new novella Miller Rose Roberts is available at https://dl.bookfunnel.com/gn9pyjqy4t. The music of Peter James Millson, most of his albums were signed to reveal records, extraordinarily beautiful stuff. Try the album called ’the accidental’ as a gateway album. https://peterjamesmillson.bandcamp.com/ TV show, Babylon Berlin. Holy moly, I’m obsessed, it’s just brilliant! A prestige German TV series that ought to be better known here, do not even slightly worry about the subtitles it’s amazing. https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2020/apr/10/lifes-no-cabaret-why-gritty-weimar-noir-babylon-berlin-is-wholly-compelling-tv The RSPB centre in Sandy, Bedfordshire, known as The Lodge. Extraordinarily beautiful place, really, and only 45 minutes from london by train or just off A1 by car. https://www.rspb.org.uk/days-out/reserves/the-lodge The Seven Days of Peter Crumb, book by Jonny Glynn. LOVE this little known dark comedy thriller novel. https://www.goodreads.com/en/book/show/2226570.The_Seven_Days_of_Peter_Crumb Album Somehow it’s growing by Lilli Fichtner https://open.spotify.com/album/5kNnp8pKBfcqHnxtji8iNQ Signs of Life: feature film. A beautiful film about grief and kindness. I might have been part of making it but honestly it’s a gem. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=enZuJmULTVU This podcast is powered by ZenCast.fm

Rob Temple discusses with Ivan six things which should be better known. Rob Temple is a journalist and creator of Very British Problems. His @SoVeryBritish Twitter, Facebook and Instagram accounts have more than 5.6 million combined followers. He’s the consultant on the official Channel 4 Very British Problems series, producer of the Very British Problems Live Show, and a columnist for the Telegraph. His new book is A Very British Midlife. Korean concept of Jeong https://www.korea.net/NewsFocus/HonoraryReporters/view?articleId=198727 Personal space, especially in the supermarket https://repository.lboro.ac.uk/ndownloader/files/41507847/1 Up to Me by Bob Dylan https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q9KXxqmKQB0 Stamford https://stamfordnotebooks.co.uk/pages/about-stamford Moisturiser https://bulldogskincare.com/blogs/news/the-benefits-of-moisturising Jacket potato https://www.facebook.com/soverybritish/posts/jacket-potato-with-cheese-and-beans-for-tea-couldnt-be-happier-with-that/943907967555363/ This podcast is powered by ZenCast.fm

Printmaker Molly Mahon discusses with Ivan six things which should be better known. Molly Mahon is a distinguished British printmaker and textile designer renowned for her vibrant and original block prints. Offering a range of uplifting collections, each rooted in Molly’s passion for the traditional and transformative craft of block printing, designs merge classic techniques with a fresh, modern aesthetic that feels timeless and joyful. Drawing inspiration from nature and her surroundings in the Sussex countryside, collections of fabrics, wallpapers and homewares are infused with a sense of homeliness that enriches and enlivens interiors. She has written a book ‘House of Print: A modern printer’s take ono design, colour and pattern’ which was printed in 2020 and this year is the 10th anniversary of the brand. The Anokhi Museum, Jaipur – A tiny museum that celebrates the enduring beauty of hand block printing and changed the course of my creative life. East Sussex – A county where creativity and nature exist side by side, from Charleston to Ashdown Forest, inspiring artists, writers and makers. The White Umbrella by Brian Sewell – A gentle fable about kindness, compassion and the extraordinary journeys that begin with a single act of care. Imperfections are the Luxury – The tiny variations in something made by hand are no longer flaws; they're what make an object unique, authentic and worth treasuring and more and more extinct! The Craftspeople Behind Beautiful Things – The remarkable makers behind the objects we treasure deserve far greater recognition - is this too connected to the one above? Florals and Stripes Belong Together – One of decorating's happiest marriages, proving that the most timeless interiors are built on contrast, confidence and a love of pattern. This podcast is powered by ZenCast.fm

Anna Heyward discusses with Ivan six things which should be better known. Anna Heyward is a former editorial staffer of The New Yorker. She is a graduate student in animal behaviour and welfare science at the University of Pennsylvania School of Veterinary Medicine and is working as a dog trainer. Her writing has also been published by the New York Times, New York Times Book Review, T Magazine, Paris Review, and Vogue, among others. She was a 2018 Ravitch Fellow at the CUNY School of Journalism. Anna lives in New York but is often in London and Melbourne, where she was born. Based on her New Yorker story Bad Dog https://www.newyorker.com/culture/personal-history/bad-dog, her new book is called Living with Freddie and is available at https://www.virago.co.uk/titles/anna-heyward/living-with-freddie/9780349016528/ Pain in companion animals You don’t need to punish your dog Non-existence of pack theory in dogs The lack of regulation in animal training Welcoming snakes and spiders into our homes The benefits of embracing a “messy” garden This podcast is powered by ZenCast.fm

Minette Batters was the first woman to be elected President of the National Farmers’ Union in 113years. She worked with four Prime Ministers - three of them in one year - and six Defra Secretaries of State. She stood down from the post in February 2024. In 2020 she led the NFU on one of the most successful campaigns ever seen, bringing together a coalition of chefs, including Jamie Oliver, farmers, environmentalists, consumer groups and animal welfare experts - resulting in over one million people signing the NFU food standards petition. Minette also co-founded ‘Ladies in Beef’ and the Great British Beef Week. She’s an ambassador for Farm Africa and a passionate advocate and fundraiser for the Junior Diabetic Research Foundation. She’s run in four marathons, raising over £100,000 for charity. In 2021 Minette was made a Deputy Lieutenant to Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth, and in July 2024 she was made a Crossbench Peer in the House of Lords. Curriculum based learning of food production https://www.farminguk.com/news/children-have-huge-lack-of-food-and-farming-knowledge-nfu-says_48601.html Learning to cook and the importance of good nutrition https://www.theguardian.com/food/2023/jun/18/minette-batters-we-need-a-success-story-for-wild-spaces-but-also-for-farmers-and-food Nature and the natural environment https://www.countrylife.co.uk/comment-opinion/minette-batters-the-peppering-project-is-a-blueprint-for-delivering-food-and-nature-security-across-the-country-in-a-way-that-rewilding-on-its-own-never-will-270118 Exercise and sport https://impactreport.womeninsport.org/ Politics https://www.farmersguardian.com/news/4176394/last-press-conference-nfu-president-minette-batters Value of the rural economy https://lordslibrary.parliament.uk/the-rural-economy/ This podcast is powered by ZenCast.fm

Nick Freudenberg discusses with Ivan six things which should be better known. Nicholas Freudenberg is distinguished professor emeritus of public health at the City University of New York School of Public Health. His expertise includes childhood lead poisoning, AIDS prevention, urban food policy, community organization for health, and mass incarceration. Since the 1970s, Freudenberg has studied, evaluated, taught about, and participated in health activist campaigns in New York City and elsewhere. Freudenberg is the author of several books, including At What Cost: Modern Capitalism and the Future of Health (2021), Lethal but Legal Corporation, Consumption and Protecting Public Health (2014) and Not in Our Backyards! Community Action for Health and the Environment (1984). He was the founding director of the CUNY Urban Food Policy Institute, the CUNY Public Health Doctoral Program, and the Hunter College Center on AIDS, Drugs and Community Health. His new book is Fighting for New York, which is available at https://cup.columbia.edu/book/fighting-for-new-york/9780231221405/. Many advances in health are due to activists’ health campaigns Changes in living conditions are more important than advances in medicine Short-term failures in activism may turn into long-term success The idea that the current situation is inevitable is the biggest threat to activism Activist groups win by bringing different communities together The key is to convince politicians they have more to lose by following demands of wealthier supporters This podcast is powered by ZenCast.fm

Ian Green discusses with Ivan six things which should be better known. Ian Green is a writer from Northern Scotland with a PhD in epigenetics. His debut fantasy trilogy The Rotstorm began with the Sunday Times bestseller The Gauntlet and the First Beneath. His short fiction has been widely published and he won the BBC Radio 4 Opening Lines competition, the Futurebook Future Fiction Prize, and was shortlisted for Best Newcomer at the British Fantasy Awards. His biopunk eco-terrorism thriller Extremophile was one of Financial Times’ Best Science Fiction Books of 2024 and was shortlisted for the Arthur C. Clarke Award and Dragon Award for Best Science Fiction Novel. His swashbuckling new book The Deep and the Drowned is out now from Head of Zeus. The British Fantasy Society https://britishfantasysociety.org/ The Last Blade Priest by W.P. Wiles https://www.grimdarkmagazine.com/review-the-last-blade-priest-by-w-p-wiles/ The Gormenghast books by Mervyn Peake https://lareviewofbooks.org/article/titus-alone-peake-gormenghast-trilogy-review-essay/ How much fun having kids is https://ifstudies.org/blog/why-bother-having-kids Historic European Martial Arts (HEMA) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=763THsqZ_ng Nature immersion https://www.psychologytoday.com/gb/blog/insight-therapy/202606/seeing-green-nature-immersion-has-its-benefits This podcast is powered by ZenCast.fm

Matt Hill discusses with Ivan six things which should be better known. Matt Hill is the Philip K. Dick Award-nominated author of Lamb, The Breach, Zero Bomb, Graft, and The Folded Man. He lives in Glossop, on the edge of the Peak District. His new novel is Wrecks, which is available at https://deadinkbooks.com/products/wrecks-matt-hill. You have to rinse the suds off your dishes when you’ve washed them. Sounds trite, even silly, but it’s true, and there’s a deeper point around my wife gently challenging me re mental load of managing childcare and housework Phil Collins was a phenomenal drummer. Before his 80s ballads, Phil was writing wildly inventive drum parts. Brand X, early Genesis, mad time signatures, technically brilliant. We are surrounded by free food – some of it weeds! Family walks now involve stopping every ten seconds to pick at leaves or berries. Foraging used to be common and now, obviously, isn’t. Nettles factoid, hawthorn ketchup, pig nuts, pineapple weed tea... The moors of the Peak District are dotted with WW2 aircraft wreckage you can just walk up to. During and after the Second World War, dozens of planes crashed on the hills of the Peak District. Many of those wrecks are still there, including the Bleaklow Bomber. Amazing, raw history – feels rare for it not to be sanitised or in a museum It takes a scarily long time to stop when you’re doing 80mph. A recent speed awareness course changed my perception of driving, especially residual speeds. By the time a car going at 70mph has stopped, a car braking from 80mph is still doing 40mph – eek In England, we only have legal access to a tiny amount of land. Free access to the countryside was fought for, and often won, by mass trespass Yet we still only have access to something like 10% of land and 3% of waterways; the rest is enclosed, bounded away, or requires us to pay. This podcast is powered by ZenCast.fm

Joel Christensen discusses with Ivan six things about The Odyssey which should be better known. Joel P. Christensen is Professor of Classics at the CUNY Graduate Center where he also serves as Provost and Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs. Joel has previously taught at UT San Antonio and Brandeis University. His research interests include early Greek poetry, myth, and literary theory. With Elton Barker, Joel has published Homer: A Beginner’s Guide (2013) and Homer’s Thebes (Harvard University Press 2020). Joel has also authored The Many-Minded Man: The Odyssey, Psychology, and the Therapy of Epic (2020) with Cornell University Press, Storylife: On Epic, Language, and Living Things with Yale in 2025, and Why Odysseus? With Palgrave/Macmillan (2026). He is also editor of the Oxford Critical Guide to the Odyssey (2026) and author of numerous articles on Homer, myth, Greek poetry, and its reception in the modern world. Ancient Audiences rarely ever read the Odyssey in its entirety The Odyssey was sung and performed for generations before it was written down We don't know how The Odyssey was written down The Homeric Odyssey isn't the only version of the story that used to exist Odysseus was disliked by many early Greek audiences The ending of the Odyssey is extremely strange and most people ignore it! This podcast is powered by ZenCast.fm