Nico Walker, The Granta Podcast

In this episode of the Granta Podcast we speak to Tao Lin, the author of ten books, including Leave Society and Taipei.We discuss two of Tao Lin’s recent essays, ‘My Spiritual Evolution’, and ‘Gian’, which appeared in Granta 171: Dead Friends, as well as the effects of psychedelics and the possibilities of reincarnation.Leo Robson is a cultural journalist whose work has appeared in the London Review of Books, the New Yorker, and the New Left Review, among other publications. He is the author of The Boys (2025).Josie Mitchell is senior editor at Granta. 

In this episode of the Granta Podcast we speak to Susie Boyt, the author of seven novels, most recently Loved and Missed, and the memoir My Judy Garland Life.We discuss Susie Boyt’s short story, ‘All Being Well’, from Granta 171: Dead Friends, and consider the function of ghosts, Henry James, and how to be mourned.Leo Robson is a cultural journalist whose work has appeared in the London Review of Books, the New Yorker, and the New Left Review, among other publications. He is the author of The Boys (2025).Josie Mitchell is senior editor at Granta. 

In this episode of the Granta Podcast, we speak to Nico Walker, author of the novel Cherry. We discuss Nico Walker’s essay ‘Mucker Play’, published in Granta 170: Winners, which considers American football as a reflection of the country’s violence, the intimate relationship between the military and sport, and how athletes cultivate their public image, from Deion Sanders to Jim Thorpe.Leo Robson is a cultural journalist whose work has appeared in the London Review of Books, the New Yorker, and the New Left Review, among other publications. His first novel will be published in 2025. Josie Mitchell is senior editor at Granta. Thomas Meaney is the editor of Granta. 

Granta 170: Winners is out this week. In this episode, we speak to Declan Ryan about his essay on the British heavyweight boxing today, ‘The Hurt Business’, which appears in the magazine's new sports issue. You can read the essay discussed in this episode here. Follow these links to subscribe to the podcast on Spotify and Apple Podcasts.Declan Ryan is the author of Crisis Actor, a poetry collection published with Faber in 2023. Josie Mitchell is senior editor at Granta. Leo Robson is a cultural journalist whose work has appeared in the London Review of Books, the New Yorker, and the New Left Review. 

In this episode of the Granta Podcast, we speak to the film director Wang Xiaoshuai, known for the films Beijing Bicycle (2001) and So Long, My Son (2019). We discuss Wang Xiaoshuai’s thoughts on the porosity between literature and cinema, and the challenges facing independent filmmakers today. Follow these links to subscribe to the podcast on Spotify and Apple Podcasts.Leo Robson is a cultural journalist whose work has appeared in the London Review of Books, the New Yorker, and the New Left Review. Josie Mitchell is senior editor at Granta. 

In this episode of the Granta Podcast, we speak to Allen Bratton, whose short stories Barbarism and Honeymoon have been published online at granta.com. His debut novel Henry Henry was published in 2024.We discuss Shakespearean adaptations, the fine line between humour and cruelty and the legacy of the British aristocracy.Leo Robson is a cultural journalist whose work has appeared in the London Review of Books, the New Yorker, and the New Left Review, among other publications. His first novel will be published in 2025.Josie Mitchell is senior editor at Granta.

In this episode of the Granta Podcast, we speak to Alan Hollinghurst, author of seven novels including The Swimming-Pool Library, the Booker Prize-winning The Line of Beauty and Our Evenings, which was published in 2024. We discuss his new novel, writing from the outsider's perspective and cataloguing the chapters of queer life from the mid-century to now. Follow these links to subscribe to the podcast on Spotify and Apple Podcasts.Leo Robson is a cultural journalist whose work has appeared in the London Review of Books, the New Yorker, and the New Left Review. Josie Mitchell is senior editor at Granta. 

In this episode of the Granta Podcast, we speak to the novelist and essayist Rachel Kushner, author of the books The Mars Room, The Flamethrowers, Telex from Cuba and The Hard Crowd. Her latest novel, Creation Lake, will be published in September 2024.We discuss her story, ‘The True Depth of a Cave’, which appeared in Granta 167: Extraction, as well as the mysteries of prehistory and the variance between abstract and mimetic art in fiction. Follow these links to subscribe to the podcast on Spotify and Apple Podcasts.Leo Robson is a cultural journalist whose work has appeared in the London Review of Books, the New Yorker, and the New Left Review. Josie Mitchell is senior editor at Granta. 

In this episode of the Granta podcast we speak to the novelist and journalist Benjamin Kunkel, author of Indecision (2005) and co-founder of the journal n+1.We discuss his short story ‘Prairie Dogs’ (Granta 167: Extraction), his return to writing fiction, involuntarily becoming a ‘Marxist public intellectual’ and being politicised by literature. Follow these links to subscribe to the podcast on Spotify and Apple Podcasts.Leo Robson is a cultural journalist whose work has appeared in the London Review of Books, the New Yorker, and the New Left Review. Josie Mitchell is senior editor at Granta. 

In this episode of the Granta Podcast, we speak to the novelist Sheila Heti, author of the books How Should a Person Be?, Motherhood and Pure Colour. Her latest book, Alphabetical Diaries, was published in 2024.We discuss her new book, along with her interview with the academic Phyllis Rose that appeared in Granta 166: Generations. You can find all of Heti's contributions to the magazine here.Follow these links to subscribe to the podcast on Spotify and Apple Podcasts.Leo Robson is a cultural journalist whose work has appeared in the London Review of Books, the New Yorker, and the New Left Review. Josie Mitchell is senior editor at Granta.