The Bookmoth Podcast

David Bindman, the Emeritus Durning-Lawrence Professor of the History of Art at University College London, has dedicated much of his career to studying Blake's universe. Having recently curated the William Blake exhibition at The Fitzwilliam Museum, we join Bindman as he offers unique insights into the life and works of this fascinating artist and writer.

In this episode, we discuss with Martin Myrone, curator of the William Blake exhibition at Tate Britain, the fascinating life of Blake and his artistic influences.

On this episode, we will be discussing electricity, where it originated and how it was used, metaphorically in the arts and as an instrument of utility. I will be talking to Professor Mary Fairclough from the University of York who probes eighteenth century thought, and this electrical phenomenon which arose through great minds like Benjamin Franklin, Robert Boyle, Stephen Gray, and generated a surrounding, vacillating discourse which survives till today.

Today we will be talking about Scottish Gaelic, its origins, influences, and application to modern day society. With me is Dr Peter Mackay from the University of St Andrews who has won multiple awards for his studies in Gaelic, including the Donald Meek Prize for Gaelic literature. In 2005, he published his first collection of Gaelic poetry, placing him on the longlist for the Saltire Scottish Poetry Book of the Year, and has since gone on to be a broadcaster on BBC 3.

In this week's episode of The Bookmoth Podcast we will discuss how literature reveals food’s unique power to drive or hinder social change, alongside its role as a product enmeshed in the consumer culture, breeding desire and waste. I am joined by Professor Andrew Warnes from the University of Leeds, who has published multiple books on the impact of food and foodscapes.

From Paradise Lost’s antihero to Tom Ellis’ Lucifer, the devil is a figure who has taken on many forms from its Edenic origins. In this episode, we will be looking at the devil as a theatrical spectacle in medieval theatre and its contemporary interpretation. Francesca Docker speaks to Dr Charlotte Steenbrugge from the University of Sheffield, who has written extensively on the devil and Vice, to find out more.