Best Helen Thorn Podcasts (2025)

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Zadie Smith and Colm Tóibín 30:03

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16h ago30:03

30:03

OBLIVION by Héctor Abad, chosen by Colm TóibínFLESH by David Szalay, chosen by Zadie SmithCALL ME BY YOUR NAME by André Aciman, chosen by Harriett Gilbert Authors and good friends Zadie Smith and Colm Tóibín join Harriett Gilbert to share books they love. For a longer edition of this episode, check out the A Good Read podcast. Colm Tóibín chooses O…

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Glynnis MacNicol: everything you've been told about being a middle-aged woman is a lie 1:01:45

2d ago1:01:45

1:01:45

What happens when the life you find yourself leading in midlife doesn’t tick all the supposed boxes? That’s the situation today’s guest found herself in. Glynnis MacNicol was 46 - a woman of a so-called certain age who found herself living life without a roadmap when, in august 2021, after almost 18 months spent alone in lockdown, she picked hersel…

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316: Just the Two of Us - Confessions Special 31:25

4h ago31:25

31:25

What's the best way to dispose of a sex toy? Do cats have nails? And is it wrong to take a piss in your cheating husband's bathwater? Nobody is asking these questions, but we attempt to answer them anyway in this special episode! As we take a break from gigging for the summer, we reflect on the opening leg of our Hot Mess tour, and share some of ou…

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The Dialectics of Liberation Congress w/ Micha Frazer-Carroll and Sasha Warren 1:52:18

7d ago1:52:18

1:52:18

Sasha Durakov Warren is a writer based in Minneapolis. He cofounded the group Hearing Voices Twin Cities and is the author of the fantastic book Storming Bedlam: Madness, Utopia, and Revolt which published last year with Common Notions. He runs the substack Of Unsound Mind. Micha Frazer-Carroll is an author, journalist and editor living in London. …

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Steph McGovern on money, menopause & staying out of your lane 1:08:24

9d ago1:08:24

1:08:24

Crime novels might not be the first thing that springs to mind when you hear the name Steph McGovern. Steph is an award-winning broadcaster who is currently co-host of The Rest Is Money podcast with Robert Peston. At the start of her career in journalism, Steph worked for BBC news behind the scenes (despite having been told that “people like you do…

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Joanna Hardy-Susskind and Horatio Clare 27:49

7d ago27:49

27:49

THE TRUCE by Primo Levi, chosen by Horatio Clare THE SUN DOES SHINE by Anthony Ray Hinton with Lara Love Hardin, chosen by Joanna Hardy-SusskindSULA by Toni Morrison, chosen by Harriett Gilbert Writer Horatio Clare joins criminal defence barrister Joanna Hardy-Susskind to discuss favourite books with Harriett Gilbert. Horatio's choice is a book he …

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315: Michelle Griffith-Robinson's rules for life 51:37

16d ago51:37

51:37

She's an Olympic athlete, a brilliant life coach, and a busy mum of three - it's the awesome Michelle Griffith-Robinson! We hear all about how she became a medal-winning triple jumper, choice versus sacrifice, and whether it's true that all the athletes are having it off behind the scenes. We talk about Michelle's life now and she shares her top ti…

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Alison Bechdel on tarot, ageing & why men are scared of women who can do push-ups! - THE SHIFT REVISITED 40:15

14d ago40:15

40:15

The last of our archive episodes this time around is the cartoonist Alison Bechdel. Spent, Alison's new graphic novel-come-memoir, reminded me of the conversation we had back in 2021. Here it is... ---- My guest this week is the cartoonist Alison Bechdel. Probably best known for the Bechdel test - a tongue in cheek method she came up with in the 80…

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Desiree Akhavan and Rosie Wilby 27:51

14d ago27:51

27:51

ALL FOURS by Miranda July, chosen by Desiree AkhavanUNTRUE by Wednesday Martin, chosen by Rosie WilbyDRAGON TALK by Fleur Adcock, chosen by Harriett Gilbert Filmmaker and writer Desiree Akhavan joins comedian, writer and podcaster Rosie Wilby as they discuss favourite books with Harriett Gilbert. Desiree's choice is All Fours by Miranda July, a nov…

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Esther Freud on upending your life in your 50s - THE SHIFT REVISITED 42:16

21d ago42:16

42:16

This week we're going way back in The Shift archives, to one of the earliest episodes I recorded with novelist Esther Freud. This summer Esther will be a guest of The Shift bookclub, to talk about her new novel, My Sister and Other Lovers - her long-awaited sort-of-sequel to her smash hit autofiction, Hideous Kinky, about her childhood with her sis…

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James Rebanks and Kiri Pritchard-McLean at the Hay Festival 27:51

21d ago27:51

27:51

THE IRON AGE by Arja KajermoA SHORT STAY IN HELL by Steven L PeckSTONE YARD DEVOTIONAL by Charlotte Wood James Rebanks is a farmer from the Lake District as well as author of The Shepherd's Life. His new book The Place of Tides is about his time in Norway learning from an elderly woman who cared for eider ducks on a remote island. His book choice i…

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Chronic Fatigue and the Politics of Diagnosis w/ Emily Lim Rogers and Rouzbeh Shadpey 1:16:56

27d ago1:16:56

1:16:56

Emily Lim Rogers and Rouzbeh Shadpey join the podcast to talk about the history of chronic fatigue under capitalism. We explore the way in which medical knowledge reflects and enacts the need for capitalist society to monitor, measure and discipline workers before situating conditions like ME/CFS within these dynamics. Emily Lim Rogers is an Assist…

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Helen Garner on divorce, ageing and the erotic gaze - THE SHIFT REVISITED 48:53

28d ago48:53

48:53

We're heading back to the archives for the next few weeks and first up here's one of my favourite episodes. With the desperately overdue publication of her brilliant diaries, How To End A Story, in the US and UK, the Australian novelist Helen Garner is finally, finally getting some of the credit she's due up here in the Northern hemisphere. Here's …

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314: Clara Batten on comedy, wine and vaginal vapes. 45:42

28d ago45:42

45:42

Our guest for this episode is the hilarious actor and social media star Clara Batten! We talk about everything from writing books and kickstarting your career to what it's like to have dinner with Boris Johnson. Clara tells us how she makes her brilliant reaction videos, and what the people she's reacting to make of them. We discuss how she got ban…

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Budgie and Juhea Kim 27:52

28d ago27:52

27:52

NAUSEA by Jean-Paul SartreGO WENT GONE by Jenny ErpenbeckLAURUS by Evgeny Vodolazkin Budgie is best known as the drummer with Siouxsie & The Banshees and The Creatures, as well as The Slits. His memoir The Absence: Memoirs of A Banshee is published in July 2025. Together with the Korean novelist Juhea Kim he chooses his favourite book to discuss wi…

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Molly Jong Fast: confessions of a bad daughter 47:01

1M ago47:01

47:01

My guest today is the journalist Molly Jong Fast. The author of four books, Molly started writing about politics in 2016. She’s now a special correspondent for Vanity Fair, a political analyst for MSNBC News and host of the Fast Politics Podcast. But she is also the daughter of the novelist Erica Jong, who in the 1970s wrote a novel that became syn…

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Xantoné Blacq and Harry Trevaldwyn 27:45

1M ago27:45

27:45

WHEN GOD WAS A RABBIT by Sarah Winman, chosen by Harry TrevaldwynTHE ALCHEMIST by Paulo Coelho, chosen by Xantoné BlacqJAMES by Percival Everett, chosen by Harriett Gilbert Music producer and composer Xantoné Blacq joins actor and writer Harry Trevaldwyn to share the books they love with presenter Harriett Gilbert. First up, Harry brings to the tab…

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Jo Hamilton: The Post Office scandal stole 20 years of my life 54:37

1M ago54:37

54:37

This is a really special episode and one I’m honoured to be trusted with. Because my guest today is Jo Hamilton, one of more than 700 British sub postmasters who was prosecuted between 2000 and 2014 by the Post Office. Falsely accused of stealing £36,000 Jo was ordered to put right a wrong she hadn’t committed, forced to remortgage her house and bo…

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313: Ellie's Dad - life lessons, a quiz, and some "jokes" 47:56

1M ago47:56

47:56

313: Ellie's Dad - life lessons, a quiz, and some "jokes" What are the lyrics to Happy Birthday? What is the correct term for male swimwear? Who is Jennifer Lopez? Ellie's Dad knows the answer to none of these questions, and we are here to mock him for it. Yes, it's a Father's Day Special as Jim returns to the podcast. We discuss Crystal Palace's F…

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Josh Cohen and Nussaibah Younis 27:21

1M ago27:21

27:21

BIG SWISS by Jen Beagin, chosen by Nussaibah YounisA HEART SO WHITE by Javier Marías, chosen by Josh CohenTHE END OF EDDY by Edouard Louis, chosen by Harriett Gilbert Big Swiss is a 29-year-old gynecologist who has never had an orgasm. Greta Work is an audio transcriber for a sex therapist who is infatuated by one of his clients. After an encounter…

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[ANNOUNCEMENT!] THE ANTI-SELF-HELPLINE 41:26

2M ago41:26

41:26

The ANTI-SELF-HELPLINE is a place to share and make sense of our experiences of political struggle. Political struggle is hard; yet there are very few resources for thinking through the emotional and psychic dimensions of these experiences. Those of us who want to radically change the world are often exposed to the depoliticizing tendencies of main…

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Olia Hercules: my periods vanished when the war started 1:02:58

2M ago1:02:58

1:02:58

My guest today is the Ukrainian chef, food writer and activist Olia Hercules. Olia was born in the South of Ukraine and has lived in the UK since her late teens. After working in journalism she decided to follow her heart, her stomach and arguably her heritage, and become a chef. She trained at Leith’s School of Food and Wine, worked in kitchens, i…

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312: Homelessness, filmmaking and friendship with Daisy-May Hudson 51:48

2M ago51:48

51:48

Our guest for this episode is the awesome Daisy-May Hudson. She tells us about her experience of homelessness, and her journey from documentary maker to film director. We discuss Daisy-May's latest movie, Lollipop, which tells the story of a woman fighting to get her children back, and a friendship that's rekindled along the way. It's out on the 13…

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Jack Thorne and Peter Kosminsky 27:43

2M ago27:43

27:43

AN INSTANCE OF THE FINGERPOST by Iain Pears, chosen by Peter KosminskyHEROES OF THE FOURTH TURNING by Will Arbery, chosen by Jack ThornePERFECTION by Vincenzo Latronico, chosen by Harriett Gilbert Thorne and Kosminsky are great friends, but don't fully agree on the books discussed. Topics raised by their choices include toxic masculinity, empathy, …

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Melissa Febos on what she learnt from a year of celibacy 53:37

2M ago53:37

53:37

My guest today is the author and essayist, Melissa Febos. Melissa has written four award winning books - Whip Smart, Abandon Me, Girlhood (which won the National Book Critics Circle Award in the states) and Body Work. She’s won too many prizes to mention here and her writing has appeared all over the place! In her mid thirties, after, let’s just sa…

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311: Jimi Famurewa on fussy eating, food criticism, and fairy bread 46:03

2M ago46:03

46:03

Is being a restaurant reviewer the best job in the world? Where's the best place to book a table right now? And how did a picky eater become an award-winning food critic? Answering all these questions is Jimi Famurewa! He tells us all about his brilliant new book, Picky. We discuss Jimi's time as a connoisseur of all-day breakfast in a can, and sha…

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Reeta Chakrabarti on growing older & bolder 54:04

2M ago54:04

54:04

My guest this week is the journalist and broadcaster Reeta Chakrabarti. After two decades producing and reporting for the BBC, Reeta became a news presenter at the age of 49. She was the main BBC presenter in Lviv in Western Ukraine and is now one of the chief presenters of BBC news at 6 and BBC news at 10. Brought up in Birmingham, as a teenager R…

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310: Riona O'Connor and Olga Thompson on bloody everything 50:46

2M ago50:46

50:46

An Englishwoman, an Irishwoman, a Greek and an Australian walk into a DJ booth... No, it's not the start of a joke, it's the latest episode of the Scummy Mummies Podcast! Our guests are the hilarious comedians Riona O'Connor and Olga Thompson. Due to an administrative error, we find ourselves crammed into an unpleasantly warm enclosed space. We get…

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Jeanine Cummins on confidence, identity and surviving the American Dirt controversy 57:06

2M ago57:06

57:06

My guest today is the bestselling novelist Jeanine Cummins. You might think you haven’t heard of her, but I’ll be pretty surprised if you haven’t heard of the book that catapulted her into the public eye, American Dirt. A story about a Mexican mother and son escaping to America after their entire family is massacred by a drug cartel, which Oprah sa…

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309: MASHUP! Drunk Women Solving Crime X Scummy Mummies 59:09

3M ago59:09

59:09

Ooh, look at us, sifting through evidence and sipping on fizz with the excellent Drunk Women Solving Crime! Listen in as we join Taylor and Hannah to discuss parenting fails, suppository etiquette, and what happens when nuns go wrong. If you enjoyed this episode you can find many more DWS bangers wherever you get your podcasts! And why not go and s…

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Tell Me About Your Mother... w/ Hannah Zeavin and Helen Charman 1:15:39

3M ago1:15:39

1:15:39

Hannah Zeavin and Helen Charman return to the podcast to discuss the history of technology, media and mothering throughout the 20th century. We discuss the role media and technology play in the labor process of mothering, how media often becomes a site of panic and pathology, and what this all tells us about the relationship between the state and t…