Story Radio Podcast

Interview with Dr Miles Leeson editor of Poems from an Attic by Iris Murdoch

Long hidden in an attic, vivid and revelatory poems shine a new light on the life and loves of Iris Murdoch.In the dusty attic of Iris Murdoch’s Oxford home lay a battered, black chest. In 2016, when the chest was finally opened, Murdoch’s life in poems was revealed. Renowned for her fiercely intelligent novels and groundbreaking philosophy, Murdoch was one of the great writers of the twentieth century. Yet she is also known for her equally radical life – intense friendships, relationships with both men and women, and an open marriage – about which much has, often controversially, been written. Now, her tightly wrought and vivid poems reveal a new, deeply personal account in Murdoch’s own voice. They range over the preoccupations closest to her heart, from the state of Ireland to memories of a first love lost in the Second World War.We speak to Dr Miles Leeson, one of the editors of Poems from an Attic by Iris Murdoch, to learn more about this exciting discovery and how it adds to our understanding of the work of the famous philosopher and novelist. Dr Leeson also reads three poems from the book, 'Reverie in Winchester Cathedral', 'I find that honesty is a hard thing', and 'Macaw in the Snow'. Dr Miles Leeson is Director of the Iris Murdoch Research Centre at the University of Chichester and Visiting Research Fellow at Kingston University. He is Lead Editor of the Iris Murdoch Review, Series Editor of Iris Murdoch Today with Palgrave Macmillan, host of the Iris Murdoch Podcast, and has published widely on Murdoch’s work. He published Iris Murdoch: Philosophical Novelist in 2010, the edited collection Incest in Contemporary Literature (2018), the festschrift Iris Murdoch: A Centenary Celebration (2019), the co-edited collections Iris Murdoch and the Literary Imagination (2022) and Iris Murdoch and the Western Theological Imagination (2025), co-edited her selected poetry Poems from an Attic: Selected Poems 1936-1995 (2025), and is currently writing Visiting Mrs Bayley and Other Essays (2026) Iris Murdoch and Feminism and editing The Oxford Handbook of Iris Murdoch (2028).You can find out more about him and his work here:https://www.chi.ac.uk/people/miles-leeson/Iris MurdochIris Murdoch was born in Dublin in 1919. After working in the Treasury and in the UN, she discovered philosophy, eventually becoming Fellow at St Anne's College, Oxford. Her philosophical concerns are at the heart of the 25 novels for which she became famous, gaining the Whitbread Prize for The Sacred and Profane Love Machine and the Booker Prize for The Sea, The Sea. Until her death in 1999, she lived in Oxford with her husband, the academic and critic, John Bayley. She wrote poetry all her life.The Iris Murdoch SocietyBuy the book: https://www.penguin.co.uk/books/470920/poems-from-an-attic-by-murdoch-iris/9781784746124Music: “The Silver Swan” (O. Gibbons), performed by Denis Carpenter, Clara IMSLP (CC BY 3.0): https://clara.imslp.org/work/51148 — https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/ IMSLP+1This episode was produced by Tabitha Potts. Tabitha Potts is a short story writer and novelist, recognised with an Honourable Mention in the Alpine Fellowship Writing Prize. Her debut novel will be published by Rowan Prose Publishing in 2026.

Interview with Mathew Gostelow editor of Silent Screams and reading by Terry Holland

Story Radio interviews Mathew Gostelow, the editor of Silent Screams: An Anthology of Quiet Horror, about trends in the horror genre, the meaning of 'quiet horror', the child's perspective in horror writing, contemporary vs historical fiction and many other topics such as Twin Peaks and Frankenstein. We listen to a reading of 'Barnabas Calstock's Last Wish' by the author Terry Holland (Trigger warning: this story contains references to war and violence that some listeners may find disturbing). About Mathew GostelowMathew Gostelow haunts a leafy suburb of Birmingham, UK. His CV is a chaotic patchwork quilt, including journalism, pheasant farming, catering, and marketing. Mat’s taste in art, music, film, and literature is equally eclectic, although he tends to gravitate towards anything with a creepy, dreamy aesthetic. If you catch him staring intently into the middle distance, Mat is either thinking about Twin Peaks or cooked breakfasts. Some days he wakes early and scribbles strange tales. Mat has written several books, including two speculative short story collections entitled An Ill-Stitched Menagerie and See My Breath Dance Ghostly, and a novella-in-flash; Dantalion is a Quiet Place. Mat has also co-written a horror-thriller novella called Watcher with his friend JP Relph, and edited an anthology of quiet horror short stories, titled Silent Screams.He has been nominated for the Pushcart Prize, Best of the Net, and Best Microfiction. You can find Mat on Twitter: @MatGost, and BlueSky: @MatGost.Website: https://weirding-words.blogspot.com/p/about.htmlSubstack: https://matgost.substack.com/ About Terry HollandTerry Holland grew up in Essex, England, before studying in London and Berlin. He has dabbled in the theatre, music, journalism, translation and the occult and currently lives in the Netherlands with his black cat, Mackem, who is a reincarnation of a wise woman and herbalist known as Black Meg, persecuted as a witch in the northeast of England in the seventeenth century. He writes flash and short stories and will never, ever write a novel. He bleats his Wordle scores @terryholland.bsky.socialThe Producer was Martin Nathan. Martin Nathan has worked as a labourer, showman, pancake chef, fire technician, and a railway engineer. His short fiction has been published by Tangent Press, HCE and Grist and his poetry has appeared in Finished Creatures, Erbacce and Aesthetica. His novel – A Place of Safety is published by Salt Publishing.Cover image by Eric Brennerwww.ericwbrenner.com

Funnybillies by Daniel Jeffreys

A man who is the main carer for his stubborn and independent elderly mother experiences increasingly eerie encounters with mysterious creatures in the marshy landscape surrounding her home. Written by Daniel JeffreysDr Daniel Jeffreys works as a university lecturer with a special interest in the weird tale. His fiction has appeared in Esquire, LITRO, AMBIT and The London Magazine.Read by Nigel FyfeNigel Fyfe is a British actor and voice artist based in North Yorkshire. He has built a diverse career across stage, screen, and voiceover work.Produced by Tabitha PottsTabitha Potts is a short story writer and novelist, recognised with an Honourable Mention in the Alpine Fellowship Writing Prize. Her debut novel will be published by Rowan Prose Publishing in 2026.EffectsBowers Marsh SoundScape by naturenotesuk | License: Attribution 4.0 Sounds

The Misappropriation of Clouds by Amy Waddell

August 6, 2025 marked eighty years since the nuclear bomb was dropped on Hiroshima."The Misappropriation of Clouds" is a fictional short story based on a member of the writer's own family. This individual unwittingly played a part in one of the most devastating tragedies in human history — Hiroshima. Following the 80 year commemoration of the bombing of Hiroshima, "The Misappropriation of Clouds" is an elegy to those who lost their lives in the bombing and a poem for all those who carry on the hope that we can do better.About Amy WaddellAmy Waddell is a writer and film director living between Paris, France and Sedona, Arizona. She has just completed Mask Maker, a novel about American artist Anna Coleman Ladd who found an innovative way to help WW1 soldiers disfigured in trench warfare reintegrate into society after having been ostracized by the French government. Amy has also written several original scripts for Pan Européenne in Paris, adapted David Lodge's novel "Thinks", and created documentaries for the Annenberg Foundation on subjects ranging from genocide in Darfur to Native American struggles. Her work spans narrative fiction, screenwriting, and documentary storytelling.CREDITS:Writer: Amy WaddellProducers: Amy Waddell & Helen Fitzgerald FX & Sound Editor: Daniel LawrenceVoice Actor: Gerard MaguireMusic Composer: Yuval RonMusic: Arden-ohmanOrchestraVfrankLuther-CanThisBeLove1930.mp3 (archive.org)Sad War Music 01 by Magmi.Soundtracks License: Creative Commons 0Photo: Courtesy of Seemann at Morguefile.com

Poppet by Tabitha Potts

Poppet is the story of a young girl growing up in a hippy commune in rural England in 1976. She resents her mother, their social worker and most of all the commune leader, Dion. Over a long harvest season, Poppet learns what she must sacrifice in order to be free. A folk-horror inspired short story by Tabitha Potts, Poppet won an Honourable Mention in the Alpine Fellowship Writing Prize in 2022 and you can read it on their website. We will be taking a short production break for summer, so our next episode will be on October 1st. Tabitha Potts is a short story writer and novelist, recognised with an Honourable Mention in the Alpine Fellowship Writing Prize. Her debut novel will be published by Rowan Prose Publishing in 2026.Sound effects:bonfire flames sizzling by florianreichelt -- https://freesound.org/s/563764/ -- License: Creative Commons 0bongos_2.flac by KJose -- https://freesound.org/s/610357/ -- License: Creative Commons 0Skylark recording - author's ownImage used for podcast credit:By AliAsterix - Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=125885918Support Story Radio Podcast