In the last couple of weeks I’ve been recording and editing the first episodes of the new series Beyond a Joke. In this series, I’m asking guests to bring an object that has made them laugh. Using this object we discuss what makes us laugh, what arts practice can learn about the structures of humor and jokes and so far, quite a lot about where the ‘serious’ and the ‘ridiculous’ overlap and intersect. So far, I’ve had two amazing conversations with Anna Jackson about Snoopy and Jonny Potts about ‘Нос Nos | The Nose’ by Nikolai Gogol. Both of these episodes will be available in the next few weeks. Episodes for this series come out every two weeks.
In other news, Better off Read is shifting to a new home at Substack.
My main aim in moving to Substack is to build a bit of community around the podcast.
You will still be able to listen Better off Read for free but you are also now able to contribute financially if you’re able. I would love to make the podcast sustainable financially on an ongoing basis. An important principle of the podcast is that I pay all guests. Your money makes it possible for me to make the podcast for everyone.
Subscribe to Better off Read’s Substack
Thanks as always for listening and I look forward to being in touch.
Ep 35 Emma Hislop and Pip Adam talk about The Mare by Mary Gaitskill
Ep 34 Sorority: Readings from some of Te Whanganui-a-Tara’s finest women of colour
Ep 33 Randell Cottage
Ep 32 Brannavan Gnanalingam: A Briefcase, Two Pies, and a Penthouse
Ep 31: Bill Nelson Talks about Two Poems
Ep 30 Aaron Lister: Fiona Pardington's A Beautiful Hesitation
Ep 29: Simon Sweetman and Pip Adam talk about Stranger Music by Leonard Cohen
Ep 28 Porirua People's Library
Ep 27 Sarah Jane Barnett: The Time of the Giants by Anne Kennedy
Ep 26 Work by Sarah Jane Barnett
Ep 25 Rebel Moon: An AK Benefit
Ep 24 R.H.I. by Tim Corballis
Ep 23 Pukeahu: An Exploratory Anthology
Ep 22 Joe Buchanan: Solaris by Stanislaw Lem
Ep 21 Lynn Jenner: Lost and Gone Away
Ep 20 Natasha Dennerstein: The Bengal Engine's Mango Afterglow by Geoff Cochrane
Ep 19 Carl Shuker: 10th Anniversary of The Method Actors
Ep 18 Overland Launch
Ep 17 Clare Needham: The Wasp Factory by Iain Banks
Ep 16 Helen Heath: Men Explain Things to Me by Rebecca Solnit
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