Sat 21 Apr - BIPOLAR Exploring, disordered days - Lucy Newlyn

Lucy Newlyn shares the world of bipolar disorder in her uncompromising and intelligent book, 'Diary of a Bipolar Explorer' (Signal books).
'Newlyn doesn't flinch as she explores the relationship between bipolar disorder and exactly the kind of mindset that has made her a poet and a writer.' (Stewart Lee)

Sat 14 Apr - THOMAS HYDE - composing & British political scandal

Thomas Hyde, composer, talks about making music from British political scandal. Notes and writings on the Profumo affair and speculation on the mysterious disappearance of murder suspect, Lord Lucan.


Listen Again - British Political Scandal and Music - Thomas Hyde

Sat 7 Apr - John Stephens, a retrospective in ABSTRACT ART

Artist John Stephens discusses how nothing really interests him. One of the Q Park underground artist group curated by Vanya Balogh and currently based at iCreate Studios Bedford he considers abstraction as an abiding genre of contemporary art discourse. Sharing anecdotes of a life in painting and beyond he crosses borders and time-lines as he reaches into his his own life experience for a personal retrospective.

Listen Again - John Stephens - A Life in Abstract Art

Sat 31 Mar - Amy Rigby & Wreckless Eric - THE OLD GUYS

Amy Rigby and Wreckless Eric chat about 'The Old Guys', Amy's new album. Talking about old friends in music and arts, heroes, friends, family and time passing. Writing songs using folk influences about contemporary society and how women songwriters can use the medium to reflect on the absurdities of the everyday.

Listen Again - Amy Rigby and Wreckless Eric

Sat 24 Mar - MATTHEW SWEET - Operation Chaos

Matthew Sweet talks about the deserters from the American war in Vietnam who fought the CIA, the brainwashers and each other. His book Operation Chaos tells the story of how the CIA tried to infiltrate the American Deserters Committee during the cold war. His account reveals the personal struggles in this project to collect and recount this oral history, and his growing awareness of the impact of displacement and dislocation in the counter-culture. This bizarre history has had a lasting impact today in theories of conspiracy and global economics and the popular fears of radical resistance.

Listen Again - Matthew Sweet - Operation Chaos

Sat 17 Mar - EUGENE COYNE - Animals, Myth and Castle Coyne

Songwriter Eugene Coyne sings and plays songs with special focus on animal stories. He has been building myths in South London domesticity through his album Castle Coyne. Plus dogs, birds, cats and genetic anomalies who are the latest creatures from Reuters news stories to venture into the world.
https://eugenecoyne.bandcamp.com

Listen Again - Eugene Coyne - Songs about Animals

Sat 10 Mar - The Persistence of Past in the Present - TIM DOOLEY

Tim Dooley reflects on his work as a poet and editor. He discusses the persistence of the past in the present, how new vocabularies of social and technological change cohabit with after-images of traditional literary forms whether updating Arthurian legend, exploring the British seaside, considering the 'rediscovery' of early cinema or taking a sideways look at contemporary controversies. He reads selections from over forty-five years of writing from his collected poems entitled 'The Sound We Make Ourselves' and his new collection ‘Weemoed’, a Poetry Book Society Recommendation. Plus improvised music.

Listen Again - Tim Dooley - The Persistence of the Past