This month I chat to the amazing comedian, writer and activist Josie Long about her book of short stories Because I Don't Know What You Mean and What You Don't. Josie's stories are rich and varied – very funny and powerfully moving. The book covers a range of topics including political apathy, romance, motherhood, and the climate crisis. We talk about Josie's inspirations and the differences between stand-up and fiction. She also gives an insight into her new stand-up show Now is the Time of Monsters.

Towards the end we have a brief chat about the film My Old Ass, because we both enjoyed it so much!

And at the very end of the pod I talk a bit about Neko Case, and play a new tune (by me).

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This month's episode is a bit different! I got together with the American folk musician Sam Amidon to talk about Charles Dickens's last completed novel Our Mutual Friend. Along the way we talk about William Gaddis, Jacques Tati and Kazuo Ishiguro.

We also chat about Sam's new album Salt River which is released on 24 January 2025; you can pre-order it here:

https://www.roughtrade.com/en-gb/product/sam-amidon/salt-river

And Sam is on tour, details below:

https://www.samamidon.com/

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On this month's episode I chat to the guitarist James Blackshaw. We talk about James's influences, his guitar playing technique, and why he decided to take a break from music. I go through a few of my favourite songs by him, and we discuss the making of his new album. We also talk about cooking! James and his wife run a pop-up ramen restaurant at Stooge Coffee in Hastings. More info here:

https://www.instagram.com/sumisu_ramen/?hl=en

James's new album Unraveling in Your Hands was released on Bandcamp on 13 November:

https://jamesblackshaw.bandcamp.com/album/unraveling-in-your-hands

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