# Close Readings Page: https://stenobird.com/podcast/close-readings-6008264 Text version: https://stenobird.com/podcast/close-readings-6008264.md RSS feed: https://feeds.megaphone.fm/LRB7524563961 Official site: https://lrb.me/closereadings Author: London Review of Books Episodes: 209 ## Resource Close Readings is a multi-series podcast from the London Review of Books. Two contributors explore areas of literature through a selection of key works, providing an introductory grounding like no other. Listen to some episodes for free here, and extracts from our ongoing subscriber-only series. How To Subscribe In Apple Podcasts, click 'subscribe' at the top of this podcast feed to unlock the full episodes. Or for other podcast apps, sign up here: https://lrb.me/closereadings RUNNING IN 2026 'Who's afraid of realism?' with James Wood and guests 'Nature in Crisis' with Meehan Crist and Peter Godfrey-Smith 'Narrative Poems' with Seamus Perry and Mark Ford 'London Revisited' with Rosemary Hill and guests Bonus Series: 'The Man Behind the Curtain' with Tom McCarthy and Thomas Jones ALSO INCLUDED IN THE CLOSE READINGS SUBSCRIPTION: 'Conversations in Philosophy' with Jonathan Rée and James Wood 'Fiction and the Fantastic' with Marina Warner, Anna Della Subin, Adam Thirlwell and Chloe Aridjis 'Love and Death' with Seamus Perry and Mark Ford 'Novel Approaches' with Clare Bucknell, Thomas Jones and other guests 'Among the Ancients' with Emily Wilson and Thomas Jones 'Medieval Beginnings'… ## Machine-readable JSON: https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/close-readings-6008264 Markdown: https://stenobird.com/podcast/close-readings-6008264.md ## Episodes - [London Revisited: Shakespeare’s City](https://stenobird.com/podcast/close-readings-6008264/london-revisited-shakespeare-s-city) — 2026-06-18T15:30:00+00:00 - [Narrative Poems: ‘The Rime of the Ancient Mariner’ by Samuel Taylor Coleridge](https://stenobird.com/podcast/close-readings-6008264/narrative-poems-the-rime-of-the-ancient-mariner-by-samuel-taylor-coleridge) — 2026-06-11T15:28:00+00:00 - [Nature in Crisis: ‘Is a River Alive?’ by Robert Macfarlane](https://stenobird.com/podcast/close-readings-6008264/nature-in-crisis-is-a-river-alive-by-robert-macfarlane) — 2026-06-03T15:35:00+00:00 - [Who’s afraid of realism? ‘Mrs Dalloway’ by Virginia Woolf](https://stenobird.com/podcast/close-readings-6008264/who-s-afraid-of-realism-mrs-dalloway-by-virginia-woolf) — 2026-05-27T14:12:00+00:00 - [London Revisited: The Protestant Capital](https://stenobird.com/podcast/close-readings-6008264/london-revisited-the-protestant-capital) — 2026-05-18T14:45:00+00:00 - [What do you think of Close Readings?](https://stenobird.com/podcast/close-readings-6008264/what-do-you-think-of-close-readings) — 2026-05-16T05:42:00+00:00 - [Narrative Poems: ‘Tam o’ Shanter’ by Robert Burns and ‘Peter Grimes’ by George Crabbe](https://stenobird.com/podcast/close-readings-6008264/narrative-poems-tam-o-shanter-by-robert-burns-and-peter-grimes-by-george-crabbe) — 2026-05-13T15:22:00+00:00 - [Nature in Crisis: 'Gaia: A New Look at Life on Earth' by James Lovelock](https://stenobird.com/podcast/close-readings-6008264/nature-in-crisis-gaia-a-new-look-at-life-on-earth-by-james-lovelock) — 2026-05-04T10:00:00+00:00 - [Who’s afraid of realism? ‘The Death of Ivan Ilyich’ by Leo Tolstoy](https://stenobird.com/podcast/close-readings-6008264/who-s-afraid-of-realism-the-death-of-ivan-ilyich-by-leo-tolstoy) — 2026-04-27T10:00:00+00:00 - [The Man Behind the Curtain: ‘Frankenstein’ by Mary Shelley](https://stenobird.com/podcast/close-readings-6008264/the-man-behind-the-curtain-frankenstein-by-mary-shelley) — 2026-04-24T13:00:00+00:00 - [London Revisited: Plague, Rebellion and Guilds](https://stenobird.com/podcast/close-readings-6008264/london-revisited-plague-rebellion-and-guilds) — 2026-04-20T14:18:00+00:00 - [Narrative Poems: ‘The Rape of the Lock’ by Alexander Pope](https://stenobird.com/podcast/close-readings-6008264/narrative-poems-the-rape-of-the-lock-by-alexander-pope) — 2026-04-13T09:57:00+00:00 - [Nature in Crisis: ‘The Burning Earth’ by Sunil Amrith](https://stenobird.com/podcast/close-readings-6008264/nature-in-crisis-the-burning-earth-by-sunil-amrith) — 2026-04-06T10:00:00+00:00 - [Who’s afraid of realism? Three stories by Anton Chekhov](https://stenobird.com/podcast/close-readings-6008264/who-s-afraid-of-realism-three-stories-by-anton-chekhov) — 2026-03-30T10:00:00+00:00 - [London Revisited: The Medieval Capital](https://stenobird.com/podcast/close-readings-6008264/london-revisited-the-medieval-capital) — 2026-03-23T11:29:00+00:00 - [Narrative Poems: ‘Paradise Lost’ (Book 9) by John Milton](https://stenobird.com/podcast/close-readings-6008264/narrative-poems-paradise-lost-book-9-by-john-milton) — 2026-03-16T13:33:00+00:00 - [Nature in Crisis: ‘Blue Machine’ by Helen Czerski](https://stenobird.com/podcast/close-readings-6008264/nature-in-crisis-blue-machine-by-helen-czerski) — 2026-03-09T06:00:00+00:00 - [Who’s afraid of realism? ‘Notes from Underground’ by Fyodor Dostoevsky](https://stenobird.com/podcast/close-readings-6008264/who-s-afraid-of-realism-notes-from-underground-by-fyodor-dostoevsky) — 2026-03-02T11:54:00+00:00 - [London Revisited: Mosaics, Archers and a Walled Garden](https://stenobird.com/podcast/close-readings-6008264/london-revisited-mosaics-archers-and-a-walled-garden) — 2026-02-23T11:14:00+00:00 - [Narrative Poems: 'Venus and Adonis' and 'The Rape of Lucrece' by William Shakespeare](https://stenobird.com/podcast/close-readings-6008264/narrative-poems-venus-and-adonis-and-the-rape-of-lucrece-by-william-shakespeare) — 2026-02-16T11:00:00+00:00 - [Nature in Crisis: ‘The Light Eaters’ by Zoë Schlanger](https://stenobird.com/podcast/close-readings-6008264/nature-in-crisis-the-light-eaters-by-zo-schlanger) — 2026-02-09T06:00:00+00:00 - [Who’s afraid of realism? ‘Madame Bovary’ by Gustave Flaubert (part two)](https://stenobird.com/podcast/close-readings-6008264/who-s-afraid-of-realism-madame-bovary-by-gustave-flaubert-part-two) — 2026-02-02T11:05:00+00:00 - [London Revisited: Roman Beginnings](https://stenobird.com/podcast/close-readings-6008264/london-revisited-roman-beginnings) — 2026-01-26T11:30:00+00:00 - [Narrative Poems: 'Hero and Leander' by Christopher Marlowe](https://stenobird.com/podcast/close-readings-6008264/narrative-poems-hero-and-leander-by-christopher-marlowe) — 2026-01-19T11:55:00+00:00 - [Nature in Crisis: ‘Silent Spring’ by Rachel Carson](https://stenobird.com/podcast/close-readings-6008264/nature-in-crisis-silent-spring-by-rachel-carson) — 2026-01-12T06:00:00+00:00 ## Actions Episode pages expose an explicit `request_transcript` action. 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