This month, Katherine spoke to Lucy Jones about Matrescence, her book about the profound changes wrought by pregnancy and birth. Combining the biological, the social and the political with exquisite writing, this is a radical revision of a subject veiled in forced cosiness and obfuscation.

Lucy's frankness and curiosity - her utter realness - are an absolute balm for anyone who’s navigated the very particular environment of contemporary western maternity, whether that contact has been personal or at one remove. It helps us to understand why pregnancy feels like such a hinterland, and also why it doesn’t need to be this way.

Katherine's book, Enchantment, is available now: US/CAN and UK

Links from the episode:

• Lucy's Instagram
• Lucy's website
• Lucy’s book, Matrescence

• Join Katherine's Substack for a free reading guide, video recordings and transcripts
• Find show notes and transcripts for every episode by visiting Katherine's website.
• Follow Katherine on Instagram

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Katherine was excited to speak to Daniel Tammet about his latest book, Nine Minds: Inner Lives on the Spectrum. Katherine has been reading Daniel’s writing for a long time - his first book, Born on a Blue Day, came out in 2006. At the time, he was writing about his experience as a savant (his synaesthesia means that he conceptualises numbers and dates in a completely different way to most of us), and in this conversation Katherine and Daniel talk about the way that he was treated during those years. Daniel is a beautiful writer, but his talent was often invisible to people who only wanted to see him as a kind of specimen, not fully human. Hear as they talk about the way Daniel’s persisted, asserting his rightful place as a thinker and a master of prose.

Katherine's book, Enchantment, is available now: US/CAN and UK

Links from the episode:

• Daniel's Website
• Daniel’s book, Nine Minds

• Join Katherine's Substack
• Find show notes and transcripts for every episode by visiting Katherine's website.
• Follow Katherine on Instagram

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Join Katherine as she talks with Tom Newlands about his debut novel, Only Here, Only Now. Katherine talks with Tom about his female main protagonist, the unforgettable Cora, setting the book in 1990s Scotland and how it offers a new way of writing about neurodivergence. She also explains the thinking behind choosing Only Here, Only Now for a non-fiction book club, and why it captivated her enough to break her own rules.

Katherine's book, Enchantment, is available now: US/CAN and UK

Links from the episode:

• Tom's Instagram
• Tom’s book, Only Here, Only Now

• Join Katherine's Substack
• Find show notes and transcripts for every episode by visiting Katherine's website.
• Follow Katherine on Instagram

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.