explore words discover worlds
Expand your horizons with 'explore words discover worlds', the podcast that brings the world of Bradford Literature Festival to your ears. From the classics to the cutting edge, we'll introduce you to the most exciting and thought-provoking authors, poets, and thinkers.
- Update frequency
- every 7 days
- Average duration
- 55 minutes
- Episodes
- 127
- Years Active
- 2023 - 2025
Paul Rogers: The Insecurity Trap
Join us for a crucial conversation with Professor Paul Rogers, one of the most forward-thinking analysts of our time, as he discusses his latest book, A Crowded, Glowering World: Paths to a Sustainab…
Weaving the Future
In this heritage talk, you will explore how Britain’s textile industry is being reinvented for the 21st century. Using photographs taken over the past 120 years, Tim Smith will show how the innovativ…
Worlds Within Words
We’ve brought together Lauren Beukes, author of bestselling novel, The Shining Girls, whose work straddles the speculative and literary, and celebrated crime author John Connolly, best known for his …
The Happy Nomad
Join local author, Charlotte Bradman, as she shares her remarkable story of breaking free from a turbulent past, mounting debts and the monotony of the nine-to-five grind, to embrace a simpler way of…
Blake and Gibran: Poets of Prophetic Vision
A unique conversation as the Blake Society’s Stephen Pritchard and poet, John Siddique, explore the similarities between two hugely influential writers and artists: William Blake and Kahlil Gibran.
B…
S3:E13 A Somali Village in Colonial Bradford
In May 1904, the Great Exhibition in Lister Park showcased Bradford businesses, art and culture, and featured a standout exhibit: the Somali Village. Within this village, 60 Somali individuals, inclu…
S3 EP12: Ballots Across Borders, Election Year Across the World
With more than four billion people eligible to vote in an election in 2024, we delve into the electoral landscapes of India, the United States and the United Kingdom to examine the key issues shaping…
S3 EP11: Legacies of the British Mandate in Palestine
Explore a crucial chapter in Middle Eastern history as we delve into the British Mandate in Palestine, which spanned from the collapse of the Ottoman Empire after World War I until the establishment …
S3 EP10: Fixing France
Join journalist, Nabila Ramdani, as she discusses her new book, Fixing France: How to Repair a Broken Republic, charting the course of France’s Fifth Republic, formed in the wake of the 1958 Algerian…
S3 EP9: Dave Gibbons and Tim Pilcher in Conversation
In this episode two of the biggest names in comics, Dave Gibbons and Tim Pilcher, discuss their fascinating careers and their book, Confabulation: An Anecdotal Autobiography.
As co-creator of Watchmen…
S3 EP8: The Making and Breaking of the Modern Middle East
In this episode, renowned experts Barnaby Rogerson and Eugene Rogan, and chair Aaqil Ahmed, take a deep dive into the watershed moments that helped make and, at times, break the modern Middle East, a…
S3 EP7: Russia 100 - From Stalin to Putin
2024 marks 100 years since a watershed moment in Russia’s history: the death of Vladimir Lenin, and the beginning of Joseph Stalin’s rise to power. In this episode, Professor John Russell deep dives …
S3 EP6: Sonnets and Sarnies
In this episode, enjoy dynamic poetry readings which explore some of the biggest issues in the world today, with poets Ralph Dartford, Tasneim Zyada, and Matt Abbott.
S3 EP5: Watergate - 50 Years On, The Scandal That Never Dies
In this episode, Professor Saeed Khan takes us back to the Watergate Scandal, exploring what it meant for the American Presidency, the legacy it has left, and whether Watergate set the stage for the …
S3 EP4: The Treatises of Imam al-Ghazali
In this episode, Shaykh Yahya Rhodus will guide us through Treatises of Imam al-Ghazali. This extensive book set explores the deep wisdom of Imam al-Ghazali, a renowned Islamic scholar and philosophe…
S2 EP3: Plants of the Qur'an
In this episode, join Shahina A. Ghazanfar, author and botanist at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, and renowned scientific illustrator, Sue Wickison, as they discuss their award-winning book and exhi…
S3 EP2: The Forgotten Crisis in Sudan
In this episode Jamal Mahjoub, Hamid Khalafallah, and Adela Suliman, discuss the current crisis in Sudan, a conflict which has resulted in a severe humanitarian disaster with over 14,000 fatalities a…
S3 EP1: Husam Zomlot in Conversation
In this episode, join us for a compelling discussion with Dr Husam Zomlot, Palestinian Ambassador to the UK, on the unfolding humanitarian crisis in Gaza. Dr Zomlot explores the challenges, opportuni…
S2 EP51: Understanding Emily Brontë
In this episode, explore what makes arguably the most enigmatic of Haworth’s famous literary siblings, Emily Brontë, such an attractive subject for filmmakers and biographers.
S2 EP50: State of the (Poetry) Nation
In this episode, poets Khadijah Ibrahiim and Karen McCarthy Woolf, discuss the state of poetry in the UK; highlighting key themes preoccupying poets today and how poetry is changing. We also hear the…