Lit Up

Exhausted by writing, Mira Jacob used illustration to explore themes of family, love and race in her graphic memoir Good Talk: A Memoir in Conversations. She joins host Angela Ledgerwood to discuss her parents’ love story, teaching herself to draw and the idea that love is the opposite of racism. Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

It took 18 years for Kate Elizabeth Russell to write her debut novel, My Dark Vanessa, about a student who falls in love with her teacher. She joins host Angela Ledgerwood to discuss power dynamics within relationships, consent and how the Me-Too Movement influenced her writing. Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

An 18-month break from dating forced UK journalist Dolly Alderton to learn to become comfortable being alone. Dolly discusses her debut book, Everything I Know About Love, with host Angela Ledgerwood, the intensity of female friendships and why her Australian therapist compared her to Donald Trump.Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Losing her job at Vogue forced Lauren Mechling to create a new identity for herself outside of work. Lauren joins host Angela Ledgerwood to discuss her latest novel ‘How Could She’, the impact working in magazines had on her writing and why she has an Instagram dedicated to clogs. Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

A lonely whale named 52 Blue is a key character in Leslie Jamison’s new essay collection Make It Scream, Make It Burn. Leslie speaks with host Angela Ledgerwood about the different things the whale represented to her readers, the three themes she structured her essay collection around and where she gets her inspiration from. Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Moving to New Orleans gave Jami Attenberg a new perspective on her characters. Her latest novel, All This Could Be Yours, follows one dysfunctional family in New Orleans who are coming to terms with their secrets. Jami joins host Angela Ledgerwood to discuss finding ideas in unexpected places, calling out the male gaze and how all readers see themselves in her different characters. Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

All families are nuts, according Vicki Laveau-Harvie and there was no better place to explore her family's eccentricities than her Stella Award winning debut memoir The Erratics. Vicki talks with host Angela Ledgerwood about her experience growing up with, and escaping, a narcissistic mother and creating a new life for herself in France & Australia with her chosen family. Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The perfect life is different for everyone and what we all dream of but sometimes it isn’t everything we think it is. Elaine Welteroth lifts the veil on the perfect social media life in her new book More Than Enough: Claiming Space For Who You Are and talks about finding those little clues in your earlier life full of enthusiasm to help you on your journey to doing what you love. Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Addiction to technology is hard to get away from, but author Courtney Maum is taking a break from the internet and returns to talk about the preservation of art in her new book Costalegre with Host Angela Ledgerwood. Courtney talks about deep diving into an idea rather moving quickly from one to the next. Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Self reflection is one of the hardest things we can do to ourselves and Jia Tolentino covers this in her new book of essays Trick Mirror: Reflections of self delusion. Host Angela Ledgerwood talks with Jia on what inspires her essays and how we can learn to sit within the knowledge of things we've done in the past without changing ourselves. Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

There were a lot of events that shaped America in the 1960’s – the Vietnam war, the first moon landing. Host Angela Ledgerwood talks with Kathleen on how she researched these events and the consequences of our actions for her new multi-generational novel – America was hard to find. Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Our past is made up of relationships, both good and bad, and these relationships shape who we are. Lisa Taddeo reveals to host Angela Ledgerwood the real-life experiences that inspired the three main characters of her new book, Three Women, and what she has learned about desire. Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Ocean Vuong explores race, class and masculinity within his storytelling. Better known for his honest and beautiful poetry, Ocean speaks to host Angela Ledgerwood about his debut novel: On Earth We’re Briefly Gorgeous, and the power of breaking the silence for those less fortunate. Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Eat. Pray. Love’s portrayal of the inner-struggles we deal with and the raw emotions that come with these struggles is part of what made her book hugely successful. Elizabeth shares with host Angela Ledgerwood how taking a deep dive into your own emotions and your own character and its’ flaws can help you form these relatable characters in books. Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Getting a publisher to agree to print a book about the world of acapella singing groups was not an easy task for Author Mickey Rapkin, but he stuck with it and this risk let to the hugely successful trilogy of Pitch Perfect films. Host Angela Ledgerwood speaks to Mickey about where he got the idea from, how slow the process is when transitioning a book to a film and why he has chosen children's' books as his latest writing challenge. Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

What does the relationships look like between an artist and their patron and what is expected of one from the other? Ceridwen Dovey speaks to host Angela Ledgerwood about the power, privilege and vulnerability of being a young, talented woman, how she found her voice as a writer and why she is exploring new voices. Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

How does a country's history weigh on its' people? Journalist Stan Grant exiled himself from Australia in order to seek to understand Australia, what it means to be Australian and his own struggle for belonging and identity as an indigenous Australian man. Stan speaks to host Angela Ledgerwood about his book 'Australia Day,' the moment in his childhood that changed his outlook on the world, and why he believes philosophers hold the key to understanding culture. Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

A 30,000km trip around Australia was the journey Monica Tan took to discover who she was in relation to the country she lived in, Australia. From the role Chinese Australians played in colonisation to segregation in Australia in the 70s and how Australia history is taught now, Monica's novel Strange Country explores all facets of Monica's identity as a Australian Born Chinese person and she shares what she has learned with host Angela Ledgerwood. Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Presenting an avatar of virtuousness online instead of presenting your real self is a danger to exploring the nuances of life and how people think, and that's what Bret Easton Ellis calls out in his first non-fiction book White. Bret explores the fame that he gained from American Psycho with host Angela Ledgerwood and how it informed his understanding of people as well as the narrative media build around celebrities. He also discusses why he believes that novels lead to a greater understanding of people than what you can get from their 'real life' on social media. Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In the novel Daisy Jones & The Six, Taylor Jenkins Reid wanted to build a female character who was not conditioned to be pleasing and likeable and would react and say things that Taylor could never say herself. Taylor chats to host Angela Ledgerwood about how important female friendships build the frameworks for relationships and how some people enjoy the feeling of shame and self-sabotage. Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In a world of click bait and jarring headlines journalist Hermione Hoby believes that the key to empathy and connection is in reading novels and getting the entire character of a person in order to understand their actions. Hermione speaks to host Angela Ledgerwood about her debut novel Neon in Daylight, the boundaries to searching for someone's humanity and the strange world of dialling up your specific fantasies through craigslist. Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Finding meaning in sadness, defining the different types of love and looking at the complexities of masculinity, are the overarching themes in Trent Dalton's novel, Boy Swallows Universe. Trent shares with host Angela Ledgerwood how he used this book to put a positive spin on some of the sadness of his past and how he used his character, Eli, to explore what a do-over on his life would have looked like. Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Through her book 'Welcome to the Slipstream' Natalka explores how sickness can complicate family dynamics. She discusses with host Angela Ledgerwood the freedom she found in placing her characters in the Nevada dessert, why she co-founded her feminist fundraising reading series The Freya Project and how the advice of her grandmother set her up for who she is today. Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Is it desire, duty or expectation that leads someone to become a mother? This is the question Sheila Heti explores in her book Motherhood. Sheila discusses the ties between the female identity and motherhood with host Angela Ledgerwood, as well as her theory as to why female artists seem to get a pass for being child-less when women in other professions don’t. Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Art historian Mary Gabriel has re-written history to include the incredible women who changed modern art in her book ‘9th street women.’ Mary tells host Angela Ledgerwood how the idea for the book arose out of a conversation she had with painter Grace Hartigan 30 years ago. Mary dispels a lot of the misconceptions around the rivalry of female artists during the male-dominated world of twentieth-century abstract painting. Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Rachel Kushner's existing relationships with people in the American penal system led to an understanding of, and sympathy for, the people involved in prison life, from workers to inmates. Rachel chats to Angela Ledgerwood about how she came to understand people's 'logic' surrounding murders they'd committed and how stalkers perceive their stalking actions and how this informed the writing of her book 'The Mars Room.' Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Six-time Walkley Award winner Kerry O'Brien has worked in newspapers, television and the wire service as a journalist. Having been at the helm of Australian news programs This Day Tonight, Four Corners, Lateline and the 7.30 Report for 15 years, Kerry shares with host Angela Ledgerwood who his favourite interviewees were and how to spot a good story. Having turned his journalistic eye on his own life, Kerry discusses his memoir 'Kerry O'Brien, A Memoir' and why he fears for the future of investigative journalism. Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

What does touching look like in the future or do people even touch? In her book 'Touch', Courtney Maum looks to a world where romantic touching and spontaneous touch don't happen anymore and discusses, with host Angela Ledgerwood, the issues that touch deprivation can cause amongst people and how our body language skills are getting rusty because of social media. Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Are 'Big Tech' companies taking over governmental roles? The birth of technology as a consumer project and the value of the data we freely give away is at the heart of what Lucie Greene's ‘Silicone States’ is about. Lucie speaks to host Angela Ledgerwood about the conscious expectations we have of tech companies and how our reliance on these companies is effecting government services. Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Research is key for author, performer and screenwriter Georgia Clark when writing characters that represent an experience that she has not had herself. Georgia speaks to host Angela Ledgerwood about her book 'The Bucket List' and the importance of respecting your friends and of having a strong support system around you. Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Olivia Laing's agitation about the political events of 2017 led her to keep a diary that became the basis for her novel Crudo. In it she becomes a hybrid of h2erself and late author Kathy Acker as topics that were relevant in the 80s crop up again in the modern day like Nazism, body-autonomy and hyper-violence. Olivia discusses with host Angela Ledgerwood her difficulty in reconciling the fact that the pain of others can co-exist alongside the minor pleasures you take from life. Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Getting rid of distractions and daily choices like what to eat and what to wear helped R.O. Kwon focus on her debut novel, The Incendiaries. This novel took her 10 years to write and she shares with Angela Ledgerwood how changes in her personal life, her stance on religion and her obsession with cults all found it's way into the final evolution of the novel. Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Journalist Rebecca Traister writes about women in politics, media, and entertainment from a feminist perspective. Rebecca catches up with host Angela Ledgerwood to speak about her book 'Good and Mad' and how women's rage is portrayed negatively even though it is often the catalyst for big social change and movements. Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

When did you first see yourself in the character of a book? Glory Edim speaks to host Angela Ledgerwood about her book Well-Read Black Girl and the importance of being represented in literature. Glory started her Instagram and Brooklyn-based book club, Well-Read Black Girl, to celebrate the uniqueness of Black literature and sisterhood. Now, having established a literature festival of the same name, her goal is to the expand the definition of what it means to be 'well-read' and to showcase the universality of Black women through literature. Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

*Explicit language warning* Controversial American author James Frey doesn't care if he enrages you or breaks your heart, as long as his writing makes you feel something. James speaks to host Angela Ledgerwood about using his book, Katerina, to examine his past and what could have been. Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Design affects our health and happiness whether it be in our home, work or our natural surroundings. Designer an author of Joyful - The Surprising Power of Ordinary Things to Create Extraordinary Happiness, Ingrid Fetell Lee, speaks to host Angela Ledgerwood about how to inject joy into your everyday surroundings. Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The solitary life of a writer. Actor Parker Posey chats to host Angela Ledgerwood about how her dog, Gracie, got her through the tough times when she was writing her memoir, ‘You’re on an Airplane,’ and the similarities between researching an acting role and writing. Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The loneliness of motherhood is the theme explored by Aussie author and journalist Meg Mason in her novel You Be Mother. Meg chats to friend and Lit Up host Angela Ledgerwood about how she uses the characters in her books to examine complicated family dynamics and the struggles she experienced when becoming a mother in her early 20s. Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Comic books, graphic novels, films and audio theatre...English author Neil Gaiman has done it all! Gaiman discusses his novel, American Gods, with Lit Up host Angela Ledgerwood. As well as, what Norse Gods taught him about modern humanity and some handy tips for designing your own religion. Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

British journalist and author Caitlin Moran chats to host Angela Ledgerwood about her book 'How to be Famous.' Caitlin calls on men to break down gender boundaries and to start their own equivalent of feminism and suggests how women can take back the power when it comes to sexual shame. Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Angela sits down with Mohsin Hamid to discuss his newest novel, "Exit West." Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week, Angela sits down with author of Free Food for Millionaires, Min Jin Lee, to discuss her newest novel, Pachinko. Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Karl Ove Knausgaard, best known for his six-volume sensation My Struggle, talks to Angie about his new book, Autumn, addressed to his unborn daughter and the first in a quartet based on the four seasons. Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Stephanie Dandler and Angie sit down to discuss her novel Sweetbitter Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Sometimes, rarely, you meet someone whose energy radiates and fills the whole room. Mary Louise Parker is that person. She joins Angie to discuss her gorgeous first book, Dear Mr. You. Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Angela and best-selling author, Maria Semple, sit down and discuss her new book, Today Will Be Different. Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Max Porter joins Angie to discuss his first novel, Grief Is the Thing with Feathers. Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Ann Patchett joins Angie from Nashville to discuss her not-to-be-missed novel, Commonwealth. Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Angie talks to Pulitzer Prize-winning author Jennifer Egan about her latest novel "Manhattan Beach," which was 15 years in the making. They also talk about Jennifer's first solo European trip that helped forged her writing life, her intensive research for the book, and much more. Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Psychotherapist Esther Perel joins Angie to talk about her latest book "The State of Affairs: Rethinking Infidelity," the provocative follow up to her New York Timesbest-seller "Mating in Captivity." This conversation, like Esther's book, will no doubt push some buttons and leave you questioning--and perhaps rethinking--the boundaries of your romantic relationships! Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.