Everyone plays a character, right? Welcome to Character Study the podcast that explores how creativity shapes our lives. Each episode, author Freya Bromley talks to artists of every discipline about how turning their life into material changed how they see themselves. Whether we’re writing autofiction, standup or lyrics, what can we say in our work that we could never say as ourselves? And what does it cost the people closest to you to make art that mirrors your experience? These conversations explore how seeing yourself as a ‘character’ in your own story can unearth unexpected courage, compassion and curiosity. And maybe even a bit more self-reflection. This podcast isn’t just for writers, it’s for anyone trying to make sense of who they are. Follow Character Study to explore how the art of storytelling shapes our understanding of ourselves and the world around us.<hr><p style='color:grey; font-size:0.75em;'> Hosted on Acast. See <a style='color:grey;' target='_blank' rel='noopener noreferrer' href='https://acast.com/privacy'>acast.com/privacy</a> for more information.</p>
Character Study
Claim This Podcastby Freya Bromley
Podcast Overview
Everyone plays a character, right? Welcome to Character Study the podcast that explores how creativity shapes our lives. Each episode, author Freya Bromley talks to artists of every discipline about how turning their life into material changed how they see themselves. Whether we’re writing autofiction, standup or lyrics, what can we say in our work that we could never say as ourselves? And what does it cost the people closest to you to make art that mirrors your experience? These conversations explore how seeing yourself as a ‘character’ in your own story can unearth unexpected courage, compassion and curiosity. And maybe even a bit more self-reflection. This podcast isn’t just for writers, it’s for anyone trying to make sense of who they are. Follow Character Study to explore how the art of storytelling shapes our understanding of ourselves and the world around us.<hr><p style='color:grey; font-size:0.75em;'> Hosted on Acast. See <a style='color:grey;' target='_blank' rel='noopener noreferrer' href='https://acast.com/privacy'>acast.com/privacy</a> for more information.</p>
Language
🇺🇲
Publishing Since
5/14/2026
1 verified contact email on file for Character Study
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Recent Episodes
August 6, 2026
Jem Calder: Passage Reading – I Want You To Be Happy
<p>Novelist Jem Calder reads from I Want You to Be Happy in this passage episode of Character Study, a scene about a hundred pages in, as his two characters go on early dates and feel each other out across a pub table by the river.</p><br><p>Jem and Freya talk about writing romance that feels real without being neat, the transactional and inexplicable pulls that draw two mismatched people together, and why a "situationship" can carry the weight of a love story even when you know it won't last. They get into the small, specific power of complimenting a stranger who's dressed a little braver than usual, and then into the harder subject underneath the whole book: attention. Jem and Freya make the case for stepping back from social media to protect your writing: the compounding minutes, the shrinking attention span, the excuse that posting is somehow part of the work.</p><br><p>📚 Further reading mentioned in this episode:</p><p> – Liadan Ní Chuinn, Every One Still Here (short story collection)</p><p> – Zadie Smith on living without a phone</p><br><p>🎥 WATCH the full episode <a href="https://youtu.be/umM6XJT-D64" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">here</a></p><p> 📘 Buy Jem Calder's <a href="https://uk.bookshop.org/a/11327/9780571387458" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">I Want You to Be Happy</a> and <a href="https://uk.bookshop.org/a/11327/9780571363797" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Reward System</a>, plus Freya's novel: <a href="https://uk.bookshop.org/a/11327/9781529155433" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">A Real Piece of Work</a></p><p> 💛 Follow <a href="https://www.instagram.com/freybromley/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">@freybromley</a> on Instagram for updates and to ask your questions</p><p> 📚 Join Freya's newsletter at <a href="http://www.freyabromley.substack.com/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">freyabromley.substack.com</a> for behind the scenes thoughts</p><p> 🎙️ And hit <a href="https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/character-study/id1896655831" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">subscribe</a> wherever you get your podcasts</p><br><p>00:00:00 Introduction — and last night's karaoke reading</p><p>00:00:56 Jem reads from I Want You to Be Happy</p><p>00:02:12 The power of complimenting a stranger</p><p>00:02:53 Writing an unironic love story</p><p>00:05:02 Being reverent about the relationships that don't last</p><p>00:06:33 The intimacy of two people who really listen</p><p>00:08:19 Sharing your writing with a partner</p><p>00:09:50 Sensitivity as a superpower</p><p>00:11:28 Why he gave himself a pass to write about writers</p><p>00:12:43 Bring back emailing someone a poem</p><p>00:13:34 The decision to quit social media</p><p>00:15:14 "You'll get your attention back" — advice for writers</p><p>00:16:20 Liadan Ní Chuinn and the myth that you need a platform</p><p>00:18:54 Zadie Smith on living without a phone</p><hr><p style='color:grey; font-size:0.75em;'> Hosted on Acast. See <a style='color:grey;' target='_blank' rel='noopener noreferrer' href='https://acast.com/privacy'>acast.com/privacy</a> for more information.</p>
August 4, 2026
Jem Calder: The Novel as a Gift
<p>Novelist Jem Calder joins Freya to talk about I Want You to Be Happy, his debut novel about two people trying to fall in love while everything around them is engineered to distract them. Jem’s writing career started with Sally Rooney emailing him about the first story he’d ever finished and now his debut is on the tote bag of every literary it girl this summer. He tells Freya why he’d rather write a novel than a memoir (he’s a self-described cagey person who doesn’t like giving too much of himself away) and why he thinks of fiction as a gift, something a reader can reach for in their worst moments. They chat about how quickly a good line about phones curdles into cliché, why he keeps thousands of words of notes he’ll almost never use and why writing within the constraints of a genre is a form of respect for the writers who came before.</p><p>A funny, honest conversation between two writers about connection, cringe and what fiction is for.</p><br><p>00:00:00 Introduction</p><p>00:01:44 Book tour vs writing — the "spiritual maths" of promotion</p><p>00:04:24 Why Reward System reads like a novel, not a story collection</p><p>00:05:17 The novel-in-stories form and Tulathimutte's Rejection</p><p>00:06:04 "Limbic capitalism" and the little treats of modern life</p><p>00:09:26 Writing a love story when everything conspires against connection</p><p>00:10:29 Writing cringe, and the brutal comedy of small humiliations</p><p>00:12:08 Turning real life into fiction — the notes process</p><p>00:13:41 The anxiety of being judged forever on your first book</p><p>00:16:44 When readers over-read symbolism into your work</p><p>00:18:15 Cringe as comedy, and fiction that makes you feel understood</p><p>00:19:36 Why fiction, not memoir or autofiction</p><p>00:22:38 The Cazalet Chronicles and reverence for the family saga</p><p>00:26:32 Chuck as a version of Jem who took the other path</p><p>00:27:41 Comedy as inspiration, and the sauna theatre reading</p><p>00:30:25 Writing an unlikable character you still feel empathy for</p><p>00:32:40 The likability question and his Financial Times essay</p><p>00:39:30 Why he wouldn't want to adapt his own novel</p><p>00:42:09 Annie Baker, plays vs screenplays</p><p>00:44:41 Favourite live performers — and a clowning night gone wrong</p><br><p>⚠️ Contains spoilers for the ending of I Want You to Be Happy — skip forward when you reach that section if you'd rather go in fresh.</p><br><p>Links to further reading:</p><p>This <a href="https://substack.com/home/post/p-192087947" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Substack on writing</a> by Naoise Dolan</p><p>Liadan Ní Chuinn – <a href="https://blackwells.co.uk/bookshop/product/Every-One-Still-Here-by-Liadan-N-Chuinn/9781803513294?gad_source=1&gad_campaignid=20920751754&gbraid=0AAAAADsTpAQLVv5kafQOSptYOiaEDK295&gclid=Cj0KCQjw-MDTBhCgARIsAKAkdlSm_KsyewioY3N9VuT8l2ydAwnbk_UoMoszse8dELFb5X4YiuUiKQkaAqPFEALw_wcB" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Every One Still Here</a></p><p>Tony Tulathimutte — <a href="https://www.waterstones.com/book/rejection/tony-tulathimutte/9780008759384" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Rejection</a></p><p>Philip Roth – <a href="https://www.webofstories.com/play/philip.roth/100;jsessionid=A5B559EB758A0671DDC5901870095C72" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">On writing and re-writing a novel</a></p><p>Elizabeth Jane Howard — <a href="https://www.panmacmillan.com/blogs/fiction/cazalet-chronicles-books-in-order" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">The Cazalet Chronicles</a>, including the announcement of the <a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/DZfm6LfxW4i/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">reissue of The Light Years</a> with a foreword by Jia Tollentino</p><p><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elizabeth_Taylor_(novelist)" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Elizabeth Taylo</a>r (novelist)</p><p>Ella Hickson – <a href="https://www.waterstones.com/book/the-writer/ella-hickson/9781848427549" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">The Writer</a></p><p>Annie Baker – <a href="https://blackwells.co.uk/bookshop/product/Infinite-Life-by-Annie-Baker/9781839042775?gad_source=1&gad_campaignid=20920751754&gbraid=0AAAAADsTpAQLVv5kafQOSptYOiaEDK295&gclid=Cj0KCQjw-MDTBhCgARIsAKAkdlReWnkR9Og4DH0FKuhCOC3FekmipnpHALtbsuk2_ZU5hqoLO9d7NGgaAml2EALw_wcB" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Infinite Life</a></p><br><p>🎥 <a href="https://youtu.be/h4tuFTJ2iAw" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">WATCH</a> the full episode</p><p>📘 Buy Jem Calder's <a href="https://uk.bookshop.org/a/11327/9780571363797 " rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">'Reward System'</a>, and <a href=" https://uk.bookshop.org/a/11327/9780571387458 " rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">I Want You to Be Happy</a></p><p>📘 Buy Freya's novel: <a href="https://uk.bookshop.org/a/11327/9781529155433" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">A Real Piece of Work</a></p><p>💛 Follow <a href="https://www.instagram.com/freybromley/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">@freybromley</a> on Instagram for updates and to ask your questions</p><p>📚 Join Freya's newsletter at <a href="http://www.freyabromley.substack.com/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">freyabromley.substack.com</a> for behind the scenes thoughts</p><p>🎙️ And hit <a href="https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/character-study/id1896655831" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">subscribe</a> wherever you get your podcasts</p><hr><p style='color:grey; font-size:0.75em;'> Hosted on Acast. See <a style='color:grey;' target='_blank' rel='noopener noreferrer' href='https://acast.com/privacy'>acast.com/privacy</a> for more information.</p>
July 27, 2026
Will Harris: Passage Reading – Speakee
<p>Poet Will Harris reads Speakee Stonehenge, an exclusive sneak peek into the collection of poems he is currently working on, Speakee.</p><br><p>It's a piece that keeps circling back on itself, returning to the same small moment in a room full of people, and each time it comes back it has picked something up: a piece of research, an overheard shout, a memory of a stranger's grief. Nothing is explained, and by the end a single ordinary word has quietly turned inside out. It's about who gets to belong somewhere, and how language decides that for us before we've noticed.</p><br><p>Will and Freya talk about writing people as names and voices rather than fully fleshed-out characters, why the most poignant moments are when someone stutters or says the wrong thing, and the danger of editing: that in smoothing out the clunky words, you can flatten everything interesting about a sentence. Plus, whether the internet and MFA culture have quietly made all our sentences sound the same.</p><br><p>00:00:00 Introduction</p><p>00:00:11 Speakee — the book Will is working on</p><p>00:00:32 Will reads Speakee Stonehenge</p><p>00:03:11 "Is it a poem? I don't know"</p><p>00:03:56 Writing people as names and voices</p><p>00:05:28 Why the poignant moments are the stutters</p><p>00:05:43 The exercise of transcribing overheard speech</p><p>00:07:15 Repetition, word choice and editing</p><p>00:07:58 The danger of smoothing out the difficulty</p><p>00:08:24 Has the internet made all our sentences the same?</p><br><p>🎥 <a href="https://youtu.be/MKHe-HrIT_M" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">WATCH</a> the full episode</p><p>📘 Buy <a href="https://uk.bookshop.org/a/11327/9781915051042" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Brother Poem,</a> <a href="https://uk.bookshop.org/a/11327/9781783785599" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">RENDANG</a> and <a href="https://uk.bookshop.org/a/11327/9781999922306" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Mixed-Race Superman</a> by Will Harris and Freya's novel: <a href="https://www.foyles.co.uk/book/a-real-piece-of-work/freya-bromley/9781529155433" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">A Real Piece of Work</a></p><p>💛 Follow <a href="https://www.instagram.com/freybromley/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">@freybromley</a> on Instagram for updates and to ask your questions</p><p>📚 Join Freya's newsletter at <a href="http://www.freyabromley.substack.com/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">freyabromley.substack.com</a> for behind the scenes thoughts</p><p>🎙️ And hit <a href="https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/character-study/id1896655831" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">subscribe</a> wherever you get your podcasts</p><hr><p style='color:grey; font-size:0.75em;'> Hosted on Acast. See <a style='color:grey;' target='_blank' rel='noopener noreferrer' href='https://acast.com/privacy'>acast.com/privacy</a> for more information.</p>
25 total episodes available
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