Close Readings
Hosted by Mark and Rosemary and Seamus and Peter and James Wood and Meehan and Meehan Crist · London Review of Books
4.5from 162 ratings
- 239
- Episodes
- 40
- Transcribed
- 162
- Ratings
- Weekly
- Cadence
- 2022
- First episode
About Close Readings
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' with Irina Dumitrescu and Mary Wellesley 'The Long and Short' with Mark Ford and Seamus Perry 'Modern-ish Poets: Series 1' with Mark Ford and Seamus Perry 'Among the Ancients II' with Emily Wilson and Thomas Jones 'On Satire' with Colin Burrow and Clare Bucknell 'Human Conditions' with Adam Shatz, Judith Butler, Pankaj Mishra and Brent Hayes Edwards 'Political Poems' with Mark Ford and Seamus Perry 'Medieval LOLs' with Irina Dumitrescu and Mary Wellesley Get in touch: podcasts@lrb.co.uk
- Publisher
- London Review of Books
- Category
- arts · education
- Language
- en
- Explicit
- No
- First episode
- 1 Oct 2022
- Latest episode
- 5 Nov 2026
Latest episodes
40 of 239 episodes have a transcript.
5 Nov 2026TRANSCRIPT
London Revisited: The Age of ‘Improvement’
29 Oct 2026TRANSCRIPT
Narrative Poems: ‘Enoch Arden’ by Alfred Tennyson
24 Oct 2026TRANSCRIPT
The Man Behind the Curtain: ‘Ulysses’ by James Joyce
Inside a recent episode
London Revisited: The Age of ‘Improvement’
Published 5 Nov 2026 · Transcript excerpt
[…] Obviously, the word existed. But the idea that if you really thought hard and organised yourselves, you could improve quite simple things like, you know, not falling over all the time or getting filthy when you walked along the street. all the way up to improving the arts, improving manners, improving society. […]
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See plansWho has been a guest on Close Readings
Names identified in recent episode analyses. Showing up to five guests.
- Markman Ellis
- Tom McCarthy
- Adam Thirlwell
- Patricia Lockwood
- Vanessa Harding
Reach and audience
Public platform figures. Ratings count people who left a rating, not total listeners.
- Apple Podcasts (US)
- 4.6 / 5
- 107 ratings
- Spotify
- 4.4 / 5
- 55 ratings
Podcast Authority Score: 60 / 100
A composite of feed quality, social presence, YouTube performance and engagement. Read the methodology.
- Quality
- 81
- Social presence
- 0
- YouTube
- 0
- Engagement
- 98
Contact Close Readings
- Guest appearances
- Books guests
Based on episode analysis; this does not confirm that the show is currently accepting guests.
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Questions about Close Readings
Who hosts Close Readings?
Mark and Rosemary and Seamus and Peter and James Wood and Meehan and Meehan Crist host the show. Published by London Review of Books.
How often do new episodes come out?
The show publishes weekly, based on its RSS feed.
Does Close Readings take guests?
Yes. Guests have been identified in episode analyses.
Where can I read transcripts?
40 of 239 episodes have a transcript on Pod Engine. Full transcripts are available with a Pod Engine plan.
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