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World Book Club
Podcast · Free

World Book Club

BBC World Service

The world's great authors discuss their best-known novels with readers around the globe.

12 recent episodesFree to stream
In the Studio: Joachim Trier
Another chance to go behind the scenes with director Joachim Trier as he makes the follow-up to his international hit The Worst Person In The World. Stephen Hughes got exclusive access to the set of Sentimental Value, following the film from pre to post production. In a series of
20 Oct 202626:36
The Arts Hour: Visionary filmmaker Boots Riley on his radical new movie I Love Boosters
Nikki Bedi and critic Leila Latif celebrate this year’s London Film Festival with international directors of some of the most playful and provocative upcoming titles.African-American auteur Boots Riley explains the heady cocktail of comedy, shoplifting and politics in his film, ‘
16 Oct 202648:26
The Arts Hour: Tom Cruise on his latest film Digger
Nikki Bedi speaks to Sudanese Russian director Suzannah Mirghani about her latest film, Cotton Queen and discusses this week’s cultural highlights with critic Hanna Flint: Tom Cruise and Oscar winning Mexican director Alejandro Gonzalez Iñárritu on their new film, Digger Oscar wi
9 Oct 202647:46
In the Studio: German Synth Music
In Berlin, three artists have come together to make some unusual music. They’re not a regular rock band in a commercial recording studio, but in an experimental space, where rare vintage synthesisers from Cold War East Germany sit alongside contemporary instruments. They’re conti
6 Oct 202626:37
World Book Club: Paul Tremblay, A Head Full of Ghosts
Josie Long interviews one of the masters of modern horror, Paul Tremblay. He answers your questions on on of his best loved novels, A Head Full of Ghosts.The story centres on the Barretts, a typical New England suburban family, torn apart when their eldest daughter, 14-year-old M
3 Oct 202660:38
The Arts Hour: Saoirse Ronan and Rachel Eliza Griffiths
Nikki Bedi speaks to American poet, author, and artist Rachel Eliza Griffiths about the extraordinary new documentary film Knife: The Attempted Murder of Salman Rushdie and discusses this week’s cultural highlights with critic William Lee Adams:American Irish actor Saoirse Ronan
2 Oct 202645:18
In the Studio: Leïla Slimani takes on Tolstoy
Prix Goncourt-winning writer Leïla Slimani this year completed a trilogy of novels; an era-spanning epic family saga set in Morocco, which concludes with the semi-autobiographical I'll Take The Fire. Never one to stay in her comfort zone and compelled to write, she has now embark
29 Sept 202626:36
The Arts Hour: Juliette Binoche and Nicholas Winding Refn
Nikki Bedi speaks to visionary Danish director Nicolas Winding Refn about his latest movie, Her Private Hell, and discusses this week’s cultural highlights with critic Zing Tsjeng:Plus, we hear from Oscar-winning French actor Juliette Binoche on her morally complex new film, Quee
25 Sept 202643:46
In the Studio: Poet Leonie Charlton on wildfires
An edition of In The Studio on the subject that became the dominant story across the world in the summer of 2026. In December 2024, the Scottish poet Leonie Charlton’s house burned to the ground. From that moment, Leonie was obsessed with fire. She saw it everywhere, writing abou
22 Sept 202626:32
In the Studio: Jack in the Green
In the south of England, Hastings' traditional Jack in the Green takes place every early May Day weekend and sees a seven foot-tall conical tower of leaves - the Jack - being processed through the old fishing quarters of the town before being led up to a steep hill overlooking th
15 Sept 202626:41
In the Studio: The Bayeux Tapestry
The Bayeux Tapestry has English history stitched into its fabric, depicting the last time the country was invaded, by William the Conqueror in 1066. France has been its home since then. But now thanks to high-level negotiations involving President Emmanuel Macron and King Charles
8 Sept 202626:29
Steve Levine: Revisiting the Beach Boys
Steve Levine is a multi-award winning British record producer. He has produced albums for stars ranging from Deniece Williams to China Crisis; from Ziggy Marley to Quarterflash; as well as being producer of Culture Club’s first three multi-platinum selling albums from the 1980s.
8 Sept 202667:13