Category Archives: Podcasts

Episode 400: In which we turn 400…

Well, that was unexpected, wasn’t it? After kicking off the Coode Street Podcast in May 2010 with no plans, no skills, and no technical knowledge, Gary and Jonathan race towards their 10th anniversary with no real plans, no skills, and pretty much no technical knowledge at all.

And yet, despite being invited to desist on several occasions, they persist. Four hundred episodes. Enough rambling to get you across England and back again! Probably across Australia and back again. And along the way over 150 wonderful guests, some new friends made and old ones lost, a dubious proposition or two taken about the state of the science fiction and fantasy, seven Hugo Award nominations, and enough incredible memories to fill at least an hour of rambling and possibly a couple of lifetimes. Someone should write a book.

So, with no fanfare but a lot of thanks, a guest-free 400th episode recorded in the time of Pandemic, with some thoughts on what might happen next, a short discussion of books being read, coming to you, as always, from the socially-distanced Gershwin Room, high above a temporarily shuttered Motel Six, with thanks to each and every one of you.

Episode 399: Ten Minutes with Karen Joy Fowler

Ten minutes with… is a special series presented by Coode Street that sees readers and booklovers from around the world talk about what they’re reading right now and what’s getting them through these difficult times.

This time out, Gary talks with PEN/Faulkner Award-winning author Karen Joy Fowler, about the challenges of concentrating in times of stress, but also the value of collective co-operation and respect for scientific evidence and the question of whether the current situation might encourage us to think more broadly about our responsibilities as co-inhabitants of this planet.

Books mentioned include:

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Episode 398: Ten Minutes with Paul McAuley

Ten minutes with… is a special series presented by Coode Street that sees readers and booklovers from around the world talk about what they’re reading right now and what’s getting them through these difficult times.

Ten minutes with… is a special series presented by Coode Street that sees readers and booklovers from around the world talk about what they’re reading right now and what’s getting them through these difficult times.

Gary chats for ten minutes (okay, more like 17 minutes) with Paul McAuley, author of some of the most engaging and provocative series of the past few decades, including the Confluence, Quiet War, and “Jackaroo novels and stories, and whose newest novel is the epic War of the Maps, which combines hard-SF ideas with a classic quest narrative.

Books mentioned include:

And not mentioned, but advised: If you can, try to find the time and space to read a little poetry every day.

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Episode 397: Ten Minutes with Joe Haldeman

Ten minutes with… is a special series presented by Coode Street that sees readers and booklovers from around the world talk about what they’re reading right now and what’s getting them through these difficult times.

Today it’s ten minutes with SF Grandmaster and Hall of Fame inductee Joe Haldeman, who chatted with Gary from his Florida home, discussing what it’s like to be an official Grand Master, the value of reading SF print magazines, the different kinds of trilogies, and the appeal of graphic novels.

Books mentioned include:

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Episode 396: Ten Minutes with Gillian Redfearn and Joe Hill

Ten minutes with… is a special series presented by Coode Street that sees readers and booklovers from around the world talk about what they’re reading right now and what’s getting them through these difficult times.

Today Jonathan spends ten minutes with Gollancz Publishing Director Gillian Redfearn and bestselling writer Joe Hill, who join the conversation live from their secret volcano base on the northeast coast of the United States to discuss the importance of stepping outside every day and just being in the world, the pleasures of reading Joe Abercrombie, Claire North, and others, and much more.

Books mentioned include:

Things to watch mentioned include:

  • Tiger King
  • Peaky Blinders
  • NOS4A2 (Season 2)
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