Stevyn Colgan – We'd Like a Word

History and lies with Subhadra Das, author of Uncivilised: Ten Lies That Made The West

We’d Like A Word hosts Paul Waters and Stevyn Colgan have a chat and a laugh with Subhadra Das, writer, historian, broadcaster, comedian and curator, about her book, Uncivilised: Ten Lies That Made The West. Listen here or wherever you get your podcasts.

Subhadra looks at the relationship between science and society. She specialises in the history and philosophy of science, particularly the history of scientific racism and eugenics, and what those histories mean for our lives today. (She’s funny. Honest.) For nine years, she was Curator of the Science Collections at University College London where she was also Researcher in Critical Eugenics at the Sarah Parker Remond Centre for the Study of Racism and Racialisation. (No really, we do have a laugh. We had to delay recording part 3 because Paul got a fit of the giggles.) Subhadra has written and presented podcasts, curated museum exhibitions, done stand-up comedy & been on radio and telly.

In this 3-part episode we talk about racist Gandhi, mispronouncing Bangla names, white supremacy baked into our idea of western civilisation, science not being neutral, comforting lies, Francis Galton, eugenics, the inventor of the questionnaire, spoiling things for white people, why female comics like Victoria Wood Dawn French & Jennifer Saunders avoided the QI TV show, the Defiance TV show on Channel 4, Hamza Yousef, Paul McCartney’s song Blackbird & reply guy, “empty places” v “emptied” places, the presence of writing as a measure of civilisation, rich eejit Erich von Däniken, fake Tibetan monk Lobsang Rampa aka Cyril Henry Hoskin, cuddly Columbo, Golden Age detective fiction as “the mental equivalent of pottering”, Magna Carta & Forest Charter, swan upping, US federal government & the Iroquois nation’s Haudenosaunee, Abraham Maslow & his hierarchy of needs, which he learned from the Blackfoot Nation, Ryan Heavyhead, the UK citizenship test, & editor Harriet Poland.

Announcing the India Global Forum Archer-Amish Award for Literature

We’d Like A Word hosts Paul Waters and Stevyn Colgan hear from bestselling authors and prize judges Jeffrey Archer and Amish Tripathi about the new IGF (India Global Forum) Archer-Amish Award for Literature. The prize is $25,000 and it’s not just for Indians – but listen carefully to hear the rules & entry criteria! This prize is for books excelling in storytelling rather than writing. Want to know what that means? Listen to Jeffrey and Amish explain here – or wherever you get your podcasts.

This episode also welcomes new listeners on the Jiosaavn podcast platform and congratulates India on winning the T20 Cricket World Cup. What a final innings! And we’ll also tell you about some of the fabulous guests from around the world who we’ve had on past episodes. We hope you’ll be tempted to try some earlier episodes after you hear this one – some of them are 3-parters. Both Amish & Jeffrey have their own episodes – highly recommended listening.

And we update you a little on what co-hosts and authors Paul and Stevyn are up to. Some of Steve’s stuff is really strange.

Thank you to the India Global Forum 2024 for welcoming We’d Like A Word to their very enlightening, eclectic and cutting edge gathering in London & Windsor. You too, dear listener, might also enjoy their future events.

Also – you’ll notice that Stevyn is back. Thank you to Jonathan Kennedy for co-hosting in Steve’s absence. (Jonathan was Director of Arts in India for 5 years for the British Council and has been everywhere in India & knows everyone there involved in culture.) Jonathan will be back-ack-ack. We hope. Apologies for the dip in sophistication until then.

Khushwant Singh Lit Fest 2024: Indian, Pakistani and Bangladeshi authors

In this special We’d Like A Word India episode at the Khushwant Singh Literary Festival, co-hosts Paul Waters & Jonathan Kennedy (standing in for Stevyn Colgan) hear ideas from top authors of fiction, non-fiction, memoir and poetry, and other experts. WARNING – one of our interviewees (Farrukh Dhondy) gets a bit sweary. Listen here or wherever you get your podcasts. (Details on illustrious guest presenter and guests below.)

WHO IS JONATHAN KENNEDY? WHY IS HE HERE? AND WHERE IS STEVYN COLGAN? Jonathan was Director of Arts in India for 5 years for the British Council. He’s been everywhere in India and knows everyone there involved in culture. He was also for 12 years the Executive Director of Tara Arts, looking at the world through a South Asian lens. Jonathan does some India and South Asian episodes of We’d Like A Word with us. We’ll drop them in every now & then. Normal service will be resumed with Steve and Paul shortly.

Our guests on this WLAW KSLF episode include:

Harinder Singh, who with The Singh Twins & Gopinder Kaur has created the book Jewels of Sikh Wisdom.

Pinky Lilani, cook, networker extraordinaire, founder of Asian Women of Achievement, and author of Some Kind of Wonderful. (This is the worst angle for a photo, but as you can see, Pinky looks good from any angle.)

Nadia Kabir Barb of The Whole Kahani south Asian women’s writers’ collective and author of the short story collection, Truth or Dare.

Farrukh Dhondy, author, playwright, media executive and activist – who writes about his bookish relationship with the notorious serial killer Charles Sobraj.

Ayesha Manazir Siddiqi and her debut novel, The Centre. (She was kept busy signing copies of her book.)

Sisters Shirin and Marina Wheeler, who write separately about their parents – Shirin on her father, the iconic journalist Charles Wheeler – Witness to the Twentieth Century. And Marina on her mother, Dip – The Lost Homestead – My Mother, Partition and the Punjab.

Poet Imtiaz Dharker on her latest collection, Shadow Reader.

Aneysha Minocha, founder and CEO of Quantaco.AI, the green tech, clean tech carbon-reducing start-up that’s grabbing attention. And Akshat Rathi, author of Climate Capitalism, also senior reporter for Bloomberg news and host of the Zero podcast on climate change.

So what is the Khushwant Singh Literary Festival? The Indian version happens in breathtakingly spectacular surroundings inside the military cantonment in Kasauli, Himachal Pradesh, in the foothills of the Himalayas. Paul did a session with Amitav Ghosh at it.

This recording is at the London spin-off at the Brunei Gallery at SOAS – the School of Oriental and African Studies. Khushwant Singh was one of India’s most prolific authors, a scholar, journalist, iconoclast & dubbed “the most honest man in India.” The festival is keen to promote closer ties between India & Pakistan; equal opportunities for women worldwide; and disseminate the values of democracy, tolerance, compassion in a world that is increasingly more polarised.

And the festival shop even sold at least one copy of Paul’s book, Blackwatertown. Look at his happy little face…

Poet John Hegley at Milton’s Cottage

The BBC radio and Edinburgh Fringe favourite, British national treasure, poet, musician and comedian, John Hegley joins We’d Like A Word hosts Paul Waters and Stevyn Colgan to perform and chat in front of an intimate live audience inside Milton’s Cottage in Chalfont St Giles, where John Milton wrote his epic poem Paradise Lost, published in 1667. Listen here or wherever you get your podcasts.

John Hegley is supported by the poet, musician and children’s TV producer/editor Clare Elstow.

Brace yourself for an eclectic mix of London and Luton literary and football memories, John Keats and John Milton, William and Henry Lawes, French language and music (Rameau), goldfish, a quick striptease, profound audience questions, and some rude and funny poetry.

Frederick Forsyth and friends at the Chiltern Kills crime and thriller festival

Thriller writing icon Frederick Forsyth talks about his legacy and his first ever appearance at a literary festival in this one-part episode. It was recorded (mostly) live at the Chiltern Kills festival in Gerrards Cross in October 2023. All ticket sales went to the Centrepoint charity combating youth homelessness. If you want to attend the next Chiltern Kills – and you should! – tickets are via www.ChilternKills.com

There’s also a one-to-one option with a literary agent looking to expand their list. That costs a ridiculously small amount extra.

The Chiltern Kills festival is organised by We’d Like A Word co-host Paul Waters and fellow author Tony Kent – who also features in this episode. Tony’s latest thriller, The Shadow Network, is out now.

We also hear from crime authors Rachel Ward, Derek Farrell, SJ Bennett, JL Blackhurst, Laura Marshall, Leye Adenle (twice), Cate Quinn, Susi Holliday & BBC and Bestsellers Pod presenters Phil Williams & Natalie Jamieson. Listen here or wherever you get your podcasts.

Plus Sue Dorman, Marguerite Fletcher, Laurie Stone and others. And with thanks to Centrepoint, Sacla UK, Cipriani Bellinis, Chorleywood and Gerrards Cross Bookshops, the Milton’s Cottage Museum in Chalfont St Giles and Vision Care for Homeless People.

Help Yourselves

Welcome to the wonderful world of self-help! On this new episode Paul and Steve chat to self-help gurus Daniel Fryer and John Williams.

Daniel is a highly experienced and much sought-after psychotherapist and the author of ‘The Four Thoughts that F*ck you up and How to Fix them’. John, meanwhile, is a one-man inspiration industry and has published two bestsellers, ‘Screw Work, Let’s Play’ and ‘Screw Work, Break Free’ and also runs such projects as The Ideas Lab, The Love Challenge and the Five Day Startup Challenge.

From L to R: Paul, John Williams, Stevyn, Daniel Fryer

There’s a lot of great advice in this episode about good mental health and how to turn your passions into a career. We also hear how John used his skills to find love, what Daniel contributed to the Bingo industry and Paul visits the quite lovely Book House in Thame, Oxfordshire – a popular haunt of Roald Dahl – and chats to owner, Brian Pattinson.

Podcast available from iTunes, Apple podcasts, Spotify, Listen Notes, Podtail, Anchor and anywhere else that good podcasts are found.

Now, how will we create the next episode while we’re all on self-isolating lock down due to COVID-19? Watch this space …

Meanwhile, you can contact us on Facebook or Twitter as @wedlikeaword or email us at [email protected] – we’d love to hear from you.

Doing It Yourself (and Doing It …)

In this new (and bonus length) episode of We’d Like A Word, Paul and Stevyn talk to authors Jake O’Kelly (in the studio) and Andrew Chapman (via phone) about self-publishing, the value of beta readers and the importance of good covers. We also talk about gay fiction and about writing sex scenes … because so few people seem to do it well and a great many authors (including your hosts) haven’t yet been brave enough to try. Why is writing a sex scene so hard? (Oo-er) And is it more difficult to write sex scenes that are outside of your comfort zone e.g. a gay author writing a hetero scene? It’s a fascinating discussion. Oh, and apologies for the slight background noise – there was a very excitable radio show going on in the studio next door to us.

Available as a podcast from Thursday 21st November on iTunes, Spotify, Anchor FM, Google podcasts and wherever good podcasts are hosted.

As always, do get in touch if you fancy answering this show’s brain-teaser or to suggest topics for us to cover. Email us at [email protected] plus you can find us on Twitter and Facebook as @wedlikeaword.

Paul, Jake O’Kelly and Stevyn

Andrew Chapman

Jake O’Kelly is the author of The Smell of Good Decisions, a near-dystopian near-future thriller set in his home town of San Francisco in which four people become the unwilling victims of a military experiment to weaponise the human olfactory system. He was formerly the head of publicity for Amazon Publishing and Kindle Direct Publishing (KDP). He now works for online developers Mozilla (creators of Firefox and other well-known software). Website

Andrew Chapman, with the full support of his family, gave up his job to ‘have a go’ at being a writer. He has self-published two very well received books Tripping the Night Fantastic – a booze-sodden and occasionally surreal whodunit – and The Accidental Scoundrel in which the hero discovers that, in order to marry his girlfriend, he has to join her eccentric father’s gang of gentlemen thieves. Andrew’s next book has recently attracted the attentions of traditional publishers and he hopes that he may not have to live in a caravan for much longer. Website

Useful links mentioned in this episode:

99Designs – to get book covers, logos etc. designed

ACX – to get affordable audiobooks made

The Literary Review Bad Sex in Fiction Award

And here are the San Diego Comicon photos that Stevyn mentions (and it was 2008 not 2005 – his memory isn’t what it was, obviously) …

Books mentioned in this episode:

Tales of the City by Armistead Maupin

The Line of Beauty by Alan Hollinghurst

Taken by the T Rex by Alara Branwen and Christie Sims

List of the Lost by Morrissey

Scoundrels: The Hunt for Hansclapp by Major Victor Cornwall and Major Arthur St John Trevelyan

David Bramwell’s Odditorium, weird bum reading and Jacob Rees Mogg

‘A small Odditorium’ featuring Dr David Bramwell. In this episode author, musician, truth-seeker, Utopian and all round oddfellow Dr David Bramwell discusses bum readers, the world’s largest underground temple, a haunted moustache, Jacob Rees Mogg and singalonga Wicker Man. And we’ll be asking … is Milton Keynes the new Stonehenge?

Our competition question is: What is the official term for a bum reader? Listen to the podcast and email your answer to [email protected]

Anthony Horowitz on James Bond & giving life after death

Anthony Horowitz looking like he’s up in front of a firing squad. Picture taken at the wonderful Noireland international crime fiction festival in Belfast.

Anthony Horowitz admits he’s a killer. Dozens of times over. The thing is, we’re not just talking about the dozens and dozens he’s dispatched in the pages of his many books or TV shows like Midsommer Murders and Foyle’s War. But that’s all I’m saying here. You can hear his startling revelations from his own mouth on the latest episode of We’d Like A Word.

Our official topic is life after death – whether it’s right for new authors to give extended life to characters after their original authors have died. Anthony Horowitz does it – and does it well – with Sherlock Holmes and most recently with James Bond in Forever and A Day. (You can win a copy of that in the competition – details on the podcast.)

But we talk about a lot else and a lot of other authors, in particular Sophie Hannah, who has brought Agatha Christie’s Hercule Poirot back to life.

You’ll also hear Anthony Horowitz read from his James Bond book, let slip his views on Brexit, villains and where he writes.

Graham Norton – can celebs write good fiction?

Graham Norton and Stevyn Colgan on We’d Like A Word

It’s Graham Norton! Yes, that Graham Norton on We’d Like A Word. Talking about his own writing and whether celebrities can ever be good authors? It’s on the radio at 7pm UK time tonight (Wednesday 8th May 2019) Wycombe Sound 106.6 FM. And then via the podcast afterwards.

Graham Norton – comedian, TV star and Father Ted legend – tells us about his other life as an author. He’s written two novels – Holding and now A Keeper. But are they any good? Are they funny? Are they even supposed to be? Do celebrities famous for something entirely different make good writers? Graham Norton may be hilARious (he is), but can he write? You’ll have to listen to this episode of We’d Like A Word to find out. He reads from his second novel A Keeper, talks about how he writes, how he gathers material and about Ireland. There’s also a competition to win one of Graham’s books – but you’ll have to listen to find out.