Literary podcasts offer comfort, convenience and the ultimate distraction. Here’s a taste – including author interviews, deep dives into classic novels and critiques of self-help blockbusters.
Six things teens can do today to help their mental health in lockdown
The pandemic has affected young people in particular but there are plenty of ways to alleviate anxiety – here’s some expert tips to help
With the reopening of schools now pushed back to March 8 – and only then if the vaccine targets are met – the mental health crisis among teens and young people is set to endure for much longer.
At a time when, developmentally, teenagers should be pushing boundaries and reaching for independence, they’re holed up with mum and dad, isolated from friends and stuck in an educational limbo, with all the usual yardsticks for achievement – exams, grades – still mired in confusion.
Features The Penguin Podcast: Alex Wheatle on the book that changed his life
The Cane Warriors author speaks to Nihal Arthanayake about Steve McQueen’s Small Axe films, The Black Jacobins and growing up in Brixton 16 December 2020
Alex Wheatle. Image: Simone Padovani/Awakening /Contributor/Getty
In the latest episode of The Penguin Podcast, guest Alex Wheatle gives an insightful and poignant interview about seeing his life brought to the small screen and the book – and person – who gave him the confidence to be a writer.
Wheatle, known for writing
Brixton Rock and the award-winning children’s book
Crongton Knights, among many others, grew up in the care system before moving to Brixton, south London, at 15. As an author, he drew on his experiences in his early novels, but a screenwriting collaboration with Oscar-winning director Steve McQueen a few years ago led to Wheatle’s life being turned into a short film.