The hosts are charming and seem to have good chemistry which helps, even though it is only on clear display during the five or so minute intros. This podcast’s two biggest drawbacks are 1) Being tethered to the reviews written in that week’s edition of the TLS (YMMV on whether that content is interesting enough, though you have to hope they pick a book you’re interested in) and 2) Iffy production; ads smashed literally in the middle of a conversation or sentence and a recent muddled attempt to post a reading of a review from the TLS in the feed (these sometimes end up being readings from the Harvard Business Review and, even when actually from the TLS, aren’t particular interesting IMO). As far as a companion to the publication, it’s fine at best. To be fair, it seems like most outlets struggle with designing a compelling literature podcast.

PLEASE PLEASE can you go back Tahoe the podcast was? Please beg Thea to return. It was brilliant when Thea and Lucy were the hosts!!

Lovely smart people, but please sort out the empty hall echo-y sound for the new host. Then I’m sure it’ll be perfect.

TLS was once a haven of diverse intellectual flora and fauna but over the past couple of years, the magazine and the podcast have devolved into a shadowy double of LRB. Where I used to turn to TLS to learn something I did not even know was there to be fascinated by, nowadays it has become an ideology-pushing monoculture, preoccupied by current Anglo-American politics and politicized literature. I unsubscribed from the magazine after 20+ years three years ago; a year ago I, sadly, had to accept this was no longer the place to find challenging, stimulating, curiosity-driven fare.

This used to be such a great podcast, never to be missed, covering a broad and fascinating topic range. Lately it’s become too obscure, focusing more on little known authors or subjects on the margins. There’s lack of energy and enthusiasm. I miss the old TLS.

I absolutely LOVE TLS podcast. I look forward to it every week as it’s a beautiful respite from this crazy world. I have found some great books thanks to the teams recommendations. Now, as a subscriber, I look forward to having a print copy to save me from staring at more screens. An absolute joy!

One of my favorite podcasts! When I learned Stig Abell was moving on from hosting the podcast, I had my worries. But the transition has been seamless because of the wit, intelligence, and bonhomie of Thea Lenarduzzi and Lucy Dallas.

Show has a different tone with the change in the lead host but maintains high quality discussions on a wide variety of cultural matters

So much warmth, humor, intellect, etc.; great stuff.

I have listened to podcasts for over 10 years. This is fun, witty, prescient, upbeat, smart. I feel I’m in the midst of a dinner party with intellectuals having a swell time. I can’t wait until the next is available. July 4,2020 A sad farewell to Stieg Abel. Thea Tenarduzzi & Lucy Dallas will carry on swimmingly. Both are brilliant with fun repartee. This podcast will continue to be my favorite.

Best literary pod out there!

If you like informal banter mixed in with your literary discussion/news podcast you’ll like this. BUT, if you have little patience for hearing a male panelist interrupt and dominate the other female panelists as well as the various guests, this show can be a frustrating listen. The topics are so good and varied that I hang in there most weeks, but I do wish Stig Abell would show more restraint and share the floor with his co-panelists. I cringe every time he jumps on someone else’s (again, often a woman’s) commentary. I could easily give this show five stars if the dynamics shifted on this issue.

I listen to a lot of literature podcasts and keep coming back to certain ones because of the chemistry of the hosts. The TLS editors, led by Stig, have some of the best banter

Full of self-importance, Stig Abell talks over contributors, especially women, because he can. Fortunately, the themes & books are more interesting than him.

These are fabulous, but I wish they’d slow down. They are talking for an audience, not in conversation with each other. Some words get lost. And it sounds like they are recording at the bottom of a well. Hence, four stars instead of five.

Just as enjoyable as Backlisted. Except women are hysterical. I am listening to Iris Murdoch episode. Who is this hysterical woman? Laughing like maniac for no apparent reason. I still like it.

A neighbor recommended this podcast and I am completely obsessed! It’s witty and a complete delight! It’s my new favorite podcast and I can’t recommend it highly enough.

Thank you!

I love podcasts, but I’ve never heard such quick, brilliant, literary talk.

Simply a lovely podcast, thanks to Stig, Thea, occasionally Lucy. Literate, warm, non-snarky.

[Stig and Thea] alone still walk in dew, Still by the sea-side mutter milky lines Concerning an immaculate imagery. If you say on the hautboy man is not enough, Can never stand as a god, is ever wrong In the end, however naked, tall, there is still The impossible possible [Freedom, Books, Flowers and the Moon], The [podcast] who has had the time to think enough, The central [podcast], the human globe, responsive As a mirror with a voice, the [podcast] of glass, Who in a million diamonds sums us up.

Wonderful! I always find myself reading articles I might not have if I didn’t hear them discussed on the podcast.

The suffragists and The suffragettes weren’t the same Thing I didn't know that

Freedom to enjoy Books you need to hear about Flowers and the Moon

I never miss a podcast. Even when I have limited interest in the books discussed or miss some obscure literary references, the lively repartee of the presenters draws me in. It’s refreshing to hear about literature in a direct sincere way, with liberal doses of humor. I listen on my morning runs in Buenos Aires and I’m sure Borges would approve. Thanks!

Regular brainiacs having a laugh and not at all stodgy though, on occasion, the rapier makes a flashy appearance. Hack, swish, poor fellow tried! Hat's off to the engineer who has to modulate voices dailing in from inside cars or god knows where else. The spacey background music is a little peculiar. I'd rather hear crowd noise with an odd glass tinling for attention because I like to pretend the speakers are in the next room.

UTTER PERFECTION

I looked for a smart, funny, and relevant literary podcast for a long time. More often than not, the ones I found were either boring and pretentious or a little too earnest. The TLS podcast is perfect-- the hosts are bright, humorous and have an excellent rapport with each other and the guests are infectiously enthusiastic. Good stuff.

Stig and Thea have made me a better parent. My toddler would know nothing without them, and now he asks me to read him Pablo Neruda poems. He's precocious that way. I would be a bad dad if it weren't for Stig and Thea. Also, they always ask us to review them, and I've never reviewed anything in my life except for a poor-quality Mexican restaurant near my house. But this truly is a delightful podcast and always, always interesting. Do subscribe and listen for yourself.

The TLS podcast is very simply the most intellgent, amusing, and engaging pocast going, at least for anyone who reads books, and particularly for readers of the TLS itself. Highly recommended!

Intelligent, but always entertaining, funny and wonderfully varied. Each episode is a treat.

What an imaginative, interesting series! I love the topics chosen and the wisdom contained in the episodes, along with dashes of humor. I'm eagerly looking forward to catching up on all the episodes. I give this podcast an enthusiastic 5 stars.

I very much like this podcast, so much that it's vaulted to my #1 listen each week. The hosts, Stig and Thea, engage in enjoyable banter, largely around pronunciation quirks and certain differences over linguistic style. But mostly they get right to the interviews, which are with consistently interesting writers for the TLS. In this way, you get a discussion of several articles to come in the weekly TLS publication -- a sort of preview, but also a wider discussion. You also get to hear the writers discuss their topics in conversation with the hosts, which I think adds a layer of insight, and sometimes they expand on points they haven't covered in their written pieces. Altogether, I think it doesn't replace the written TLS but makes you want to read more of it -- unfortunately, it [the paper itself] is somewhat harder to get in the US. I also have enjoyed the group discussions they occasionally feature of 'most overrated' and 'most neglected' books, films, etc. Finally, Thea was exactly right: Captain Fantastic was a terrible movie!

I read the articles because the podcasts are so engaging.

Why are there not dozens of gushing reviews yet for this incredible podcast! TLS readers need to unite and show their love. This podcast is such a wonderful addition to the paper each week. I love hearing the behind the scenes bits along with the brilliant back and forth between Stig Abell, Thea Lenarduzzi, and the reviewers. TLS is obviously moving ever outward into an expanding ecology. So watch out Melvyn Bragg!

I love this podcast. The hosts have this way of taking high-brow, somewhat snobby sujbect matter and making it light-hearted and fun. I also love that the show is a mix of things. It never dwells on one subject or one interview. It hits that sweet-spot.