Naomi Joseph

Jane Austen’s world ran on gossip – and she revelled in it In the first episode of Jane Austen’s Paper Trail, a new podcast marking 250 years since the author’s birth, we speak to Austen experts about her relationship with gossip.

It's hosted by the wonderful @annalouwalker.bsky.social with help from Jane Wright and @naomijoseph.com and made by the fantastic Eloise Stevens.​ Read more about the first ep here theconversation.com/jane-austens... and here are links to follow wherever you get your podcasts pod.link/1844385976

The team behind this project has been an absolute dream to work with:
🎙️ Senior producer and sound design – Eloise Stevens
🚉 Reporting and production – Jane Wright and @naomijoseph.com
📣 Socials and promotion – Alastair Tibbitt and Alice Mason
🎧 Executive producer – @waresgemma.bsky.social

Anora: a refreshing depiction of sex workers as part of the working class Anora isn’t some vulnerable girl waiting to be saved from sex work by a rich man.

What did you make of the 2025 #Oscars? At The Conversation we put together comprehensive coverage, so just in case you missed it - here's a quick round-up...

First of all here's what expert criminoligist Rachel Stuart made of the big winner on the night, Anora: theconversation.com/anora-a-refr...

White Lotus does Thailand dirty Thai characters are few and far between and the country is depicted as beautiful and hedonistic Asian Las Vegas.

Having researched depictions of Thailand on screen Andrew Russell was disappointed to find that White Lotus, which skewers the rich and highlights the worst tourist behaviour, reduced the country to all its worst stereotypes. theconversation.com/white-lotus-...

We have always used music to express our love – we can now use AI too We have always hidden our feelings in songs but this new AI tool can help you be more forthright this Valentines Day.

Lacking musical talent but want to serenade your intended with a song just for them? AI can help. @uniwestpress.bsky.social Hussein Boon writes about the practice of using song to express our more intimate feelings. theconversation.com/we-have-alwa...

Denmark’s new royal coat of arms marks the end of a 400-year-long Swedish-Danish conflict It wasn’t changed because of Donald Trump’s interest in Greenland

Not a move to assert Denmark's hold on Greenland amid Trump's desire to buy it, @martinsunnqvist.bsky.social writes that the more interesting story behind the new royal coat of arms is that it marks the end of a 400-year-long conflict between Denmark and Sweden. theconversation.com/denmarks-new...

Severance: the real cognitive neuroscience behind the Apple TV+ show’s ‘severance procedure’ Real ‘split brain’ patients have existed since the 1940s.

Have you been watching the new series of #severance? While Lumon's procedure isn't exactly real, "split brain" surgeries do exist, according to neuroscientists @rachaelelward.bsky.social and Lauren Ford.

theconversation.com/severance-th...

The ten best novels of 2024 – according to literary experts These are the ten books that made the most lasting impression on our expert reviewers

If one of your resolutions is to read more fiction this year but you're not sure where to start, this list of the best books of 2024, as picked by academics, is full of brilliant reads. @uk.theconversation.com theconversation.com/the-ten-best...

Wallace and Gromit: you’d never know it wasn’t Peter Sallis in Vengeance Most Fowl thanks to expert vocal mimicry Ben Whitehead took over for Peter Sallis and was able to seamlessly voice Wallace thanks to deep study of the late actor’s work.

Watching Vengeance Most Fowl, @guildhallschool.bsky.social lecturer in voice Jenny Chantelle Tullett was surprised by the continuity of Wallace's voice. Stepping into Peter Sallis's boots, Ben Whitehead, she writes @theconversation.com, puts on a masterclass of vocal mimicry

bit.ly/3BSxQDb

Haruki Murakami and the challenge of translating Japanese’s many words for “I” New novel The City and its Uncertain Walls gives its two narrators different words for “I” in Japanese – a nuance that is difficult to translate to English.

When @newcastleuni.bsky.social Gitte Hansen read the English translation of Murakami's new book, she spotted an interesting difference with the original. Japanese has several ways to say "I" while English only one, a small but fascinating issue of translation
theconversation.com/haruki-murak...

The end of Taylor Swift’s Era’s tour will be a loss for many – here’s how to handle it, according to experts and fellow fans The tour has been going on for a long time and has been a source of stability for many.

The Eras Tour ends Sunday and if you can't imagine a world without it, expert in social identities and events @annayahprosser.bsky.social and grief expert @katewoody.bsky.social (both Swifties) have great advice to get you through it. @uk.theconversation.com
theconversation.com/the-end-of-t...

The Only One Left by Riley Sagar and The Thirteenth Tale by Diane Setterfield

The Woman in Black remains one of the scariest books I’ve read

Joy: the story of IVF shows how women’s health and scientific contributions haven’t been taken seriously Embryologist Jean Purdy suffered from endometriosis and helped pioneer IVF.

Netflix’s Joy: The Birth of IVF moved @drpragyaagarwal.bsky.social. Having written about infertility, she found it a welcome depiction of many women’s struggle to get their health taken seriously. She was also happy to see Jane Purdy finally get her dues.

theconversation.com/joy-the-stor....

Marie's Thai Cafe on Lower Marsh is cheap and great – no views but good food. The views from Forza Wine in The National Theatre are good and nice small plates.

Dune: Prophecy – the prequel series takes liberties with the Herberts’ vision, but not for the worse Based on books written by Herbert’s son, the series strays in a few details from the writer’s vision of the Dune World.

Dune: Prophecy is full of murder, intrigue, politics and robots. It shows more of the Imperium than barren desert planet Arrakis. While veering at times from Herbert's vision, expert in science fiction @jfennellauthor.bsky.social was hooked @uk.theconversation.com theconversation.com/dune-prophec...

Minor Detail book: how the language of the past can help us read the present situation in Palestine Adania Shibli’s Minor Detail is a sparse but searing novel that shows how the horrors of the past continue to shape Palestinian life today

I worked on this piece for @uk.theconversation.com with Hannah Boast at the University of Edinburgh back in October 2023 and it really enhanced my appreciation for how thoughtful Shibli's word choice is.
@fitzcarraldoeds.bsky.social

theconversation.com/minor-detail...

I finished Minor Detail by Adania Shibli in one sitting. Its striking economy in the first half and the crowded, almost stream of consciousness, which is also pretty pared-back, of the second half, is deeply affecting. The detail, the repetition, the pacing make for a harrowing but powerful read.

Wicked review: a stunning film adaptation that avoids all the usual pitfalls of moving musicals from the stage to the screen From great casting to thoughtful design and narrative, Wicked gets it right.

...It was Saddam Hussein. Yes, the dictator is referenced in this review of Wicked. Read more here
theconversation.com/wicked-revie...

a woman in a striped suit and hat is standing in front of a crowd of people ALT: a woman in a striped suit and hat is standing in front of a crowd of people

Tomorrow's @uk.theconversation.com Something Good is on Wicked and our review by musicals expert Julian Woolford, which references someone I would have never ever have associated with it. I was honestly shocked. To find out who, subscribe here
theconversation.com/uk/newslette...

Wolf Hall: Princess Mary was not so alone in her fight against her father, Henry VIII, as the TV series would like you to believe Margaret Pole and the Courtenays came to Mary’s aid – and paid the price.

Watched the first episode of Wolf Hall? Unwilling to accept her parents' marriage was incestuous, Princess Mary faces the wrath of her father, Henry VIII, with only the help of Cromwell. Tudor scholar Hazel Pierce wants you to know that wasn't really the case theconversation.com/wolf-hall-pr...

a cartoon character from the simpsons is standing in a room with her hands on her head . ALT: a cartoon character from the simpsons is standing in a room with her hands on her head .

@uk.theconversation.com's arts newsletter, Something Good, has hit 10,000 subscribers! It's full of excellent recs from experts. If you want to know what a Tudor historian thinks of Wolf Hall or an expert in the gothic of the new Cure album, subscribe. theconversation.com/uk/newslette...

How The Cure went back to their gothic roots for their new number one album Dark and light collide in this new album that harks back to some of the band’s best work

Robert Smith might say The Cure isn't goth but expert in gothic literature Neil Cocks begs to differ. In this @uk.theconversation.com article, he charts the influence of the aesthetic from their 'unholy trinity' albums to their new release, Songs of a Lost World.
theconversation.com/how-the-cure...