What people recommend, in their own words, with the receipt.
Musician and writer; answers readers' questions weekly at The Red Hand Files, and fronts Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds.
8 things
Flash Count DiaryBook Darcey Steinke
(I loved her book on menopause, Flash Count Diary).
Issue #361 of The Red Hand Files, answering readers' questions about what he's reading and which podcasts he listens to
theredhandfiles.com ↗·2026-04-23Wrong?
Awake! William Blake and the Power of the ImaginationBook Mark Vernon
At the moment, I’m halfway through Mark Vernon’s illuminating Awake! William Blake and the Power of the Imagination, and I’ve just finished Darcey Steinke’s This Is the Door: Notes from a Body in Pain
Issue #361 of The Red Hand Files, answering readers' questions about what he's reading and which podcasts he listens to
theredhandfiles.com ↗·2026-04-23Wrong?
Do Not Go GentleBook Kathleen Stock
I also recently finished Kathleen Stock’s fierce argument against the UK’s proposed assisted dying bill, Do Not Go Gentle, which I read while taking rich, salutary dives into my dear friend Maria Popova’s luminous Traversal.
Issue #361 of The Red Hand Files, answering readers' questions about what he's reading and which podcasts he listens to
theredhandfiles.com ↗·2026-04-23Wrong?
TraversalBook Maria Popova
taking rich, salutary dives into my dear friend Maria Popova’s luminous Traversal.
Issue #361 of The Red Hand Files, answering readers' questions about what he's reading and which podcasts he listens to
theredhandfiles.com ↗·2026-04-23Wrong?
DishcastPodcast Andrew Sullivan
A few that come to mind – the deeply humane Catholic conservative Andrew Sullivan in conversation with philosopher and atheist John Gray (Dishcast); the ridiculously Christ-literate non-believer Alex O’Connor (Within Reason) speaking to the mighty Iain McGilchrist
Issue #361 of The Red Hand Files, naming long-form conversation-style podcasts that have stayed with him
theredhandfiles.com ↗·2026-04-23Wrong?
Within ReasonPodcast Alex O'Connor
the ridiculously Christ-literate non-believer Alex O’Connor (Within Reason) speaking to the mighty Iain McGilchrist
Issue #361 of The Red Hand Files, naming long-form conversation-style podcasts that have stayed with him
theredhandfiles.com ↗·2026-04-23Wrong?
Sheldrake/Vernon DialoguesPodcast Rupert Sheldrake and Mark Vernon
an arm wrestle over René Descartes and Blaise Pascal at UnHerd; the beautiful Sheldrake/Vernon Dialogues.
Issue #361 of The Red Hand Files, naming long-form conversation-style podcasts that have stayed with him
theredhandfiles.com ↗·2026-04-23Wrong?
This Is the Door: Notes from a Body in PainBook Darcey Steinke
I’ve just finished Darcey Steinke’s This Is the Door: Notes from a Body in Pain, a kind of wild theology of the body
Issue #361 of The Red Hand Files, answering readers' questions about what he's reading and which podcasts he listens to
theredhandfiles.com ↗·2026-04-23Wrong?
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