In this episode, Andrew Biswell exploring the making of the new documentary film, A Clockwork Orange: The Prophecy, with the directors Elisa Mantin and Benoit Felici.

A Clockwork Orange: The Prophecy, is the first new documentary to focus on Burgess for 25 years. Drawing on archive footage, startling new animations, and interviews with major cultural figures such as Will Self and Ai Weiwei, this documentary reconsiders the 60-year history of A Clockwork Orange as a novel, film, stage play and cultural influence.

LINKS:

To watch the French version, Orange méchanique: les rouages de la violence, click here: https://www.arte.tv/fr/videos/111767-000-A/orange-mecanique-les-rouages-de-la-violence/

To watch the German version, Clockwork Orange: Im Räderwerk der Gewalt, click here: https://www.arte.tv/de/videos/111767-000-A/clockwork-orange-im-raederwerk-der-gewalt/

International Anthony Burgess Foundation: https://www.anthonyburgess.org

Sign up to our free newsletter: https://anthonyburgessfoundation.substack.com

A Clockwork Orange: The Prophecy – The Making of the Documentary Film

Read by the author.

You were wired for joy. Not put-a-fake-smile-on-it joy. Not I-feel-guilty-about-being-sad joy. But deep-down, laugh-out-loud, overflowing joy that thrives no matter your personality or circumstances.

It's time to take your joy back! Maybe you're wondering why life has to be so confusing. Maybe you're tired of feeling anxious. Maybe you're just blah lately. Bible teacher, songwriter, and one of Christian music's most contagiously joyful voices, Pastor Tauren Wells has a powerful reminder for you: Jesus' first message was about how to be truly happy. Think about it: How important to the heart of God must your joy be if Jesus uses the word "happy" eight times in his first recorded sermon on planet Earth (aka: the Beatitudes)?

In Joy Bomb, Pastor Tauren helps us embrace the truth that God's greatest longing is not only for our holiness, but for our happiness. This biblically rooted, exuberantly hope-filled book walks us through:

- Eight life-changing ways to reorient our lives toward joy
- Understanding why joy is not dependent on our emotional state or the state of the world
- What attitudes or behaviors keep us from experiencing God's joy
- How we can become freer in worship, life, and our relationship with God
- Why Jesus' ways of living don't just create warm fuzzies but create joy deep within us

We find more in this life than we ever imagined when we understand the patterns and promises of God's kingdom. More fulfillment, more purpose, more satisfaction—and radical joy.

Amazon

JOY BOMB by Tauren Wells | Chapter 1

Brought to you by Penguin.

The instant Sunday Times best seller.

A Financial Times, Guardian and Observer Book of the Year.

One of the Daily Telegraph's 75 Best Books of 2021.What if you stopped trying to do everything, so that you could finally get round to what counts?

We're obsessed with our lengthening to-do lists, our overfilled inboxes, the struggle against distraction and the sense that our attention spans are shrivelling. Still, we rarely make the connection between our daily struggles with time and the ultimate time management problem: the question of how best to use our ridiculously brief time on the planet, which amounts on average to about 4,000 weeks.

Four Thousand Weeks is an uplifting, engrossing and deeply realistic exploration of the challenge. Rejecting the futile modern obsession with 'getting everything done,' it introduces listeners to tools for constructing a meaningful life by embracing rather than denying their limitations.

Drawing on the insights of both ancient and contemporary philosophers, psychologists and spiritual teachers, Oliver Burkeman sets out to realign our relationship with time - and in doing so, to liberate us from its tyranny.

Embrace your limits. Change your life. Make your 4,000 weeks count.

©2021 Oliver Burkeman (P)2021 Penguin Audio

Four Thousand Weeks, written and ready by Oliver Burkeman

Brought to you by Penguin.

Discover the haunting, heartbreaking post-apocalyptic tale of female friendship and intimacy set in a deserted world.

Deep underground, 39 women are kept in isolation in a cage. Aboveground, a world awaits. Has it been abandoned? Devastated by a virus?

Watched over by guards, the women have no memory of how they got there, no notion of time and only vague recollection of their lives before. But, as the burn of electric light merges day into night and numberless years pass, a young girl - the 40th prisoner - sits alone and outcast in the corner.

Soon she will show herself to be the key to the others' escape and survival in the strange world that awaits them aboveground. The woman who will never know men.

©2019 Jacqueline Harpman (P)2021 Penguin Audio

I Who Have Never Known Men, written by Jacqueline Harpman and read by Sarah Lambie

Brought to you by Penguin.

THE MILLION-COPY BESTSELLING PHENOMENON

This is the story of Sam and Sadie. It's not a romance, but it is about love.

When Sam catches sight of Sadie at a crowded train station one morning he is catapulted straight back to childhood, and the hours they spent immersed in playing games.

Their spark is instantly reignited and sets off a creative collaboration that will make them superstars. It is the 90s, and anything is possible.

What comes next is a decades-long tale of friendship and rivalry, fame and art, betrayal and tragedy, perfect worlds and imperfect ones. And, above all, our need to connect: to be loved and to love.

©2022 Gabrielle Zevin (P)2022 Penguin Audio

Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, written by Gabrielle Zevin and read by Jennifer Kim and Julian Cihi

Brought to you by Penguin.

BBC Radio 2 Book Club pick.

Everyone thinks Heath Rocha was my first love. He wasn't. My first love was figure skating.

Katarina Shaw has always known she’s destined to become an Olympic skater. When she meets Heath Rocha, a lonely kid stuck in the foster care system, their instant connection makes them a formidable duo on the ice. Clinging to skating – and each other – to escape their turbulent lives, Kat and Heath go from childhood sweethearts to champion ice dancers, captivating fans with their scorching chemistry, rebellious style and rollercoaster relationship.

Until, at the Olympic Games, as the world holds its breath, a shocking incident instantly destroys their partnership.

Ten years later, an unauthorised tell-all documentary reignites the public obsession with Shaw and Rocha. If Kat wants to own her story, she must break her silence. As Kat’s account of her dramatic rise and fall alternates with scandalous interviews from the film, The Favourites spins into a dance between passion, ambition and what it truly means to win.

Sensational rumours have haunted Kat and Heath’s every step for years, but the truth may be even more outrageous than the headlines.

‘Part Wuthering Heights and part Daisy Jones and the Six . . . As brilliantly choreographed as a gold-medal performance’ JODI PICOULT

©2025 Layne Fargo (P)2025 Penguin Audio

Trhe Favourites, written by Layne Fargo and read by Christine Lakin, Louisa Zhu, Amy Landon, Elena Rey, Valerie Lohman, Suzanne Toren, Graham Halstead, Julia Emelin, Layne Fargo, Eric Yang, Johnny Weir

Brought to you by Penguin.

**SOON TO BE A MAJOR APPLE TV SERIES**

What if you could change husbands as easily as a lightbulb?

One night Lauren finds a strange man in her flat who claims to be her husband. All the evidence – from photos to electricity bills – suggests he’s right. And then another one appears. Lauren’s attic, she slowly realises, is creating an endless supply of husbands for her. There’s:

The one who’s too hot (there must be a catch).
The one who pretends to play music on her toes.
The one who can calm her unruly thoughts with a single touch.

But when you can change husbands as easily as changing a lightbulb, how do you know whether the one you have now is the good-enough one, or the wrong one, or the best one? And how long should you keep trying to find out?

‘Properly laugh-out-loud funny, this was one of the most original novels I’ve read in years’ RED, *Books of the Year*
‘A witty, ingenious debut novel… An enormously entertaining story that is both silly and sophisticated’ SUNDAY TIMES, *Books of the Year*
‘A clever and hilarious read that makes you rethink the idea of a soulmate’ GOOD HOUSEKEEPING

THE NO 1 KINDLE BESTSELLER
THE INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER
BEST SUMMER READ IN THE GUARDIAN, GOOD HOUSEKEEPING, RED & DAILY MAIL

©2024 Holly Gramazio (P)2024 Penguin Audio

The Husbands, written by Holly Gramazio and read by Miranda Raison

Brought to you by Penguin.

Shortlisted for Audiobook of the Year at the British Book Awards 2020.

Winner of Best Audiobook (Fiction) at the New York Festival Radio Awards 2020.

Read by Elisabeth Moss, star of the hit Channel 4 TV series.

Go back to where it all began with the dystopian novel behind the award-winning TV series.

"I believe in the resistance as I believe there can be no light without shadow; or rather, no shadow unless there is also light."

Offred is a Handmaid in The Republic of Gilead, a religious totalitarian state in what was formerly known as the United States. She is placed in the household of The Commander, Fred Waterford - her assigned name, Offred, means 'of Fred'. She has only one function: to breed. If Offred refuses to enter into sexual servitude to repopulate a devastated world, she will be hanged. Yet even a repressive state cannot eradicate hope and desire. As she recalls her pre-revolution life in flashbacks, Offred must navigate through the terrifying landscape of torture and persecution in the present day, and between two men upon which her future hangs.

Masterfully conceived and executed, this haunting vision of the future places Margaret Atwood at the forefront of dystopian fiction.

'As relevant today as it was when Atwood wrote it' Guardian

'A fantastic, chilling story. And so powerfully feminist', Bernardine Evaristo, author of Girl, Woman, Other.


©2011 O W Toad Ltd (P)2019 Penguin Audio

The Handmaids Tale, written by Margaret Atwood and read by Amy Landecker, Ann Dowd, Bradley Whitford, Elisabeth Moss

Brought to you by Penguin.

The happily ever after is only part of the story… A funny, touching, hopeful gem about love, marriage and second chances

It’s the day before her daughter’s wedding and things are not going well for Gail Baines. First thing, she loses her job – or quits, depending who you ask. Then her ex-husband Max turns up at her door expecting to stay for the festivities. He doesn’t even have a suit. Instead, he’s brought memories, a shared sense of humour – and a cat looking for a new home.

Just as Gail is wondering what’s next, their daughter Debbie discovers her groom has been keeping a secret…

As the big day dawns, the exes just can’t agree on what’s best for Debbie. Gail is seriously worried, while Max seems more concerned with whether to opt for the salmon or prime rib at the reception, if they make it that far.

The day after the wedding, Gail and Max prepare to go their separate ways again. But all the questions about the future of the happy couple have stirred up the past for Gail. Because ‘happy’ takes many forms, and sometimes the younger generation has much to teach the older about secrets, acceptance and taking the rough with the smooth.

‘A joy to read in a single relaxing afternoon’ JACQUELINE WILSON

'Razor sharp on family, love and marriage' DAVID NICHOLLS

'Sublimely written and beautifully observed' - JOANNE FINNEY, GOOD HOUSEKEEPING

© Anne Tyler 2025 (P) Penguin Audio 2025

Three Days in June, written by Anne Tyler and read by J. Smith Cameron

Brought to you by Penguin.

If you have ADHD - or love somebody who does - DIRTY LAUNDRY will change your life, and your relationships.

Do you feel crippling shame because you struggle with cleaning, personal hygiene, or time-keeping? Do you always feel misunderstood by the people close to you and find that they get frustrated by your behaviour?

DIRTY LAUNDRY is an unfiltered look into the chaos of real life with ADHD. It will transform your self-hatred into self-acceptance, with simple tips that actually work for your brain. It will also help to educate partners, parents and friends, to help them move from frustration to patience, understanding - and love.

Learn how to:
Stop believing you are fundamentally broken
Stop judging yourself by the standards of a neurotypical world
Communicate your struggles to those who love you
Support someone with ADHD in ways that work for them
Be compassionate rather than judgemental
...and much more.

From the husband-and-wife team behind social media phenomenon @ADHD_Love, whose viral videos have been viewed more than 200 million times, comes a fearless, often outrageously funny, account of life, learning, and growing with ADHD. They share the strategies they have used to reduce shame, improve communication, and find happiness in their neurodivergent household.

Filled with heartbreak and humour in equal measure, DIRTY LAUNDRY is an invaluable resource both for neurodivergents and the people who love them.

©2023 Richard Pink and Roxanne Emery (P)2023 Penguin Audio

Dirty Laundry Why Adults with ADHD Are so Ashamed and What We Can Do to Help, written and read by Richard Pink and Roxanne Emery

The International Anthony Burgess Foundation Podcast explores the life and work of Anthony Burgess, most famous for writing A Clockwork Orange. We talk to writers, literature experts, and other people who met Burgess in various contexts. We also help illuminate Burgess's work through informative scripted episodes.

A Clockwork Orange: The Prophecy – The Making of the Documentary Film

Burgess Foundation

Related tracks