Recorded live at Latitude Festival, Irvine Welsh sits down with host Rhianna Dhillon to delve into his new novel Men in Love, the eagerly awaited sequel to Trainspotting, which explores the vibrant landscape of youth culture through the decades and the nuances of defining a generation through the arts. Plus, award-winning author and Penguin colleague Derek Owusu joins the panel, providing personalised book recommendations to audience members. We also speak to readers at the festival and ask them: what is the book that defined your youth? 

The Penguin Podcast Live at Latitude: Irvine Welsh and Derek Owusu

Outrageous, iconic and unforgettable - these are some of the books Penguin have been publishing over its 90-year history. As part of a special content series called 'The books that shaped us' on Penguin.co.uk, we invited readers from the world of publishing, comedy, and music to explore must-read titles across the decades. The Internet's resident librarian Jack Edwards and Penguin editor Simon Prosser discuss their curated reading lists, and explore the impact of the books that shocked society and became pop culture phenomena in this special episode, recorded live at Waterstones Picadilly



Find all the books mentioned in this episode and more by clicking this link: The Penguin Podcast Waterstones Special

Follow our dedicated Broadcast channel on Instagram for exclusive content and giveaways: @PenguinUKBooks 



Send us a question: penguinpodcast@penguinrandomhouse.co.uk

Website: www.penguin.co.uk/podcast

Which Penguin books shocked society and became cultural icons? With Jack Edwards and Penguin Editor, Simon Prosser

This special episode of the Heartwood Podcast explores the brotherhood created among members of The Easley Branch record label and their artistic expression. RaShad Eas, B God Body, and JS2000 discuss their use of music to overcome challenges and enhance their experience in university and professional settings. The members also speak to the equanimity they exude and the importance of their desire for more knowledge. Tune in and don’t miss out on this wisdom. 

They are joined by DJ Green as he films. 


The Branch Interview

With the growth of the capability of artificial intelligence (AI), there is growing concern that this technology could make millions of jobs – and their workers – obsolete. 

In the third episode of The Ballpark’s miniseries on AI and the US, the Phelan US Centre explored the impacts AI is already having on the workforce with Baobao Zhang, Maxwell Dean Associate Professor of the Politics of AI in the Political Science Department at the Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs at Syracuse University. Professor Zhang’s research and work focuses on trust in digital technology and the governance of artificial intelligence  

The discussion covers how recent advances in AI have shifted the landscape when it comes to labor automation, the anxiety that many people are feeling about the potential for AI to affect jobs and industries through automation, and what students should be doing to best prepare for a career in workplaces that will be affected by AI in the coming decades. 

This episode was produced by Chris Gilson and Luke Digweed.   

Further reading and resources 

Lee, Y.S, Soroushian, J., Bullock, J., Carroll, M., Dokko, J., Dominski, J., Hinds, R., Holzer, H., Horrigan, M., Munyikwa, Z., Oschinski, M., Radsch, C., Rock, D., Rossi, M., Seamans, R., Zhang, B. (2025). “Proactively Developing and Assisting the Workforce in the Age of AI.” Americans for Responsible Innovation and the Keough School of Global Affairs at the University of Notre Dame. 

Zhang, Baobao and Dafoe, Allan, Artificial Intelligence: American Attitudes and Trends (January 9, 2019).  

Zhang, B., Anderljung, M., Kahn, L., Dreksler, N., Horowitz, M.C. and Dafoe, A. (2021). Ethics and Governance of Artificial Intelligence: Evidence from a Survey of Machine Learning Researchers. Journal of Artificial Intelligence Research,  

Baobao Zhang. 2022. No Rage Against the Machines: Threat of Automation Does Not Change Policy Preferences. In Proceedings of the 2022 AAAI/ACM Conference on AI, Ethics, and Society (AIES '22). Association for Computing Machinery, New York, NY, USA, 856–866. https://doi.org/10.1145/3514094.3534179 

LSE: The Ballpark | AI automation and the workforce with Dr Baobao Zhang

Welcome to WITHIN, a contemplative segment of The Leader's Way Podcast that explores the
convergence of mental health, art, and spirituality through authentic conversations across
traditions about personal and collective transformation. In this inaugural episode, Brandon talks
with Joanna Penn, an award-winning New York Times and USA Today bestselling author,
whose latest book, “Pilgrimage: Lessons Learned from Solo Walking Three Ancient Ways,”
explores the rich themes of spirituality, mental health, and personal transformation. Tune in for
a conversation about the power of walking, writing, and leaning into the call on our hearts.

Host: Brandon Nappi

Guest: Joanna Penn

Production: Goodchild Media

Instagram: @theleadersway.podcast berkeleydivinity.yale.edu/podcast

You can support our work at https://tinyurl.com/support-transforming-leaders

Surprised by Pilgrimage with Joanna Penn

Episode title: Ageing Playfully: Transforming perspectives on growing older

In this episode of Public Health Disrupted, host Rochelle Burgess is flying solo, and dives into the transformative power of play in the context of ageing. 

Joined by Rachel Colles, a professional performer and ‘Elderflower’ with Hearts and Minds, and Dr Carrie Ryan, a lecturer in Creative Health at UCL, the discussion explores how playfulness can disrupt conventional narratives surrounding ageing. Rochelle, Rachel, and Carrie challenge the societal tendency to associate play solely with childhood, revealing how embracing play in later life can foster joy, creativity, and meaningful connections. They share insights from their experiences, including engaging with people living with dementia and the profound impact of playful interactions (and bingo!) in care settings. 

The conversation highlights the importance of validating emotions, and how play serves as a vital public health intervention, encouraging a shift in perspective on ageing. This episode also touches on the significance of fostering genuine connections, ultimately advocating for a more playful approach to public health. 

Featured in this episode: 

Host: Rochelle Burgess – Community Health Psychologist and Professor at the UCL Institute for Global Health 

Guests: Rachel Colles– Professional Performer and Elderflower, Hearts and Minds 
Dr Carrie Ryan – Lecturer in Creative Health, UCL Department of Arts and Sciences Resources and mentions: ‘Extravagant Acts for Mature People' by Phoebe Davies (as mentioned at the end of this episode by Dr Carrie Ryan!) 

Date of episode recording: 2025-07-23
Duration: 00:42:57
Language of episode: English
Producer: Produced by UCL Health of the Public and edited by Annabelle Buckland, Decibelle Creative

Link to transcript:  https://www.ucl.ac.uk/health-of-public/news-and-events/public-health-disrupted/season-5-ep-5-ageing-playfully-notes-and-transcript

Season 5 - Ageing Playfully: Transforming perspectives on growing older

In this episode of The Bartlett Review, Professor Dame Henrietta Moore, Founder and Director of the Institute for Global Prosperity, and Arthur Kay, Advisor to Innovo Group and founder of several technology and urban design companies, discuss their new book, Roadkill: Unveiling the True Cost of Our Toxic Relationship with Cars. They explore the social, financial, ethical, and environmental impacts of cars, challenge common myths, and share practical ideas for rethinking the way we use them to improve our cities and freedoms. While cars are often sold as symbols of freedom, Henrietta and Arthur show how they restrict choice, limit city life, and impose hidden costs on health, communities, and the planet. They share real-world examples, challenge myths about electric and autonomous vehicles, and offer practical ideas for rethinking how we use cars.
Order your copy: https://getroadkill.com/

The Bartlett Review. Roadkill, unveiling the true cost of our toxic relationship with cars

In the fourth episode of our Mental Health & Wellbeing mini-series, host Jade Hunter is joined by UCL's Pro-Vice Provosts for Mental Health & Wellbeing, Professors Essi Viding and Argyris Stringaris to discuss the findings of a significant new survey conducted in partnership with YouGov. This survey, which gathered responses from 1,545 young adults aged 16 to 25, sheds light on the pressing mental health challenges faced by young people across Britain. This episode delves into the survey's key insights, exploring the perceptions of mental health support and the urgent need for effective early intervention and prevention strategies. Essi and Argyris discuss the implications of the findings, including the high percentage of young individuals seeking help and the dissatisfaction with current support systems.

Date of episode recording: 2025-08-19
Duration: 00:14:00
Language of episode: English
Presenter:Jade Hunter
Guests: Essi Viding; Argyris Stringaris
Producer: Annabelle Buckland

Youth Voices on Mental Health: Insights from UCL's YouGov Survey

We are growing in our understanding of the long-term effects trauma and moral injury can have on bodies and spirits, including those within our own congregations. In this important and tender episode, Brandon and Whitney talk with former Army Chaplain and Episcopal priest David Peters about the ways faith communities can lean on Jesus’s life story to respond with love and care to these wounds. David’s latest book, Post-Traumatic Jesus: Reading the Gospel with the Wounded, offers a portrait of Jesus as living and speaking into a world that was familiar with trauma, from war to oppression to political violence, and reading the Gospels through that lens can create space for healing.

Host: Brandon Nappi with Whitney Coe

Guest: David Peters

Production: Goodchild Media

Instagram: @theleadersway.podcast berkeleydivinity.yale.edu/podcast

You can support our work at https://tinyurl.com/support-transforming-leaders



64: Post-Traumatic Jesus: A Conversation with David Peters

AI has legal consequences. Who is responsible when AI makes a mistake which causes harm or financial loss? What role does government regulation play, and do we need to revise our legal frameworks in the face of increasingly capable AI?

To talk about these issues, in July 2025, the Phelan US Centre spoke to Dr Anat Lior, an assistant professor at Drexel University’s Thomas R. Kline School of Law. Her research interests include AI governance and liability, quantum computing policy, the intersection of insurance and emerging technologies, and intellectual property law.

This episode was produced by Chris Gilson and Luke Digweed.  

Further reading and resources

•	Lior, Anat, AI Entities as AI Agents: Artificial Intelligence Liability and the AI Respondeat Superior Analogy (August 31, 2019). 46 Mitchell Hamline Law Review (2020).
•	Lior, Anat, Insuring AI: The Role of Insurance in Artificial Intelligence Regulation (August 10, 2021). Harvard Journal of Law & Technology, Vol. 35, No. 2, 2022.
•	Lior, Anat, E/Insuring the AI Age: Empirical Insights into Artificial Intelligence Liability Policies. 31 Conn. Ins. L.J. (forthcoming, 2025)
•	Unveiling the Quasi-Regulatory Landscape: Empirical Insights into AI Liability Policies - By Dr. Anat Lior, Sonal Madhok and Stuart Calam | April 30, 2025 

Take the Ballpark Listener survey and enter the prize draw for £250 in vouchers!

The Ballpark will be ten years old in 2026, and we want to hear from you to make the podcast even better, so we’re running a listener survey until 1 November 2025. 

•	Fill in our listener survey – it only takes 15 minutes – here: https://forms.office.com/e/Vcj8V8uGM1 
•	Voucher prize draw terms and conditions are available here: https://www.lse.ac.uk/united-states/the-ballpark/ballpark-listener-survey-prize-terms-conditions-2025


LSE: The Ballpark | Who is liable for AI? With Dr Anat Lior

Daniel Karlin talks to Nicola Barringer about Rudyard Kipling

Rudyard Kipling is a supreme master of the short story in English and a poet of brilliant gifts. His energy and inventiveness poured themselves into every kind of tale, from the bleakest of fables to the richest of comedies, and he illuminated every aspect of human behaviour, of which he was a fascinated (and sometimes appalled) observer. 

Daniel Karlin discusses his choices for the book

Oxford University Press’s academic insights for the thinking world combine authority, innovation, and excellence.  We share audio resources for students, scholars, and researchers.

Daniel Karlin discusses his choices for the book

Oxford Academic (OUP)