An intimate fortnightly conversation with authors and the handful of objects that have inspired their work. #PenguinPodcast

The Penguin Podcast

Extract 2 - Andy Serkis

Extract 1 - Andy Serkis

Carpe Jugulum - Indira Varma - 002

Carpe Jugulum - Indira Varma - 001

Footnotes - Bill Nighy - 007

Footnotes - Bill Nighy - 006

Footnotes - Bill Nighy - 005

Footnotes - Bill Nighy - 004

Footnotes - Bill Nighy - 003

Footnotes - Bill Nighy - 002

Footnotes - Bill Nighy - 001

Hogfather - DEATH - Peter Serafinowicz - 002

Hogfather - DEATH - Peter Serafinowicz - 001

In this exclusive audiobook edition, Timothy Snyder combines the original On Tyranny (2017)—20 lessons on how history can instruct our response to the rise of tyranny around the world today—with 20 new lessons that answer the questions everyone is asking about Russia's war on Ukraine. With forays into history, he clarifies the causes of the Russian invasion and the meaning of Ukrainian resistance, and explains the war's connections to threats to democracy around the world. Linking past and present, and speaking only from notes, Snyder delivers an important call to arms and roadmap for resistance, providing invaluable ideas for how we can preserve our freedoms in the uncertain years to come. This is the long view we all need, given to us right now by a leading expert.

On Tyranny and On Ukraine, written and read by Timothy Snyder

The Centipede Song - James and the Giant Peach

Never Split the Difference by Chris Voss, Chapter 1

Be More Human by Tony Riddle, Chapter 1

This week on the Penguin Podcast, Derek Owusu is joined by presenter, TV personality, actress and children's author, Alison Hammond. 

Alison speaks to Derek about her brand new children's book, Black in Time: The Most Awesome Black Britons from Yesterday to Today.

As well as Black British history, Alison and Derek also discuss Alison's profound love for bandanas, her recreating the atmosphere of Jamaica for wellbeing, the transporting power of Terry's Chocolate Orange, and the importance of inherited style. 

Don't forget to follow the show so you never miss an episode, and do leave us a review as it really does help. To find out more about the #PenguinPodcast, visit https://www.penguin.co.uk/podcasts.html.

Alison Hammond with Derek Owusu

Brought to you by Penguin.

Read this explosive insight into the previously unseen world of football club ownership by one of the game's most-recognisable figures.

Multimillionaire at 32

Youngest Premier League football club owner at 36

His club and a fortune lost at 42

Owning your childhood club - that's the dream, isn't it?

Simon Jordan made his fortune building a mobile phone company from scratch. When he sold it for £75 million, he bought Crystal Palace FC, the club he'd supported as a boy, and led them into the Premier League.

Ten years later Palace was in administration and Jordan had lost nigh on everything. Be Careful What You Wish For lifts the lid on being the owner of a football club and how the game really works. Hopes and dreams sit alongside greed, self-interest, dodgy transfers, boardroom fights and dressing room dressing downs. Throughout no one is spared, least of all Jordan himself.

**A finalist for the William Hill Sports Book of the Year**
**Shortlisted for the British Sports Book Award for best autobiography*

Be Careful What You Wish For

The Family Remains by Lisa Jewell, Chapter 4

This week on the Penguin Podcast, Nihal Arthanayake is joined by Booker Prize-winning novelist and playwright, Damon Galgut.

Recording from the legendary literary festival at Hay, Nihal talks to Damon about his latest novel, The Promise, which was awarded the 2021 Booker Prize. 

As well as the intricacies of his novel, they also discuss how the rhythms of Jazz connect with Damon's internal and writing rhythm, his veneration of Bob Dylan, the legacy of South African apartheid, how a beach in Goa fuels his creativity, and the importance of a parker pen given to him at drama school. 

Don't forget to follow the show so you never miss an episode, and do leave us a review as it really does help. To find out more about the #PenguinPodcast, visit https://www.penguin.co.uk/podcasts.html.

Damon Galgut with Nihal Arthanayake

In the grip of existential malaise, 25-year-old Daphne moves to Berlin for a fresh start. Far from resolving her quarter-life crisis, things take a turn for the worse.

Because Daphne doesn't just have to navigate all the archetypal experiences of an outsider in the big city - acquiring friends and lovers, grappling with the language and a whole new way of life.

A series of mysterious and troubling events are in motion - starting with a brick hurled through her bedroom window in the dead of night - and a further unravelling ensues. What is at the heart of these strange events and our troubled heroine? Who is Daphne, really, and what is she running from?

BERLIN by Bea Setton in conversation with Alice Youell

Swizzle your ears for some of the finest, most fantastic first words every written, spoken and dreamt. Stay tuned for more extracts from Roald Dahl’s best loved children’s stories and if you like what you hear then visit the Apple App. Store to download the Audiobooks App for free!

Have a listen to Matilda, read by Kate Winslet, which was recognized by the American Library Association as an Odyssey Honour Book. 

With fantastic features including free access to the first chapter of every title, in–app purchase to continue the story and the ability to stream the audiobooks, the Roald Dahl Audiobooks App is available from the App Store on iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch or at www.itunes.com/appstore.


Roald Dahl: Matilda read by Kate Winslet

Swizzle your ears for some of the finest, most fantastic first words every written, spoken and dreamt. Stay tuned for more extracts from Roald Dahl’s best loved children’s stories  and if you like what you hear then visit the Apple App. Store to download the Audiobooks App for free!

Roald Dahl: Charlie And The Chocolate Factory read by Douglas Hodge

An extract from this audio download from Ladybird - packed with all the popular nursery songs and rhymes that children tend to learn at nursery and school. Research has shown that parents often don't know the words to popular nursery songs so this is a great resources for both parents and nursery teachers.

Have fun learning the words and singing along to favourite songs such as Old MacDonald Had a Farm, Five Speckled Frogs,  The Wheels on the Bus, The House that Jack Built, Sleeping Bunnies, Wind the Bobbin Up and more.

Ladybird: I'm Ready to Sing! (Audiobook extract)

Kate Atkinson brings an antique silver hare, a Halifax Bomber and Beethoven’s 9th Symphony to the Penguin Studio to talk about her latest book ‘A God In Ruins’ with host Richard E Grant. The topics of conversation include the long-term effects of war on veterans, The Queen, how we age and the power of classical music to evoke an emotional response in us all.  

#PenguinPodcast

The Penguin Podcast: Richard E Grant with Kate Atkinson

Comedian Bridget Christie brings a yoghurt, a ‘votes for women' sash given to her by Emmeline Pankhurst’s great-granddaughter and a piece of gammon to the Penguin Studio to talk about her latest book ‘A Book For Her’. Host Richard E. Grant and Bridget discuss a wide range of topics including FGM, labiaplasty, how a yoghurt advert perpetuates rape myths and how a unsavoury incident in a book shop inspired the book. 
#PenguinPodcast


The Penguin Podcast: Richard E. Grant with Bridget Christie

Pat Barker brings a child’s gas mask, a jar of water from a wishing well and a notebook to the Penguin Studio to talk about her latest book Noonday. Host Richard E. Grant and Pat discuss witchcraft, the impact of WW2 as well as her personal journey to becoming an award winning novelist. Noonday is available as an audiobook featuring Juliet Stevenson and Anne Reid out now on iTunes. 

#PenguinPodcast

The Penguin Podcast: Richard E. Grant with Pat Barker

Meera Syal brings her copy of The Handmaid’s Tale, her Mother’s Indian passport and precious gold bangles given to her at her wedding to the Penguin Studio to talk about her latest book ’The House of Hidden Mothers’ with host Richard E Grant. Their discussion includes surrogacy, India’s fascination with babies and dowry payments as well as playing excerpts from the audiobook which is read by Meera and is available now.

#PenguinPodcast

The Penguin Podcast: Richard E. Grant with Meera Syal

Paula Hawkins brings a photo of her father, an Edward Hopper picture and a DVD of Rear Window to the Penguin Studio to talk about her bestselling book 'The Girl On The Train' with host Richard E Grant. Their discussion includes unreliable narrators, growing up in South Africa and the transition from business journalist to best selling author. Throughout the episode Richard plays excerpts from the audiobook, a multi cast production which is out now. 


The Penguin Podcast: Richard E. Grant with Paula Hawkins

An extract from the audiobook edition of Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Dog Days, the fourth mega-selling instalment in Jeff Kinney's hilarious Diary of a Wimpy Kid series. Read by the actor Ramon de Ocampo.

About the book:
Greg's mom has a vision of "family togetherness" that really doesn't sound a whole lot of fun.

But there's a brand-new addition to the Heffley family to contend with and it looks like Greg might be outnumbered.  It could be a real dog of a summer . . .

Jeff Kinney: Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Dog Days (Audiobook Extract)

Penguin presents the unabridged, downloadable audiobook edition of Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Old School written by Jeff Kinney, read by Dan Russell.

Get ready, book 10 in the phenomenally bestselling Diary of a Wimpy Kid series is coming!

Life was better in the old days. Or was it?

That's the question Greg Heffley is asking as his town voluntarily unplugs and goes electronics-free. But modern life has its conveniences, and Greg isn't cut out for an old-fashioned world.

With tension building inside and outside the Heffley home, will Greg find a way to survive? Or is going 'old school' just too hard for a kid like Greg?

Praise for Jeff Kinney:

'The world has gone crazy for Jeff Kinney's Diary of a Wimpy Kid' - Sun

'Kinney is right up there with J K Rowling as one of the bestselling children's authors on the planet' - Independent

'The most hotly anticipated children's book of the year is here - Diary of a Wimpy Kid' - Big Issue

Diary Of A Wimpy Kid: Old School by Jeff Kinney (Audiobook Extract) read by Dan Russell

It's time to go on the road with Peppa and this fantastic collection of ten newly recorded stories, perfect for any journey! 

The stories included are: Peppa Goes on Holiday, Peppa Goes Skiing, Peppa Goes Boating, Peppa's Sandpit, Let's go Shopping Peppa, Happy Birthday Peppa, Peppa's Fishy Friends, George's Balloon, Peppa's New Neighbours and Peppa's Golden Boots.

Peppa Pig On The Road (audiobook extract)

Patsy and Edina are in full swing in these four BBC TV soundtrack episodes - Fat; Birthday; Death; Happy New Year - starring Jennifer Saunders and Joanna Lumley, with Julia Sawalha, June Whitfield and others.

Absolutely Fabulous: Birthday, BBC Audio (Audiobook extract)

Tom Hiddleston (The Night Manager) stars as Jonathan Harker with David Suchet (Poirot) as Dracula in Liz Lochhead's powerful BBC radio adaptation of the classic novel by Bram Stoker. 

When solicitor Jonathan Harker sets off for Transylvania to sell the mysterious Count Dracula a Gothic mansion, his bride-to-be Mina begs him to stay – to no avail. 

But on arrival at Dracula's castle, deep in a black forest surrounded by wolves, Harker wishes he had listened to his fiancée. The Count is welcoming but unnerving, and his castle oppressive. Plagued by nightmares, Harker soon longs to leave... 

Back in Whitby, Mina is increasingly worried. She has heard nothing from Jonathan, and now her sister Lucy – newly engaged to Harker's friend, Dr Seward – is becoming pale and thin. In Seward's lunatic asylum in London, a madman named Renfield babbles about his master who is coming. And as a midnight storm rages, a black ship heads towards the English coast... 

Acclaimed poet and playwright Liz Lochhead's adaptation was first performed on stage in 1985, and this thrilling radio drama was broadcast on the World Service in 2006. Suspenseful, chilling and suffused with dark eroticism, it retains all the eerie dread of Stoker's infamous horror novel. Duration: 2 hrs approx.

Dracula by Bram Stoker, Starring David Suchet and Tom Hiddleston (audiobook extract)

‘I saw Johnny Marr live in person, with The Smiths. He was light on his feet; like quicksilver. He caused the band to swing like crazy. And he smoked his cigarette like a star. I’ve been influenced ever since.’ Iggy Pop

Johnny Marr was born in 1960s Manchester to Irish emigrant parents and knew from an early age that he would be a musician. Forming his first band at thirteen, Marr spent his teenage years on the council estates of Wythenshawe playing guitar, devouring pop culture and inventing his own musical style.

It wasn't until the early eighties, when Marr turned up on the doorstep of a singer named Steven Patrick Morrissey, that both a unique songwriting partnership and the group recognised as one of the most iconic bands of all time were formed. In 1983 The Smiths released their first single, and within a year their eponymous debut album reached number two in the UK chart, paving the way for mainstream and critical success on their own terms.

For Marr, tensions within the band and desire for a wider musical scope led to his departure from The Smiths in 1987, ensuring the end of one of the most influential British groups of a generation.

Set the Boy Free written and read by Johnny Marr (audiobook extract)

An  extract from the audiobook edition of Rick Riordan's Percy Jackson and The Lightning Thief. Read by the actor Jesse Bernstein.

About the book:
Look, I didn't want to be a half-blood. I never asked to be the son of a Greek God. I was just a normal kid, going to school, playing basketball, skateboarding. The usual. Until I accidentally vaporized my maths teacher. That's when things started really going wrong. Now I spend my time fighting with swords, battling monsters with my friends, and generally trying to stay alive. 

This is the one where Zeus, God of the Sky, thinks I've stolen his lightning bolt - and making Zeus angry is a very bad idea. 

Can Percy find the lightning bolt before a fully-fledged war of the Gods erupts?

This audiobook is available to buy from iTunes UK and Audible.co.uk

Rick Riordan: Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief (Audiobook Extract) read by Jesse Bernstein

Random House presents the unabridged, downloadable audiobook edition of The Heart's Invisible Furies by John Boyne, read by Stephen Hogan.

Cyril Avery is not a real Avery or at least that’s what his adoptive parents tell him. And he never will be. But if he isn’t a real Avery, then who is he?

Born out of wedlock to a teenage girl cast out from her rural Irish community and adopted by a well-to-do if eccentric Dublin couple via the intervention of a hunchbacked Redemptorist nun, Cyril is adrift in the world, anchored only tenuously by his heartfelt friendship with the infinitely more glamourous and dangerous Julian Woodbead.

At the mercy of fortune and coincidence, he will spend a lifetime coming to know himself and where he came from – and over his three score years and ten, will struggle to discover an identity, a home, a country and much more.

In this, Boyne's most transcendent work to date, we are shown the story of Ireland from the 1940s to today through the eyes of one ordinary man. The Heart's Invisible Furies is a novel to make you laugh and cry while reminding us all of the redemptive power of the human spirit.


Read more at https://www.penguin.co.uk/books/1109577/the-heart-s-invisible-furies/#AQTFYJCxQKL3lclk.99

The Hearts Invisible Furies by John Boyne (audiobook extract) read by Stephen Hogan

Penguin presents the unabridged, downloadable audiobook edition of All Our Wrong Todays, written and read by Elan Mastai.

Tom lives in a perfect world: no war, no poverty, no under-ripe avocados. . . oh, and time travel. When he loses the love of his life, going back to fix it seems like the only answer. . . what could possibly go wrong?

Elan Mastai's breakthrough novel brings a whole new dimension to a classic love story

So, the thing is, I come from the world we were supposed to have.

That means nothing to you, obviously, because you live here, in the crappy world we do have.

But it never should've turned out like this. And it's all my fault - well, me and to a lesser extent my father.

And, yeah, I guess a little bit Penelope.

In both worlds, she's the love of my life. But only a single version of her can exist.

I have one impossible chance to fix history's greatest mistake and save this broken world.

Except it means saving one Penelope and losing the other forever - and I have absolutely no idea which to choose . . .
Praise for All Our Wrong Todays

'A thrilling tale of time travel and alternate timelines with a refreshingly optimistic view of humanity's future'
Andy Weir, author of international bestseller The Martian

'A novel about time travel has no right to be this engaging. A novel this engaging has no right to be this smart. And a novel this smart has no right to be this funny. Or insightful. Or immersive. Basically, this novel has no right to exist."
Jonathan Tropper, New York Times bestselling author of This Is Where I Leave You and One Last Thing Before I Go

'Elan Mastai has conjured up a witty and freewheeling time-traveling romance that packs an emotional wallop.All Our Wrong Todays is a page-turning delight' 
Maria Semple, author of Today Will Be Different and Where'd You Go, Bernadette


Read more at https://www.penguin.co.uk/books/295240/all-our-wrong-todays/#ueIXAEDMjXRO4wsd.99

All Our Wrong Todays written and read by Elan Mastai (audiobook extract)

One hot August day a family drives to a mountain clearing to collect birch wood. Jenny, the mother, is in charge of lopping any small limbs off the logs with a hatchet. Wade, the father, does the stacking. The two daughters, June and May, aged nine and six, drink lemonade, swat away horseflies, bicker, sing snatches of songs as they while away the time.

But then something unimaginably shocking happens, an act so extreme it will scatter the family in every different direction.

In a story told from multiple perspectives and in razor-sharp prose, we gradually learn more about this act, and the way its violence, love and memory reverberate through the life of every character in Idaho.


Read more at https://www.penguin.co.uk/books/1099042/idaho/#tMSQeK57JjIxKP2i.99

Idaho by Emily Ruskovich (Audiobook Extract) read by Justine Eyre

An extract from the downloadable audiobook edition of Charles Dickens' comic classic, Nicholas Nickleby. Read by Michael Siberry.

Around the central story of Nicholas Nickleby and the misfortunes of his family, Dickens created some of his most wonderful characters: the muddle-headed Mrs Nickleby, the gloriously theatrical Crummles, their protege Miss Petowker, the pretentious Mantalinis and the mindlessly cruel Squeers and his wife. Nicholas Nichleby's loose, haphazard progress harks back to the picaresque novels of the 18th century - particularly those of Smollett and Fielding. Yet the novel's exuberant atmosphere of romance, adventure and freedom is overshadowed by Dickens' awareness of social ills and financial and class insecurity.

Charles Dickens: Nicholas Nickleby (Audiobook Extract) read by Michael Siberry

Penguin presents the audiobook edition of 12 Rules for Life, written and read by Jordan B. Peterson. 

What are the most valuable things that everyone should know? 

Acclaimed clinical psychologist Jordan Peterson has influenced the modern understanding of personality, and now he has become one of the world's most popular public thinkers, with his lectures on topics from the Bible to romantic relationships to mythology drawing tens of millions of viewers. In an era of unprecedented change and polarizing politics, his frank and refreshing message about the value of individual responsibility and ancient wisdom has resonated around the world.

In this book, he provides twelve profound and practical principles for how to live a meaningful life, from setting your house in order before criticising others to comparing yourself to who you were yesterday, not someone else today. Happiness is a pointless goal, he shows us. Instead we must search for meaning, not for its own sake, but as a defence against the suffering that is intrinsic to our existence.

Drawing on vivid examples from his clinical practice and personal life, cutting edge psychology and philosophy, and lessons from humanity's oldest myths and stories, Peterson takes the reader on an intellectual journey like no other. Gripping, thought-provoking and deeply rewarding, 12 Rules for Life offers an antidote to the chaos in our lives: eternal truths applied to our modern problems.


Read more at https://www.penguin.co.uk/books/309610/12-rules-for-life/#Pbqvis5xJKChc9WY.99

12 Rules for Life written and read by Jordan B. Peterson (Audiobook Extract)

In this piggy tale it's George's first visit to the swimming pool and he's scared of the water. How will Mummy and  Daddy Pig ever convince him to get in?

Taken from Peppa Goes Swimming and Other Audio Stories, a five story audiobook collection featuring the ever popular Peppa Pig.

Peppa Goes Swimming (Audiobook)

Peppa and her family are going on holiday to the countryside in their camper van. Find out what happens when they discover the delights of Mrs Camper Van - otherwise known as satellite navigation!

Peppa Goes Camping (Audiobook)

Sing and rhyme along with these 26 much-loved nursery rhyme songs! Includes: 'The Wheels on the Bus' / 'Down at the Station, Early in the Morning' / 'Row Row Row Your Boat' / 'The Big Ship Sails on the Alley Alley Oh' / 'London Bridge is Falling Down' / 'Jack and Jill' / 'Hickory Dickory Dock' / 'I'm a Little Teapot' / 'Polly Put the Kettle On' / 'Miss Polly had a Dolly' / 'Pop Goes the Weasel' / 'Five Currant Buns' / 'Ten Fat Sausages' / 'Peter Hammers with One Hammer' / 'The Grand Old Duke of York' / 'Girls and Boys Come Out to Play' / 'I Jump Out of Bed' / 'Here We Go Round the Mulberry Bush' / 'Ring a Ring o'Roses' / 'I Hear Thunder, I Hear Thunder' / 'Incy Wincy Spider' / 'Heads Shoulders Knees and Toes' / 'If You're Happy and You Know it Clap Your Hands' / 'Twinkle Twinkle Little Star' / 'Wee Willie Winkie' / 'Ten in a Bed'.

The Wheels On The Bus

Narrated by Charlie Mackesy.

Brought to you by Penguin.

Discover the universal tale of four unlikely friends that has captured the hearts of readers of all ages, now available in audio.

Charlie Mackesy's mesmerizing debut combines the simplicity of "The Giving Tree", magic of "The Velveteen Rabbit" and the curiosity of "Paddington" - Elisabeth Egan, New York Times

Experience the world of a curious boy, a greedy mole, a wary fox and a wise horse who find themselves together in sometimes difficult terrain, sharing their greatest fears and biggest discoveries about vulnerability, kindness, hope, friendship and love.

Charlie's words and illustrations have brought comfort to many and have been shared online by readers around the world, as well as on t-shirts for Comic Relief, on magazine covers, on street lampposts in lockdown, in school classrooms, local cafés, and hospital ward walls. They've even been used as screensavers for NHS hospital computers in difficult times.

The shared adventures and important conversations between the four friends are full of life lessons that have connected with readers of all ages.

Enjoy the journey of The Boy, the Mole, the Fox and the Horse brought to life in audio by its author and illustrator Charlie Mackesy, with a beautiful music score and the real wildlife sounds of rural England.

© Charlie Mackesy 2019 (P) Penguin Audio 2020

The Boy, The Mole, The Fox and The Horse - Introduction

An extract from the audiobook CD Storytime with Peppa. A collection of thirteen fantastic stories based on Peppa Pig, the hit TV show, featuring newly recorded narration, original TV dialogue, music, and special effects from the Milkshake and Nick Jnr. series.

The stories included are: Peppa Meets the Queen, Peppa Goes Swimming, Sports Day, Dentist Trip, Nature Trail, Tiny Creatures, Daddy Pig's Old Chair, Peppa Plays Football, Fun at the Fair, Recycling Fun, School Bus Trip, Peppa Goes Camping, Peppa's First Sleepover.

Peppa Pig: Peppa Goes Camping (Audiobook Extract) read by John Sparks and various

Penguin Books publishes blockbusting, prize-winning, celebrated, controversial, heart-warming, thought-provoking and inspiring books by a range of authors from Ali Smith to Zadie Smith, Jeremy Clarkson to Jeremy Paxman and Jamie Oliver to Oliver Goldsmith.

Penguin Books UK

Pinned to spotlight

Popular tracks