The Penguin Podcast: The Archive

Douglas Hodge, aka Willy Wonka in the new musical of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, narrates this special podcast all about the making of the new Roald Dahl audiobooks, to celebrate the launch of our new Roald Dahl Audiobooks app.

And now you can hear all your favourite Roald Dahl stories in one phizz-whizzing FREE app, with such whipplescrumptious celebrity readers as Kate Winslet, David Walliams and Stephen Fry. With specially composed music and sound-effects recorded at Pinewood Film Studios, this is audio storytelling as you have never heard it before.

Download your best-loved Roald Dahl story and enjoy some foulsome fiends, tricksy inventors and magical mischief with your morning brew.

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.

The Penguin Podcast: The Making of the Roald Dahl Audiobooks feat. Douglas Hodge & Chris O'Dowd

This episode looks at how some of our authors have been inspired to retell or reimagine their favourite stories or characters.  First up, Julia Donaldson and Emma Thompson bring infamous children's book characters back to life in their books The Further Adventures of the Owl and the Pussycat and The Further Tale of Peter Rabbit.  Next, Tom Holland explains how he has retold The Histories of Herodotus through translation.  Our resident Audiobooks Producer then shares his thoughts on the audiobooks craft before one of Penguin Children's Publishing Director's tells us about the new Doctor Who series of eleven short stories (one for every doctor!)

The Penguin Podcast: Retelling Stories feat. Julia Donaldson, Emma Thompson and Tom Holland

Us Penguins are a cheery folk - always smiling and squawking with delight.  It's no wonder, really, with the witty and comedic personalities regularly coming through our doors, some of which are featuring in this episode of the Penguin Podcast.  Graeme Simsion, author of The Rosie Project, leads this podcast in introducing the other authors.  For starters we have an interview with a Bonkers comedian-turned-author, Jennifer Saunders; a father and son comedy act in the form of Jack and Michael Whitehall, who introduce their book Him & Me; a literary comic genius, Catherine O'Flynn, talking to us about her latest book Mr Lynch's Holiday; a hilarious audiobook extract from Book 7 of the Diary of a Wimpy Kid series The Third Wheel, by Jeff Kinney, as well as some tips, advice and general musings from the protagonist of Graeme's book Professor Don Tillman.

The Penguin Podcast: Comedy feat. Jennifer Saunders, Jack & Michael Whitehall and Graeme Simsion

This episode of the Penguin Podcast is presented by Tim Hayward, author of Food DIY: How to Make Your Own Everything.  Together with a handful of other culinary masters, they are going to delve into the world of Food, Glorious, Food, leaving no cakestand unturned where a wooden spoon and a hot oven (amongst many other kitchen items) are concerned.  From one pot wonders and Indian food to cooking on a budget and DIY cooking we have your every kitchen need covered.

The Penguin Podcast: Bon Appétit feat. Mary Berry, Rachel Khoo and Tim Hayward

T’was the night before Christmas...actually, here in the Penguin house it really is...right now on the Penguin Podcast the excitement is building because...tomorrow...for the purposes of this podcast episode...is...CHRISTMAS!!! 

Puffin and Ladybird have taken over this episode of the Penguin podcast to bring us Christmas day early.


The Penguin Podcast: Penguin Children's Christmas Cracker feat Emma Thompson and Steven Butler

This Penguin Rock episode is hosted by Tony Lacey, Publishing Director of Viking here at Penguin and the editor behind a lot of our great rock memoirs.  Rock legends Morrissey, Graham Nash and Tim Burgess feature on this episode, as well as the composer of the new Roald Dahl Children’s audiobooks music Rusty Bradshaw and some musings by the ever popular Nick Hornby on RnB music.

The Penguin Podcast: Penguin Rock feat. David Morrissey reading Morrissey and Graham Nash

We think Christmas is the perfect time to unwind and muse on the recent past. It certainly has been a busy year for Penguin, but before we say goodbye to 2013 we want to take the opportunity to reflect on our highlights and news-worthy moments. A Penguin round-up of the year, as it were...

The Penguin Podcast: A Penguin Round-up of 2013 feat. Wimpy Kid, Colm Tóibín and Al Murray

Happy families are all alike; every unhappy family is unhappy in its own way.
- Leo Tolstoy, Anna Karenina

Family means lots of different things to lots of different people, and family relationships (or a lack thereof) are a constant source of fascination for authors and readers alike.  Tolstoy certainly thought so, and in this episode you'll hear from some of our authors talking about what influenced them to use "family" as the central focal point or theme in their books.

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The Penguin Podcast: Happy Families Are All Alike... feat. Lesley Pearse and Ghana Must Go

Get ready to shake off the cobwebs on the old grey matter - whether it's a hefty hardback on mathematics or a fictional comedy that explores mental disabilities - this podcast is all about books that make you think.

The Penguin Podcast: Books To Make You Think feat. Dan Hurley, Daniel C. Dennett and Dick Swaab

The Oscars on Sunday evening marked the end of the film award season and we’ve come to the conclusion that the best films started their lives as books…Gone with the Wind, The Silence of the Lambs, Fight Club, One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, ah we could go on and on!  Here at Penguin, we just love watching our stories unfold in front of our eyes on the silver screen and this year we’ve seen quite a few movie adaptations.  So we were quite surprised that Penguin didn’t get an invitation to walk down the read carpet - we certainly would have clapped our flippers together when Twelve Years a Slave won Best Picture. But as we sadly weren’t present we’ve chosen to celebrate with this humble podcast instead…

The Penguin Podcast: Meet the Books that Make the Movies - feat. Ralph Fiennes and Jojo Moyes

We interrupt this episode of the Penguin Podcast to bring you important information on our latest books and authors.

Today's stories:

Alain de Botton says The News can learn from novelists.
Coleen Nolan has No Regrets.
An exclusive reveal - what do the Flash Boys get up to on Wall Street?
An interview with the translator of Daniel Anselme's lost book On Leave.
Mohsin Hamid shows us How To Get Filthy Rich In Rising Asia.
Royal Correspondent, Elizabeth Fremantle, live from Hampton Court Palace at the wedding of Henry VIII and Catherine Parr - will this new Queen's Gambit pay off?
Danny Dorling's All That is Solid study sheds light on the great housing disaster in the UK.
And another classic revisted and revised for the modern day speaker seeking to use Plain Words to help get their point across better.

The news where you are follows with James Robertson (one of his 365 three-hundred-and-sixty-five-word short stories)

The Penguin Podcast: This is the News feat. Coleen Nolan and Mohsin Hamid

As winter is receding and blossoms are bursting, we’re thinking about the new beginnings and the changes that Spring brings.  

Perhaps it's the (slowly) rising temperatures or the sunsets pushing later into the evening, but the prospect of new possibilities seem endless. It might be going out to meet new people, starting a new job, picking up an unfinished project or reinventing something in the past for today. Yes, change can seem daunting, but we say embrace it.

But don't just take our word for it... we did our research and the people we know best (our lovely authors) can vouch for how funny, exciting and life-changing new beginnings can be.  It's a major theme in so many of their books - and... if you think about it... there wouldn't be much of a story if things stayed the same would there?!

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The Penguin Podcast: Changes & New Beginnings feat. Jennifer Saunders, Jane Fallon & John Steinbeck

This episode of the Penguin podcast is exclusively concerned with mischief, skullduggery, ne’erdowells, and - occasionally - cold-blooded murder. Yes it’s a crime & espionage episode where we’ll be featuring master of intrigue and espionage John le Carré; listening from the man behind a new translation of Fyodor Dostoyevsky’s seminal Crime and Punishment; and Barry Forshaw will be introducing us to two hotly-tipped new crime writers, M. J. Arlidge and Jake Woodhouse. We'll also be talking to the husband-wife crime-writing duo known as Karen Perry, hearing an extract from best-selling Chinese spy thriller Decoded and catching up with the adventures of the  legendary Inspector Maigret.  Never before has so much wretched corruption and villainy promised so much entertainment.

The Penguin Podcast: Crime & Espionage feat. John le Carré, Barry Forshaw & Karen Perry

Today we’ll be delving into the powerful, dangerous, empowering and crippling world of money.  It’s fair to say that, as a subject, we’re all obsessed with it.  From splashing out on an expensive holiday, to trying to save or just to make ends meet; from dreaming about what we’d do if we won the lottery to how to make a profit if we don’t. Whether you’re trying to feed your family on a tight budget, or capable of bringing down society just with your bonus, there’s something in today’s podcast for you. And there’s also some advice on tomatoes.

The Penguin Podcast: Money, money, money feat. Flash Boys, Nicholas Lovell and Jack Monroe

This episode of the Penguin Podcast explores great journeys.  Some journeys test the limits of physical endurance, whilst others lead to the discovery of tribal societies.  Sometimes circumstances force us to venture down a difficult path or a path may be used as an escape route.  These are just some of the types of journeys we'll be exploring in today's episode.  We also have an exclusive performance from Gruff Rhys (lead singer of the Super Furry Animals), whose book AMERICAN INTERIOR is also supported by an album, film and app. So sit back and allow us to take you on your own podcast journey.

The Penguin Podcast: Great Journeys feat. an exclusive Gruff Rhys performance & Fredrik Sjöberg

This May, Pelican’s back!
 
What was this iconically blue bird all about? What did it publish? And most importantly, why do we need it today? 
 
We have the imprint’s editor Laura Stickney to tell us why we’re bringing back Pelican. We speak to our in-house designer Matthew Young, who has been a part of bringing Pelicans alive on the page, in bookshops and online. And finally, we fly off to the Bristol Festival of Ideas, to hear the economist Ha-Joon Chang. Enjoy.
 
Pelicans are now in stores around the world. Visit pelicanbooks.com to read the first chapters of the first five titles for free.


The Penguin Podcast: Pelican Books

This episode of the Penguin Podcast focuses on one of literature’s favourite characters - the underdog.

The Penguin Podcast: Underdogs feat. Malcolm Gladwell, Matthew Frank & Elizabeth Fremantle

This summer we're hitting the road with #penguinjourneys, and the Penguin Podcast is coming along for the ride. The wonderful Clare Balding, author of My Animals and Other Family and new book Walking Home (out this autumn), introduces this jet-setting episode. 

We have also teamed up with our friends at Rough Guides to give you top travel tips for each continent along the way. Head over to http://www.roughguides.com/ for more summer travel inspiration and join us on Twitter for an #askapenguin #penguinjourneys special with the expert travel team at Rough Guides on the 8th August. 

Now settle down and listen to the amazing journeys and the audiobooks we've matched them to. Let us know where your #penguinjourneys are taking you this summer, and what books you're taking with you, over on Twitter and Facebook. 

You can pre-order Clare's new book, Walking Home here: http://www.clarebalding.co.uk/news/walking-home-my-family-and-other-rambles and you can buy all the books featured in the campaign over on iTunes (opens in iTunes): http://po.st/PenguinJourneysiTunes

Keep up with all our travels this summer and follow the #penguinjourneys board over on Pinterest: http://po.st/PJpins

Join the #penguinjourneys discussion on Penguin Facebook and Twitter:

https://www.facebook.com/penguinbooks

https://twitter.com/PenguinUKBooks

Happy travels listener!

The Penguin Podcast: Penguin Journeys feat. Clare Balding, Gruff Rhys and a Roald Dahl short story

Today marks the centenary of the outbreak of World War One and we wanted to share the stories we’ve come to know and love by our authors, about this momentous occasion in history.  From accounts by soldiers who lived in the trenches to fictional novels recreating the lives of people during that time, we’ll take you back a hundred years to give you a snapshot of those four long years at war.

The Penguin Podcast: Writing The First World War feat. Jeremy Paxman, Robert Graves and Pat Barker

This episode we’re focusing on the topic of art.  After all, Penguin has always had an upstanding reputation for brilliant, cutting edge book cover design and it’s something we take very seriously.  We have some fantastic interviews and clips lined up with arty people from Art Directors to video animators to critics to popular British artists. 

The Penguin Podcast: Art and Design feat. Grayson Perry, Lauren Child and Petra Börner

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.

The Penguin Podcast: The Archive

Penguin Books UK