The Burley Fisher Podcast

Isolation Station #16 - Wizards and Oz

On today's episode we're off to Oz to talk about the importance of fantasy – as a genre, and as a way of imagining otherwise – with Melbournian writer, editor and activist Alison Croggon, whose new children's book The Threads of Magic has just been published in the UK, if you're after pacy escapism with a socialist feminist twist (who isn't)! To talk about what art can do – and so why and how it should be funded – we're also joined by UK-based arts and culture consultant (aka wizard) Rebekah Polding.

 

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Produced by Dan Fuller

Music by Antony Hurley

Isolation Station #15 - Sam Amidon and Tales of Tunesmiths

On today’s episode the team are joined by the musician Sam Amidon. In a wide ranging conversation Sam recounts his musical journey from Vermont to New York City set against the backdrop of folk revivals through the generations. Sam delves into the collaborators and improvisers that coruscate through his music and reflects on the storytelling of his songwriting fuelled by his deep interest in books and reading.

Support Sam Amidon at www.patreon.com/samamidon and listen to all the music mentioned here: https://sptfy.com/4Xgj~s

 

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Produced by Dan Fuller

Music by Antony Hurley

Isolation Station #14 - Verso New York, Jessie Kindig & Cat Anarchism

Today So is joined by Jessie Kindig, editor at Verso US. They talk about whether cats are anarchists, imagining a robust community-oriented book world, and how leftist publishers are addressing the current crisis, including Verso's forthcoming ebook by Dean Spade on mutual aid.

 

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Produced by Dan Fuller

Music by Antony Hurley

Isolation Station #13 - Disco Elysium & Literature for the New Age

Today Dan is joined by Siim-Kosmos Sinamäe, a producer on the literary computer game Disco Elysium. Together they walk the line between literature and non-traditional media, exploring how a small development team from Talinn, Estonia used their writing chops to create one of the finest video games of the last decade. With backroad meanders into Russian Constructivism, Dungeons and Dragons and the Estonian avant-garde, together they probe at the borderlines of literature in the new millennium.

 

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Produced by Dan Fuller

Music by Antony Hurley

Isolation Station #12 - Beltane Special: Maria Cuervo and Hellebore

Today Dan and Ant are joined by Maria Cuervo, editor of Hellebore, the magazine of Folk Horror and all things Weird Albion. Ant and Dan are led on a psychedelic journey through the origins of Folk Horror in Gothic Literature, the Mythic practices which inspire contemporary art and the aesthetics of the Folk Horror Revival.

 

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Produced by Dan Fuller

Music by Antony Hurley

 

Isolation Station #11 - Feminist and Dalit Writing in India

Today Dan and Antony are joined by Mandira Sen from Stree-Samya Books, a Kolkata-based publisher that specialises in Indian Social Studies and Dalit Literature. In a wide-ranging conversation that covers the plight of women, the legacy of colonialism and the realities of the modern caste system, kick back for a few hours to enjoy an eye-opening and warm conversation that will give you a sneak peek into parrallel spheres of literature; and maybe give yourself a few choice editions for the shopping list.

 

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Produced by Dan Fuller

Co-Produced & Music by Antony Hurley

Isolation Station #10 - The Zine Issue, Weird Walk and Books Peckham

In this episode Dan is joined by Owen from Weird Walk, who guides him through his psychedelic rambling philosophy by way of medieval graffiti, folk music and lost historic wonders found in the strangest of places. Meanwhile, Sam catches up with Peter from Books Peckham, to see how the 'zine magnate of Rye Lane is navigating the lockdown.

 

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Produced by Dan Fuller

Music by Antony Hurley

Isolation Station #9 - Lola Olufemi and Feminism, Interrupted

Today we're joined by writer and organiser Lola Olufemi, who talks to So about her new book Feminism Interrupted: Disrupting Power, part of Pluto's Outspoken Series. So and Lola get into why critical feminism is a conversation and a form of nourishment, how radical groups are organising during lockdown (and what you can do), and how the current crisis shows up our urgent need for intersectional thinking and action.

 

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Produced by Dan Fuller

Music by Antony Hurley

Isolation Station #8 - Theo Chiotis and the First International

Today we begin our series from literary figures from around the globe, as Athenian poet and translator Theo Chiotis leaps headlong into the Greek discourses of crisis. Ranging from the bodily aspects of crisis, punitive lockdown fines and the legacy of authorotarian rule in Mediterrenean states, Theo leads So and Dan deep into the Athenian literary reality.

 

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Produced by Dan Fuller

Music by Antony Hurley

Isolation Station #7 - Matt Green and the Great Death

Today we are joined by Matt Green who discusses the Black Death and the parrallels with the Covid-19 epidemic. We hear the ramblings of freelance preachers, tales of abandoned villages and stirrings of the birth of fashion. With lively sojourns into conspiracy and economic turmoil, join Matt as he weaves a vivid tapestry of the characters and events that have marked historical pandemics, and maybe get a little bit of hope along the journey.

 

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Produced by Dan Fuller

Music by Antony Hurley