This week, Esme and Kareem are joined by journalist and author Kieran Yates, whose acclaimed debut All the Houses I’ve Ever Lived In explores what home means in modern Britain — from damp flats and mouldy walls to joy, resilience and belonging.

Kieran talks about the realities of the UK housing crisis, from the absurdity of housemate auditions to landlords who turn off the hot water, and why imagination is key to rethinking how we live. She shares what it was like to write such a personal book, how she balanced creative storytelling with journalism, and why she insisted on working with a woman of colour editor in a largely white publishing world.

We also dig into the politics of home, class and race in housing, and how design and architecture could help rebuild community. Kieran opens up about how her experiences reporting after Grenfell shaped her voice, why she believes creativity can’t thrive without security, and the books that continue to inspire her — from Hanif Abdurraqib’s A Little Devil in America to Natasha Brown’s Assembly.

Books mentioned include:

All the Houses I’ve Ever Lived In by Kieran Yates

Assembly by Natasha Brown

A Little Devil in America by Hanif Abdurraqib

Poor Little Sick Girls by Ione Gamble

Feminism Interrupted by Lola Olufemi

The Transgender Issue by Shon Faye

Against Landlords by Nick Bano

Follow the show on Instagram and TikTok at @whatyoureadingnowpod

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Elise Bell—arts writer and broadcaster (The Guardian, Dazed, Kinfolk, It’s Nice That, Prospect; BBC Radio 4 & LBC)—joins Esme and Karine to talk reading lives, erotic art, and the books that crack us open. Fresh from the Venice Biennale (and gearing up for groupie duty), Elise traces her path from Tabloid Art History to Erotic Art: An Opinionated Guide (Hoxton Mini Press): why “erotic” is broader—and stranger—than we think, writing accessibly without the jargon, and why feeling belongs in criticism. We dive into saints, shibari, a very provocative lamb, the future of arts writing, day jobs vs. creative work, and the joys of libraries. Along the way: the gut-punch power of Max Porter’s Grief Is the Thing with Feathers and the urgency of Carl Cattermole’s Prison: A Survival Guide.

All the Books Mentioned in this epsiode:

• Prison: A Survival Guide – Carl Cattermole
• Black and British – David Olusoga
• The Furrows – Namwali Serpell
• Grief Is the Thing with Feathers – Max Porter
• Women in Love – D. H. Lawrence
• The Door – Magda Szabó
• Getting Lost – Annie Ernaux
• Germinal – Émile Zola
• The Man Who Cried I Am – John A. Williams

Follow Elise: @aliceybell. Follow us: @whatareyoureadingnowpod.

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This week, Esme and Kareem are joined by writer, policy expert, and campaigner Gracie Mae Bradley for a rich conversation about reading as refuge, writing toward liberation, and the everyday work of solidarity. Gracie traces her bookish beginnings (shoutout to school libraries and handwritten letters from authors), why short stories feel like home, and how fiction lets her hold complexity without neat answers. We dig into Against Borders (co-authored with Luke de Noronha), non-reformist reforms, and practical ways listeners can show up for each other now.

We also swap current reads and the dog-eared titles that change us. Plus: redemptive endings vs. relentless bleakness, tiny revenges in fiction, coalition as survival, and why rest (and a good bathhouse) can be part of the writing process.

👀 Follow Gracie: @inrelativeopacity on Instagram and her Substack, In Relative Opacity.

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In this episode of What Are You Reading Now? we sit down with writer and creative consultant Uju Asika, author of Bringing Up Race and Raising Boys Who Do Better. Uju shares her journey with books and reading, from childhood favourites to the stories that continue to inspire her today.

We talk about her writing process, the power of representation in literature, and how books shape the way we think about parenting, identity, and community. Uju also opens up about balancing creativity with motherhood, her experiences growing up between cultures, and the importance of telling stories that reflect the richness of modern life.

And of course, she answers our final quickfire questions — including what she’s reading now, the book she recommends most often, and the one she wishes she could read again for the first time.

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In this episode of What Are You Reading Now? we welcome writer and storyteller Aniefiok Ekpoudom, whose debut book Where We Come From: Rap, Home and Hope in Modern Britain explores the cultural and social history of British rap. Aniefiok joins Kareem and Esme to talk about his lifelong love of reading - beginning with fantasy adventures, comic books, and Benjamin Zephaniah at school - through to his discovery of lyrical rap as a form of poetry, and the writers who shaped his style.

He traces his journey from reluctant law student to music blogger, to interviewing George the Poet from his university bedroom, to eventually writing features for The Guardian, Vice, and beyond. Aniefiok opens up about the five-year process of researching and writing Where We Come From, the discipline and rituals he developed, and how the book changed him personally as much as professionally.

Along the way, he reflects on the importance of rhythm in his prose, why rap deserves to be treated with the same literary seriousness as Zadie Smith or Joan Didion, and how he sought to capture stories “from the inside out” rather than through a detached lens.

And of course, we end with the big questions: what books inspire him now, which writers he returns to, and how rappers like Kano sit alongside his literary heroes as some of his greatest influences.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Writer, romantic, and reluctant TikTok star — Lucas Oakeley joins us this week to talk fiction, masculinity, and why books are the best way to challenge everything you think you know.

Lucas has written for everyone from Vogue and The Guardian to Eater and GQ, but it’s his TikTok book reviews and men’s book club that made him a surprise internet sensation. Now he’s making his authorial debut with Nearly Departed — a ghostly, sharp, and heartfelt rom-com about grief, love, and cement trucks (yes, really). It’s out next week and we are obsessed.

In this episode, we talk about why men need more fiction in their lives, the limits of TikTok self-help and the power of slowing down with books, masculinity and emotions, and what happens when men get together just to talk. We also dive into how Lucas built a modern rom-com that subverts and embraces the genre at once, why Virginia Woolf and The Great Gatsby still hit, and what it really takes to get a novel published.

Lucas is charming, thoughtful, and hilariously self-deprecating — and this one’s packed with big ideas, smart takes, and brilliant book chat.

Pre-order Nearly Departed now (out August 14th): https://amzn.to/3SE6V3H

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In this brilliant debut episode of What Are You Reading Now?, Esme and Kareem are joined by writer, journalist, and sex worker activist Frankie Miren, author of The Service and Morbid Obsessions. From tarot readings and rescue goats to book obsessions and feminist manifestos, nothing is off the table.

Frankie opens up about her deeply personal journey through reading and writing, how sex work and activism shaped her debut novel, and the reality of publishing a book at 50. The trio discuss the politics of sex work, the fight for decriminalisation, and the power of writing as resistance.

Plus, discover the books that shaped Frankie’s life, the surprising comfort of AI-sounding Kindle reads, and why she hasn’t dared crack open her own novel since publishing it.

If you’ve ever wanted to eavesdrop on three brilliant minds talking books, feminism, creativity and radical self-expression—this is the episode for you.

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