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

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

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.

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

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.

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