Her mind was such a blank that for a second, it actually seemed to her that Howl had no faults at all. How stupid! The fantastic Freya Marske joins us for a discussion of John Donne, fairy tales, unmusical Welshmen, and Diana Wynne Jones' first truly romantic novel. Transcript available here, and we'll be back next time to close out our season with…

She realized he had sat down on purpose near the door, and she knew, perhaps without quite understanding it, that if she ran away, it would mean he had to go back into the funeral again. She was his excuse for coming out of it, so she stayed. A man who wants to craft himself a Janet, a girl who wants to make herself a hero, and the full three hours…

I hate Mum, I hate Dad, I hate Howard and the Goon. Big brothers and bigger brothers, good words and bad infrastructure, the power of being a megalomaniac evil wizard, and the power of having parents that you actually trust. Transcript available here. We'll be back in two weeks with a double-length episode for Fire and Hemlock!…

"He was fairly sure it made you wicked too, to be kissed by a witch." The horrors of the British boarding school, the things you learn about yourself in the men's locker room, and what the Chrestomanci series is really about (it's Chrestomanci.) Transcript available here, and we'll be back in two weeks with Archer's Goon!…

"There are no rules, only principles and natural laws." This week we're joined by the brilliant Adrian Tchaikovsky to discuss heroes and NPCs, gods and demons and sacrificial victory, and the worst fate that can befall anyone: endless nonconsensual cricket. Transcript available here: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1rq7yK8p_adhlQzjyvK3087hiQAV8NqLw…

"People write stories pretending you can alter the past, but it can't be done. All you can do to the past is remember it wrong or interpret it differently." The horrors of the past, the traps of the future, and being cursed, with sisters. [NB: this is another one that deals more directly with abuse and suicidality in several forms] For more on Time…

"Tonino wondered how he could laugh like that at something so horrible until he remembered that he had stood himself a score of times and laughed himself sick at just the same thing." Two households both alike in comedy, in fair Caprona where we lay our first episode for Eight Days of Diana Wynne Jones, Season Two: the Eighties. Transcript availabl…

And as I fixed upon the down-turned face That pointed scrutiny with which we challenge The first-met stranger in the waning dusk I caught the sudden look of some dead master... Dalemark conspiracy theories, double selves, and conversations with the past: a look back at DWJ in the seventies. Transcript available here. We're going on hiatus for a few…

"The story is largely self explanatory, but certain obscurities in the text have been amended to avoid confusing the reader." The power of the land, the return of the king, and the magic of finding meaning in a text. Transcript available here. Spellcoats was the last book of the season, so no reading for next week, but next week we'll be recording …

"Mitt was not sure he knew what a free soul was – it never occurred to him that his mother had no idea either – but he thought it was a splendid thing to be." Revolution, righteous anger, gods and prophecy and the most common name in Holand. Transcript available here. Next week we'll be finishing out our first season with Spellcoats!…

"God bless her dear little sugar-coated shining soul." The English class system, American science fiction, and the Problem of Gwendolen. [please again pardon our audio this week as we dealt with travel and microphone issues] Transcript available here, and week we'll be doing Drowned Ammet!By Rebecca Fraimow and Emily Tesh

"'But why should a few people suffer a lot,' he said, 'so that a lot of people shouldn't suffer at all?'" Thwarted tragedy, the useful myth of Christianity, and sad teen trios that transcend racism. Transcript available here, and next week we'll be doing Charmed Life!By Rebecca Fraimow and Emily Tesh

"I sing for Osfameron, I move in more than one world." The power of art, the divided self, and Walemark. Transcript available here. Next week will be a mid-season break, but we'll be back in two weeks with Power of Three!By Rebecca Fraimow and Emily Tesh

"Soon only Sirius was scratching and tearing at the dark, and he only kept on because he had a dim notion that anything was better than cold nothingness." Politics, parenting, sex and death. [NB: We had a special very small guest on this one, so if you hear the occasional kick or wail against the infinite difficulty of being alive, just remember: i…

'He could only think of one solution: "Should have been me to hit you, I suppose. I will if you like."' Revenge, violence, and several attempted murders [yakety sax]. (tw: it's a DWJ but this one has more than the usual amount of discussion of child abuse) Transcript available here. Next week we will be discussing Dogsbody! Also, there were some te…

"Wouldn't you say it was worth it to be really happy for a while, even if you knew you were going to end up sad ever after? Loki, Brunhilde, and the archetypal Diana Wynne Jones Cricket Boy. (Transcript available here.)By Rebecca Fraimow and Emily Tesh