Radar: My Cultural Picks 03.11.25

BBC Witness History, BBC Sounds

'Time Is Short' were three words hung on a Presbyterian church in Comber, Co. Down we always used to drive past on the way to or from Belfast. In fact I've written a poem about it, by way of an elegy, in my latest collection. But, it's true - time is short and entering my 40th year, it's hard not to feel like it's getting increasingly shorter, which is why, when I come across a ten-minute podcast which distills the life of a great writer I'm no less than thrilled. Enter BBC Witness History podcasts from the ever reliable BBC World Service. I discovered these, randomly, on my Google feed just last night and have listened to two already and have enjoyed them so much I've decided to give them some space on The Jotter and bring them to your attention. The two I've listened to so far have been excellent and a great example of what can be achieved in ten minutes of well structured, well researched, well edited and well produced broadcasting. I have little time for the podcasts of celebrities/stand up comedians whose modus operandi seems to be to toss off 30 minutes or more of inane blether (I could give some examples here but I fear there are just too many to pick from). But, Witness History is a great antidote to that, and I look forward to exploring more of them.

In this instance I've listened to one on how Henning Mankell, author of Wallander, was the real founding father of Nordic Noir, and how he tragically died just at the point before he became famous. There were some very funny vox-pops from the Swedish public who outlined why they loved the down-to-earth detective Kurt Wallander. The Jorge Luis Borges episode gave a great insight into the mind of the forthright and no-nonsense poet and short story writer (listen to his choice words on Samuel Beckett for example, and no, he wasn't a fan!), while also dealing well with how he grappled with his blindness, as well as the criticism he faced about not including enough women in his writing, to which he gave a very profound and poignant response, which I'll let you go and listen to for yourself. This is an excellent podcast, that, at ten minutes, is easy to make time for. If anything, I could have listened to it for longer, but maybe that's what will keep me coming back to them. Always leave them wanting more, and all that.

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Andrew Jamison is a poet and teacher, and you can read more articles on his blog here or get a paid subscription and access all previous and future posts here. You can also browse his poetry collections and buy signed, first editions of each of them here.