PODCAST · society
Better Known
by Ivan Wise
Each week, a guest makes a series of recommendations of things which they think should be better known. Our recommendations include interesting people, places, objects, stories, experiences and ideas which our guest feels haven't had the exposure that they deserve.
Episodes
-
Kevin McManus
Kevin McManus discusses with Ivan six things which should be better known. Kevin McManus is an Irish writer and poet from Co. Leitrim whose work is rooted in place, memory, and the quiet emotional currents of everyday life. He has published several works of fiction and poetry, often focusing on...
-
Norman Lamb
Norman Lamb discusses with Ivan six things which should be better known. Sir Norman Lamb is the former Liberal Democrat MP for North Norfolk and a former Minister of State for Care and Support. Knighted in 2019 for services to mental health, he also chaired South London and Maudsley Foundation...
-
Chris Wilkins
Chris Wilkins is a political consultant, strategist and writer and co-founder of global campaigns & advisory firm the Hanwell Group. Beginning his career as a political advisor to the Rt Hon Ann Widdecombe in Westminster, Chris went on to become the youngest Director of the renowned Conservative...
-
Joseph Millson
Actor Joseph Millson discusses with Ivan six things which should be better known. Joseph Millson has been a busy and well known actor for over thirty years, an associate artist of the Royal Shakespeare company, he has won many awards for his work on stage and screen. His film and TV work includes...
-
Rob Temple
Rob Temple discusses with Ivan six things which should be better known. Rob Temple is a journalist and creator of Very British Problems. His @SoVeryBritish Twitter, Facebook and Instagram accounts have more than 5.6 million combined followers. He’s the consultant on the official Channel 4 Very...
-
Molly Mahon
Printmaker Molly Mahon discusses with Ivan six things which should be better known. Molly Mahon is a distinguished British printmaker and textile designer renowned for her vibrant and original block prints. Offering a range of uplifting collections, each rooted in Molly’s passion for the...
-
Anna Heyward
Anna Heyward discusses with Ivan six things which should be better known. Anna Heyward is a former editorial staffer of The New Yorker. She is a graduate student in animal behaviour and welfare science at the University of Pennsylvania School of Veterinary Medicine and is working as a dog…
more -
Minette Batters
Minette Batters was the first woman to be elected President of the National Farmers’ Union in 113years. She worked with four Prime Ministers - three of them in one year - and six Defra Secretaries of State. She stood down from the post in February 2024. In 2020 she led the NFU on one of the most...
-
Nick Freudenberg
Nick Freudenberg discusses with Ivan six things which should be better known. Nicholas Freudenberg is distinguished professor emeritus of public health at the City University of New York School of Public Health. His expertise includes childhood lead poisoning, AIDS prevention, urban food policy,...
-
Ian Green
Ian Green discusses with Ivan six things which should be better known. Ian Green is a writer from Northern Scotland with a PhD in epigenetics. His debut fantasy trilogy The Rotstorm began with the Sunday Times bestseller The Gauntlet and the First Beneath. His short fiction has been widely...
-
Matt Hill
Matt Hill discusses with Ivan six things which should be better known. Matt Hill is the Philip K. Dick Award-nominated author of Lamb, The Breach, Zero Bomb, Graft, and The Folded Man. He lives in Glossop, on the edge of the Peak District. His new novel is Wrecks, which is available at...
-
Joel Christensen on The Odyssey
Joel Christensen discusses with Ivan six things about The Odyssey which should be better known. Joel P. Christensen is Professor of Classics at the CUNY Graduate Center where he also serves as Provost and Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs. Joel has previously taught at UT San Antonio and...
-
Jessica Fellowes
Jessica Fellowes discusses with Ivan six things which should be better known. Jessica Fellowes is an author, journalist and public speaker. The Mitford Murders is her debut series as a novelist and has been nominated for awards in Britain, France, Germany and Italy, and sold into eighteen...
-
Sarah Wilson
Sarah Wilson discusses with Ivan six things which should be better known. Sarah Wilson is a multi-New York Times bestselling author, journalist, social philosopher, international keynote speaker and philanthropist. Sarah leads dynamic, global conversations about modern philosophy, creativity,...
-
Ian Proud
Ian Proud discusses with Ivan six things which should be better known. Ian Proud is an expert in strategic thinking, politico-economic analysis and diplomatic tradecraft. He was a member of His Majesty's Diplomatic Service from 1999 to 2023. During that time, he was one of the Foreign Office's…
more -
Sahar Hashemi
Sahar Hashemi discusses with Ivan six things which should be better known. Sahar Hashemi OBE has enjoyed a successful career as an entrepreneur, bestselling author and business thought leader. Initially forging her success as the Co-Founder and former CEO of Coffee Republic, the UK’s first...
-
Eleanor Anstruther
Eleanor Anstruther discusses with Ivan six things which should be better known. Eleanor Anstruther was educated at Westminster School but dropped out of university to travel the world where she was lost and found for twelve years. When she inherited a farm in southern England she set up a commune...
-
Mark Leonard
Mark Leonard discusses with Ivan six things which should be better known. Mark Leonard is Co-Founder and Director of the European Council on Foreign Relations, the first pan-European think-tank. His new book is Surviving Chaos: Geopolitics When The Rules Fail, which is available at...
-
Tahmima Anam
Tahmima Anam discusses with Ivan six things which should be better known. Tahmima Anam is the author of the Bengal trilogy and a recipient of the Commonwealth Writers’ Prize for Best First Book and the O. Henry Award. Her short story ‘Garments’ was shortlisted for the BBC National Short Story...
-
Séamas O'Reilly
Séamas O'Reilly discusses with Ivan six things which should be better known. Séamas O'Reilly is a writer and author who has worked as a columnist for the Observer, the Irish Times and the Irish Examiner. He is Features Editor of London satirical magazine, The Fence and his writing has appeared in...
-
Ed Maklouf
Ed Maklouf discusses with Ivan six things which should be better known. Ed Maklouf attended school in England before moving to the USA to study at Stanford University, where he conducted specialized research into group communication and how people make decisions together. After graduating, he…
more -
Emer McLysaght and Sarah Breen
Emer McLysaght and Sarah Breen discuss with Ivan six things which they think should be better known. Emer McLysaght & Sarah Breen are co-authors of the Aisling series. Oh My God, What a Complete Aisling was the bestselling fiction title of 2017 in Ireland and its sequel, The Importance of Being...
-
Charles Moore
Charles Moore discusses with Ivan six things which he thinks should be better known. Charles Moore was editor of the Daily Telegraph from 1995 to 2003, editor of the Sunday Telegraph from 1992 to 1995 and editor of the Spectator magazine from 1984 to 1990. He is now the Chairman of The Spectator....
-
Sean Murphy
Sean Murphy discusses with Ivan six things which should be better known. Sean Murphy is founder of the non-profit 1455 Lit Arts and directs the Center for Story at Shenandoah University. He has been publishing fiction, poetry, reviews (of music, movie, book, food), and essays on the technology...
-
Steven Seidenberg
Steven Seidenberg discusses with Ivan six things which should be better known. Steven Seidenberg is the author of Anon (Omnidawn, 2022), plain sight (Roof Books, 2020), Situ (Black Sun Lit, 2018) Null Set (Spooky Action Books) and Itch (RAW ArT Press, 2015). His books have been published in...
-
Daniel Hahn
Daniel Hahn discusses with Ivan six things which should be better known. Daniel Hahn is an award-winning translator, author and editor of numerous fiction and non-fiction works. He is one of the editors of The Ultimate Book Guide, the first volume of which won the Blue Peter Book Award. Other...
-
Joanna Jensen
Joanna Jensen discusses with Ivan six things which should be better known. Joanna Jensen is the founder of the British multi-award-winning baby and child personal care brand, Childs Farm which she created in 2010 as a result of her own daughters’ sensitive and eczema prone skin. A former…
more -
Alexandra Tolstoy live
Alexandra Tolstoy returns to the podcast with a special live episode, recorded at a school. She discusses with Ivan six things which should be better known. Kyrgyzstan https://alexandratolstoytravel.com/ Female Explorers (Lady Jane Digby, Isabel Burton and the Decembrist Wives)...
-
Natalie Kyriacou
Natalie Kyriacou discusses with Ivan six things which should be better known. Natalie Kyriacou OAM is an award-winning environmentalist, writer, professional public speaker and charity director with a passion to spark curiosity about the natural world. She was awarded the Medal of the Order of...
-
Danny Bate
Danny Bate discusses with Ivan six things which should be better known. Danny Bate is a linguist, writer, broadcaster and podcaster who is fascinated by the study of historical languages and etymology. He took his BA and MPhil degrees from the University of York and the University of Cambridge...
-
Deepa Anappara
Deepa Anappara discusses with Ivan six things which should be better known. Deepa Anappara’s debut novel, Djinn Patrol on the Purple Line, was named as one of the best books of the year by the New York Times, Washington Post, Time, Guardian and NPR. It won the Edgar Award for Best Novel, was...
-
Nigel Biggar
Nigel Biggar discusses with Ivan six things which should be better known. Nigel Biggar is Emeritus Regius Professor in the University of Oxford and Fellow of Christ Church. He founded in Oxford the MacDonald Institute for the study of Ethics and Empire. He is now a Fellow of St Cross College...
-
Matt Kaplan
Matt Kaplan discusses with Ivan six things which should be better known. Matt Kaplan is a science correspondent at the Economist. He is the author of The Science of Monsters and Science of the Magical, and co-author of David Attenborough’s First Life: A Journey Through Time. His new book is I…
more -
Jane Dougherty
Jane Dougherty discusses with Ivan six things which should be better known. Jane Dougherty, of Irish origin, grew up in Yorkshire and now lives in France. She began writing by coming up with short stories and a YA series for her teenage children. Her first novel was published by an American...
-
Adam Steiner
Adam Steiner discusses with Ivan six things which should be better known. Adam Steiner is a swim-teacher, freelance journalist and author. When not saving lives he sits dreaming about all the books he will never write. He has written several books of music criticism: Into The Never: Nine Inch…
more -
Erin Somers
Erin Somers discusses with Ivan six things which should be better known. Erin Somers is a reporter and news editor at Publishers Lunch. Her first novel, Stay Up with Hugo Best was a Vogue Best Book of the Year in 2019. Her writing has appeared in the New Yorker, Paris Review, New York Times Book...
-
Tharik Hussain returns
Tharik Hussain, who previously appeared on the podcast in 2022, discusses with Ivan six further things which should be better known. Tharik Hussain is an award-winning author and journalist specialising in global Muslim heritage and culture. He has written for newspapers such as The Times…
more -
Richard Johnson and Lee Evans
Richard Johnson and Lee Evans discuss with Ivan six things which should be better known. Richard Johnson is Senior Lecturer in Politics at Queen Mary University of London. With Lee Evans, he is the co-host of the 'Since Attlee and Churchill' podcast. He is the author of several books on British…
more -
Brooke Newman
Historian Brooke Newman discusses with Ivan six things which should be better known. Dr. Brooke Newman is an Associate Professor at Virginia Commonwealth University and a Fellow of the Royal Historical Society. She specializes in the history of early modern Britain and the British Atlantic, with…
more -
Dean Koontz
Dean Koontz discusses with Ivan six things which should be better known. Dean Koontz won an Atlantic Monthly fiction competition when he was a senior in college, and has been writing ever since. Fourteen of his novels have risen to number one on the New York Times hardcover bestseller list (One...
-
Ryan Gingeras
Ryan Gingeras discusses with Ivan six things which should be better known. Ryan Gingeras is a professor in the Institute of Regional and International Studies at the Naval Postgraduate School and is an expert in modern Eastern European and Middle East history. He is the author of seven books,...
-
Stuart Jeffries
Stuart Jeffries discusses with Ivan six things which should be better known. Stuart Jeffries was born in Wolverhampton in 1962. He was educated in Dudley, Oxford and London. Stuart started his journalistic career as a cub reporter at the Birmingham Post and Mail in 1985. He used to edit the…
more -
Pete Brown
Pete Brown discusses with Ivan six things which should be better known. Pete Brown (https://petebrown.net/) is a British author, journalist, broadcaster and consultant specialising in food and drink. Since February 2025, he has been the Sunday Times Magazine’s weekly beer columnist – the only...
-
Sandy Pentland
Sandy Pentland discusses with Ivan six things which should be better known. Alex Pentland is a Stanford HAI Fellow and MIT Toshiba Professor. Named one of the “100 People to Watch This Century” by Newsweek and “one of the seven most powerful data scientists in the world” by Forbes, he is a member...
-
Jaime Davila
Jaime Davila discusses with Ivan six things which should be better known. Jaime Dávila earned an engineering degree in the United States. Choosing a career in the creative industries, he worked primarily in broadcasting and eventually led operations at Mexico’s largest media company. He became...
-
400th episode
To celebrate the 400th episode of Better Known, previous guest Richard Elwes discusses with Ivan Wise six aspects of the Better Known podcast which Ivan thinks should be better known. Many thanks to Caroline Crampton and Laurence Bergreen for adding their choices of things which should be better...
-
Christopher Hill
Christopher Hill discusses with Ivan six things which should be better known. Christopher Hill was working in finance in London when, in 2002, he took a trip to South Africa which changed his life. He left his job, moved to Canada, and worked on the business plan for what became Hands Up…
more -
Eleanor Doughty
Eleanor Doughty discusses with Ivan six things which should be better known. Eleanor Doughty began her career in journalism at the Daily Telegraph, before going freelance to focus on writing. She has written the 'Great Estates' column in the Telegraph since 2017, and specialises in writing about...
-
Sasha Butler
Sasha Butler discusses with Ivan six things which should be better known. Sasha Butler is a Birmingham based writer. Her first novel, The Marriage Contract (Salt, 2025), was shortlisted for the Cheshire Novel Prize 2022 and the Bath Novel Award 2022, under the former title As Soft as Dreams. In...
-
Doug Lemov
Doug Lemov discusses with Ivan six things which should be better known. Doug Lemov is a former teacher and school principal whose books describe the techniques of high-performing teachers. His best-known book, Teach Like a Champion (now in its 3.0 version) has been translated into more than a…
more
We're indexing this podcast's transcripts for the first time — this can take a minute or two. We'll show results as soon as they're ready.
No matches for "" in this podcast's transcripts.
No topics indexed yet for this podcast.
Loading reviews...
ABOUT THIS SHOW
Each week, a guest makes a series of recommendations of things which they think should be better known. Our recommendations include interesting people, places, objects, stories, experiences and ideas which our guest feels haven't had the exposure that they deserve.
HOSTED BY
Ivan Wise
Loading similar podcasts...
Frequently Asked Questions
How many episodes does Better Known have?
Better Known currently has 449 episodes available on PodParley. New episodes are automatically indexed when they're published to the podcast feed.
What is Better Known about?
Each week, a guest makes a series of recommendations of things which they think should be better known. Our recommendations include interesting people, places, objects, stories, experiences and ideas which our guest feels haven't had the exposure that they deserve.
How often does Better Known release new episodes?
Better Known publishes regularly with 449 episodes available. Check the episode list for the typical release schedule.
Where can I listen to Better Known?
You can listen to Better Known on PodParley by clicking any episode. We provide an embedded audio player for direct listening, and you can also subscribe via your preferred podcast app using the RSS feed.
Who hosts Better Known?
Better Known is created and hosted by Ivan Wise.
URL copied to clipboard!