Skip to content
Ears Wide Open podcast artwork

PODCAST · arts

Ears Wide Open

by The Open Book

Poet and comic Anna Livesey In conversation with writers and bookpeople. Brace yourselves, world.

Publisher-supplied feed metadata · PodParley refreshed Apr 3, 2026 · Source feed

Episodes

  1. #31: Rachel O'Connor

    Anna talks to Rachel about Greece, love at first sight and the uselessness of poets, as well as writing fiction and the wonders and oddities of translation.

  2. #30: Anna Livesey

    Hayden Glass, co-proprietor of The Open Book talks to Anna about poetry and strategy, poetry and music and breastfeeding while posting.

  3. #29: David Merritt

    Anna and David talk about poetry business models, the great unravelling, the role of the fool, love, regret and chickens.

  4. #28: Christmas Gala Reading

    A gala reading at the shop, featuring Alex Taylor, Makyla Curtis, Megan France, Kim Tairi, Cybonn Ang, Craig Foltz, Rachel O’Connor, Gina Cole, Tom Romeo, Sophie van Waardenberg, Paula Morris, Lisa Samuels and Josie Shapiro.

  5. #27: Ian Wedde

    Anna and Ian talk about big ideas, boyhood in East Bengal, being a twin and the joy of form.

  6. #26: Bill Direen

    Anna and Bill talk about writing, sanity, love and music, with extra lip-smacking. Bill Direen is performing with an eight-piece improvisation orchestra in Dunedin and Oamaru this coming Armistice Weekend. He will sing songs in English, many of them translated from the languages of our allies or...

  7. #25: Judges' Report

    Anna and Sophie Van Waardenberg read and talk about the poems that were finalists in the Geometry | Open Book National Poetry Competition. Pyjamas, punching and Casablanca also feature. Ears Wide Open will have a another release this Thursday 2 November and we will then resume our two-weekly on a...

  8. #24: Paula Morris Part 2

    Anna and Paula talk about Laura Ingalls Wilder, dying parents and weaving.

  9. #23: Paula Morris Part 1

    Anna and Paula discuss fiction and non-fiction, the bright-line test and what one starts with when one sits down to write (part 1 of 2)

  10. #22: Piet Nieuwland

    Anna and Piet trees, policy and mysticism and a wee bit of poetry as well.

  11. #21: Bryan Walpert

    Anna and Bryan talk about mindfulness, old times, Palmerston North and even a little bit of corporate strategy.

  12. #20: Gina Cole

    Anna and Gina talk about constraint, giving up law to pursue writing and what it's like to be edited.

  13. #19: Ya-Wen Ho

    Ya-Wen and Anna talk about language and translation, poetry and art and how to speak responsibly in the languages of colonisation.

  14. #18: Jo Giddens

    More letterpress, and some haiku. Anna and Jo talk about ink kissing paper and the secret society of the letterpressers.

  15. #17 Makyla Curtis

    So much to learn about letterpress printing! Anna and Makyla talk poetry, maps, printing, poetry and history.

  16. #16 Graeme Lay

    Graeme and Anna chat about Captain Cook, historical fiction and Graeme's personal version of "the New Zealand canon".

  17. A break for a week

    EWO is on a mini-break, back next week with episode 16!

  18. #15: Megan Blakie

    Megan Blakie works for the Book Discussion Scheme - dedicated to helping people read and connect nationwide for over 40 years.

  19. #14 Ted Dawe

    Anna and Ted talk about kids and stories and books and sex.

  20. #13: Kim Tairi

    Anna talks to Kim, the AUT Librarian, about librarians and big data, the secret languages of librarians and how the modern library can include wifi and a drill press.

  21. #12 Melanie Brebner

    Anna talks to legal scholar Melanie about the legal framework for censorship in Aotearoa | New Zealand, whether filthy historical novel Fanny Hill is worth reading and if a sense of politesse would be the best way to regulate speech.

  22. #11 Stephanie Johnson

    Stephanie and Anna talk about pen names, historical fiction and how having a play performed is like being a god.

  23. #10: Tim Heath

    Anna talks with Tim Heath about performance poetry, punctuation and how writing a poem is like falling in love

  24. #9: Jos Franks

    Anna and Jos Franks talk about spaces for women to raise their voices, what it means to arrange a song and how the bookshop moved Jos from step one to step two of her SHE choir Auckland journey.

  25. #8: Hayden Glass

    Anna and Hayden Glass talk about the value of art, spaces to be human in, and how Hayden came to own The Open Book.

  26. #7: Julie Fry

    Anna and Julie Fry talk about hard books, kids' books and the joy of co-owning a bookshop

  27. #6: Sophie van Waardenberg

    Anna talks with Sophie van Waardenberg about Love Actually, the human uses of poetry and the bucket of the mind.

  28. #5: Cian Dennan

    Anna and Cian Dennan talk about politics and poetry, the beautiful/brutal aspects of owning a vagina and bringing light. Trigger warning: sexual abuse, heavy duty swearing.

  29. #4: Irene Corbett

    Anna and Irene Corbett talk about the word as a tool, art that does service, dementia, religion and rollerblading.

  30. #3: Alex Taylor

    Anna chats to Alex about one long flow of manstuff, stealing stuff and the sensation of composition.

  31. #2: Lisa Samuels

    Anna and Lisa Samuels talk about soft text, the scrutable, and the blank line.

  32. #1: IK Patterson-Harkness

    Anna and IK Patterson Harkness (aka Immi) talk about storytelling, the writer as character, heartbreak and vegan propaganda.

Type above to search every episode's transcript for a word or phrase. Matches are scoped to this podcast.

Searching…

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.

Showing of matches

TOPICS IN THIS SHOW

Click any topic to search every transcript on PodParley for moments someone mentioned it.

Loading reviews...

ABOUT THIS SHOW

Poet and comic Anna Livesey In conversation with writers and bookpeople. Brace yourselves, world.

HOSTED BY

The Open Book

Produced by Hayden Glass

CATEGORIES

Frequently Asked Questions

How many episodes does Ears Wide Open have?

Ears Wide Open currently has 33 episodes available on PodParley. New episodes are automatically indexed when they're published to the podcast feed.

What is Ears Wide Open about?

Poet and comic Anna Livesey In conversation with writers and bookpeople. Brace yourselves, world.

How often does Ears Wide Open release new episodes?

Ears Wide Open has 33 episodes. Check the episode list to see recent publication dates and frequency.

Where can I listen to Ears Wide Open?

You can listen to Ears Wide Open 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 Ears Wide Open?

Ears Wide Open is created and hosted by The Open Book.
URL copied to clipboard!