Jonty Claypole

speaker

11,327 appearances 34 recordings 3 series first heard Dec 2025 last heard yesterday

Jonty Claypole’s voice in public audio — every appearance, attributed to the second.

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recordings per month · last 12 months

Recordings per month over the last 12 months — 34 in all, peaking in Sep 2026 with 6.

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Secret Life of Books · Charlotte Higgins on Ukrainian Lessons: Art in a Time of War · 21 Aug 2026 podcast

Yes you know, podcast-host

The last thing I want to ask about is your I mean, a whole other area of your life is your interest in classical civilization and you've written a a number of books that are about the ancient world, about ancient Greece or ancient Rome. podcast-host

Uh and of course you have a brilliant podcast called Instant Classics and Exploring the Odyssey. podcast-host

Well I wonder what it's podcast-host

Which I am involved in. podcast-host

And anyone who wants to go on a deep dive into the Odyssey should check out Exploring Th the Odyssey. podcast-host

There's our plug. podcast-host

But podcast-host

There's a moment in the book where you say that your interest in classical civilization in the past was something you always wondered if it had a slightly dilettante-ish sort of element to it. podcast-host

It was it was something you were just interested in that wasn't necessarily particularly relevant to the world today. podcast-host

And one of the things that you're struck by in the book, and I'm struck by in the book, is the way that podcast-host

It actually becomes very foregrounded your interest in the classical world and classical writing, and it's actually become foregrounded in Ukraine as well for other writers. podcast-host

And so I just want to ask you about that. podcast-host

Why and and the first part of the book is called The Pale Cassandras, in which you talk about the women of Ukraine who are the ones having to to go out and speak to the world and convince the world. podcast-host

To stay interested, to continue giving support, and you draw a connection with Cassandra from Troy, who was cursed with the power to foresee the future, but nobody would ever believe her. podcast-host

And just say a bit about how that classical string to your bow has actually ended up quite prominent in this in this part of your life over the last four years. podcast-host

So, Charlotte, I'm gonna end by asking you for some book recommendations. podcast-host

Uh a couple of books or writers that everyone should go and read. podcast-host

Sort of one of the things I found quite difficult in reading the book is that writers who I love, nineteenth century or twentieth century writers like Gogol or Bulgarkov, who who wrote extraordinary works of fiction and have become part podcast-host

Of the the Russian canon, but were from Ukraine, they've become writers now with a very problematic legacy because they were s th they seem to be part of the greater Russia endeavor. podcast-host

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