I love the way it pauses momentarily -- obviously thinking "Oh shit! There's an audience! -- then does a pure face plant...

Knew this would happen. Missed out the answer to 2/ in all the excitement. It was “Dear Plowvillians” (Plowville being his boyhood home). Other answers to be found below.

www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/...

Dragon’s Den, now!

I hope and pray this is a thought experiment only…

It’s very important that we’re allowed to dislike some art forms.

No I missed that. Must catch up.

I like the dancing, but I don’t like the camera trying to join in.

Publishers advance.

The letters are evidence, if any were needed, that Updike was writing autofiction decades before Knausgaard.

He certainly didn’t do the washing up or cooking (he makes a point of having to learn when he left). But he seems to do all the household bills, maintenance, yard work, putting up shelves etc. (Still not as much as his wife, obvs).

Honestly. This is just a selection of his letters and it’s 800 plus pages. In addition to which there are 23 novels and collections of stories and journalism the size of breeze blocks. Fitting the adultery in was a miracle of time management, quite apart from anything else.

The She, The She by Irish Murdoch

Narrated by Sean Connery.

Excellent.

“Vasty”. Damn thee Autocorrect, thou whoreson knave!

Ah. Sorry. The FT sometimes posts free links that seem to have an expiry time. I don’t have a subscription either.