S16, Ep10 How To Fail: Margaret Atwood on wisdom, witchcraft and womanhood

How To Fail With Elizabeth Day

Sony Music

Society & Culture

4.7 • 9.6K Ratings

🗓️ 8 March 2023

⏱️ 70 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

For International Women's Day, I bring you - NO BIG DEAL - Margaret Atwood. The Booker-Prize winning author of numerous works including The Blind Assassin, Cat's Eye and Alias Grace, has been a pioneer in the depiction of women in literature, redefining the dystopian novel with her revolutionary 1985 book, The Handmaid's Tale, which went on to sell eight million copies and been adapted into a hit TV show.Atwood's work is visceral, wise and sharply intelligent, so it's safe to say I was ever so slightly intimidated by the prosepct of interviewing her. But oh my goodness, what an utter delight she was. We talked about everything from astrology to cults to witchcraft and the scapegoating of women over the millennia. And we discuss her failures in needlework, musicals and a failed novel that led, circuitously, to the conception of The Handmaid's Tale.I was on a high after this conversation for days and I hope you will be too.--Margaret Atwood's new collection of short stories, Old Babes in the Wood, is out now and available to order here.I can also highly recommend subscribing to her excellent Substack. She recently wrote here about her experience of coming on this podcast - including the email she sent me outlining her failures prior to recording which is quite possibly one of the most lyrical emails I've ever been sent. Find that here.--My new book, FRIENDAHOLIC: Confessions of a Friendship Addict, will be published next month and is now available to preorder - at half price - here.--How To Fail With Elizabeth Day is hosted and produced by Elizabeth Day. To contact us, email howtofailpod@gmail.com--Social Media:Elizabeth Day @elizabdayHow To Fail @howtofailpodMargaret Atwood @MargaretAtwood Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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0:56.6	today. Guardian Live is an online programme of events that brings you closer to the leading
1:03.1	thinkers in literature, film and music, to politicians and scientists and to the Guardian's
1:09.6	award-winning journalists. In the past, Guardian Live's programme of live streamed and in-person
1:15.4	events has included many names that might be familiar to the most attentive amongst you
1:20.5	because they've also been on how to fail. Brilliant guests such as Greta Tunberg, Javis
1:25.2	Cocker, Lily Allen and Nazarene Malik. The lineup has also previously included the likes
1:30.7	of Christopher Nolan, one of my favourite film directors, FYI, Naomi Klein, Arlo Parks
1:36.5	and Neil Gaiman. Lots of exciting events are coming up, including a discussion with Simon
1:41.7	Armitage. And I'm lucky enough that I get to interview one of my favourite essayists,
1:46.5	Samantha Erby for Guardian Live soon. Guardian Live offers community through conversation
1:52.0	and balances curiosity with hard hitting facts to get behind the stories that matter.
1:59.1	Listers of how to fail can get 20% off tickets to their next Guardian Live event by visiting
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