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AL Kennedy, Sam Sweeney performs live, lockdown listening habits

AL Kennedy's new short stories, the aptly named We Are Attempting to Survive Our Time; fiddle player Sam Sweeney performs live, and the rise of listening figures to live radio

AL Kennedy won the Costa Prize 2007 for her novel Day. She talks about her new book of short stories, the aptly named We Are Attempting to Survive Our Time – a powerful collection about characters living on the edge, from a woman finally snapping at a white man's racist tirade at a zoo, to the host of a podcast revealing why she is haunted by the state of New Mexico.

Sam Sweeney, fiddle player in the trio Leveret and formerly of Bellowhead, has just released his second album, Unearth Repeat. It is, he says, is an un-concept album, where he simply plays the music he loves. He tells Samira what he means and plays a tune.

As our routines are changed beyond recognition, what happens to regular activities like listening to podcasts and radio? Initial statistics suggest that most podcast listening is down, while radio listening is up. Podcasters Caroline Crampton and Joseph Fink consider what this means for listeners and for the people who make audio.

Presenter: Samira Ahmed
Producer: Dymphna Flynn
Studio Manager: Duncan Hannant

Image: AL Kennedy
Credit: Geraint Lewis 2013

Available now

28 minutes

Sam Sweeney

Sam Sweeney

Unearth Repeat the new album by is out now.

Image Credit: Camilla Greenwell

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AL Kennedy

AL Kennedy
We Are Attempting to Survive Our Time written by is available now, published by Jonathan Cape.

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  • Tue 7 Apr 2020 19:15

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