The weather forecast predicts icy winds and sleet for my neck of the woods in southern England tomorrow. But no matter, I have plans to settle down and read Silverview, the last John le Carré novel – which was published posthumously last month. Interestingly, it is reported that the finishing touches to the book were made by Le Carré’s son, Nick, who publishes thrillers under the name Nick Harkaway.

It seems the apple really doesn’t fall far from the tree when it comes to writing fiction. New research has found, via the literary process of “stylometry”, that various members of some literary families do indeed write in similar ways. Looking at related writers including the Brontës, Kingsley and Martin Amis, A.S. Byatt and Margaret Drabble and, as it happens, Le Carré and Harkaway, stylometry has identified similarities in style that allowed the computer to tell the different families apart with 100% accuracy.

Given the 600-odd years between them, it would surely prove nigh on impossible to tell whether there is any familial connection between William Chaucer and Zadie Smith. But devotees of either or both will no doubt be cheered to hear that Smith has updated one of Chaucer’s best-loved characters, the Wife of Bath, in a new theatrical production, The Wife of Willesden. Just as Chaucer’s “gat-tothed” heroine was considered bawdy in her time, Smith’s updated version is just as racy.

I might also make time to watch the new Marvel film, The Eternals, which has the distinction of being the first major film to feature dialogue in ancient Babylonian. Our author reveals how Marvel approached him to help with the translations.

This week, we also learned about the Earth’s largest living organism and how it is being gradually eaten by deer, we worried about the way pandemic conspiracy theories are spreading offline as well as in social media, and we answered a young reader’s question about what the rings around planets are made of.

Our colleagues around the world, meanwhile, updated us on the new COVID variant that has been identified in South Africa, demanded to know #WhereIsPengShuai? and asked what will become of the conflict-stricken Solomon Islands.

Do try and make time to listen to the latest Conversation Weekly. While many US states are currently trying to restrict abortion rights, this week’s podcast looks at how more countries globally are liberalising their abortion laws.

Contact us here to have your event listed.

For sponsorship opportunities, email us here