Words to That Effect

WTTE Episode 18: What Is Utopia? This is a story of three journeys, by three people, in three very different times. But each of the journeys ends in the same area in the west of Ireland. And each journey is founded on a search for a more…

Words To That Effect #17 | The 10% Brain Myth (from Self-Help to Pulp Fiction to Hollywood) Do we use only 10% of our brain capacity? (Hint: No) “It is estimated that most human beings only use 10% of the brain’s capacity. Imagine if we…

This is an episode about who we are as humans. And, more importantly, where we are going. About a future in which technology and biology have merged in ways that are in equal part fascinating and terrifying. A future of unparalleled…

Episode 15: The Scarlet Pimpernel & Baroness Orczy The Scarlet Pimpernel is a character now long disconnected from his origins in a 1903 novel. The Pimpernel is a mysterious Englishman who uses elaborate disguises to heroically rescue…

The American writer H.P. Lovecraft wrote weird fiction. His work is both weird, in the conventional sense of the word, and Weird, in a more specific sense. His tales are not typical horror stories, but instead invoke a type of cosmic…

I've been working hard for the last 2 months to get a brand new season of Words To That Effect ready to go. If you're stopping by for the first time - great! All the episodes of Season 1 are available here If you’re already a fan and you’ve…

This week’s episode, the end of Season 1, is a Christmas Special. It’s a collaboration with the disturbingly good horror podcast, Down Below The Reservoir. The result is an episode about the ghost stories of MR James, followed by an…

This week literary and culture themed podcast Words To That Effect joins the HeadStuff Podcast Network. Episode 12 delves into the history of zombies in myth, literature and science, and like other episodes offers up a listening experience…

Episode 12: The Horrifically Complicated History of Zombies Whether we like it or not, the zombies are coming for us all. Films, books, computer games, comics and TV shows. From historical and mythical zombies to claims to have proven the…

Words To That Effect Episode 11: Cesare Lombroso & The Born Criminal The northern Italian city of Turin is quite distinctive as Italian cities go. It is still Italy, so of course it has its grand piazzas and ornate churches, and pasta…