A podcast for and about writers and writing.

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#FromTheArchive: Award-winning journalist and author Sally Hayden (@sallyhayd) shares her experience reporting on humanitarian crises and reflects on the ethics of accepting prize money as a Western journalist covering migrants and refugees. Listen
As a young man, George Orwell worked as a police officer in Burma (now Myanmar). It’s a period of his life that the writer @paul.theroux was always drawn to, and it now forms the basis of his latest novel "Burma Sahib". Listen now vi
“I was writing the anti-travel book.” In 1975 @paul.theroux published “The Great Railway Bazaar” and in our latest episode he tells us the philosophy at the heart of this classic of travel writing. Listen now via the link i
#FromTheArchive: Business journalist and author James Ashton tells us what he learnt working at the biggest national newspapers, his book “The Nine Types of Leader” and why CEOs can make difficult but fascinating interviewees. ⠀ Listen n
Madhumita Murgia’s book “Code Dependent” has been shortlisted for the @WomensPrize for non-fiction. In our latest episode she tells us how the book balances her “techno-optimism” with realism about the industry’s m

 

Who we are

SIMON AKAMCo-host of Always Take Notes, Simon is the author of "The Changing of the Guard" on the post-9/11 evolution of the British Army. He is a contributing writer for the Economist's 1843 magazine, and his journalism has appeared in The New York Times, the Guardian, GQ, the Atlantic, Outside and Bloomberg Businessweek.

SIMON AKAM

Co-host of Always Take Notes, Simon is the author of "The Changing of the Guard" on the post-9/11 evolution of the British Army. His writing has appeared in publications including the New Yorker, the London Review of Books, The Economist, The Guardian, Outside, the New York Times, and GQ.

RACHEL LLOYDCo-host of Always Take Notes, Rachel is the assistant editor of the Books and Arts section of The Economist. As well as commissioning and editing the online culture features, Rachel writes reviews and essays for the newspaper and the website. 

RACHEL LLOYD

Co-host of Always Take Notes, Rachel is the deputy culture editor of The Economist. Rachel edits and writes reviews and essays for the newspaper and the website. 

Our mission statement

Journalism, publishing, screenwriting... if you don’t know anyone in these professions, they can sometimes seem distant and elitist. Even if you’re well established, writing can be a lonely business. 

But what if you could go out for a coffee with someone who was at the top of their game in one of these industries and ask them about what they do? What if you could get them to talk to you about all the nitty-gritty details of their career: How did they make their first steps in their chosen industry? How do they divide up their working day? What do they use to take notes? What’s their research process like? What makes a successful pitch or book proposal?

Always Take Notes aims to demystify every aspect of the world of writing. Our in-depth interviews change the narrative around success and, crucially, explore how people have made a living from their creative pursuits.

At Always Take Notes, it’s not about who you know but what you know.