Category Archives: Books

An Adventure in History and Time

Posted on July 8, 2013 by Samira Ahmed

I sometimes write and present Something Understood, BBC Radio 4’s wonderful space for reflection and ideas around spirituality and belief. When I suggested writing one on Keeping The Past Alive I was thinking about Brandyn Shaw, who’s been fascinated by … Continue reading →

Posted in Books, Culture, France, History, Media, Radio, Religion, Uncategorized | Tagged , , | 2 Comments

Plotting the arc of darkness with Joss Whedon

Posted on June 13, 2013 by Samira Ahmed

Here’s a link to my interview with Joss Whedon for Radio 3’s Night Waves on June 12th. We covered his writing for Roseanne, Shakespearean superheroes, his love of musicals — especially Brigadoon —  the way studios treat writers, (take Firefly … Continue reading →

Posted in Books, Children, Comedy, Comics/graphic novels, Culture, Media, Radio, Science Fiction/Fantasy, TV, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

Lessons from Italy’s Mafia Republic

Posted on June 5, 2013 by Samira Ahmed

Every weekend when I was 10 years old, I had to write an English composition for homework. It was 1978 and drawing on the daily news on my TV screen for source material I wrote one  imagining I was the … Continue reading →

Posted in Books, Crime and Justice, History, journalism, Politics, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 23 Comments

Billy Liar, Bradford and the birth of the dollybird

Posted on May 1, 2013 by Samira Ahmed

“A lazy, irresponsible young clerk in provincial Northern England lives in his own fantasy world and makes emotionally immature decisions as he alienates friends and family.” Everyone loves Billy Liar. Apart from whoever wrote imdb’s current bizarrely censorious plot summary … Continue reading →

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Malala, Muslim women and “misery” memoirs

Posted on April 18, 2013 by Samira Ahmed

Oct 10th 2014 update: This was originally posted ahead of an Asia House panel discussion about women, freedom and the Islamic world, when the multimillion pound book deal of Malala Yousafzai was announced. It seems just as relevant since her … Continue reading →

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How The West Was Fun: When Britain loved cowboys

Posted on April 5, 2013 by Samira Ahmed

The Unforgiven (1961) – The Searchers in reverse This is about the back ground to the April 6th documentary I made for Radio 4 about the Western in British culture. You can listen again here: Archive on Four documentary Riding … Continue reading →

Posted in Books, Children, Cowboys!, Culture, Film, History, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Philip Larkin and how internet porn began in 1963 (sort of)

Posted on March 11, 2013 by Samira Ahmed

1963 was a remarkable year. Among the glut of cultural and historical anniversaries — Dr Who, the assassination of JFK, Billy Liar and Oh What Lovely War! — we should I reckon be marking 50 years since the invention of … Continue reading →

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Alan Bennett: Why spilling all is not the art of the monologue

Posted on March 8, 2013 by Samira Ahmed

I was lucky enough to be asked to chair an In Conversation with the playwright, diarist and screenwriter Alan Bennett at the British Film Institute last night. It was focussed on his skills with the monologue, as part of a season of TV monologues. … Continue reading →

Posted in Books, Comedy, Culture, Film, Media, Theatre, TV, Uncategorized | Tagged | 1 Comment

Murder, Mirth and Care Bears: The uses of an Oxford English degree

Posted on February 13, 2013 by Samira Ahmed

Photo copyright and courtesy of: Ian Fraser at Virtual Archive Writing for news bulletins, writing for standup comedy, writing murders for tv drama, writing for comics and fantasy gaming novels. These were some of the uses to which a group … Continue reading →

Posted in Books, Comedy, Comics/graphic novels, Culture, Education, Media, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

How The Middle East Became Another Planet

Posted on December 17, 2012 by Samira Ahmed

From Flash Gordon’s Ming the Merciless with his harem and his war rocket Ajax, to Frank Herbert’s prophecy-obsessed desert tribes in Dune battling over a valuable resource, the Middle East has always been another planet to western science fiction creators. … Continue reading →

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