Selfy Stories

UCL Minds

English Philosophy Society & Culture

Apple Podcasts Website RSS

Episodes 12

Avg. Duration 43m

Activity Dormant

Since May 2025

Latest Episode Nov 2025

Publishing Details

Schedule

Weekly

Format

Episodic

Hosting

feeds.transistor.fm

About This Podcast

Reference to the self is ubiquitous in contemporary culture. But what is the self? Is it discovered or created? To what degree is it shaped by external forces and to what degree is it subject to internal control? How do the stories we tell about ourselves shape our identity? To what extent is it valid to invoke ideas of truth, sincerity, and authenticity in relation to the self? What kinds of self does literature delineate? These are some of the questions we will be asking in this UCL podcast. In each episode, a literary scholar and a philosopher ponder how present-day literary representations of the self relate to what philosophers have to say about it. The literary focus of the first season is Outline, by Rachel Cusk; the literary focus of the second is The Years, by Annie Ernaux. In each episode, chapters or sections of these books are discussed alongside a relevant intervention in philosophy.

Podcasting 2.0 Features

episode podping season transcript

Explore Statistics

English Podcasts Report Philosophy Report Society & Culture Report English Philosophy Report

Recent Episodes

S2E5 Season 2, Episode 5 - The Narrative Self: Alice Harberd, with special guest Emmanuel Campion-Dye

Nov 05, 2025 47m Transcript

In this episode, we discuss the powerful, magisterial closing pages of Annie Ernaux’s The Years (pp.182-225) alongside philosophical work in progress by Alice Harberd, one of our hosts. In this…

S2E4 Season 2, Episode 4 – The Self in Time: Marya Schechtman

Oct 23, 2025 41m Transcript

In this episode, we discuss the experience and the representation of the self in time. We consider philosophical approaches to the question of personal change, focusing on a paper by Marya Schechtman…

S2E3 Season 2, Episode 3 Style and Personality: Jenefer Robinson

Oct 15, 2025 44m Transcript

In this episode, we discuss Annie Ernaux’s writing in The Years alongside a paper by Jenefer Robinson entitled ‘Style and Personality in the Literary Work’. We consider Robinson’s assertion that an…

S2E2 Season 2, Episode 2 The Shamed Self, with special guest Prof. Lucy O’Brien

Oct 08, 2025 36m

In this episode, we discuss Annie Ernaux’s The Years alongside, an article by Prof. Lucy O’Brien entitled ‘Shameful Self-Consciousness’. Shame, according to this paper, is a feeling which arises when…

S2E1 Season 2, Episode 1 - The Sociological Self, with special guest Prof. Clare Carlisle

Oct 01, 2025 50m Transcript

In this episode, we talk about the importance of sociology to Annie Ernaux’s Nobel-Prize-winning literary project, specifically focusing on the influence of Pierre Bourdieu’s notion of ‘habitus’. Our…

S1E7 Literature in the Age of the Self: A Conversation with Rachel Cusk, Brian Dillon, and Vidyan Ravinthiran

Sep 24, 2025 1h 8m Bonus

Literature in the Age of the Self: A Conversation with Rachel Cusk, Brian Dillon, and Vidyan Ravinthiran This bonus episode consists in a recording of an authorial roundtable held at University…

S1E6 5. The Aesthetic Self: James Lewis

Jun 11, 2025 43m

In this episode, we discuss the fifth and final section of Cusk’s Outline alongside a draft book chapter by James Lewis entitled The Peculiar Allure of Another’s Aesthetic Worldview. Lewis argues…

S1E5 4. The Ethics of Attention: Iris Murdoch

Jun 04, 2025 43m

In this episode, we discuss Chapter 6 of Cusk’s Outline alongside an essay by Murdoch called The Idea of Perfection. In this essay, Murdoch argues that the way we pay attention to the world is…

S1E4 3. The Ethics of Authenticity: Charles Taylor

May 28, 2025 37m

In this episode, we discuss Chapter 5 of Cusk’s Outline alongside Chapters 3 to 5 of Taylor’s book, The Ethics of Authenticity. Taylor identifies a tension between the sense of identity which is…

S1E3 2. From Sincerity to Authenticity: Bernard Williams

May 21, 2025 49m

In this episode, we talk about Chapters 2 and 3 of Rachel Cusk’s Outline alongside a chapter from Williams’s book Truth and Truthfulness. The chapter considers the differences between sincerity and…

S1E2 1. The Conversational Self: Daniela Dover

May 14, 2025 36m

In this episode, we consider the first chapter of Cusk’s Outline alongside a paper by Daniela Dover entitled ‘The Conversational Self’. The paper examines the role of conversations in getting to know…

S1E1 Trailer: The Self Today

May 07, 2025 15m

Reference to the self is ubiquitous in contemporary culture. But what is the self? Is it discovered or created? What kinds of self does literature depict? And what do philosophers have to say about…

Frequently Asked Questions

How many episodes does Selfy Stories have?

Selfy Stories has published 12 episodes since May 2025, covering topics in Philosophy, Society & Culture.

Is Selfy Stories still active?

Selfy Stories is currently dormant with new episodes weekly. Average episode length is 43m.