Eleanor & Alasdair Read That

ตอน

• We Read Charlotte's Web 19.05.2026 34นาที

  Just like women be shopping, E. B. White. And White's 1952 novel Charlotte's Web is a blackly comical tear-jerker about a spider coming to the aid of a pig who doesn't want to be eaten. Are Eleanor and Alasdair fans of spiders? Or are we absolutely terrified of them? Well, what do you think? Based on everything you know about us, do you think we like spiders?
• We Read Johnny and the Bomb 19.04.2026 43นาที

  Eleanor and Alasdair step into the trousers of time, with Terry Pratchett's 1996 novel Johnny and the Bomb. Five inept British teens find themselves in World War Two with bags of time on their hands. Was Johnny and the Bomb "The Bomb"? Or will it bomb in our estimation? And who were the real baddies in WW2? (It was the Nazis.)
• We Read The Cat in the Hat & The Tiger Who Came to Tea 19.03.2026 30นาที

  1957–1968 was a golden age of big cats breaking into kids' houses and smashing up the joint. For this episode, Eleanor & Alasdair read Dr Seuss's The Cat in the Hat and Judith Kerr's The Tiger Who Came to Tea. We aim to decide, scientifically, which of the two books is best (with absolutely no favouritism shown towards the one we obviously like more). Will we like the American one? Perhaps we'll find it much more fun? Of course, there's not much chance of that. 'Cos Eleanor hates that creepy cat.
• We Read The Wind in the Willows 19.02.2026 37นาที

  Eleanor and Alasdair are fighting! Eleanor is in love with Kenneth Grahame's The Wind in the Willows, but for Alasdair... it's complicated. The 1908 classic is a tale of motorcars, misadventure and yearning glances on the riverbank. But is it really a kid's book? Or is it a boring work of art? Poop! Poop! Buy us a coffee: ko-fi.com/readthat_podcast
• We Read The Borrowers 19.01.2026 34นาที

  She's small. She's ginger. She's very hard to get out of your house. No, not Eleanor Morton. We're talking about Arietty Clock, the tiny teenage protagonist of Mary Norton's 1952 novel The Borrowers. The Borrowers are a diminutive people who love stealing almost as much as they love the British class system. But has this tale of curtain-climbing social climbers aged well? Find out in Series 2 of Eleanor & Alasdair Read That. Buy us a coffee: ko-fi.com/readthat_podcast
• We Read The Lion, The Witch & The Wardrobe (Part 2) 19.12.2025 27นาที

  We pass judgement on The Lion, The Witch & The Wardrobe by C. S. Lewis. Is the book a Turkish Delight? Or is it a Turkish Delight (like in real life)?
• We Read The Lion, The Witch & The Wardrobe (Part 1) 17.12.2025 36นาที

  For our two-part Christmas special, we read C. S. Lewis’s furniture-based classic The Lion, The Witch & The Wardrobe. In this episode, we recount the story of Lucy’s Adventures in Narnia and enjoy a platonic hot-tub with Santa.
• We Read Watership Down 19.11.2025 38นาที

  Eleanor & Alasdair take you down to Watership City, where the grass is green and the girls are... hang on, where are all the girls?   We read Watership Down, Richard Adams's 1972 epic. It's Brer Rabbit meets Mad Max, but does the novel live up to the movie's grisly reputation? Is it really a kids' book? And why do we keep singing the X-Men theme?   Buy us a coffee: ko-fi.com/readthat_podcast
• We Read The Worst Witch 19.10.2025 35นาที

  A boarding school for witches? Imagine that! No, not Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Bigotry. We're talking about Miss Cackle's Academy, from Jill Murphy's 1974 bestseller The Worst Witch. In this episode, Alasdair discovers the ropey TV Movie from 1986 and Eleanor learns that it's possible to identify with Mildred Hubble a bit too much. Will the Worst Witch make the grade? Can we avoid talking about Harry Bloody Potter? And did Eleanor's childhood bullies have a point, actually? Buy us a coffee: ko-fi.com/readthat_podcast
• We Read The Railway Children (Live) 19.09.2025 37นาที

  The Railway Children is an Edwardian children's classic and health & safety nightmare. Edith "E" Nesbit's novel is packed with unforgettable characters, railway mishaps and an exiled Russian dissident who no one remembers. In this episode, recorded live at the Edinburgh Fringe, we learn that trespassing on a train line is OK, as long as you're a middle-class child. Will the book withstand the edgy, late-night comedy of Eleanor and Alasdair? What will we learn about the inevitable triumph of international socialism? And exactly how sexy was Bernard Cribbins in the film? We won't take no charity from no one, but if you enjoyed this episode you can buy us a coffee: ko-fi.com/readthat_podcast 
• We Read The Story of Tracy Beaker 19.08.2025 27นาที

  Eleanor and Alasdair read The Story of Tracy Beaker. Jacqueline Wilson's 1991 hit has spawned numerous sequels and TV spin-offs, but Alasdair has missed out on all of them due to being a boy and man, in that order. The protagonist and narrator, Tracy Beaker, is an irrepressible kid in a care home and “the Millennial Holden Caulfield” (according to Eleanor). Will Eleanor's childhood nostalgia survive re-reading the book? Will Alasdair “get narked” at the weirdly 1970s dialogue? And WHEN will we start a spin-off podcast called Bed-wet Buddies? Buy us a coffee: ko-fi.com/readthat_podcast
• We Read Alice's Adventures in Wonderland 19.07.2025 36นาที

  We're all mad here. Specifically, Eleanor is mad about people saying Lewis Carroll wrote Alice's Adventures in Wonderland on drugs and Alasdair is mad about the Tim Burton film being rubbish. For this episode, we read Carroll's enormously influential 1865 novel, and we asked: do books actually need plots? Or will some 160 year-old puns do? Content Warning: We make allusions to the controversy surrounding Carroll, without going into detail. Buy us a coffee: ko-fi.com/readthat_podcast
• We Read The Secret Garden 19.06.2025 34นาที

  Sickly, spoiled and terrified of the outside world, Eleanor and Alasdair read The Secret Garden. Frances Hodgson Burnett's kidlit classic is the story of an obnoxious little girl who goes to Yorkshire on her gap year and really finds herself. Is the book an ode to the healing powers of nature? Or is it a hippy-fascist self-help tract? And which film adaptation is best — the one Eleanor watched as a kid, or the steampunk Mormon version? Content Warning: References to ableism and British colonialism. And we inaccurately describe Yorkshire as "a big county" when it is, in fact, four counties.
• We Read The Weirdstone of Brisingamen 19.05.2025 34นาที

  Like a pair of creepy twins, Eleanor and Alasdair venture up Alderley Edge to meet the Wizard. We read The Weirdstone of Brisingamen, Alan Garner's 1960 folk horror classic. Is it too scary for kids, or just too scary for Alasdair? Did Eleanor really fall asleep at the end of the audiobook? And what, exactly, does a rustic Cheshire accent sound like? We simply don't know.
• We Read The Witches 19.04.2025 38นาที

  Eleanor and Alasdair read a Roald Dahl book about some absolutely horrid women. "Which one?" you quite reasonably ask. It's The Witches: a grotesquely funny revenge caper fuelled by 'stranger danger' anxiety. What do you do when a beloved children's author is a bit of a bigot? Which of Dahl's books scandalised nine-year-old Eleanor's schoolteacher? And exactly what accent was Anne Hathaway doing in the movie? Listen, and find out if The Witches really is a revolting classic or just a rotten stinker. Content Warning: References to antisemitism, misogyny & fatphobia. And we do impressions of the actor Bill Paterson.
• We Read Peter Rabbit 19.03.2025 31นาที

  Eleanor and Alasdair read The Tale of Peter Rabbit, the story of a semi-nude rabbit tormenting the Scotsman who killed his father. Beatrix Potter's first book was a world-wide smash hit, but is it actually good? And would it be improved by the addition of James Corden? Alasdair watched the movie, so you don't have to. Content Warning: Eleanor calls Squirrel Nutkin a c***.
• We Read Treasure Island 19.02.2025 30นาที

  Eleanor and Alasdair read Treasure Island: an adventure full of deadly danger and dubious male role models. Basically like social media today.
• We Read The Famous Five 19.01.2025 33นาที

  Putting the ginger in ginger beer, Eleanor and Alasdair read Five Go To Demon’s Rocks. Does Enid Blyton deserve her controversial reputation?
• We Read The Hobbit - Pilot Episode 20.12.2024 30นาที

  Eleanor and Alasdair read The Hobbit. J. R. R. Tolkien's 1937 novel is a millennial horror story about a guy who has to attend an unexpected party. It's also a children's fantasy classic, and the inspiration for three obscure art-house films. But is it good? Would Eleanor read it to her hypothetical child? Will Alasdair enjoy reading it for the first time? And is it really possible to tell the dwarves apart?