From The Archives: Paul Murray on family secrets, loneliness and The Bee Sting

Lea Ypi On Freedom, Communism And Growing Up In Albania In Free

For her July Service95 Book Club interview, Dua Lipa is joined by award-winning author and academic Lea Ypi to discuss Free, Lea’s internationally acclaimed memoir, which recounts her childhood in Albania during the collapse of communism.   From hidden family histories and state surveillance to protest and modern-day Albania, Dua and Lea explore how political systems continue to shape individual lives, collective memory and the country’s evolving identity, returning to the question at the heart of the book: what does it really mean to be free?   Watch (or listen to) the full conversation here to delve deeper into Free, Dua Lipa’s Monthly Read for the Service95 Book Club.   Join the club:   📩 Email us your thoughts – books@service95.com   📲 Follow @service95bookclub on Instagram for more author interviews   📚 Subscribe to the Service95 Book Club newsletter – and be the first to discover Dua’s next pick – at service95.com [http://www.service95.com/]   And don’t forget to hit ‘subscribe’ wherever you get your podcasts  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices [https://megaphone.fm/adchoices]

From The Archives: Paul Murray on family secrets, loneliness and The Bee Sting

From the archives this month: Dua’s February 2025 conversation with Irish author Paul Murray, on his novel The Bee Sting.  An epic family saga set in contemporary Ireland, the novel follows the Barnes family through financial collapse, fractured relationships and the secrets that have shaped their lives across generations.  Paul talks about growing up in 1990s Ireland, a country deeply influenced by the Catholic Church and its conservative values, and how that environment dictated what people could or couldn’t say about themselves.  He and Dua discuss the loneliness of adolescence, the ‘friendships’ that define those years and the difficulty of leaving behind relationships that no longer serve you.  They also get into the novel’s unforgettable ending and the case for ambiguity in storytelling. Paul draws on Twin Peaks and why David Lynch’s unanswered questions can sometimes be more compelling than definitive answers.  Expect a conversation about family, identity, secrecy and the stories we tell ourselves to survive.  Join the club:  📩 Email us your thoughts – books@service95.com [books@service95.com]  📲 Follow @service95bookclub on Instagram for more author interviews  📚 Subscribe to the Service95 Book Club newsletter – and be the first to discover Dua’s next pick – at Service95.com  And don’t forget to hit ‘subscribe’ wherever you get your podcasts  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices [https://megaphone.fm/adchoices]

Kae Tempest On His Latest Novel, ‘Having Spent Life Seeking’

For the Service95 Book Club this month, Dua is joined by writer, poet, playwright and musician Kae Tempest to discuss his latest novel, Having Spent Life Seeking, which is Dua’s Monthly Read for June.  Together, Dua and Kae explore the novel’s core themes: forgiveness and atonement, the instability of home when both the person and the place have changed, and the difficult process of becoming fully ‘alive’ again after years spent disconnected from the world. At the centre of their discussion is Rothko, a character Kae describes as “dislocated from life”, alongside the novel’s wider cast, each carrying their own desires, wounds and ways of surviving.  Kae also reflects on his immersive writing process, describing characters less as inventions than people he has spent years getting to know. The conversation moves through addiction, shame, creativity, identity and the role of art as a means of processing experience and remaining open to the world.  Watch (or listen to) the full conversation here to dive deeper into Having Spent Life Seeking, Dua Lipa’s Monthly Read for the Service95 Book Club.  Join the club:  📩 Email us your thoughts – books@service95.com [books@service95.com]  📲 Follow @service95bookclub on Instagram for more author interviews  📚 Subscribe to the Service95 Book Club newsletter – and be the first to discover Dua’s next pick – at service95.com [http://www.service95.com/]  And don’t forget to hit ‘subscribe’ wherever you get your podcasts  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices [https://megaphone.fm/adchoices]

From The Archives: Malorie Blackman on race, language and the legacy of Noughts & Crosses

From the archives this month, we revisit Dua’s conversation with Malorie Blackman, the former Children’s Laureate and author of the groundbreaking young adult series Noughts & Crosses.   The novel follows Callum and Sephy, childhood friends growing up on opposite sides of a violently segregated society, where the ruling Crosses hold power over the oppressed Noughts.   More than 20 years after its release, Dua and Malorie discuss Noughts & Crosses’ lasting impact and why its themes of inequality, identity and division remain so relevant today. Together, they explore the lived experiences and inspirations behind the novel, as well as touching on the role of language, prejudice and storytelling, as well as how fiction can challenge the way we see one another.   Tune into the full conversation above.  Join the club:  📩 Email us your thoughts – books@service95.com [books@service95.com]  📲 Follow @service95bookclub on Instagram for more author interviews  📚 Subscribe to the Service95 Book Club newsletter – and be the first to discover Dua’s next pick – at service95.com [http://www.service95.com/]  And don’t forget to hit ‘subscribe’ wherever you get your podcasts  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices [https://megaphone.fm/adchoices]

So Late In The Day: Dua Lipa & Claire Keegan On Everyday Misogyny

For her May Service95 Book Club interview, Dua Lipa is joined by one of Ireland’s most celebrated short story writers, Claire Keegan.  Together, they explore Keegan’s powerful read So Late In The Day: a sharp, unsettling portrait of a man whose lack of generosity towards his fiancée gradually reveals the often quiet yet destructive nature of modern misogyny.  Dua and Claire unpack the story’s subtle details, discussing how the author’s experiences as a woman living in Ireland helped to shape the narrative, and how – in a book that takes less than an hour to read – she captures an unsettling dynamic that resonates in relationships worldwide.  There’s also a special bonus for dog lovers: keep watching for a charming appearance from a four-legged guest…  Join the club:  📩 Email us your thoughts – books@service95.com  📲 Follow @service95bookclub on Instagram for more author interviews  📚 Subscribe to the Service95 Book Club newsletter – and be the first to discover Dua’s next pick – at service95.com  And don’t forget to hit ‘subscribe’ wherever you get your podcasts   Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices [https://megaphone.fm/adchoices]