Ursula K. Le Guin’s Iconic Blog Becomes a Podcast

For those who can never get enough of Ursula K. Le Guin’s wisdom, there’s a delightful new way to experience her thoughts. The esteemed late author’s blog, which she famously began in 2010 at the age of 81, is being resurrected in audio form. Titled In Your Spare Time, the podcast aims to bring her digital archives to a whole new generation of listeners.

While a selection of these blog posts was published as a book back in 2017, this podcast project is much more ambitious. According to Le Guin’s estate, the series will cover everything she wrote online between 2010 and 2017. This includes her deep philosophical essays, poignant poems, and as the announcement charmingly notes, "even the ones that are mostly cat pictures." It seems no part of her digital legacy is being left behind.

The format of the show is particularly interesting for fans of literary culture. Each episode will feature a different guest reader delivering Le Guin’s text. These readers won't just recite the words; they will also share their own personal reflections on their relationship with her work or the specific topics discussed in the posts. It’s an editorial approach that turns a simple archive into a living conversation.

The journey begins this week, with the first episode—Post Zero, "A Note at the Beginning"—read by acclaimed novelist David Mitchell. Listeners can expect a new episode every Wednesday for the next two years. It looks like our mid-week commutes are about to get a lot more thoughtful. You can find In Your Spare Time on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and all major platforms starting April 8.