Back
Explore every episode of the podcast Service95 Book Club With Dua Lipa
Dive into the complete episode list for Service95 Book Club With Dua Lipa. Each episode is cataloged with detailed descriptions, making it easy to find and explore specific topics. Keep track of all episodes from your favorite podcast and never miss a moment of insightful content.
| Title | Pub. Date | Duration | |
|---|---|---|---|
| From The Archives: Dua Lipa & Guadalupe Nettel on the transcendent power of care in all its forms in Still Born | 16 Sep 2026 | 00:33:25 | |
From theâŻService95âŻBook Club archive this month, weâre bringing you Duaâs May 2025 interview with Mexican author Guadalupe Nettel, on her novel Still Born.Â
Set in Mexico City, friends Alina and Laura are united in their decision to be childfree, refusing to fall into a trap of the patriarchy. When Alina changes her mind, their friendship doesnât fracture â it deepens, becoming more vital than ever. Â
Alinaâs life is upended when she receives a devastating medical diagnosis for her baby daughter. This is a story that doesnât shy away from the complexities of raising a child with profound disabilities. But it also celebrates the transformative experience of caregiving, including for chosen family like Laura.Â
In their conversation, Guadalupe and Dua discuss how giving birth is not the only way to be a mother, âyou can also be an adoptive mother; you can also be a stepmother or a mother for a little while. Motherhood is also more like an attitude and not only a title that you get.âÂ
If you are dealing with any of the issues tackled in the book, please explore this story at your own pace.Â
Join the club:âŻÂ
đŠâŻEmail us your thoughts ââŻbooks@service95.comâŻÂ
đ˛âŻFollow @service95bookclub on Instagram for more author interviewsâŻÂ
đâŻSubscribe to theâŻService95âŻBook Club newsletter â and be the first to discover Duaâs next pick â at Service95.comâŻÂ
AndâŻdonât forget to hit âsubscribeâ wherever you get your podcastsâŻÂ
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices | |||
| Martyr!: Dua & Kaveh Akbar On Addiction, Art & Exile | 01 Sep 2026 | 01:02:57 | |
For the Service95 Book Club this month, Dua is joined by award-winning poet and novelist Kaveh Akbar to discuss his debut novel â and Duaâs Monthly Read for September â Martyr!, a poignant and generous exploration of addiction, identity, art and exile.
At the heart of the novel is Cyrus Shams, a newly sober poet struggling to find his footing in life while reckoning with the loss of his mother decades earlier. Together, Dua and Kaveh explore Cyrusâ grief, addiction and search for a sense of place, as well as the real-life events woven into the novel and the power of fiction to bring the human consequences of history into focus. They also discuss Kavehâs philosophy on art, his journey from poetry into fiction and his friendship with fellow author Tommy Orange, which shaped his writing rituals.
Whether youâve read Martyr!, plan to, or still need convincing, this is a conversation worth listening to. Rich, illuminating and deeply human, itâs a conversation about life, death and how we make sense of everything that happens in between.
Join the club:
đŠâŻEmail us your thoughts ââŻ
đ˛âŻFollow @service95bookclub on Instagram for more author interviews
đâŻSubscribe to theâŻService95âŻBook Club newsletter â and be the first to discover Duaâs next pick â atâŻService95.com
AndâŻdonâtâŻforget to hit âsubscribeâ wherever you get your podcasts
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices | |||
| From The Archives: Dua & Max Porter On âGrief Is The Thing With Feathersâ | 18 Aug 2026 | 00:44:37 | |
From the archives:âŻDua LipaâsâŻApril 2025âŻconversationâŻwith author Max PorterâŻon his novelâŻGrief Is The Thing With Feathers.âŻÂ
In this lyrical, surreal meditation on loss â in which a crow guides a father and his sons through the grief of losing their wife and mother â Max Porter tears up the rule book of what a novel should be. âŻÂ
Â
Throughout the episode, Dua and Max discuss his playful approach to novel writing â particularly its experimental form and the impact of Crow. âThe thing about Crow is that heâs yours to make your own mind up about,â says Max.âŻâSomeone once said, âOh, yeah, I get it, heâs a metaphor for grief.â And that is one interpretation of him. Heâs also real. Heâs also a study of care. Heâs also their babysitter. Heâs also a study of domesticity. I hope heâs also a joke.ââŻÂ
Â
ExpectâŻaâŻconversationâŻabout grief, love and what it means to care. And look out for a very special cameo partway throughâŚÂ
Â
âŻÂ
Join the club:âŻÂ
đŠâŻEmail us your thoughts ââŻbooks@service95.comâŻÂ
đ˛âŻFollow @service95bookclub on Instagram for more author interviewsâŻÂ
đâŻSubscribe to theâŻService95âŻBook Club newsletter â and be the first to discover Duaâs next pick â atâŻService95.comâŻÂ
AndâŻdonâtâŻforget to hit âsubscribeâ wherever you get your podcastsâŻÂ
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices | |||
| Lost Lambs: Dua Lipa & Madeline Cash On Her Debut, Dysfunctional Families & The Search For Meaning | 12 Aug 2026 | 00:51:29 | |
For her August Service95 Book Club interview, Dua Lipa is joined by author Madeline Cash to discuss her breakthrough debut novel, Lost Lambs.Â
Set in an unremarkable American suburb, the story follows the Flynn family, who are on the brink of unravelling: parents Bud and Catherine are trying to make an open marriage work while their three daughters each test the limits of adolescence. Holding a funhouse mirror up to contemporary America, the novel is at once laugh-out-loud funny, hyper-real and thought-provoking. Dua and Madelineâs conversation follows suit.
Together, they explore the strange contradictions of modern life, from religion and conspiracy theories to beauty, identity and why so many of us continue searching for meaning even when our lives look exactly as weâre told they should. They also delve into Madelineâs meticulous world-building, the inspiration beneath her most eccentric characters and why the novelâs most absurd moments often feel closest to the truth.
Watch (or listen to) the full conversation to discover why Lost Lambs is Duaâs August Monthly Read for the Service95 Book Club.Â
Join the club:
đŠ Email us your thoughts â books@service95.com
đ˛ Follow @service95bookclub and @service95 on Instagram for more
đ Subscribe to the Service95 Book Club newsletter â and be the first to discover Duaâs next pick â at â https://www.service95.comâ
And donât forget to hit âsubscribeâ wherever you get your podcasts.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices | |||
| From The Archives: Tommy Orange On Native Identity, Untold Histories And There There | 28 Jul 2026 | 00:28:45 | |
From the Service95 Book Club archives, this episode from March 2025 sees Dua sit down with Tommy Orange to discuss There There â his powerful novel that follows 12 Native Americans whose lives converge at the Big Oakland Powwow.  Dua and Tommy trace the histories often omitted from Americaâs national story and talk about what fiction can do that history books alone cannot. Tommy reflects on the real-life events that inspired the novel, including the 1969 to 1971 occupation of Alcatraz and the Standing Rock protests, and how those moments found their way into his characters.  He describes personal experiences woven into the book through the character of Thomas Frank, and explains why he left the novels ending unresolved, handing the reader the job of imagining what comes next.  Itâs a story of identity, belonging, inherited trauma and resilience â and a conversation youâll think about long after hearing it.   Join the club:âŻâŻÂ
đŠâŻEmail us your thoughtsâŻââŻbooks@service95.comâŻâŻÂ
đ˛âŻFollow @service95bookclub on Instagram for more author interviewsâŻâŻÂ
đâŻSubscribe to the Service95 Book Club newsletter â and be the first to discover Duaâs next pick â atâŻservice95.comâŻâŻÂ
AndâŻdonâtâŻforget to hitâŻâsubscribeââŻwherever you get your podcastsâŻâŻÂ
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices | |||
| Lea Ypi On Freedom, Communism And Growing Up In Albania In Free | 14 Jul 2026 | 01:06:04 | |
For her July Service95 Book Club interview, Dua Lipa is joined by award-winning author and academic Lea Ypi to discuss Free, Leaâs internationally acclaimed memoir, which recounts her childhood in Albania during the collapse of communism.âŻÂ
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 countryâs evolving identity, returning to the question at the heart of the book: what does it really mean to be free?âŻÂ
Watch (or listen to) the full conversation here to delve deeper into Free, Dua Lipaâs Monthly Read for the Service95 Book Club.âŻÂ
Join the club:âŻÂ
đŠÂ Email us your thoughts â books@service95.comâŻÂ
đ˛Â Follow @service95bookclub on Instagram for more author interviewsâŻÂ
đ Subscribe to the Service95 Book Club newsletter â and be the first to discover Duaâs next pick â at service95.comâŻÂ
And donât forget to hit âsubscribeâ wherever you get your podcastsÂ
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices | |||
| From The Archives: Paul Murray on family secrets, loneliness and The Bee Sting | 23 Jun 2026 | 00:45:56 | |
From the archives this month: Duaâs February 2025 conversation with Irish author Paul Murray, on his novel The Bee Sting.Â
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.Â
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 couldnât say about themselves.Â
He and Dua discuss the loneliness of adolescence, the âfriendshipsâ that define those years and the difficulty of leaving behind relationships that no longer serve you.Â
They also get into the novelâs unforgettable ending and the case for ambiguity in storytelling. Paul draws on Twin Peaks and why David Lynchâs unanswered questions can sometimes be more compelling than definitive answers.Â
Expect a conversation about family, identity, secrecy and the stories we tell ourselves to survive.Â
Join the club:Â
đŠÂ Email us your thoughts ââŻbooks@service95.comÂ
đ˛Â Follow @service95bookclub on Instagram for more author interviewsÂ
đ Subscribe to the Service95 Book Club newsletter â and be the first to discover Duaâs next pick â at Service95.comÂ
And donât forget to hit âsubscribeâ wherever you get your podcastsÂ
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices | |||
| Kae Tempest On His Latest Novel, âHaving Spent Life Seekingâ | 09 Jun 2026 | 01:07:17 | |
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 Duaâs Monthly Read for June.Â
Together, Dua and Kae explore the novelâs 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 âaliveâ again after years spent disconnected from the world. At the centre of their discussion is Rothko, a character Kae describes as âdislocated from lifeâ, alongside the novelâs wider cast, each carrying their own desires, wounds and ways of surviving.Â
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.Â
Watch (or listen to) the full conversation here to dive deeper into Having Spent Life Seeking, Dua Lipaâs Monthly Read for the Service95 Book Club.Â
Join the club:Â
đŠ Email us your thoughts â books@service95.comÂ
đ˛ Follow @service95bookclub on Instagram for more author interviewsÂ
đ Subscribe to the Service95 Book Club newsletter â and be the first to discover Duaâs next pick â at service95.comÂ
And donât forget to hit âsubscribeâ wherever you get your podcastsÂ
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices | |||
| From The Archives: Malorie Blackman on race, language and the legacy of Noughts & Crosses | 22 May 2026 | 00:35:17 | |
From the archives this month, we revisit Duaâs conversation with Malorie Blackman, the former Childrenâs Laureate and author of the groundbreaking young adult series Noughts & Crosses. Â
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. Â
More than 20 years after its release, Dua and Malorie discuss Noughts & Crossesâ 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. Â
Tune into the full conversation above.Â
Join the club:Â
đŠ Email us your thoughts â books@service95.comÂ
đ˛ Follow @service95bookclub on Instagram for more author interviewsÂ
đ Subscribe to the Service95 Book Club newsletter â and be the first to discover Duaâs next pick â at service95.comÂ
And donât forget to hit âsubscribeâ wherever you get your podcastsÂ
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices | |||
| So Late In The Day: Dua Lipa & Claire Keegan On Everyday Misogyny | 05 May 2026 | 00:42:21 | |
For her May Service95 Book Club interview, Dua Lipa is joined by one of Irelandâs most celebrated short story writers, Claire Keegan.Â
Together, they explore Keeganâs powerful read So Late In The Day: a sharp, unsettling portrait of a man whose lack of generosity towards his fiancĂŠe gradually reveals the often quiet yet destructive nature of modern misogyny.Â
Dua and Claire unpack the storyâs subtle details, discussing how the authorâs experiences as a woman living in Ireland helped to shape the narrative, and how â in a book that takes less than an hour to read â she captures an unsettling dynamic that resonates in relationships worldwide.Â
Thereâs also a special bonus for dog lovers: keep watching for a charming appearance from a four-legged guestâŚÂ
Join the club:Â
đŠ Email us your thoughts â books@service95.comÂ
đ˛ Follow @service95bookclub on Instagram for more author interviewsÂ
đ Subscribe to the Service95 Book Club newsletter â and be the first to discover Duaâs next pick â at service95.comÂ
And donât forget to hit âsubscribeâ wherever you get your podcasts Â
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices | |||
| From The Archives: Tomasz Jedrowski on his queer coming-of-age love story set in communist Poland | 28 Apr 2026 | 00:38:30 | |
From the archives this month, we bring you Duaâs conversation with Polish-German author Tomasz Jedrowski, author of Swimming In The Dark.Â
Â
Set in 1980, itâs a story of first love between Ludwig and Janus, told against the backdrop of communist Poland as the regime starts to crumble.Â
Â
This queer coming of age story explores a time and place where love, class and politics do not exist in isolation. The communist party looms large in this story, impacting both professional and personal relationships.Â
Â
Dua and Tomasz reflect on what might have been if their parents had not made the choices they did. Tomasz asks what life would have been like for a young gay man in Warsaw in his parentsâ generation and Dua imagines growing up in Kosovo under the shadow of war.Â
Â
Itâs an intimate and beautiful conversation that illuminates a turbulent period of recent history that many people today know little about.
Â
Join the club:Â
đŠ Email us your thoughts â books@service95.comÂ
đ˛ Follow @service95bookclub on Instagram for more author interviewsÂ
đ Subscribe to the Service95 Book Club newsletter â and be the first to discover Duaâs next pick â at service95.comÂ
And donât forget to hit âsubscribeâ wherever you get your podcasts.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices | |||
| All About âJerusalemâ: Jez Butterworth Answers Your Questions  | 21 Apr 2026 | 00:06:36 | |
In this episode of the Service95 Book Club With Dua Lipa, weâre passing the mic back to you. Dua put your questions to Jez Butterworth about her April Monthly Read, Jerusalem â and here, he answers them.Â
Jez traces the playâs origins back to New Yearâs Eve 2000, explains how it came to find its name and goes inside his writing process: what tends to come first, which scene he found most difficult to write and the unique rituals that shape his writing.Â
Watch (or listen to) the full conversation to go deeper into Jerusalem, Dua Lipaâs April read for the Service95 Book Club.Â
Join the club:Â
đŠ Email us your thoughts â books@service95.comÂ
đ˛ Follow @service95bookclub on Instagram for more author interviewsÂ
đ Subscribe to the Service95 Book Club newsletter â and be the first to discover Duaâs next pick â at service95.comÂ
And donât forget to hit âsubscribeâ wherever you get your podcastsÂ
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices | |||
| Jez Butterworth Reads The âJerusalemâ Passage He Found Hardest To Write  | 14 Apr 2026 | 00:05:42 | |
For the April edition of the Service95 Book Club, Dua Lipa sits down with playwright Jez Butterworth to discuss his modern masterpiece, Jerusalem. If youâve never read a play before, this is the place to start.Â
With its raw, visceral portrait of myth, rebellion and a nation wrestling with its own identity, itâs widely regarded as one of the greatest British plays of the 21st century.Â
In this special video, Jez Butterworth reads a powerful excerpt from the play featuring Johnny âRoosterâ Byron dispensing life advice to his young son Marky â a rare father-son moment filled with folklore and the wild inheritance of blood and belonging. âIt was, at that point in 2009, the hardest thing Iâd ever attempted to write⌠It was a massive challenge for me,â says Jez of the passage. Â
Jerusalem blurs the line between truth and myth, capturing Roosterâs attempt to pass down something larger than himself; an inheritance of wildness, belonging and belief.Â
If you havenât already, be sure to catch Dua and Jezâs full interview, too, available to watch now here.Â
Join the club:Â
đŠ Email us your thoughts â â books@service95.comâ Â
đ˛ Follow @service95bookclub on Instagram for more author interviewsÂ
đ Subscribe to the Service95 Book Club newsletter â and be the first to discover Duaâs next pick â at â service95.comâ Â
And donât forget to hit âsubscribeâ wherever you get your podcasts
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices | |||
| Jerusalem: Jez Butterworth on Real Life Inspirations, Creative Instinct & The Myth of Rural England | 07 Apr 2026 | 01:02:01 | |
For April, Dua has chosen Service95âs first play: Jerusalem by award-winning British playwright Jez Butterworth. Heâs widely regarded as one of the leading voices in contemporary theatre â with this conversation with Dua showing exactly what that reputation is built on.Â
Here, Dua and Jez trace the creative forces behind Jerusalem, which unfolds across a single day in a fictional rural English village and centres on the anarchic Johnny âRoosterâ Byron as he resists eviction from the woodland clearing he calls home. Â
The conversation begins with the real figures and encounters that shaped the playâs characters, before turning to Jezâs instinctive approach to writing and the ideas that underpin Jerusalem. Together, they consider the playâs elusive staying power; as Jez puts it, it lingers like âa great song that you can never work out the meaning ofâ.Â
Jerusalem is an exploration of belonging: who is permitted to remain, and who is forced out.Â
Join the club:Â
đŠ Email us your thoughts â books@service95.comÂ
đ˛ Follow @service95bookclub on Instagram for more author interviewsÂ
đ Subscribe to the Service95 Book Club newsletter â and be the first to discover Duaâs next pick â at service95.comÂ
And donât forget to hit âsubscribeâ wherever you get your podcastsÂ
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices | |||
| The Archive Episode: Dua & Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie On Half Of A Yellow Sun | 24 Mar 2026 | 00:35:06 | |
From the archives this month, we bring you Duaâs conversation with Nigerian author Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie on her multi award-winning novel Half Of A Yellow Sun from August 2023. Â
Dua says: âThe story takes place in 1960s Nigeria, both before and during the Nigerian Civil War, also known as the Biafran War. If this is a period of history you are not familiar with, donât worry, you are not alone. Chimamanda skilfully balances truth and fiction, giving a gripping sense of what was at stake for those who lived through the war and granting this travesty the attention it deserves.âÂ
Together, Dua and Chimamanda explore the cast of characters, delving into themes of class, colonialism, politics and conflict. They also discuss how the novelâs parallel love stories â between Olanna and Odenigbo, and Kainene and Richard â remind us that love, jealousy, infidelity and forgiveness are as present in war as they are in peace.Â
Buy the book at Bookshop.org, Waterstones and Barnes & NobleÂ
Join the club:Â
đŠ Email us your thoughts â books@service95.comÂ
đ˛ Follow @service95bookclub on Instagram for more author interviewsÂ
đ Subscribe to the Service95 Book Club newsletter â and be the first to discover Duaâs next pick â at service95.comÂ
And donât forget to hit âsubscribeâ wherever you get your podcastsÂ
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices | |||
| You Asked, She Answered: Roxane Gay Addresses All Your Questions | 17 Mar 2026 | 00:07:31 | |
In this episode of the Service95 Book Club With Dua Lipa, she passes the mic to members of our community, inviting them to ask Roxane Gay, author of Duaâs Monthly Read for March, Bad Feminist, the questions theyâve always wanted to know. Â
Roxane talks about the writers who shaped her, how she protects her mental health when her work puts her in the crosshairs and why firm boundaries make honest writing possible. Perhaps most importantly, Roxane answers one of the weightier questions of our time: can literature ignite a revolution? Â
Get in touch:âŻâŻâŻâŻâŻâŻÂ
đŠÂ Email us ââŻbooks@service95.comâŻâŻâŻâŻâŻâŻÂ
đ˛Â FollowâŻ@service95bookclubâŻand @service95 on Instagram for updatesâŻâŻâŻâŻâŻâŻÂ
đ Subscribe to the Service95 Book Club newsletter â introduced each month by Dua â at service95.comâŻâŻâŻâŻâŻâŻÂ Â
AndâŻdonâtâŻforget to hit subscribe wherever you get your podcastsÂ
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices | |||
| Roxane Gay Reads An Essay From Her Book, Bad Feminist | 10 Mar 2026 | 00:10:24 | |
For the March edition of the Service95 Book Clubâs Monthly Read, Dua Lipa sits down with one of the most prominent feminist voices of this generation, Roxane Gay, to discuss her widely celebrated book of essays, Bad Feminist.Â
In this exclusive video, Roxane Gay reads an essay from the book, Peculiar Benefits. âItâs an essay I wrote when I was trying to think through my relationship to privilege. And how, at times, people are often reluctant to claim privilege, because they are marginalised in other areas of their life,âsays Roxane.  Â
Plus, if you havenât already, be sure to watch Dua and Roxaneâs full conversation, which is available to watch now...Â
Get in touch:Â
đŠ Email us ââŻbooks@service95.com     Â
đ˛ Follow @service95bookclub on Instagram for updates     Â
đ Subscribe to the Service95 Book Club newsletter â introduced each month by Dua â at www.service95.comÂ
And donât forget to hit subscribe wherever you get your podcasts.Â
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices | |||
| Is âBad Feministâ More Relevant Than Ever? Roxane Gay On Media, Misogyny And Finding Joy Amid the Fight | 04 Mar 2026 | 00:47:55 | |
For Marchâs Monthly Read â and in time for International Womenâs Day â we are thrilled to be featuring Bad Feminist by American writer, professor, editor and social commentator Roxane Gay.Â
In this podcast episode, Dua picks some of her favourite essays from Roxaneâs 2014 collection, which spans everything from pop culture and politics to race, body image, sexual violence and the complicated expectations placed on women. The pair unpack how the landscape of feminism has shifted in todayâs climate but also (and perhaps more importantly) how so much of Roxaneâs commentary feels just as relevant today as it did when she first wrote it:Â
âOne of the saddest things about Bad Feminist is most of the essays are still timely.âÂ
Please be warned, this episode is heavy, with discussions of child sexual violence and rape. But it is an incredibly important conversation, confronting todayâs relentless news cycles: from the ongoing uncovering of the Epstein files to the wider state of global media reporting and the ways in which coverage of violence against women continues to fall devastatingly short.Â
There are also lighter moments, where Dua and Roxane bond over their shared love of book clubs. They reflect on the joy that building a community around books brings them â and especially the opportunity to spotlight and uplift writers.Â
Make sure to watch and listen to one of the greatest voices of contemporary feminism give her take on the world today, the work that still needs to be done to improve the realities for women around the world and how, among all of this incredible work, she still finds time to fit in a game of Scrabble every dayâŚÂ
Buy the book at Bookshop.org, Waterstones and Barnes & NobleÂ
 Get in touch:     Â
đŠÂ Email us ââŻbooks@service95.com     Â
đ˛Â Follow @service95bookclub on Instagram for updates     Â
đ Subscribe to the Service95 Book Club newsletter â introduced each month by Dua â at www.service95.com     Â
And donât forget to hit subscribe wherever you get your podcastsÂ
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices | |||
| From The Archives â Crying In H Mart: Michelle Zauner On How Food Holds Memory, How Grief Can Remake Who We Are & Writing As An Act Of Survival | 23 Feb 2026 | 00:26:06 | |
Regular listeners of the Service95 Book Club podcast know, as well as our new monthly read author interviews, we love revisiting some of Duaâs most memorable conversations.
Crying in H Mart by Michelle Zauner is such a universal mother-daughter story, it will always deserve a second, third, even fourth read â making this illuminating conversation between Dua and Michelle from April 2024 worthy of a second, third, even fourth listen.
Some of you may already know Michelle as the uber-cool singer and guitarist of the American cult indie band Japanese Breakfast. Here, she also proves herself to be a first-class memoirist, writing with raw honesty about her teenage relationship with her Korean mother and how recreating the traditional dishes her mother used to make helped her process her grief following her death from cancer. Ultimately, itâs a story about love, something everyone can relate to.
Buy the book at Bookshop.org, Waterstones and Barnes & Noble
Get in touch:Â Â Â Â Â
đŠ Email us ââŻbooks@service95.com    Â
đ˛ Follow @service95bookclub on Instagram for updates    Â
đ Subscribe to the Service95 Book Club newsletter â introduced each month by Dua â at www.service95.com    Â
And donât forget to hit subscribe wherever you get your podcasts.Â
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices | |||
| Jean-Baptiste Answers Your Questions | 17 Feb 2026 | 00:06:00 | |
Jean-Baptiste Del Amo joins Dua for this special Service95 Book Club episode and answers questions from our Service95 community.Â
In this episode, he reflects on the emotion he most wants readers to confront inâŻThe Son of Man, and why discomfort can open the door to deeper understanding. How does he portray brutality without crossing into excess? Where is the line between honesty and spectacle? Â
The conversation also explores fate and free will. Are his characters trapped in cycles shaped by history, family and violence, or do they have the power to choose differently? How much of our lives is inherited â and how much is ours to reclaim?Â
Jean-Baptiste also offers insight into his creative process: how he knows when a novel is finished, when to stop revising, and which writers have influenced his voice the most. Donât miss it.Â
Buy the book atâŻBookshop.org,âŻWaterstones, andâŻBarnes & NobleâŻâŻÂ âŻÂ Get in touch:âŻâŻâŻâŻâŻâŻÂ
đŠÂ Email us ââŻbooks@service95.comâŻâŻâŻâŻâŻâŻÂ
đ˛Â FollowâŻ@service95bookclubâŻon Instagram for updatesâŻâŻâŻâŻâŻâŻÂ
đ Subscribe to the Service95 Book Club newsletter â introduced each month by Dua â atâŻwww.service95.comâŻâŻâŻâŻâŻâŻÂ
AndâŻdonâtâŻforget to hit subscribe wherever you get your podcastsâŻâŻÂ
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices | |||
| Jean-Baptise Del Amo Reads From The Son Of Man, Duaâs Monthly Read For February 2026 | 10 Feb 2026 | 00:07:25 | |
This month on the Service95 Book Club With Dua Lipa podcast, Dua sits down with French author Jean-Baptiste Del Amo to discuss his novel The Son of Man. A dark and unsettling psychological thriller, the book explores themes of inherited violence, patriarchy, masculinity and love. As Dua puts it: âI have to give a trigger warning - this book is dark, even for me!âÂ
In a Service95 exclusive, Jean-Baptiste reads a powerful excerpt from the novel, in which the father figure, one of the bookâs three protagonists, speaks to his son about his own dark understanding of love, loyalty and betrayal.Â
Whether or not youâve read The Son of Man yet, this reading offers insight into the emotional and psychological forces driving the story. It also showcases Jean-Baptisteâs evocative writing style, from his depiction of the intensity of nature to the looming mountains of the French Pyrenees, where much of the novel is set.Â
Buy the book at Bookshop.org, Waterstones, and Barnes & NobleÂ
Get in touch:Â
đŠ Email us ââŻbooks@service95.comÂ
đ˛ Follow @service95bookclub and @service95 Instagram for updatesÂ
đ Subscribe to the Service95 Book Club newsletter â introduced each month by Dua â at https://service95.comÂ
Â
And donât forget to hit subscribe wherever you get your podcasts.Â
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices | |||
| The Son Of Man: Jean-Baptiste Del Amo on Masculinity, Inherited Violence & Patriarchy | 03 Feb 2026 | 00:37:45 | |
This month, Dua sits down with acclaimed French novelist Jean-Baptiste Del Amo to discuss his haunting novel The Son Of Man â a tense, unsettling exploration of masculinity, patriarchy, and the cycles of violence passed from father to son. Set largely in an isolated mountain house in rural France, the novel follows a family upended by the sudden return of a father whose past trauma slowly reveals itself in devastating ways.
âThis is a dark book, even by my standards,â Dua says. âAnd yet, thereâs also real beauty here.â
During the interview, Jean-Baptiste tells Dua why he wanted The Son of Man âto talk about all the fathers and all the sons,â and how he used the narrative to confront how violence is learned, inherited, and repeated. He also speaks of his commitment to writing characters who are rarely centred in French literature, drawing on his background in social work to tell these kinds of stories.
Together, Dua and Jean-Baptiste delve into how the novelâs claustrophobic structure draws you into the story, the authorâs decision to focus on just three central characters, and the way small, visceral details signal the fatherâs unpredictable energy.Â
As their conversation unfolds, they reflect on the emotional complexity of the novelâs title and its relevance in todayâs world. Against the backdrop of ongoing global conversations about male violence, The Son Of Man asks urgent questions about trauma, responsibility, and whether itâs possible to break inherited chains of behaviour.
Buy the book at Bookshop.org, Waterstones, and Barnes & Noble  Get in touch:   Â
đŠ Email us ââŻbooks@service95.com   Â
đ˛ Follow @service95bookclub on Instagram for updates   Â
đ Subscribe to the Service95 Book Club newsletter â introduced each month by Dua â at www.service95.com   Â
And donât forget to hit subscribe wherever you get your podcastsÂ
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices | |||
| From The Archives â Lincoln In The Bardo: George Saunders OnâŻWriting With Empathy, Listening To The Past & Finding Light In The Depths Of Grief | 26 Jan 2026 | 00:50:08 | |
Regular listeners of the Service95 Book Club podcast know, as well as our new monthly read author interviews, we love revisiting some of Duaâs most memorable conversations â and this is a firm favourite.Â
This time from the archive, weâre diving back into Duaâs conversation with George Saunders about his experimental novel Lincoln In The Bardo, Duaâs Monthly Read for October 2024. Set in the cemetery where President Abraham Lincoln is mourning his young son Willie, itâs a story of intense personal grief, told against a backdrop of the American Civil War. Â
Dua and George discuss how he told such an unforgettable story through the eyes of a group of bickering ghosts, and explore the concept of the Bardo, a transitional state between life and death. Together, they read a poignant extract from the book. Itâs a glimpse into the mind of one of todayâs most compassionate writers â and not one to miss. Â
Buy the book at Bookshop.org, Waterstones and Barnes & Noble Get in touch:Â
đŠÂ Email us ââŻbooks@service95.comÂ
đ˛Â Follow @service95bookclub on Instagram for updatesÂ
đ Subscribe to the Service95 Book Club newsletter â introduced each month by Dua â at www.service95.comÂ
And donât forget to hit subscribe wherever you get your podcastsÂ
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices | |||
| Mark Ronson & Dua Lipa Answer Your Questions | 20 Jan 2026 | 00:05:50 | |
Mark Ronson and Dua Lipa come together for a live recording of the Service95 Book Club at New York Cityâs legendary Hotel Chelsea.Â
In this episode, they respond to your questions from the Service95 Book Club community, diving into the allure of reading, curiosity, and the city after dark. What draws us to intense, shadowy novels? If they could bring back one long-lost NYC institution, which would it be? How do they navigate the endless stream of book recommendations when choosing their next read? And what truths does the night reveal that daylight often conceals?Â
Buy the book at Bookshop.org, Waterstones, and Barnes & Noble  Get in touch:   Â
đŠ Email us ââŻbooks@service95.com   Â
đ˛ Follow @service95bookclub on Instagram for updates   Â
đ Subscribe to the Service95 Book Club newsletter â introduced each month by Dua â at www.service95.com   Â
And donât forget to hit subscribe wherever you get your podcastsÂ
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices | |||
| Mark Ronson Reads From Night People, On Ambition, Friendship & Early Mistakes | 13 Jan 2026 | 00:04:56 | |
This month on the Service95 Book Club podcast, Dua sits down with producer and DJ Mark Ronson to discuss his memoir Night People â a candid look at the music, obsession, and late-night worlds that shaped him long before success felt secure.
In a Service95 exclusive, Mark reads an excerpt from Night People that revisits a formative early lesson in ambition. The passage recalls a moment when, desperate to get a foot in the door, he sells out his best friend Sean Lennon without his knowing, securing a slot for his band at the New Music Seminar. Itâs a story driven by hunger, insecurity, and hard-earned self-awareness.
Itâs a revealing snapshot of why Night People stays with you â not because it smooths over mistakes, but because it faces them head on.
Buy the book at Bookshop.org, Waterstones, and Barnes & Noble  Get in touch:   Â
đŠ Email us ââŻbooks@service95.com   Â
đ˛ Follow @service95bookclub on Instagram for updates   Â
đ Subscribe to the Service95 Book Club newsletter â introduced each month by Dua â at www.service95.com   Â
And donât forget to hit subscribe wherever you get your podcastsÂ
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices | |||
| Night People: Mark Ronson on DJing & 90s New York | 06 Jan 2026 | 00:57:15 | |
This month, for the Service95 Book Club, Dua Lipa speaks with producer, songwriter and DJ Mark Ronson about his memoir Night People: How To Be A DJ in 90s New York City. Part cultural history and part personal reckoning, the book traces Markâs formative years between London and New York, and how his immersion into NYC nightlife ultimately shaped the 90s DJ scene in the city.
Set in 1990s New York, Night People captures the clubs, characters, and contradictions that shaped Markâs creative life. He reflects on the idea of ânight people,â shaped by his unconventional upbringing and his parentsâ nocturnal lifestyle, and how DJing became both an escape and a source of control, validation, and belonging.
Written with candour, the memoir explores ambition, missteps, and the risks involved in pushing musical boundaries â including a defining moment when Mark challenged convention by dropping rock music into a hip-hop crowd.
Ultimately, Night People is a story about devotion to music, craft, and the communities built in dark rooms.
 Get in touch:    Â
đŠ Email us ââŻbooks@service95.com    Â
đ˛ Follow @service95bookclub on Instagram for updates    Â
đ Subscribe to the Service95 Book Club newsletter â introduced each month by Dua â at www.service95.com    Â
And donât forget to hit subscribe wherever you get your podcasts.Â
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices | |||
| From The Archive â The Vanishing Half: Brit Bennett On Identity, Invention & The Stories We Inherit | 19 Dec 2025 | 00:27:07 | |
Regular listeners of the Service95 Book Club podcast will know that, alongside our new monthly author interviews, we love returning to some of Duaâs most powerful conversations from the past two and a half years.
This time from the archive, Dua revisits her discussion with Brit Bennett, author of Service95 Book Clubâs November Monthly Read for 2023, The Vanishing Half. The novel opens up profound questions about identity, class, and the legacies that echo across generations â including perhaps the most challenging question of all: what even constitutes race?
The Vanishing Half follows the Vignes twins, who grow up in a small Southern Black community obsessed with skin tone. As they come of age, their lives split in radically different directions: one sister returns home to raise her dark-skinned daughter, while the other chooses to pass as white, building a life far removed from her past â even from her own family. As their daughtersâ lives eventually intersect, Brit weaves a layered exploration of identity, inheritance, and the cost of reinvention across generations.
In this episode, Dua and Brit talk about the nuances of self-invention, the emotional cost of secrecy, and the ways in which family history can shape â and sometimes distort â who we become. Together, they reflect on the complexities of belonging, the fragility of personal truth, and the choices that define our lives. Donât miss it. Get in touch:  Â
đŠ Email us ââŻbooks@service95.com  Â
đ˛ Follow @service95bookclub on Instagram for updates  Â
đ Subscribe to the Service95 Book Club newsletter â introduced each month by Dua â at www.service95.com  Â
And donât forget to hit subscribe wherever you get your podcasts.Â
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices | |||
| Ingvild Rishøi Reads from Brightly Shining, Duaâs Monthly Read for December | 09 Dec 2025 | 00:05:01 | |
This month on the Service95 Book Club podcast, Dua sits down with Norwegian author Ingvild Rishøi to discuss her moving novel Brightly Shining â Duaâs Monthly Read for December â a story shaped by love, chaos, and the stubborn hope that gets a child through tough times.
Â
In a Service95 exclusive, Ingvild reads a passage that captures the novelâs intimate focus on a family stuck in a familiar loop of crisis and shaky fresh starts. We see a dad trying to pull himself together and two daughters whoâve learned how to handle responsibility, exhaustion, and a cautious kind of optimism.Â
Â
Itâs a little taste of why Brightly Shining stays with you â not because it looks away from hardship, but because it brings out the fragile hope that keeps shining through it.
Â
Buy the book at Bookshop.org, Waterstones and Barnes & Noble  Get in touch:  Â
đŠ Email us ââŻbooks@service95.com  Â
đ˛ Follow @service95bookclub on Instagram for updates  Â
đ Subscribe to the Service95 Book Club newsletter â introduced each month by Dua â at www.service95.com  Â
And donât forget to hit subscribe wherever you get your podcastsÂ
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices | |||
| Brightly Shining: Ingvild Rishøi on Hope, Hardship & Reimagining a Christmas Classic | 02 Dec 2025 | 00:33:49 | |
This month, for the Service95 Book Club, Dua Lipa speaks with Norwegian author Ingvild Rishøi about Brightly Shining, a contemporary reimagining of The Little Match Girl. The novel follows two young sisters and their alcoholic father, blending social realism with subtle magic to explore poverty, hope, and the emotional complexities of the holiday season.
Told through the perspective of 10-year-old Ronja, the story highlights the resilience of children navigating instability, the blurred lines between truth and denial within families affected by addiction, and the differing ways siblings cope with responsibility and hope.
By weaving Norwayâs most iconic Christmas tale into a modern setting, Rishøi creates a narrative that feels both timeless and urgently relevant â a compassionate portrait of childhood survival and imagination.
Warning: Contains spoilers!
Buy the book at Bookshop.org, Waterstones, and Barnes & NobleÂ
Get in touch:Â Â Â Â
đŠ Email us ââŻbooks@service95.com   Â
đ˛ Follow @service95bookclub on Instagram for updates   Â
đ Subscribe to the Service95 Book Club newsletter â introduced each month by Dua â at www.service95.com   Â
And donât forget to hit subscribe wherever you get your podcasts.Â
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices | |||
| From the Archive â Just Kids: Patti Smith On Art, Memory & Life-Changing Connections | 25 Nov 2025 | 00:37:17 | |
Regular listeners of the Service95 Book Club podcast will have spotted that, as well as our new monthly author interviews, we love diving back into some of Duaâs most memorable conversations from the past two years â and this one is too good to miss.Â
This time from the archive, Dua sits down with legendary musician, poet and writer Patti Smith to talk about Just Kids â her award-winning memoir and Duaâs Monthly Read from September 2023. A tender portrait of her bond with photographer Robert Mapplethorpe, Just Kids captures the raw electricity of New York in the â60s and â70s and the formative years that shaped two extraordinary artists.
In this episode, the two explore how Patti began shaping the story that would become Just Kids and the role of devotion and creative kinship in her early life. Together, they reflect on the risks and revelations of youth, the power of choosing your own path, and the way memory can become its own kind of art.
Itâs an emotional, intimate discussion about love, loss, and the enduring legacy of art â and one that will stay with you long after listening.
Buy the book at Bookshop.org, Waterstones and Barnes & Noble  Get in touch:   Â
đŠ Email us ââŻbooks@service95.com   Â
đ˛ Follow @service95bookclub on Instagram for updates   Â
đ Subscribe to the Service95 Book Club newsletter â introduced each month by Dua â at www.service95.com   Â
And donât forget to hit subscribe wherever you get your podcasts.Â
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices | |||
| Margaret Atwood Answers Your Questions | 19 Nov 2025 | 00:09:57 | |
In this special episode, we sit down with legendary author Margaret Atwood, whose groundbreaking novel The Handmaidâs Tale is Duaâs Monthly Read for November.Â
From what comes first â character, place, or premise â to how she handles challenging emotions in her writing, Margaret answers your questions across her extraordinary catalogue. She reflects on the rhythm and sound of her prose, the moments that shift the course of her stories, and responds to suggestions that she can predict the future.Â
Plus, she considers the parallels between Serena Joy and the modern Tradwife movement.Â
If youâve ever wondered about Margaretâs writing process, this conversation is a must-listen.Â
Buy The Handmaidâs Tale at â Bookshop.orgâ , â Waterstonesâ , and â Barnes & Nobleâ  Â
Get in touch:Â Â Â Â
đŠÂ Email us ââŻâ books@service95.comâ    Â
đ˛Â Follow â @service95bookclubâ  on Instagram for updates   Â
đ Subscribe to the Service95 Book Club newsletter â introduced each month by Dua â at â www.service95.comâ    Â
And donât forget to hit subscribe wherever you get your podcasts.Â
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices | |||
| Bonus Episode: The Handmaidâs Tale â Elisabeth Moss on Becoming Offred, Meeting Margaret Atwood & The Symbolism of the Handmaidâs Costume | 14 Nov 2025 | 00:18:40 | |
In this special bonus episode of Duaâs Monthly Read for November, we sit down with acclaimed actor Elisabeth Moss, who brings June Osborne â better known as Offred â to life in the Emmy-winning television adaptation of The Handmaidâs Tale.Â
Elisabeth opens up about the first time she read Margaret Atwoodâs iconic novel, what it was like meeting the author herself, and how both moments shaped her portrayal of one of contemporary fictionâs most iconic heroines.Â
She also delves into the evolution of the handmaidâs costumes and how designer Ane Crabtree helped transform Margaretâs vision into one of the most powerful visual symbols of our time, representing resistance, power, and solidarity â both on and off the screen.Â
Finally, she shares her thoughts on the enduring cultural impact of the novel and why Margaretâs story continues to resonate so strongly in todayâs world.Â
Buy The Handmaidâs Tale at Bookshop.org, Waterstones, and Barnes & Noble  Â
Get in touch:Â Â Â Â
đŠ Email us ââŻbooks@service95.com   Â
đ˛ Follow @service95bookclub on Instagram for updates   Â
đ Subscribe to the Service95 Book Club newsletter â introduced each month by Dua â at www.service95.com   Â
And donât forget to hit subscribe wherever you get your podcasts.Â
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices | |||
| Margaret Atwood Reads from Her Memoir, Book Of Lives, Reflecting on the Origins of Offred In The Handmaidâs Tale | 11 Nov 2025 | 00:07:03 | |
Dua sits down with literary icon Margaret Atwood to discuss The Handmaidâs Tale â Duaâs Monthly Read for November â alongside Margaretâs new memoir, Book Of Lives. In her deeply personal book, Margaret revisits the people, places, and ideas that have shaped her writing, offering a rare glimpse into the imagination behind her most enduring creations. Â
In a Service95 exclusive, Margaret reads a passage from Book Of Lives, which recounts how she arrived at the name Offred â the protagonist of The Handmaidâs Tale. Itâs an illuminating moment from Book Of Lives, revealing how language, history, and power intertwine in Margaretâs world. Â
Buy The Handmaidâs Tale at Bookshop.org, Waterstones, and Barnes & Noble    Buy Book Of Lives at Bookshop.org, Waterstones and Barnes & NobleÂ
Get in touch:Â Â Â Â
đŠ Email us ââŻbooks@service95.com   Â
đ˛ Follow @service95bookclub on Instagram for updates   Â
đ Subscribe to the Service95 Book Club newsletter â introduced each month by Dua â at www.service95.com   Â
And donât forget to hit subscribe wherever you get your podcasts.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices | |||
| The Handmaidâs Tale: Margaret Atwood on Power, Possession & Political Origins | 04 Nov 2025 | 00:43:16 | |
This month, Dua sits down with literary icon Margaret Atwood to discuss her groundbreaking novel The Handmaidâs Tale â a dystopian classic that continues to resonate decades after its 1985 publication. Set in a totalitarian society where women are stripped of their rights and forced into reproductive servitude, the novel explores themes of power, control, and resistance through the eyes of its protagonist, Offred.Â
Margaret reflects on how her experiences in Cold War-era East Berlin, the rise of the religious right, her reading of Orwellâs Nineteen Eighty-Four, and her studies of the Salem witch trials all helped shape the world of Gilead. Dua and Margaret also delve into the significance behind Offredâs name and its deeper meaning.Â
As the political landscape continues to shift, Margaret resists making definitive predictions about the future. âYou canât know your legacy,â she says, âbecause you donât know how the context is going to change.âÂ
Buy the book at Bookshop.org, Waterstones, and Barnes & Noble Â
Get in touch:Â Â Â
đŠ Email us ââŻbooks@service95.com  Â
đ˛ Follow @service95bookclub on Instagram for updates  Â
đ Subscribe to the Service95 Book Club newsletter â introduced each month by Dua â at www.service95.com  Â
And donât forget to hit subscribe wherever you get your podcasts.Â
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices | |||
| From the Archive â Say Nothing: Patrick Radden Keefe On Conflict, Memory & The Cost Of Peace | 29 Oct 2025 | 00:43:51 | |
Welcome to the Service95 Book Club with Dua Lipa, a podcast dedicated to the books that stay with us â and the brilliant minds behind them.Â
As well as bringing you a brand-new episode every month, weâll also be dipping into the archive of fascinating conversations Dua has had with authors over the past two years.Â
This time from the archive, Dua sits down with award-winning journalist and author Patrick Radden Keefe to discuss Say Nothing â the gripping true-crime narrative and Duaâs Monthly Read for June 2024. Centred around the disappearance of Jean McConville during the Troubles in Northern Ireland, the book explores the murky intersection of politics, violence, and silence.Â
Together, Dua and Patrick unpack how the mystery of McConvilleâs disappearance became the catalyst for the book, the chilling moment he uncovered the identity of her killer â who was already featured in the story â and whether true peace can ever exist without justice. Â
Buy the book at Bookshop.org, Waterstones and Barnes & NobleÂ
  Get in touch:Â
đŠ Email us ââŻbooks@service95.comÂ
đ˛ Follow @service95bookclub on Instagram for updatesÂ
đ Subscribe to the Service95 Book Club newsletter â introduced each month by Dua â at www.service95.comÂ
And donât forget to hit subscribe wherever you get your podcasts.Â
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices | |||
| Inside Flesh: David Szalay Answers Your Questions | 21 Oct 2025 | 00:09:23 | |
In this special episode, we sit down with award-winning author David Szalay, whose novel Flesh is Dua's Monthly Readfor October.
From the influence of his Hungarian roots to the spark that ignites his book ideas, David answers readersâ questions about the emotional, cultural, and intellectual threads that weave through his work.
If youâve been moved, challenged, or intrigued by Flesh, this episode is a must-listen.
Buy the book at Bookshop.org, Waterstones, and Barnes & NobleÂ
Â
Get in touch:
đŠ Email us ââŻbooks@service95.com
đ˛ Follow @service95bookclub on Instagram for updates
đ Subscribe to the Service95 Book Club newsletter â introduced each month by Dua â at www.service95.com
And donât forget to hit subscribe wherever you get your podcasts.Â
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices | |||
| David Szalay Reads from His Novel, Flesh, Exploring a Tour of Duty in Iraq | 14 Oct 2025 | 00:11:02 | |
This month on the Service95 Book Club podcast, Dua is joined by award-winning author David Szalay to discuss his quietly powerful novel Flesh â selected as Duaâs Monthly Read for October. Told through a series of spare, intimate portraits, the novel captures moments of human vulnerability with a precision that feels deeply real.Â
In a Service95 exclusive, David reads from a chapter set in Iraq, where the protagonist IstvĂĄn and his fellow soldiers find themselves beside a hotel pool, suspended in the strange stillness of their return from war. There is no drama, no action â just silence, heat, and waiting.Â
âThe idea of the soldiers having this very boring journey back from Iraq at the end of their tour of duty there⌠the boring texture of returning⌠that seemed to me to unlock the strong flavour of reality,â David tells Dua in their conversation, recorded live at the New York Public Library, which is also available as a podcast here.Â
Itâs a powerful moment inâŻFlesh, and a testament to the realism that threads through the entire novel. Â
Buy the book at Bookshop.org, Waterstones, and Barnes & Noble Â
Get in touch:Â
đŠ Email us ââŻbooks@service95.comÂ
đ˛ Follow @service95bookclub on Instagram for updatesÂ
đ Subscribe to the Service95 Book Club newsletter â introduced each month by Dua â at www.service95.comÂ
And donât forget to hit subscribe wherever you get your podcasts.Â
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices | |||
| Flesh: David Szalayâs Spare and Unvarnished Portrait of a Man Adrift | 06 Oct 2025 | 00:40:14 | |
This monthâs Service95 Book Club episode comes to you live from the New York Public Library, in partnership with Spotify, recorded in September in front of an audience. Dua is joined by Booker-shortlisted writer David Szalay to discuss his astonishing new novel Flesh - a brilliantly spare and unsettling portrait of a man caught between desire, social classes, and fate.Â
The story follows IstvĂĄn from a bleak Hungarian housing estate to the upper echelons of London society. But David resists the heroâs arc: IstvĂĄn is passive, pliable, often silent â a man seemingly buffeted by events rather than steering them. His life unfolds through abrupt leaps in time, leaving the reader to piece together the shadows between.Â
In their conversation, Dua and David explore why he chose such pared-back prose, to what extent IstvĂĄn exemplifies âa primative form of masculinityâ, and how money, class, and power warp even our most intimate relationships. They touch on the bookâs unresolved tensions, from IstvĂĄnâs relationships with women and his stepson, to the existential loneliness that haunts every page.Â
Buy the book at Bookshop.org, Waterstones, and Barnes & Noble Â
Get in touch:Â
đŠ Email us ââŻbooks@service95.comÂ
đ˛ Follow @service95bookclub on Instagram for updatesÂ
đ Subscribe to the Service95 Book Club newsletter â introduced each month by Dua â at www.service95.comÂ
And donât forget to hit subscribe wherever you get your podcasts.Â
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices | |||
| From the Archive â Drive Your Plow Over The Bones Of The Dead: Olga Tokarczuk On Mysticism, Justice & William Blake | 16 Sep 2025 | 00:34:42 | |
Welcome to the Service95 Book Club with Dua Lipa, a podcast dedicated to the books that stay with us â and the brilliant minds behind them.
As well as bringing you a brand-new episode every month, weâll also be dipping into the archive of fascinating conversations Dua has had with authors over the past two years.
This time from the archive, Dua sits down with Nobel Prize-winning author Olga Tokarczuk to discuss her darkly humorous and deeply philosophical novel Drive Your Plow Over The Bones Of The Dead â Dua's Monthly Read for January 2025. The story follows an eccentric woman in a remote Polish village as she investigates a string of mysterious deaths, raising urgent questions about justice, nature, and the unseen forces that govern our lives.
In this episode, Dua and Olga dive into the ethical dimensions of animal rights, astrology as a form of artistic expression, and the lasting influence of William Blake.
Buy the book at Bookshop.org, Waterstones, Barnes & Noble, Fitzcarraldo Editions and Penguin Random HouseGet in touch:
đŠ Email us ââŻbooks@service95.com
đ˛ Follow @service95bookclub on Instagram for updates
đ Subscribe to the Service95 Book Club newsletter â introduced each month by Dua â at www.service95.com
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices | |||
| Percival Everett Reads from His Booker-Shortlisted Novel, The Trees | 09 Sep 2025 | 00:06:22 | |
This month on the Service95 Book Club podcast, Dua is joined by acclaimed American author Percival Everett to discuss his genre-defying, fiercely satirical novel The Trees â selected as Duaâs Monthly Read for September. A Booker Prize finalist, the book investigates the legacy of racial violence in America through a story that is as chilling as it is darkly comic.
Â
In a Service95 exclusive, Percival reads from the novelâs searing Chapter 64 â a passage that echoes with names of those brutally murdered by lynch mobs. Some are remembered. Some are listed only as âunknown maleâ or âunknown femaleâ. One by one, line by line, Everett delivers a roll call of historyâs brutality â transforming a single characterâs obsession into a profound act of remembrance.
Â
His reading underscores the novelâs emotional and political power, revealing how The Trees blends mystery, satire, and mourning into a story that cannot be ignored.
Buy the book at Bookshop.org, Waterstones, and Barnes & NobleÂ
Â
Get in touch:Â Â
đŠ Email us ââŻbooks@service95.com Â
đ˛ Follow @service95bookclub on Instagram for updates Â
đ Subscribe to the Service95 Book Club newsletter â introduced each month by Dua â at www.service95.com Â
And donât forget to hit subscribe wherever you get your podcasts.Â
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices | |||
| The Trees: Percival Everett on Satire, Justice & Americaâs Haunted Past | 02 Sep 2025 | 00:35:34 | |
This month, Dua is joined by one of the most singular voices in American fiction â the acclaimed author Percival Everett whose novel The Trees was shortlisted for the 2022 Booker Prize. Itâs not an understatement to say that Percival is having a moment â his most recent novel James won the 2024 National Book Award and the 2025 Pulitzer Prize, while American Fiction, the film adaptation of his novel Erasure, won an Oscar for Best Adapted Screenplay in 2024.
On the surface, The Trees is a murder mystery. But scratch deeper and it becomes a furious, funny, and fearless interrogation of racism, lynching, and Americaâs unfinished reckoning with its own past. Taking inspiration from the real-life story of Emmett Till, Percival uses dark comedy and genre subversion to create something bold and unforgettable.
Trigger Warning: Contains discussion of racial violence.
Buy the book at Bookshop.org, Waterstones, and Barnes & NobleÂ
Get in touch:Â Â
đŠ Email us ââŻbooks@service95.com Â
đ˛ Follow @service95bookclub on Instagram for updates Â
đ Subscribe to the Service95 Book Club newsletter â introduced each month by Dua â at www.service95.com Â
And donât forget to hit subscribe wherever you get your podcasts.Â
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices | |||
| From the Archive â The Guest: Emma Cline On Outsiders, Delusion & Desire | 25 Aug 2025 | 00:35:36 | |
Welcome to the Service95 Book Club with Dua Lipa, a podcast dedicated to the books that stay with us â and the brilliant minds behind them.As well as bringing you a brand-new episode every month, weâll also be dipping into the archive of fascinating conversations Dua has had with authors over the past two years.
In this archive episode, Dua sits down with New York Times-bestselling author Emma Cline to talk about her haunting novel The Guest â a story of a young woman adrift in the Hamptons over one long summer, where tension shimmers below the surface.
Emma and Dua explore the art of writing characters you never fully trust, how social class and privilege shape invisible boundaries, why delusion can be its own kind of survival strategy, and the ambiguous ending that has left readers everywhere debating Alexâs fate.
Buy the book at Bookshop.org, Waterstones and Barnes & NobleÂ
Â
Get in touch:Â Â
đŠ Email us ââŻbooks@service95.com Â
đ˛ Follow @service95bookclub on Instagram for updates Â
đ Subscribe to the Service95 Book Club newsletter â introduced each month by Dua â at www.service95.com Â
And donât forget to hit subscribe wherever you get your podcasts.Â
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices | |||
| Helen Garner Reads from Her Gripping Courtroom Drama, This House of Grief | 19 Aug 2025 | 00:07:49 | |
This month on the Service95 Book Club podcast, Dua is joined by legendary Australian author Helen Garner to discuss her quietly devastating masterpiece, This House Of Grief. Selected as Duaâs Monthly Read for August, this true crime classic recounts the harrowing case of Robert Farquharson, a father accused of drowning his three young sons by driving them into a dam on Fatherâs Day.
Â
In a Service95 exclusive, Helen reads the haunting opening pages of the book â a passage that sets the emotional tone for everything that follows. Her voice carries the weight of a story that has never left the Australian psyche, and her reflections throughout the episode explore the moral complexities of guilt, empathy, and writing about real human suffering.
Buy the book at Bookshop.org, Waterstones, and Barnes & Noble Â
Get in touch:Â Â
đŠ Email us ââŻbooks@service95.com Â
đ˛ Follow @service95bookclub on Instagram for updates Â
đ Subscribe to the Service95 Book Club newsletter â introduced each month by Dua â at www.service95.com Â
And donât forget to hit subscribe wherever you get your podcasts.Â
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices | |||
| This House of Grief: Helen Garner on Empathy, Guilt & Writing Through The Unthinkable | 05 Aug 2025 | 00:53:18 | |
What does it mean to truly bear witness â especially to something that defies comprehension?Â
This month on the Service95 Book Club, Dua is joined by legendary Australian writer Helen Garner to discuss This House Of Grief â a haunting account of a father on trial for the murder of his three young sons. The book is part true crime, part literary reportage, and wholly unflinching. As Dua says, it has the pace of a thriller, but it also forces us to ask the most uncomfortable questions about love, justice, and the limits of empathy.Â
Together, Dua and Helen reflect on the power of literature to confront our darkest instincts, and the courage it takes to look â and not look away.Â
Buy the book at Bookshop.org, Waterstones, and Barnes & Noble Â
Get in touch:Â Â
đŠ Email us ââŻbooks@service95.com Â
đ˛ Follow @service95bookclub on Instagram for updates Â
đ Subscribe to the Service95 Book Club newsletter â introduced each month by Dua â at www.service95.com Â
And donât forget to hit subscribe wherever you get your podcasts.Â
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices | |||
| From the Archive â Trust: Hernan Diaz On Power, Silence & Who Gets To Tell The Story | 15 Jul 2025 | 00:46:44 | |
Welcome to the Service95 Book Club with Dua Lipa, a podcast dedicated to the books that stay with us â and the brilliant minds behind them.Â
As well as bringing you a brand-new episode every month, weâll also be dipping into the archive of fascinating conversations Dua has had with authors over the past two years.Â
This time from the archive, Dua sits down with Pulitzer Prize-winning author Hernan Diaz to talk about his bold and genre-defying novel Trust â a mind-bending story told through four interlocking narratives.Â
In this episode, Hernan and Dua explore what it means to search for truth in a world of competing stories, how women have been systematically excluded from the history of money and power, and why silence can sometimes be more revealing than words.  Â
Buy the book at Bookshop.org, Waterstones, and Barnes & NobleÂ
Get in touch:Â
đŠ Email us ââŻbooks@service95.comÂ
đ˛ Follow @service95bookclub on Instagram for updatesÂ
đ Subscribe to the Service95 Book Club newsletter â introduced each month by Dua â at www.service95.comÂ
And donât forget to hit subscribe wherever you get your podcasts.Â
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices | |||
| Small Boat: Vincent Delecroix on Asylum, Responsibility & the Limits of Sympathy | 01 Jul 2025 | 00:45:57 | |
This month, weâre tackling one of the most urgent issues of our time, the question of migration across borders. Small Boat is a stunning and provocative novel that is inspired by the real-life tragedy of 27 asylum seekers who drowned in the English Channel in 2021. Rather than tell the story through the perspective of the victims, Small Boat is narrated by the French radio operator who failed to send help. Itâs an audacious and uncomfortable choice â and thatâs exactly the point.Â
In this episode, Dua speaks with Vincent about moral responsibility, the challenge of maintaining empathy at a time of great political polarisation, and the dangers of becoming desensitised to human suffering. They talk about his choice to centre the story around an ambivalent protagonist, and how fiction can make us face uncomfortable truths.Â
The novel doesnât offer easy answers. Instead, it holds a mirror up to us, asking what we would do, what weâve done, and what it means to look away. As Dua says, this book doesnât let you off the hook â and itâs one everyone should read.Â
Buy the book at Bookshop.org, Waterstones, and Barnes & Noble Â
 Get in touch:Â
đŠ Email us -âŻbooks@service95.comÂ
đ˛ Follow @service95bookclub on Instagram for updatesÂ
đ Subscribe to the Service95 Book Club newsletter - introduced each month by Dua - at www.service95.comÂ
And donât forget to hit subscribe wherever you get your podcasts.Â
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices | |||
| From the Archive â On Earth We're Briefly Gorgeous: Ocean Vuong On Beauty, Grief & The Language That Saves Us | 10 Jun 2025 | 00:53:04 | |
Welcome to the Service95 Book Club with Dua Lipa, a new podcast dedicated to the books that stay with us â and the brilliant minds behind them.Â
 As well as bringing you a brand-new episode every month, weâll also be dipping into the archive of fascinating conversations Dua has had with authors over the past two years. First up from the archive, Dua joined by the extraordinary Ocean Vuong, whose novel On Earth Weâre Briefly Gorgeous left a huge mark on so many readers around the world.Â
 In this episode, Ocean and Dua talk about how care can be radical, how language both connects and distances us, and why sometimes the most powerful thing we can do is just sit with the beauty of a single moment â or, as Ocean so perfectly puts it, live in the whipped cream.Â
Buy the book at Bookshop.org, Waterstones and Barnes & Noble Get in touch:Â
đŠ Email us -âŻbooks@service95.comÂ
đ˛ Follow @service95bookclub on Instagram for updatesÂ
đ Subscribe to the Service95 Book Club newsletter - introduced each month by Dua - at www.service95.comÂ
And donât forget to hit subscribe wherever you get your podcasts.Â
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices | |||
| Widow Basquiat: Jennifer Clement on Love, Art & 1980s New York | 10 Jun 2025 | 00:39:37 | |
Welcome to the very first episode of the Service95 Book Club with Dua Lipa, a new podcast dedicated to the books that stay with us â and the brilliant minds behind them.Â
 To launch the series, Dua is joined by Jennifer Clement, whose unique book Widow Basquiat lifts the curtain on the artist Jean-Michel Basquiat and his complex relationship with his muse, lover and bohemian spirit Suzanne Malouk. Itâs a chaotic love story like no other, as well as a love letter to an almost mythical New York City that no longer exists.Â
 In this episode, Jennifer and Dua talk about how our childhoods shape us, the patterns of behaviour we repeat, and the bars, clubs, galleries and artists that made up the New York creative scene in the 1980s. As Jennifer says, it was a time of explosive freedom and excess, where anything felt possible⌠until the arrival of AIDS, when everything changed.Â
Â
Buy the book at Bookshop.org, Waterstones and Barnes & Noble  Get in touch:Â
đŠ Email us -âŻbooks@service95.comÂ
đ˛ Follow @service95bookclub on Instagram for updatesÂ
đ Subscribe to the Service95 Book Club newsletter - introduced each month by Dua - at www.service95.comÂ
And donât forget to hit subscribe wherever you get your podcasts.Â
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices | |||
| Introducing Service95 Book Club With Dua Lipa | 30 May 2025 | 00:03:24 | |
In this new podcast series, weâll bring you both new interviews with authors of Duaâs Monthly Reads - books that make you laugh, cry, or rethink something you thought you knew - and dive back into the Service95 archives to hear conversations that are too good to miss.
A place that Dua will share her favourite reads from her bookshelf with you, letâs open the front cover and get started.
Get in touch:
đŠ Email us -âŻbooks@service95.com
đ˛ Follow @service95bookclub on Instagram for updates
đ Subscribe to the Service95 Book Club newsletter - introduced each month by Dua - at www.service95.com
And donât forget to hit subscribe wherever you get your podcasts.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices | |||
Š My Podcast Data ¡ Independent project ¡ Data from Apple & Spotify