Charlie and Nydia Hetherington (Sycorax) discuss the witch Shakespeare's Prospero hates so much and Nydia's reimagining slash prequel to The Tempest. This involves conversation about chronic illness, attitudes to women in regards to the occult, and on a seemingly unrelated subject, the tendency of pirates to leave problematic people on isolated islands.
A transcript is available on my site
General references:
W H Auden: The Sea And The Mirror
Books mentioned by name or extensively:
Libby Colman: Trixie - The Childhood Of Sycorax, Witch Of Algiers
Margaret Atwood: Hag-Seed
Marina Warner: Indigo
Nydia Hetherington: A Girl Made Of Air
Nydia Hetherington: Sycorax
Tad Williams: Caliban's Hour
William Shakespeare: The Tempest
Release details: recorded 4th December 2024; published 14th April 2025
Where to find Nydia online: Website || Instagram
Where to find Charlie online: Website || Instagram || TikTok
Discussions
01:20 The initial inspirations - theatre and Nydia's chronic condition
10:23 Research and inspirations in regards to other adaptations
12:58 More on Nydia's dedication to Shakespearean writing
13:58 Disability and women being witches put together
20:01 The good women in the book, Yemma and Zari
24:11 Including Barbarossa the pirate and the way pirates left criminals isolated
28:26 Afalkey the Beautiful and charming men
30:05 The role the Crow plays
32:48 What Nydia is writing at the moment
34:30 Nydia's William Blake novel she mentioned earlier
Stuff You Should Know
If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.
CrimeLess: Hillbilly Heist
It’s 1996 in rural North Carolina, and an oddball crew makes history when they pull off America’s third largest cash heist. But it’s all downhill from there. Join host Johnny Knoxville as he unspools a wild and woolly tale about a group of regular ‘ol folks who risked it all for a chance at a better life. CrimeLess: Hillbilly Heist answers the question: what would you do with 17.3 million dollars? The answer includes diamond rings, mansions, velvet Elvis paintings, plus a run for the border, murder-for-hire-plots, and FBI busts.
Dateline NBC
Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations. Follow now to get the latest episodes of Dateline NBC completely free, or subscribe to Dateline Premium for ad-free listening and exclusive bonus content: DatelinePremium.com