Pratchat - a Terry Pratchett and Discworld book club

Pratchat - a Terry Pratchett and Discworld book club

Join writer Elizabeth Flux and comedian Ben McKenzie on their six(ish) year mission to read every Terry Pratchett novel – not just the Discworld ones! They’ll read one a month, and discuss them with special guests, puns and footnotes. Episodes released on the 8th of each month (Australian time); check pratchatpodcast.com and the end of each episode for notice of the next book, and send in questions to us via social media! The explicit tag represents a fairly average Australian level of coarse language.

Episodes

April 26, 2026 76 mins

Liz and Ben were once again fortunate to be guests of the Australian Discworld Convention – this time in Sydney! In this live recording from day two of Nullus Anxietas X: A Celebration of Witches, we discuss Rhianna Pratchett and Gabrielle Kent’s 2023 book, Tiffany Aching’s Guide to Being a Witch. (We previously interviewed Rhianna and Gabrielle about it in Pratchat74, “Hogswitch”.)

Tiffany Aching has been a witch for some ye...

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A brief announcement from Ben that our Folklore of Discworld episode has been delayed another month – but we’ll get you our live episode from the Australian Discworld Convention ASAP, later this month!

Our interview with Rhianna Pratchett and Gabrielle Kent about Tiffany Aching’s Guide to Being a Witch can be found in #Pratchat74, “Hogswitch”, from January 2024.

While we’re a bit quiet, why not check out some of the other Pr...

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Our March episode has been delayed. To mark International Women’s Day 2026, here’s a bonus episode in which Ben passes on recommendations of women to read if you like Terry Pratchett – mostly from listeners like you!

You can find all the authors and podcasts mentioned in this episode below. The official home of International Women’s Day is unwomen.org – don’t let Google etc tell you otherwise.

(00:02:41) The Grab...

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    Writer and game designer Kat Clay joins Liz and Ben to point and click on Rincewind once more, as we discuss the 1996 graphic adventure game Discworld II: Missing, Presumed…!? from Perfect Entertainment.

    When the wizard Windle Poons dies, no-one comes to collect his soul – and this isn’t the first time Death has been derelict in his duty. Something must be done, and the Archchancellor knows just the man for the job: so-...

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    Liz and Ben do a little light Summer reading as they tackle one of the biggest Discworld books of all – Terry Pratchett and Stephen Briggs’ The Discworld Companion, in all its various editions (but mostly 2021’s The Ultimate Discworld Companion).

    From the Abbott of the History Monks, to dimensionally-displaced traveller Jack Zweiblumen, the Discworld Companion is an alphabetical encyclopaedia of everything Discworld! Flip to ...

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    December 7, 2025 144 mins

    Psychologist Craig Hildebrand-Burke rejoins Liz and Ben as we don our flat caps and anoraks, as we make sense of Terry Pratchett’s penultimate Discworld novel, 2013’s Raising Steam.

    Dick Simnel has created Iron Girder, the Disc’s first steam engine – and he’s brought it to Ankh-Morpork seeking an investor. He finds one in Sir Harry King, who is keen to be known as the King of something other than what...

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    A cult of malcontents have summoned a dragon in Ankh-Morpork to topple the Patrician! And of course the only one who can save the city is...Rincewind? It’s a familiar story with a new twist as games journalist and PC Gamer editor Jody Macgregor joins Liz and Ben to talk about the 1995 point and click adventure game Discworld, as shouted at by Terry Pratchett!
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    We’re discussing one fewer book with one fewer host than originally planned this month, but it’s all turned out pretty well as goblin-loving illustrator, educator and game designer Brendan Barnett joins Ben to discuss all the weird, weird creatures of Paul Kidby’s 2024 book, Designing Terry Pratchett’s Discworld. (And don’t worry - Liz will be back next month!)
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    September 8, 2025 2 mins
    No episode this month, and a sad farewell to a beloved Pratcat.
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    Our August episode has been delayed! In this bonus bit of Pratchat to fill the gap, Ben takes us for a quick look at the stuff on his Pratchett shelves which probably won't make it into another episode.
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    The Patrician is missing! So of course Liz, Ben and guest Richard McKenzie have to go head-to-head for control of the biggest (and grossest) city on the Disc… Join us as we complete our collection of Discworld board games by discussing Martin Wallace’s 2011 design, Discworld: Ankh-Morpork.
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    June 8, 2025 177 mins
    Liz, Ben and guest Pratchett scholar Freyja Stokes head downriver to the Shires for an adventure featuring Vimeses, goblins, murderers, double meanings and one Wonderful Fanny. Join us as we discuss Terry Pratchett’s last Watch-focused Discworld novel, 2011’s Snuff.
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    May 24, 2025 2 mins

    A very brief little episode to say that we won’t have any episodes in May. We didn’t want to leave you without anything at all!

    As Ben suggests, why not listen to The Truth Shall Make Ye Fret’s special 25th of May episode, “Gender on the Discworld”, released today? You can find it in all major podcast directories, at thetruthshallmakeyefret.com, and there’s even a video version on YouTube.

    Or you could listen to #Pratchat54, “The ...

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    Liz and Ben venture into the archives and come back with their highlights from the diaries, yearbooks and guides to some of Ankh-Morpork's most famous instutions - plus that venerable publication, the ever-reliable Almanak!
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    Liz, Ben and guest Myfanwy Coghill talk not about DEATH but death, and specifically the idea of being able to choose a good one for yourself, as we discuss Terry Pratchett's 2010 Richard Dimbleby lecture, "Shaking Hands with Death". This episode includes discussion of death, terminal illness, assisted dying and suicide.
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    Our episode discussing The Ankh-Morpork Archives and The Discworld Almanak is delayed, so here Ben’s discussing some of the most interesting and fun Discworld merchandise that isn’t shaped like a book.
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    Pratchat United have added some real talent to the conversation with Dr Tansy Rayner Roberts PhD (Classics), which is just as well because a few late scoring questions from the Listeners look set to push things into extra time... Lots of excitement in this, Terry Pratchett’s 37th Discworld match, UNSEEN ACADEMICALS!
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    December 7, 2024 86 mins
    Welcome to the final round of selection for Grand Trunk Semaphore Clacks Operators! We only take the best, so you’re going to have to race the other candidates to show you have what it takes to send a message all the way to Genua faster than a speeding horse. You’ll be competing against potential “friends of Moist" Nicholas J Johnson and Lawrence Leung, current champion Elizabeth Flux, and distractible monologuer Ben McKenzie. We’l...
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    Our Clacks were jammed this month, so here’s a Pratchat we prepared earlier: Dr Laura Jean McKay joins us to discuss talking animals, class relations, extreme evolution and existential dread as we talk about Terry Pratchett’s short stories “Hollywood Chickens” and “From the Horse’s Mouth”.
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    Pratchat moves onto the Stephanie Convery Standard as we discuss gold, obsession, wealth, money and small dogs with inappropriate toys. Yes, it's Terry Pratchett’s Making Money!
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