I was strolling down the street listening to the Times Literary Supplement podcast (my favorite of its kind) when I realized the hosts were referring to me when they spoke of the “lovely man who deals in rare books” who is part of an “al fresco” cheese club at his workplace (long story). Thea Lenarduzzi, commissioning editor and resident fromagier, delightfully agrees that “al fresco” is the most “considerate way to enjoy cheese.” The incident begins at 1:10 if you want to listen below.

Incidentally, I was corresponding with Thea via that “most benighted of social networks,” LinkedIn (couldn’t agree more), because it was the only way I could find to get in touch with her or, via her, Stig Abell, the head editor. I simply wanted to tell them how much I enjoy the podcast, though I admit I had cheese-related questions about the TLS Christmas party as well.

In all seriousness, as a subscriber and regular reader of the paper, I find the podcast provides indispensable elaborations and additional information related to the articles I’ve recently read or will be reading soon. It’s a fabulous podcast, one I can’t recommend highly enough, with revealing and instructive appearances by reviewers, critics, historians, and authors, always interposed by lively and informative banter between Stig and Thea. You can listen on SoundCloud (embedded player below), iTunes, Apple Podcasts (on your iPhone), or you can stream directly from the TLS website. Enjoy! And subscribe!