The Good Word - Series One

Episode One
Kicking off the first season of The Good Word, presenter Emily Perkins hosts a discussion about romance/war novel The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Shaffer. Critic Graham Beattie, writer Kath Akuhata-Brown and television presenter Wallace Chapman are largely complimentary. Writer Kapka Kassabova then joins Emily in the studio to discuss her love of Paul Bowles' novel The Sheltering Sky. Finlay Macdonald introduces the Under the Covers segment, which deep dives into a famous New Zealand book. This time it's Ngaio Marsh's 1945 crime novel Died in the Wool.  

Episode Two
Presenter Emily Perkins is joined by broadcaster Wallace Chapman, actor Elizabeth McRae and former Dunedin Mayor Sukhi Turner to rate Kapka Kassabova's memoir Street with No Name. Guest Don McGlashan praises Primo Levi's short story collection The Periodic Table and in 'famous Kiwi books' section Under the Covers, Finlay Macdonald explores the enduring power of John Mulgan's 1939 novel Man Alone.

Episode Three
Gordon McLauchlan's 2008 urban biography The Life and Times of Auckland provokes animated discussion from this week's panel, which consists of host Emily Perkins, Wallace Chapman, Sukhi Turner and TV presenter Te Radar. Journalist Steve Braunias talks about why he rates Michael Parkinson's biography of footballer George Best so highly, and Finlay Macdonald revisits Gordon McLauchlan's 1976 bestseller The Passionless People. 

Episode Four
Emily Perkins, panel regular Wallace Chapman, editor Guy Somerset and scriptwriter Kath Akuhata-Brown reassess infamous 1929 novel Lady Chattersley's Lover by DH Lawrence. The verdict is wildly mixed. Photographer Marti Friedlander talks about the power of Russian writer Fyodor Dostoevsky's The Idiot, and Finlay Macdonald's famous Kiwi novel is Taranaki author Ronald Hugh Morrieson's pitch black 1963 debut, The Scarecrow.

Episode Five
Host Emily Perkins is joined by Guy Somerset, Elizabeth McRae, and Te Radar to discuss Philip Roth’s coming-of-age story Indignation. Later, she speaks with Flying Nun Records founder Roger Shepherd about moody Wellington-set Blindsight, a novel by New Zealand writer Maurice Gee. In Under the Covers, Finlay Macdonald visits Elizabeth Knox to hear how a fever dream inspired her beloved 1998  novel The Vintner’s Luck.

Episode Six
Graham Beattie, Kath Akuhata-Brown, and Sukhi Turner tackle Alan Duff’s Dreamboat Dad, a portrait of post-war small-town New Zealand from the author of Once Were Warriors. Musician Chris Knox brings a unique choice to the show, discussing the graphic novel in his review of Chris Ware’s Jimmy Corrigan: The Smartest Kid on Earth. Then, Finlay Macdonald speaks with Barbara Else about The Warrior Queen (1995), her satirical take on middle-class marriage set in Auckland.

Episode Seven
Emily Perkins welcomes Graham Beattie, Sukhi Turner, and Wallace Chapman to review Forbidden Cities, Paula Morris’ short story collection capturing life in cities across the globe. Then broadcaster Mark Sainsbury joins Emily to discuss Imperial Life in the Emerald City, Rajiv Chandrasekaran’s account of life in the International Zone of Baghdad during the Iraq War. Then Finlay Macdonald revisits the life story that inspired The Godwits Fly, Robin Hyde’s 1938 semi-autobiographical novel. 

Episode Eight
Host Emily Perkins is joined by regulars Guy Somerset, Kath Akuhata-Brown and Te Radar to cast a critical eye over Linda Olsson's novel Sonata for Miriam. Artist Judy Darragh pops by to talk about her love of Seven Days in the Art World, written by undercover journalist Sarah Thornton. For this episode's Under the Covers segment, Finlay Macdonald deep dives into the history of Aotearoa's best-selling book, The Edmonds Cookery Book. 

Episode Nine 
Show regulars Te Radar, Wallace Chapman and Guy Somerset are back again, this time for a largely positive review of a collection of James K. Baxter poems selected by Sam Hunt. Painter John Reynolds then joins Emily Perkins in the studio to compliment My Mistress's Sparrow is Dead, a collection of love stories by various writers. Finally, Finlay Macdonald is reporting in the field on Sylvia Ashton-Warner's semi-autobiographical novel Spinster. 

Episode Ten
Panel favourite Wallace Chapman is joined by former Dunedin Mayor Sukhi Turner and actor Elizabeth McRae for their thoughts on The Rehearsal, the debut novel from Eleanor Catton. Host Emily Perkins then leads fellow writer Fiona Kidman in a gushing discussion of the short stories collection Open Secrets, written by "Chekhov of our time" Alice Munro. For Finaly Macdonald's history lesson, he explores the importance and impact of Maurice Gee's children's novel Under the Mountain. 

Episode Eleven
Panelists Guy Somerset, Sukhi Turner, and Kath Akuhata-Brown join host Emily Perkins to discuss Paul Theroux’s travel book Ghost Train to the Eastern Star retracing earlier train journeys. Actor Jennifer Ward-Lealand shares her love for vivid characters with TC Boyle's hippie commune novel Drop City. In Under the Covers, Finlay Macdonald visits CK Stead to discuss his dystopian novel Smith’s Dream and it's adaption into landmark Kiwi film, Sleeping Dogs.

Episode Twelve
Guy Somerset, Elizabeth McRae, and Wallace Chapman dive into Swimmer’s Rope, Stephanie Johnson’s novel set across decades in Auckland. Musician Anna Coddington then joins host Emily Perkins to share a longtime favourite: Dave Eggers’ darkly funny memoir, A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius. Then, Finlay Macdonald meets up with beloved Hairy Maclary author Lynley Dodd to learn about the art of writing stories that captivate young readers.

Episode Thirteen  
For the final episode of series one, Good Word favourites Kath Akuhata-Brown, Guy Somerset and Elizabeth McRae return to discuss The Boat, a series of short stories from Vietnamese-Australian writer Nam Le. Emily Perkins moderates the discussion as per usual, and is then joined by censor Bill Hastings, who brings Victor Hugo's Les Misérables as his book of choice. Lloyd Jones' unconventional rugby novel The Book of Fame is the feature of Under the Covers. Finlay Macdonald interviews Jones and rugby player turned writer Greg McGee about the award-winning novel.