LONDON, January 30 — Simon & Schuster UK has launched a new podcast, The Words, a topical series of interviews, insights, discussions and ideas, plus exclusive essays from authors, on the world of books, culture and society.

Presented by award-winning arts journalist Rosie Goldsmith, the podcast launches today with episode 1: The Words On Sexism where three writers whose recent books explore the pervasive culture of sexism in society join in a panel discussion. Laura Bates (Everyday Sexism and Girl Up), Anne Helen Petersen (Too Fat, Too Slutty, Too Loud) and Sarah Vaughan (Anatomy of a Scandal) discuss the challenges of sexism in society, politics, education and entertainment. In interview, Sarah Vaughan explores issues of consent, power and privilege in her gripping and very timely new novel, Anatomy of a Scandal, which also showcases clips from the audiobook to frame the discussion, and to finish the programme Laura Bates reads an exclusive essay from her forthcoming collection, Misogynation.

Each monthly episode of The Words podcast will present a different theme with an exchange of ideas from leading fiction and non-fiction authors from across the list. Every episode will include a lively panel discussion on the headline topic, an in-depth author interview on a new release as well as a specially commissioned essay or short story related to the topic of the month.

Forthcoming episodes guests include Philippa Gregory, Benjamin Zephaniah, Chris Carter, Louise Candlish, Lisa Cutts, Andrew Wilson, Ben Holden, Santa Montefiore and many more authors tackling sweeping subjects such as leadership, mental health, rebellion and creativity.

From Rosie Goldsmith, presenter: “The combination of great books, top authors and lively topical debate with quality audio and production is a magical formula and for me personally and professionally this is a dream come true. All my passions in one perfectly formed podcast: what more could a presenter want?”

From Davy Nougarede, producer at West End Media: “In an era where savvy listeners can choose from a plethora of literary programmes, offering theme-led discussions and exclusive content is key. Every month, The Words podcast will bring authors together to debate openly over topics, which are engaging, sometimes controversial, but always relevant.”

From Dawn Burnett, Marketing Director “Creating original content by such captivating voices and bringing them together in this quality production is an enormously exciting new project for Simon & Schuster. We hope the topical themes in this series will have wide appeal to all sorts of listeners across the globe looking for something a bit different from other publisher podcasts.”

The Words Podcast can be found on iTunes, SoundCloud, Mixcloud, Acast, Podcast Republic, Podbean.com and Audioboom.com.  The website is www.thewordspodcast.com. Follow on: Twitter @TheWordsPodcast, Instagram @thewordspodcast and Facebook /thewordspodcast