A couple of weeks ago, we released the first episode in Season 2 of our podcast, “Reading Between The Lines”.
We were very pleased to be able to come back for a second season, so of course we wanted to start with a bang.
That’s why we decided to read a story by “Friend” legend Annie S. Swan.
“Her Promise Broken” was first published in 1936, in the annual bearing Annie’s name. As a family drama on the subject of inheritance, it’s very much the sort of thing the “Friend” published round about this time.
But that doesn’t mean it’s predictable!
In fact, right from the beginning this story gives our panel the sense that it’s playing with our expectations. And while the ending might not quite live up to those expectations, it’s still a very well-written piece, which led to a fascinating (and entertaining!) discussion.
For this episode, our panel consisted of Digital Ed Iain, “Friend” Editor Angela, DC Thomson Archivist David, and — for the first time — a special guest in Charlotte Lauder, a PhD student at the University of Strathclyde and the National Library of Scotland.
There was plenty packed into this story, and the episode ran a little longer than usual. But we hope you don’t mind!
Plus, we’ve tweaked the format of the story slightly . . .
Our new feature
We’ve always thought our episodes end a little abruptly. Well, they basically end when Iain decides we don’t have anything else to talk about!
This season, we’ve decided to make our conclusions a little less jarring by introducing a new segment to “Reading Between The Lines”: story ratings.
Each time we get together to record a little chat like this, we’re going to give the story we’re reading a score out of 10.
We’re inviting listeners to give the stories a score, too, via reviews on your particular podcast provider, or comments on our Facebook and Twitter pages.
The winning story will be the one with the highest score after our last episode. As a reward to our listeners (and our readers!), we will print this story in the “Friend” weekly magazine, or in one of our Specials.
Better still, if the story didn’t originally come with an illustration, we’ll have Illustrations Ed Manon create one specially!
So, if you listen to “Reading Between The Lines” and you want a closer look at the text of your favourite story, don’t forget to leave us a review!
In the meantime, listen to the first episode of Season 2 below. We hope you like it!
Our sponsor
“Reading Between The Lines” is once again sponsored by friendship society, the Oddfellows.
In a few of our episodes this season, we are lucky enough to be able to hear directly from some Oddfellows members. Listen out for what they have to say!
And if you’re looking to make new friends or find new activities, visit the Oddfellows website, or call 0800 028 1810 today for a free information pack.
Terms and conditions apply to all member benefits and services.
For more on our story podcast, click here.
Iain McDonald I am the Digital Content Editor at the “Friend”, making me responsible for managing the flow of interesting and entertaining content on the magazine’s website and social media channels.
