Madeleine Bunting + Natasha Carthew

The English have long had a love affair with the seaside.  

But many of our most cherished seaside places are now struggling with deep deprivation, and in some coastal locations, second home ownership is making it impossible for locals to remain in the places where they grew up. 

In “The Seaside”, acclaimed non-fiction writer and novelist Madeleine Bunting journeys around England to explore the enduring appeal of seaside places, but also how they speak powerfully to the character and political state of our nation today. 

Working-class novelist, poet and activist, Natasha Carthew grew up on the south coast of Cornwall. Her book, “Undercurrent”, is a vivid and powerful personal exploration of rural poverty, and the often-devastating impact of living without the means or support to build a future. 

Madeleine and Natasha join us to venture beyond the buckets and spades idyll and discuss the undercurrents of life beside the seaside.