Western culture as you’ve never seen it before. In a series of mind-blowing essays, critic and broadcaster Noa Menhaim digs down to the roots of stories, myths and literary genres, travelling from art to politics to history to folklore, and from high to popular culture and back again. Through an intricate web of sidenotes, she embarks on a voyage of discovery from the unluckiest book ever made to Viking horned helmets, via the sex life of vampires, mermaids frolicking in the margins, the ancient Amazons, the power of Amazon and on to Utopia and Atlantis. In conversation with broadcaster and oral historian Alan Dein.

Noa Menhaim is an acclaimed Israeli essayist, editor, lecturer, literary critic and head of the Hebrew literature department at Israel’s largest publishing house. Menhaim has made many appearances on Israeli radio and television, and is also known for her screenwriting, script editing and TV series development.

Alan Dein is an oral historian and award-winning radio documentary maker. In a broadcasting career spanning over 25 years, he has made hundreds of documentaries that reflect his passion for oral history and exploring long forgotten stories. He currently presents the long-running BBC Radio series Don’t Log Off where he speaks with people around the world about their day-to-day lives.