Alive in the Merciful Country with Author, Activist, Stand-up Comedian AL KENNEDY - Highlights

Alive in the Merciful Country with Author, Activist, Stand-up Comedian AL KENNEDY - Highlights

Author: Mia Funk February 28, 2026 Duration: 34:15

"All the advice is, if you start, take a walk. Be somewhere beautiful, look at something beautiful. Be in an elevated place. Be in a place that's larger than you to make yourself and your problems go back to the right scale. I always love nature, and I love ravens. I put a lot of ravens into the novel just because they're adorable. Some places that I love are New England, London, Essex, Sark and beautiful Colonsay. I was writing mainly during lockdown and unable to go to any of the places I loved, so I went back to them."

My guest today is AL Kennedy. She is not only a celebrated novelist but also an essayist, standup comedian, dedicated environmental and anti-nuclear activist, and university lecturer. She advocates strongly for the protection of education as the foundation of a healthy democracy and is one of Britain’s most acclaimed and versatile literary voices, a writer who can inhabit the internal life of a soldier in a POW camp, as she did in her Costa Book Award-winning novel Day, as easily as she can navigate the "professional lying" of a modern civil servant.

Her latest novel, Alive in the Merciful Country, takes place during the 2020 lockdown. It tells the story of a primary school teacher who receives a confession from an undercover police officer who infiltrated her life decades earlier. It’s a provocative investigation into state power, the "Spy Cops" scandal and the search for mercy in an age of surveillance. It’s a book about the breakdown of trust. We talk about her life, her activism, and why she believes fiction is the only way to tell the truth when the facts are forbidden and how she balances the truth of her novels with the relief of stand-up comedy.

(0:00) Finding Your Voice

Alfred Wolfsohn voice method and the power of being fully expressed

(2:30) Reading from Alive in the Merciful Country

Exploring hope and resilience in dark times.

(6:22) Education and the Foundation of Democracy

The dangers of dismantling education and how critical thinking protects us from fascism.

(10:26) The Spy Cop Scandal and State Surveillance

(13:59) Lockdown: A Global Pause and the Inrush of Empathy

The fleeting moment of unified humanity during the pandemic and how it was ultimately betrayed.

(17:34) Writing Without Theft: The Ethics of Character Creation

(28:16) AI, Digital Slop, and the Loss of Trust

(33:13) Lockdown: A Global Pause and the Inrush of Empathy

The fleeting moment of unified humanity during the pandemic and how it was ultimately betrayed.

(30:03) Nature, Spirituality, and the Merciful Country

Finding healing in the natural world and navigating the future with love and awareness.

Episode Website

www.creativeprocess.info/pod

Instagram:@creativeprocesspodcast


Hosted by Mia Funk, One Planet Podcast engages with the defining ecological challenges of our time. This isn't about abstract science; it's about the interconnected systems of politics, energy, and economics that shape our relationship with the natural world. Conversations move from the granular details of regenerative agriculture and the circular economy to the global stakes of biodiversity loss and the race to net-zero. You'll hear from a vital range of voices, from organizers with groups like Greenpeace and 350.org to philosophers like Peter Singer, and representatives from institutions like the European Environment Agency and UNESCO. Each episode unpacks a different facet of the crisis-whether it's carbon footprints, wildlife extinction, or renewable energy transitions-focusing on actionable ideas and the human stories behind the headlines. The goal is to illuminate the tangible pathways forward, offering listeners a deeper, more nuanced understanding of how to engage with the planet's most pressing issues. Tune in for thoughtful, in-depth dialogues that go beyond the soundbites, exploring how we can collectively forge a more sustainable and just future.
Author: Language: English Episodes: 100

Sustainability, Climate Change, Renewable Energy, Politics, Activism, Biodiversity, Carbon Footprint, Wildlife, Regenerative Agriculture, Circular Economy, Extinction, Net-Zero · One Planet Podcast
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