Serial

Serial is the world's most popular podcast and doesn't need my endorsement, but the hype is worth it - it is The Wire of podcasts - and, now I have heard episode 7, confirms my opinion that if you at all interested in motive and character and narrative then it is essential listening.

Vulture will provide you with five more reasons to listen

Windows on the World

Orhan Pamuk, Istanbul, Turkey
Matteo Pericoli’s new book, Windows on the World, features his intricate pen-and-ink illustrations of fifty views from fifty writers’ windows, including those of Orhan Pamuk, John Jeremiah Sullivan, and the late Nadine Gordimer. In short essays alongside the drawings, these authors share what they see from their windows—around the world, from Lagos to Berlin—drawing a new map of our imaginations and dreams.
Now you can have your view illustrated by Pericoli, too.
Starting November 1, submit a photograph of the view through your window—including the window frame—along with three hundred words about what you see, tocontests@theparisreview.org. Submissions will be judged by the editors of The Paris Review and Penguin Press, and by Matteo Pericoli. The winner will receive Pericoli’s original sketch and have his or her essay published on the Paris Review Daily. Five finalists will receive signed copies of Windows on the World. By submitting a contest entry, you acknowledge that you have read and agree to the contest rules below.
Submissions will be accepted from November 1-15, 2014.