Join us as we head to the mean streets of 1930s LA for an episode all about Raymond Chandler's hardboiled detective story The Big Sleep.

In The Big Sleep, we meet tough guys, petty criminals and dangerous femme fatales as we follow jaded PI Philip Marlowe in his quest to unravel the mysteries surrounding the wealthy Sternwood family.

In this episode, we discuss the character of Philip Marlowe – the prototype of the cynical detective, whose hard-drinking, wisecracking exterior conceals a somewhat more sensitive side – and we look at Chandler's writing style, which came to have an immense impact on popular culture. We also chat about the book's extremely complex and convoluted plot as we struggle to get our heads around exactly what happens in The Big Sleep.

We conclude with a discussion of the 1946 film adaptation starring Humphrey Bogart and Lauren Bacall.

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