London Review Podcasts

Stefan Collini talks to Thomas Jones about the life and work of Frank Kermode, and Mary-Kay Wilmers remembers him as a contributor to the LRB.Find LRB pieces related to this episode here: lrb.me/frankkermodepodSubscribe to the LRB from just £1 per issue: mylrb.co.uk/podcast20bBuy the LRB’s selection of Frank Kermode’s essays from the LRB Store: lrb.me/kermodeselectionpod  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Following his piece in the latest issue of the LRB, William Davies talks to Thomas Jones about the new political polarisation, and what it owes to the online culture of instant feedback. What does politics look like, Davies asks, once the provocation of reaction, positive or negative, precedes the slow work of excavation, research, reporting and administration?They discuss the anticipation of this modern politics in the ideas of the Nazi theorist Carl Schmitt, the seductive appeal of referendums as relief from the quagmire of parliamentary liberalism, and the way that demanding people take sides in the ‘culture wars’ inhibits meaningful discussion where it’s most needed.Read William Davies' piece here: https://lrb.me/daviesredbuttonpodSubscribe to the LRB from just £1 per issue: mylrb.co.uk/podcast20b  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Pankaj Mishra talks to Adam Shatz about his latest piece for the LRB, which looks at the ways the US and UK have responded to the Covid-19 pandemic and Black Lives Matter protests, and what those botched responses reveal about the broader failures of Anglo-America.Their discussion also touches on the recent ‘open debate’ letter to Harper’s, the lingering prevalence of Cold War thinking among Western intellectuals, and the extent to which a Biden administration may or may not bring change.Read Pankaj Mishra's piece here: https://lrb.me/pnakajmishrapodSubscribe to the LRB from just £1 per issue: mylrb.co.uk/podcast20b  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Katherine Rundell reads her study of the lemur.You can find all the pieces in Katherine Rundell's series of animal studies on her author page on the LRB website: https://lrb.me/rundellpodSubscribe to the LRB from just £1 per issue: mylrb.co.uk/podcast20b  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Amia Srinivasan talks to Thomas Jones about the long search for a third person singular, gender-neutral pronoun, and the resurgence of the pronoun debate in recent years.Read more by Amia Srinivasan in the LRB here: https://lrb.me/amiasrinivasanpodSubscribe to the LRB from just £1 per issue: mylrb.co.uk/podcast20b  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Keeanga-Yamahtta Taylor talks to Adam Shatz about the intellectual and historical background to the Black Lives Matter movement, and why she’s optimistic that the current protests might bring change.Find further reading and a full transcript of this episode on the LRB website: https://lrb.me/howdoyouchangethingsSubscribe to the LRB from just £1 per issue: mylrb.co.uk/podcast20b  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Katherine Rundell reads her study of the common swift, which flies about two million kilometres in its lifetime.You can find all Katherine Rundell's pieces on animals for the LRB here: https://lrb.me/rundellpodSubscribe to the LRB from just £1 per issue: mylrb.co.uk/podcast20b  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Gaby Wood reads her diary from the latest issue of the LRB, in which she tries to draw an albatross using a camera lucida.Read the diary and much more in a latest issue: https://lrb.me/latestlrbSubscribe to the LRB from just £1 per issue: mylrb.co.uk/podcast20b  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Susan Pedersen talks to Joanna Biggs about Shelagh Delaney and her landmark 1958 play, A Taste of Honey.Read Susan Pedersen on Shelagh Delaney in the LRB: https://lrb.me/delaneypodSubscribe to the LRB from just £1 per issue: mylrb.co.uk/podcast20bThe first two clips in this episode are from the 1961 film, the third clip is from The White Bus (1967) directed by Lindsay Anderson, and the fourth clip is from a 1959 interview with Delaney for ITN.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

John Lanchester talks to Thomas Jones about Georges Simenon, whose output was so prodigious that even he didn’t know how many books he wrote.Find links to related articles and a full transcript on the podcast episode page: https://lrb.me/maigretreturnspodSubscribe to the LRB from just £1 per issue: mylrb.co.uk/podcast20b  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Sonia Gandhi and Rupert Beale, scientists at the Francis Crick Institute, talk to Thomas Jones about the ways Covid-19 can affect the nervous system, the steps required to reopen the NHS after lockdown, the state of testing, and reasons for optimism about a vaccine.Read Rupert Beale’s latest piece on the coronavirus here: How to Block SpikeSubscribe to the LRB from just £1 per issue: mylrb.co.uk/podcast20b  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Andrew O’Hagan talks to Thomas Jones about the friendship between Robert Louis Stevenson and Henry James, and the time they spent together in Bournemouth.Find a full transcript of this episode and links to related articles here: http://lrb.me/ohaganrlspodSubscribe to the LRB from just £1 per issue: mylrb.co.uk/podcast20b  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Michael Wood talks to Adam Shatz about critical theory, its origins, developments and various diversions, and where it stands today. The conversation marks the publication of the eighth volume in the LRB Collections series, The Meaninglessness of Meaning: Writing about the theory wars from the ‘London Review of Books’ by contributors including Pierre Bourdieau, Judith Butler, Richard Rorty, Lorna Sage, John Sturrock and Michael Wood.You can buy the book on the LRB Store here: lrb.me/theoryFind a full transcript and list of related articles for this episode here: https://lrb.me/theorytrucepodUse the code ‘collect8’ at checkout to buy all eight LRB collections for just £40.Subscribe to the LRB from just £1 per issue: mylrb.co.uk/podcast20b  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Colm Tóibín talks to Thomas Jones about the breakdown of Elizabeth Hardwick’s marriage to Robert Lowell, and its literary consequences.Find the pieces mentioned in this episode here: lrb.me/toibinhardwickpodSubscribe to the LRB from just £1 per issue: https://mylrb.co.uk/podcast20b  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Mary Wellesley talks to Joanna Biggs about islands, blessed and not so blessed, from Homer to the Fyre Festival.Read more by Mary Wellesley in the LRB:On Blessed IslesOn anchoritesOn Sir Gawain and the Green KnightSubscribe to the LRB from just £1 per issue: https://mylrb.co.uk/podcast20b  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Joanna Biggs talks to Thomas Jones about the life of Simone de Beauvoir.Further reading on Beauvoir in the LRB:Joanna Biggs: https://lrb.me/biggsdebeauvoirpodMichael Rogin: https://lrb.me/rogindebeauvoirpodToril Moi: https://lrb.me/torilmoipodSubscribe to the LRB from just £1 per issue: https://mylrb.co.uk/podcast20b  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Lana Spawls talks to Thomas Jones about working on a paediatric ward during the Covid-19 pandemic, and the ways hospitals have changed in response to the virus.Read Lana's latest piece in the LRB: Lana Spawls: How to set up an ICUSubscribe to the LRB from just £1 per issue: https://mylrb.co.uk/podcast20b  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Rupert Beale talks again to Thomas Jones about his work at the Francis Crick Institute, where he’s helping to set up a testing lab for Covid-19. He talks about the challenges of creating a scalable process, explains why a successful antibody test could be hard to achieve, and finds some reasons to be hopeful.You can find a full transcript of this episode HERE.Read more in the LRB:Rupert Beale: Wash Your HandsLana Spawls: How to set up an ICUThomas Jones: QuaresimaSubscribe to the LRB from just £1 per issue: https://mylrb.co.uk/podcast20b  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Erin Maglaque talks to Thomas Jones about the lockdown imposed by the city of Florence in January 1631 in response to a plague outbreak, the similarities with our current situation, and the differences.Maglaque wrote about the plague in Florence in a recent issue of the LRB, reviewing Florence Under Siege: Surviving Plague in an Early Modern City by John Henderson.Read her piece here: https://lrb.me/maglaquepodRead Tom's piece on Italy and the coronavirus pandemic: https://lrb.me/jonesitalypodSubscribe to the LRB from just £1 per issue: mylrb.co.uk/podcast20b  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Following his piece for the LRB about Covid-19, Rupert Beale talks to Thomas Jones about what the novel coronavirus is, how well countries are dealing with it, and what hopes there are for stopping the contagion.Read Rupert's piece here: https://lrb.me/bealecoronaviruspodSubscribe to the LRB from just £1 per issue: mylrb.co.uk/podcast20b  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.