London Review Podcasts

In 1939, Dorothy Thompson was on the cover of Time, the ‘First Lady of American journalism’ and a major celebrity. By 1945, she’d been widely dismissed as a crank.Deborah Friedell joins Tom to discuss Thompson’s enormous influence in interwar America, and her idiosyncratic mix of prescience and short-sightedness.See further reading on the podcast page: https://lrb.me/dorothythompsonSubscribe to Close Readings: https://lrb.me/closereadingsGet in touch: podcasts@lrb.co.uk Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Laleh Khalili, a former management consultant, talks to Tom about how firms such as McKinsey, Accenture and Bain go about their business, the consequences of their relentless quest for ‘efficiency’, and the role these ‘class war mercenaries’ have played in supporting various governments all over the world. Find further reading on the podcast page: https://lrb.me/mckinseypodSubscribe to Close Readings: https://lrb.me/closereadingsGet in touch: podcasts@lrb.co.uk Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Michael Wood talks to Malin Hay about the recent list from Sight and Sound of the ‘greatest films of all time’ (in which he voted), and what considerations could, or should, go into compiling such a chart. They also discuss Wood’s most recent review for the LRB, of Bergman’s Fanny and Alexander, and whether there is such a thing as a Christmas movie.Find more from Michael Wood in the LRB on the episode page: https://lrb.me/greatestfilmpodSubscribe to the LRB from just £1 per issue: https://mylrb.co.uk/podcast20bGet in touch! Email us at podcasts@lrb.co.uk Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Alan Bennett reads his 2022 diary (with some extra bits), in which he buys his dad a violin, goes to Venice with a goat, and tries to make the queen laugh.Listen without ads, and find more from Alan Bennett, on the LRB website: https://lrb.me/2022diarypodSubscribe to the LRB from just £1 per issue: https://mylrb.co.uk/podcast20bGet in touch! Email us at podcasts@lrb.co.uk Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Thomas B. Edsall, a columnist for the New York Times, talks to Adam Shatz about the landscape of US politics following the recent elections. They consider some of the historic causes for the apparent polarisation of today’s electorate, and look ahead to the vote in 2024. Will Biden be a credible candidate for re-election? And what would a Trump or DeSantis (or even a Youngkin) candidacy mean for both the Republican and Democratic parties?Sign up to the LRB's new Close Readings series here: lrb.me/closereadingsSubscribe to the LRB from just £1 per issue: https://mylrb.co.uk/podcast20b Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Listen to a sample from the first episode of our twelve-part Close Readings series, Among the Ancients, with Emily Wilson and Thomas Jones, which we'll be re-running from January next year. With a new episode each month, Among the Ancients will consider some of the greatest works of Ancient Greek and Roman literature, from Homer to Horace. In this sample Emily and Tom discuss the Iliad.Subscribers to the full series will receive copies of the books discussed in each episode and access to online seminars with Emily and Tom, and special guests Katherine Harloe and Mary Beard, throughout the year. Audio-only options are also available.Find out more here: lrb.me/ancientsFind out about all the Close Readings series here: lrb.me/closereadings Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Roald Dahl's key skill, as Colin Burrow puts it, 'was his ability to repress nastiness while keeping it visible'. Following his review of a new biography, Burrow talks to Tom Jones about Dahl’s limitations, his successes, and his 'marvellous medicine' approach to fiction.Find further reading on the episode page: https://lrb.me/dahlSubscribe to Close Readings Plus before the end of the year: https://lrb.me/closereadings Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Irina Dumitrescu and Mary Wellesley return with a new twelve-part Close Readings series, Medieval Beginnings, exploring the strange and wonderful literary landscape of the Middle Ages. Starting in January 2023, the series will consider well-known works such as Beowulf and Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, as well as many lesser-known texts, from across the European continent, that have all helped to lay the foundations of English literature. Listen to a sample here from their first episode, on Beowulf.In addition to the twelve episodes, released monthly, subscribers to the full programme will receive copies of all the key texts accompanying the series and access to online seminars with Irina and Mary throughout the year, with special guests including Simon Armitage. Audio-only options are also available.Subscribe to the series here: https://lrb.me/beginningsFind out about other Close Readings series here: https://lrb.me/closereadings Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privac

Jane Stanford, the co-founder of Stanford University, was murdered with strychnine in 1905. Her killer was never discovered – until now (perhaps). James Lasdun talks to Malin Hay about a new book by Richard White that investigates the story and looks into the extraordinary history of the Stanford family.Find further reading on the episode page: lrb.me/stanfordpodSubscribe to Close Readings Plus: lrb.me/closereadingsBuy Perry Anderson's book on Powell and Proust here: lrb.me/samefuries Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Seamus Perry and Mark Ford return with a new twelve-part Close Readings series, The Long and Short, taking a fresh look at 19th and 20th-century literature through the lens of short stories and long poems. Starting in January 2023, the series will look at twelve writers, from Tennyson and Henry James to Elizabeth Bowen and Alice Oswald, with a new episode appearing each month. This sample is from the first episode, on Tennyson’s ‘Maud’.Subscribers to the full series will receive copies of the books discussed in each episode and access to online seminars with Seamus and Mark throughout the year. Audio-only options are also available.Subscribe to the series here: https://lrb.me/longshortFind out about other Close Readings series here: https://lrb.me/closereadings Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Katherine Rundell has been writing about endangered animals in the LRB since 2018. Her new book, The Golden Mole, gathers those essays and new pieces into a bestiary of unusual and underappreciated creatures. Katherine was joined by LRB editor Alice Spawls in a discussion touching on Elizabethan celebrity bears, Amelia Earhart’s bones, and the greatest lie we’ve ever told: that the world is ours for the taking.You can read Katherine’s work in the LRB archives: lrb.me/rundellAnd you can find a copy of The Golden Mole at the LRB Bookshop: lrb.me/goldenmole Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Corals have held our fascination for thousands of years, but much of what we know about them has only been discovered recently. Liam Shaw talks to Tom about what corals are and how they form, and their extraordinary variety (over two thousand species have so far been described). They look at some of the milestones in our knowledge of this flower-animal, including Darwin’s account of coral atoll formation, and the importance of the oral history of Indigenous peoples around the coast of Australia in understanding the development of the Great Barrier Reef. As coral reefs now face almost total destruction from climate change, they also consider some of the fixes people have come up with to protect them, and whether it’s possible to put a monetary value on such natural phenomena.Find further reading on the episode page: https://lrb.me/coralpodBook livestream tickets for Seamus Perry and Mark Ford live here: https://lrb.me/closereadingseventBook livestream tickets for Wallace Shawn live here: https://lrb.me/shawnev

The writer and human rights lawyer Raja Shehadeh talks to Adam Shatz about his recent memoir, We Could Have Been Friends, My Father and I, which reflects on Shehadeh’s relationship with his father, Aziz, a lawyer who, before his murder in 1985, fought numerous cases for Palestinian rights and was one of the first to advocate a two-state solution.Find pieces by Raja Shehadeh for the LRB on the episode page: https://lrb.me/shehadehpodSubscribe to the LRB from just £1 per issue: https://mylrb.co.uk/podcast20b Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Azadeh Moaveni talks to Tom about the demonstrations in Iran following the killingof Mahsa Amini in September. They discuss the degree to which the protesters have a shared purpose, the history and significance of the veil in Iranian state policy, the effects of government oppression in the border areas of the country, and how Iran might change after Ayatollah Khamenei.Find further reading on the episode page: https://lrb.me/iranprotestspodSubscribe to the LRB from just £1 per issue: https://mylrb.co.uk/podcast20b Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Sheila Fitzpatrick talks to Tom about the perils of doing archive research in the Soviet Union, how she used Moscow telephone directories to investigate Stalin’s purges, and the multiple passports and identities she’s gone through in her academic career.Find further reading in the LRB on the episode page: https://lrb.me/fitzpatrickpodSubscribe to the LRB from just £1 per issue: https://mylrb.co.uk/podcast20b Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Following Nasa’s Dart mission, which successfully fired a spacecraft into the asteroid Dimorphos last month, Chris Lintott talks to Tom about what asteroids can tell us about the history of our planet, how scared we should be of them, and why you should be grateful if one hits your car (so long as you aren’t inside it at the time).Find further reading, or listen ad-free, on the episode page: https://lrb.me/asteroidpodSubscribe to the LRB from just £1 per issue: https://mylrb.co.uk/podcast20bMore information about the Nine Dots Prize: https://ninedotsprize.org Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Forrest Hylton talks to Tom about the presidential elections in Brazil, where former president Lula faces the incumbent, Jair Bolsonaro, in the final round of voting. They consider the history of both candidates, their supporters and campaigns, and what’s at stake in the contest.Find further reading, and listen ad-free, on the episode page: https://lrb.me/brazilpodSubscribe to the LRB from just £1 per issue: https://mylrb.co.uk/podcast20b Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Daniel Soar talks to Tom about Ian McEwan’s latest novel, Lessons – how it fits with his earlier fiction, the relationship between world events and private histories, and McEwan’s addiction to ‘moments of maximum thrill’.Find further reading, and listen ad-free, on the episode page: https://lrb.me/mcewanpodSubscribe to the LRB from just £1 per issue: https://mylrb.co.uk/podcast20b Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Claire Denis and J. Hoberman join Adam Shatz to talk about the work and legacy of Jean-Luc Godard. They discuss Godard’s early fascination with American cinema, his extraordinary run of films in the 1960s from À bout de souffle to Week-end, and subsequent periods of restless experimentation which continued to confound both audiences and critics until his death this month.Find further reading on Godard in the LRB on the episode page: https://lrb.me/godardpodSubscribe to the LRB from just £1 per issue: https://mylrb.co.uk/podcast20b Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Writer and filmmaker Jonathan Meades introduces and reads his review of Tina Brown's book about the royal family, The Palace Papers, from April this year.Read the piece here: https://lrb.me/meadespodSubscribe to the LRB from just £1 per issue: https://mylrb.co.uk/podcast20b Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.