London Review Bookshop Podcast

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BOOKS
UPDATED WEEKLY

Listen to the latest literary events recorded at the London Review Bookshop, covering fiction, poetry, politics, music and much more. Find out about our upcoming events here https://lrb.me/bookshopeventspod Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

2 DAYS AGO

Constance Debré & Alice Blackhurst: Playboy

In her latest semi-autobiographical novel Playboy (Tuskar Rock, translated by Holly James), leading French writer Constance Debré describes how a woman, at the age of 43, abandons her apartment, her marriage and her successful legal career to lead a new life as an out lesbian and a writer. In a series of short, sharp vignettes the narrator describes a series of meetings with lovers, with her father and with her son and ex-husband, exploding heteronormative assumptions about what it means to be queer in a straight world. Debré was joined in conversation about her work by writer and critic Alice Blackhurst. Get Playboy: https://lrb.me/debrepod Find more events at the Bookshop: https://lrb.me/eventspod Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

1h 10m
30 OCT

Leah Cowan & Lola Olufemi: Why Would Feminists Trust the Police?

Throughout its history feminism has had a troubled relationship with policing, torn between seeking its protection and attacking its ingrained sexist bias. In Why Would Feminists Trust the Police? (Verso) Leah Cowan cuts a trenchant path through the debate, reminding us of the vibrant and creative alternatives envisioned by those who have long known the truth: the police aren't feminist, and the law does not keep women safe. She discusses the issue with feminist writer and scholar Lola Olufemi. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

1h 4m
23 OCT

Lauren Elkin & Octavia Bright: Scaffolding

In her debut novel Scaffolding (Chatto) Lauren Elkin – ‘The Susan Sontag of her generation’, according to Deborah Levy – presents two couples occupying the same Paris apartment, five decades apart. Lauren Elkin’s previous works include Art Monsters, a landmark study of women artists, Flâneuse and a translation of Simone de Beauvoir’s The Inseparables. She was joined in conversation by writer and broadcaster Octavia Bright. Find more events at the Bookshop: https://lrb.me/eventspod Get the book: https://lrb.me/scaffoldingpod Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

54 min
16 OCT

James Shapiro & Sarah Churchwell: The Playbook

The Federal Theatre Project, established as part of the New Deal in 1935 to provide employment opportunities for theatre professionals affected by the Great Depression, became the cornerstone of American radical drama, both on stage and on radio, throughout the late 1930s. Its staunchly political stance on labour and race relations and housing and health inequality proved popular with audiences, but less so with Congress which, in an atmosphere of growing anti-communist paranoia, withdrew the Project’s funding in 1939. In The Playbook (Faber) theatre historian and Shakespeare scholar James Shapiro tells the absorbing and disturbing tale, at the same time uncovering the deep roots of today’s culture wars. He's in conversation with historian and author Sarah Churchwell. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

1h 9m
9 OCT

Anne Serre & Lucie Elven: A Leopard-Skin Hat

Anne Serre’s latest novel to appear in English, brilliantly translated from the French by Mark Hutchinson, was written in the aftermath of the death of the author’s younger sister, and recounts the tortured relationship between an unnamed narrator and his close childhood friend Fanny, a young woman suffering from profound psychological distress. Hailed in Le Point as a 'masterpiece of simplicity, emotion and elegance’, A Leopard-Skin Hat (Lolli Editions) is a bewildering rollercoaster of hope and despair, calling into question the form of the novel itself. Serre, Bordeaux-born author of 14 previous novels, was joined in conversation about her work with novelist and LRB contributor Lucie Elven. Find more events at the Bookshop: https://lrb.me/eventspod Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

54 min
2 OCT

Kate Young & Nicola Dinan: Experienced

In her debut novel Experienced (4th Estate) writer and cook Kate Young delves into the world of queer dating following, reluctant Bette on an odyssey of sexual encounters as she tries to catch up on the decade of fun she missed out on before coming out, always intending to return after the adventure to her true love Mei. ‘A fizzing rollercoaster of a romcom,’ writes Caroline O'Donoghue. ‘The sexiest book you'll read all year, and the most heartening’. Young read from her novel, and talked about it with Nicola Dinan, author of Bellies. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

55 min
25 SEPT

Lucy Sante & Juliet Jacques: I Heard Her Call My Name

Born in Belgium in 1954 to conservative, Catholic parents, Lucy Sante migrated to New York in the 1960s, where she became associated with the Bohemian artistic milieu of the city. After producing several highly acclaimed works of history such as Low Life and The Other Paris and translating Félix Fénéon’s feuilletons for NYRB as Novels in Three Lines, she announced in 2021 that she was transitioning: ‘Yes, I’ve known since at least age 11 but probably earlier and yes, I suppressed and denied it for decades’, she wrote at the time. In I Heard Her Call My Name (Hutchinson Heinemann), ‘a generous, fearlessly revealing book’ (Samantha Hunt), she describes with great grace, wit and humility her decision to begin living the life she knew was truly hers. Sante is in conversation about her memoir with writer and filmmaker Juliet Jacques. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

1h 2m
18 SEPT

London Feeds Itself: Jonathan Nunn & Owen Hatherley

Born in the pandemic lockdown of 2020, when Britain’s restaurants had closed their doors, Jonathan Nunn founded the online newsletter Vittles, which rapidly established itself as the premier platform for exploring food cultures in Britain and around the world. Out of Vittles was born London Feeds Itself, a fascinating collection of essays written at the intersections of food, architecture, history, and demography. First published by Open City in 2022, London Feeds Itself now appears in a new edition in association with Fitzcarraldo. In this episode, Jonathan Nunn speaks about the project with architectural historian Owen Hatherley, whose essay ‘The Housing Estate’ from the book serves as a springboard for the discussion. Get the book: https://londonreviewbookshop.co.uk/stock/london-feeds-itself-jonathan-nunn Find more events at the Bookshop: https://lrb.me/eventspod Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

1h 8m

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02/12/2021

Massimo Montanari and Rachel Roddy: A Short History of Spaghetti with Tomato Sauce

What could be simpler than a dish of pasta with tomato sauce? According to food historian Massimo Montanari’s latest book A Short History of Spaghetti With Tomato Sauce (Europa), quite a lot. Montanari was in discussion with food writer Rachel Roddy. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

02/12/2021

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54 min

Clare Bucknell and Colin Burrow attempt, over twelve episodes, to chart a stable course through some of the most unruly, vulgar, incoherent, savage and outright hilarious works in all of English literature. What is satire, what is it for, and why do we seem to like it so much? Clare Bucknell and Colin Burrow are both fellows of All Souls College, Oxford. Episodes will appear once a month throughout 2024, on the 4th of each month. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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BOOKS
Close Readings is a new multi-series podcast subscription from the London Review of Books. Two contributors explore areas of literature through a selection of key works, providing an introductory grounding like no other. Listen to some episodes for free here, and extracts from our ongoing subscriber-only series. How To Subscribe In Apple Podcasts, click 'subscribe' at the top of this podcast feed to unlock the full episodes. Or for other podcast apps, sign up here: https://lrb.me/closereadings Running in 2024: On Satire with Clare Bucknell and Colin Burrow Human Conditions with Adam Shatz, Judith Butler, Pankaj Mishra and Brent Hayes Edwards Among the Ancients II with Emily Wilson and Thomas Jones Political Poems with Seamus Perry and Mark Ford Medieval LOLs with Irina Dumitrescu and Mary Wellesley PLUS: More series starting in 2025... Get in touch: podcasts@lrb.co.uk Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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Close Readings is a new multi-series podcast subscription from the London Review of Books exploring different periods of literature through selections of key works. A new episode will appear every month from each of our Close Readings series running this year. This feed is identical to the 'free' version of Close Readings, which contains free extracts for non-subscribers. Subscribers can listen to all the full episodes in both feeds: https://podcasts.apple.com/ug/podcast/close-readings/id1669485143 RUNNING IN 2024: ON SATIRE with Colin Burrow and Clare Bucknell Authors covered: Erasmus, John Donne, Ben Jonson, Earl of Rochester, John Gay, Alexander Pope, Laurence Sterne, Jane Austen, Lord Byron, Oscar Wilde, Evelyn Waugh and Muriel Spark. HUMAN CONDITIONS with Adam Shatz, Judith Butler, Pankaj Mishra and Brent Hayes Edwards Authors covered: Jean-Paul Sartre, Simone de Beauvoir, Frantz Fanon, Hannah Arendt, V. S. Naipaul, Ashis Nandy, Doris Lessing, Nadezhda Mandelstam, W. E. B. Du Bois, Aimé Césaire, Amiri Baraka and Audre Lorde. AMONG THE ANCIENTS II with Emily Wilson and Thomas Jones Authors covered: Hesiod, Aesop, Herodotus, Pindar, Plato, Lucian, Plautus, Terence, Lucan, Tacitus, Juvenal, Apuleius, Marcus Aurelius. Plus two bonus series, ad free: MEDIEVAL LOLs with Irina Dumitrescu and Mary Wellesley POLITICAL POEMS with Mark Ford and Seamus Perry PLUS: More series starting in 2025 Also part of the Close Readings subscription, the full series of: MEDIEVAL BEGINNINGS with Irina Dumitrescu and Mary Wellesley AMONG THE ANCIENTS with Emily Wilson and Thomas Jones THE LONG AND SHORT with Mark Ford and Seamus Perry MODERN-ISH POETS SERIES 1 with Mark Ford and Seamus Perry (originally featured on the LRB Podcast) Get in touch: podcasts@lrb.co.uk

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Were the Middle Ages funny? To answer that question, Mary Wellesley and Irina Dumitrescu hunt through some of the rudest, silliest and surprising works in English literature in search of the Medieval sense of humour. Mary Wellesley and Irina Dumitrescu are both writers and historians, and regular contributors to the London Review of Books. Sign up to listen to this series ad free and all our subscriber series in full, including Mary and Irina's twelve-part series Medieval Beginnings: Directly in Apple Podcasts: https://lrb.me/medlolapplesignup In other podcast apps: https://lrb.me/medlolscsignup Get in touch: podcasts@lrb.co.uk Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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Adam Shatz talks separately to three guests – Judith Butler, Pankaj Mishra and Brent Hayes Edwards – about some of the most revolutionary thought of the 20th century. Judith, Pankaj and Brent will each discuss four texts over four episodes, as they uncover the inner life of the 20th century through works that have sought to find freedom in different ways and remake the world around them. They explore, among other things, the development of arguments against racism and colonialism, the experience of artistic expression in oppressive conditions and how language has been used in politically substantive ways. Authors covered: Jean-Paul Sartre, Simone de Beauvoir, Frantz Fanon, Hannah Arendt, V. S. Naipaul, Ashis Nandy, Doris Lessing, Nadezhda Mandelstam, W. E. B. Du Bois, Aimé Césaire, Amiri Baraka and Audre Lorde. Episodes will appear once a month throughout 2024, on the 10th of each month. Human Conditions is part of the Close Readings podcasts collection from the London Review of Books. To listen to the full episodes, subscribe to Close Readings: Directly in Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/3pJoFPq In other podcast apps: lrb.me/closereadings Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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Emily Wilson, Professor of Classical Studies at the University of Pennsylvania and translator of both the 'Odyssey' and the 'Iliad', joins Thomas Jones, an editor at the London Review of Books, for a tour through some of the greatest works of Ancient Greek and Roman literature, from Homer to Horace. Among the Ancients is part of the Close Readings podcasts collection from the London Review of Books. To listen to the full series, and all our other Close Readings series (including a second series of Among the Ancients), subsribe: Directly in Apple Podcast, at the top of this feed or here: https://apple.co/3pJoFPq In other podcast apps: lrb.me/closereadings Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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Listen to the latest literary events recorded at the London Review Bookshop, covering fiction, poetry, politics, music and much more. Find out about our upcoming events here https://lrb.me/bookshopeventspod Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.