London Review of Books

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Updated 3 days ago
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3 DAYS AGO

Saving Masud Khan

Wynne Godley was by turns a professional oboist, a fellow of King’s College, Cambridge, an economist at the Treasury and a director of the Royal Opera House. Yet at thirty he found himself ‘living through an artificial self’ and turned to psychoanalysis for help. Masud Khan was a protégé of D.W. Winnicott and the darling of British psychoanalysis. He was also much else besides. In this unforgettable piece from 2001, Godley describes his baffling and disastrous sessions with Khan. Read by Duncan Wilkins. Find the original piece and further reading at the episode page: https://lrb.me/godleypod Give your loved one a Close Readings subscription or audiobook for Christmas: https://lrb.me/audiogifts Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

3 days ago

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38 min
13 DEC

Gaza, Before and After

Ghassan Abu-Sittah and Muhammad Shehada join Adam Shatz to describe what life was like in Gaza in the months and years leading up to the Hamas attack on Israel last October, and to discuss the experiences of Gazans during Israel’s subsequent – and ongoing – devastation of the territory. More in the LRB: Adam Shatz: Israel's Descent https://www.lrb.co.uk/the-paper/v46/n12/adam-shatz/israel-s-descent Pankaj Mishra: The Shoah after Gaza https://www.lrb.co.uk/the-paper/v46/n06/pankaj-mishra/the-shoah-after-gaza Also available to watch: https://youtu.be/_w3Pe00I_Ro Audio Gifts from the LRB: https://lrb.me/audiogifts Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

13 Dec

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1h 25m
27 NOV

Labour's Economic Conundrum

William Davies joins Tom to assess the efforts of the new Labour government in tackling the UK's many economic challenges. They consider whether Rachel Reeves’s first budget, with its substantial tax rises, can do anything more than arrest the decline of the public finances, and what Keir Starmer hopes to achieve with his public overtures to the likes of Google and BlackRock. Will their technocratic style of government be able to survive the pressures of populist politics, or is their long-term thinking simply too long-term to bring election-winning improvements to people’s everyday lives? Read William Davies's piece: https://lrb.me/davies4622pod Audio Gifts from the LRB: https://lrb.me/audiogifts Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

27 Nov

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53 min
4 DEC

On Lisa Marie Presley

As Elvis’s only child, Lisa Marie Presley was burdened from birth with extraordinary, largely unwanted fame. Before her death in 2023, she spent years as tabloid fodder, less for her sporadic music career than for her highly publicised relationships with Michael Jackson, Nicolas Cage and Scientology. In a recent review of her posthumous memoir, Jessica Olin celebrates Lisa Marie’s resilience and charisma in the face of ruthless publicity. Jessica joins Tom to discuss Lisa Marie’s ambivalent relationship with fame, and how a new generation are encountering the Presley family saga through her daughter, Riley Keough. Find further reading on the episode page: https://lrb.me/lisamariepod Sponsored Links: Find out more about ACE Cultural Tours: https://aceculturaltours.co.uk To learn more about financial support for professional writers, visit the Royal Literary Fund here: https://www.rlf.org.uk/ Audio Gifts from the LRB: https://lrb.me/audiogifts Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

4 Dec

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42 min
11 DEC

Ralf Webb & Philippa Snow: Strange Relations

Strange Relations (Sceptre) explores the crisis in mid-century masculinity through the lives and works of four bisexual writers who fought to express and embody alternate possibilities. The nonfiction debut of Forward Prize-shortlisted poet Ralf Webb, it considers the ways in which Tennessee Williams, Carson McCullers, John Cheever and James Baldwin, resisted damaging contemporary expectations around gender and sexuality. Will Tosh has described it as ‘wise, humane, hopeful and exquisitely written’. Webb was in conversation with Philippa Snow, author of Which As You Know Means Violence: On Self-Injury as Art and Entertainment (Repeater) and, most recently, Trophy Lives: On the Celebrity as an Art Object (MACK). Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

11 Dec

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52 min
16 OCT

Inside Israel

In the first of three episodes on the crisis in the Middle East, Adam Shatz is joined by Mairav Zonszein and Amjad Iraqi to discuss the experiences of Israeli Jews and Palestinian citizens of Israel. While the Netanyahu government is opposed by many Israeli Jews, and increasing numbers have left the country, support for Israel’s wars in Gaza and Lebanon remains high because few can imagine an alternative. For Palestinian citizens of Israel, who have long suffered restrictions on their democratic rights, the escalating crisis has intensified that discrimination, while stirring a deep sense of fear regarding their future. Mairav and Amjad talk to Adam about the tensions in Israeli society, not least between the government and military, and why Netanyahu has shown so little interest in the lives of the hostages still held by Hamas. Mairav Zonszein is a journalist and Senior Israel Analyst with Crisis Group. Amjad Iraqi is an editor at +972 Magazine and an associate fellow with Chatham House's MENA programme. Read Adam Shatz on the death of Nasrallah: https://www.lrb.co.uk/the-paper/v46/n20/adam-shatz/after-nasrallah Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

16 Oct

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1h 1m
3 DAYS AGO

Medieval LOLs: Gwerful Mechain’s ‘Ode to the Vagina’

For the final episode of their series in search of the medieval sense of humour Irina and Mary look at one of the most remarkable women authors of the Middle Ages, Gwerful Mechain, who lived in Powys in the 15th century. Mechain was part of a lively literary coterie in northeast Wales and in her poem Cywydd y Cedor (‘Ode to the Vagina’) she challenged the conventional approach of her fellow male poets to praise every part of a woman’s body apart from her genitalia. Her witty, combative verses, intended for public performance, deployed a brilliant mastery of the complex metrical tradition of medieval Welsh poetry to discuss the most intimate physical experiences. Non-subscribers will only hear an extract from this episode. To listen in full, and to all our other Close Readings series including Mary and Irina's twelve-part series Medieval Beginnings, sign up: 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.

3 days ago

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11 min
9 OCT

The Death and Life of the Department Store

‘The department store is dying,’ Rosemary Hill wrote recently in the LRB, reviewing an exhibition at the Musée des Arts Décoratifs in Paris on the origins of the grands magasins. She joins Tom to talk about their 19th and 20th-century heyday as cathedrals of consumerism as well as places where women could spend time away from home, and away from men, safely and respectably. She also recalls the Christmas she worked in the toy department at Selfridges, demonstrating wind-up bath toys. Sponsored links: Use the code ’LRB’ to get £100 off Serious Readers lights here: https://www.seriousreaders.com/lrb Find out more about ACE Cultural Tours: https://aceculturaltours.co.uk See Maddaddam at the Royal Opera House: https://www.rbo.org.uk/tickets-and-events/maddaddam-details Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

9 Oct

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40 min
17 OCT

The End of Hamas?

In the second of three conversations about the crisis in the Middle East, recorded shortly before the death of Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar was reported, Yezid Sayigh talks to Adam Shatz about why he sees Hamas’s attack on Israel on 7 October as an inflection point both for the Palestinian movement and global history. Sayigh believes that the attacks reflected an erosion of Palestinian leadership, as well as a moral and strategic crisis. Only a new vision of Palestinian liberation, rooted in progressive ideals rather than in the ethno-religious project of Hamas, he argues, can lead to genuine Palestinian freedom and sovereignty. Yezid Sayigh is a senior fellow at the Carnegie Middle East Center in Beirut. Read Adam Shatz on the death of Nasrallah in the latest LRB: https://www.lrb.co.uk/the-paper/v46/n20/adam-shatz/after-nasrallah Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

17 Oct

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37 min
14 NOV

The Trump Takeover

Adam Shatz is joined by Jamelle Bouie and Deborah Friedell to pick through the results and implications of Trump’s victory. The US has a booming economy of high wages and nearly full employment, yet economic discontent, particularly around inflation, has been one of the more popular explanations for the election result. As well as considering the importance of inflation, Jamelle and Deborah look at what went wrong with the Harris campaign’s big bet on abortion rights, why Republican-voting women say they feel safer under Trump and why the Democrats’ insistence that democracy was on the ballot failed to resonate with many voters. Read Adam Tooze on the Democrats' defeat in the LRB: https://www.lrb.co.uk/the-paper/v46/n22/adam-tooze/the-democrats-defeat Read Deborah Friedell on J.D. Vance https://www.lrb.co.uk/the-paper/v46/n20/deborah-friedell/short-cuts Audio Gifts from the LRB: https://lrb.me/audiogifts Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

14 Nov

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53 min

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 HUMAN CONDITIONS with Adam Shatz, Judith Butler, Pankaj Mishra and Brent Hayes Edwards AMONG THE ANCIENTS II with Emily Wilson and Thomas Jones MEDIEVAL LOLs with Irina Dumitrescu and Mary Wellesley POLITICAL POEMS with Mark Ford and Seamus Perry Four new series starting in January 2025: CONVERSATIONS IN PHILOSOPHY with Jonathan Rée and James Wood FICTION AND THE FANTASTIC with Marina Warner, Anna Della Subin and other guests LOVE AND DEATH with Seamus Perry and Mark Ford NOVEL APPROACHES with Clare Bucknell, Thomas Jones and other guests Also part of the Close Readings subscription, our past full series: 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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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 Four new series starting in January 2025: CONVERSATIONS IN PHILOSOPHY with Jonathan Rée and James Wood FICTION AND THE FANTASTIC with Marina Warner, Anna Della Subin and other guests LOVE AND DEATH with Seamus Perry and Mark Ford NOVEL APPROACHES with Clare Bucknell, Thomas Jones and other guests Get in touch: podcasts@lrb.co.uk Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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BOOKS
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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Seamus Perry and Mark Ford consider poems that have been understood, admired and perhaps criticised for their politics, ranging across several hundred years of literary history. Mark Ford is Professor of English at University College, London, and Seamus Perry is Professor of English Literature at Balliol College, Oxford. Political Poems is part of the Close Readings podcast collection from the London Review of Books. Listen to this episode ad free, and get full access to all our Close Readings series, including more from Mark and Seamus: Sign up to the Close Readings subscription to listen ad free and to all our series in full: Directly in Apple Podcasts: https://lrb.me/ppapplesignup In other podcast apps: https://lrb.me/ppsignup 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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Emily Wilson, celebrated classicist and translator of Homer’s Iliad and Odyssey, is back to take on another twelve vital works of Greek and Roman literature with the LRB’s Thomas Jones, loosely themed around truth and lies – from from Aesop’s Fables to Marcus Aurelius’s Meditations. Episodes will appear once a month throughout 2024. Among the Ancients is part of the Close Readings podcasts collection from the London Review of Books. To listen to all the series in full, subscribe: Directly in Apple Podcasts at the top of this podcast For Spotify and other podcast apps here: https://lrb.supportingcast.fm/close-readings Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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The London Review of Books is Europe's leading magazine of culture and ideas. On our channel you'll find weekly discussions with our writers, literary events recorded at our central-London bookshop, and our pioneering Close Readings podcast, which explores different periods of literature through selections of key works. Sign up to access the full Close Readings subscription podcast.

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London Review of Books

Full access to all our Close Readings series

Saving Masud Khan

Gaza, Before and After

Labour's Economic Conundrum

On Lisa Marie Presley

Ralf Webb & Philippa Snow: Strange Relations

Inside Israel

Medieval LOLs: Gwerful Mechain’s ‘Ode to the Vagina’

The Death and Life of the Department Store

The End of Hamas?

The Trump Takeover

Full access to all our Close Readings series

On Satire: 'A Far Cry From Kensington' by Muriel Spark

Political Poems: ‘Station Island’ by Seamus Heaney

Gwerful Mechain’s ‘Ode to the Vagina’

Among the Ancients II: Apuleius

Among the Ancients II: Juvenal

On Satire: 'The Importance of Being Earnest' by Oscar Wilde

Among the Ancients II: Tacitus

On Satire: John Donne's Satires

Modern-ish Poets Series 1: Robert Lowell

Medieval LOLs: Boccaccio's 'Decameron', Part Two

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London Review of Books

Full access to all our Close Readings series

Top Shows

Top Episodes

Saving Masud Khan

Gaza, Before and After

Labour's Economic Conundrum

On Lisa Marie Presley

Ralf Webb & Philippa Snow: Strange Relations

Inside Israel

Medieval LOLs: Gwerful Mechain’s ‘Ode to the Vagina’

The Death and Life of the Department Store

The End of Hamas?

The Trump Takeover

LRB Close Readings

Full access to all our Close Readings series

Top LRB Close Readings Episodes

On Satire: 'A Far Cry From Kensington' by Muriel Spark

Political Poems: ‘Station Island’ by Seamus Heaney

Gwerful Mechain’s ‘Ode to the Vagina’

Among the Ancients II: Apuleius

Among the Ancients II: Juvenal

On Satire: 'The Importance of Being Earnest' by Oscar Wilde

Among the Ancients II: Tacitus

On Satire: John Donne's Satires

Modern-ish Poets Series 1: Robert Lowell

Medieval LOLs: Boccaccio's 'Decameron', Part Two

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