The LRB Podcast

Long before Margaret Thatcher told her cabinet that The Constitution of Liberty was “what we believe”, neoliberal poster boy Friedrich Hayek had been denounced by his mentor as a socialist. Following his review of a new biography, Jonathan Rée speaks to Tom about Hayek’s celebrity and infamy, and the ways close reading reveals surprising nuance in his work.Find further reading on the episode page: lrb.me/hayekreeSign up to our Close Readings podcast subscription: https://lrb.me/closereadingspodGet in touch with the podcasts team: podcasts@lrb.co.uk Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In the first episode of a four-part series exploring the intersection of climate chaos and reproductive justice, Meehan Crist talks to activist and feminist scholar Loretta J. Ross. Ross discusses how she's worked to prevent sexual violence by talking to perpetrators, the problems with today’s call out culture, why the Clinton administration’s healthcare plan prompted the development of the reproductive justice movement in the 1990s, and how to challenge arguments that link fertility with environmental crisis.Find further reading on the episode page: lrb.me/lorettarossLearn more about SisterSong on their website: https://sistersong.netSign up to our Close Readings podcast subscription: https://lrb.me/closereadingspodGet in touch with the podcasts team: podcasts@lrb.co.uk Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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.Find further reading on the podcast page: https://lrb.me/dorothythompsonLRB AudioDiscover audiobooks, Close Readings and more from the LRB: https://lrb.me/audiolrbpodGet in touch with the podcasts team: 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/mckinseypodSign up to our Close Readings podcast subscription: https://lrb.me/closereadingspodGet in touch! Email us at 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/greatestfilmpodSign up to our Close Readings podcast subscription: https://lrb.me/closereadingspodGet 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/2022diarypodSign up to our Close Readings podcast subscription: https://lrb.me/closereadingspodGet 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 our Close Readings podcast subscription: https://lrb.me/closereadingspodSubscribe 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.Sign up to all our Close Readings series here: https://lrb.me/closereadingspod 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/dahlSign up to our Close Readings subscription: https://lrb.me/closereadingspod 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.Sign up to our Close Readings subscription: https://lrb.me/closereadingspod Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.