Ten minutes with... is a special series presented by Coode Street that sees readers and booklovers from around the world talk about what they're reading right now and what's getting them through these difficult times.

If his recent conversation with John Berlyne saw Jonathan embrace the fact that Coode Street's ten minutes was at a best theoretical, then today's conversation blows that out of the water extending beyond 35 minutes, and still only being just barely long enough. Today Jonathan talks to writer and editor Simon Ings about art, despots, fabulous books, and unexpected experiences. Utterly essential listening. It's the most fun you'll have with earphones in for ages!

Books mentioned include:

We Robots edited by Simon Ings
Lord of the World by Robert Hugh Benson
The Plague by Albert Camus
The Pike: Gabriele d'Annunzio, Poet, Seducer and Preacher of War by Lucy Hughes-Hallett
Humankind: A Hopeful History by Rutger Bregman

Episode 436: Ten Minutes with Simon Ings