London Review Bookshop Podcast

Seymour Hersh has been a towering presence in American journalism for nearly 50 years. In 1970 he won the Pulitzer Prize for his articles exposing the My Lai massacre in Vietnam. In 2015 his 10,000 word article 'The Killing of Osama Bin Laden' proved so popular that it crashed the London Review of Books's website. In between, he has written articles on Iraq, Iran, Lebanon, Israel and countless other topics, their common thread being their refusal to take government explanations and denials at face value. Hersh talked about his work with LRB contributing editor Adam Shatz, and in particular about his new book The Killing of Osama Bin Laden (Verso). Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Britain's best-known classicist Mary Beard in discussion about her latest book, *[SPQR][1]* (Profile), in our special off-site event at Senate House. Natalie Haynes wrote in the *Observer* of Beard, 'She is never less than a vastly engaging tour guide around some of the best-known parts of the Roman story, debunking its myths with ease.' This podcast is her in conversation with James Davidson, Professor of Classics and Ancient History at Warwick University and a regular contributor to the *LRB*. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Rupert Shortt in discussion with Dr Rowan Williams, 104th Archbishop of Canterbury, on Shortt's new book *God is No Thing*. Even though parts of the Western world now appear almost totally secularised, Christianity remains the most potent worldview on earth alongside Islam. In *God is No Thing* Rupert Shortt argues that Christianity is a much more coherent, progressive body of belief — philosophically, scientifically and culturally — than often supposed by its critics. Alert to the menace posed by religious fundamentalism, as well as to secularist blind spots, he shows how a self-critical faith is of huge consequence to wider human flourishing and offers an erudite and eloquent argument for the importance of Christian values in modern life. Rupert Shortt is religion editor of the Times Literary Supplement and a former Visiting Fellow at the University of Oxford. His books include *God's Advocates: Christian Thinkers in Conversation*, *Christianophobia: A Faith Under Attack*, and *Rowan's Rule: The Biography of the Archbishop*. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

James Macdonald Lockhart's first book *[Raptor][1]*, (HarperCollins) documents a series of journeys in search of each of Britain's breeding birds of prey, from Scotland's mighty eagles to the tiny merlin. In this podcast Lockhart, an associate editor of and regular contributor to *Archipelago* magazine, is in conversation about this exciting project with [Tim Dee][2], BBC Radio producer, dedicated birdwatcher and author of *[The Running Sky][3]* and *[Four Fields][4]*. [1]: /on-our-shelves/book/9780007459872/raptor-a-journey-through-birds [2]: /profiles/tim-dee [3]: /on-our-shelves/book/9780099516491/running-sky-a-bird-watching-life [4]: /on-our-shelves/book/9780099541370/four-fields Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

When asked about the meaning of the late string quartets Beethoven famously remarked 'Oh those are not for you, they are for a later age.' Has that later age arrived? In a talk illustrated by musical excerpts both recorded and live, the leader of the Takács Quartet Edward Dusinberre discusses the significance and challenge of these extraordinary pieces of music with editor-in-chief of *Gramophone* James Jolly. **Presented in association with *Gramophone* and EFG International.** Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In Lean Out (Repeater Books) writer, journalist and LRB contributor Dawn Foster takes issue with the corporate-style feminism outlined in Sheryl Sandberg's influential bestseller Lean In. Does this trickle-down feminism offer any material gain for women collectively, or is it merely window-dressing PR for the corporations who caused the financial crash? She concludes that leaning out of the corporate model is a more effective way of securing change than leaning in. Foster was joined by Zoe Williams, Guardian journalist and author of Get It Together (Cornerstone). Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Gregor Hens discussed his new book Nicotine with Will Self. Written with the passion of an obsessive, Nicotine addresses a life of addiction, from the epiphany of the first drag to the perennial last last cigarette. Reflecting on his experiences as a smoker from a young age, Gregor Hens investigates the irreversible effects of nicotine on thought and patterns of behaviours. He extends the conversation with other smokers to meditations on Mark Twain and Italo Svevo, the nature of habit, the validity of hypnosis, and the most insignificant city in the United States, where he lived for far too long. With comic insight and meticulous precision, Hens deconstructs every facet of the dependency and offers a brilliant disquisition on the psychopathology of addiction. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Marina Warner wears many hats, as cultural critic, mythographer, historian and essayist, but one of her best-fitting hats is her writer of short fiction hat. Her latest volume is *Fly Away Home* (Salt). Helen Simpson may have fewer hats, but is nonetheless one of the finest writers of short stories in the language. Her latest collection is Cockfosters* (Cape). Marina Warner and Helen Simpson came to the shop and read from and talked about their work. In this podcast they debate the status of short fiction in the literary canon. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

A new novel from Edna O'Brien is without question a major literary event, and *The Little Red Chairs* (Faber) is her first for a decade. A hunted war criminal from the Balkans takes refuge in an isolated village on Ireland's West coast, masquerading as a faith healer, and exercises a fatal attraction over its inhabitants. At this event in the Bookshop, O'Brien talked about the novel with *LRB* mainstay Andrew O'Hagan. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Ten years after the publication of his highly acclaimed and prize-winning 1599 James Shapiro moves the Shakespeare story on to 1606, the year of *King Lear*, *Macbeth* and *Antony and Cleopatra*. At the shop talking about *1606* (Faber) with Shapiro was Charles Nicholl, author of *The Reckoning*, *The Lodger* and *Traces Remain*. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.