Laleh Khalili talks to Tom about the mythology of covert military operatives, through romance novels, self-help books and, more recently, the business guru, in the form of retired US army general Stanley McChrystal, who earns millions writing books and advising boards on how to inject warlike thinking into their business plans.Find pieces mentioned in this episode here: https://lrb.me/khaliliSubscribe to the LRB from just £1 per issue: https://mylrb.co.uk/podcast20bTitle music by Kieran Brunt / Produced by Anthony Wilks Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week's discussion, with Laleh Khalili, will be out on Thursday. In the meantime, here's Jorie Graham reading her latest poem for the LRB, 'One the Last Day'. Find more readings of poems and pieces here: https://www.lrb.co.uk/podcasts-and-videos/podcasts/lrb-readings Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Geoff Mann talks to James Butler about the economic models developed by William Nordhaus and others, widely used by governments around the world as a tool to tackle climate change. They discuss the moral and practical limitations of Nordhaus’s methods, the danger of relying on their predictions, and whether the use of such models is even an appropriate way of confronting environmental crisis.Read Geoff Mann's piece here: https://lrb.me/mannpodRead two pieces from the next issue early:Laleh Khalili on Stanley McChrystal's business guide: https://lrb.me/khalilipodPaul Theroux on V.S. Naipaul: https://lrb.me/therouxpod Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Jeremy Harding talks to Tom about the long and repressive reign of King Hassan II of Morocco, as described in a new book by Aziz BineBine, who suffered 18 years of brutal detention in Tazmamart, a secret prison. They discuss Hassan’s accession to the throne in 1961, his efforts to suppress Morocco’s radical anti-colonialist elements, the occupation of Western Sahara, and the survival of his dynasty beyond the Cold War era.Find further reading on the episode page: lrb.me/hardingpodSubscribe to the LRB from just £1 per issue: https://mylrb.co.uk/podcast20bTitle music by Kieran Brunt / Produced by Anthony Wilks Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Colm Tóibín talks to Tom about the life and work of the novelist John McGahern through his recently published correspondence, which includes letters to Tóibín. They discuss his family, his banned work, his style, and his unusually honest opinions of other writers.Read more on McGahern in the LRB: lrb.me/mcgahernpodSubscribe to the LRB from just £1 per issue: https://mylrb.co.uk/podcast20bMusic by Kieran Brunt / Produced by Anthony Wilks Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Rivka Galchen talks to Tom about two recent books on the history of vaccine opposition and reluctance, from smallpox to covid, including the role of 'Big Supplement' and the effectiveness of mandates.Find further reading here: https://lrb.me/antivaxpodSubscribe to the LRB from just £1 per issue: https://mylrb.co.uk/podcast20bMusic by Kieran Brunt / Produced by Les Mommsen and Anthony Wilks Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In the third and final guest episode from a new podcast series, Myself with Others, food writer Claudia Roden talks to Adam Shatz about her early life in Cairo and Paris, her obsession with collecting recipes, how politics informs her understanding of food, and the secret Jewish origins of fish and chips.Subscribe to Myself with Others wherever you're listening to this podcast.Find out more about the series here: https://www.myselfwithothers.com/Subscribe to the LRB from just £1 per issue: https://mylrb.co.uk/podcast20b Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this second guest episode from a new podcast series, Myself with Others, novelist, memoirist and poet James Lasdun talks to Adam Shatz about his taste for the Middle Ages, the power of Patricia Highsmith, and his memoir about being stalked.Subscribe to Myself With Others wherever you're listening to this podcast.Find out more about the series here: https://www.myselfwithothers.com/Subscribe to the LRB from just £1 per issue: https://mylrb.co.uk/podcast20b Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In the first of three guest episodes from a new podcast, Myself with Others, hosted by Adam Shatz, writer and critic Margo Jefferson talks about her childhood in Chicago, her early experiences in radical theatre at Brandeis University, her relationship to the feminist and Black Power movements, her emergence as a writer, and her battles with melancholia. Produced by Richard Sears.Subscribe to Myself with Others wherever you're listening to this podcast.Find out more about the series here: https://www.myselfwithothers.com/Subscribe to the LRB from just £1 per issue: https://mylrb.co.uk/podcast20b Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Alan Bennett reads his diary for 2021, in which he falls over Philip Roth, changes the course of English history, and considers selling his har on eBay.Bennett read the first part of this diary earlier this year, for his Diary from the Pandemic Year.Read it here: https://lrb.me/bennett2021podSubscribe to the LRB from just £1 per issue: https://mylrb.co.uk/podcast20b Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.