Lydia Davis reads her essay on Arles, recorded for the Trilling Lecture at Columbia University in 2019.Read the piece here: https://lrb.me/lydiadavisarlespodSubscribe to the LRB and get a 79% discount: https://lrb.me/travel Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Colm Tóibín reads his diary from November 2020, about visiting Venice during the pandemic.Read the piece here: https://lrb.me/aloneinvenicepodSubscribe to the LRB and save 79% on the cover price: https://lrb.me/travel Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In the first of four summer readings visiting different places in Europe, Rosemary Hill explores the history of London's West End.Read the piece here: https://lrb.me/hillwestendpodSubscribe to the LRB and save 79% off the cover price: https://lrb.me/travel Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

David Trotter talks to Joanne O’Leary about the novels and stories of Elizabeth Bowen, from her weird families and idiosyncrasies of style, to her mastery of atmospherics and prescient use of technology to shape her characters.Find David's piece and more on Elizabeth Bowen in the LRB: https://lrb.me/bowenpodSubscribe to the LRB from just £1 per issue: https://mylrb.co.uk/podcast20b Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Stephen Frears talks to Andrew O’Hagan about making movies in America, to mark the publication of a new collection of LRB essays on Hollywood. He describes being protected by Scorsese, learning from Billy Wilder, and why films often had budgets of $39 million.Buy the collection here: lrb.me/hollywoodFind more on the episode page: https://lrb.me/frearspodSubscribe to the LRB from just £1 per issue: https://mylrb.co.uk/podcast20b Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

John Lanchester talks to Thomas Jones about ‘visible’ cheating in sport, that is, the kind which is against the rules but within the ethos of the game, from diving in football to bodyline bowling in cricket.Read John's piece in the LRB here: https://lrb.me/lanchestersportpodSubscribe to the LRB from just £1 per issue: https://mylrb.co.uk/podcast20b Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Pooja Bhatia talks to Thomas Jones about the assassination of President Moïse in Haiti, the recent history of US involvement in the country, and the difference between elections and democracy.Find Pooja Bhatia's writing on Haiti in the LRB here: https://lrb.me/seizeduppodSign up to our Close Readings subscription: https://lrb.me/closereadings Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

James Meek talks to Thomas Jones about the connected fates of two wind tower factories, one in Scotland, the other in Vietnam, and asks why the determination to achieve a green future isn’t matched by a determination to ensure fair wages and good conditions for the workers who will make it possible.Meek also describes the challenges of reporting on the story remotely during the pandemic. You can find his piece and watch some of the video shot by his researcher, Chi Mai, of the CS Wind factory in Phu My, here: https://lrb.me/windfarmspodSign up to our Close Readings subscription: https://lrb.me/closereadingspod Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Toril Moi talks to Joanna Biggs about the French philosopher Simone Weil, whose short and uncompromising life became a workshop for her revolutionary ideas about labour, human suffering and the power of paying attention.Read Toril Moi on Simone Weil in the LRB here: https://lrb.me/weilpodSign up to our Close Readings subscription here: https://lrb.me/closereadingspod Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Deborah Friedell talks to Thomas Jones about the Rosenbergs, from their early years on the Lower East Side of New York to their executions for conspiracy to commit espionage in 1953, and the significance of their trial in American public life, not least as a platform for Donald Trump’s future lawyer, Roy Cohn.Read Deborah's piece on the Rosenbergs and more here: https://lrb.me/rosenbergspodSign up to our Close Readings subscription: https://lrb.me/closereadingspod Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.