Monocle on Saturday

Writer and social commentator Lijia Zhang joins Georgina Godwin to talk about the 35th anniversary of the Tiananmen Square crackdown, organising her own protest, China’s relationship with Russia and Ukraine and the K-pop balloons sent to North Korea. Plus: Kate Mosse, author and founder director of the Women’s Prize, joins to discuss the organisation’s live event and Bookbanks founder Emily Rhodes on her initiative bringing books to foodbanks.  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Will the conviction of former President Donald Trump affect his chance of winning the US election in November? And why does Iceland’s election today have more candidates running than ever before? Join Emma Nelson and communications consultant and journalist Simon Brooke as they look through the week’s news and culture. Plus: we look at art and tourism, including co-founder and director of London Gallery Weekend Jeremy Epstein, who joins the show to talk about this weekend’s highlights. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Georgina Godwin is joined by Daniella Peled, managing editor at the Institute for War and Peace Reporting, for a look back at the week’s news and culture. Plus: author Rupert Thompson joins to discuss his new book ‘How to Make a Bomb: A Novel’ and Monocle’s Helsinki correspondent, Petri Burtsoff, visits the independent publishing imprint Cozy.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Author and political journalist, Terry Stiastny, joins Georgina Godwin to discuss the latest news from Israel, New Caledonia and the UK. Plus: the founder of the Hay Festival, Peter Florence, joins the show to talk about the launch of his new venture, The Conversation, a series of Monday evening talks in the heart of London that tackle important topics such as peace, democracy and climate action. Finally, author and law professor Rosemary Salomone joins to discuss her book, ‘The Rise of English: Global Politics and the Power of Language’. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Eurovision final is nearly here. Latika Bourke, Sîan Pattenden and Georgina Godwin discuss the latest news from Malmö as well as Sîan’s eleventh consecutive charity live draw. Monocle’s resident Eurovision expert, Fernando Augusto Pacheco, speaks to the show’s production designer, Florian Wieder, and the lighting and screen-content designer, Fredrik Stormby, from the competition’s main stage. Plus: David Lammy in the US and the tourist crackdown in the Balearic Islands. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

As the UK local election results come in, who will win the race for London mayor? On the other side of the pond, Trump’s hush-money trial continues ahead of the US election in November; Charles Hecker and Georgina Godwin discuss the latest developments. Plus: co-founder of independent publisher Galley Beggar Press, Sam Jordison, joins to discuss how much it really costs to make a book and the effect that it can have on smaller presses. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Writer and broadcaster Yassmin Abdel-Magied joins the show to discuss the potential attack in Darfur, Ukraine halting passport services and why UK South Asian garment stores are suffering. Author and playwright Guy Gunaratne joins the show to talk about ‘The Review’, a new journal by the Jhalak Foundation and WritersMosaic in ‘The Bookseller’ celebrating writers of colour. Plus: communications specialist and documentary filmmaker Issabella Orlando looks back at April’s art-and-culture moments. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Isabel Hilton, founder of China Dialogue, joins Georgina Godwin to talk about German chancellor Olaf Scholz’s visit to China, A24’s ‘Civil War’ (warning: spoilers ahead) and Anne Hidalgo’s vision of a greener Paris under threat. The co-founder of independent publisher Charco Press, Samuel McDowell, also joins the show to discuss translated Latin American fiction. Plus: we hear from Turkish designer Gülsün Karamustafa, who is representing her country at this year’s Venice Biennale, and Monocle’s design editor, Nic Monisse, speaks to Nicola Coropulis, CEO of renowned design company Poltrona Frau, at Salone del Mobile. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

US intelligence predicts that Iran will strike Israel within the next few days. Yossi Mekelberg, associate fellow at Chatham House, joins Georgina Godwin to tell us more. Also in the programme: Angela Rayner is under scrutiny, Donald Trump compares himself to Nelson Mandela and Beyoncé puts Levi jeans back on the hotlist. Plus: Monocle’s Gregory Scruggs speaks to Bernadette McDonald, who spotlights local Himalayan climbers in her new book ‘Alpine Rising: Sherpas, Baltis, and the Triumph of Local Climbers in the Greater Ranges’. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Terry Stiastny updates Georgina Godwin on the Wirecard fugitive case and discusses the honeytrap scandal that has rattled Westminster this week. We examine the history of honeytrap scandals and look back at the lives of two extraordinary people: journalist Hella Pick and author Lynne Reid Banks. Plus: twins Dina and Rosabella Gregory take us through their new opera, ‘The Haberdasher Prince’, and Louise Doughty joins to talk about her guest edition of Writers Mosaic, ‘Blood and belonging: Traveller Writers’.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.