The LRB Podcast – Details, episodes & analysis

Walther Rauff, a notorious Nazi war criminal, lived openly in Chile after the Second World War, working for the Pinochet regime’s secret police in the 1970s and avoiding extradition to West Germany. When General Pinochet was himself arrested in London in 1998 under an international warrant issued by a Spanish judge, the British government returned him to Chile on medical grounds. In this episode, Andy Beckett, the author of Pinochet in Piccadilly, joins Tom to talk about these two cases of impunity, the subjects of a recent book by Philippe Sands. They also consider why the democratic government of Salvador Allende that Pinochet overthrew in 1973 has been a touchstone for the international left in the decades since, and whether something similar to Pinochet's coup could have happened in the UK. Find Andy’s article and further reading on the episode page: https://lrb.me/pinochetpod Sponsored link Oculi Mundi: ⁠https://oculi-mundi.com/⁠ LRB Audio Discover audiobooks, Close Readings and more from the LRB: ⁠⁠https://lrb.me/audiolrbpod

Iran’s supreme leader recently claimed victory, simply by reason of survival, in the war launched by Israel on 13 June, and joined a week later by the United States. With the twelve-day conflict apparently over, Adam Shatz talks to Narges Bajoghli, an assistant professor at Johns Hopkins University, and Robert Malley, a former lead negotiator for the US in the 2015 Iran nuclear deal, about why the war came about and what it means for the region. With Bajoghli, Adam looks at the way the war has been seen by the regime’s supporters and detractors, and the effects on the Iranian population of Israel’s widespread infiltration of the country. With Malley, he considers the events that paved the way for Israel’s attack and why America’s bombing of the nuclear facility at Fordow will probably not spur Iran to accelerate its nuclear programme. Further reading in the LRB: Tom Stevenson: Trump's Midnight Hammer https://lrb.me/stevensoniran Tareq Baconi: Gaza under Siege https://lrb.me/baconigaza Sponsored link Oculi Mundi: https://oculi-mundi.com/ LRB Audio Discover audiobooks, Close Readings and more from the LRB: ⁠https://lrb.me/audiolrbpod

In 2013, a group of French and Egyptian archaeologists discovered of cache of papyri as old as the Great Pyramid of Giza. Some of the texts were written by people who had worked on the pyramids: a tally of their daily labour ferrying stones, for instance, between quarry and building site, and the payment they received in fabrics and beer. Robert Cioffi reviewed The Red Sea Scrolls: How Ancient Papyri Reveal the Secrets of the Pyramids by Pierre Tallet and Mark Lehner in the latest issue of the paper. On the podcast this week, he joins Tom to discuss how and why the pyramids were built, and by whom, as well as his own, hair-raising experiences helping to raise a fallen column at an Egyptian archaeological site. Find further reading on the episode page: https://lrb.me/pyramidspod From the LRB: Subscribe to the LRB: ⁠https://lrb.me/lrbpodsubs⁠ Find out about Close Readings, audiobooks and more: ⁠⁠https://lrb.me/audiolrbpod⁠⁠

In the first of three introductions to our full 2024 Close Readings programme, starting in January, Colin Burrow and Clare Bucknell present their series, On Satire. Over twelve episodes, Colin and Clare will attempt to chart a stable course through some of the most unruly, vulgar, incoherent, savage and outright hilarious works in English literature, as they ask what satire is, what it’s for and why we seem to like it so much. Authors covered: Erasmus, John Donne, Ben Jonson, Earl of Rochester, John Gay, Alexander Pope, Laurence Sterne, Jane Austen, Lord Byron, Oscar Wilde, Evelyn Waugh and Muriel Spark. Colin Burrow and Clare Bucknell are both fellows of All Souls College, Oxford, and regular contributors to the LRB. First episode released on 4 January 2024, then on the fourth of each month for the rest of the year. How to Listen Close Readings subscription Directly in Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/3pJoFPq In other podcast apps: lrb.me/closereadings Close Readings Plus In addition to the episodes, receive all the books under discussion; access to webinars with Colin, Clare and special guests including Lucy Prebble and Katherine Rundell; and shownotes and further reading from the LRB archive. On sale here from 22 November: lrb.me/plus Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In the 1970s and '80s, thousands of haemophiliacs in the UK were infected with HIV and hepatitis C through blood products known to be contaminated. In a recent piece, Florence Sutcliffe-Braithewaite outlines the magnitude of the scandal, exacerbated by carelessness, corporate greed and, in one instance, deliberate human experimentation. She joins Malin to discuss the findings and what they mean for survivors. They are joined by Tom Crewe, who reckoned with the Aids crisis in his 2018 article ‘Here was a plague’. Find Florence and Tom’s articles on the episode page: lrb.me/bloodinquirypod Read Colm Tóibín's pick from the LRB archive: lrb.me/colmpod Subscribe to the LRB here: lrb.me/now Find out about the Colour Revolution exhibition at the Ashmolean Museum here: https://www.ashmolean.org/exhibition/colour-revolution-victorian-art-fashion-design Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

When Sam Bankman-Fried was found guilty of fraud last week, the only surprise was how quickly the jury reached their verdict. John Lanchester joins Tom to discuss how the former crypto billionaire ended up facing a life sentence, from his early career in finance and embrace of Effective Altruism to the simple but audacious nature of his crime, and why he found himself in a US court, even though US citizens were banned from using his trading company, FTX. Read John Lanchester on Sam Bankman-Fried: lrb.me/sbfpod Read Rosemary Hill's pick from the LRB archive: lrb.me/rosemarypod Subscribe to the LRB here: lrb.me/now Find out about the Colour Revolution exhibition at the Ashmolean Museum here: https://www.ashmolean.org/exhibition/colour-revolution-victorian-art-fashion-design Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Anglophiles abroad love the British sense of humour – but what does that actually mean? In a recent review for the paper, Jonathan Coe takes a scalpel to the satire boom and its aftermath to find out what, if anything, sets British comedy apart. He joins Malin for a serious chat about comedy and its double-edged role in the UK’s political life. Further reading on the episode page: lrb.me/coecomedy Subscribe to the LRB here: lrb.me/now Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Nineteenth-century Britain is often imagined as gloomy and dark, epitomised by Dickensian grime and Queen Victoria’s prolonged state of black-clad mourning. But in reality this period saw an explosion of colour, following a number of scientific discoveries. In this short discussion, Charlotte Ribeyrol, co-curator of Colour Revolution, a major new exhibition at the Ashmolean Museum in Oxford, talks about some of those technical advances and the dazzling objects visitors will find on display at the show, from jewel-like Pre-Raphaelite paintings to bookcases and socks, as well as some of the debates of the time – between Ruskin, Darwin and others – about the meaning of colour in nature and society. Colour Revolution runs at the Ashmolean Museum in Oxford until 18th February 2024. Find out more here: https://www.ashmolean.org/exhibition/colour-revolution-victorian-art-fashion-design Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Compiling the first edition of the Oxford English Dictionary was a seventy-year endeavour that called on thousands of volunteers from all walks of life. The Dictionary People, reviewed by Daisy Hay in the LRB, is a recent attempt to track down the various characters who made the OED possible. Daisy joins Tom to discuss how contributors and their enthusiasms shaped the dictionary to this day. Further reading on the episode page: lrb.me/dictionarypod Learn more about the Irish Pages Press: irishpages.org/ Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

As the siege on Gaza intensifies, many observers are describing the current Hamas-Israel conflict as a complete overhaul of the region’s status quo. Amjad Iraqi, a senior editor at +972 Magazine, and Michael Sfard, a leading human rights lawyer, join Adam Shatz to discuss the roots and ramifications of the current crisis. This conversation was recorded on 17 October. Find further reading on the episode page: lrb.me/waringazapod Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.