The LRB Podcast

Patrick McGuinness reads his diary from our 6th June issue about his family’s hometown of Bouillon in Belgium. He reflects on the linguistic and national barriers he crossed to return there each year; on the changes wrought on the town by the end of the industrial era; and on the ways that history and global politics can shape a locality beyond recognition.Read the diary here: https://lrb.me/mcguinnesspod

It’s the final day of the Republican National Convention. Andrew O'Hagan and Deborah Friedell dissect Trump’s marathon acceptance speech and ask what a second term could look like.

At day three of the Republican National Convention, Andrew O'Hagan and Deborah Friedell discuss what a second Trump presidency would mean for American foreign policy. They compare notes on J.D. Vance's memoir Hillbilly Elegy, and reflect on his keynote speech.

Andrew O'Hagan and Deborah Friedell return to the Republican National Convention. They explore second day's theme, Make America Safe Again, and discuss how this convention compares to the last one Andrew attended, the RNC in 2004.

Andrew O'Hagan and Deborah Friedell report on day one of the Republican National Convention. They react to Trump's choice of vice president and reflect on the key note speech by Sean O'Brien, the first time the head of the Teamsters' Union has ever addressed the RNC.

The worst thing you can say to anyone who works in hospitality, Mendez writes, is ‘Maybe you’ll meet someone!’ But a chance encounter while waiting tables lead to their new niche. In this episode, Mendez reads their recent piece about the art of audiobook narration and how they became the voice of Pelé.Find the original piece and further reading on the episode page: https://lrb.me/mendezpodLearn more about the Charleston Trust: https://www.charleston.org.uk/exhibition/anne-rothenstein/

John Lanchester, Tom Crewe and Florence Sutcliffe-Braithwaite join James Butler to dissect Keir Starmer's victory and the historic collapse of the Conservative Party. They discuss what the result tells us about the needs and frustrations of the country, the ways in which the new Labour government might achieve some of the things it’s promised and why comparisons with Harold Wilson have been so prevalent.Read Tom Crewe on fourteen years of the Tories:https://www.lrb.co.uk/the-paper/v46/n12/tom-crewe/carnival-of-self-harm

The day before the election, James Butler is joined by William Davies to talk about something everyone seems to agree on: the very poor state of the UK’s public finances. The past fourteen years of Conservative rule began with the technocratic austerity of George Osborne and ended with the return of the ‘grown-ups’, Jeremy Hunt and Rishi Sunak, to inflict more pain. In between came the chaos of Brexit and the Truss-Kwarteng ‘mini-budget’. What will a likely Labour government pick up from this? Are we still stuck in the age of Osborne, or will something resembling the public investment strategy of Bidenomics emerge through initiatives such as the National Wealth Fund and Great British Energy, as Rachel Reeves has promised?Read Will's latest LRB piece: https://lrb.me/davieselectionpod

‘The world is growing more dangerous’ warns the Conservative manifesto, which puts security at the heart of its pitch. The Labour manifesto, on the other hand, doesn’t mention the world beyond the UK at all in its five ‘missions’. Are the Tories simply being honest with voters, or trying to distract from their domestic record? In this episode, James Butler is joined by Tom Stevenson and Iona Craig to discuss the challenges facing the next foreign secretary, from Gaza to the pressures of a possible Trump presidency. Labour’s current approach seems to promise ‘Blair without the Iraq War’, but how far will this allow UK foreign policy to depart from its normal attitude of subservience to the United States?Read more in the LRB:Tom Stevenson on diplomacy: https://lrb.me/stevensonelectionpodJames Butler's latest election post: https://www.lrb.co.uk/blog/2024/june/new-order