Cheese and Chat

The conclusion of Peter's long lunch with Albert Speer, Hitler's architect, best friend and Minister of Armaments. A defense of curiosity, a consideration of evil's basic mystery, an exploration of the wonder and limits of confession...for Peter and Albert both. All things shining, all cups runneth over: this remains the finest podcast of an age both troubled and enchanted. 

Peter recalls his long lunch with Hitler's architect, best friend and Nazi Minister of Armaments, Albert Speer. We then discuss: Speer's genial evil and staggering denial; his dark genius for self-preservation; and the plans for Hitler's tomb that he shared with Peter nearly four decades ago. The first in a two-part series, perfect listening for a holiday of secretly horrific social encounters.

Peter reads a memory of the time Nazi slave-driver and rocket engineer Wernher von Braun came over for tea, set to a song Ken Burns once used to make people feel cozy amid horror in history. And we chat: about America's decision to forget von Braun's war crimes; the modern legacy of "just following orders"; and Peter's fascination with the monsters who destroyed his parents' world. This podcast is a light unto the nations.

A chat about Princess Diana, conceived as pandering ear-candy, gets derailed by argument over the legacy of Lord Louis Mountbatten, England's last Viceroy of India. Peter and Dana step back from the brink, however, to repair their friendship and consider a secular saint. This is the best 20-minute podcast of its generation. 

Peter reads a memory of the college love he nearly married, set to Facades by Philip Glass. And then we chat: about the power of the dead over the living; how slavery enriched both David Cameron and JP Morgan; and the human glory of the New York City marathon. Primo conversation with a cameo by horse thieves.

Peter shares a memory of his first love with another boy at boarding school, set to Handel. And we chat: about gay love in antiquity; Halloween as a holiday of masks and love; and John LeCarre's final, radical masterpiece, Silverview. More primo autumn listening, all cups runneth over.

A very special Cheese and Chat. Peter reads from his memoir-in-progress set to the magnificent pianist Bruce Levingston's rendition of Schubert's Impromptu Op. 90. We receive our very first sponsorship, set to Amazing Grace on bagpipes. And discuss: the idiocy of Woodrow Wilson; the haunted spaces between worlds in history; and how future generations will pretend Covid never happened. Primo autumn listening.

After a brief hiatus in honor of Saint Gouda's Day...me and Peter made a cheese plate and chatted: about Dada as a reaction to fear and horror; Peter's belief that Americans will reject digital serfdom; and the trip we took to Istanbul many years ago. Best of all, Peter made good on a promise to revisit his brief and brutal career as a Brooklyn restaurant critic.

Me and my friend Peter Foges just keep making these cheese plates and chatting: about the Met Gala as an unlikely hope for democracy; about the legacy of 9/11 on its 20th anniversary; about Peter's brief, secret, brutal life as a Brooklyn restaurant critic.

Me and my friend Peter Foges made yet ANOTHER cheese plate and chatted: about Harry and Meghan; monarchy and celebrity; Peter's aristocratic Prussian lineage and deep love of Irish peasants.

Me and my friend Peter Foges made another cheese plate and chatted: about American psychosis, the freedom of defeat, the state of "internal exile" that so many people I know are experiencing now.

Me and my friend Peter Foges made a cheese plate and had a chat: about Afghanistan, the legacy of the 2008 crash, and why our brains are wired to erase memories of love.