Podcast appearances and mentions of James Meek

James Meek talks to Tom about his latest report from Ukraine, where he spent time in Kharkiv and Kupiansk in the east of the country. In Kharkiv, he found a population living in fear not only of the Russian glide bombs falling daily on the city, but also of the increasingly ruthless activity of the Ukrainian military recruitment office, desperate to secure fresh troops to resist Russia's advances. James and Tom discuss the current state of the conflict, what a Trump presidency might mean for US policy and whether Ukraine's use of long-range missiles could make any difference to the progress of the war.Read James's latest report from Ukraine:https://www.lrb.co.uk/the-paper/v46/n22/james-meek/nobody-wants-to-hear-thisSponsored Link:Get 10% off creative writing courses at NCW Academy in 2025 with code LRB10:https://nationalcentreforwriting.org.uk/academy/More audio from the LRB:Discover the LRB's subscription podcast, Close Readings, and audiobooks here: https://lrb.me/audio Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

James Meek joins Tom to talk about a recent book by Peter Biskind on ‘the New TV', reviewed by James in the latest issue of the paper. They discuss the rise of cable TV in the 1990s, the emergence of the streaming giants, the power of the showrunner and whether the golden age of television drama is really coming to an end.Read James's piece: https://lrb.me/meektvpodSign up to Close Readings: lrb.me/closereadingspod Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Pastor Zach Vestnys' teaching titled, "Meek and Gentle Wisdom" from James 3 on November 19, 2023.

Pastor Zach Vestnys' teaching titled, "Meek and Gentle Wisdom" from James 3 on November 19, 2023.

Almost eighteen months since Russia invaded Ukraine, Kyiv residents have resumed something resembling pre-war life. James Meek recently returned to the city, and joins Tom to discuss the new normal: how language is changing and ravers are rebuilding destroyed villages, and what we can expect in the coming months of warfare.Find further reading, and an example of Repair Together in action, on the episode page: lrb.me/lifeinkyivLet us know what you think via our survey: lrb.me/podsurveySubscribe to Close Readings:In Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/3pJoFPqIn other podcast apps: lrb.me/closereadings Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Twenty years on from the invasion of Iraq, Ghaith Abdul-Ahad and James Meek describe their chance first meeting and their time reporting on the war together. Help support our independent journalism at theguardian.com/infocus

Over a century after the Russian Revolution, the tumultuous history of the Soviet Union continues to fascinate us and influence global politics. In The Shortest History Of The Soviet Union (Old Street Publishing), acclaimed historian Sheila Fitzpatrick charts the development of the nation, from its accidental beginnings to its unexpected departure, and asks what lessons the global superpowers of today have learned from its story. Sheila Fitzpatrick was in conversation with writer, journalist and fellow LRB contributor James Meek. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this week's wrap-up, Kyle shares a personal story about the negative family impact of his cancellation.  He goes on to describe a former FBI supervisor's grievance and Dan Bongino's rebuttal.  House Judiciary Chairman Jim Jordan has issued subpoenas in the FBI's targeting of school board parents as a result of Kyle's whistleblowing. Kyle provides an update on James Meek and a comparison to Sharyl Attkinsson.  He wraps up the show describing the bureau's next public enemy number one: Christians.

Disappearing Acts & Topless PhotosNo one's heard from ABC News investigative reporter James Meek since the FBI showed up. University of Wisconsin volleyball players don't know who leaked their topless celebratory photos.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

To Calais, In Ordinary Time by James Meek is the choice for this month's Church Times Book Club - and on the podcast this week, the author speaks to Rachel Mann (who has written this month's Book Club essay about it). The book is published by Canongate and is available from the Church Times Bookshop for £8.99. The Church Times Book Club is run in association with the Church Times Festival of Faith and Literature. Tickets are now on sale for the next Festival, which takes place in Winchester in February. For more information and to buy tickets, visit https://faithandliterature.hymnsam.co.uk Sign up to receive the free Book Club email once a month. Featuring discussion questions, podcasts and discounts on each book: churchtimes.co.uk/newsletter-signup Discuss this month's book at facebook.com/groups/churchtimesbookclub About the book: To Calais In Ordinary Time is a work of historical fiction set in England in 1348. It covers the story of a group of travellers journeying towards Calais across England as the Black Death sweeps across Europe. Written in a way to capture the authenticity of spoken medieval English, the language is interspersed with Middle English words. The young noblewoman's language is marked by Norman French, the learned proctor's language is punctuated with Latinisms, and the language of the down-to-earth adventurous ploughman is more Saxon. It is a novel about life, love, death, and war, set during a time of turbulence and uncertainty across Europe. Picture credit: © MARZENA POGORSALY Music for the podcast is by Twisterium Try 10 issues of the Church Times for £10 or get two months access to our website and apps, also for £10. Go to churchtimes.co.uk/new-reader.

Andrey Kurkov is the celebrated Ukrainian author of Death and the Penguin and 18 other novels. His letters from Ukraine about his family's flight from Kyiv became essential daily listening on the Today programme in the aftermath of the 2022 invasion.Two weeks after the Russian invasion began, Kurkov was joined by Oksana Zabuzhko, Robert Chandler, James Meek, Ilya Kaminsky, and Lyuba Yakimchuk for a special event chaired by Peter Pomerantsev.All the proceeds from ticket sales were donated to the Pirogov First Volunteer Mobile Hospital, an NGO coordinating the provision of medical care by civilian doctors on the Ukrainian front line.Find more upcoming LRB Bookshop events via the website: lrb.me/eventspod Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

James Meek, recently returned from Mykolaiv, talks to Tom about the area of southern Ukraine that has become a crucial battleground in the war, as Russian forces seek to maintain control of the land they've occupied west of the Dnieper, and the Ukrainians try to push them back across the river.Read James's report from Mykolaiv here: https://lrb.me/mykolaivpodWatch the short film here: https://lrb.me/mykolaivfilmpod Our GDPR privacy policy was updated on August 8, 2022. Visit acast.com/privacy for more information.

James Meek talks to Tom about the events leading up to Russia's invasion of Ukraine, from the fall of Yanukovych to the wars in the Donbas and Nagorno-Karabakh, and considers what may happen next.Read more by James Meek here: https://lrb.me/jamesmeekpodSubscribe to the LRB from just £1 per issue: https://mylrb.co.uk/podcast20bTitle music by Kieran Brunt / Produced by Anthony Wilks See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Tariq Ali has been observing and commenting on Afghanistan for more than four decades. He vehemently opposed the Soviet occupation in 1979, and the NATO invasion and subsequent invasion in 2001. The Forty Year War in Afghanistan (Verso) collects together for the first time his most important writings on this troubled country, and contains a new introduction written in the wake of NATO's ignominious retreat.Ali is in conversation with LRB contributing editor James Meek, who as foreign correspondent for the Guardian witnessed the war in Afghanistan at first hand. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Jenny asked previous podcast guests to chat about their top reads of the year, whether or not they were published in 2021. Jenny also chimes in with her own obscure categories. Please enjoy hearing from Tina, Tom, Lindy, Trish, Andrew, Kim, Jeff, Elizabeth, Audrey, Scott, Robin, Mina, Emily, Chris, Nadine, and Ross. Download or listen via this link: Reading Envy 236: Best Reads of 2021 Subscribe to the podcast via this link: FeedburnerOr subscribe via Apple Podcasts by clicking: SubscribeOr listen through TuneIn Or listen on Google Play Or listen via StitcherOr listen through Spotify Or listen through Google Podcasts Books discussed:(duplicates removed) Four Hundred Souls: A Community History of African America, 1619-2019 edited by Ibram x. Kendo and Keisha N. BlaineBroken Horses written and read by Brandi CarlileSeveral People are Typing by Calvin KasulkeWhen the Light of the World was Subdued edited by Joy HarjoBraiding Sweetgrass by Robin Wall KimmererThe Murderbot Diaries series by Martha WellsXeni by Rebekah WeatherspoonAct Your Age, Eve Brown by Talia HibbertThe Love Hypothesis by Ali HazelwoodAmerican Dreamer by Adriana Herrera, narrated by Sean ChristenFight Night by Miriam ToewsNervous Conditions trilogy by Tsitsi Dangarembga The Secret Lives of Church Ladies by Deeshaw Philyaw, read by Janina EdwardsExhalation: Stories by Ted ChiangSeasonal Quartet by Ali SmithHow to Be Both by Ali SmithMaddAddam trilogy by Margaret AtwoodBarkskins by Annie ProulxSigns for Lost Children by Sarah Moss Tidal Zone by Sarah MossLadivine by Marie Ndiaye To Cook a Bear by Mikael NiemiKindred by Octavia ButlerThe Heart's Invisible Furies by John BoyneThe Invisible Life of Addie LaRue by V.E. SchwabMexican Gothic by Sylvia Moreno-GarciaSummer Sons by Lee Mandelo 
Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir Hidden Wyndham: Life, Love, Letters by Amy BinnsChasing New Horizons: Inside the Epic First Mission to Pluto by Alan Stern and David GrinspoonDune by Frank HerbertOne Long River of Song by Bryan DoyleInk Knows No Borders: Poems of the Immigrant and Refugee Experience edited by Patrice Vecchione and Alyssa RaymondRazorblade Tears by S.A. CosbyBlacktop Wasteland by S.A. Cosby Sparrow Envy by J. Drew LanhamHome is not a Country by Safia ElhilloMoon of the Crusted Snow by Waubgeshig RiceCutting for Stone by Abraham VergheseWretchedness by Andrzej TichyThe Twilight Zone by Nona FernandezPeach Blossom Paradise by Ge FeiThe Love Songs of W.E.B. DuBois by Honoree JeffersSummer Brother by Jaap Robben; translateld by David DohertyNjal's Saga by AnonymousBrood by Jackie PollenNobody Ever Talks About Anything But the End: A Memoir by Lizi LevineNancy by Bruno Lloret; translated by Ellen JonesShadow King by Maaza MengisteShuggie Bain by Douglas StuartThe Overstory by Richard PowersCloud Cuckoo Land by Anthony DoerrCity of Brass by S.A. ChakrabortyThe Actual Star by Monica ByrneBewilderment by Richard PowersThe Galaxy and the Ground Within by Becky ChambersA Psalm for the Wild Built by Becky Chambers  O Beautiful by Jung YunWhile Justice Sleeps by Stacey Abrams, narrated by Adenrele OjoShelter by Jung YunMy Dark Vanessa by Kate Elizabeth RussellLove and Saffron
 by Kim FayShadow Life by Hiromi Goto and Ann Xu Wake: The Hidden History of Women-Led Slave Revolts by Rebecca Hall and Hugo MartinezThe Chosen and the Beautiful by Nghi VoThe Seed Keeper by Diane WilsonOpen Water by Caleb Azumah NelsonGreat Circle by Maggie ShipsteadTelephone by Percival EverettWhen We Cease to Understand the World by Benjamín Labatut; translated by Adrian West; read by Adam Barr To Calais in Ordinary Time by James MeekThe Anarchy: The East India Company, Corporate Violence, and the Pillage of an Empire by William DalrympleA Spare Life by Lidija Dimkovska, translated by Christina E. KramerMud Sweeter than Honey: Voices of Communist Albania by Margo Rejmer, translated by Antonio Lloyd-JonesSovietistan: Travels in Turkmenistan, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan, and Uzbekistan by Erika Flatland, translated by Kari DicksonRelated episodes: Episode 046 - Books for Your Kitty Party (The Best of 2015) with Libby Young and many other guestsEpisode 075 - After the Year We've Had (Best of 2016)Episode 105 - Best Reads of 2017 Episode 139 - Stocking Stuffer (Best Reads of 2018) Episode 176 - Best of 2019Episode 209 - Best Reads of 2020Episode 210 - Reading Goals 2021Stalk me online:Jenny at GoodreadsJenny on TwitterJenny is @readingenvy on Instagram and Litsy All links to books are through Bookshop.org, where I am an affiliate. I wanted more money to go to the actual publishers and authors. I link to Amazon when a book is not listed with Bookshop.

On the global energy crisis.    Nuclear energy advocate Emmet Penney (@nukebarbarian) joins us to discuss the growing energy crunch in Europe, the US and beyond. Nuclear power is opposed by an unholy alliance of environmentalists and neoliberals - yet it seems the best solution for providing plentiful, reliable, and clean energy. As a demand, it seems an open goal for the left - so why are so many resistant?   Part 2 is available here for patreon subscribers.    Links & Readings: Nuclear Barbarian - pro-nuclear podcast & newsletter ex.haust - Emmet's other, co-hosted pod Undeveloping America, Emmet Penney, The American Conservative Political Life in the Lottery of Babylon, Emmet Penney, The American Conservative How we happened to sell off our electricity, James Meek, LRB  A Question of Power: Electricity and the Wealth of Nations, Robert Bryce, Public Affairs (book)

Jeff Stein explores crazy coup plots and spy defectors in Venezuela with Latin America expert David Smilde, and Jeanne Meserve talks with ABC News investigative reporter James Meek about his disturbing new documentary about the deaths of Green Beret operatives in Niger. Follow Jeff Stein on Twitter: https://twitter.com/SpyTalker Subscribe to SpyTalk Reporting https://www.spytalk.co/ Follow Jeanne Meserve on Twitter: https://twitter.com/JeanneMeserve https://www.jeannemeserve.com/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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, on the episode page: https://lrb.me/twoutopiaspodSubscribe to the LRB from just £1 per issue: https://mylrb.co.uk/podcast20b See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Three journeys. One road. England, 1348. A gentlewoman is fleeing an odious arranged marriage, a Scottish proctor is returning home to Avignon and a handsome young ploughman in search of adventure is on his way to volunteer with a company of archers. All come together on the road to Calais. Coming in their direction from across the Channel is the Black Death, the plague that will wipe out half of the population of Northern Europe. As the journey unfolds, overshadowed by the archers' past misdeeds and clerical warnings of the imminent end of the world, the wayfarers must confront the nature of their loves and desires. A tremendous feat of language and empathy, it summons a medieval world that is at once uncannily plausible, utterly alien and eerily reflective of our own. James Meek's extraordinary To Calais, In Ordinary Time is a novel about love, class, faith, loss, gender and desire—set against one of the biggest cataclysms of human history. --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/pbliving/message Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/pbliving/support

We're back with a Patreon pick! Here's Jesse's Patreon pick for the year, The People's Act of Love by James Meek! It's a bleak tale of life and love in Siberia during the Russian Civil War. Cannibals? Yep. Soldiers? Yep. Sex? Kinda. Castrated zealots? Totally. Enjoy the review!  At the end of the episode, we share some important updates about our Patreon account. If you're a supporter, be sure to listen on. Thanks for all your support!

We're back with a Patreon pick! Here's Jesse's Patreon pick for the year, The People's Act of Love by James Meek! It's a bleak tale of life and love in Siberia during the Russian Civil War. Cannibals? Yep. Soldiers? Yep. Sex? Kinda. Castrated zealots? Totally. Enjoy the review!  At the end of the episode, we share some important updates about our Patreon account. If you're a supporter, be sure to listen on. Thanks for all your support!

James Meek joins us to discuss his novel, To Calais, in Ordinary Time, which tells a sweeping medieval narrative that unfolds under the shadow of the bubonic plague.   This segment is guest-hosted by Ilya Marritz.

Our bookshelf episodes are the ones where we get to let our hair down and talk about the things we're reading outside of our book clubs, the books that we get to pick and choose. So listen in as Kate is bewitched by the new Susanna Clarke novel Piranesi, charmed by Shirley Jackson's memoir of raising her children in Life Among the Savages, and has a guilty confession to make about To Calais in Ordinary Time by James Meek. In Laura's stack are supernatural thriller Himself by Jess Kidd, Midnight in Sicily by Peter Robb and The Observations by Jane Harris. Not to mention some guilty pleasure reading of Georgette Heyer and Alison Croggon's fantasy series of Pellinor novels. It's a packed episode, we hope you enjoy it as much as we did making it. For detailed notes on this episode, and over 70 other episodes of book club discussions, interviews and features you can find us at our new website: www.thebookclubreview.co.uk. Drop us a line there and say hello, we'd love to hear from you. Tell us what books are keeping you turning the pages right now?

David talks to the writer James Meek about what the Covid crisis has revealed about how we understand healthcare and how we think about the organisations tasked with delivering it. A conversation about hospitals and community care, about Trump's America and Johnson's Britain, and about WHO and NHS. James's writing on these themes is available on the LRB website https://www.lrb.co.uk/Amy Maxmen on Ebola, Covid and the WHO https://www.talkingpoliticspodcast.com/blog/2020/243-ebola-covid-and-the-who See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

The writer Olivia Laing has long used art to make sense of the world. Over the last five years she has written a series of essays using art and artists to understand different political crises and emergencies around the globe. She tells Tom Sutcliffe how art can help to change the way people see the world, and how it can be a force for resistance and repair. In a new collection , Funny Weather, Laing presents her own idiosyncratic guide to staying sane during the current coronavirus pandemic. The novelist James Meek set his last book, To Calais, In Ordinary Times, in 1348 as the Black Death swept into England from Northern Europe. In his medieval universe, aspects of society that had once appeared fixed and natural – faith, class and gender – are upended and challenged, as the plague destroys more than just lives. Meek looks to see if such cataclysmic moments of human history have any lessons for us today. Producer: Katy Hickman

James Meek, MPH: Associate Director School of Public Health and Lecturer in Epidemiology (Microbial Diseases); Associate Director, Yale Emerging Infections Program joins Lindsay and Juliet to talk about Coronavirus (Covid-19) to talk about what people should be doing, how to do it, and what might be in store for the foreseeable future. Keep up with the latest information from the CDC - https://www.cdc.gov/ --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app

Journalist James Meek talks about his novel The People's Act of Love, first published in 2005, a bold and imaginative work based in the wilds of Siberia where a strange and violent group of individuals come together with sinister results. Set in a time of great social upheaval, warfare, and terrorism, and against a stark, lawless Siberia at the end of the Russian Revolution, The People’s Act of Love portrays the fragile coexistence of a beautiful, independent mother raising her son alone, a megalomaniac Czech captain and his restless regiment, and a mystical separatist Christian sect. When a mysterious, charismatic stranger trudges into their snowy village with a frighteningly outlandish story to tell, its balance is shaken to the core. James Naughtie presents and invited Bookclub readers join in the discussion To take part in future Bookclubs apply at bookclub@bbc.co.uk March's Bookclub choice : Rachel's Holiday by Marian Keyes Presenter : James Naughtie Producer : Dymphna Flynn

American author Erin Morgenstern talks about her fantasy novel The Night Circus which has become a cult favourite with readers. James Naughtie presents and an invited group of readers ask the questions. It's the story of a mysterious Victorian travelling circus that only opens at night and is constructed entirely in black and white. Although there are acrobats, fortune-tellers and contortionists Le Cirque des Rêves is no conventional spectacle. Some tents contain clouds, some ice. the circus seems almost to cast a spell over its aficionados, who call themselves the rêveurs, the dreamers. At the heart of the story is the tangled relationship between two young magicians, Celia, the enchanter's daughter, and Marco, the sorcerer's apprentice. At the behest of their shadowy masters they find themselves locked in a deadly contest and the two rivals defy all the rules of the game by falling in love. You can hear a reading of The Night Circus on BBC Radio 4 Extra Monday 6 January - Friday 10 January at 1800 To take part in future Bookclubs apply at bookclub@bbc.co.uk February's Bookclub Choice : The People's Act of Love by James Meek (2005) Presented by James Naughtie Produced by Dymphna Flynn

James Meek is the author of six novels including The People's Act of Love which was longlisted for the Man Booker Prize and won both the Royal Society of Literature Ondaatje Prize and the Scottish Arts Council Award. It has been published in more than thirty countries. Meek's last novel The Heart Broke In was shortlisted for the Costa Book Award and he has also written two collections of short stories and two books of non-fiction, Private Island, which won the 2015 Orwell Prize and Dreams of Leaving and Remaining. He is a Contributing Editor to the London Review of Books and writes regularly for the Guardian and New York Times. His latest novel is To Calais, In Ordinary Time. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Louise and Virginia have a great conversation about four excellent British novels, The Cockroach by Ian McEwan, The Confession by Jessie Burton, Someone at a Distance by Dorothy Whipple and To Calais, in Ordinary Time by James Meek. They also discuss a couple of great podcasts and a feel-good movie.Email hello@divinginpodcast.comInstagram @diving_in_podcastVirginia’s Instagram @virginia_readsLouise’s Instagram @louise_cooks_and_readsSong ‘Diving In’ – original music and lyrics written and performed by Laura Adeline – https://linkt.ree/llauraadelinePodcast sound production and editing by Andy Maher.The Cockroach by Ian McEwan, 2019. Published by Jonothan Cape,The Confession by Jessie Burton, 2019. Published by PicadorSomeone at a Distance by Dorothy Whipple, 1999. Published by Persephone Books.To Calais, in Ordinary Time by James Meek, 2019. Published by Canongate Bookswww.persephonebooks.co.ukPodcastsHow to Fail with Elizabeth DayWhere Should we Begin? with Esther PerelJessie Burton’s website: https://www.jessieburton.co.uk/FilmFishermen’s FriendsNetflix TV seriesThe Crown – Series 3

For over 20 years Lara Maiklem has strolled the foreshore of London’s River Thames in search of treasures from the past. She joins us to discuss what she’s learned, as outlined in her new bestseller, ‘Mudlarking’. Plus: we meet immersive artists Jonah Freeman and Justin Lowe for a tour of their bold new exhibition in London, and author and journalist James Meek unpacks his latest book ‘To Calais, in Ordinary Time’.

Argentinian film Rojo is set just before the 1975 military coup, looking at the simmering tensions and the complicity that made it happen and the way so many people turned a blind eye Hansard at London's National Theatre is a debut play. A junior Tory minister under Margaret Thatcher comes into deeply personal conflict with his politically-opposed wife over Clause 28 James Meek's novel 'To Calais In Ordinary Time' tells a story about 14th century Europe, written in a distinctive argot scattered with arcane language, following the lives of several characters dealing with - among other things - the approaching Black Death. A new display of items owned by The Rothschilds has opened at Waddesdon Manor in Buckinghamshire. Items of immense value from ruby and emerald jewellery to Roman glassware and amber caskets, many of these items haven't been on public display before Defending The Guilty is a comedy series on BBC2 exploring the world of barristers Tom Sutcliffe's guests are Mark Billingham, Barb Jungr and Julia Raeside. The producer is Oliver Jones Podcast Extra recommendations Julia: The Dublin Murders by Sarah Phelps + The Portland Brothers + Box Of Delights podcast Barb: Edna O'Brien -The Little Red Chairs + Jazzmeia Horn + Bob, Brel and Me Mark: Peaky Blinders + Nick Lowe Tom: Robert Harris - The Second Sleep + Mortimer and Whitehouse go Fishing

Masterpiece from the contemporary heir to Samuel Beckett or demanding endurance read with not nearly enough paragraph breaks? We debate Anna Burns' Booker-Prize winning novel – a tale of suffocating gossip, ever-present violence and one young woman's struggle to retain her sense of self during the Troubles in Northern Ireland. For this show we were joined by @jenny.mccullough who brought a fascinating perspective to it from her Northern Irish background. • Books mentioned: The People's Act of Love by James Meek, A Girl is a Half-Formed Thing by Eimear Macbride, Days Without End by Sebastian Barry, Troubles by J. G. Farrell, The Trial by Franz Kafka, The Secret Scripture by Sebastian Barry. • The twitter feed Jenny mentions is from Dr. Caroline Magennis, @DrMagennis, for Northern Irish literature recommendations.

In this special episode, "The Investigation" takes listeners inside the Ecuadorian Embassy and the tiny room that Julian Assange called home for the past seven years. Senior Executive Producer Chris Vlasto along with investigative reporters Matt Mosk and James Meek speak with documentary filmmaker Sean Langan, who has spent over 50 hours visiting with Assange in what he called "a gilded cage...with very old fashioned, 1950's, Spanish Mexican furniture." Langan tells "The Investigation" about his last meeting with Assange just 20 days ago: "he looked me in the eye and I could sense…he had this real fear now…of spending the rest of his life in a Supermax federal prison in America," and what Assange really thinks about Roger Stone and Donald Trump,Jr.: "he said, 'those bunch of clowns…couldn't conspire and organize this kind of thing.'" Follow Kyra on Twitter @kyraphillips Follow Chris on Twitter @vlasto Follow Matt on Twitter @mattmosk Follow John on Twitter @santucci Support this podcast with a review on Apple Podcasts: http://bit.ly/2UJIsJs Recommended listening... -- Start Here: The daily 20-minute news podcast from ABC News. http://bit.ly/2SA62eg -- Powerhouse Politics: Headliner interviews and in-depth looks at the people and events shaping U.S. politics. http://bit.ly/2SsGwr7 -- FiveThirtyEight Politics: Nate Silver and the FiveThirtyEight team cover the latest in politics, tracking the issues and "game-changers" every week. https://53eig.ht/2RF3eb1 ==================== The Investigation is produced by ABC Radio.

In Dreams of Leaving and Remaining (Verso), novelist, journalist, essayist and contributing editor to the LRB James Meek anatomises the fractured body of our nation as it approaches one of the most momentous junctures in its post-war history. In a series of frontline reports and interviews from every corner of the island, he talks to remainers, leavers, undecideds and don’t-cares. He was in conversation about his discoveries with Chris Bickerton, Reader in Modern European Politics at the University of Cambridge. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

This week on the Sinica Podcast, Kaiser and Jeremy chat with two former ambassadors to the PRC who served during the years marking the transition from the Hu/Wen administration to the rule of Xi Jinping: Jorge Guajardo of Mexico and David Mulroney of Canada. They discuss the significant challenges that they faced, the perceptible changes in China's diplomatic norms and practices during their tenures as ambassadors, and, finally, the benefits and drawbacks that their countries see from the Trump administration's more assertive posture toward China. Note: This show was recorded on December 20, 2018, five weeks before Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau sacked Canada’s latest ambassador to China. What to listen for on this week’s Sinica Podcast: 9:35: Ambassadors Guajardo and Mulroney speak about their experiences during their tenures in Beijing. Mulroney describes a change he noticed during his time as head of the Asia branch of Canada’s Foreign Ministry: “Dealing with the Chinese had become different. In the past, if there was a difficult decision or a tough negotiation, even if you came out on the short end, the Chinese would leave you something… That changed, and I saw it change on my visit as ambassador, where it was zero sum where they were going to walk away and leave you with nothing.” 25:26: Jeremy asks the two diplomats about the United States pressuring other countries to join the growing coalition that is pushing back against China on trade, and domestic discussions in their respective countries. Mulroney responds: “There’s a great fear of being seen to gang up on China, or to form a coalition against China. And that has, I think, precluded the possibility of really honest discussions of how we deal with China one on one. China has been remarkably successful in isolating countries, even big countries, like Britain and France. Canada has certainly felt that...” 29:47: Guajardo comments on changes in the U.S.-Mexico relationship and the effects this has on the relationship between the U.S. and China: “During all administrations prior to President Trump’s, there was sort of an unwritten rule with Mexico that Mexico would do all that was possible to block Huawei from building its telecommunications infrastructure. That changed with President Trump.” 37:45: How far should governments go in getting tough on China? Is there a red line, and if so, where is it? Mulroney explains: “Canada right now is dealing with the detention of a couple of Canadians, and an icy-cold relationship with China…a constellation of issues, Iran sanctions, the extradition treaty with the U.S., detention of citizens, but they all have something in common at the base…the suggestion that China has been a free rider in so many respects. We’ve come to this point before. We wring our hands and then China is given a pass. The one thing that President Trump has been getting right is that maybe we don’t give China a pass.” Recommendations: Jeremy: An essay by James Meek in the London Review of Books, “The Club and the Mob,” about the destruction of news media. Jorge: Travel to Mexico City! An affordable vacation spot with many direct flights, which will be fairly empty during the upcoming Easter holidays. David: The Duty of Delight: The Diaries of Dorothy Day, by none other than Dorothy Day. Kaiser: The comedy TV series Patriot, available on Amazon Prime Video.

Does the West’s obsession with Vladimir Putin prevent it from genuinely understanding Russia? In Russia Without Putin (Verso), LRB contributor and Russophile Tony Wood argues that the core features of Putinism—a predatory, authoritarian elite presiding over a vastly unequal society—are integral to the system set in place after the fall of Communism, a legacy of Yeltsinism rather than a resurgence of Soviet authoritarianism. Tony Wood was in conversation with James Meek, LRB Contributing Editor and author of Private Island (Verso). See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

David talks to journalist and novelist James Meek about his epic new study of the NHS in crisis. They discuss the ideas behind a generation of NHS reforms, the meaning of efficiency and the challenge of caring for an ageing population. What does the future hold - Japanese-style robotics or explosive politics and inter-generational strife? Read the essay in the current edition of the LRB - https://bit.ly/2IpapQv See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

James Meek asks how, in a time of austerity economics, we define the robber and the robbed, in his LRB Winter Lecture delivered at the British Museum.Read James Meek in the LRB: https://lrb.me/meekpodSign up to the LRB newsletter: https://lrb.me/acast See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

This week: Nath's been watching the FX series of Fargo, which stars Martin Freeman and is available on Netflix, and mostly enjoying its fine performances and refractions of Coen-brother themes and imagery. Watching Fargo was, for the most part, an attempt not to think too hard about James Meek's Private Island, an excellent book about the sell-off of Britain's state-owned enterprises and essentials over the last 35 years, which Sarah avoided by getting into Bond - she talks about Casino Royale, Moonraker, and the word "bitch". Offline Dating comes up for discussion in what we've written this week, and finally we answer your questions - and forget to be annoyed that the BBC American film poll doesn't include a single Coen brothers entry. Rubbish.

It's a JUMBO Ep!  Dave aka Pop Culture Case Study and I chatted about the Mad Men series finale and the series as a whole in this special bonus episode! I also wrote about the series finale of Mad Men on the IGGPPC and mentioned some of my favorite quotes. There are quite a few more I had to add in the site post. Thanks to Dave, fellow live tweeter pal Nikki, Sumsy from the IGGPPC, and more friends for brainstorming with me and suggesting about half of these! Here's the James Meek's article, The Shock of the Pretty, I mentioned reading. It speaks about the juxtaposition between the beauty of the production value of Mad Men and the grittiness of its storylines. Did you enjoy the season finale? Did our main characters get closure or was it left relatively open? Let us know in the comments! WHAT DID YOU THINK OF THE MAD MEN SERIES FINALE? If you enjoy live tweets of Gotham, Supernatural, Game of Thrones, Once Upon a Time, The Leftovers, Astronaut Wives Club, and possibly more add us to a twitter list! We suggest you don't follow if you don't want too many tweets in your feed or spoilers! If you love Marvel as well as DC, we just redesigned some of our Black Widow gear on Redbubble. CHECK IT OUT Subscribe via iTunes or your favorite podcast directory! Follow Common Room with Bloglovin For incredible swag designed by our very own Yun, Katy, and Michelle, check out our RedBubble store!!  If you enjoyed this episode, check out our most recent main episodes: Gotham Recap EpAvengers: Age of UltronStar Wars Rewatch TeaserRise of the Political DystopianBreaking into Comics with Michael SarraoWINE (and the SOMM documentary) Or more F3 (Food, Fitness, Fashion): F3: Episode 28: Larissa's PicksF3: Episode 27: #WorklifeF3: Episode 26: Fairy Tales/Into the WoodsF3: Episode 25: New Year's!F3: Episode 23: 2/3 Yemenite

James Meek on the British army’s eight years in Afghanistan.Read more James Meek in the LRB: https://lrb.me/meekpodSign up to the LRB newsletter: https://lrb.me/acast See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

James Meek came to the bookshop to talk about his new book, Private Island (Verso), a scathing assessment of the last two decades’ privatisation of public assets, ranging from electricity to postal services to municipal housing. What has been lost? Who has benefited? And what’s been the impact on Britain’s wider polity? In the words of John Lanchester, ‘some of it will make you sad, some of it will make you furious, but you are guaranteed to be left feeling that you understand this country much better.’ James Meek was in conversation with journalist Dawn Foster. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

This episode, we highlight lab lit fiction from Pamela Beason, John Banville and Alison Lurie; and interview novelist James Meek. Join Jenny and Richard in London for all this as well as the latest from the world of science in art, literature and popular culture.

James Meek wonders how Britain happened to sell off its electricity. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

With John Wilson. Best known for gross-out comedies There's Something About Mary and Dumb And Dumber, the Farrelly Brothers pay homage to the tradition of American slapstick with their take on The Three Stooges. Adam Smith delivers his verdict. Writer James Meek discusses his latest novel The Heart Broke In, a sweeping family saga set in the digital age. With a string quartet playing in four helicopters, musicians suspended in the air and a dancing camel, Karlheinz Stockhausen's opera Mittwoch has long been considered almost unstageable. John reports from Birmingham on the eve of the work's world premiere. Cork Street in London has long been famous for its art galleries. Many notable 20th century artists first came to wider attention there, but now a number of galleries face an uncertain future in the wake of redevelopment plans. The Mayor Gallery, opened in 1925, was the first to open, and its current owner James Mayor explains how Cork Street's role as a centre for visual art is threatened. Producer Ellie Bury.