American writer and journalist (b. 1976)
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"I feel like before I have the confidence to write in the way that I want to write, where I really own the material, I have to spend so much time with people. I will say at the outset, once I walk someone through what it's going to involve after they say yes to talking to me, I'll say I'm going to be around a lot and you're going to get sick of me," says Pamela Colloff, author of Catch the Devil.Today's guest, I mean, wow, from the bottom of the diaphragm up, wow. It's Pamela Colloff. You know her from her National Magazine Award winning work for Texas Monthly and ProPublica/The New York Times Magazine. She's THE premier investigative reporter in the country and she's now the author of Catch the Devil: A True Story of Murder, Deception, and Injustice on the Gulf Coast. It's published by Knopf.This book upends what you think a true crime story is about where the true villain isn't a person at all. It chronicles, among others, Paul Skalnik, a jailhouse snitch, whose non-credible testimony places numerous men on death row, Jim Dailey, in particular, and Pamela takes us through this riveting narrative and punishing commentary on capital punishment and why Florida seems hellbent on being No. 1 in executions.Here's just a slice of what Pam is about: She is a two-time National Magazine Award winner, once for reporting and once for feature writing. Her work has been adapted for narrative and documentary films including Tower, which was short-listed in 2016 for an Oscar. Her work has been anthologized in Best American Magazine Writing, Best American Crime Reporting, and Next Wave: America's New Generation of Great Literary Journalists. She joined ProPublica/The New York Times Magazine in 2017 after many years at Texas Monthly. Listen, I could go on. You get the gist.In this episode, we talk about: What drew her to Tom Wolfe and Hunter S. Thompson Speaking with Tom Junod The Boys Club of longform writing Her start at Texas Monthly Being a journalism dork The elation and despair How every story is a Rubix cube The Skip Hollandsworth Method Owning the material Knowing when to quote and when not to Idea generation Writing is hard How magazine writing and book writing are different animals Why Catch the Devil is her now-or-never moment Beginnings are the worst Being more disciplined with a book vs. magazine writing Writing in this attention economyPair this episode with Ep. 255 with Maddy Crowell and Ep. 414 with John Rosengren, and many other Atavist true crimey pods, too many to mention here. I'd also chuck in Ep. 224 with Patrick Radden Keefe. He'll be back on the show for the paperback run of London Calling.
In Episode 229, Sarah talks with Laura B. McGrath about her new book, Middlemen, and the behind-the-scenes role literary agents play in publishing. They discuss what agents actually do, how they shape an author's career, the hype surrounding debut novels, and what Laura learned while researching one of publishing's least visible professions. Plus, Laura shares her book recommendations. This post contains affiliate links through which I make a small commission when you make a purchase (at no cost to you!). CLICK HERE for the full episode Show Notes on the blog. Highlights Middlemen by Laura B. McGrath (April 28) | Amazon | Bookshop.org Why a literary agent's most important job isn't what most readers think. What agents are really looking for when they decide to represent an author. The surprising amount of homework agents do before signing a new client. The hype surrounding debut novels — and some of the downsides that come with it. Why the publishing industry was initially wary of public book sales data. Laura's Book Recommendations Two OLD Books She Loves Housekeeping by Marilynne Robinson (1980) | Amazon | Bookshop.org [45:12] Franny and Zooey by J. D. Salinger (1961) | Amazon | Bookshop.org [47:59] Other Books Mentioned Gilead by Marilynne Robinson (2004) [46:36] Two NEW Books She Loves London Falling by Patrick Radden Keefe (April 7) | Amazon | Bookshop.org[49:25] Discipline by Larissa Pham (Jan 20) | Amazon | Bookshop.org [51:42] Other Books Mentioned Say Nothing by Patrick Radden Keefe (2018) [50:31] One Book She DIDN'T Love The Ending Writes Itself by Evelyn Clarke (April 7) | Amazon | Bookshop.org[53:14] Other Books Mentioned Erasure by Percival Everett (2001) [53:30] The Wife by Meg Wolitzer (2003) [53:32] And Then There Were None by Agatha Christie (1939) [54:16] The Mousetrap by Agatha Christie (1947/1952) [54:19] Yellowface by R. F. Kuang (2023) [55:34] One NEW RELEASE She's Excited About Music Against the Night by Yiyun Li (October 13, 2026) | Amazon | Bookshop.org [57:04] Sneak Pick: Miss Lambert Steps Aboard Danger by Kazuo Ishiguro (March 9, 2027) | Amazon | Bookshop.org [57:04] Other Books Mentioned Things in Nature Merely Grow by Yiyun Li (2025) [57:39] The Unconsoled by Kazuo Ishiguro (1995) [58:43] The Remains of the Day by Kazuo Ishiguro (1989) [59:27] Books From the Discussion The Middle Man by Paul R. Reynolds (1972) [3:09] Talking at Night by Claire Daverley (2023) [10:40] Zone One by Colson Whitehead (2011) [11:20] Catch-22 by Joseph Heller (1961) [12:36] Mila 18 by Leon Uris (1961) [13:33] The Intuitionist by Colson Whitehead (1999) [14:18] Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel (2014) [33:52] Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin (2022) [34:28] The God of the Woods by Liz Moore (2024) [34:34] Long Bright River by Liz Moore (2020) [34:36] The Unseen World by Liz Moore (2016) [34:39]
Michael Tamblyn spoke with Patrick Radden Keefe, who has been writing for the New Yorker since 2006 and is the author of nonfiction bestsellers including Empire of Pain and Say Nothing. His latest book is London Falling: A Mysterious Death in a Gilded City and a Family's Search for Truth. They were joined by an intimate studio audience. Patrick Radden Keefe on London's dark descent
Michael Tamblyn spoke with Patrick Radden Keefe, who has been writing for the New Yorker since 2006 and is the author of nonfiction bestsellers including Empire of Pain and Say Nothing. His latest book is London Falling: A Mysterious Death in a Gilded City and a Family's Search for Truth. They were joined by an intimate studio audience. Patrick Radden Keefe on London's dark descent
Jane's back in Times Towers, but she's just missed Fi, who's off jet-setting for the week. Jane and Eve chat about flat feet, bedside tables, and powerful forehands. Plus, Robbie Millen, literary editor of The Times and The Sunday Times, stops by to share his book picks for the week. He recommends: The Family Man by James Lasdun, London Falling by Patrick Radden Keefe, Waterland by Graham Swift, Murder in Paris '68 by Edward Chisholm, The Great Dictator by Matthew Sweet You can buy tickets for Fringe by the Sea: https://www.fringebythesea.com/off-air-with-jane-fi-and-special-guest-jan-ravens/Our next book club pick will be a collection of short stories! 'Interpreter of Maladies' is by Jhumpa Lahiri. You can check out our YouTube channel here: https://www.youtube.com/@OffAirWithJaneAndFiOur new playlist 'Coiled Spring' is up and running: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/4tmoCpbp42ae7R1UY8ofzaOur most asked about book is called 'The Later Years' by Peter Thornton.If you want to contact the show to ask a question and get involved in the conversation then please email us: janeandfi@times.radioFollow us on Instagram! @janeandfiPodcast Producer: Eve SalusburyExecutive Producer: Rosie Cutler Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Wéi zu London d‘Läich vun engem 19-järege Jong an der Themse fonnt gouf, huet d‘Police no enger kuerzer Enquête den Dossier zougemaach. D‘Eltere vum Bouf hunn dunn op eegen Initiativ no Äntwerte gesicht. Den Investigativ-Journalist Patrick Radden Keefe huet si dobäi begleet a Schockéierendes opgedeckt. "London Falling" ass ee Buch iwwer Influenz, Gäiz, an eng Stad, déi Milliardäre mat oppenen Äerm empfänkt, egal wat de Präis ass. D‘Claire Barthelemy huet d‘Buch gelies.
"One of the things that Patrick Radden Keefe told me was, when I'm doing interviews, I'm always thinking about the anecdote that I will tell someone later at a bar, this is the thing I talk about. That's helpful because there's so much to work with even in one interview or one scene, and the those little gems that you pull out instinctively when you're talking to other people have value, and so I'm often thinking about that in terms of writing," says Alex Ronan, who wrote "The Extremist in the Family" for the Atavist Magazine.Today we welcome Alex Ronan who wrote The Extremist in the Family: The Kerrs were devoted to one another and to their faith. But when one of their own rejected modern medicine in the name of God, they faced a dire question: What if her children ever needed a doctor to save their lives?There's a note as well: This story contains descriptions of child abuse and death. It draws from testimony given by many of the named subjects and extensive court records.That sets the table, no? It reminded me of the Metallica song “The God That Failed.” You should check it out. It's what happens when people who believe in divine healing reject medical treatment on religious grounds and die. This story has newborn deaths in it, wholly preventable with a little vaccine that addresses Rh incompatibility. Essentially, when an Rh negative mother conceives a child with an Rh positive father, and the fetus is Rh positive, the mother creates antibodies that attack the fetus's blood cells, which will lead to a potentially fatal case of jaundice, if untreated within a day or so after birth. Abigail, the baby, was Rh positive. Prayers did not, nor could they ever, have saved her. She wasn't the only one.Alex Ronan is a journalist whose work has appeared in Elle, New York, The New York Times, n + 1, The Nation, and Vogue. She was a 2023 recipient of a New York Foundation for the Arts fellowship. She has had work optioned for film/television by Amazon Studios and Hulu, which is kinda cray. You can find her on Instagram at alexronan and on Substack at reallyalexronan.This was a really rich conversation, and she really came to play ball, which I always appreciate. We talk about:Using short fiction as a model for nonfiction writing How she builds character in nonfiction Active listening Divine healing The family, the story, and the stakes Putting the reader in different people's shoes Walking before writing Seeking the anecdote (a tip she learned from Patrick Radden Keefe) The power of practice And what she struggles withParting shot will be right after this part of the podcast. Let's wait no more. Here's Alex Ronan.
durée : 00:04:22 - Le Polar sonne toujours 2 fois - par : Michel Abescat - Le roman raconte l'enquête menée par le journaliste du New Yorker, Patrick Radden Keefe, une histoire vraie, sur la mort, à Londres, d'un jeune homme de 19 ans. Vous aimez ce podcast ? Pour écouter tous les épisodes sans limite, rendez-vous sur Radio France
On the Saturday July 11, 2026 edition of The Richard Crouse Show we'll meet Linus O'Brien, director of “Strange Journey: The Story of Rocky Horror,” a documentary celebrating the 50th anniversary of “The Rocky Horror Show” and its creator, and Linus's father, Richard O'Brien. The documentary, which is available now on Digital HD including Apple TV and Prime Video, tracks Rocky Horror's humble beginnings as a 1973 London fringe theatre play, its subsequent flop on Broadway, its adaptation into the 1975 feature film, and its eventual resurrection via the midnight movie circuit. With interviews with creator Richard O'Brien and original cast members like Tim Curry, Susan Sarandon, and Barry Bostwick, alongside commentary from high-profile celebrity fans like Jack Black and Trixie Mattel, it is the most complete look at the Rocky Horror phenomenon to date. Then, we'll meet longtime staff writer at The New Yorker, Patrick Radden Keefe. He's earned a reputation for transforming complex, high-stakes stories of power, secrecy, crime, and corruption into gripping, cinematic page-turners that read like thrillers while maintaining rigorous factual depth. Today we'll talk about his new book, “London Falling: A Mysterious Death in a Gilded City and a Family's Search for Truth,” the gripping true story of 19-year-old Zac Brettler, who in November 2019 jumped (or fell) to his death from a luxury Thames-side apartment directly across from MI6 headquarters.
A special episode of A Good Read, recorded live at the Hay Festival. The books are:London Falling by Patrick Radden Keefe, chosen by psychotherapist and artist Philippa Perry All Quiet on the Orient Express by Magnus Mills, chosen by presenter and writer Stuart Maconie Luka and the Fire of Life by Salman Rushdie, chosen by presenter Harriett GilbertProduced for BBC Audio in Bristol by Maggie Ayre Join us over on Instagram @agoodreadbbcPhoto credit: Pal Hansen
Join Bina007 and Michal/Inkasrain as they discuss the wildly successful new true crime / state of the nation book London Falling by New Yorker investigative journalist Patrick Radden Keefe. [MP3] Download or play this episode directly[Archive] View this episode's page … Continue reading →
“Narrative remains a pretty unbeatable delivery device for information.” — Patrick Radden Keefe Has London really fallen? That's the question Patrick Radden Keefe — staff writer at The New Yorker and bestselling author of Empire of Pain and Say Nothing — addressed in his new book, London Falling: A Mysterious Death in a Gilded City and a Family's Search for Truth. One thing for sure is that Keefe himself hasn't fallen. He's been surprised by the book's success. “I thought the antibodies would get up because I'm an interloper,” the American confesses about writing about Britain. Antibodies or not, the book has been a #1 bestseller in both the UK and US. And we can look forward to an A24 and Brightstar TV adaptation soon. On London, the story is murkier. London Falling begins on November 29, 2019, when nineteen-year-old Zac Brettler falls to his death from a luxury apartment above the Thames. Every parent's ultimate nightmare. As it happens, I've known Zac's dad, Matthew, for many years. But what appeared to be a tragic accident or a suicide turned out to be something far more sinister — a story of double lives, dirty money, a dishonest businessman named Akbar Shamji, and a terrifyingly violent gangster known as Indian Dave. Lurking behind the Brettler death is what Keefe presents as the greatest deceit of all — London's cruel descent into what he sees as the moneyed miasma of post-Thatcherite neo-liberalism. London is, in Keefe's compelling narrative, the most invisible of cities — where power lies with criminals like Indian Dave, where the police are at best bystanders, and where a teenage fantasist from a comfortable middle-class family can become fatally entangled in a fallen world he barely understood. Five Takeaways • Zac Brettler: The Double Life That Led to His Death: Zac Brettler was nineteen years old. He fell — or was pushed, or was forced to jump — from a luxury apartment balcony above the Thames on November 29, 2019. He had been living a double life: to London's criminal underworld, he was Zac Ismailov, the son of a Russian oligarch, heir to a great fortune. He had even fabricated bank statements showing a personal account holding $1 million. Under this guise, he became entangled with Akbar Shamji, a slippery businessman, and a man known as Indian Dave, a violent extortionist. Keefe's reporting suggests Zac jumped to escape from one of these men. Scotland Yard's passivity in investigating the case is, in Keefe's word, bizarre. • London as a Twenty-Four-Hour Laundromat for Dirty Money: Keefe's portrait of London is the book's macro argument: a global city that has been hollowed out by decades of financial deregulation, whose financial sector is stacked with professional facilitators eager to help protect or conceal a dubious fortune, where posh mansions and private nightclubs serve as the visible surface of a hidden economy of criminal money. Zac Brettler was not rich. He was a boy from a comfortably off family who became fixated on the glitzy, mercenary, aspirational culture embodied by foreign billionaires who had bought mansions and football clubs in his city. London, in Keefe's telling, did this to him. • The Brettlers' Consent: A Long Haul With the Family: Keefe had written 15,000 words for The New Yorker when he knew there was a book. He went to Matthew and Rochelle Brettler and their surviving son Joe and told them: I will only do this with your blessing. They read the finished piece, talked amongst themselves, and came back with a yes. Keefe's method: he is an open book; he invites sources to read his previous work. It took him an LSE graduate who became one of the most trusted journalists in the world to persuade a devastated family to trust him with their son's story. They made the right decision. • Narrative as Delivery Device: Keefe's Method: Keefe on why he writes the way he writes: everyone has a phone in their pocket making claims on their attention. Narrative — true stories about real people, told with enough seductive propulsive energy — remains the most powerful way to convey information, to make someone who would not otherwise read nonfiction want to keep turning pages. He is looking, always, for inherently dramatic stories. London Falling is that: a whodunit, a parental love story, a portrait of a corrupted city, and a thriller, all in one book. The New York Times described the whole book as one of the best of 2026 so far. • The Television Adaptation: A24, Brightstar, and the Lessons of Say Nothing: A24 and Brightstar are producing the television adaptation of London Falling. Five production companies had to audition for the Brettlers over Zoom. The family is involved. Keefe knows from Say Nothing — which took five years from book to screen and won awards as an FX series — that this cannot go on autopilot. The aim: something sophisticated, sensitive, and just to the family's story. The first word on the Mill Hill School website is “integrity.” Whether that word will survive contact with a television adaptation remains to be seen. About the Guest Patrick Radden Keefe is a staff writer at The New Yorker and the author of London Falling: A Mysterious Death in a Gilded City and a Family's Search for Truth (Doubleday, April 7, 2026; #1 New York Times bestseller), Empire of Pain: The Secret History of the Sackler Dynasty (winner of the Baillie Gifford Prize), Say Nothing: A True Story of Murder and Memory in Northern Ireland (National Book Critics Circle Award; named one of the twenty best books of the 21st century by the New York Times), Rogues, and Chatter. He is the recipient of a Guggenheim Fellowship, the National Magazine Award, and the Orwell Prize. He served as executive producer on the award-winning FX series Say Nothing and is the creator and host of the podcast Wind of Change. References: • London Falling: A Mysterious Death in a Gilded City and a Family's Search for Truth by Patrick Radden Keefe (Doubleday, April 7, 2026). • Empire of Pain: The Secret History of the Sackler Dynasty by Patrick Radden Keefe — referenced at the opening. • Say Nothing (FX series, executive produced by Keefe) — referenced in the closing section. • Andrew O'Hagan, Caledonian Road — referenced as covering similar London territory in fiction. • A24 and Brightstar — the production companies making the London Falling television adaptatio...
The Buddies take a detour from sword and sorcery for their first nonfiction read in a while with Patrick Radden Keefe's "London Falling: A Mysterious Death in a Gilded City, and a Family's Search for Truth." By the way, it's ‘London Falling' and not ‘London is Falling' the Gerard Butler action movie, although the Buddies may have stated that as the title on multiple occasions. The Buddies got to talking about whether Zac Brettler deserves our sympathy or was just a 19-year-old con man who got in over his head, how the British government basically rolled out the red carpet for Russian oligarchs and then acted surprised when people started dying, and whether this whole story could have been wrapped up with a simple Google search. This one got a bit contentious (sorry we're used to arguing about fiction, not real people). So, brush up on your shell company law, don your investigative hat, and join us we jump into the underground world of London (unfortunately we're not talking Knockturn Alley from Harry Potter). Intro (0:00-2:38)Stock Up/Down (2:39-49:27)Love/Hate (50:30-59:44)Conclusion (59:45-1:02:42) NEXT BOOK: Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn
Patrick Radden Keefe, investigative journalist and staff writer at The New Yorker, is best known for his narrative non-fiction true crime stories and deep dives into history. His best selling books include Say Nothing, Empire of Pain, and The Snakehead, as well as the podcast Wind of Change. Keefe visited The Globe and Mail's Toronto offices in June 2026 to talk to Globe feature writer Ian Brown about his latest work, London Falling: A Mysterious Death in a Gilded City And A Family's Search For Truth, along with insights into investigative writing and reporting and what it takes to unearth stories from the criminal underworld. This recording of that interview has been edited for length.Questions? Comments? Ideas? Email us at thedecibel@globeandmail.com Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
Agradece a este podcast tantas horas de entretenimiento y disfruta de episodios exclusivos como éste. ¡Apóyale en iVoox! El conflicto de Irlanda del Norte, conocido con el eufemismo de “The Troubles”, se cobró cerca de 3.500 vidas entre 1968 y 1998 y marcó a fuego la política británica durante el último tercio del siglo XX. Sus orígenes hay que ir a buscarlos mucho más lejos, a la invasión inglesa del siglo XII y, sobre todo, a las plantaciones del Úlster del siglo XVII, que convirtieron al norte en la única región irlandesa de mayoría protestante. La fractura religiosa se superpuso a la nacional hasta volverse indistinguible con el tiempo. El IRA fue una sucesión de distintos grupos que se sucedieron y que, en ocasiones, se enfrentaron entre sí. Tras la guerra de la independencia y el tratado anglo-irlandés de 1921 que partió la isla, el republicanismo armado quedó relegado a la clandestinidad durante décadas. Los “Troubles” no surgieron de aquel viejo IRA, sino de la discriminación que el régimen unionista del Úlster ejercía contra los católicos en vivienda, empleo y reparto electoral. El movimiento por los derechos civiles de finales de los 60 se encontró con represión policial, algo que agravó el despliegue del Ejército en 1969, los internamientos sin juicio de 1971 y algunos episodios como el Domingo Sangriento de 1972. De todo ello se aprovechó una escisión del IRA que se autodenominó IRA Provisional. Sus miembros abogaban por una guerra larga de desgaste mediante atentados y asesinatos selectivos, simple terrorismo no muy distinto al que los extremistas de aquella época practicaban en otras partes de Europa. Pero el caso de Irlanda del Norte fue peculiar. Allí los partidarios de mantenerse en el Reino Unido formaron organizaciones “lealistas” que eran muy violentas y que, en ocasiones, colaboraban con el Estado. Las huelgas de hambre de 1981 regalaron al IRA una generación de mártires y dieron paso a la estrategia del fusil y la urna, mediante la cual, mientras una parte del movimiento, el Partido Sinn Féin, mantenía la lucha armada, otra participaba en política. Fue ya en los años 90 cuando se empezó a negociar, un proceso que consumió mucho tiempo y que culminó con el Acuerdo de Viernes Santo de 1998 que reconocía una amplia autonomía política para Irlanda del Norte y abría la puerta a la reunificación con la República de Irlanda . El IRA se desarmó años después y el Sinn Féin hoy gobierna el Úlster. Bibliografía: “No digas nada” de Patrick Radden Keefe - https://amzn.to/4oIhZLw “Matar por Irlanda” de Rogelio Alonso - https://amzn.to/43NwGDj “Guerra y paz en Irlanda del Norte” de Jacobo Celnik - https://amzn.to/4xDagSH “The Troubles” de Leon Maher - https://amzn.to/4elfP0N “Irlanda del Norte: historia del conflicto” de Luis Antonio Sierra - https://amzn.to/3QwZcWz Escucha el episodio completo en la app de iVoox, o descubre todo el catálogo de iVoox Originals
Agradece a este podcast tantas horas de entretenimiento y disfruta de episodios exclusivos como éste. ¡Apóyale en iVoox! El conflicto de Irlanda del Norte, conocido con el eufemismo de “The Troubles”, se cobró cerca de 3.500 vidas entre 1968 y 1998 y marcó a fuego la política británica durante el último tercio del siglo XX. Sus orígenes hay que ir a buscarlos mucho más lejos, a la invasión inglesa del siglo XII y, sobre todo, a las plantaciones del Úlster del siglo XVII, que convirtieron al norte en la única región irlandesa de mayoría protestante. La fractura religiosa se superpuso a la nacional hasta volverse indistinguible con el tiempo. El IRA fue una sucesión de distintos grupos que se sucedieron y que, en ocasiones, se enfrentaron entre sí. Tras la guerra de la independencia y el tratado anglo-irlandés de 1921 que partió la isla, el republicanismo armado quedó relegado a la clandestinidad durante décadas. Los “Troubles” no surgieron de aquel viejo IRA, sino de la discriminación que el régimen unionista del Úlster ejercía contra los católicos en vivienda, empleo y reparto electoral. El movimiento por los derechos civiles de finales de los 60 se encontró con represión policial, algo que agravó el despliegue del Ejército en 1969, los internamientos sin juicio de 1971 y algunos episodios como el Domingo Sangriento de 1972. De todo ello se aprovechó una escisión del IRA que se autodenominó IRA Provisional. Sus miembros abogaban por una guerra larga de desgaste mediante atentados y asesinatos selectivos, simple terrorismo no muy distinto al que los extremistas de aquella época practicaban en otras partes de Europa. Pero el caso de Irlanda del Norte fue peculiar. Allí los partidarios de mantenerse en el Reino Unido formaron organizaciones “lealistas” que eran muy violentas y que, en ocasiones, colaboraban con el Estado. Las huelgas de hambre de 1981 regalaron al IRA una generación de mártires y dieron paso a la estrategia del fusil y la urna, mediante la cual, mientras una parte del movimiento, el Partido Sinn Féin, mantenía la lucha armada, otra participaba en política. Fue ya en los años 90 cuando se empezó a negociar, un proceso que consumió mucho tiempo y que culminó con el Acuerdo de Viernes Santo de 1998 que reconocía una amplia autonomía política para Irlanda del Norte y abría la puerta a la reunificación con la República de Irlanda . El IRA se desarmó años después y el Sinn Féin hoy gobierna el Úlster. Bibliografía: “No digas nada” de Patrick Radden Keefe - https://amzn.to/4oIhZLw “Matar por Irlanda” de Rogelio Alonso - https://amzn.to/43NwGDj “Guerra y paz en Irlanda del Norte” de Jacobo Celnik - https://amzn.to/4xDagSH “The Troubles” de Leon Maher - https://amzn.to/4elfP0N “Irlanda del Norte: historia del conflicto” de Luis Antonio Sierra - https://amzn.to/3QwZcWz Escucha el episodio completo en la app de iVoox, o descubre todo el catálogo de iVoox Originals
The Buddies close the book on Joe Abercrombie's First Law trilogy with "The Last Argument of Kings," the grim dark finale that answers the age-old question: what if the Manhattan Project was run by a thousand-year-old wizard who doesn't care if you live or die? The Buddies debate whether Jezal is just Vichy France with better PR, how to weaponize ‘biological control theory' against your enemies, and if king sized beds are a misnomer. So sharpen your swords and Logan-isms, get ready to stand your ground one last time as the Buddies finish up the trilogy and say goodbye to the Bloody-Nine, Glokta, Ferro, Jezal, West, and Bayaz.Intro (0:00-1:11)Stock Up/Down (1:12-36:40)Favorite Scene/Character (36:41-46:11)Love/Hate (46:12-58:07)Casting the Movie (58:08-1:02:16)Conclusion (1:02:16-1:04:58) NEXT BOOK: London Falling by Patrick Radden Keefe
Hello EICelestial beings! This week on the podcast - the world's first trillionaire, unique celebrity baby names and Ruchira's terrifying folklore tidbit. Plus EIC headquarters went to a party, and some members might still be drunk (and it may just be that young lady's 33rd birthday the day this episode is released, everyone go and wish Beth(any) McColl a happy 33rd).Firstly, it's been a big week! From North West's recent festival performance, to the Knick's winning the NBA and Elon Musk becoming the world's first trillionaire. We take you through the standout headlines from the world of pop culture and beyond!Next up, Tommy Fury and Molly Mae finally announced the name of their newborn son this weekend. The baby boy, who was born earlier this month is called… Midas. The couple revealed the name via Tommy's boxing shorts, which he wore to a match on Saturday. We get into the names of it all!We hope you enjoy listening, please do leave a rating, review, or Spotify comment and we will forever be grateful. O,R,B.Oenone's been loving: David Hockney (general), ThirstRuchira's been loving: Disclosure DayBeth's been loving: Everything by Patrick Radden-Keefe, Maternal Instincts, Should I Marry A MurdererSocial media to be banned for under-16s in landmark government move to give kids their childhood backTyra Banks Sues Netflix for Defamation, Alleges ‘Surgical Manipulation' of Her ‘Reality Check: Inside America's Next Top Model' InterviewLooksmaxxing Influencer Clavicular Faces Criticism Over New Nose: ‘Too Thin for His Face'Why F1 Fans Are So Upset With Kim Kardashian Following Martin Brundle Snub‘The genie is out of the bottle': parents react to UK under-16s social media banMarried at First Sight Australia stars not told partners had drug and violence convictions Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
What draws an award-winning writer to the darkest corners of human behaviour? Patrick Radden-Keefe is a New York Times bestselling author and staff writer at The New Yorker. He is known for his acclaimed books, including Empire of Pain and Say Nothing - the latter was adapted into a BAFTA and Emmy-nominated drama series. Radden Keefe's latest book, London Falling, investigates the life and untimely death of Zac Brettler, a North London teenager drawn into the criminal underworld. In this conversation, Patrick reflects on why he is so fascinated by “the bad guys”, how the extraordinary story behind London Falling unfolded and his unconventional writing process. Patrick also talks about the years of rejection that preceded his success and how it has shaped him. I hope you enjoy this conversation with one of the world's finest narrative journalists (oh, and Patrick). JUST KIDDING. ✨ IN THIS EPISODE: 03:25 Why He Writes Bad Guys 05:12 London Falling Origin Story 08:01 Reinvention and Secret Lives 10:06 Holocaust Legacy and Lying 14:58 Carrying Grief and First Failure 31:47 Parents Read First Drafts 33:13 Family Themes And Fixations 34:22 Chasing The New Yorker Dream 36:49 Rejection Resentment And Drive 41:14 What To Leave Out 43:28 Research Outline 48:13 Screenplays That Never Get Made 50:51 Growth Outside Comfort Zone
The new book “London Falling” tells the true story of Zac Brettler, a 19-year-old Londoner who falls to his death in the Thames after living a double life pretending to be the son of a wealthy Russian oligarch. We speak with bestselling author Patrick Radden Keefe about mystery, money and police inaction as he searched for answers about Zac's death.
Philippa reviews four very different books — from Tintin to Elizabeth Strout — before sitting down with TV wine expert and debut crime novelist Olly Smith to talk about his joyful new book Death by Noir, and the sub-genre he's invented: wine crime.
On this episode of #TheGlobalExchange, Colin Robertson sits down with Jeremy Kinsman and John Negroponte to talk about trade and international diplomacy in a rapidly changing world in the context of the renewal, revision or repudiation of the North American trade agreement – CUSMA, USMCA or T-MEC. // Participants' bios: - Jeremy Kinsman served as Canada's ambassador to Russia, high commissioner to the UK, ambassador to Italy and ambassador to the European Union. He is a Distinguished Fellow of the Canadian International Council - John D. Negroponte is a United States career diplomat and national security official, former Director of National Intelligence, and former United States Permanent Representative to the United Nations // Host bio: Colin Robertson is a former diplomat and Senior Advisor to the Canadian Global Affairs Institute. // Reading Recommendations: - "The Loneliness of Sonia and Sunny: A Novel", by Kiran Desai: https://www.amazon.ca/Loneliness-Sonia-Sunny-Novel/dp/0307401219 - "London Falling: A Mysterious Death in a Gilded City and a Family's Search for Truth", by Patrick Radden Keefe: https://www.amazon.ca/London-Falling-Mysterious-Gilded-Familys-ebook/dp/B0FGZW9SZN - "Iran's Grand Strategy: A Political History", by Vali Nasr: https://www.amazon.ca/Irans-Grand-Strategy-Political-History/dp/0691268924 // Music Credit: Drew Phillips | Producer: Judy Alomari // Release date: June 03, 2026
In November 2019, nineteen-year-old Zac Brettler went missing. When his parents began looking for him, they discovered that Zac had been living a double life. Patrick Radden Keefe's book is London Falling. Say hello on Facebook, Instagram and TikTok. Sign up for our occasional newsletter. Follow the show and review us on Apple Podcasts. Sign up for Criminal Plus to get behind-the-scenes bonus episodes of Criminal, ad-free listening of all of our shows, invitations to virtual events, special merch deals, and more. We also make This is Love and Phoebe Reads a Mystery. Artwork by Julienne Alexander. Check out our online shop. Episode transcripts are posted on our website. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
"You never know what insight or information you're going to glean from someone, and so I want to be open to surprises. And not have any preconceived notions of what, who this person is, what they're going to tell me, imposing my own values, beliefs, whatever on them, because it's all a discovery," says Pulitzer Prize-winner Barry Meier, whose piece "You Can Run" appears in The Atavist Magazine.Barry Meier is here for another Atavistian chat! Yeah, these have not come out in as timely a manner as I had hoped. The late delay of the “revived” one with Mac Montandon, and having pods that were getting moldy in the can too precedence. Anyway …Barry Meier has won this little award you might have heard of called the, what is it, oh, yes, the Pulitzer Prize as part of a team of reporters in International Reporting for the New York Times. He's also been a finalist for the Pulitzer and a two-time winner of the George Polk Award. He's got a new piece out for The Atavist magazine titled: You Can Run: When their parents ripped two young sisters from their privileged lives, gave them fake names, and took them on the lam, they thought it was because their father was in trouble with the IRS. It would be years before they learned the truth about his life of crime.”He's the author of three books, Pain Killer, which was the first to chronicle the Sackler family and the origin of the opioid epidemic. “The book that started it all,” wrote Patrick Radden Keefe, whose book Empire of Pain was heavily informed by Barry's work. Barry also wrote Spooked and Missing Man. You can learn more about Barry at barryemierbooks.com . In this conversation we talk about: Using the boundaries of an envelope to map out a story Interviewing and the tools he uses or doesn't use Being open to surprises Beginnings, endings, and pacingThis episode pairs well with Ep. 385 with Robert Kolker
In Episode 227, Sarah talks with book industry analyst Brenna Connor about the behind-the-scenes world of book sales, bestseller lists, and publishing trends. Brenna shares insight into how sales data is gathered and used across the publishing industry, from tracking pre-orders and audiobooks to measuring the impact of celebrity book clubs and award recognition. They also discuss what makes a book commercially "successful," what current reading trends are revealing about 2026 so far, and what Brenna is watching for in the second half of the year. Plus, Brenna shares her own book recommendations. This post contains affiliate links through which I make a small commission when you make a purchase (at no cost to you!). CLICK HERE for the full episode Show Notes on the blog. Highlights Why tracking book sales is far more complicated than most readers realize — including what Circana can and can't actually measure. A behind-the-scenes look at bestseller lists and the role Circana data plays in lists like the New York Times, USA Today, and Publishers Weekly. The famously secretive methodology behind the New York Times Bestseller List. The impact celebrity book clubs and reading lists from Reese, Oprah, and Obama have on book sales. What current sales data is revealing about 2026 reading trends — and how the economy may be shaping book buying habits. Brenna shares the books she recommends — and the trends she's watching for the rest of the year. Brenna's Book Recommendations Two OLD Books She Loves The Unseen World by Liz Moore (2016) | Amazon | Bookshop.org [40:13] Bog Myrtle by Sid Sharp (2024) | Amazon | Bookshop.org [42:00] Other Books Mentioned The God of the Woods by Liz Moore (2024) [40:22] Long Bright River by Liz Moore (2020) [40:23] Two NEW Books She Loves Whale Harbor by Mary Beth Keane (November 3, 2026) | Amazon | Bookshop.org [44:07] Joyride by Susan Orlean (2025) | Amazon | Bookshop.org [46:01] Other Books Mentioned Ask Again, Yes by Mary Beth Keane (2019) [45:12] The Half Moon by Mary Beth Keane (2023) [45:14] The Library Book by Susan Orlean (2018) [46:12] One Book She DIDN'T Love Tom Lake by Ann Patchett (2023) | Amazon | Bookshop.org [47:29] Other Books Mentioned The Dutch House by Ann Patchett (2019) [47:51] These Precious Days by Ann Patchett (2021) [47:57] Whistler by Ann Patchett (2026) [48:55] One NEW RELEASE She's Excited About Life Out of Order (The Time Traveler's Wife, 2) by Audrey Niffenegger (October 6, 2026) | Amazon | Bookshop.org [49:25] Other Books Mentioned The Time Traveler's Wife by Audrey Niffenegger (2003) [49:37] Books From the Discussion Untitled (A Court of Thorns and Roses, 6) by Sarah J. Maas (October 27, 2026) [9:38] Untitled (A Court of Thorns and Roses, 7) by Sarah J. Maas (January 12, 2027) [9:38] Strangers by Belle Burden (2026) [11:54] Becoming by Michelle Obama (2018) [15:35] The Many Lives of Mama Love by Lara Love Hardin (2023) [15:45] Demon Copperhead by Barbara Kingsolver (2022) [15:53] The Correspondent by Virginia Evans (2025) [25:52] No One's Coming by Kevin Hazzard (2026) [31:38] London Falling by Patrick Radden Keefe (2026) [31:53] Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir (2021) [33:35] Dungeon Crawler Carl (Dungeon Crawler Carl, 1) by Matt Dinniman (2024)* [33:40] Yesteryear by Caro Claire Burke (2026) [36:58] Life Out of Order (The Time Traveler's Wife, 2) by Audrey Niffenegger (October 6, 2026) [37:00] Theo of Golden by Allen Levi (2025)* [38:39] *Publication year reflects the later traditionally published edition. These titles were originally self-published. Other Links Publishing Confidential, on Substack | "A Tale of Three Bestseller Lists" by Kathleen Schmidt
“Objects in museums have to come from somewhere. The stories of how they came to be in those collections often involve laws being broken, unethical behaviour, and extreme violence.” — Matthew Campbell Imagine a gay Jeffrey Epstein who set up shop in Thailand. Only rather than peddling young girls, he traded in bodybuilders and priceless antiquities. That's the story of the British émigré Douglas Latchford, the subject of Matthew Campbell's new book The Man Who Stole the Gods. It's the true story of a man who was born in the last days of the British Raj, made his fortune in Bangkok, became the world's leading dealer of Khmer antiquities, and was indicted for criminal conspiracy in 2019. Campbell's tale is simultaneously a crime story, a history of Cambodia, and a parable about the relationship between Western wealth and the world's cultural heritage. The Khmer Empire, which dominated Southeast Asia from the ninth to the fifteenth centuries, produced one of the finest civilisations of the medieval world. Angkor in the twelfth century had 750,000 people — making it ten times the size of London. After the genocidal Khmer Rouge regime, every Khmer site in Cambodia was systematically looted. The pieces went to the Metropolitan Museum, to Christie's, to private American collectors. Latchford was the central conduit. The Jeffrey Epstein enabler. Like Epstein, Latchford got away with it for years. Unlike Epstein, he died a free man, even chalking up a 2020 New York Times obituary as a Khmer antiquities expert. Five Takeaways • Douglas Latchford: The British Jeffrey Epstein of Asian Art: Born in the last days of the British Raj, educated in the UK, Latchford made his fortune in Bangkok and became the world's leading dealer of Southeast Asian antiquities — selling pieces for millions of dollars to the Metropolitan Museum, Christie's, and wealthy American collectors. He presented himself as an expert and connoisseur. He gave to universities and lent to exhibitions. He received a glowing obituary in the New York Times in August 2020. The dark side: he was, Campbell shows, the central organiser of a decades-long criminal conspiracy to loot Cambodia's cultural heritage. He was indicted in 2019 but died before he could be extradited. • The Khmer Empire: 750,000 People When London Had 40,000: The Khmer Empire dominated Southeast Asia from the ninth to the fifteenth centuries, ruling directly or indirectly over what is now Thailand, Vietnam, Laos, and parts of Malaysia. Its capital, Angkor, had 750,000 people in the twelfth century — when London had 40,000 at the absolute outside. The Khmer built extraordinary temple cities — Angkor Wat is only the most famous — and produced remarkable stone and bronze sculpture. Every single Khmer site in Cambodia was systematically looted. The pieces all went somewhere. A great many came to the West. • The Vietnam War, Nixon, Kissinger, and the Conditions for Genocide: The Vietnam War is central to Campbell's story. The Ho Chi Minh Trail ran partly through Cambodia, making Cambodia of great interest to Nixon and Kissinger. Beginning in 1968, large-scale American bombing of Cambodia — ostensibly aimed at destroying a supposed communist headquarters that, Campbell notes, never actually existed — helped destabilise the country and created the conditions in which the Khmer Rouge could emerge. The Khmer Rouge ideology: Pol Pot believed civilisation needed not to be reformed but erased. A blank slate. Rebuild from zero. • The Museum World's Complicity: The Sackler Parallel: The Metropolitan Museum of Art features prominently in Campbell's account. Objects in museums have to come from somewhere — the works in the Met did not originate in New York. How they came to be in those collections often involved laws being broken, unethical behaviour, and extreme violence. Campbell draws a parallel with Patrick Radden Keefe's account of the Sacklers: the more investigative journalists look at the wealthy donors and private collectors associated with major cultural institutions, the more troubling the stories that emerge. The museum world has a serious provenance problem. • The Happy Ending: Repatriation and the National Museum in Phnom Penh: Latchford was indicted in 2019 for criminal conspiracy. He died in 2020, in a monastery in Northern Thailand, before he could be extradited. He never went to trial. But the recovery effort — a remarkable collaboration between Cambodia and the US Department of Justice — tracked down hundreds of stolen objects through meticulous detective work. The pieces have been returned to Cambodia. The National Museum in Phnom Penh now has so many repatriated objects that it is running out of room and may need to build a new wing. As Campbell says: that's a good problem to have. About the Guest Matthew Campbell is an award-winning investigative journalist at Bloomberg Businessweek. He is the author of The Man Who Stole the Gods: A True Story of War, Obsession, and a Global Art Conspiracy (Portfolio/Penguin Random House, June 2, 2026) and co-author, with Kit Chellel, of Dead in the Water (a Book of the Year in The Economist, Financial Times, and The Times; called a ‘masterpiece' by the New York Times). A 2025 Jonathan Logan Family Foundation Fellow at New America, Campbell has reported from more than 25 countries. He lives in Singapore. References: • The Man Who Stole the Gods: A True Story of War, Obsession, and a Global Art Conspiracy by Matthew Campbell (Portfolio/Penguin Random House, June 2, 2026). • Dead in the Water by Matthew Campbell and Kit Chellel (2022) — the preceding book, referenced at the opening. • Patrick Radden Keefe, Empire of Pain — referenced as a parallel account of museum world complicity. • The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York — a central institution in the Latchford network. • Cambodia's National Museum, Phnom Penh — the destination of the repatriated objects. About Keen On America Nobody asks more awkward questions than the Anglo-American writer and filmmaker Andrew Keen. In Keen On America, Andrew brings his pointed Transatlantic wit to making sense of the United States — hosting daily interviews about the history and future of this now venerable Republic. With nearly 2,900 episodes since the...
Dua Lipa and Callum Turner's wedding, reviewing the end of Euphoria, Alexa Demie's i-D and HR covers, and more. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Anna and Geoff discuss the 2026 Stella Prize winner, CANNON by Lee Lai and the 2026 Orwell Prize for Political Fiction shortlist. We also react to the Guardian list of 100 best books of all time. Is there a difference between your 10 favourite novels and your top 10 best books of all time? Our book of the week is LONDON FALLING by Patrick Radden Keefe. This is Keefe's latest book, after his widely acclaimed EMPIRE OF PAIN. It explores the death of 19 year old Zac Brettler, who had been posing as a Russian oligarch's son and became entangled with the London underworld. LONDON FALLING was a Most Anticipated book of 2026 and is a New York Times Best Book of the Year So Far. There are twists and turns aplenty and much to discuss: Were the Met police incompetent or was there more to it? If your teenager has £850,000 in their bank account, is this a red flag? What did we think of the ending? Coming up: JOHN OF JOHN by Douglas Stuart Follow us! Email: Booksonthegopodcast@gmail.com Instagram: @abailliekaras Substack: Books On The Go Credits Artwork: Sascha Wilkosz
Happy Friday EICompetitors! This week on the podcast, what lengths will humans not go to, to feel a little bit special?First up, a 2025 survey by the American Academy of Dermatology revealed that half of Gen Z participants got a sunburn in 2024, with 10% getting burns severe enough to cause blisters. They also found that 37% didn't know the risks of tanning and 57% believed common tanning myths- e.g. that a base tan protects you from sunburn. More than a fifth of Gen Z respondents prioritise getting a tan over protecting their skin, and 25% said that it's worth looking good now even if it means their skin looks worse down the line. Is this just the naivety of youth? Or does it signal something shifting in culture? We talk everything tanning!Secondly, what does extreme wealth do to the brain? This is the title of a piece for New York magazine by Lane Brown, and the question he tries to answer within it. So Lane Brown you may also remember authored The Feed Is Fake, about stealth marketing online which we discussed in last week's episode. And for this piece about the ultra-rich, he spent two months interviewing the 0.1 and 0.001% and asking them how money has changed the way they think, how their worldview shifted when they were no longer under the same financial constraints and how becoming mega rich altered their perception of status, friendship, obligation and maybe even reality itself. And lastly, while we were enhancing the UK bank holiday heatwave with picky bits, day drinking and ice lollies, over in Las Vegas, another kind of enhancement was going on at The Enhanced Games. Is this just inevitable in a world of optimisation? We discuss.We hope you enjoy, as always please do rate, review and share the show, it helps others to find it and us to keep making it! LY! O,R,B xxBeth's been loving: I want to go home but I'm already there, Patrick Radden Keefe on Adam Buxton Ruchira's been loving: Two Weeks In August, Oenone's been loving: The Crash, It Ends With UsWhat Will It Take to Get Young People to Stop Tanning (Again)?AAD survey: half of Gen Z got sunburned in 2024 — and many still don't know the risksRFK Jr. pushes “personal choice” over teen tanning bed banAs influencers spread ‘toxic' claims, what is the truth about sunscreen?Sam Faiers slammed for pushing ‘dangerous' suncream conspiracy theoryThe myth of good skin, with Jessica DeFinoBurn notice: Gen Z and the terrifying rise of extreme tanningWhat Does Extreme Wealth Do to the Brain?Enhanced Games devolves into daft, 'high school-level' sporting circusRecord 50m freestyle time at controversial Enhanced GamesThe Enhanced Games fit right in with the rest of 2026's longevity vibes Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
A teenager hurtles from the balcony of a luxury apartment complex into the Thames. That unexplained death animates the newest book from one of America's great nonfiction writers, Patrick Radden Keefe. Patrick joins Harry to unspool the story's web of shady characters, complacent police, and desperate parents. The two delve into the transformation of London into a playground for the extremely and unscrupulously wealthy—like Russian oligarchs—that made the fatal fall possible and draw out the way Trump is overseeing a similar shift in the United States. And Harry digs into Patrick's approach to writing, including how his law degree informs his precise, almost prosecutorial reporting. Mentioned in this episode: London Falling: https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/704979/london-falling-by-patrick-radden-keefe/ Patrick's reporting: https://www.newyorker.com/contributors/patrick-radden-keefe Patrick's story about Trump, Mark Burnett, and the Apprentice: https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2019/01/07/how-mark-burnett-resurrected-donald-trump-as-an-icon-of-american-success Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
It's time for another wrap up episode, tune in to find out what what they got up to and read in May, including Patrick Radden Keefe's new book, London Falling which is mind blowing!Books Mentioned in this episode:London Falling by Patrick Radden KeefeBook Reccos Website, Shop & newsletter: Don't forget to check out our website and checkout the Book Reccos shop to purchase your very own Book Reccos Reading Journal! And whilst you're there sign up to our newsletter to receive a monthly email from us to fill you in on our favourite reccos of the month. Head to www.bookreccos.com Get in Touch: Instagram: @bookreccos Email: hello@bookreccos.comWebsite: www.bookreccos.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Adam talks with American journalist Patrick Radden Keefe about his book London Falling: A Mysterious Death in a Gilded City and a Family's Search for Truth, the challenges presented by parenting adolescents, the seductive power of movies like The Wolf Of Wall Street and Patrick's own efforts to resist the glamorising effect of TV and film during production of the TV adaptation of his book about the Troubles in Northern Ireland, Say Nothing, and Adam's own ludicrous taste of the criminal life in his early adolescence. There's also chat about why David Byrne's live show was the best live music show Adam has ever seen and whether it's OK to stand up at a seated music show.Conversation recorded face-to-face in Bath on 7 May, 2026LONDON FALLING by Patrick Radden Keefe - 2026 (Waterstones)CLARIFICATION RE. STATINS vs GLP-1sResponding to Adam's comments about statins at the end of the conversation with Patrick, this was sent in by Dr Mit Shah, MBBS BSc (Hons) PhD, Consultant Cardiologist in Preventive Cardiology, Harefield Hospital:I'm a consultant cardiologist specialising in lipid disorders and preventive cardiology. While both GLP-1 drugs and statins can reduce cardiovascular risk, they work through very different mechanisms and treat different underlying problems. Statins are specifically used to lower LDL cholesterol, whereas GLP-1 drugs mainly work through the blood glucose and weight-loss pathway, with only modest effects on cholesterol.Statins have become somewhat unfairly maligned through widespread misinformation and exaggerated claims about side effects, despite very strong clinical evidence for benefit. In fact, researchers have even performed randomised trials demonstrating a significant “nocebo effect”, where patients experience expected side effects even when taking placebo tablets due to their preconceived expectations and worries. Daily, I see patients with severe (sometimes genetic) cholesterol disorders who have a critical need for statin therapy, but who are understandably hesitant because of what they've heard online. I worry that the idea that GLP-1s could simply replace statins may unintentionally add to that confusion.SUBMIT QUESTIONS FOR Q&A EPISODE: Adambuxtonpodcast@gmail.comThanks to Diggory Waite and Claire Broughton at Hattrick and Séamus Murphy Mitchell for production support.Podcast illustration by Helen GreenSPONSOR: SAILY
Staff writer at The New Yorker, Patrick Radden Keefe tells the story of Zac Brettler, who inexplicably changed from a charming and hilarious boy into a money- and status-obsessed young man, who mixed with gangsters and shady businessmen.Patrick's new book begins with the description of a scene that was picked up by a surveillance camera in London in the early hours of a November morning in 2019.The footage showed a grainy image of a shadowy figure, anxiously moving about the balcony of a luxury apartment. That young man's name was Zac Brettler. He was 19 years old, and hours later his body was discovered on the banks of the River Thames. Patrick Radden Keefe's investigation explores Zac's secret life posing as the son of a Russian oligarch, and delves into the true identities of the wealthy gangsters who were there in his final hours.Further informationLondon Falling: A Mysterious Death in a Gilded City, and a Family's Search for Truth is published by Pan Macmillan Australia.This episode covers grief, fantasy life, con artists, London underworld, Boris Johnson, family tragedy, luxury, Holocaust survivors, rabbi, Mill Hill school, young men, making money, raising boys, Roman Abramovich, oligarch, plutocrat, MI6 and true crime.To binge even more great episodes of the Conversations podcast with Richard Fidler and Sarah Kanowski go the ABC listen app (Australia) or wherever you get your podcasts. There you'll find hundreds of the best thought-provoking interviews with authors, writers, artists, politicians, psychologists, musicians, and celebrities.
Hello EICorroborators! Happy Friday and welcome back to Everything Is Content- your one stop podcast shop for everything pop culture and beyond.This week- and trigger warning for discussion of sexual violence and abuse- we're discussing BBC Panorama's harrowing new documentary ‘The Dark Side of Married at First Sight' in which former MAFs UK contestant Shona Manderson alleges that her on-screen partner had sex with her without a condom against her wishes. She alleges the team took her to get the morning after pill, but that nothing else was done. The show has pulled all of its episodes from the internet while discussions continue to rage on about how reality TV can't seem to stop failing its subjects. We share our takes as (former) fans of the show.Next up we're talking about Harry Styles' new tour- which has been criticised after some attendees reported having little to no visibility of their fav as he happily scampered around his enormous walkway stage set-up. Has the singer prioritised his Strava over his set design? We investigate.Then we mull over Jacob Elordi's love life after the actor was spotted out and about with model and the inventor of tequila, Kendall Jenner. The internet has separated into two camps in response to the possible pairing- people saying "huh??" and people saying "duh...". Plus: Everything In Conversation with... Kylie?Also (and we're sorry) we chat about Elon Musk's latest MORONIC OUTBURST after the friendless loser suggested that Oscar winning actress and generational beauty Lupita Nyong'o was somehow badly cast as the fictional generational beauty Helen of Troy in Christopher Nolan's upcoming adaptation of Homer's Odyssey. We insult Elon Musk's pathetic existence discuss with consideration for all sides.And finally we revisit the topic of internet fakery and advertising creep after a new piece in Vulture by Lane Brown suggested that just about everything we see online nowadays has been placed there to sell us something. From the piece: "On social media, popular opinion is being formed, measured, and manipulated all at once, and every signal the platforms produce... can now be fabricated by unseen actors with hidden agendas." In other words... is it time to log off?This week Ruchira was loving Legends on Netflix and Lost Lambs by Madeline Cash, Oenone was loving Sister Europe by Nell Zink and Beth was loving SNL UK and London Falling by Patrick Radden Keefe. Thank you SO much for listening, commenting, agreeing, disagreeing, sharing us on socials or leaving us a review. It means the world and really does help us keep making the show. See you Wednesday! O, R, B x----------BBC iPlayer - The Dark Side of Married at First Sight / PanoramaVanity Fair - Why Can't Elon Musk Shut Up About Christopher Nolan's The Odyssey?Forbes - Musk Boosts Misinformation About ‘The Odyssey' In Days-Long Crusade Against Christopher Nolan MovieVulture - The Feed Is Fake by Lane Brown Waterstones - The Odyssey by Homer, translated by Emily Wilson Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
In Sydney before his Australian book tour, investigative journalist Patrick Radden Keefe speaks to Reged Ahmad about his Australian roots and his new book, London Falling, which examines the mysterious death of a teenager who posed as a Russian billionaire and his family's search for truth about the end of their son's life
This week, Brooke is back from across the pond with a suitcase full of tea—and we aren't just talking about Breakfast Blend. From a power romance to the high-tech clinic that looks like a spaceship, we're covering the best of London before diving into the absolute chaos of the Silicon Valley "breakup" texts and the Met Gala moment that is already winning Halloween. The London Rundown • The Power Couple We Didn't Know We Needed: Brooke recounts her London sightings and pitches the ultimate cross-over romance: Kara Swisher and Idris Elba. • Healthcare from the Year 3000: A deep dive into Neko Health, the futuristic, preventative health clinic cofounded by Spotify's Daniel Ek. Brooke describes the experience of being scanned by "The Pod" and why this is the shift from reactive to proactive care we've been waiting for. • Must-Read: Why everyone is currently obsessed with "London Falling" by Patrick Radden Keefe. It's a gripping, true-crime-meets-high-society investigation into the dark underbelly of the city's billionaire culture. Tech & Viral Trends • The OpenAI "Breakup" Texts: We dissect the viral memes born from the leaked text messages between Sam Altman and Mira Murati. From Sam's "still don't want me?" energy to the internet's comparison of the exchange to a toxic Hinge match, we look at the most fun reactions to the OpenAI trial documents. • Mayor Spencer? Spencer Pratt is back in the spotlight, and this time it's political. We look at his mayoral campaign and the viral videos that have everyone wondering if the King of Crystals is actually coming for City Hall. The Met Gala Call-Out • Move Over, Gowns: Forget the 10-foot trains; the actual star of the Met Gala was the "Red Flats Queen." We discuss why she is the moment. Links & Resources Mentioned: • Read: London Falling: A Mysterious Death in a Gilded City by Patrick Radden Keefe. • Visit: Neko Health – The future of preventative diagnostics. This week's PCM: https://popculturemondays.com/2026/05/11/ai-text-drama-panny-vibes-la-mayoral-race-puerto-rico-trend-and-memes/
Our website - www.perksofbeingabooklover.com. Instagram - @perksofbeingabookloverpod Facebook - Perks of Being a Book Lover. To send us a message go to our website and click the Contact button. You can find Carmichael's at carmichaelsbookstore.com We were sad last fall that we weren't able to record with our favorite bookseller, Sam Miller, manager at the Frankfort Ave location of Carmichael's Bookstore for our Holiday Book Buying episode. But she is back for summer, telling us all about the new titles that will get you excited to sit back on a hot afternoon, either at the pool or in the air conditioning, and read to your heart's content. Books Mentioned In This Episode: 1- The Last Garden in England by Julia Kelly 2- The Grand Paloma Resort by Cleyvis Natera 3- Angel Down by Daniel Kraus 4- A book that Changed a Life - Sisters of the Yam by bell hooks recommended by Briana Lathon Bluford 5- Yesteryear by Claro Claire Burke 6- American Fantasy by Emma Straub 7- Whistler by Ann Patchett 8- Puck by Samantha Allen 9- Calamity Club by Kathryn Stockett 10- Fortune of Sand by Ruta Sepetys 11- Go Gentle by Maria Semple 12- Country People by Daniel Mason 13- These Days by Lucy Caldwell 14- Devotions by Lucy Caldwell 15- Opening by Lucy Caldwell 16- Pirate Queen by Ariel Lawhorn 17- The Keeper by Tana French (Cal Hooper #3) 18- Mad Mabel by Sally Hepworth 19- Killer Vibes by Jack Friday 20- Fishbone Cinderella by Elizabeth Lim 21- Ignore All Previous Instructions by Ada Hoffman 22- Sublimation by Isabel Kim 23- Book Witch by Meg Shaffer 24- We Burn So Bright b y TJ Klune 25- Moss'd in Space by Rebecca Thorrne 26- American Rambler by Isaac Fitzgerald 27- Checkmate: Genius, Lies, Ambition, and the Biggest Scandal in Chess by Ben Mezrich 28- The Housewives Underground: The Untold Story of the Women who Made the JFK Assassination Our Most Enduring Mystery by Kaitlyn Tiffany 29- The Carpool Detectives by Chuck Hogan 30- The Family Man: Blood and Betrayal in the House of Murdaugh by James Lasdun 31- True Biz by Sara Novíc 32- Mother Tongue by Sara Novíc 33- The Left and the Lucky by Willy Vlautin 34- London Falling: A Mysterious Death in a Gilded City and Family's Search for Truth by Patrick Radden Keefe 35- 4 Janes by Marian See 36- Love and Other Monsters by Emily Franklin 37- This Is Not About Us by Allegra Goodman 38- Darkology: Blackface and the American Way of Entertainment by Rhae Lynn Barnes 39- Hello Beautiful by Ann Napolitano 40- The Forest Lover by Susan Vreeland Media Mentioned: 1- White Lotus (2021 - present, HBO Max) 2-2026 Pulitzer Prize Winner for Fiction - https://www.pulitzer.org/news/2026-pulitzer-prize-announcement
Patrick Radden Keefe is a staff writer for The New Yorker and the New York Times bestselling author of London Falling: A Mysterious Death in a Gilded City and a Family's Search for Truth (Doubleday). Patrick's other books include the New York Times bestsellers Rogues, Empire of Pain (winner of the Baillie Gifford Prize for Non-Fiction), and Say Nothing, which received a National Book Critics Circle Award and was named one of the Twenty Best Books of the Twenty-First Century by The New York Times Book Review. He is a recipient of a Guggenheim Fellowship, the National Magazine Award, and the Orwell Prize for Political Writing. He served as an executive producer on the awardwinning FX series Say Nothing and is also the creator and host of the podcast Wind of Change, which The Guardian and Entertainment Weekly named the #1 podcast of 2020. *** Otherppl with Brad Listi is a weekly podcast featuring in-depth interviews with today's leading writers. Available where podcasts are available: Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, etc. Get How to Write a Novel, the debut audio course from DeepDive. 50+ hours of never-before-heard insight, inspiration, and instruction from dozens of today's most celebrated contemporary authors. Subscribe to Brad's email newsletter. Support the show on Patreon Merch Instagram TikTok Bluesky Email the show: letters [at] otherppl [dot] com The podcast is a proud affiliate partner of Bookshop, working to support local, independent bookstores. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Patrick Radden Keefe is an award winning writer known for his ability to tell complex stories in ways that are compelling and revealing. Author of the bestsellers Empire of Pain—a shocking exposé of the Sackler family and their involvement in the opioid crisis—and Say Nothing, his award-winning account of The Troubles in Northern Ireland and the murder of Jean McConville by the IRA, Keefe has built a global reputation for meticulous reporting, moral clarity, and gripping storytelling.In May 2026 he joined Emily Maitlis live on the Intelligence Squared stage to discuss the investigation that has led to his new book London Falling. At its centre is a teenager who mysteriously fell to his death from a Thames-side luxury apartment in London, and his grieving family's determination to get to the truth of what really happened. Keefe also discussed the broader themes of how money laundering, crime and corruption function today in London's underbelly. --- If you'd like to become a Member and get access to all our full ad free conversations, plus all of our Members-only content, just visit intelligencesquared.com/membership to find out more. For £4.99 per month you'll also receive: - Full-length and ad-free Intelligence Squared episodes, wherever you get your podcasts - Bonus Intelligence Squared podcasts, curated feeds and members exclusive series - 15% discount on livestreams and in-person tickets for all Intelligence Squared events ... Or Subscribe on Apple for £4.99: - Full-length and ad-free Intelligence Squared podcasts - Bonus Intelligence Squared podcasts, curated feeds and members exclusive series … Already a subscriber? Thank you for supporting our mission to foster honest debate and compelling conversations! Visit intelligencesquared.com to explore all your benefits including ad-free podcasts, exclusive bonus content and early access. … Subscribe to our newsletter here to hear about our latest events, discounts and much more. https://www.intelligencesquared.com/newsletter-signup/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Journalist, author and podcaster Patrick Radden Keefe is renowned for writing stories about crime and corruption that expose deeper societal truths. His latest book, “London Falling,” explores the mysterious circumstances around the death of 19-year-old Zac Brettler. While London police ruled Zac's death a suicide, his parents soon learn he'd been living a double life as the fake son of a Russian oligarch and gotten entangled in the city's criminal underworld. Kara and Patrick talk about the book, how London changed after it became a hotspot for foreign money laundering, and how he gains the trust of sources who might not otherwise talk to journalists. They also get updates on some of Patrick's previous stories and talk about where he draws the line when it comes to using AI in his work. Questions? Comments? Email us at on@voxmedia.com or find us on YouTube, Instagram, TikTok, Threads, and Bluesky @onwithkaraswisher. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
The journalist Patrick Radden Keefe on trying to unravel the double life and tragic death of 19-year-old Zac Brettler – and what it tells us about London's dark underbelly. Help support our independent journalism at theguardian.com/infocus
Patrick Radden Keefe is an award winning writer known for his ability to tell complex stories in ways that are compelling and revealing. Author of the bestsellers Empire of Pain—a shocking exposé of the Sackler family and their involvement in the opioid crisis—and Say Nothing, his award-winning account of The Troubles in Northern Ireland and the murder of Jean McConville by the IRA, Keefe has built a global reputation for meticulous reporting, moral clarity, and gripping storytelling.In May 2026 he joined Emily Maitlis live on the Intelligence Squared stage to discuss the investigation that has led to his new book London Falling. At its centre is a teenager who mysteriously fell to his death from a Thames-side luxury apartment in London, and his grieving family's determination to get to the truth of what really happened. Keefe also discussed the broader themes of how money laundering, crime and corruption function today in London's underbelly. --- This is the first instalment of a two-part episode. If you'd like to become a Member and get access to all our full ad free conversations, plus all of our Members-only content, just visit intelligencesquared.com/membership to find out more. For £4.99 per month you'll also receive: - Full-length and ad-free Intelligence Squared episodes, wherever you get your podcasts - Bonus Intelligence Squared podcasts, curated feeds and members exclusive series - 15% discount on livestreams and in-person tickets for all Intelligence Squared events ... Or Subscribe on Apple for £4.99: - Full-length and ad-free Intelligence Squared podcasts - Bonus Intelligence Squared podcasts, curated feeds and members exclusive series … Already a subscriber? Thank you for supporting our mission to foster honest debate and compelling conversations! Visit intelligencesquared.com to explore all your benefits including ad-free podcasts, exclusive bonus content and early access. … Subscribe to our newsletter here to hear about our latest events, discounts and much more. https://www.intelligencesquared.com/newsletter-signup/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Patrick Radden Keefe (London Falling, Empire of Pain, Say Nothing) is an award-winning investigative journalist, bestselling author, and staff writer for The New Yorker. Patrick joins Armchair Expert to discuss growing up in a deeply intellectual household, developing a childhood obsession with writing for The New Yorker, and navigating a winding academic path through Columbia, Cambridge, and Yale Law. Patrick and Dax talk about the years-long reporting process behind London Falling, how a chance encounter led him to the story of Zac Brettler, and the challenges of investigating a mysterious death tied to hidden identities and extreme wealth in modern London. Patrick explains how proximity to oligarch culture and social media can warp ambition, why digression can be the soul of storytelling, and how to hold empathy for people navigating unknowable circumstances.Sign up now in the app or at grubhub.com/plus/golddays to unlock exclusive Gold Days deals.Check Allstate first for a quote that could save you hundreds: https://www.allstate.com/See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
Patrick Radden Keefe, a staff writer at the New Yorker and the author of “Say Nothing” and “Empire of Pain,” sits down with Lawfare Associate Editor Peter Beck to discuss his most recent book, “London Falling.” The two talk about Radden Keefe's investigation of a London teenager's fatal plunge into the Thames, the United Kingdom's acquiescence to foreign influence, and his process in writing about the book.To receive ad-free podcasts, become a Lawfare Material Supporter at www.patreon.com/lawfare. You can also support Lawfare by making a one-time donation at https://givebutter.com/lawfare-institute.Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/lawfare. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
What do you do when your child's ideas about money start to sharply diverge from your own? Reema is joined by journalist Patrick Radden Keefe to discuss his new book, “London Falling: A Mysterious Death in a Gilded City and a Family's Search for Truth.” Along the way they get into the thorny realities of parenting in a time when young people are aspiring to be like the ultra-wealthy. Follow us on Instagram and TikTok! If you liked this episode, share it with a friend. And let us know what you think by emailing uncomfortable@marketplace.org or calling 347-RING-TIU.Support “This Is Uncomfortable” with your donation today: https://bit.ly/mkp_tiu_pod
What do you do when your child's ideas about money start to sharply diverge from your own? Reema is joined by journalist Patrick Radden Keefe to discuss his new book, “London Falling: A Mysterious Death in a Gilded City and a Family's Search for Truth.” Along the way they get into the thorny realities of parenting in a time when young people are aspiring to be like the ultra-wealthy. Follow us on Instagram and TikTok! If you liked this episode, share it with a friend. And let us know what you think by emailing uncomfortable@marketplace.org or calling 347-RING-TIU.Support “This Is Uncomfortable” with your donation today: https://bit.ly/mkp_tiu_pod
When Patrick Radden Keefe was living in London while shooting the TV adaptation of his book “Say Nothing,” he heard about a teen-ager who fell from a luxurious apartment tower in mysterious circumstances. As he looked into it, he learned that the boy, Zac Brettler, had assumed an alternate identity as the son of a Russian oligarch, and had connected with dangerous people—just as mysterious. His story in The New Yorker, “A Teen's Fatal Plunge into the London Underworld,” became the basis of his new book “London Falling.” “It's not crime, per se, that interests me,” Radden Keefe tells David Remnick, “but the intermingling of the licit and illicit worlds, and the ways in which people deviate from a kind of conventional morality by degrees—and then the stories that they tell themselves about doing that.” He shares recordings from Brettler's parents of conversations that they had as they sought to uncover what had happened to their son. Further reading: “London Falling,” by Patrick Radden Keefe “A Teen's Fatal Plunge Into the London Underworld,” by Patrick Radden Keefe New episodes of The New Yorker Radio Hour drop every Tuesday and Friday. Join host David Remnick as he discusses the latest in politics, news, and current events in conversation with political leaders, newsmakers, innovators, New Yorker staff writers, authors, actors, and musicians. New Yorker Radio Hour listeners, we want to hear from you. We have a few questions about the show and how you listen to it. The survey takes about twenty minutes, and your feedback will help us make our podcast better. Take the survey here.
Today on the show, with the US-Iran ceasefire set to expire on Wednesday, the shaky ceasefire between Israel and Lebanon, and continued chaos in the Strait of Hormuz, Vali Nasr joins to discuss what might come next in the Middle East. Then, in a stunning defeat Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán lost his reelection campaign after more than a decade in power. Fareed speaks with Atlantic staff writer Anne Applebaum about what this might mean for populism in Europe. Finally, New Yorker staff writer Patrick Radden Keefe joins the show to discuss his new book, “London Falling,” about a teenager's mysterious death in London, and the city's shadowy underworld that it revealed. GUESTS: Vali Nasr (@vali_nasr), Anne Applebaum (@anneapplebaum), Patrick Radden Keefe (@praddenkeefe) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Patrick Radden Keefe joins “The Book Review” to discuss his new book, “London Falling,” which begins when a family loses a 19-year-old son, Zac Brettler, under mysterious circumstances. His parents eventually discover he had been living a secret life, posing as the son of a Russian oligarch. Speaking with the host Gilbert Cruz, Keefe describes the moment he first heard the story and how he immediately knew it would become his next major project. He talks about gaining the trust of the young man's parents, Matthew and Rachelle Brettler, and following the threads of their son's life into a world of wealth, influence and deception in London. The conversation also explores how the book moves beyond the night of Zac's death and into a broader story about ambition, reinvention and the uneasy question at its center: How well can we ever know the people closest to us? Books discussed on this episode: “Say Nothing,” by Patrick Radden Keefe “Seasons of Fury,” by Rozina Ali “The Emperor's Children,” by Claire Messud “Out of Sheer Rage,” by Geoff Dyer “Middlemarch,” by George Eliot “In Cold Blood,” by Truman Capote “The Power Broker,” by Robert A. Caro “Far From the Tree,” by Andrew Solomon “Chatter,” by Patrick Radden Keefe “The Last Samurai,” by Helen DeWitt Listen to and Follow ‘The Book Review' Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Amazon Music | YouTube | iHeartRadio Unlock full access to New York Times podcasts and explore everything from politics to pop culture. Subscribe today at nytimes.com/podcasts or on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. We Want to Hear From You We would love to hear your thoughts about this episode, and about the Book Review's podcast in general. You can send them to thebookreview@nytimes.com. Credits “The Book Review” podcast is hosted by Gilbert Cruz and produced by Amy Pearl and Sarah Diamond. The show is edited by Larissa Anderson and mixed by Pedro Rosado. Special thanks to MJ Franklin, Dahlia Haddad and Brooke Minters. Illustration by The New York Times; Photo: Erik Tanner for The New York Times Subscribe today at nytimes.com/podcasts or on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. You can also subscribe via your favorite podcast app here https://www.nytimes.com/activate-access/audio?source=podcatcher. For more podcasts and narrated articles, download The New York Times app at nytimes.com/app. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
Today on The Stacks, I'm joined by award-winning New Yorker staff writer, New York Times best-selling author, and investigative journalist, Patrick Radden Keefe, to talk about his newest book, London Falling: A Mysterious Death in a Gilded City and a Family's Search for Truth. Set in London, this true crime story chronicles the sudden death of 19-year-old Zac Brettler and his family's quest to uncover the details of his secret double life. Today, we discuss how Patrick balances sources' expectations with his own integrity, the connection between his reading habits and his writing, and the meaning behind the title.The Stacks Book Club pick for April is Room Swept Home by Remica Bingham-Risher. We'll be discussing the book with Mahogany L. Browne on Wednesday, April 29.You can find everything we discuss on today's show on The Stacks website: https://www.thestackspodcast.com/2026/4/8/ep-419-patrick-radden-keefeConnect with Patrick: Website | Instagram | Threads | BlueskyConnect with The Stacks: Instagram | Threads | Shop | Patreon | Goodreads | Substack | Youtube | SubscribeSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.