Podcasts about sameer rahim

In light of the horrific attack on Salman Rushdie on the 12th August, Sameer Rahim joins the podcast to discuss The Satanic Verses and the debates contained within book. Our GDPR privacy policy was updated on August 8, 2022. Visit acast.com/privacy for more information.

Why do we talk about sentience and artificial intelligence? And why do we constantly compare the robots we build to human beings? Science writer Philip Ball and philosopher Julian Baggini join Sameer Rahim to discuss the new frontiers in artificial intelligence—including a project from DeepMind predicting the shape of every protein known to science—and what they mean for us. Our GDPR privacy policy was updated on August 8, 2022. Visit acast.com/privacy for more information.

"Summer is a sentimental education. A portal to feelings that, once experienced, are impossible to subdue," writes Sukhdev Sandhu in his recent piece for Prospect. On the podcast, Sameer Rahim and Emily Lawford join Sarah Collins to discuss the highbrow and lowbrow cultural highlights of the season, from Wagner's The Ring Cycle to Call Me by Your Name, from Romeo and Juliet to Love Island. Our GDPR privacy policy was updated on August 8, 2022. Visit acast.com/privacy for more information.

How did the women in Picasso's life suffer for his art? Should we rethink our canonisation of the painter's works? Writer and translator Miranda France joins deputy editor Sameer Rahim on the podcast. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Ruth Deyermond, senior lecturer at the Department of War Studies at King's College London and the military analyst on Prospect's Ukraine panel joins Sameer Rahim to explain why she thinks Putin has already lost the war in Ukraine. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Is Stonehenge a giant's ring conjured by Merlin? Or a temple for Druid priests? Or a prehistoric spa? Prospect's managing editor Sameer Rahim joins Sarah Collins to discuss the many interpretations of this iconic monument over the centuries—and the secrets revealed by a new exhibition at the British Museum. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Irish writer Colin Barrett discusses his much anticipated second collection of short stories, Homesickeness, the follow up to his hugely successful 2014 Young Skins. Long before he became the President of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelensky played the President of Ukraine. In Servant of the People he was an everyman swept into office to fight corruption. Now, as he fights the Russian advance Zelensky's comedy is being shown on Channel 4 and All 4. The Sunday Times Europe Editor Peter Conradi joins academic and writer Rommi Smith and Sameer Rahim the Arts and Books Editor at Prospect Magazine. Sameer and Rommi stay with presenter Tom Sutcliffe to discuss the first full-length book of poems from Beyonce favourite, Warsan Shire. In Bless the Daughter Raised by a Voice in Her Head, the Somali-born British poet explores themes of themes of migration, womanhood, Black identity and resilience. Also up for review is Run Rose Run, Dolly Parton's foray into fiction. Co-written with best-selling author James Patterson, the novel is a thriller about a singer-songwriter on the rise and on the run. The songs written about in the book correspond to an accompanying music album. We know the country music star can write stories in songs but can she write stories in books?

Who was Richard Rorty and did he believe that truth exists? Writer, historian and philosopher Jonathan Rée joins Sameer Rahim to discuss the American philosopher who—although he died in 2007— still exerts a powerful influence on modern debates about politics and the nature of truth-telling today. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

This week managing editor Sameer Rahim is joined by war correspondent and author Janine di Giovanni to discuss the plight of Christianty in the Middle East. Christians have lived in the region for 2,000 years—but Giovanni thinks that modern war, religious persecution and economic uncertainty put their future under threat. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Charlotte Higgins, prize-winning author and the Guardian's chief culture writer, joins Sameer Rahim talk about her book, Greek Myths: A New Retelling. Their conversation tackles the big questions. Did the Greeks believe in their Gods? Does classics have a class problem? And did Medea really kill her children? See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

What does it mean to be a public intellectual in 2021? In this episode Tom Clark, Sameer Rahim and Philip Ball discuss the work of Prospect's Top Thinker of 2021, Palestinian embryologist Jacob Hanna, as well other notable names including Priyamvada Gopal, Mahmood Mandani and Carlo Rovelli. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

In August 1990 following the Iraqi dictator, Saddam Hussein's invasion of neighbouring Kuwait hundreds of foreign nationals were held hostage by the Iraqi government. Among them were the Rahims, a British Muslim family who had been in Iraq on a religious pilgrimage. Sameer Rahim has been speaking to Farhana Haider about his time as Saddam's prisoner. Image: Saddam Hussein with western hostages, Iraq 1990 Credit: Shutterstock

On this week's episode we speak to archaeologist and author of Kindred: Neanderthal Life, Love, Death and Art, Rebecca Wragg Sykes. She joins managing editor Sameer Rahim to discuss the fascinating story of our closest cousins, the Neanderthals: how they might have lived, whether they had imagination—and just how much of our perceptions of them has changed in the 150 years since we first discovered their fossils. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

As a 3.5 metre tall puppet called Little Amal begins an 8,000km journey from Turkey to Manchester to highlight the difficulties faced by refugee children, Samira talks to theatre director and producer David Lan live from Gaziantep on the Turkish-Syrian border about ambitious artistic project The Walk. The longlist for the 2021 Booker Prize has been announced and we discuss the 13 chosen novels with Sameer Rahim from Prospect Magazine and Claire Armitstead from The Guardian. Are these the right titles? And who might be the eventual winner of the £50,000 prize? Tomorrow the David Livingstone Birthplace re-opens following a £9.1m regeneration plan. The museum has not been simply refurbished, the story it tells of the famous explorer, the first European to see the Victoria Falls, has been revised. Zimbabwean novelist Petina Gappah, who spent years researching and writing about Livingstone, tells Samira Ahmed how she has given voice to those who worked with him and whom he met on his expeditions. Presenter: Samira Ahmed Producer: Julian May

Sameer Rahim joins professor David Herman for a discussion on the life and work of the public intellectual Edward Said, who is the subject of a new biography, Places of Mind, by Timothy Brennan. Sameer, who wrote about the limitations of the thinker in our most recent issue of Prospect, joins David, a former student of Said's, to discuss what Said got right, and wrong, about orientalism, his friendship with Salman Rushdie, and what Said would have made of the Israel – Palestine conflict today. You can read Sameer's essay here: https://www.prospectmagazine.co.uk/arts-and-books/disorientated-the-confusions-of-edward-said See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

As Britain slowly opens up—and cinemas, galleries, and concert halls finally return—arts and books editor Sameer Rahim talks to Nicholas Kenyon, managing director at the Barbican, about the struggles faced by Britain's artists over the past year, and why he's looking forward to opening the Barbican's doors. Nicholas, who was previously director of the BBC Proms and music critic for the New Yorker and the Observer, also talks about the changing face of classical music, how the music world will be affected by Brexit, and writing his new book The Life of Music: New Adventures in the Western Classical Tradition. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

The celebrated author Philip Roth was obsessed with chasing the exceptional in both his life and work. Author and critic Jon Day joins the Prospect Interview to discuss new biographies of the author of American Pastoral and Portnoy's Complaint. He talks to arts and books editor Sameer Rahim about why Roth marks the end of the grand literary celebrity, and how his novels precipitated the rise of “cancel culture.”You can read Jon Day's essay on Philip Roth here: https://www.prospectmagazine.co.uk/magazine/philip-roths-ruthless-intimacy-biography-review See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

A new biography of Stephen Hawking argues that the celebrated scientist was shamelessly self-promoting and his reputation overrated. Philip Ball joins the Prospect Interview to discuss Charles Seife's Hawking Hawking: The Making of a Scientific Celebrity and talks to arts and books editor Sameer Rahim about humanising a scientific deity, and why it was that Hawking, out of all of his other similarly accomplished peers, became a household name. You can read Philip Ball's review of Hawking Hawking here: https://www.prospectmagazine.co.uk/magazine/stephen-hawking-celebrity-physicist-flaws See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Journalist Samira Shackle joins the Prospect podcast to discuss life and death in modern Karachi. In her new book, Karachi Vice, Samira tells the story of the fast-changing place through the eyes of locals, including a journalist with a taste for risky scoops and an ambulance driver who sees tragedy daily. Samira joins arts and books editor Sameer Rahim, to talk about her own personal ties to Karachi, confronting British stereotypes of Pakistan, and where this compelling and fast-changing city goes next. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Citizen journalist Eliot Higgins joins the Prospect Interview this week to discuss the many groundbreaking investigations made by Bellingcat, his open-source investigative journalism website. Eliot first got started as a hobbyist in 2011, investigating the transport and use of weapons in the Syrian civil war while watching YouTube videos from home. Now, Bellingcat has made headline-grabbing discoveries surrounding the Malaysian Airlines Flight 17 and the Yemeni Civil War. Eliot joins arts and books editor Sameer Rahim to talk about citizen journalism, how Bellingcat really works, and the troubling rise of internet conspiracies. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Booker Prize-winning author George Saunders joins the Prospect Interview to discuss his experiences teaching the Russian short story and his new book, A Swim in the Pond in the Rain. What begins as a homage to the technical literary skill of Chekhov, Gogol, and Tolstoy soon becomes a broader reflection on the purpose of fiction, and the meaning of life. Saunders joins arts and books editor Sameer Rahim and talks about how he changed his mind on Chekhov, getting in the head of a Trump supporter, and the art of getting published. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Booker Prize-winning author Douglas Stuart joins the Prospect Interview to discuss writing his powerful novel, Shuggie Bain, which tells the story of a young boy growing up in working-class Glasgow during the 80s. Douglas talks to Arts and Books editor Sameer Rahim—who sat on this year's Booker judging panel and was captivated by Shuggie Bain—about the importance of diversity in literature, his non-chronological way of writing, and what he made of the other shortlisted novels. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Live from London: Ruth Michaelson brings us the latest news from the Middle East and North Africa. Plus, our editor Andrew Tuck's weekend column and we speak to Sameer Rahim, one of the judges for this year's Booker Prize.

Writer Robert Macfarlane joins the Prospect Interview to discuss writing the Earth's underworld in his new book, Underland: A Deep Time Journey. MacFarlane talks to our arts and books editor Sameer Rahim about exploring the deepest recesses of the world, the mysteries of the anthropocene, and why he's rejecting the term “nature writer.” See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

The 2020 Booker Prize longlist has been announced. 13 fantastic titles make up the ‘Booker Dozen' and podcast host, Joe Haddow explores each novel on the list and the reasons behind the judges' decision. Joining Joe is chair of judges, Margaret Busby, and fellow judges Lemn Sissay and Sameer Rahim. The 2020 shortlist will be announced on 15 September. Find out more about the longlist here: https://bit.ly/3feClGP This episode was recorded and produced remotely. Keep up to date with news on the Prize at thebookerprizes.com and @TheBookerPrizes on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and YouTube.

Dutch historian and commentator Rutger Bregman joins the Prospect Interview this week to discuss his new book, Humankind: A Hopeful History. It's a book with an optimistic thesis at its heart: that people are—despite all the doom-mongering, disasters, and political conflicts that rage on in our headlines—at their core, decent and well-intentioned. Arts and Books editor Sameer Rahim talks to Rutger about making a case for hope in the time of Covid, what makes people embrace hate, division and prejudice—and how he went about writing his viral story of the real-life Lord of the Flies. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Philosopher Clare Carlisle joins the Prospect Interview to talk about the 19th century novelist George Eliot. Celebrated as the author of Middlemarch and Silas Marner, Eliot was also an enthusiastic philosopher who notably translated the first English translation of Baruch Spinoza's Ethics. Clare talks to arts and books editor Sameer Rahim about George Eliot's philosophy, the novelist's fondness for Spinoza, and the often fluid line between literature and philosophy. You can read Clare's essay on George Eliot here: https://www.prospectmagazine.co.uk/magazine/george-eliot-philosophy-spinoza-clare-carlisle See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Infectious disease expert Adam Kucharski didn't know that the world was going to be overtaken by a virus when he wrote his new book, The Rules of Contagion: Why Things Spread – and Why They Stop. But today, the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine professor has a schedule filled with meetings about the progression of Covid-19—and how best to curb it. Arts and books editor Sameer Rahim talks to Adam about what it's been like researching the disease, which countries have handled the outbreak best, and what to expect next. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Writer Thomas Chatterton Williams joins the Prospect Interview this week to talk about his curious approach to race in America. His new memoir, Self Portrait in Black and White, explores his own background as a mixed-race child of a black father and white mother growing up in New Jersey. He talks to our Arts and Books editor Sameer Rahim about why he sometimes calls himself “ex-Black”, how he feels about calls for race reparations, and whether he really thinks, in divided political times, one might really transcend race. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Sameer is Managing Editor for Arts and Books at Prospect Magazine, and has been a judge for the Costa Poetry Book Prize, the Forward Prize for Poetry and the Orwell Prize for non-fiction. He is also the author of Asghar and Zahra, a novel about a young couple born into the same British Muslim community and their first year of marriage. He speaks about his religious childhood, loving his time studying English literature at Cambridge, his evolving Muslim faith and why the true history of our religions will always be just out of reach.

What really was the East India Company, and how does its legacy affect Britain today? Historian William Dalrymple joins the Prospect podcast this week to talk about Britain's imperial legacy and how the company grew from being a silks and spices trader to an engine of colonialism. William's book, The Anarchy: The Relentless Rise of the East India Company is out with Bloomsbury.Plus: Steve Bloomfield and Sameer Rahim on teaching history in schools See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Nobel Prize-winning economist Robert Shiller joins this week's Prospect podcast to discuss what he calls “narrative economics”: the process of stories driving economic events. We often think our narratives – recessions, difficult jobs, bringing back jobs – come as a result of our economic realities. What if they also drove them?Robert Shiller's Narrative Economics: How Stories Go Viral and Drive Major Economic Events is Out with Princeton University Press: https://press.princeton.edu/titles/14225.htmlPlus: Tom Clark and Sameer Rahim in today's stagnated growth See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

It is said that we are living in an age of multiple crises—climate change, political upheaval, and mass disenfranchisement. Radical economist Paul Mason offers his diagnosis on our current situation, and why the 2008 financial crisis may not be the watershed moment we think it is.Paul's new book, Clear Bright Future, comes out May 2.Plus: Alex Dean on the Huawei leak, and Sameer Rahim on photographer Don McCullin See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

UK Labour Party deputy leader Tom Watson has made headlines for his contested allegiances within the party.Journalist Kevin Maguire joins Prospect to discuss the burning question often heard around Westminster: what's Tommy up to? Will he form, as teased, a National Government — or has his reputation as a blustery schemer softened over the years?You can read Kevin's profile of Tom Watson in the latest issue of Prospect, also available online here: bit.ly/2VP0ivhPlus: Alex Dean on 'Boris-proofing Brexit' and Sameer Rahim on the art of cultural appreciation over Easter See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

What happens when a child conceived using a donor sperm wants to meet their biological father?Wendy Kramer, the “donor detective”, runs the Donor Sibling Registry (DSR) which has 63,461 members and has so far connected 16,779 individuals around the world with their donor parents or half siblings. In our May issue, journalist Stefanie Marsh follows Kramer's work, uncovering the tricky questions on anonymity and reconciling donor rights with the rights of children. She talks to us about the experience behind the story: “it's one of the most moving bits of journalism I've had to investigate.”Plus: Alex Dean on Brexit's constitutional crisis, and Sameer Rahim on whether literary fiction has met its “climate realism” moment. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

What does it mean to translate a work of fiction—and can we really call one translation "better" than others?Writer Miranda France joins Prospect to discuss the strange art of literary translation.Plus: Alex Dean on whether we're heading for a general election and Sameer Rahim on why we need more mean reviews. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

In 1961, two things happened that seemed to change our idea about evil forever: Hannah Arendt reported on the trial of Adolf Eichmann, and a Yale experiment showed the apparent willingness of subjects to issue electric shocks to their fellow human beings—just because they were told to.But what if everything we thought we learnt that year was wrong?Stephen Reicher and Alex Haslam discuss how we misunderstand the nature of evil.Plus: Steve Bloomfield on the march against Brexit, and Sameer Rahim on why Ricky Gervais isn't funny anymore. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

A truly global approach to climate change doesn't just involve a policy shift—it will mean changing how we live our lives together. Author and researcher Mike Berners-Lee joins Prospect to explain why he's (cautiously) optimistic.Plus: Steve Bloomfield on the schools funding crisis, and Sameer Rahim on how Muslims are represented in British literature. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

This week human rights barrister Adam Wagner talks tribal politics, twitter, and how to achieve a more civilised online world. Wagner speaks from experience, having recently been involved in a simmering online row about anti-Semitism on the left. His recent piece on the subject appeared in our march issue. Plus: Alex Dean on how the Tory Party turned its back on Europe, Sameer Rahim on A Confederacy of Dunces and books that come back into fashion. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

This week, Prospect gets inside the craze for tracking everything from our steps to our alcohol intake with Barbara Speed—including who the Quantified Self movement are, and why the 10,000 steps goal is basically made up. Plus: Alex Dean roots for the backstop, and Sameer Rahim goes all Marie Kondo on his bedside books See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

We're all making more of an effort to cut down on waste—but does it matter? Reporter Wendell Steavenson takes us through the surprising truth about British recycling (spoiler: lots of it doesn't get recycled). Plus Alex Dean and Sameer Rahim talk Brexit winners and losers, and a new Shakespeare interpretation. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

In this podcast Sameer Rahim asks Clive James: what was Philip Larkin really like? What was it about this very ordinary man that enabled him to produce such extraordinary poetry? 

When Larkin died in 1985 he left a carefully curated collection of poems and novels but since then we've had shelffuls of letters—some of which James reviewed for our Winter issue—and biographies. How has our view of Larkin changed? Plus: your weekly dosing of politics. Produced by Jay Elwes. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

The Astronomer Royal joins Prospect to ask: How much can humans hope to understand? Our minds are finite but the universe is impossibly vast and always expanding. Are there some physical facts that humanity will necessarily never comprehend? 

This is the terrain Martin Rees covers in Prospect's new podcast.

Plus: Alex Dean on politics and Sameer Rahim on culture. Hosted by Tom Clark, produced by Jay Elwes. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

China is heading for super-power status—but will it get there? George Magnus, one of Britain's leading China experts, sets out the deep social, economic and political challenges that Beijing now faces. If it overcomes them, the prize could be huge. How likely is that? And what if it fails? With Tom Clark, Sameer Rahim, Alex Dean and Timothy Garton Ash.Produced by Jay Elwes See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Chess used to be the ultimate expression of brilliance and ingenuity—but nowadays, a Grandmaster would lose to the chess app on your smartphone. The philosopher David Edmonds discusses the triumph of computer power over humans, what it means for chess and for the world at large. Interview by Sameer Rahim. Presented by Tom Clark, with Steve Bloomfield and Alex Dean. Produced by Jay Elwes See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Why is it that when British politicians look in the mirror they see Winston Churchill—just as French politicians, such as Macron, see Charles de Gaulle? The Cambridge historian and former keeper of the Churchill archive Piers Brendon talks to Prospect's executive editor Jay Elwes about the distortions of history and how these can warp our view of the present day. Presented by Tom Clark with Sameer Rahim and Alex Dean See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

An interview with Alan Rusbridger. He used to edit the Guardian newspaper and now he helps to run Oxford University. A degree from Oxford is a huge advantage in life, but it's still full of pupils from private school—so how can Oxford solve its "posh problem"?Featuring Tom Clark, Sameer Rahim and Alex Dean. Produced by Jay Elwes See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Pakistan has endured decades of unsettled politics, extremist violence and war. But can a new generation of young political activists take the country in a new direction? Samira Shackle discusses her recent article for Prospect on the emerging voices in Pakistani politics which are challenging both the government and the army—a dangerous thing to do. With Steve Bloomfield, Tom Clark, Alex Dean and Sameer Rahim. Produced by Jay Elwes. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

The historian, author and BBC commentator Mark Urban discusses his new book on the former Russian spy, Sergei Skripal, who was poisoned in Salisbury, along with his daughter. Who was Skripal, who tried to kill him and why? Plus, Alex Dean on politics and Sameer Rahim on culture. Presented by Prospect's editor, Tom Clark. Produced by Jay Elwes. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

From May's speech to McDonnell's economics, this week Prospect brings you a round-up of the Labour and Conservative party conferences—including an audio postcard from the Tory event in Birmingham. What are the parties and their activists thinking? And what's it actually like to be at a party conference? Stephanie Boland, Steve Bloomfield, Sameer Rahim and Tom Clark get to grips with the state of the parties—while Jay Elwes and Alex Dean take you on tour to Birmingham. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

This week Stephanie Boland speaks to historian of ideas Lyndsey Stonebridge about refugees and their status. How should history inform our thinking about the current refugee crisis? What rights should displaced people have? 

Stonebridge focuses on the literary side of those questions. Her new book is Placeless People and you can read her Prospect contributions here. Before we get to that, Alex Dean on the Lib Dems and Sameer Rahim on Spike Lee's new film BlacKkKlansman See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

This week Ivan Hewett asks what happens when music meets philosophy and explains what lovers of classical music get wrong about the chart hits. These are newly relevant questions thanks to the publication of Roger Scruton's book on the western musical tradition. You can read Hewett's review of Scruton's book on our website. Plus: politics with Alex Dean and culture with Sameer Rahim See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

This week it's economic historian Adam Tooze, whose new book Crashed tells the story of the financial crisis. It is prompting the world to rethink the near total breakdown in international finance that happened just 10 years ago. We bring you highlights from Tooze's recent event in Prospect towers. 

Plus: Alex Dean on ministerial churn and Sameer Rahim on impeachment See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

This week we speak to Donald Macintyre, the author and journalist who was Jerusalem correspondent for the Independent. Macintyre has written an essay for our September issue on the gradual death of the two-state solution. Twenty-five years since the Oslo Accords were signed, it is no longer achievable. Time to look at a radical alternative? 

Plus: Alex Dean on the minimum wage and Sameer Rahim on Israel and Palestine in the world of music. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Freya Johnston wrote a widely-discussed essay for our July issue on British politeness. Is there something rude about enforced civility? More worrying, is it all an act to hide far more barbaric instincts that lurk beneath the surface? She discusses these questions with Sameer Rahim. Plus: in politics and culture, Alex Dean and Stephanie Boland look north of the border. The topics are Brexit and the devolution settlement, and the future of the Edinburgh Fringe. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

This week Zoe Williams speaks to Tom Clark about the left-wing path to a new Europe. But what would that look like and where does Jeremy Corbyn fit in? If the Labour leader did get into Downing Street could he really do a better job than the current crop? Williams raised these questions in her essay for our August issue. Plus: Alex Dean talks select committees and Sameer Rahim on the Man Booker. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Eight-year-olds playing Chopin is certainly impressive, but is it good for children to develop prodigious skills so early on? Suna Erdem talks to Prospect about maestros in miniature, whether they'll grow up hating their parents, and why we're so fixated on the concept of the youthful genius anyway. Erdem wrote on the subject for our August issue. Also: Alex Dean discusses the future of the Brexit departments and Sameer Rahim asks how much first time novelists can expect to be paid. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Rock music is on the way down, music magazines aren't what they used to be—but there are still an awful lot of sharp pens around. That's the opinion of DJ Taylor who expands on his piece in Prospect's July issue and talks to Sameer Rahim about the rock memoir. It's a curious genre and we might think of it as unsophisticated, but actually it is at the centre of a new golden age of rock writing. Before that, Alex Dean and Tom Clark do a five minute political round-up on Brexit, Heathrow and the question of whether British politics will be lifted if England delivers in the World Cup. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

When Michael McFaul became the United States' ambassador to Russia, he didn't realise what he was letting himself in for. As the architect of Barack Obama's "Reset," he thought he'd be welcomed. But instead Vladimir Putin's cronies orchestrated a campaign of harassment and spread lurid personal allegations. McFaul talks to Sameer Rahim about his new book, From Cold War to Hot Peace, which tells of how US-Russia relations broke down and why Putin's aggressive posture on Crimea and Syria seems to be outfoxing the west. And why on Russia Donald Trump is at loggerheards with his own administration. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Sameer Rahim talks to philosopher John Gray about what atheists get wrong about atheism. Dismissing the "God debate," which as a non-believer Gray has no interest in, instead he focuses on the variety of atheisms on offer in the modern world: from liberalism as a modern day secular religion to the atheism of silence of Spinoza. Gray, as usual, takes no prisoners. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

The novelist Will Self talks to Prospect's Tom Clark and Sameer Rahim about his experiences with drugs, and how they've shaped his view of the world. He discusses his recent essay for Prospect which examines the new book by Michael Pollan and also offers some useful advice for those who've accidentally taken too much acid. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

This week, Prospect's Editor Tom Clark sits down with Shami Chakrabarti, the lawyer and Labour peer whose new book, "Of Women," takes a close look at the place of women in society and reveals in uncomfortable detail the gross unfairness that they still face. But then the Labour Party is not immune from sexism in its own ranks—and unlike the Conservative Party has never had a female leader. Chakrabarti thinks that record is set to change. Anne Perkins of the Guardian and Sameer Rahim, Prospect's Arts and Books editor, join in the debate. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Prospect Editor Tom Clark sits down with Steven Pinker, the Harvard scientist, to discuss his new book on the Enlightenment and how that period in the development of human thought continues to shape our world. The ideals of reason and tolerance are winning out, he says, and the result is immense material progress. Things are quite simply getting better all the time—contrary to popular belief. That's the argument. But is the division of history into pre- and post-Enlightenment as clear-cut as his book suggests? And really, was the Enlightenment quite as enlightened as we might think? Sameer Rahim, Prospect's Arts and Books Editor and Philip Ball, the science writer and Prospect contributor, also give their thoughts. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Prospect's Editor, Tom Clark, spoke to the writer and academic Shahidha Bari about her recent essay on the problem of art made by terrible men. What should our attitude be to their work and does history give examples of how those views might change over time? Stephanie Boland, Digital Editor and Sameer Rahim, Arts and Books Editor were on hand to offer their insights, in the first in a new series of weekly podcasts from Prospect. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Dutchman Joris Luyendijk imagined he was moving in with European cousins when he arrived in London; six years later he was cheering on Brexit. He tells Tom Clark how he learned to loathe England. At least Britain can laugh at itself—Sameer Rahim has been talking to our greatest living satirist, Armando Iannucci. All nations are defined by the stories they tell about themselves, and Daniella Peled reviews the work of the new Palestinian Museum in putting twists in the tale of a people without a land. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.