Dickens. Tolstoy. Their names and reputations shake the ground – and so do their books, if you drop one. But whose legacy is more enduring? Whose vision truer and more relevant today? Should you embark on War and Peace or Our Mutual Friend? To battle it out, in 2018 Intelligence Squared brought two celebrated writers, John Mullan for Dickens and Simon Schama ... Show More
Yesterday
Can Pigs Really Appreciate Bach? Katherine Rundell Live
Katherine Rundell has dazzled millions of readers globally with her writing on fantastical beasts. In her bestselling book The Golden Mole, she profiled some of the world’s most extraordinary endangered animals, including pangolins, wombats, lemurs and seahorses. This critically ... Show More
1h 23m
Oct 10
What James Baldwin Can Teach Us About the World Today
On the 70th anniversary of the publication of Giovanni’s Room, James Baldwin’s seminal novel about sexuality, race and myth in America, Booker Prize-winning writer Ben Okri joined us to reflect on the life, literature and enduring legacy of one of the world’s most loved writers. ... Show More
1h 17m
Oct 2023
Zadie Smith on Dickens, Hypocrisy & Justice
This week David talks to the novelist Zadie Smith about Charles Dickens: what he means to her, why we still read him, and what’s missing from the Dickensian view of the world. It’s a conversation about other writers as well – Turgenev, George Orwell and Toni Morrison – and about ... Show More
49m 18s
Nov 2021
360 FMK Shakespeare! (with Laurie Frankel) | Tolstoy's Gospel (with Scott Carter)
It's a good day for cooking! First up: Scott Carter, author of the play Discord: The Gospel According to Thomas Jefferson, Charles Dickens, and Count Leo Tolstoy, joins Jacke for a look at the gospel as updated by Leo Tolstoy. Then novelist Laurie Frankel (author of One Two Three ... Show More
1h 9m
Aug 2022
Book Adaptations: Chris Evans' Mustache is the Main Character
Which is better, book or movie? Princess and Tessa attempt to answer the question in this week's episode all about book adaptations. They cover The Gray Man, Persuasion, and many other fan favorite (and not-so-favorite) adaptations of years past. Let the bookish battles begin!
39m 34s