Los Angeles, 1981. A group of beautiful, rich, high school students are playing adult in their absentee parents' empty mansions, fueled by lust and prescription drugs, and filled with fear and disaffection. This is the world of The Shards, Bret Easton Ellis’ first novel in 13 years, part auto-fiction, part horror. The provocative and polarising author joins ... Show More
Today
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
Sep 2021
S2 | Ep 2: Bret Ellis, Valley Boy
Los Angeles, 1980-1981. “There was just this huge sense that the world was gay, gay, gay.” The origin story of Bret Easton Ellis (and Less Than Zero), Part One.
49m 14s
Sep 2021
S2 | Ep 3: An Alley Along Melrose
Los Angeles, 1981-1982. “This rumor went around in 1981, 1982, that kids just were brought to see the body of another kid.” The origin story of Bret Easton Ellis (and Less Than Zero), Part Two.
45m 8s
Apr 2025
Book Club: Let’s Talk About Adam Ross’s ‘Playworld’
<p>Set in New York in the 1980s, Adam Ross’s new novel, “Playworld,” tells the story of a young actor named Griffin as he navigates the chaos of the city, of his family and of being a teenager, and the dangers that swirl around each. </p><p>Although “Playworld” grapples with blea ... Show More
43m 55s