London Review of Books

John Lanchester talks to Thomas Jones about Georges Simenon, whose output was so prodigious that even he didn’t know how many books he had written.

Sonia Gandhi and Rupert Beale, scientists at the Francis Crick Institute, talk to Thomas Jones about the ways Covid-19 can affect the nervous system, the steps required to reopen the NHS after lockdown, the state of testing, and reasons for optimism about a vaccine.

In this event recorded in 2016, Danny Dorling, Professor of Geography at the University of Oxford, returned to the Bookshop to talk about his book A Better Politics: How Government Can Make Us Happier (London Publishing Partnership). Dorling's book looks at the evidence for a successful politics that would promote happiness and health and suggests policies that take account of...

David and Helen talk to the historian Dan Snow about the parallels for the current crisis. Is it like past pandemics or is it more like a war? What has it exposed about the weak spots in our societies? And what have we learned about the role of political leadership?

Andrew O’Hagan talks to Thomas Jones about the friendship between Robert Louis Stevenson and Henry James, and the time they spent together in Bournemouth.

In Sinews of War and Trade (Verso) Laleh Khalili, professor of international politics at Queen Mary University of London, explores the vital importance of ports and shipping in defining the new battlegrounds of the 21st century. In particular, she argues, the Arabian Peninsula is the crucial nexus for the transportation of the goods and commodities that define and enable...

Given what we know about the future of the planet, is having children a matter of consumer choice, of political conviction, or something an authority will eventually decide for us? Meehan Crist explores the debate about the ethics of childbearing in the age of climate crisis. She addresses the relationship between BP and the British Museum, the implications of culture-washing, and the logic of...