The Book Club

Adam Smith is the most quoted and misquoted economist of all time. Sam Leith talks to Jesse Norman, author of the new Adam Smith: What He Thought and Why It Matters (reviewed in last week’s Spectator ...

26 Heinä 201828min

In this week’s Spectator Books, Sam talks to a man who has spent more time on Air Force One than even Piers Morgan: President Obama’s former foreign policy speechwriter and deputy national security ad...

19 Heinä 201829min

This week’s episode sees Sam Leith joined by Margo Jefferson, author of 'On Michael Jackson' and the memoir Negroland, to moonwalk back to the glory days of Michael Jackson. Jackson was one of the cen...

12 Heinä 201827min

Sam talks to the distinguished scholar of Japanese literature Jay Rubin, editor of the new Penguin Book of Japanese Short Stories. Many of us in the West know little of Japanese literature beyond, per...

5 Heinä 201822min

This week’s episode is a family affair: Sam talks to the children’s writer and illustrator Judith Kerr (Mog The Forgetful Cat; When Hitler Stole Pink Rabbit; and The Tiger Who Came To Tea), and her so...

28 Kesä 201829min

Is LSD good for you? Sam Leith is joined by the author Michael Pollan, who talks about the fascinating lost history of psychedelic drugs, speculates on what they may tell us about the human mind and t...

21 Kesä 201833min

Sam Leith is joined by William Dalrymple, co-author with Anita Anand of Koh-i-Noor: The History of the World’s Most Famous DiamondBecome a Spectator subscriber today to access this podcast without adv...

14 Kesä 201834min

It’s a first for the Spectator Books podcast this week: music! We’ve temporarily dispensed with our usual intro jingle to allow this week’s guest, Paul Kildea, to play us in. Paul’s new book Chopin’s ...

7 Kesä 201827min