Stalin was an avid and voracious reader. In his recent book, Professor Geoffrey Roberts tells us about the life of Joseph Stalin through the books that the dictator read, collected, annotated, and banned.This book draws an extraordinary vivid portrait of Stalin as an intellectual who could never satiate his curiosity; who ardently believed in ideas; and who believed in mysterious powers of reading.

Geoffrey Roberts' profile on ARTIDOTE website

Get the Book: Stalin's Library by Geoffrey Roberts

Dr. Roberts' Website 

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This episode’s guest is Rachel Corbett, the author of a brilliant book called You Must Change Your Life, which tells the story of the brief and intense relationship between renowned sculptor Auguste Rodin and the poet Rainer Maria Rilke.

In 1902, Rainer Maria Rilke was a delicate young visitor from Prague in Paris, he was broke and suffering from writer’s block. He was commissioned to write a book on Rodin, who was already a renowned sculptor at the time, this is when everything changes

You Must Change Your Life reveals one of the great stories of modern art and literature:

Rodin and Rilke’s years together as master and disciple, their heartbreaking rift, and moving reconciliation.

In her vibrant debut, Rachel Corbett reveals how Rodin’s influence lead Rilke to write his most celebrated poems and inspired his beloved Letters to a Young Poet.

She captures the dawn of modernism with appearances by Paul Cezanne, Henri Matisse, Lou Andreas Salome, George Bernard Show and Jean Cocteau.

In this interview I also wanted to ask Rachel about how Rodin and Rilke changed HER life, how she discovered them, and what are her favourite poems by Rilke and her favourite sculptures by Rodin.

I know this might sound cliche, but When I was reading this book I was getting a strong feeling as if I am reading the script for the second part of Wes Anderson’s The Grand Budapest Hotel.

Get the Book: You Must Change Your Life by Rachel Corbett

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Exercise is our modern obsession.

The way we choose to exercise can tell us so much about our culture, our ambition or our mindset.

Ancient Greeks, for example, used to discuss philosophy at their gyms and believed that the intelligence of the mind needs to be in equilibrium with the fitness of the body.

In this wonderful book, ‘Sweat: A History of Exercise’, Bill Hayes explores the different ways in which we have approached exercise throughout history.

Hayes connects his own experience to the cultural and scientific history of exercise, from ancient times to the present day.

GET 'SWEAT: A History of Exercise'

BILL HAYES' RECOMMENDED BOOKS HERE

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In our age of immediacy John Ruskin’s ideas remain important more than ever. He can teach us how to see beauty, how to gain control over attention span and how to genuinely care about nature. He was a visionary who predicted many of the challenges we are facing today, such as climate change and culture of distraction.

Through his writings we can learn how to become better and live in harmony with the word.

In this episode, I interviewed Dr. Suzanne Fagence Cooper, who wrote a  brilliant biography of Ruskin. It is a wonderful introduction to his work for those, who like me, did not know where to start reading his works.

What would Ruskin think of modern architecture? What would be his advice to us on how to live a meaningful life?

These are just two of many questions I asked Dr. Fagence Cooper in this episode.

📌 DR. SUZANNE FAGENCE COOPER'S PROFILE

📌 CHECK HER BOOK HERE

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In this interview Ruth Scurr tells me about Napoleon’s relationship with gardens throughout his life. Napoleon was interested in botany and tending gardens satisfied his inherent scientific curiosity.  However, Napoleon also viewed gardens as a space for reflection and where he could have deep philosophical conversations with his peers.

Paul Valéry wrote that it ‘is a pity to see a mind as Napoleon’s devoted to trivial things such as empires, historic events, the thundering cannons

In that quote Valéry essentially asks us: What path would Napoleon choose if he decided not to become a military genius?

This is a question, that I believe, Dr. Ruth Scurr explores in her brilliant book Napoleon: A life in Gardens and Shadows

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📌 Her book: 

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This is a story about Florentine manuscript hunters. A group of people who travelled across Europe in the 14th and 15th centuries in search of lost ancient works on philosophy and literature. At the centre of this story is a man who is often referred to as ‘Michelangelo of bookselling’. His name is Vespasiano da Bisticci.

The most powerful figures across Europe came to him when they needed to find lost or rare editions of Aristotle, Plato, Quintilian or Cicero.

In this episode Vashik Armenikus speaks to Ross King, the author of a brilliant book ‘The Bookseller of Florence’ which illuminates the stories behind some of the greatest intellectuals who became manuscript hunters in Renaissance Italy.

Ross King's profile: https://artidote.uk/episodes/ross-king

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In this interview the Italian pianist Federico Albanese tells about his inspirations from writers such as Virginia Woolf to film-makers like Terrence Malick. He also tells about his latest collaborative EP with Tara Nome Doyle.

You can find Federico's EP and all the references of the episode here:

https://artidote.uk/episodes/federico-albanese

You can listen to EP on our playlist on Spotify.

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This episode was mastered by Ilia Rogatchevski. You can find his other work here.

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In this interview the Italian pianist Federico Albanese tells about his inspirations from writers such as Virginia Woolf to film-makers like Terrence Malick. He also tells about his latest collaborative EP with Tara Nome Doyle.

You can find Federico's EP and all the references of the episode here: 

https://artidote.uk/episodes/federico-albanese

You can listen to EP on our playlist on Spotify.

Subscribe to my newsletter for more on classical music: http://eepurl.com/he7YKD

Get Audible Trial: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Audible-Free-Trial-Digital-Membership/dp/B00OPA2XFG?tag=artidote-21

This episode was mastered by Ilia Rogatchevski. You can find his other work here.

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Everyone perceives Japan in their own unique way. Everyone ‘invents’ their own Japan as Oscar Wilde said in his essay ‘The Decay of Lying’.

In this episode Matt Alt - the author of a brilliant book ‘Pure Invention: How Japan’s Pop Culture Conquered the World’ - tells the story behind the unique products such as anime, manga, video games or karaoke.

Matt lives in Tokyo since 2003 and runs a localization company with his wife Hiroko Yoda, which produces the English-language versions of popular Japanese video games, comic books, and other forms of entertainment.

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Matt Alt's profile: https://artidote.uk/episodes/matt-alt

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This episode was mastered by Ilia Rogatchevski. You can find his other work here.