Monocle on Saturday

Thursday saw an extraordinary US debate between presidential candidates Joe Biden and Donald Trump; what happened and what comes next? International journalist Isabel Hilton joins Georgina Godwin to discuss the fallout of the event and the global reaction, the comparatively uneventful debate in the UK, Bradford Literature Festival and the latest news from China. Plus: Monocle’s senior news editor, Chris Cermak, speaks to the debate director of Braver Angels, Jessie Mannisto, about its debate watch party and how they are fighting political polarisation. 

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Monocle brings Switzerland to Midori House. Alex Herrmann, UK & Ireland Director of Switzerland Tourism, joins Georgina Godwin to tell us all about the different regions and Swiss delicacies at Monocle’s Swiss Summer Market. Plus: Georgina and political journalist Terry Stiastny flick through the global papers and Monocle’s Helsinki correspondent, Petri Burtsoff, explains how the wider Nordic region is celebrating midsummer this weekend.

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Authors and attendees have been boycotting literary festivals for their sponsorship by Baillie Gifford – and now music festivals are under fire. Charles Hecker and Georgina Godwin explore whether this will do more harm than good, as well as the top stories from global papers. Then: Richard Village, founder of new independent publisher Foundry Editions, joins to talk about bringing Mediterranean authors to the attention of English-speaking audiences. Plus: Nigerian-American artist and poet Precious Okoyomon speaks about her magical exhibition in Basel, Switzerland.

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Writer and social commentator Lijia Zhang joins Georgina Godwin to talk about the 35th anniversary of the Tiananmen Square crackdown, organising her own protest, China’s relationship with Russia and Ukraine and the K-pop balloons sent to North Korea. Plus: Kate Mosse, author and founder director of the Women’s Prize, joins to discuss the organisation’s live event and Bookbanks founder Emily Rhodes on her initiative bringing books to foodbanks. 

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Will the conviction of former President Donald Trump affect his chance of winning the US election in November? And why does Iceland’s election today have more candidates running than ever before? Join Emma Nelson and communications consultant and journalist Simon Brooke as they look through the week’s news and culture. Plus: we look at art and tourism, including co-founder and director of London Gallery Weekend Jeremy Epstein, who joins the show to talk about this weekend’s highlights.

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Georgina Godwin is joined by Daniella Peled, managing editor at the Institute for War and Peace Reporting, for a look back at the week’s news and culture. Plus: author Rupert Thompson joins to discuss his new book ‘How to Make a Bomb: A Novel’ and Monocle’s Helsinki correspondent, Petri Burtsoff, visits the independent publishing imprint Cozy.

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Author and political journalist, Terry Stiastny, joins Georgina Godwin to discuss the latest news from Israel, New Caledonia and the UK. Plus: the founder of the Hay Festival, Peter Florence, joins the show to talk about the launch of his new venture, The Conversation, a series of Monday evening talks in the heart of London that tackle important topics such as peace, democracy and climate action. Finally, author and law professor Rosemary Salomone joins to discuss her book, ‘The Rise of English: Global Politics and the Power of Language’.

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The Eurovision final is nearly here. Latika Bourke, Sîan Pattenden and Georgina Godwin discuss the latest news from Malmö as well as Sîan’s eleventh consecutive charity live draw. Monocle’s resident Eurovision expert, Fernando Augusto Pacheco, speaks to the show’s production designer, Florian Wieder, and the lighting and screen-content designer, Fredrik Stormby, from the competition’s main stage. Plus: David Lammy in the US and the tourist crackdown in the Balearic Islands.

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As the UK local election results come in, who will win the race for London mayor? On the other side of the pond, Trump’s hush-money trial continues ahead of the US election in November; Charles Hecker and Georgina Godwin discuss the latest developments. Plus: co-founder of independent publisher Galley Beggar Press, Sam Jordison, joins to discuss how much it really costs to make a book and the effect that it can have on smaller presses. 

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Writer and broadcaster Yassmin Abdel-Magied joins the show to discuss the potential attack in Darfur, Ukraine halting passport services and why UK South Asian garment stores are suffering. Author and playwright Guy Gunaratne joins the show to talk about ‘The Review’, a new journal by the Jhalak Foundation and WritersMosaic in ‘The Bookseller’ celebrating writers of colour. Plus: communications specialist and documentary filmmaker Issabella Orlando looks back at April’s art-and-culture moments.

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