Simon Mayo and Matt Williams welcome Author and Historian Simon Sebag Montefiore to the podcast.
They chat about TWO of his books, which are both very relevant at the moment. Firstly, 'Jerusalm: The Biography', which Simon is currently updating....and secondly, 'The World: A Family History'.
These two books are humungous in both scope and size - but they are fantastic and well worth your time.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Simon Sebag Montefiore

Simon Mayo and Matt Williams invite the world's finest authors in for a chat.

Society & Culture

Personal Journals

History

Philosophy

Places & Travel

Arts

Literature

Performing Arts

Design

Food

Fashion & Beauty

Visual Arts

Books

Fiction

Bestselling author and screenwriter, David Nicholls, chats to Simon and Matt about his writing processes, what he's reading at the moment and some of his favourite authors.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

David Nicholls Q&A

A new David Nicholls books is always an exciting event, and his new novel, You Are Here, does not disappoint.
He joins Simon and Matt for a chat about the writing process, creating his characters, the latest adaptation of One Day and how he came to the music choices in this new novel.
They also discuss the influence and importance of the pandemic on stories, and how we will be talking (and writing) about it for many years to come.

Here's some more info on the book:
Marnie is stuck.
Stuck working alone in her London flat, stuck battling the long afternoons and a life that often feels like it's passing her by.

Michael is coming undone.
Reeling from his wife's departure, increasingly reclusive, taking himself on long, solitary walks across the moors and fells.

When a persistent mutual friend and some very English weather conspire to bring them together, Marnie and Michael suddenly find themselves alone on the most epic of walks and on the precipice of a new friendship.

But can they survive the journey?

A new love story by beloved bestseller David Nicholls, You Are Here is a novel of first encounters, second chances and finding the way home.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

David Nicholls

Journalist and author Tom Burgis joins Simon and Matt for our bonus Q&A episode.
He talks about the authors he admires, the stories and scandals he wishes he had discovered, and who he would invite to his fantasy dinner party.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Tom Burgis Q&A

Investigative journalist, Tom Burgis, joins Simon and Matt to discuss his fascinating new book 'Cuckooland: Where The Rich Own The Truth'
They discuss the dangers involved in his job, what goes in to researching such incredible stories and why he continues to do it.

Here's more info on the book:
Everywhere, the powerful are making a renewed claim to the greatest prize of all: to own the truth. The power to choose what you want reality to be and impose that reality on the world.
For three years, Tom Burgis followed a lead that took him deeper and deeper into Cuckooland – the place where the rich own the truth. The trail snaked from the Kremlin to Kathmandu, Stockholm to the Steppe, from a blood-soaked town square in Uzbekistan to a royal retreat in Scotland. Burgis hunted down oligarchs, developed secret sources and traced vast sums of money flowing between multinational corporations, ex-Soviet dictators and the west’s ruling elites. And he found one man who wanted the power to bend reality to his will.
This book tells an astonishing story: a tale of secrets and lies that reveals how fragile that truth can be. Whether it’s in Kazakh torture chambers or the UK’s High Court, the lords of Cuckooland are seizing control of the truth. They decree what stories may be told about war and money and power, what we are permitted to know – and more importantly, what we are not.
From the bestselling author of Kleptopia, Cuckooland is a deeply reported work of non-fiction that reads like a thriller. It is a story of how globalisation and technological revolution have combined to imperil the foundation of free societies: that the truth belongs to the many, not the few.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Tom Burgis

Bestselling author and journalist, Erin Kelly, joins Simon and Matt to answer some Questions about her writing and reading habits.
She also tells us about the last book she really really enjoyed, who she'd invite to her fantasy dinner party - and answers a question from fellow author, Jane Casey.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Simon Sebag Montefiore

Download our free app to listen on your phone