Sheila Fitzpatrick talks to Tom about the perils of doing archive research in the Soviet Union, how she used Moscow telephone directories to investigate Stalin’s purges, and the multiple passports and identities she’s gone through in her academic career.

Find further reading in the LRB on the episode page: https://lrb.me/fitzpatrickpod

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Following Nasa’s Dart mission, which successfully fired a spacecraft into the asteroid Dimorphos last month, Chris Lintott talks to Tom about what asteroids can tell us about the history of our planet, how scared we should be of them, and why you should be grateful if one hits your car (so long as you aren’t inside it at the time).

Find further reading, or listen ad-free, on the episode page: https://lrb.me/asteroidpod

Sign up to our Close Readings podcast subscription: https://lrb.me/closereadingspod

More information about the Nine Dots Prize: https://ninedotsprize.org

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Forrest Hylton talks to Tom about the presidential elections in Brazil, where former president Lula faces the incumbent, Jair Bolsonaro, in the final round of voting. They consider the history of both candidates, their supporters and campaigns, and what’s at stake in the contest.

Find further reading, and listen ad-free, on the episode page: https://lrb.me/brazilpod

Sign up to our Close Readings subscription: https://lrb.me/closereadingspod

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Daniel Soar talks to Tom about Ian McEwan’s latest novel, Lessons – how it fits with his earlier fiction, the relationship between world events and private histories, and McEwan’s addiction to ‘moments of maximum thrill’.

Find further reading, and listen ad-free, on the episode page: https://lrb.me/mcewanpod

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Claire Denis and J. Hoberman join Adam Shatz to talk about the work and legacy of Jean-Luc Godard. They discuss Godard’s early fascination with American cinema, his extraordinary run of films in the 1960s from À bout de souffle to Week-end, and subsequent periods of restless experimentation which continued to confound both audiences and critics until his death this month.

Find further reading on Godard in the LRB on the episode page: https://lrb.me/godardpod

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Writer and filmmaker Jonathan Meades introduces and reads his review of Tina Brown's book about the royal family, The Palace Papers, from April this year.

Read the piece here: https://lrb.me/meadespod

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As Britain acquires a new king and new prime minister, and ordinary people are arrested for expressing dislike of the royal family, James Butler and Florence Sutcliffe-Braithwaite join Tom to consider whether this might be a perilous time for the monarchy, and how the Truss government will go about selling its old-fashioned Thatcherite vision in an era of increasing demands on the state.

Find James's and Florence's pieces via the episode page: https://lrb.me/griefpod

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Title music by Kieran Brunt / Produced by Zoe Kilbourn and Anthony Wilks

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Jon Day talks to Tom about the history and psychology of the accumulation of objects, from Anglo-Saxon treasure to the Collyer twins of Harlem, by way of Freud, Marie Kondo and Day’s own father. When does clutter become a hoard? Are we all digital hoarders now? And should we worry about it?

Read Jon Day's diary, and see the Clutter Image Rating, here: lrb.me/hoardingpod

Sign up to our Close Readings podcast subscription: https://lrb.me/closereadingspod

Title music by Kieran Brunt / Produced by Anthony Wilks

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In the 20th century, the pursuit of economic growth became central to political decision making. As the environmental consequences of this obsession have become increasingly clear, ideas of ‘green growth’ and ‘degrowth’ have emerged as ways of re-organising economies to try to avoid the most catastrophic effects of climate change. Geoff Mann talks to James Butler about these related but often competing approaches, and whether the political structures exist for them to be implemented.

Find further reading, and listen ad free, on our website: lrb.me/degrowthpod

Sign up to our Close Readings podcast subscription: https://lrb.me/closereadingspod

Title music by Kieran Brunt / Produced by Anthony Wilks

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This week, a guest episode from the London Review Bookshop Podcast, featuring Elif Batuman talking to Merve Emre about her latest book, Either/Or. The London Review Bookshop podcast comes out every week and has hundreds of events in its archive. Find it wherever you get your podcast.

Some events from the London Review Bookshop are broadcast online as well as in person, so you can watch live from anywhere in the world. On Wednesday this week, you can watch food writers Rebecca May Johnson and Jonathan Nunn.

Buy tickets here: https://lrb.me/eventspod

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