The screen legend and salad dressing philanthropist Paul Newman recorded hundreds of personal interviews before destroying the tapes. The surviving transcripts, worked into a recent memoir and documentary series, reveal a more complex Newman than his on-screen laconicism would suggest. Bee Wilson speaks to Malin Hay about Newman’s mystique – his passivity, his domesticity and his irresistible blue eyes.

Find Bee's article and further reading on the episode page: lrb.me/paulnewmanpod

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

Get in touch with the podcasts team: [email protected]

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.