She does her job with typically understated bravery. To meet her, you might think (for a moment) that this headscarved and very English lady is, perhaps, a headmistress, a rose grower or possibly something a bit nebulous in the arts. But this is Lindsey Hilsum . The woman for whom the expression sang-froid might have been invented. Specialising in remaining imperturbable under fire, and always meeting her deadline. As International Editor for Britain’s Channel 4 News, she reported from Belgrade ...
Nov 10, 2014•55 min
Making a welcome return tonight is journalist-turned-investigative-historian, Tim Butcher . Tim specialises in covering awkward places at difficult moments: Kurdistan under attack in 1991 by Saddam Hussein, Sarajevo during the Bosnian War of the 1990s, the Allied attack on Iraq in 2003, Israel's 2006 clash with Hizbollah in southern Lebanon among other crises. All good preparation, then for tonight’s skirmish with Ian... But it’s not all fol-de-rol and bon mots ce soir . Tim’s new, widely-praise...
Nov 09, 2014•55 min
Nick Dunne reports that his wife, Amazing Amy, is missing... no, sorry – that’s the wrong storyline. Or is it? Maybe the zeitgeist is right for the rise of the female sociopath? Listen and decide! >>>>>>>>>>>>>> Download the show as mp3 file Subscribe in iTunes...
Oct 31, 2014•25 min
“The... case is thick with irony” says the NYT of today’s featured legal folly– “one company is accusing another of stealing its platform for ethical behavior.” Also - should children be protected from their parents’ childhood trauma? The British courts say – yes. Philip Larkin , in his memorable poem This Be The Verse , would presumably have demurred. Incidentally, Peter got it wrong when he said that Larkin was sometime British poet laureate – he never was. >>>>>>>>>...
Oct 31, 2014•25 min
Why is it wrong to kill a dead person in your fiction? Why should British judges decide if your writing is funny – or not? Why should the police approve your tweets before you post them? Donna and Peter explore these and even more reality-bending topics in this edition of The Debriefer. Links to other stories featured in this episode... “Extremists” to have Facebook and Twitter vetted by police Author claims Disney’s "Frozen" copied her life story 'Mash-ups' now protected under copyright law - b...
Oct 31, 2014•25 min
Mik Whitnall is best-known as the lead guitarist with Pete Doherty’s Babyshambles , but before that he cut his teeth in the rated Ska band 100 Men . Here Mik talks about his new Ska project 1969 OK who will be on the road next year. Also joining Garry in a packed show are Chris Pope of Pope , one of the best songwriters to come out of the 1979 Mod Renewal, Damon Coles , who performs live in the studio, and via Skype 2-Tone legend Rhoda Dakar . As usual, the show also includes new music from the ...
Oct 31, 2014•55 min
Football hooligans! The words are enough to strike terror into the hearts of the upstanding middle classes and have entire towns boarded up and quaking with fear. Garry’s guest has more than a casual acquaintance with the subject. Dougie Brimson , a former hooligan himself turned bestselling writer, is an expert. Join us tonight as we explore this controversial topic in depth. With over half a million books sold worldwide, Dougie’s first title was Everywhere We Go - first published in 1996, it r...
Oct 18, 2014
Morbidly obese misery of a writer – and Nobel Laureate (topical) – more than meets his match in the slender and deadly Nina, who conducts the last interview of the writer’s life. Secrets are dredged up and, in a twist, it *is* pretty. Keep your daggers handy. This is going to get nasty. >>> Download the mp3 file Subscribe in iTunes >>> From recent débuts to classics, fiction to non-fiction, memoirs, philosophy, science, history and journalism, Burning Books separates the smokin...
Oct 17, 2014•29 min
He gets $425,000 for a gig – that’s a whole lot of cheese – and Joel Thomas Zimmerman, better known as Deadmau5, is about to have the adventure of his life. The Walt Disney Company have finally woken up to the fact that Mr. Zimmerman’s rodentiatic trade mark bears some resemblance to their very own crown jewels… and they’re not happy. Cue m’learned friends. Someone’s getting pwn3d. Links to stories mentioned: EU Court: No Parody For You! European court rules that libraries can digitize books Dea...
Oct 07, 2014•25 min
Rancid are one of the world's biggest ever punk bands. Formed in California in 1991, they have sold more than four million albums worldwide. Vocalist and guitarist Lars Frederiksen has been with them since 1993, and he also fronts his own streetpunk band The Old Firm Casuals. Son of a Danish mother and an Italian-American father, Lars has devoted his life to his vision of punk and the old ideals of uniting different youth tribes against the system. Tonight, he speaks frankly to Garry about his c...
Oct 05, 2014
Baroness Susan Greenfield is one of the most interesting scientists alive on the planet. Reviled by some, admired by many, never short of a piercing insight and a provocative soundbite... Susan Greenfield is everywhere. But who is the real Susan Greenfield – and what is she really saying to us? On tonight’s show, we go head-to-head. And not just with our guest: but with her critics, too! >>>>>> Download the show as an audio file Subscribe in iTunes...
Sep 30, 2014•55 min
From particle physics to market predictions, we thought scientists, right or wrong, traded in the world of facts. What we did not expect is that all the while they were deeply concerned about their looks. Beauty is at the heart of scientific endeavour, and has always been. As the stakes get higher, however, can we afford to have outdated notions of aesthetics guide the way we engage with the world? We look at this specific question, as well as the many baby questions to which it gives birth, alo...
Sep 26, 2014•29 min
“Like the Libertines playing Chas & Dave!” squeals the Guardian excitedly of Garry’s guests tonight, BUSTER SHUFFLE . But then, the Guardian just has to work Pete Doherty into everything , doesn’t it? In fact, Buster Shuffle are far more interesting than that. They’re a breath of fresh air, a rock ‘n’ roll Ska band with echoes of Madness, Blur and yes… Chas & Dave, too. In a sane world, these London herberts would be dominating the charts with massive mainstream airplay… but this isn’t a...
Sep 24, 2014•55 min
Donna and Peter are joined in the studio by special guest Ian Winn , who can (ab)normally be found hosting our sister show here on Litopia, Litopia After Dark . Links to stories mentioned: How Amazon got a patent on white-background photography Why Photographers Shouldn't Be Too Upset Over Amazon's White-Background Patent (Peter disagrees with this!) Victoria's Secret Loses PINK Brand Battle B&N Testing Espresso Book Machines Bert The Farting Hippo ! FBI Agent Files Defamation Suit Against E...
Sep 10, 2014•25 min
Her role as Louise Raymond in BBC's EastEnders brought her stardom and notoriety, but Carol Harrison 's true life story has been as gripping as the plot of any television soap opera. Born in London’s East End to a single mum, Carol grew up in abject poverty. It has been said that there are four main routes out of the East End - crime, sport, acting and rock'n'roll. Carol’s life connects three of those (she was once married to the son of one of Britain's best-known gangsters). Garry’s guest tonig...
Sep 08, 2014
Everything’s more or less normal in the little town of N until Piotr Stepanovich and his equally psychopathic sidekick, Nikolai Stavrogin, come back from abroad. One thing leads to another leads to another and another and some more after that in Dostoevsky’s extraordinarily rambling (as rambling as this sentence) novel, which does not end well for anyone involved, reader included. The devil inside, the devil inside, every single hour of reading this book – the devil inside. Download the mp3 file...
Sep 05, 2014•29 min
Iron Maiden are one of the world’s most successful heavy metal bands with more than 85 million albums sales to their name. Dennis Stratton was their guitarist right back in 1979. He played on and co-produced their self-titled debut album and their first three hit singles. Here he chats exclusively with Garry (who wrote Maiden’s authorized biography Running Free ) about life on the road in those early days – the laughs and the tension, and his enduring friendship with the band which, like him, wa...
Aug 29, 2014
From litigious street-artists to litigious Angolan generals... Donna and Peter proudly present your suits du jour ! Now with added dystopian designer stubble. Links to stories: Amazon Sanctions Customers To Get Back At Hachette Amazon Takes on Disney’s Superheroes Blood Diamonds author faces $1.2m lawsuit Guild battling bosses over byline quota at Pioneer Press Editors For ‘Survivor’ Return From Strike Over Right To Form Union Terry Gilliam’s ‘Zero Theorem’ Slammed With Copyright Suit Premier Le...
Aug 22, 2014•25 min
So you’re minding your own business in the jungle one day, when suddenly - this monkey lurches out and grabs your camera. And shoots some selfies. So the question is – who owns the copyright? No, this isn’t the silly season (although it may sound like it). Join us to explore a fascinating legal issue. Links to other stories featured in this show: Wikipedia In Weird Monkey Selfie Battle Northestern Uni files suit against author for copyright infringement Senator Quits Montana Race After Charge Of...
Aug 18, 2014•25 min
Like a precocious fireballer at top of the prospect rankings … a kid who has shown so much promise and from whom so much is expected … who has three plus pitches and is working on a fourth … whose intangibles are as off the charts as his athleticism … who is putting it all together at AAA and knocking at the door … who will make men look like boys … and who ends up THE OPPOSITE OF ALL THOSE THINGS – that’s this book. Download the mp3 file Subscribe in iTunes From recent débuts to classics, ficti...
Aug 15, 2014•29 min
The Specials were one of the most important, vital and influential bands to come out of the post-punk explosion, the band who created the 2-Tone movement. The Coventry-based Ska combo had eight Top Ten hits including ‘A Message To You Rudy’, and the chart-toppers ‘Ghost Town’ and ‘Too Much Too Young.’ And right at the heart of them was Garry’s guest tonight Neville Staple , the roadie who became a star and then went on to have seven more hits with his next band The Fun Boy Three . Although badly...
Aug 12, 2014
Is the world getting weirder, or is it just us? Listen and decide. Links to stories mentioned in this show: Harper Lee says Marja Mills-penned bio was unauthorized Judge Says Selling Religious Books Doesn’t Affect The Job Jose Antonio Vargas detained in Texas Do you have a fair use right to publish World Cup goals? Scarlett Johansson Wins Defamation Suit Against French Author Allan Ahlberg turns down Amazon-sponsored award Author Wins Seinfeld Defamation Suit Brought by Real Life Kramer Download...
Aug 11, 2014•25 min
You may think you know about World War Two… but you don’t. Tonight you’ll find out why. Featuring blistering contributions from our special guests Peter Grose , author of The Greatest Escape , and journalist & WWII maven, Neill Denny . Scintillating conversation and scorching debate… from Boy Scouts to Gaza, from Obamacare to Style Nazis (what?) . Provocative, informative, addictive. See you next week, Litopians! Download the show as an audio file Subscribe in iTunes If you enjoy Litopia's F...
Jul 26, 2014•55 min
In a Rebellion -themed special edition, Garry is joined by punk ukulele-pluckers the Pukes , who have risen from London pub strummers to festival stalwarts. There are brand new songs from the Old Firm Casuals and The Boys , the new single from Louise Distras and quality tracks from Operation Two Fold , Infa-Riot , Madball , Section 60 , Speakeasy and the Skoisters . Of course no show would be complete without some 2-Tone nostalgia, this time from The Selecter . Remember – we’re keen to discover,...
Jul 26, 2014•58 min
St Matthew is going to poke out your eyes. Or some such. After what seemed like a millennium of exile from the Motherland, we go back to the heart (and other parts) of Russian literature with a Tolstoy short story. Brilliant.
Jul 25, 2014•29 min
Feel like making glove?? That's not a typo. This week we discuss perhaps the best passage in any of Philip Roth's novels, the 'glovemaking scene' (again, not a typo) in American Pastoral. And we do this with American lit scholar and Gloversville, NY native, Menachem Feuer. Also, we discuss the definition of a schlemiel, a person who could never make a glove. And Franz Kafka makes an appearance at the end – another person we can safely assume was not versed in the art of glovemaking, IN ANY SENSE...
Jul 07, 2014•39 min
A novel that says it’s based on Wuthering Heights is taking a risk – because Wuthering Heights is a crazy effective soporific. But the further it strays from the original, the better A True Novel becomes. Don’t underestimate your originality, Minae Mizumura! You’ve produced an eminently entertaining read. In a nice turn, this very long book is actually quite short. Picture by Toshihiro Gamo
Jul 06, 2014•29 min
The Messiah is coming! His arrival is imminent! That’s the bad news... The good news is his arrival and social schedule are narrated with a combination of enthralled immediacy and distrustful distance by a Nobel Laureate, Isaac Bashevis Singer. And yet, is it ‘all that’? Some readers will be super-pumped, others might not catch messiah fever. All the colours of the rainbow.
Jul 05, 2014•27 min
Did we like this novel? What does it mean to like? What is our past, really, if we continue to relive it? And relieve it? And relive it? And – you get the point, but I'll say it again. And again. And – you have just sampled the experience of reading Javier Marías' massively successful novel. Eat this book! It's good for you! Now, wasn't that satisfying?
Jul 04, 2014•19 min
'They believe what they say in the moment they say it.' And then the moment is gone, and someone's stuck with a desiccated horse's head or a painting of Jesus framed in piss. In this episode we learn about the high prices and low motives of the contemporary art world while schmoozing in Basel, getting lost in Venice, and, once or twice, encountering genius along the way. Going once, going twice, going three times . . . sold!
Jul 04, 2014•21 min
