Episode description

James Graham’s play exploring the encounters between the American political commentators Gore Vidal and William F Buckley Jr, opens at the Young Vic in London this week. We also have Germaine Greer v Norman Mailer at New York's Town Hall, April 1971 which was filmed as a documentary Town Bloody Hall. More recent Presidential debates have become part of the British political landscape during our elections - and there's the weekly politics show Question Time with viewers now on zoom and twitter. Anne McElvoy and guests look at whether debating has changed?

James Graham latest play is Best of Enemies

Helen Lewis is a broadcaster and staff writer for The Atlantic. Her latest book is Difficult Women: A History of Feminism in 11 Fights.

Alex Massie is a columnist for The Times and The Sunday Times and is the Scotland Editor of The Spectator.

Producer: Ruth Watts

Best of Enemies is at the Young Vic in London until Jan 22nd 2022 with Charles Edwards as Gore Vidal, alongside David Harewood, as William F Buckley Jr. It is inspired by Robert Gordon and Morgan Neville's 2015 American documentary film Best of Enemies, available on https://dogwoof.com/bestofenemies Town Bloody Hall a documentary made by Chris Hegedus and DA Pennebaker is available from https://www.criterion.com/films/30213-town-bloody-hall James Graham's other dramas include Quiz, Labour of Love and Ink. You can hear him discussing Dramatising Democracy in a Free Thinking discussion with Michael Dobbs, Paula Milne, and Trudi-Ann Tierney https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b04yb7k6 and his play which put Screaming Lord Sutch on stage https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b06zq2jl