Festival boycotts and translated fiction

Authors and attendees have been boycotting literary festivals for their sponsorship by Baillie Gifford – and now music festivals are under fire. Charles Hecker and Georgina Godwin explore whether this will do more harm than good, as well as the top stories from global papers. Then: Richard Village,…

Asia news, the Women’s Prize Live and Bookbanks

Writer and social commentator Lijia Zhang joins Georgina Godwin to talk about the 35th anniversary of the Tiananmen Square crackdown, organising her own protest, China’s relationship with Russia and Ukraine and the K-pop balloons sent to North Korea. Plus: Kate Mosse, author and founder director of…

Trump’s conviction, Iceland’s election and London Gallery Weekend

Will the conviction of former President Donald Trump affect his chance of winning the US election in November? And why does Iceland’s election today have more candidates running than ever before? Join Emma Nelson and communications consultant and journalist Simon Brooke as they look through the wee…

Cozy publishing and ‘How to Make a Bomb: A Novel’

Georgina Godwin is joined by Daniella Peled, managing editor at the Institute for War and Peace Reporting, for a look back at the week’s news and culture. Plus: author Rupert Thompson joins to discuss his new book ‘How to Make a Bomb: A Novel’ and Monocle’s Helsinki correspondent, Petri Burtsoff, v…

The Conversation talks and the rise of English

Author and political journalist, Terry Stiastny, joins Georgina Godwin to discuss the latest news from Israel, New Caledonia and the UK. Plus: the founder of the Hay Festival, Peter Florence, joins the show to talk about the launch of his new venture, The Conversation, a series of Monday evening ta…

The countdown to Eurovision

The Eurovision final is nearly here. Latika Bourke, Sîan Pattenden and Georgina Godwin discuss the latest news from Malmö as well as Sîan’s eleventh consecutive charity live draw. Monocle’s resident Eurovision expert, Fernando Augusto Pacheco, speaks to the show’s production designer, Florian Wiede…

How much a book really costs to make and election drama continues

As the UK local election results come in, who will win the race for London mayor? On the other side of the pond, Trump’s hush-money trial continues ahead of the US election in November; Charles Hecker and Georgina Godwin discuss the latest developments. Plus: co-founder of independent publisher Gal…

Celebrating writers of colour and the week in news and culture

Writer and broadcaster Yassmin Abdel-Magied joins the show to discuss the potential attack in Darfur, Ukraine halting passport services and why UK South Asian garment stores are suffering. Author and playwright Guy Gunaratne joins the show to talk about ‘The Review’, a new journal by the Jhalak Fou…

The Venice Biennale, Salone del Mobile and translated fiction

Isabel Hilton, founder of China Dialogue, joins Georgina Godwin to talk about German chancellor Olaf Scholz’s visit to China, A24’s ‘Civil War’ (warning: spoilers ahead) and Anne Hidalgo’s vision of a greener Paris under threat. The co-founder of independent publisher Charco Press, Samuel McDowell,…

From Iran and Israel to Beyoncé’s ‘Cowboy Carter’

US intelligence predicts that Iran will strike Israel within the next few days. Yossi Mekelberg, associate fellow at Chatham House, joins Georgina Godwin to tell us more. Also in the programme: Angela Rayner is under scrutiny, Donald Trump compares himself to Nelson Mandela and Beyoncé puts Levi je…