July 13, 2009
Timothy Snyder on the Holocaust
Timothy Snyder talks to Sasha Weiss about how we can best understand the Holocaust and the mass killings under Stalin as a particularly Eastern European phenomenon.
Podcasts
Audio interviews, lectures, readings and more from the Review's staff and contributors. You can subscribe here to the XML feed or iTunes, download the MP3 files by clicking on the titles, or listen to episodes using the player below.
July 08, 2009
Roger Cohen in Tehran
Roger Cohen speaks to Hugh Eakin about the protests that followed Iran's June 12 election, the crackdown, and the consequences for the future of the Iranian regime.
This Wednesday, Cohen will be speaking as part of a panel on the Iranian elections at the 92nd Street Y in New York City.
June 29, 2009
Claire Messud Reads "Land Divers"
Novelist and critic Claire Messud, author most recently of the novel The Emperor's Children, reads her new story "Land Divers," from the Review's Summer Fiction issue.
June 22, 2009
Michael Tomasky on Obama's Strategy
Michael Tomasky speaks with Hugh Eakin about public perception of the President and his policies, the thinking behind the administration's ceding of authority to Congress, and the sheer pace of Obama's Washington.
June 15, 2009
David Cole on Same-Sex Marriage
David Cole talks to Michael Shae about the history of the legal battle over same-sex marriage, the changing demographics that favor nationwide support, and the legal and political tactics advocates and activists might use to ensure a just future for the institution.
June 8, 2009
Nicholas Kristof on Darfur
Nicholas Kristof speaks with Sasha Weiss about his experiences reporting in Darfur, the International Criminal Court's indictment of Sudanese president Omar al-Bashir on counts of war crimes and crimes against humanity, and what the Obama administration can do to prevent further escalation of the conflict.
June 1, 2009
Ahmed Rashid on Pakistan in Crisis
Ahmed Rashid speaks with Hugh Eakin about the continuing conflict between the Pakistani government and the Taliban, the humanitarian crisis in Swat, and the violence that has spread from the border with Afghanistan to within sixty miles of the capital, Islamabad.
May 25, 2009
Helen Epstein on Prison Reform
Helen Epstein talks with Eve Bowen about lawyer Sunny Schwartz's work in the San Francisco county jail system, and her program's potential for transforming the treatment of prisoners nationwide.
May 18, 2009
Christopher Ricks on John Keats
Christopher Ricks speaks with Giles Harvey about Posthumous Keats, Stanley Plumly's recent biography of John Keats, and about the poet's death and the idealized image that emerged during his "immediate afterlife."
May 11, 2009
Andrew Delbanco on the Universities in Trouble
Andrew Delbanco, director of American Studies at Columbia University, speaks with Michael Shae about the financial crisis facing American higher education.
May 4, 2009
David Hare Performs Wall
Playwright David Hare reads his monologue Wall, an exploration of the impact—on both Israelis and Palestinians—of the barrier built to divide Israel from the West Bank. Hare will be performing Wall, along with a companion monologue, Berlin, at the Public Theater in New York City, May 14-17.
April 27, 2009
Tim Parks on Pinocchio
Novelist Tim Parks speaks with Andrew Palmer about Geoffrey Brock's new English translation of Carlo Collodi's children's classic Pinocchio, and the book's origins in the political and cultural tumult of 1880s Italy.
April 20, 2009
Robert M. Solow on the Economic Crisis
Economist and Nobel laureate Robert M. Solow speaks with Hugh Eakin about the causes of the current crisis, the importance of credit in the functioning of the world financial system, and how new regulation might prevent future disasters.
April 13, 2009
Orlando Figes on the Politics of Russian History
Historian Orlando Figes speaks with Sasha Weiss about his latest book, The Whisperers: Private Life in Stalin's Russia; the recent prosecutor's office raid on the Memorial Society, a human rights organization working to preserve memories and documentary evidence of Stalin's repression; and the dangers posed by resurgent Stalinism to the accurate telling of Russian history.
April 6, 2009
Pico Iyer on the Dalai Lama
Drawing on his long personal relationship with the Dalai Lama, Pico Iyer speaks with Hugh Eakin about the Tibetan leader's stark new view of the Chinese regime and the future of Tibet.
April 1, 2009
John Ashbery Reads Selected Poems
John Ashbery reads sixteen of his own selections from among the more than forty poems he has published in the Review since the 1970s, and comments on a few of his most obscure film and literary references.
© 2009 John Ashbery. All rights to this recorded material belong to the author. Used with gracious permission of John Ashbery.
March 30, 2009
Dan Chiasson on John Ashbery
Poet and critic Dan Chiasson speaks with Giles Harvey about John Ashbery's life and work, and reflects on the demanding pleasures of reading Ashbery's poetry.
March 23, 2009
Jonathan Raban on Wendy and Lucy
Jonathan Raban speaks with Charles Petersen about Kelly Reichardt's film Wendy and Lucy and the stories of Jon Raymond, and about how these works illuminate—and are illuminated by—the socioeconomic realities of the Pacific Northwest.
March 14, 2009
Mark Danner on the ICRC Report on US Torture
Mark Danner talks to Hugh Eakin about the confidential International Committee of the Red Cross report on the CIA's secret prisons and reads excerpts from detainee Abu Zubaydah's firsthand account of torture.
March 09, 2009
Anita Desai on Azar Nafisi
Novelist Anita Desai speaks with Eve Bowen about Things I've Been Silent About, Iranian expatriate Azar Nafisi's new memoir.
March 02, 2009
Lorrie Moore on Donald Barthelme
Lorrie Moore speaks with Andrew Palmer about Hiding Man, Tracy Daugherty's new biography of Donald Barthelme.
February 20, 2009
Hilton Als on Gus Van Sant's Milk
Critic Hilton Als speaks with Michael Shae about Van Sant's film in light of Harvey Milk's experiences as a gay man in the 1950s and 1960s, and about Milk's personal and political legacy.
February 16, 2009
J. Michael Lennon on Norman Mailer's Letters
J. Michael Lennon, who is at work on an authorized biography of Norman Mailer, speaks with Sasha Weiss about Mailer's letters and what they reveal about his ambitions, his relationships with other writers, and his enduring obsessions.
February 9, 2009
Tim Flannery on The Superorganism
Tim Flannery speaks with Eve Bowen about E. O. Wilson and Bert Hölldobler's The Superorganism, a new book on insect societies, and its implications for understanding humanity.
February 2, 2009
Alison Lurie on John Updike
Alison Lurie speaks with Giles Harvey about John Updike's life, his work, and his place in American literary history.
January 26, 2009
Robert Malley on Gaza
Robert Malley speaks with Hugh Eakin about the war in Gaza, its political implications for the region, and the steps the Obama administration might take towards achieving peace between Israelis and Palestinians.
January 23, 2009
Darryl Pinckney and Mark Danner on Obama's Inauguration
Frequent Review contributors Darryl Pinckney and Mark Danner speak with Sasha Weiss about Barack Obama's inauguration ceremony, his first few days in office, and the promise of his presidency.
(photo: Joe Graham-Felsen)
January 19, 2009
William Dalrymple on Pakistan
William Dalrymple speaks with Sasha Weiss about the spread of radical Islam in Central and South Asia since September 11, 2001, and its implications for Pakistan's future.
January 12, 2009
Barry Goldensohn Reads Selected Poems
Poet Barry Goldensohn reads "The Hundred Yard Dash Man," "Back Roads," and "Driving Westward to San Diego," and speaks with Jana Prikryl about his life and work.
January 5, 2009
Perry Link on China's Charter 08
Perry Link, professor of East Asian studies at Princeton University, speaks with Hugh Eakin about the Chinese state's reaction to Charter 08, a document calling for increased human rights and democracy signed by thousands of Chinese citizens since its release in early December.
December 15, 2008
Elizabeth Drew on the President-Elect
Veteran Washington observer and regular Review contributor Elizabeth Drew talks to Hugh Eakin about Obama's transition strategy, his cabinet picks, and the new style of governance.
December 8, 2008
Sue Halpern on Reportage from Iraq and Afghanistan
Frequent Review contributor Sue Halpern speaks with Eve Bowen about several recent films and books that reveal the realities of the war on terror, about which most Americans remain ignorant.
December 1, 2008
William Easterly on Foreign Aid Militarization
Economist William Easterly speaks with Hugh Eakin about the recent militarization of Western foreign aid policy, the dangers of this new "aid imperialism," and the role economists have played in its development.
November 24, 2008
Daniel Mendelsohn on Constantine Cavafy
Frequent Review contributor Daniel Mendelsohn speaks with Sasha Weiss about the "poet-historian" Constantine Cavafy. Mendelsohn's new translation of Cavafy's Collected Poems will be published in the spring of 2009, along with an accompanying volume of thirty unfinished poems that have never before been translated into English.
Mendelsohn reads Cavafy
Daniel Mendelsohn reads three selections from his new translation of Cavafy: "Nero's Deadline," "One of Their Gods," and "Myres: Alexandria in 340 AD."
November 17, 2008
What Happens Now? A Conversation on the 2008 Election
On November 10, in a conversation moderated by Robert Silvers, Andrew Delbanco, Joan Didion, Jeff Madrick, Darryl Pinckney, Michael Tomasky, and Garry Wills discussed the implications of Barack Obama's election and the likely direction of his administration. Hosted by the New York Public Library's Cullman Center for Scholars and Writers and copresented with LIVE from the NYPL, the event celebrated the 45th anniversary of the Review.
November 10, 2008
Martin Filler on Frank Lloyd Wright
Longtime Review contributor Martin Filler talks to Deirdre Foley-Mendelssohn about Frank Lloyd Wright's uniquely American architecture.
November 3, 2008
Helen Vendler on Elizabeth Bishop and Robert Lowell
Poetry critic and frequent Review contributor Helen Vendler speaks with Sasha Weiss about the correspondence of Elizabeth Bishop and Robert Lowell, and reads some of the poems that were inspired by the poets' lifelong friendship.
October 31, 2008
The Election Issues Tour
In a series of panels cosponsored by the Review and Guardian America, contributors and editors for both publications discuss the issues shaping the 2008 election campaigns and the challenges and opportunities that will face the new administration.
Mark Danner on covering the campaigns, the abandonment of post-partisan rhetoric, and the role of race.
Elizabeth Drew explains how McCain lost her, and why he hasn't been able to campaign against Obama.
Frances FitzGerald talks about the politics of populist resentment and the need for a new New Deal.
Jonathan Freedland describes how Europeans see this election, and why they still look to the US for leadership.
Peter Galbraith explores the failures of the Bush administration's foreign policy, and what changes we can expect from Obama.
Suzanne Goldenberg on the progress this election represents, and whether Obama will be able to keep his promises.
Martin Kettle talks about international enthusiasm for Obama, and how this election represents a reaffirmation of the democratic process.
Thomas Powers discusses the twin challenges of the economic crisis and Afghanistan.
Frank Rich on what's broken in America, from bureaucracy to infrastructure, and why this will be a transformative election.
Michael Tomasky examines the tactical differences between the campaigns.
Or listen to the panels in their entirety:
Election Issues Tour: Cambridge, Massachusetts. Hosted by the Harvard Book Store, and held at the Brattle Theatre, Cambridge, Massachusetts, October 15, 2008.
Election Issues Tour: Washington, DC. Politics & Prose Bookstore, Washington, DC, on October 16, 2008
Election Issues Tour: San Francisco. The Commonwealth Club, San Francisco, on October 27, 2008
October 27, 2008
Michael Massing in Ohio
Frequent Review contributor Michael Massing uncovers a surprising trend in Ohio voters' preferences in the final weeks of the presidential campaign.
October 20, 2008
Charles Simic Reads Selected Poems
Former poet laureate Charles Simic, a longtime Review contributor, reads work from his two most recent collections, Sixty Poems and That Little Something.
October 17, 2008
Jeff Madrick on the Economic Crisis
Hugh Eakin speaks with economics writer and frequent Review contributor Jeff Madrick about the US policies that led to the international financial crisis, and about the problems that still lie ahead.
October 6, 2008
Reading in a World of Images
As part of the New York Public Library's NYPL Live series, Daniel Mendelsohn, Pico Iyer, and James Wood met on September 17 to discuss the place of criticism in a world increasingly dominated by film, television, and new media forms.
September 29, 2008
Reading Burma
On September 23, at Cooper Union's Great Hall, PEN American Center, the Open Society Institute's Burma Project, and the Review cosponsored an evening of readings and conversations, hosted by Salman Rushdie. The event, benefiting the International Burmese Monks Organization, commemorated the 2007 protests against Burma's junta, and called attention to the continuing efforts to assist survivors of Cyclone Nargis.
September 24, 2008
The Consequences to Come
Review contributors Darryl Pinckney, Ronald Dworkin, Joan Didion, and Mark Danner assess the 2008 presidential contest and the issues that will define the next administration. Introduced by Robert Silvers, editor of the Review. From a panel discussion at the Brooklyn Book Festival, September 14, 2008.
Mark Danner examines the legacy of Karl Rove, and looks at the impact of negative advertising on the Obama campaign.
Joan Didion talks about how the current election season resembles those past, and how the "stories" told by the administration and the campaigns obscure our understanding of political reality.
Ronald Dworkin explores the threats a McCain presidency would pose for the Supreme Court, the Constitution, and the place of the United States in the community of nations.
Darryl Pinckney analyzes the voting public, talks about how race is perceived in the mainstream and on the margins, and explains why he believes that Obama can—and will—win in November.
Or listen to the entire conversation.
(photo: Kathryn Kirk)
September 22, 2008
Samantha Power on National Security and the Election
Samantha Power talks to Hugh Eakin about the foreign policy implications of the 2008 Presidential contest.
September 17, 2008
Oliver Sacks on Mania, Memoir, and Music
Oliver Sacks speaks with Eve Bowen about Michael Greenberg's new memoir, the work of Kay Redfield Jamison, and music and madness in Musicophilia.
September 15, 2008
Edward Mendelson on Frank O'Hara
Edward Mendelson talks with Sasha Weiss about Frank O'Hara the moralist.
Readings from Frank O'Hara's Selected Poems
Mendelson reads selections from Frank O'Hara's work.
Joseph Lelyveld at the 2008 Republican National Convention September 2, 2008 September 8, 2008 |
Michael Chabon at the 2008 Democratic National Convention August 27, 2008 September 2, 2008 |
August 25, 2008
Vanessa Redgrave and David Hare
On August 10, as part of the 2008 Salzburg Global Seminar, The New York Review of Books cosponsored a panel discussion on art and politics featuring actor Vanessa Redgrave and playwright David Hare, who directed Redgrave in Joan Didion's The Year of Magical Thinking at this year's Salzburg Festival. The conversation was moderated by Salzburg senior vice president and chief program officer Edward Mortimer. The panel was introduced by Review editor Robert Silvers.
Audience Q&A
Following the discussion, Edward Mortimer invited the audience to ask the panelists questions.
August 18, 2008
Michael Massing on Iraq
Hugh Eakin speaks with Michael Massing about Iraq's precarious future.
August 4, 2008
Mary Beard on Jokes
Classicist Mary Beard in conversation with Sasha Weiss about what made the Romans laugh.
June 30, 2008
Robert Barnett on China, Tibet and the Olympics
Tibetologist Robert Barnett discusses the changing face of Tibet with Hugh Eakin.
June 30, 2008
Edmund White on Marguerite Duras
Sasha Weiss speaks with Edmund White about Duras's Paris.