Spectator Books

Is LSD good for you? Sam Leith is joined by the author Michael Pollan, who talks about the fascinating lost history of psychedelic drugs, speculates on what they may tell us about the human mind and the universe, recalls his own mind-blowing encounter with toad venom, and reveals that serious scientific research is even now being done into whether the “machine elves” that DMT users meet are hallucinations or visitors from another dimension. Plus, we learn why “enough LSD to kill an elephant” isn’t just a figure of speech… Presented by Sam Leith. Produced by Cindy Yu.

Sam Leith is joined by William Dalrymple, co-author with Anita Anand of Koh-i-Noor: The History of the World’s Most Famous Diamond

It’s a first for the Spectator Books podcast this week: music! We’ve temporarily dispensed with our usual intro jingle to allow this week’s guest, Paul Kildea, to play us in. Paul’s new book Chopin’s Piano: A Journey Into Romanticism is a fascinating and unusual piece of non-fiction that sheds light on Chopin’s life and music, and on their afterlife, as its author pursues an Ahab-like pursuit of the piano on which he composed his Preludes in Majorca. Sam Leith speaks to Paul at the Royal Overseas League in London, so that with the help of their instrument, he could punctuate our conversation with some musical illustrations of his points. Bitter musical disputes, doomed love, George Sand and Nazis: this one has it all.

In this week’s Spectator Books I’m talking to the journalist and comic novelist Carl Hiaasen about his latest book, a splenetic broadside against feelgood commencement speeches called Assume The Worst that serves as a joyous corrective to “you can be anything you want to be” boosterism. Our conversation ranges to his take on the state of journalism and politics, the time Donald Trump chatted up his wife, and (for fans) the possibility of a return of Skink...

Is the "American Dream", as Donald Trump claims, dead? Is “America First” a policy of national pride or a dogwhistle to white supremacists? In this week’s Spectator Books, we take the long view. My guest, Sarah Churchwell, excavates the long histories and surprisingly variable meanings of these two phrases in her new book Behold, America: A History of America First and the American Dream — and shows how central they have been to the United States’s long argument with itself about the meaning of the nation, and how they continue to be so today.

In this week’s Spectator Books, Sam Leith talks to the military historian Antony Beevor about his latest book, Arnhem: The Battle for the Bridges, 1944.

Sam Leith talks to historian Richard Overy about his new book The Birth of the RAF, 1918.  100 years ago this spring, the Royal Air Force took to the skies for the first time. Yet it was far from inevitable that it would come into being, that having done so it would continue to exist beyond the end of the First World War, or even that the Royal Air Force would be Royal. He disentangles a forgotten history of political and public-relations manoeuvring and inter-service rivalry, before looking at the present and future of those who have inherited the mantle of The Few… 

Sam Leith talks to physicist Carlo Rovelli about the nature of time. Do we have free will? Can you understand physics without maths? Just what is Roger Penrose on about? We tackle all these questions and more. And gosh he’s a good talker. So go on: take the time. 

With Stig Abell, Editor of the Times Literary Supplement and LBC talk radio host. Stig talks about Britain's magnificently chaotic hodgepodge of institutions, his own unusual career, how the press is doomed, being a "centrist dad", the joys of PG Wodehouse -- and his first and only encounter with Richard Desmond.  Presented by Sam Leith.

With Boyd Tonkin, former chair of the International Booker and author of the forthcoming The 100 Best Novels in Translation, and Frank Wynne, nominated in the International Booker shortlist for his translation of Virginie Despentes. Presented by Sam Leith.

With Lisa Hilton, a.k.a. L.S. Hilton, author of Ultima, who talks about her 'filthy books' on international art dealing and murderous heroines. Presented by Sam Leith.

With Richard Holloway, writer, broadcaster, and formerly Bishop of Edinburgh, discussing questions of life, death, and faith. Presented by Sam Leith.

With Andrew Gimson and Martin Rowson, author and illustrator of Gimson's Prime Ministers. Presented by Sam Leith.

With N. T. Wright, author of Paul: A Biography. Presented by Sam Leith.

With Wendy Cope. Presented by Sam Leith.

With Jay Heinrichs, author of How To Argue With A Cat: A Human’s Guide to the Art of Persuasion. Presented by Sam Leith.

With Steven Pinker, author of Enlightenment Now. Presented by Sam Leith. This is a live recording of a Spectator Books Podcast event. To find tickets to more events, visit spectator.co.uk/events

With Mick Herron, author of London Rules. Presented by Sam Leith.

With Stuart Kelly, author of The Minister and the Murderer: A Book of Aftermaths. Presented by Sam Leith.

With Mohsin Hamid, author of Exit West. Presented by Sam Leith.