London Review of Books (LRB)
The audio channel for Europe's leading intellectual magazine, featuring distinct series on politics, literature, and current affairs.
This is not a monolithic podcast but the audio arm of the London Review of Books, presenting several different shows under one feed. These range from 'On Politics,' a timely panel discussion on current affairs hosted by James Butler, to 'Poetry and the Turning World,' an academic-style series with Sandeep Parmar and Sarah Howe that performs close readings of poems. The channel mirrors the intellectual breadth of its parent magazine, moving from urgent political analysis to scholarly literary dissections.
“Unlike single-format podcasts, the LRB channel offers a variety of distinct, high-quality series, reflecting the eclectic nature of the magazine itself. It uniquely shifts between formats, from political panels with journalists and think tank directors to scholarly conversations with poets and literary critics.”
Who hosts this show
The London Review of Books (LRB) podcast is the audio extension of Europe’s foremost magazine of books and ideas. It provides a platform for LRB writers and world-class experts to explore subjects from culture and politics to science and history. The channel is not a single show but a collection of distinct series, including political roundtables, literary close readings, and recordings from the London Review Bookshop.
Credentials & credits
- James Butler: Contributing Editor at the LRB, co-founder of Novara Media.
- Sandeep Parmar: Professor of Literatures in English at Cornell University, Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature.
- Sarah Howe: Poet, Editor at Chatto & Windus, T.S. Eliot Prize winner, Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature.
- Gill Plimmer: Infrastructure correspondent, Financial Times.
- Matthew Lawrence: Founder and director, Common Wealth.
Other ventures
- James Butler: Co-founder of Novara Media.
- Sandeep Parmar: Author of several poetry collections and academic books.
- Sarah Howe: Co-founder of the online journal Prac Crit, author of award-winning poetry collections.
- Sandeep Parmar & Sarah Howe: Co-founders of the Ledbury Poetry Critics programme.
What kind of podcast
- Country
- United Kingdom
- Region
- uk
When new episodes drop
- 01What went wrong with HS2 (and almost everything else)Jun 17, 2026 · 1h 02m
- 02Poetry and the Turning World: TechnologyJun 14, 2026 · 1h 29m
- 03Poetry and the Turning World: WorkJun 10, 2026 · 1h 03m
- 04The Fall of Orbán, the Rise of MagyarMay 7, 2026 · 1h 03m
- 05The Machinery of Mary Shelley’s ‘Frankenstein’, with Tom McCarthyApr 24, 2026 · 34 min
- 06The Pope and the PresidentApr 23, 2026 · 1h 00m
Notable episodes
- 01What went wrong with HS2 (and almost everything else)
A timely, deep-dive into a major UK public policy failure, representative of the channel's sharp political analysis format.
- 02Poetry and the Turning World: Technology
Showcases the channel's literary analysis format, exploring the intersection of art and technology with academic rigor and close readings.
- 03The Fall of Orbán, the Rise of Magyar
An example of their international political coverage, analyzing a significant, albeit speculative, shift in European authoritarianism.
What you'll be asked on this show
The channel's style varies by series. Political episodes, often hosted by James Butler, feature a panel of experts in a structured, critical discussion of a single topic. Literary episodes, like those on poetry, are conversational deep dives between two hosts, involving full readings and detailed analysis of texts. Production is clean and direct, with sponsorship breaks promoting the LRB's own subscription products.
Questions the host keeps coming back to
- “Why is HS2 such a catastrophe?”
- “Is planning an important part of this question, and is it all the NIMBYs' fault?”
- “What should be the first infrastructural move for a new government?”
- “What is the relationship between poetry and technology?”
- “What does technology offer poets, and in turn, poetry in our current age of advancement and apprehension?”
- “What difference does it make if poets are writing their poems with a pen or on a word processor or even in an app?”
- “Is what poets do actually work?”
- “Can you make a living at that?”
Signature segments
- · Themed series (e.g., 'Poetry and the Turning World')
- · Host introduction of a central question
- · In-depth close reading and analysis of selected texts
- · Panel discussions with multiple expert guests
- · Promotional breaks for the LRB magazine or its podcasts
Topics covered repeatedly
Who gets booked here
Guests are subject-matter experts relevant to the episode's topic. They are typically academics, journalists from major publications like the Financial Times, award-winning poets, authors, and directors of think tanks.
- Gill Plimmeron What went wrong with HS2 (and almost everything else)
- Matthew Lawrenceon What went wrong with HS2 (and almost everything else)
- Tom McCarthyon The Machinery of Mary Shelley’s ‘Frankenstein’, with Tom McCarthy
Where to find this show
Audience & reach
Sponsorship is almost exclusively internal. Ads promote subscriptions to the London Review of Books print magazine or its other audio offerings, such as the 'Close Readings' podcast, often providing a discount code for listeners.
Subscriber and view counts are pulled live from YouTube and re-verified on a 30-day cycle. Listener estimates for the RSS feed aren't published here unless they're host-verified.
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People also ask
- What is the London Review of Books podcast?
- It is not a single podcast, but a channel that hosts several distinct audio series from the London Review of Books, covering politics, literature, history, and more.
- Who are the hosts?
- The hosts vary by series. Notable hosts include contributing editor James Butler for political discussions, and poets Sandeep Parmar and Sarah Howe for the 'Poetry and the Turning World' series.
- What is the format?
- The format changes depending on the series. It includes expert panel discussions on current affairs, two-host conversational deep dives into literature, and recordings of live bookshop events.
- Is the podcast still running?
- Yes, the channel is active and releases new episodes from its various series on a weekly basis.
- Where can I listen to the podcast?
- The episodes are available on the London Review of Books website, its YouTube channel, and major podcast platforms like Apple Podcasts.
Built from the show's public RSS feed, YouTube, the host's own websites, and the cited sources below. Computed and AI-extracted fields are labelled. Facts only — no private info, no fabrication, no transcripts republished.
Sources & how this page was built
This page is AI-assisted, grounded in the public sources cited below, and host-verifiable. We publish facts only; we do not republish transcripts. If anything here is wrong, the host can claim and correct the page above.Model: gemini-2.5-pro · high confidence
- [01]LRB Podcastslrb.co.uk
- [02]James Butler at the LRBlrb.co.uk
- [03]Sandeep Parmar at Cornell Universityenglish.cornell.edu
- [04]Sarah Howe's Official Websitesarahhowepoetry.com
- [05]Cornell Chronicle: 'Cornell professor co-hosts London Review of Books poetry podcast'news.cornell.edu
- [06]The Bookseller: 'London Review of Books launches new fortnightly political podcast'thebookseller.com
- [07]Sandeep Parmar - Royal Society of Literaturersliterature.org
- [08]Sarah Howe - Wikipediaen.wikipedia.org
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