Sigrid Rausing: And the Walls Became the World All Around
When the celebrated Swedish writer and artist Johanna Ekström found out that she was dying, she asked her closest friend, Granta publisher and philanthropist Sigrid Rausing, to finish her last book. The author of Everything is Wonderful and Mayhem joins us to discuss transcribing, translating and editing the 13 handwritten notebooks left by Ekström, resulting in […]
Language City
Over the next century half of all 7,000-plus human languages are predicted to disappear forever. In his fight to preserve them Ross Perlin heads to the most linguistically diverse, immigration-shaped city in history: contemporary New York. Winner of the 2024 British Academy Book Prize, Language City follows six remarkable yet ordinary speakers of endangered languages […]
Trump 2.0: What’s Next?
With Donald Trump back in the White House, how might his second presidency shape America’s domestic and foreign policy? His first term brought sweeping changes: the Abraham Accords, recognising Jerusalem as Israel’s capital, withdrawal from the JCPOA nuclear deal, and a confrontational stance toward Iran. Domestically, Trump’s policies polarised Americans on immigration, the judiciary, and […]
The Many Lives of Anne Frank
This groundbreaking new biography explores Anne Frank’s transformation from an ordinary teenager into an enduring icon, whose diary—translated into over 70 languages—remains the most widely read literary work to emerge from the Holocaust. Award-winning author Ruth Franklin, known for A Thousand Darknesses and Shirley Jackson: A Rather Haunted Life, joins us to discuss her contribution […]
Arts in the Age of Boycotts
In May 2024, an Amsterdam concert hall cancelled performances by the Jerusalem Quartet, igniting a global debate on artistic freedom and cultural boycotts. Pianist Danny Driver along with others led a petition protesting this decision; for our opening night event he joins cellist Gemma Rosefield to perform. This will be followed by a panel discussion chaired by […]
Food for Good
Food has the power to bring us together, to nourish not just our bodies but our communities. In conversation with Jay Rayner, three culinary pioneers share their insights on how food builds connections and drives positive change. Cook for Good CEO Karen Mattison joins with Soup for Good, blending recipes from Nigella Lawson and Gordon Brown with the […]
Elena: A Hand Made Life
A refugee twice before the age of 17, Elena Zadik defied expectations to become a doctor during the World War 2. After losing her parents at Auschwitz, she rebuilt her life with perseverance, relying on a stethoscope, a jar of herring, and a hearing aid that was often left off. Longlisted for the Wingate Prize, […]
Murder in Constantinople
Praised as “a rip-roaring adventure” by the Daily Mail and “unputdownable” in The Sun’s 5-star review, Murder in Constantinople is an immersive historical mystery. Ben Canaan’s father expects him to work in the family business on Whitechapel Road, but an enigmatic letter draws him to the jewel of the Ottoman Empire on the eve of […]
Isaac Bashevis Singer: Writings on Yiddish & Yiddishkayt
The second volume of select Yiddish essays by Singer, translator and editor David Stromberg focuses on a pivotal era of the writer’s intellectual development, from 1946 to 1955. Although The Family Moskat and other novels have driven much of the scholarly understanding of Singer during this period, Stromberg suggests that the writer’s lesser-known essays, published in the Yiddish newspaper Forverts under […]
The Unique Vision of Rav Kook
Rav Kook, the first Ashkenazi chief rabbi of pre-state Israel, was a pioneering figure in religious Zionist ideology, and his theological positions have influenced generations. In Renewing the Old, Sanctifying the New, Marc B. Shapiro explores this revered thinker in the context of newly discovered writings, uncovering ideas that have not yet entered mainstream consciousness. In conversation with LSJS research […]
Mindless: What Happened to Universities?
In a groundbreaking essay for the Jewish Quarterly, Cary Nelson argues that, in the aftermath of the 7 October attacks, universities have been gripped by a toxic and dangerous fervour—a betrayal of the ideals they are meant to uphold. As Emeritus Professor of English at the University of Illinois and former president of the American […]
The Rudashevski Diary: Samuel Kassow
Join Professor Samuel D. Kassow and David Herman as they discuss Yitskhok Rudashevski’s diary. Rudashevski entered the Vilna Ghetto when he was only 13 years old. Before his murder by the Nazis two years later, he produced a diary chronicling his hope, his despair and his experience of daily ghetto life.