Benjamin Myers on Jesus Christ Kinski: Berlin, Biography, and Bad Behaviour
On this episode, we were joined by Benjamin Myers, the prize-winning writer and journalist, to discuss his new novel Jesus Christ Kinski. It’s November 1971 in Berlin, and actor Klaus Kinski performs a one-man show that quickly descends into chaos and recrimination. Fifty years later, a writer snowed in during the pandemic winter of 2021 becomes obsessed with the performance and compelled to write something like a biography of the tortured figure. Recalling Geoff Dyer’s Out of Sheer Rage—a book about trying and failing to write about D.H. Lawrence—Myers ventures into similar territory, offering a mercilessly funny look at one of the twentieth century’s most volatile public figures. We talk with Benjamin about Kinski’s modern relevance as both artist and self-mythologising provocateur; the line between genius and narcissism, madness and evil; and how today’s culture might have treated a man like him. As a music journalist, Benjamin also reflects on the decline of the “rock star” persona in an age that expects entertainers to model good behaviour. Hosted by Ryan Edgington and Matt Hennessey.
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Lyse Doucet on The Finest Hotel in Kabul: Freedom and Frontline Journalism
On this episode, we had the privilege of sitting down with Lyse Doucet, the BBC’s Chief International Correspondent, to discuss her powerful new book The Finest Hotel in Kabul: A People’s History of Afghanistan.Now nominated for the Baillie Gifford Prize, this deeply personal work reflects Lyse’s decades of reporting on Afghanistan from the Intercontinental Hotel in Kabul, during which she forged lasting connections with both the hotel’s staff and its guests. These relationships have shaped her unique perspective on the country’s turbulent history.Lyse spoke with us about her remarkable career reporting from the frontlines, as well as her reflections on writing, the changing media landscape, and the responsibilities and challenges that come with international journalism. She also offered her perspective on how Afghanistan is too often seen only through the lens of conflict, and why it is important to recognise the country’s rich cultural heritage alongside its history of war.Hosted by Ryan Edgington and Olivia Robinson.
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Roger Lewis on The Life and Death of Peter Sellers: Goons, Ghosts, and Destructive Genius
On this episode, we welcome back Roger Lewis, whose deeply researched and gleefully idiosyncratic biographies of British performing artists have come to constitute a genre all their own. Our subject is the book that began it all: his classic The Life and Death of Peter Sellers, newly reissued in a hardback edition with a foreword by Steve Coogan. In its pages, Lewis makes the case that Sellers was, alongside Olivier, perhaps the finest British actor of the twentieth century — even as he remained one of the most impossible. In our conversation, he conjures Sellers as a man without a core, a figure of astonishing mimicry in whom there was no enduring sense of self. From The Goon Show to The Ladykillers, from The Pink Panther to Dr. Strangelove and Being There, the magnificence of the performances remains undeniable. But so, too, is the destruction he left in his wake. Hosted by Ryan Edgington.
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Francesca Wade on Gertrude Stein: An Afterlife, the Avant-Garde, and Alice B. Toklas
On this episode, we were joined by Francesca Wade to discuss her groundbreaking new biography, Gertrude Stein: An Afterlife. This book paints a dual portrait of Gertrude Stein by dividing her story into two parts: her life and her afterlife. Doing this not only brings her partner, Alice B. Toklas, into clearer view, but also separates Stein’s work and its lasting impact from her larger-than-life personality. Francesca takes us behind the scenes of her exhaustive research—from exploring the Yale archives, which hold over 75 years of manuscripts, personal letters, and photographs, to visiting the French countryside where Stein and Toklas lived during the German occupation. We also discuss how Toklas, left behind after Stein’s death, devoted herself to preserving Stein’s legacy, even as she struggled with legal battles and near-poverty while living surrounded by Picassos she couldn’t bring herself to sell.Hosted by Ryan Edgington and Olivia Robinson.
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Graydon Carter on When the Going Was Good: Velvet Ropes, Veritas, and Vanity Fair
On this episode, we're joined by legendary magazine editor Graydon Carter to discuss his memoir, When the Going Was Good, an intoxicating portrait of his 25-year reign as editor of Vanity Fair, and an extraordinary life shaped by curiosity, conflict and impeccable taste.We begin at Spy, the satirical magazine he co-founded, which targeted New York’s cultural establishment with reckless abandon, coining the infamous "small hands" insult for Donald Trump. Later, he reflects on his turbulent start at Vanity Fair, where he was initially hated by staff, the close working relationship he developed with photographer Annie Leibovitz, and the founding of the Vanity Fair Oscar Party, now a more coveted invitation in Hollywood than the ceremony itself.Throughout our conversation, Carter shares countless juicy anecdotes — from receiving a Scientology plaque from Tom Cruise to helping Fran Lebowitz find the perfect suit — and explores how magazine journalism has lost its lustre in the digital age.
The Hatchards Podcast is a conversation show about books brought to you by England’s oldest bookshop. Featuring interviews with some of our favourite authors, bookish waffle, and the occasional glass of wine. Hosted by Ryan Edgington and Matt Hennessey.
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