BOOKED IN

For much of my life I knew nothing about Belgium's King Leopold II and his brutal subjugation of millions in the DRC - what was ironically then called the 'Congo Free State'. To be clear, millions were killed, terrorised and utterly exploited by a monarch who used the country as his personal colony. Adam Hochschild's powerful book, King Leopold's Ghost, makes for a deeply uncomfortable but essential read. I had the honour and privilege of speaking to him earlier this week.

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How will future generations look back at the media reporting of Gaza in the years since October 7? In her new book, The Complicit Lens - US Media Coverage of Israel’s Genocide in Gaza - Professor Robin Andersen outlines a damning case against many of the most recognisable mainstream outlets. It’s a longer episode than normal, but because I believe the topic warranted the time.

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I have been learning about The Troubles for as long as I can remember. Somehow, I had never come across the extraordinary story of Kevin Barry Artt, documented in Dan Lawton's book, 'Above The Ground'. Imagine being arrested for a murder you never carried out, only to escape to California and spend years looking over your shoulder, before the most unlikely witness to the crime came forward to help prove your innocence. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We live in a world today where millions of people are serving time for drug offences, while others are making the most the now billion dollar cannabis industry. I had a wonderful chat recently with Kojo Koram about this shift from mass criminalisation, to mass commercialisation. His new book, 'The Next Fix', explores the winners and losers in the future of drugs and raises so many interesting questions for our society to ponder.

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Over the course of eight years, a man called Stephane Breitwieser stole more than 300 objects and pieces of art. In total, they were worth an estimated $1.4 billion. He is now widely considered the most prolific art thief in history, but he was never motivated by money - just a love for art.

The fascinating true crime story was documented in the 2023 best seller, 'The Art Thief'. Author Mike Finkel kindly granted me a rare interview to chat about the book, and the crime itself.
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