The final report of the Grenfell Tower Inquiry established that the fire on 14 June 2017, which killed 72 people, was the ‘culmination of decades of failure’. Every death was avoidable, and every death was the result of choices made by corporations, individuals and elected officials. James Butler, who writes about the report and its findings in the current issue of the LRB, joins Tom to discuss the causes and consequences of the fire and whether those responsible will be brought to justice.

Read James's piece: https://lrb.me/butlergrenfell

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In November 2022, archaeologists excavating the ancient city of Philadelphia, two hours south of Cairo, discovered a clump of papyri in a shallow grave. On one of them were written nearly a hundred lines from two lost plays by Euripides. Robert Cioffi, who has been working with the same team on a new archaeological mission, joins Tom to discuss the find, the precarious transmission of ancient manuscripts, and the time he tried to make papyrus in his kitchen.

Find further reading on the episode page: https://lrb.me/euripidespod

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Find out more about ACE Cultural Tours: https://aceculturaltours.co.uk

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Singing, acting, directing, writing: Barbra Streisand always insisted on doing it her way (men like that get called geniuses; it gave Streisand a reputation for being difficult). Malin Hay, who recently reviewed Streisand’s thousand-page autobiography, joins Tom to discuss her performances on stage and screen, her prodigious voice, and why her best movie may be one where she doesn’t sing at all.

Find further reading on the episode page: https://lrb.me/barbrapod

Malin’s Streisand playlist: https://lrb.me/barbraplaylist

Sponsored links:

Find out more about ACE Cultural Tours: https://aceculturaltours.co.uk

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.