Jewish Book Week
Jewish Book Week
Jewish Book Week
Podcasts from our annual festival of art and ideas, held at Kings Place in London.
The Book Smugglers
In a history book that reads like a thriller, The Book Smugglers charts the incredible story of the ghetto inmates who rescued thousands of rare books and manuscripts — first from the Nazis and then from the Soviets — by hiding them on their bodies, burying them in bunkers, and smuggling them across borders. In doing so, this daring group of poets turned partisans, and scholars turned smugglers, saved the treasures of Vilna, 'the Jerusalem of Lithuania'. Sponsored by the National Library of Israel
Aug 30, 2019
58 min
Antisemitism: The Longest Hatred
Judeophobia, the great hatred. Is it a psychic aberration, a 2,000 year-old disease? Loathing of Jews has been a feature of Christendom since the first accusation of deicide and this, combined with enforced employment patterns – usury and trade – made the Jews the pariahs of Europe, a situation the Enlightenment did nothing to change. Chameleon-like, the hatred became racial rather than religious. Today there is an addition to the old prejudices – aversion to Israel. As the world falls to extremism, Jew hatred is, again, a unifying force. Our panel, drawn from the worlds of history, politics, journalism and the law, scrutinised this longest hatred. Sponsored by Jacqueline and Michael Gee
Aug 26, 2019
1 hr 16 min
Anita Lasker-Wallfisch: Addressing the Bundestag
In January 2018, cellist Anita Lasker-Wallfisch, a survivor of Auschwitz, and then of Bergen-Belsen, addressed the Bundestag to commemorate Holocaust Memorial Day. In an extraordinary speech, she said, "Antisemitism is a virus which is two thousand years old and apparently incurable… No other genocide is as comprehensively documented as the Holocaust. And yet there are still the deniers … There are no excuses and no explanations for what happened all those years ago. All that remains is hope: the hope that ultimately, one day, reason will prevail." Anita read extracts from that speech. Her grandson Simon, an acclaimed cellist and singer, played, accompanied by pianist Iain Farrington. Sponsored by Eduard Shyfrin and Family
Aug 23, 2019
35 min
Women's London: A Tour Guide to Great Lives
Join prize-winning tour guide, award-winning librarian and author Rachel Kolsky as she profiles her latest book, Women's London. Inspired by walking tours she devised for The Women's Library and responding to those who encouraged her to put her words on paper, she published a guide book to London featuring the impact women have had on its society, heritage and streetscape. From scientists to suffragettes, reformers and royals, authors and artists, sit back and discover some of Rachel's favourite London ladies.
Aug 19, 2019
54 min
Descent into Darkness
In Insomnia, Marina Benjamin has produced an unsettling account of an unsettling condition, treating our inability to sleep not as a disorder, but as an existential experience that can electrify our understanding of ourselves, and of creativity and love. Lisa Appignanesi, in Everyday Madness, writes of the rage she experienced when her partner of 32 years died. In this brave examination of an 'ordinary enough' death and its aftermath, she scrutinises her own and our society's experience of grieving, the effects of loss and the potent, mythical space it occupies in our lives. In Association with the TLS
Aug 16, 2019
1 hr 2 min
Is Humanity in Denial?
The Holocaust never happened. The planet isn't warming. Vaccines cause autism. All of us deny inconvenient truths sometimes, but what happens when denial becomes 'denialism', a systematic attempt to overturn established scholarly findings?  And how do we relate to this phenomenon in a 'post-truth' age? Our panellists, whose expertise covers history, contemporary culture, the law and psychotherapy, discuss the significance of phenomena such as Holocaust denial and climate change denial, and how they relate to 'everyday' denial.
Aug 12, 2019
1 hr 17 min
Jewish Book Week Presents: Literary Friction
Jewish Book Week hosts an edition of Literary Friction the monthly podcast about books and ideas, hosted by friends Carrie and Octavia. Listen-in for lively discussion, book recommendations and a little music too. Carrie and Octavia will be interviewing Ukranian-born, American and French artist and author Yelena Moskovich, speaking about her incredible new book Virtuoso.
Aug 9, 2019
1 hr 4 min
Seven Types of Atheism
For a generation, public debate has been corroded by a narrow derision of religion in the name of an often vaguely understood 'science'. Bestselling author and eminent philosopher John Gray describes the rich, complex world of the atheist tradition. His book sheds an extraordinary and varied light on what it is to be human and on the thinkers who have battled to understand this issue. "There is no need to panic or despair", says Gray. "A godless world is as mysterious as one suffused with divinity, and the difference between the two may be less than you think."
Aug 5, 2019
1 hr 2 min
Great Philosophers and Where They Went Wrong
Ferdinand Mount has long been fascinated by the great thinkers and politicians of the past two millennia. In his riveting and provocative book, Prime Movers, Mount takes us on a colourful journey, examining the ideas of twelve key savants — from Pericles to Jesus Christ, and from Adam Smith to Karl Marx. These are the people who have shaped our world — and who have inspired and provoked the author, often in equal measure. In Association with the TLS This event took place on 6 March as part of Jewish Book Week 2019
Jul 29, 2019
1 hr 2 min
The Curious Case of Being Human
We believe we are exceptional, but is there really anything special about humans that makes us different from other animals? In this entertaining tour of life on Earth, scientist and broadcaster Dr Adam Rutherford's The Book of Humans: The Story of How We Became Us examines what, if anything, sets us apart in the animal kingdom. Sponsored by Robin and Hanna Klein This event took place on 6 March as part of Jewish Book Week 2019
Jul 26, 2019
1 hr 3 min
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