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This episode is an interview with the journalist Sarah Ditum, discussing her book Toxic and her journalism.The book is about our treatment of famous women in the Noughties, told through the stories of nine women in particular: Britney Spears, Paris Hilton, Lindsay Lohan, Aaliyah, Janet Jackson, Amy Winehouse, Kim Kardashian, Chynah and Jennifer Aniston. Sarah explained why she wrote it, the evolution of the book, and how it felt researching that period.We also discussed Sarah's journalism and what it's been like to write about controversial subjects, and the impact on her friendships, commissions and ability to get a book published. This is a link to Sarah's book:https://uk.bookshop.org/p/books/toxic-sarah-ditum/6333454Here's a link to Lectures on Literature by Vladimir Nabokov which she recommended:https://www.amazon.co.uk/Lectures-Literature-Harvest-Fredson-Bowers/dp/0156027755And here's a link to my books:https://uk.bookshop.org/contributors/andrew-hankinsonThanks for listening.

This is an interview with John Niven about his writing career, particularly his latest book O Brother, which was shortlisted for the 2024 Gordon Burn Prize.O Brother is about the suicide of his brother. While John was making his way in the music industry and then as a successful writer, starting with his novel Kill Your Friends, his brother remained in Scotland where his life was chaotic. He ultimately hanged himself in a hospital.John tells the story of their lives, but also investigates why his brother was left alone to be able to kill himself despite being suicidal. In the interview we talk about his efforts to obtain a transcript of his brother's 999 call that led to his admission, as well as how it felt writing about it, the impact on living relatives, and the way writers become observers even at the most tragic moments.We also talked about the nuts and bolts of any writing discussion, from his advance for Kill Your Friends, how he got his first book deals, how much he made from that first novel, his move into screenwriting, and the shift from fiction to nonfiction.You can buy John's books here: https://uk.bookshop.org/contributors/john-nivenJohn recommended Street-Level Superstar by Will Hodgkinson which you can buy here:https://uk.bookshop.org/p/books/street-level-superstar-a-year-with-lawrence-will-hodgkinson/7680905And you can buy my books here:https://uk.bookshop.org/contributors/andrew-hankinsonThanks for listening.

This is an interview with Chris Mullin about his 1986 book Error of Judgement, which was an investigation into the conviction of six innocent men for the Birmingham pub bombings in 1974. The book documents his efforts to find the truth, culminating in finding one of the real bombers.We speak about his career in journalism before the book, when he went to Vietnam in the 1970s to cover the war there, his work for television, his political career, his novel A Very British Coup, and his series of diaries which started with his experiences as an MP during New Labour.You can buy Chris's books here:https://uk.bookshop.org/contributors/chris-mullinHe recommended How They Broke Britain by James O'Brien which you can read here:https://uk.bookshop.org/p/books/how-they-broke-britain-james-o-brien/7546135And you can buy my books here:https://www.amazon.co.uk/Could-Something-Amazing-Your-Raoul/dp/1911344323https://www.amazon.co.uk/applaud-Either-laugh-Comedy-Cellar/dp/1911617680Thanks for listening.

In this epsiode I interviewed Michael Holden, an exceptional writer who started his career at Loaded magazine in 1994. He ended up in a psychiatric hospital during that time, which we discuss. After that he wrote for The Guardian Guide before becoming a Hollywood writer. Then he ended up back living with his elderly parents, caring for them.The result was a book called The Reluctant Carer, which was published in 2022. What is peculiar about it is he published it anonymously. We talk about the pros and cons of that, and why he has decided to finally put his name to it.You can buy Michael’s book here at Bookshop. His original article from The Guardian in 2019, which we discuss, is here. He recommended Going Mad in Hollywood by David Sherwin, which is at Waterstones. And you can buy my books here at Bookshop. Thank you for listening.   

I spoke to Sally Hayden about her book My Fourth Time, We Drowned. It's about people who tried to cross the Mediterranean Sea from Africa to Europe but ended up locked in detention centres in Libya. The book won the Orwell Prize and was shortlisted for the Baillie Gifford Prize. She describes it as a 'book of evidence'.We talked about: her early reporting on the story while working for Vicethe role played by business cardsthe importance of making yourself contactable having to respond to sources at all hourshow the story took over her lifestruggling to get the story commissionedhow journalism awards helped change thatwarnings from MI6 that her life was in danger working out what the book would be finding an agent and publisher who believe in what you're doinggiving away her prize moneyYou can buy her book here: https://uk.bookshop.org/p/books/my-fourth-time-we-drowned-seeking-refuge-on-the-world-s-deadliest-migration-route-sally-hayden/6026367She recommended Against A Tide of Evil by Mukesh Kapila:https://www.amazon.co.uk/Against-Tide-Evil-Whistleblower-Twenty-First/dp/0991099338And you can buy my books here:https://uk.bookshop.org/contributors/andrew-hankinsonThanks for listening.

This episode features David Whitehouse discussing his Gordon Burn Prize-shortlisted nonfiction book About A Son. It's about Colin Hehir's battle to know the truth about his son's murderer. The book is written in second-person, which we get into. We also discuss why David switched from novels to nonfiction, his start in men's magazines, how he got the material for this book, and finally ethics, including a decision by David which surprised me. You can buy David's books here:https://uk.bookshop.org/p/books/about-a-son-a-murder-and-a-father-s-search-for-truth-david-whitehouse/7277920https://uk.bookshop.org/p/books/bed-david-whitehouse/3460206https://uk.bookshop.org/p/books/mobile-library-david-whitehouse/3501647https://uk.bookshop.org/p/books/the-long-forgotten-david-whitehouse/165838David recommended Stay True by Hua Hsu, which is here:https://uk.bookshop.org/p/books/stay-true-winner-of-the-pulitzer-prize-in-memoir-hua-hsu/7512493And you can buy my books here:https://uk.bookshop.org/contributors/andrew-hankinsonThanks for listening.

In this episode I interviewed Keith Blackmore, who edited Philip Gould’s book When I Die, which was published after Philip had died.Philip was one of the architects of New Labour, but in 2011 he had cancer. Keith, then the deputy editor at The Times, started serialising an essay Philip had written about his experience, which later formed part of the book. A few months later, Philip died, after which his family asked Keith to edit this book, When I Die.In the interview we talk about how Keith became involved and the way newspaper editing can make for gripping narrative, but mostly we talked about how he gathered all the words Philip had left behind, Philip’s writing style, and how Philip documented his death so beautifully.You can buy the book here:https://uk.bookshop.org/p/books/when-i-die-lessons-from-the-death-zone-philip-gould/1858616?ean=9780349139111 Keith also recommended A Death in Malta by Paul Caruana Galizia . You can buy that here: https://uk.bookshop.org/p/books/a-death-in-malta-an-assassination-and-a-family-s-quest-for-justice-paul-caruana-galizia/7419825?ean=9781529151558If you want to have a look at Tortoise, go here:https://www.tortoisemedia.com/ And finally, my books are here:https://uk.bookshop.org/contributors/andrew-hankinson Thank you for listening.

A slightly different episode, this time I spoke to David Wolf, editor of The Guardian Long Read, about their new magazine-format publication comprising some of their best pieces.David previously worked for Prospect magazine, so we talked a bit about his road to becoming editor of Guardian Long Read, before getting into the mechanics of producing longform journalism, what can go wrong, and what the experience is at the editor's end of things.You can buy the magazine here:https://guardianbookshop.com/the-guardian-long-read-9781399968713David recommended two books. which are here:https://www.amazon.co.uk/Crossing-Line-Year-Land-Apartheid/dp/0892553251And here:https://uk.bookshop.org/p/books/this-house-of-grief-helen-garner/482318?ean=9781399606806And finally, you can buy my books here:https://uk.bookshop.org/contributors/andrew-hankinsonThanks for listening.

I spoke to David James Smith about his book The Sleep of Reason, which is about the murder of James Bulger.David is a tremendous journalist who has written features for places like The Sunday Times Magazine and Esquire. We talked about his early career in journalism and how he came to be commissioned to write a book about the murder of James Bulger weeks after it happened.We spoke about the ethics of the book and how he wrote it, including ingratiating himself with the solicitor of one of the murderers, getting to know police and attending the trial. You can buy the book here:https://uk.bookshop.org/p/books/the-sleep-of-reason-the-james-bulger-case-david-james-smith/3222824?ean=9780571340569He recommended The New Journalism by Tom Wolfe:https://uk.bookshop.org/p/books/new-journalism-tom-wolfe/121601?ean=9780330243155And my books are here:https://uk.bookshop.org/contributors/andrew-hankinsonThanks for listening.

This is an interview with Will Storr about his book The Status Game, which was named a book of the year by The Times and was recently championed on Joe Rogan's podcast. Will is my friend and former features editor. We started off talking about how he got into journalism, his early Gonzo-influenced magazine work at Loaded, and how he shifted into becoming an award-winning journalist for broadsheets. We also talked about his other books, including The Science of Storytelling, which is about how and why people tell stories; we talked about when he went undercover with Nazis; about writing in the dark; and about working out how much he should be present in his books.You can buy Will's books here: https://uk.bookshop.org/contributors/will-storrWill recommended Tom Kizzia's Pilgrim's Wilderness:https://uk.bookshop.org/p/books/pilgrim-s-wilderness-a-true-story-of-faith-and-madness-on-the-alaska-frontier-tom-kizzia/4407020?ean=9780307587831And my books are here: https://uk.bookshop.org/contributors/andrew-hankinsonThanks for listening.