Jonn Elledge is a New Statesman columnist, and a contributor to the Big Issue, the Guardian, the Evening Standard, and a number of other newspapers. He was previously an assistant editor at the New Statesman, where he created and ran its urbanism-focused CityMetric site, and spent six happy years writing about cities, maps and borders and hosting the Skylines podcast. He has written over a hundred editions of the Newsletter of (Not Quite) Everything. His new book is A History of the World in 47 Borders: The Stories Behind the Lines on Our Maps. He previously wrote The Compendium of (Not Quite) Everything: All the Facts You Didn’t Know You Wanted to Know and, with Tom Phillips, Conspiracy: A History of Boll*cks Theories, and How Not to Fall for Them.

1. Babylon 5 https://www.douxreviews.com/2015/08/babylon-5-series-review.html

2. Life & Fate by Vasily Grossman https://www.lrb.co.uk/the-paper/v29/n20/john-lanchester/good-day-comrade-shtrum

3. The Truth about Markets by John Kay https://scholarship.richmond.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1036&context=economics-faculty-publications

4. Why there was no Danish holocaust https://www.history.com/news/wwii-danish-jews-survival-holocaust

5. Nehru’s affair with Lady Mountbatten https://www.indiatoday.in/india-today-insight/story/from-the-india-today-archives-1980-mountbattens-and-nehru-friendship-in-high-places-2413716-2023-07-30

6. Ethiopian food https://www.cnn.com/travel/article/ethiopian-food-best-dishes-africa/index.html

Henry Oliver discusses with Ivan six things which should be better known.

Henry Oliver is a writer, speaker, and brand consultant. He writes regularly for outlets like the New Statesman, The Critic, and UnHerd. He writes the popular Substack The Common Reader, which was recently mentioned in the Atlantic. His book Second Act is about late bloomers. In 2022, he was given an Emergent Ventures grant.

1. Izaac Walton https://newcriterion.com/article/the-right-angle/

2. Wren churches https://sixinthecity.co.uk/news/2023/03/51-wren-churches/

3. Lyrics of Noel Coward songs https://www.lrb.co.uk/the-paper/v45/n13/rosemary-hill/mushroom-cameo

4. Lichfield https://www.historic-uk.com/HistoryMagazine/DestinationsUK/The-City-of-Lichfield/

5. Byron Janis Bach recording https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LdL3-xwoFik

6. Elizabeth Jenkins https://www.theguardian.com/books/2010/sep/07/elizabeth-jenkins-obituary

Jamaica Kincaid discusses with Ivan six things which should be better known.

Jamaica Kincaid was born in St. John’s, Antigua. Her books include At the Borrom of the River; Annie John; Lucy; The Autobiography of My Mother; My Brother; Mr Potter; and See Now Then. She teaches at Harvard University and lives in Vermont. Her new book, with Kara Walker, is An Encyclopedia of Gardening for Colored Children.

1. Let Love Come Between Us by James and Bobby Purify https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=32CgFcOSbxw
2. 26 of the 50 United States bear the names of Native Americans https://thoughtcatalog.com/james-b-barnes/2014/10/26-states-that-were-named-by-native-americans-was-your-state/
3. The Travels of William Bartram https://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/americas-first-great-enviromentalist-florida-william-bartram-180983452/
4. The first paragraph of the 3rd Chapter of the Life of Frederick Douglas https://www.sparknotes.com/lit/narrative/full-text/chapter-iii/
5. Ervartung, a mono-drama opera with music by Arnold Schoenberg https://www.theguardian.com/culture/2002/feb/01/artsfeatures.classicalmusicandopera
6. The seed packet was invented by The Shakers, an English Protestant sect, who immigrated to America and made many beautiful and useful things for the home. Their beliefs were quite severe regarding sex so no children were produced to ruin the beautiful and useful things they made for the home https://digventures.com/2018/02/11-things-we-still-use-that-were-invented-by-the-shakers/

Caroline Eden returns to discuss with Ivan six things which should be better known.

Caroline Eden is a writer and book critic contributing to the Financial Times, Guardian and
the Times Literary Supplement. Her new book is Cold Kitchen: A Year of Culinary Journeys. Her earlier books include Samarkand, Black Sea and Red Sands, winner of the prestigious André Simon Award and a Book of the Year for the New Yorker.

1. Ukrainian borsch

2. Uzbek melons

3. Russian pirozhki

4. Polish pierogi 

5. Armenian lavash

6. Turkish boza

Caroline Crampton discusses with Ivan six things which should be better known.

Caroline Crampton is the author of The Way to the Sea: The Forgotten Histories of the Thames Estuary (Granta, 2019). Her award-winning podcast, Shedunnit, is distributed by BBC Sounds. Her journalism has appeared in the New Statesman, The Times and the Guardian. An experienced broadcaster, she has appeared on BBC Two, Sky News, BBC Radio 2 and BBC Radio 4. Her new book is A Body Made of Glass: A History of Hypochondria.

1. The Lime Street Cutting https://www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/news/liverpool-news/stunning-pictures-reveal-rarely-glimpsed-22659098

2. The adult novels of Eva Ibbotson https://shereadsnovels.com/2012/11/25/madensky-square-by-eva-ibbotson/

3. Beremeal flour https://baronymill.com/

4. The inverted story or “howdunnit” https://www.novelsuspects.com/articles/inverted-detective-stories-when-you-already-know-whodunnit/

5. The 1944 Powell and Pressburger film A Canterbury Tale https://www.bfi.org.uk/features/powell-pressburger-kent-locations-canterbury-tale

6. Clumber spaniels https://www.akc.org/dog-breeds/clumber-spaniel/

Kathryn Hughes discusses with Ivan six things which should be better known.

Kathryn Hughes is the critically acclaimed author of The Victorian Governess, The Short Life and Long Times of Mrs Beeton, which was longlisted for the Samuel Johnson Prize, and the hugely acclaimed George Eliot: The Last Victorian, which won the James Tait Black Memorial Prize for biography. Her new book is Catland: Feline Enchantment and the Making of the Modern World. Educated at Oxford University, she holds a PhD in Victorian studies. She is a visiting lecturer at several British universities and reviews regularly for The Guardian, Daily Telegraph and Literary Review.

1. Mrs Cotman, portrait by John Sell Cotman (hanging in Norwich Castle Museum) https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Portrait_of_Mrs_John_Sell_Cotman.jpg

2. Frances Simpson https://cat-o-pedia.org/frances-simpson.html

3. The Heart of Wales railway line https://news.tfw.wales/news/heart-of-wales-railway-line-best-in-europe

4. The proper use of the word “disinterested” https://www.britannica.com/dictionary/eb/qa/disinterested-vs-uninterested

5. Linley Sambourne House https://www.rbkc.gov.uk/museums/sambourne-house

6. The Gas Man Cometh (1963) by Flanders and Swann https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v1dvAxA9ib0

Elaine Lin Hering discusses with Ivan six things which should be better known.

Elaine Lin Hering has been a lecturer at Harvard Law School and a Managing Partner at Triad Consulting Group. She has worked with a wide range of clients in Fortune 500 companies, including American Express, Capital One, Google, Merck, Nike, Shell and Pixar, as well as with government and non-profit organisations.

[Elaine] “has all the ingredients to become the next Brené Brown” – Douglas Stone and Sheila Heen, co-authors of NYT Bestseller, Difficult Conversations.

Elaine’s new book is Unlearning Silence: How to Speak Your Mind, Unleash Talent and Lead with Courage.

1. The real costs of AI https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/ais-climate-impact-goes-beyond-its-emissions/

2. Babble hypothesis of leadership https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2021/08/leaders-talk-more-babble-hypothesis/

3. No-knead pizza dough https://www.seriouseats.com/jim-laheys-no-knead-pizza-dough-recipe

4. Social change ecosystems https://buildingmovement.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/Ecosystem-Guide-April-2022.pdf

5. Use of low power language is strategic https://www.yourpowerunleashed.org/blog/2023/5/21/womens-use-of-low-power-language-at-work-is-not-diminishing-but-very-strategic

6. Forest-bathing is healthy https://time.com/5259602/japanese-forest-bathing/

Journalist Andrew Finkel discusses with Ivan six things which should be better known.

Andrew Finkel has spent years reporting for media organisations including The Times, The Economist, New York Times and CNN. He has covered wars and earthquakes, market booms and busts, and in his capacity as a food critic and contributing editor for Istanbul’s Cornucopia magazine, the postmodernity of the kebab. His experiences working in the Turkish-language press prompted him to co-found P24, an association to promote freedom of expression, and the Istanbul literature house, Kiraathane. He has written a number of non-fiction titles, including Turkey: What Everyone Needs to Know, which was “called a succinct, readable and expert briefing on the modern country” by Daily Telegraph and “no better introduction to today’s Turkey” by Andrew Mango. The Adventure of the Second Wife is his debut novel.

1. The obsession of the Ottoman sultan Abdülhamid II for Sherlock Holmes https://www.thebulwark.com/p/plagues-of-the-body-and-plagues-of-the-mind-orhan-pamuk

2. The art of the dramatically satisfying ending https://www.vulture.com/article/the-101-best-movie-endings-of-all-time-ranked.html

3. Cornucopia https://www.cornucopia.net

4. The Big Green Egg https://www.biggreenegg.co.uk/

5. The plight of Turkish journalism https://ethicaljournalismnetwork.org/turkey-after-an-attempted-coup-the-journalists-nightmare

6. The periphery of Istanbul https://www.istanbulmeetandgreetservice.com/the-5-most-charming-small-villages-near-to-istanbul/

Bill Weir discusses with Ivan six things which should be better known.

Bill Weir is a veteran anchor, writer, producer, and host who came to CNN in 2013 after a decade of award-winning journalism at ABC News.

In 2019, he was named the network’s first Chief Climate Correspondent, drawing on his experience creating and hosting the primetime CNN Original Series The Wonder List with Bill Weir, now streaming on Discovery+.

His first book Life As We Know It (Can Be) was published by Chronicle Prism in April 2024.

1. The Goldilocks Earth https://www.thedailybeast.com/cnn-host-bill-weir-plans-to-hold-bidens-feet-to-the-fire-on-climate-change

2. Humanity’s role models will be beavers, camels and gentoo penguins https://edition.cnn.com/2024/04/16/climate/life-as-we-know-it-book-bill-weir/index.html

3. We need thoughtful YIMBYs https://edition.cnn.com/2023/04/23/us/climate-crisis-earth-day-weir-letter/index.html

4. The home of the future will come with much thicker walls https://www.builderonline.com/products/building-construction-materials/cnn-report-examines-alternative-way-to-build-homes

5. The new industrial revolution https://edition.cnn.com/videos/tv/2024/02/05/clean-revolution-weir-pkg.cnn

6. Veggie burgers can do more environmental harm than a steak https://edition.cnn.com/2023/07/03/us/climate-crisis-cattle-amp-grazing/index.html

Chioma Okereke discusses with Ivan six things which should be better known.

Born in Nigeria, Chioma Okereke grew up in London and studied law at UCL. She started her writing career as a performance poet before turning her hand to prose. Her debut novel, Bitter Leaf (Virago), was shortlisted for the Commonwealth Writers’ Prize, and her short story, Trompette De La Mort, received First Runner Up in the Costa Short Story Award. Her new novel is Water Baby.

1. Jamaica Kincaid https://www.theparisreview.org/blog/2022/04/07/jamaica-kincaids-rope-of-live-wires/

2. Cadaqués https://www.lonelyplanet.com/spain/cadaques

3. PRP (platelet rich plasma) https://www.webmd.com/fitness-exercise/platelet-rich-plasma-injections

4. Raye https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-features/raye-escapism-21st-century-blues-interview-1234671381/

5. Tiger nuts https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2772753X23003325

6. Andre Brink https://www.theguardian.com/books/2015/feb/08/andre-brink