Catriona Seth discusses with Ivan six things which should be better known.

Catriona Seth FBA is the Marshal Foch Professor of French Literature and a Fellow of All Souls College, Oxford. She was brought up in the UK, in Switzerland, in Venezuela and in Belgium. Before becoming a university academic, she worked as a translator and interpreter, as a management consultant and as a schoolteacher. She has published widely, mainly in French, on 18^th-century literature and culture. Her objects of research have included Marie-Antoinette, smallpox inoculation, women’s life-writing, Germaine de Staël and André Chénier.

1. Bilingualism https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20160811-the-amazing-benefits-of-being-bilingual

2. Loose-leaf Assam tea https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/life-style/food-news/what-is-assam-tea-and-what-are-its-benefits/photostory/69684080.cms

3. Auctions https://www.esprit-de-france.com/en/news/visit-auction-house-paris

4. Sleeper trains https://www.theguardian.com/travel/2020/feb/06/10-best-sleeper-trains-in-europe-night-trains

5. Concert halls for chamber music https://www.ucl.ac.uk/chamber-music/cmc-socials/metropoles-finest-chamber-music-venues

6. The life and works of Katherine Read https://www.thecourier.co.uk/fp/entertainment/2642310/katherine-read/

Neil Brand discusses with Ivan six things which should be better known.

Neil Brand has been a silent film accompanist for over 30 years, regularly in London at the Barbican and BFI National Film Theatres, throughout the UK and at film festivals and special events around the world, including Australia, New Zealand (three times), America, Israel, Sweden, Denmark, France, Germany, Ireland, Luxembourg, and, in Italy, the Bologna, Aosta, Bergamo and Pordenone festivals where he has inaugurated the School of Music and Image to teach up-and-coming young pianists about silent film accompaniment.

Neil now has a very fruitful relationship with the BBC Symphony Orchestra which has resulted in London performances of his acclaimed orchestral score for Hitchcock’s silent Blackmail, the BBCSO / Barbican commission to score Asquith’s silent Underground and Chaplin’s Easy Street. He followed these successes with two through-scored radio adaptations, The Wind in the Willows (Audio Drama Award Nominated) and A Christmas Carol for Orchestra, Choir and Actors commissioned by Radios 3 and 4 – all of these works orchestrated and conducted by maestro Timothy Brock.

Neil is also a prolific radio playwright including Sony- and Tinniswood- nominated dramas Stan (which he adapted for BBC TV) and Getting the Joke, as well as establishing the regular live-recorded musical series The Big Broadcast. He has twice toured nationally with Paul Merton as well as appearing in, and supplying music for, Paul’s silent film-related TV documentaries.

Neil is a TV presenter on BBC4 with his hugely successful series Sound of Cinema, The Music that Made the Movies and Sound of Song, is a regular presenter on Radio 4’s Film Programme, a Fellow of Aberystwyth University and a Visiting Professor of the Royal College of Music and is considered one of the finest improvising piano accompanists in the world.

1. Richard Rodney Bennett https://www.theguardian.com/music/2012/dec/26/sir-richard-rodney-bennett

2. Sheridan Le Fanu https://www.theguardian.com/books/booksblog/2014/aug/28/sheridan-le-fanu-two-centuries-birth-vampire-ghost-stories

3. The musical of the Mystery of Edwin Drood https://www.broadwayworld.com/reviews/The-Mystery-of-Edwin-Drood

4. Satie House https://en.normandie-tourisme.fr/museums-and-heritage-sites/maisons-satie/

5. Radio Drama https://bookriot.com/history-of-the-radio-drama/

6. Rango https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/rango-2011

Historian JD Dickey discusses with Ivan six things which should be better known.

JD Dickey has for more than 20 years been observing and writing about American history, society and culture. Of his book, Rising in Flames, Harold Holzer in the Wall Street Journal wrote, “No one interested in Sherman’s March should be deprived of his lively narrative. Absolutely spellbinding.” His earlier book, Empire of Mud, was a New York Times bestseller and described the troubled landscape of Washington, D.C., in the nineteenth century. He has also written and spoken on on a broad range of historical and political topics in media such as TIME magazine, C-SPAN’s Book TV, Public Radio International’s The Takeaway and Literary Hub. In addition, he has lectured for the New-York Historical Society, the Pritzker Military Museum and Library, and the Atlanta History Center, among other organizations. His current work, The Republic of Violence: The Tormented Rise of Abolition in Andrew Jackson’s America, was published in March 2022 by Pegasus Books.

1. The Built, The Unbuilt and the Unbuildable https://mitpress.mit.edu/books/built-unbuilt-and-unbuildable

2. The Museum of Jurassic Technology https://www.mjt.org/

3. The Visitor https://jimorourke.bandcamp.com/album/the-visitor

4. Gregory Crewdson https://dianamarin.com/2019/02/19/review-gregory-crewdson-cinematic-photography/

5. The Flagellation of Christ http://www.travelingintuscany.com/art/pierodellafrancesca/flagellation.htm

6. Pandora and the Flying Dutchman https://www.nytimes.com/2020/02/05/movies/pandora-and-the-flying-dutchman-restoration.html

Rory Sutherland discusses with Ivan six things which he thinks should be better known.

Rory is the Vice Chairman of Ogilvy, an attractively vague job title which has allowed him to co-found a behavioural science practice within the agency.

He works with a consulting practice of psychology graduates who look for ‘unseen opportunities’ in consumer behaviour – these are the often small contextual changes which can have enormous effects on the decisions people make – for instance tripling the sales rate of a call centre by adding just a few sentences to the script. Put another way, lots of agencies will talk about “bought, owned and earned” media: we also look for “invented media” and “discovered media”: seeking out those unexpected (and inexpensive) contextual tweaks that transform the way that people think and act.

It is a hugely valuable activity – but, alas, not particularly lucrative. This is because clients generally do not have budgets for solving problems they did not know they had.

Before founding Ogilvy’s Behavioural Practice, Rory was a copywriter and creative director at Ogilvy for over 20 years, having joined as a graduate trainee in 1988. He has variously been President of the IPA, Chair of the Judges for the Direct Jury at Cannes, and has spoken at TED Global. He writes regular columns for the Spectator, Market Leader and Impact, and also occasional pieces for Wired. He is the author of The Wiki Man, available on Amazon (at prices between £1.96 and £2,345.54, depending on whether the algorithm is having a bad day), and the best-selling Alchemy, The surprising Power of Ideas which don’t make Sense, and, co-written with his former colleague Pete Dyson, the newly released Transport For Humans on the behavioural science of transport. His latest book is Alchemy: The Magic of Original Thinking in a World of Mind-numbing Conformity.

Rory is married to a vicar and has twin daughters. He lives in the former home of Napoleon III – unfortunately in the attic. He is a trustee of the Benjamin Franklin House in London and a Patron of Rochester Cathedral.

1. Sherry https://www.sherry.wine/news/8-things-you-should-know-about-sherry

2. East Kent https://www.britain-visitor.com/uk-city-guides/east-kent-guide

3. The works of Iain McGilchrist https://jennymackness.wordpress.com/2020/05/15/introducing-the-work-of-iain-mcgilchrist/

4. Haydn https://www.nybooks.com/articles/1979/06/14/rediscovering-haydn/

5. Henry George https://www.theatlantic.com/national/archive/2019/04/henry-georges-single-tax-could-combat-inequality/587197/

6. Air fryers https://www.bbcgoodfood.com/howto/guide/air-frying-healthy

Philosopher Andy West discusses with Ivan six things which should be better known.

Andy West is philosopher in residence at HMP Pentonville, London. His writing has been published in The Guardian, Aeon, The Big Issue, 3AM Magazine and Lito. He is the author of The Life Inside: A Memoir of Prison, Family and Philosophy.

1. Rectify https://www.vulture.com/2016/12/rectify-review-there-may-never-be-a-show-like-it-again.html

2. Little Bad Thing https://ethics.org.au/littlebadthing/

3. Nietzsche’s idea of The Festival of Punishment https://publishing.cdlib.org/ucpressebooks/view?docId=ft4q2nb3dn&chunk.id=d0e604&toc.depth=100&toc.id=d0e595&brand=ucpress 

4. Kafka’s short story Prometheus https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2020/06/29/the-rescue-will-begin-in-its-own-time

5. Nostalgia for the Light https://www.theguardian.com/film/2012/jul/12/nostalgia-for-the-light-review

6. The Graybar Hotel https://www.theguardian.com/books/2017/sep/08/the-graybar-hotel-curtis-dawkins-review

Katja Hoyer discusses with Ivan six things which should be better known.

Katja Hoyer is an Anglo-German historian and journalist. She is a Visiting Research Fellow at King’s College London and a Fellow of the Royal Historical Society. She writes about German politics as a Washington Post columnist as well as for several British newspapers like The Spectator and The Telegraph. Katja’s debut book Blood and Iron – The Rise and Fall of the German Empire 1971-1918 became a bestseller in the UK. She is currently working on a new history of East Germany from 1949 to the fall of the Berlin Wall.

1. The Baltic coast https://www.travelstride.com/attractions/things-to-do-in-baltic-sea-attractions

2. Shrewsbury Prison https://guide2.co.uk/shropshire/listings/shrewsbury-prison/

3. Louise of Prussia https://departments.kings.edu/womens_history/luise.html

4. German cakes https://theculturetrip.com/europe/germany/articles/the-best-german-traditional-cakes-you-need-to-try/

5. Octopuses https://www.lrb.co.uk/the-paper/v39/n17/amia-srinivasan/the-sucker-the-sucker

6. Cultural output from behind the Iron Curtain https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Culture_of_East_Germany

Jenny Kleeman discusses with Ivan six things which should be better known.

Jenny Kleeman is a journalist, broadcaster and documentary-maker. She hosts the weekend Breakfast show on Times Radio and writes for the Guardian, the Sunday Times and The New Statesman. She has reported for BBC One’s Panorama, Channel 4’s Dispatches and VICE News Tonight on HBO, as well as making 13 films from across the globe for Channel 4’s Unreported World. Her first book, Sex Robots & Vegan Meat, was published in 2020. She’s currently working on her second book, The Price of Life, which will be published by Picador.

1. The Journalist and the Murderer by Janet Malcolm  https://www.nybooks.com/articles/1990/03/01/the-morality-of-journalism/

2. The art of Oron Katz and Ionat Zurr https://www.rca.ac.uk/news-and-events/rca-stories/oron-catts-and-ionat-zurr-working-life/

3. King of Kong https://ew.com/article/2007/08/15/king-kong-fistful-quarters/

4. Here My Dear by Marvin Gaye https://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/marvin-gaye-here-my-dear/

5. John Frusciante https://www.loudersound.com/features/drugs-ghosts-and-the-radical-re-birth-of-john-frusciante

6. Redwood trees in Kew Gardens https://www.kew.org/read-and-watch/redwoods-tallest-trees-on-earth

Nicola Horlick discusses with Ivan six things which should be better known.

Nicola Horlick is CEO of Money&Co. She has been a leading fund manager in the City of London for over thirty years. During that time, she has set up and managed several investment businesses. She now chairs a private equity business, is CEO of a film-development company, and is a director of an NHS Foundation Trust.

1. Black Comedy by Peter Shaffer https://chicagocritic.com/black-comedy/

2. Joseph II of Austria https://www.lrb.co.uk/the-paper/v10/n10/william-doyle/despots

3. Many Lives, Many Masters by Dr Brian Weiss https://www.compulsivereaders.com/reviews/many-lives-many-masters-brian-l-weiss/

4. Pictures at an Exhibition https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sq7Qd9PSmR0

5. Orlanda Broom https://orlandabroomartist.com/

6. La Perriere https://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/Tourism-g1189181-La_Perriere_Orne_Basse_Normandie_Normandy-Vacations.html

James Runcie discusses with Ivan six things which should be better known.

James Runcie is an award-winning film-maker, playwright and literary curator. He is the author of twelve novels that have been translated into twelve languages, including the seven books in the Grantchester Mysteries series. He has been Artistic Director of the Bath Literature Festival, Head of Literature and Spoken Word at the Southbank Centre, London, and Commissioning Editor for Arts on BBC Radio 4. He is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature. He lives in Scotland and London. His latest novel is The Great Passion.

1. Bach’s Cantata 22 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xcflikYLk1w

2. Ladi Kwali ceramics https://www.oxfordceramics.com/artists/107-ladi-kwali/overview/

3. Lydia Davis’ short stories https://www.nybooks.com/articles/2010/04/29/horse-sense-heartache/

4. The Lacemaker https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/the-lacemaker-1978

5. The Photos by The Photos https://www.allmusic.com/album/the-photos-mw0000495183

6. Fernet Branca https://spiritsreview.com/reviews/fernet-branca/

Musician Lias Saoudi discusses with Ivan six things which should be better known.

Lias Kaci Saoudi is a writer, artist and musician, and the front man of genre-bending iconoclasts Fat White Family. Born to a British mother and Algerian father, he grew up in the Republic of Ireland, Scotland and Northern Ireland, before moving to London and gaining a Fine Art degree from Slade School of Art. 

During the first UK lockdown, Lias began contributing a series of unflinching autobiographical pieces entitled Life Beyond the Neutral Zone to the online cultural hub, The Social Gathering. He is published in The New Frontier: Reflections From the Irish Border(New Island Books, 2021) – an anthology of new writing from some of Ireland’s greatest contemporary authors marking the centenary of partition. He is also the debut guest editor of Ambit Pop, a new annual issue of the venerable quarterly arts magazine.

His first book, Ten Thousand Apologies: Fat White Family and the Miracle of Failure, co-written with Adelle Stripe (Black Teeth and a Brilliant Smile, Bloomsbury, 2019), is described by Miranda Sawyer in The Observer as “the story of a band that’s always on the brink: of stardom, of madness, of brilliance, of disgrace”.

1. It’s me, Eddie by Eddie Limonov https://literaryreview.co.uk/its-me-eddie

2. Limits to Medicine by Ivan Illich https://joannamoncrieff.com/2016/04/18/limits-to-medicine-re-visiting-ivan-illich/

3. Macho Music by Peter Gordon https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XbeJKaAKLos

4. The Grass Arena by John Healy https://www.theguardian.com/books/2008/aug/05/biography

5. A feast of snakes by Harry Crews https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Feast_of_Snakes

6. Ratfucker by Armand Schaubroek https://trouserpress.com/reviews/armand-schaubroeck-steals/