In this episode, we talk about Chapters 2 and 3 of Rachel Cusk’s Outline alongside a chapter from Williams’s book Truth and Truthfulness. The chapter considers the differences between sincerity and authenticity as contending ideals of truthfulness about the self. These two ideals, on Williams’s argument, entail different ways of thinking about the self. We contrast Williams’s notion of authenticity with that invoked by various characters in Outline.

Speaker names: 

•	Dr. Scarlett Baron, Associate Professor in the English Department at UCL.
•	Alice Harberd, PhD Student in the Philosophy Department at UCL.


2. From Sincerity to Authenticity: Bernard Williams

On sale June 3rd, 2025

The powerful, untold story of the 1950 revolution in Puerto Rico and the long history of U.S. intervention on the island, that the New York Times says "could not be more timely." In 1950, after over fifty years of military occupation and colonial rule, the Nationalist Party of Puerto Rico staged an unsuccessful armed insurrection against the United States. Violence swept through the island: assassins were sent to kill President Harry Truman, gunfights roared in eight towns, police stations and post offices were burned down. In order to suppress this uprising, the US Army deployed thousands of troops and bombarded two towns, marking the first time in history that the US government bombed its own citizens.

Nelson A. Denis tells this powerful story through the controversial life of Pedro Albizu Campos, who served as the president of the Nationalist Party. A lawyer, chemical engineer, and the first Puerto Rican to graduate from Harvard Law School, Albizu Campos was imprisoned for twenty-five years and died under mysterious circumstances. By tracing his life and death, Denis shows how the journey of Albizu Campos is part of a larger story of Puerto Rico and US colonialism.

Through oral histories, personal interviews, eyewitness accounts, congressional testimony, and recently declassified FBI files, War Against All Puerto Ricans tells the story of a forgotten revolution and its context in Puerto Rico's history, from the US invasion in 1898 to the modern-day struggle for self-determination. Denis provides an unflinching account of the gunfights, prison riots, political intrigue, FBI and CIA covert activity, and mass hysteria that accompanied this tumultuous period in Puerto Rican history.

Listen Here

War Against All Puerto Ricans By Nelson A Denis, Read By Luis Vega (Audiobook Excerpt)

On sale June 10th, 2025

The Palace of Illusions brings readers to a Paris breathless with excitement at the dawn of the twentieth century, where for a select few there is a second, secret Paris where the magic of the City of Light is very real in this enchanting and atmospheric fantasy from the author of The Fairy Bargains of Prospect Hill.
 
In the run up to the 1900s World’s Fair Paris is abuzz with creative energy and innovation. Audiences are spellbound by the Lumiere brothers’ moving pictures and Loie Fuller’s serpentine dance fusing art and technology. But for Clara Ironwood, a talented and pragmatic clockworker, nothing compares to the magic of her godfather’s mechanical creations, and she’d rather spend her days working on the Palace of Illusions, an intricate hall of mirrors that is one of the centerpieces of the world’s fair.
 
When her godfather sends Clara a hideous nutcracker for Christmas, she is puzzled until she finds a hidden compartment that unlocks a mirror-world Paris where the Seine is musical, fountains spout lemonade, and mechanical ballerinas move with human grace. The magic of her godfather’s toys was real. 
 
As Clara explores this other Paris and begins to imbue her own creations with its magic, she soon discovers a darker side to innovation. Suspicious men begin to approach her outside of work, and she could swear a shadow is following her. There’s no ignoring the danger she’s in, but Clara doesn't know who to trust. The magic of the two Parises are colliding and Clara must find the strength within herself to save them both.

The Palace of Illusions By Rowenna Miller, Read By Christa Lewis (Audiobook Excerpt)

8Dio Requiem Solo Singers "Phantasm" (Mixed) by Nicolas Stackhouse

Many institutions are now using artificial intelligence (AI) models as tools to think about solutions to a variety of challenges, from the everyday to the global. At the same time, many commentators have expressed concerns about AI and its effects on society, the economy and democracy.  

In the first episode of The Ballpark’s miniseries on AI and the US, we explore the implications of AI for intellectual property. The rise of AI tools has been fuelled by the scraping of online resources as training data for the large language models that power them. This has important implications for how we think about intellectual property and the rights of those who created this training data. 

To find out more, in May 2025, the Phelan US Centre spoke to Professor Bhamati Viswanathan of New England Law Boston. Dr Viswanathan is an expert in the areas of copyright law, intellectual property, innovation and creativity law, and on cultural property and appropriation.

This episode was produced by Chris Gilson and Luke Digweed.

LSE: The Ballpark | AI and intellectual property with Dr Bhamati Viswanathan

Brought to you by Penguin.

The instant Sunday Times best seller.

A Financial Times, Guardian and Observer Book of the Year.

One of the Daily Telegraph's 75 Best Books of 2021.What if you stopped trying to do everything, so that you could finally get round to what counts?

We're obsessed with our lengthening to-do lists, our overfilled inboxes, the struggle against distraction and the sense that our attention spans are shrivelling. Still, we rarely make the connection between our daily struggles with time and the ultimate time management problem: the question of how best to use our ridiculously brief time on the planet, which amounts on average to about 4,000 weeks.

Four Thousand Weeks is an uplifting, engrossing and deeply realistic exploration of the challenge. Rejecting the futile modern obsession with 'getting everything done,' it introduces listeners to tools for constructing a meaningful life by embracing rather than denying their limitations.

Drawing on the insights of both ancient and contemporary philosophers, psychologists and spiritual teachers, Oliver Burkeman sets out to realign our relationship with time - and in doing so, to liberate us from its tyranny.

Embrace your limits. Change your life. Make your 4,000 weeks count.

©2021 Oliver Burkeman (P)2021 Penguin Audio

Four Thousand Weeks, written and ready by Oliver Burkeman

Brought to you by Penguin.

THE MILLION-COPY BESTSELLING PHENOMENON

This is the story of Sam and Sadie. It's not a romance, but it is about love.

When Sam catches sight of Sadie at a crowded train station one morning he is catapulted straight back to childhood, and the hours they spent immersed in playing games.

Their spark is instantly reignited and sets off a creative collaboration that will make them superstars. It is the 90s, and anything is possible.

What comes next is a decades-long tale of friendship and rivalry, fame and art, betrayal and tragedy, perfect worlds and imperfect ones. And, above all, our need to connect: to be loved and to love.

©2022 Gabrielle Zevin (P)2022 Penguin Audio

Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, written by Gabrielle Zevin and read by Jennifer Kim and Julian Cihi

Brought to you by Penguin.

BBC Radio 2 Book Club pick.

Everyone thinks Heath Rocha was my first love. He wasn't. My first love was figure skating.

Katarina Shaw has always known she’s destined to become an Olympic skater. When she meets Heath Rocha, a lonely kid stuck in the foster care system, their instant connection makes them a formidable duo on the ice. Clinging to skating – and each other – to escape their turbulent lives, Kat and Heath go from childhood sweethearts to champion ice dancers, captivating fans with their scorching chemistry, rebellious style and rollercoaster relationship.

Until, at the Olympic Games, as the world holds its breath, a shocking incident instantly destroys their partnership.

Ten years later, an unauthorised tell-all documentary reignites the public obsession with Shaw and Rocha. If Kat wants to own her story, she must break her silence. As Kat’s account of her dramatic rise and fall alternates with scandalous interviews from the film, The Favourites spins into a dance between passion, ambition and what it truly means to win.

Sensational rumours have haunted Kat and Heath’s every step for years, but the truth may be even more outrageous than the headlines.

‘Part Wuthering Heights and part Daisy Jones and the Six . . . As brilliantly choreographed as a gold-medal performance’ JODI PICOULT

©2025 Layne Fargo (P)2025 Penguin Audio

Trhe Favourites, written by Layne Fargo and read by Christine Lakin, Louisa Zhu, Amy Landon, Elena Rey, Valerie Lohman, Suzanne Toren, Graham Halstead, Julia Emelin, Layne Fargo, Eric Yang, Johnny Weir

Brought to you by Penguin.

**SOON TO BE A MAJOR APPLE TV SERIES**

What if you could change husbands as easily as a lightbulb?

One night Lauren finds a strange man in her flat who claims to be her husband. All the evidence – from photos to electricity bills – suggests he’s right. And then another one appears. Lauren’s attic, she slowly realises, is creating an endless supply of husbands for her. There’s:

The one who’s too hot (there must be a catch).
The one who pretends to play music on her toes.
The one who can calm her unruly thoughts with a single touch.

But when you can change husbands as easily as changing a lightbulb, how do you know whether the one you have now is the good-enough one, or the wrong one, or the best one? And how long should you keep trying to find out?

‘Properly laugh-out-loud funny, this was one of the most original novels I’ve read in years’ RED, *Books of the Year*
‘A witty, ingenious debut novel… An enormously entertaining story that is both silly and sophisticated’ SUNDAY TIMES, *Books of the Year*
‘A clever and hilarious read that makes you rethink the idea of a soulmate’ GOOD HOUSEKEEPING

THE NO 1 KINDLE BESTSELLER
THE INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER
BEST SUMMER READ IN THE GUARDIAN, GOOD HOUSEKEEPING, RED & DAILY MAIL

©2024 Holly Gramazio (P)2024 Penguin Audio

The Husbands, written by Holly Gramazio and read by Miranda Raison

On sale June 10th, 2025

Written by leading medical intuitive and energy healer, Christine Lang, this practical and accessible guide goes beyond the “trust your gut” trope so often associated with tapping into your intuition by teaching readers how to converse directly with their enlightened spirit.

What if your broken foot is a warning not to accept that new job? What if you got the flu not because of ‘bad luck,’ but as a cosmic gift to keep you away from a family gathering that became a toxic bloodbath? What if all of your chronic symptoms are hints, pointing you towards a better life, if only you could decipher the clues? Ask Your Spirit answers these questions by teaching you how to converse directly with your spirit. The connection to this invaluable resource provides you with personalized guidance on health, relationships, and career dilemmas.

Unlike many spiritual books that simply help you “increase your intuition” or offer general tips on connecting to spirit guides, esteemed medical intuitive Christine Lang provides a detailed, step-by-step process for establishing a practical dialogue with the wisest part of you that’s committed to spiritual growth in this lifetime. This ongoing conversation with your inner wisdom is like having your spirit on speed dial.

You’ll learn how to discern between your soul’s voice and your ego’s voice so you can start trusting your spirit’s priorities, decoding its messages, and understand the expiration date of your messages. Along with client-centered success stories and testimonials from medical professionals, you’ll see exactly how these practices offer life-changing results. 

Ask Your Spirit By Christine Lang, Read By Eliza Foss (Audiobook Excerpt)

Un romanzo per riflettere sulla maternità e le sue angosce, per parlare del male e del dubbio.
L'autrice Antonella Lattanzi presenta il suo nuovo libro, edito da HarperCollins, insieme a Elena Stancanelli.

Circolo dei lettori
21 gennaio ore 18

📚 Antonella Lattanzi: "Questo giorno che incombe" (HarperCollins)

Promuove e produce cultura, tutti i giorni, per tutti, nelle sue tre sedi – Torino, Novara e Rivoli – con rassegne e festival. Un progetto di Regione Piemonte

📚 Antonella Lattanzi: "Questo giorno che incombe" (HarperCollins)

Fondazione Circolo dei lettori

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