What should I read next? Ask Penguin is the podcast where your quirkiest, trickiest, and most urgent book questions get answered. Hosted by Rhianna Dhillon, we bring bestselling authors and Penguin insiders to explore some of your favourite books and discover new ones that you are yet to read.

Ask Penguin

Analysis

Novedades: Audiolibros

Top 50: Audiobooks

Kate Atkinson brings an antique silver hare, a Halifax Bomber and Beethoven’s 9th Symphony to the Penguin Studio to talk about her latest book ‘A God In Ruins’ with host Richard E Grant. The topics of conversation include the long-term effects of war on veterans, The Queen, how we age and the power of classical music to evoke an emotional response in us all.  

#PenguinPodcast

The Penguin Podcast: Richard E Grant with Kate Atkinson

Comedian Bridget Christie brings a yoghurt, a ‘votes for women' sash given to her by Emmeline Pankhurst’s great-granddaughter and a piece of gammon to the Penguin Studio to talk about her latest book ‘A Book For Her’. Host Richard E. Grant and Bridget discuss a wide range of topics including FGM, labiaplasty, how a yoghurt advert perpetuates rape myths and how a unsavoury incident in a book shop inspired the book. 
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The Penguin Podcast: Richard E. Grant with Bridget Christie

Pat Barker brings a child’s gas mask, a jar of water from a wishing well and a notebook to the Penguin Studio to talk about her latest book Noonday. Host Richard E. Grant and Pat discuss witchcraft, the impact of WW2 as well as her personal journey to becoming an award winning novelist. Noonday is available as an audiobook featuring Juliet Stevenson and Anne Reid out now on iTunes. 

#PenguinPodcast

The Penguin Podcast: Richard E. Grant with Pat Barker

Meera Syal brings her copy of The Handmaid’s Tale, her Mother’s Indian passport and precious gold bangles given to her at her wedding to the Penguin Studio to talk about her latest book ’The House of Hidden Mothers’ with host Richard E Grant. Their discussion includes surrogacy, India’s fascination with babies and dowry payments as well as playing excerpts from the audiobook which is read by Meera and is available now.

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The Penguin Podcast: Richard E. Grant with Meera Syal

Paula Hawkins brings a photo of her father, an Edward Hopper picture and a DVD of Rear Window to the Penguin Studio to talk about her bestselling book 'The Girl On The Train' with host Richard E Grant. Their discussion includes unreliable narrators, growing up in South Africa and the transition from business journalist to best selling author. Throughout the episode Richard plays excerpts from the audiobook, a multi cast production which is out now. 


The Penguin Podcast: Richard E. Grant with Paula Hawkins

Victor Davis Hanson describes how President Trump’s unconventional approach to foreign policy has often proved to be more effective than the conventional wisdom proffered by the Washington establishment.

Trump and the Gordian Knot

Date of Publication: 05/10/2018

Description:

According to Jeff Colgan, Associate Prof at Brown University, ‘over the past 25 years, US foreign policy outcomes in the Middle East have gone from more or less acceptable to downright awful.’  Arguably, the most notable US foreign policy failure in the region was the US invasion of Iraq in 2003, but to this day, US success in the Middle East is further challenged by complex conflicts, including those in Afghanistan and Syria, and is also impacted by the presence of terrorist organizations within Middle Eastern states faced with instability. Due to undesirable and costly outcomes in the past, many in Washington DC have contemplated whether the US should withdraw from the Middle East. However, if the US were to withdraw, this decision could not only impact US national interests but also have security consequences for the Middle East.
 
On the 24th of September, the Department of War Studies and the Conflict, Security and Development Research Group welcomed Prof Colgan for his talk titled, Should the US Withdraw from the Middle East. But, before his talk, I met up with Prof Colgan and Dr Stacey Gutkowski, Senior Lecturer in the Dept of War Studies, for a general discussion on the headlining question posed by Prof. Colgan's talk. Let’s hear what they had to say.
____________________

A recording of Jeff Colgan's talk at KCL will be available soon!
____________________

This podcast was produced by Kirk Allen.

Podcast: Should the US withdraw from the Middle East?

This week saw multiple countries point the finger at Russia for a string of cyberattacks, prompting the often-asked question of what a Western response would look like. China also came under scrutiny after a Bloomberg Businessweek story claimed that China had successfully inserted chips in to hardware used by Apple and Amazon, effectively allowing security backdoors into the companies. To explain it all is Jim Lewis, the CSIS resident cyber expert. Hosted by Colm Quinn.
 (Read more at https://csis.org/podcasts/readout/week-spies)

A Week of Spies

Jonathan Landreth speaks with Kevin Rudd about China’s struggle to explain itself and its strict Internet censorship to young people around the world, about what China and the United States might do at this late date to work together on climate change abatement, and about what Americans should be thinking about vis-à-vis China as they head to the polls in the U.S. midterm elections.

Can China Win Global Hearts and Minds?

Writer Brendan O'Connor explains how the Proud Boys found their place at the feet of the Republican Party - offering violence in service of the right's political agenda, and acknowledging the ideological links between ruling class power and reactionary force that have always existed outside of the mainstream view, but are coalescing rapidly and openly as the current political system collapses.

Brendan wrote the article Boys to Men for The Baffler. 

https://thebaffler.com/latest/boys-to-men-oconnor

How the Proud Boys joined the Republican Party.

A special live edition of the Penguin Podcast with comedian, actor, and writer Michael Palin is hosted by David Baddiel. Having been in Monty Python’s Flying Circus and made award-winning travel documentaries around the world, Palin talks about his latest book, ‘Erebus; The Story of a Ship’. He brings objects that have inspired him included an African stool, a piece of fuselage from Ernest Hemingway’s plane and a postcard written by Spike Milligan. 
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The Penguin Podcast: Michael Palin with David Baddiel

Explore the history, theories, and concepts of psychology through more than 100 groundbreaking ideas with straightforward text, witty illustrations, and vocabulary glossary that demystify an often daunting subject matter. Now in paperback.The Psychology Book looks at the biggest names in psychology, including William James, Sigmund Freud, and Ivan Pavlov, and unpacks each psychologist's contribution to our understanding of how the mind works. With straightforward information, witty infographics, and a directory of scientists, this guide helps untangle the knot of theories behind the science of the mind.From its philosophical roots through behaviorism, psychotherapy, and developmental psychology, The Psychology Book incorporates the latest thinkings of today's psychologists alongside the theories of ancient philosophers, as well as the key experiments and ideas of the scientists and practitioners of the 19th and 20th centuries.As part of DK's award-winning Big Ideas Simply Explained series, The Psychology Book breaks down the most mysterious science of all in this essential, accessible, and comprehensive guide to psychology.

The Psychology Book by DK, read by Cassandra Campbell

The acclaimed and beloved author of Hourglass now gives us a new memoir about identity, paternity, and family secrets--a real-time exploration of the staggering discovery she recently made about her father, and her struggle to piece together the hidden story of her own life. What makes us who we are? What combination of memory, history, biology, experience, and that ineffable thing called the soul defines us? &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; In the spring of 2016, through a genealogy website to which she had whimsically submitted her DNA for analysis, Dani Shapiro received the stunning news that her father was not her biological father. She woke up one morning and her entire history--the life she had lived--crumbled beneath her. Inheritance is a book about secrets--secrets within families, kept out of shame or self-protectiveness; secrets we keep from one another in the name of love. It is the story of a woman's urgent quest to unlock the story of her own identity, a story that has been scrupulously hidden from her for more than fifty years, years she had spent writing brilliantly, and compulsively, on themes of identity and family history. It is a book about the extraordinary moment we live in--a moment in which science and technology have outpaced not only medical ethics but also the capacities of the human heart to contend with the consequences of what we discover. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Timely and unforgettable, Dani Shapiro's memoir is a gripping, gut-wrenching exploration of genealogy, paternity, and love.

Inheritance by Dani Shapiro, read by Dani Shapiro

In this exclusive chapter extract from the recently released Beastie Boys Book audiobook, Michael 'Mike D' Diamond describes the experience of seeing Black Flag at the Peppermint Lounge in 1981, a gig that would be a catalyst for a number of bands forming, including the Beastie Boys.

Michael Diamond reads an exclusive extract from Beastie Boys Book

Set 300 years before the events in A Song of Ice and Fire, FIRE AND BLOOD is the definitive history of the Targaryens in Westeros as told by Archmaester Gyldayn, and chronicles the conquest that united the Seven Kingdoms under Targaryen rule through to the Dance of the Dragons: the Targaryen civil war that nearly ended their dynasty forever. 

 The thrilling history of the Targaryens comes to life in this masterly work by the author of A Song of Ice and Fire, the inspiration for HBO’s Game of Thrones.

With all the fire and fury fans have come to expect from internationally bestselling author George R.R. Martin, this is the first volume of the definitive two-part history of the Targaryens in Westeros.

Centuries before the events of A Game of Thrones, House Targaryen – the only family of dragonlords to survive the Doom of Valyria – took up residence on Dragonstone. Fire and Blood begins their tale with the legendary Aegon the Conqueror, creator of the Iron Throne, and goes on to recount the generations of Targaryens who fought to hold that iconic seat, all the way up to the civil war that nearly tore their dynasty apart.

What really happened during the Dance of the Dragons? Why was it so deadly to visit Valyria after the Doom? What were Maegor the Cruel’s worst crimes? What was it like in Westeros when dragons ruled the skies? These are but a few of the questions answered in this essential chronicle, as related by a learned maester of the Citadel, and featuring more than eighty all-new black-and-white illustrations by artist Doug Wheatley.

With all the scope and grandeur of Gibbon’s The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, Fire and Blood is the ultimate game of thrones, giving readers a whole new appreciation for the dynamic, often bloody, and always fascinating history of Westeros.

Fire and Blood: 300 Years Before A Game of Thrones (A Targaryen History), By George R.R. Martin, Read by Simon Vance

Retired Special Forces officer Brad Taylor's thrilling new short story sets Pike Logan and Jennifer Cahill on a hunt for an ancient Mayan temple and reveals the origin of their archaeological company, the cover for their clandestine work with the Taskforce. Deep in the Maya Biosphere Reserve, a huge protected tract of rain forest in northern Guatemala, lies the mythical Temple of Priests. Only one man knew of the temple's location, but he was killed before he could relay the coordinates. Now, newly reinstated Taskforce operator Pike Logan has the grid location of the ruins, and he's convinced Jennifer Cahill to travel to Guatemala in search of the Mayan temple her uncle died trying to find. But Pike and Jennifer are not the only ones heading into the rain forest in search of hidden treasure. A Canadian mining company is determined to explore the Biosphere for rare earth metals, even if it means destroying the way of life for local villagers. When they learn that Pike and Jennifer's impending historical discovery might thwart their plans, it sets the newly minted team on a crash course with a group of men hellbent on getting their hands on the prize, no matter the cost. Includes an excerpt from Brad Taylor's latest Pike Logan thriller, Daughter of War. Available for purchase at: <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07HW15V7X?tag=randohouseinc7911-20">Amazon</a><a href="https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/id1437876342?at=11l3IH&ct=PRHD39095A662--9781524745394">Apple Books</a><a href="http://www.anrdoezrs.net/click-8373827-11819508?sid=PRHD39095A662&url=http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/?ean=9781524745394">Barnes & Noble</a><a href="http://www.tkqlhce.com/click-8373827-10876509?SID=PRHD39095A662--9781524745394&url=http://www.booksamillion.com/p/9781524745394">Books A Million</a><a href="https://google.prf.hn/click/camref:1011ld4r/pubref:PRHD39095A662--9781524745394/destination:https://play.google.com/store/search?q=9781524745394&c=books">Google Play Store</a><a href="http://click.linksynergy.com/link?id=VD9*lkiWNd8&offerid=258185.12829781935712206&type=2&u1=PRHD39095A662--9781524745394}&murl=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.kobo.com%2Fsearch%3FQuery%3D9781524745394">Kobo</a>

The Ruins by Brad Taylor, read by Rich Orlow

Starting in late 2012, Westerners working in Syria -- journalists and aid workers -- began disappearing without a trace. A year later the world learned they had been taken hostage by the Islamic State. Throughout 2014, all the Europeans came home, first the Spanish, then the French, then an Italian, a German, and a Dane. In August 2014, the Islamic State began executing the Americans -- including journalists James Foley and Steven Sotloff, followed by the British hostages. Joel Simon, who in nearly two decades at the Committee to Protect Journalists has worked on dozens of hostages cases, delves into the heated hostage policy debate. The Europeans paid millions of dollars to a terrorist group to free their hostages. The US and the UK refused to do so, arguing that any ransom would be used to fuel terrorism and would make the crime more attractive, increasing the risk to their citizens. We Want to Negotiate is an exploration of the ethical, legal, and strategic considerations of a bedeviling question: Should governments pay ransom to terrorists?

We Want to Negotiate by Joel Simon, read by Rob Shapiro

Containing the first chapter of 'The Hobbit', 'The Lord of the Rings trilogy which include 'The Fellowship of the Ring', 'The Two Towers', & 'The Return of the King'. 
There's also the first chapter available of 'The Silmarillion', 'Children of Hurin', and samples taken from the gorgeous short stories of 'Tales from the Perilous Realm' and 'Mr Bliss'.

The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien, Read by Rob Inglis

Penguin Books publishes blockbusting, prize-winning, celebrated, controversial, heart-warming, thought-provoking and inspiring books by a range of authors from Ali Smith to Zadie Smith, Jeremy Clarkson to Jeremy Paxman and Jamie Oliver to Oliver Goldsmith.

The Penguin Podcast: Michael Palin with David Baddiel

Penguin Books UK