Read Smart Podcast: A 25th Anniversary Discussion of Life Under Dictatorships

Tune into the latest episode of The Read Smart Podcast, which explores what life is like in dictatorships worldwide and throughout history. Host, Razia Iqbal, will be joined by three former winners of the Baillie Gifford Prize for Nonfiction: historian Michael Burley, journalist Barbara Demick, and historian Frank Dikötter. They delve into the fascinatingly complex definitions and qualities behind the term ‘dictator’ and the role that secrecy and terror play in countries living under authoritarian rule. To continue the 25th-anniversary celebration of the Baillie Gifford Prize, the Read Smart podcast will have unique episodes where special guests from the prize’s past will be returning to give their insight into a number of interesting topics. Special episodes will be dedicated to the authors shortlisted for the Winner of Winners competition, which is being judged by Chair Jason Cowley, Shahidha Bari, Sarah Churchwell, and Frances Wilson. The podcast is generously supported by the Blavatnik Family Foundation. […]

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Read Smart Podcast: The 2022 Baillie Gifford Prize Winner

Tune into the final Read Smart podcast episode of the year, where 2022 prize winner Katherine Rundell discusses her book Super-Infinite: The Transformations of John Donne and how she feels following the announcement. Host, Razia Iqbal, also speaks to some of the other guests at the awards ceremony, including former judge Sara Collins, last year’s chair of judges Andrew Holgate, and publisher and editor Margaret Busby. The winner was announced and live streamed on FacebookLive and YouTube at a gala dinner that the Blavatnik Family Foundation generously supported on Thursday 17 November. The podcast is generously supported by the Blavatnik Family Foundation. […]

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