The Libreria Podcast

Apr 30 2024 97
The Libreria Podcast artwork

Libreria, a bookshop by Second Home, is an independent bookshop in Shoreditch, London. We help you discover new books and ideas to encourage interdisciplinary thinking. In the shop, we curate our books to maximise serendipity – our shelves are arranged according to broad themes like 'Wanderlust', ‘Enchantment for Disenchanted’ and ‘The City’, so you’re constantly encountering titles you might not have come across otherwise. In this podcast, Libreria does the same for your ears – interviewing interesting writers and thinkers to discover their influences and ideas.

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The Future of Trust - Ros Taylor and Lloyd Sowerbutts, in conversation

Apr 30 2024 34 mins  
In this episode we are listening to Ros Taylor discuss her book The Future of Trust, recently published by Melville House, as part of their FUTURES series. We touch on the ideas of interpersonal and institutional trust, when events and public figures continue to undermine and erode them, but it’s not a doom-laden chat! Libreria wishes to thank Ros Taylor and Melville House for t

American Mother – Colum McCann and Lloyd Sowerbutts, in conversation

Mar 04 2024 39 mins  
In this episode we welcome Colum McCann, the National Book Award-winning author of Let the Great World Spin, and the Booker Prize-nominated Apeirogon, to discuss his first non-fiction book, American Mother. which tells the story of Diane Foley – mother of beheaded journalist James Foley – who has come face-to-face with her son’s killer and continues to campaign for the safety

The Upside-Down World – Benjamin Moser and Lauren Elkin, in conversation at Libreria

Feb 07 2024 66 mins  
In this episode we are listening to Benjamin Moser and Lauren Elkin discuss Ben’s recent publication The Upside-Down World: Meetings with the Dutch Masters, which was recorded in October 2023, live in the bookshop. With the company of some of the finest artists known, Benjamin Moser discusses art, life, and death, with the passion of a knowledgeable guide who dismantles the hiera

Sleepless – Marie Darrieussecq and Brian Dillon in conversation, at Libreria

Dec 14 2023 56 mins  
In this episode we are listening to Marie Darrieussecq and Brian Dillon discuss Marie’s recent publication Sleepless, which was recorded in October 2023, live in the bookshop.Plagued by insomnia for twenty years, Marie Darrieussecq recounts her own experiences alongside those of fellow insomniacs, mostly fellow writers like Ovid, Marcel Proust, Virginia Woolf, Marguerite Duras, F

My Weil – Lars Iyer & Jon Day in discussion, at Libreria

Oct 05 2023 65 mins  
In this episode we are listening to Lars Iyer and Jon Day discuss Lars’ recent novel My Weil, which was recorded live in the bookshop in September 2023. My Weil is the third in a loose trilogy of novels, where significant continental thinkers are brought into contemporary academic scenarios that skewer academia, and the parochial ways of British life. Bordering on the unruly and

Poverty, by America – Matthew Desmond, at Libreria

May 16 2023 40 mins  
In this episode Libreria welcomes Pulitzer Prize winner, MacArthur Fellow and esteemed sociologist, Matthew Desmond. Matthew is the author of Poverty, by America, and Evicted: Poverty and Profit in the American City. Libreria wishes to thank Allen Lane publishers of the Penguin Random House group for the opportunity to host a live discussion with Matthew Desmond at Libreria booksho

One Small Voice - Santanu Bhattacharya

Mar 23 2023 49 mins  
In this episode the microphone is passed on to Libreria bookseller Buitumelo, who has invited debut author Santanu Bhattacharya, to chat about his recent novel One Small Voice, which was published by Fig Tree. Santanu Bhattacharya’s debut novel One Small Voice introduces us to the epic tale of a young man's life and journey through India, starting in the early 90s. We bear witnes

Together: A Manifesto Against the Heartless World - Ece Temelkuran

Jun 19 2022 29 mins  
In this episode Libreria welcomes Turkish writer and political thinker Ece Temelkuran, whose recent publications Together: A Manifesto Against a Heartless World and How To Lose A Country: The 7 Steps From Democracy to Dictatorship focus on fascism, rising populism, and morals in the 21st century. In this discussion, Ece and Lloyd talk about witnessing political changes, her desire

Iconicon - John Grindrod

May 06 2022 40 mins  
In this episode Libreria welcomes John Grindrod, author of Concretopia and Outskirts. Together with Iconicon these books form a loose trilogy about how the British have planned, built, lived and worked over the last 80 years. During the conversation John mentions the following books and authors: The City and The City - China Miéville Capital - John Lanchester City of the Mind - Pe

The Selfless Act of Breathing - JJ Bola

Oct 27 2021 54 mins  
In this episode Libreria welcomes established writer and poet JJ Bola ahead of the publication of his new novel, The Selfless Act of Breathing. In this wide-ranging and candid conversation, we jump off from JJ’s recent work to discuss masculinity, purpose, searching, discovery and failure.