A Conversation with Neal Ascherson

Neal Ascherson has worked as a journalist for more than six decades, reporting from Eastern Europe, the Soviet Union, its successor states and elsewhere. He has also written more than a hundred pieces for the London Review of Books, from its seventh issue (in February 1980) to its most recent. In this episode of the LRB podcast, Ascherson talks to Thomas Jones about his recent piece on the journalist Claud Cockburn and about his own life and career, from his time as propaganda secretary for the Uganda National Congress to the moment he witnessed preparations for the kidnapping of Mikhail Gorbachev in Crimea but ‘missed the scoop of a lifetime’.

Find further reading on the episode page: https://lrb.me/aschersonpod

Listen to Neal Ascherson deliver his 2012 LRB Winter Lecture: https://lrb.me/aschersonwl

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Discover audiobooks, Close Readings and more from the LRB: https://lrb.me/audiolrbpod

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The LRB Podcast brings you weekly conversations from Europe’s leading magazine of culture and ideas. Hosted by Thomas Jones and Malin Hay, with guest episodes from the LRB's US editor Adam Shatz, Meehan Crist, Rosemary Hill and more.

Find the LRB's new Close Readings podcast in on Apple Podcasts or Spotify, or search 'LRB Close Readings' wherever you get your podcasts.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

• No. of episodes: 384
• Latest episode: 2025-04-30
• Society & Culture

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