On Politics: Burnham’s First Week

Adam Tooze: Electrostates, Petrostates and the New Cold War

China is racing ahead in electrification, while the US turns its back on green energy in favour of a new era of fossil fuel machismo. An alignment between the three major petrostates – the US, Saudi Arabia and Russia – no longer looks implausible. The outlines of a new Cold War are becoming visible, one which will be determined by a novel mixture of ideology, critical technologies, supply chains and control of energy flows. How will these geopolitical dynamics play out – and what will it mean for global warming? Adam Tooze is the Kathryn and Shelby Cullom Davis Professor of History and director of the European Institute at Columbia University. A columnist at Foreign Policy and a regular contributor to the LRB, he also writes Chartbook, a newsletter on economics, geopolitics and history. His books include ‘Crashed: How a Decade of Financial Crises Changed the World’ and ‘Shutdown: How Covid Shook the World’s Economy’. Adam Tooze's LRB Autumn Lecture was delivered at the New School, NYC on 27 October 2025 From the LRB Subscribe to the LRB: ⁠⁠ [https://lrb.me/pod]https://lrb.me/subslrbpod [https://lrb.me/subslrbpod] Close Readings podcast: ⁠https://lrb.me/crlrbpod⁠ [https://lrb.me/crlrbpod] LRB Audiobooks: ⁠https://lrb.me/audiobookslrbpod⁠ [https://lrb.me/audiobookslrbpod] Bags, binders and more at the LRB Store: ⁠https://lrb.me/storelrbpod⁠ [https://lrb.me/storelrbpod] Get in touch: podcasts@lrb.co.uk Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices [https://megaphone.fm/adchoices]

Travel with Close Readings: ‘The Travels of Sir John Mandeville’

To continue our summer of travel with Close Readings, Irina Dumitrescu and Mary Wellesley look at the medieval bestseller The Travels of Sir John Mandeville. The fictional traveller’s fantastical descriptions of different places, peoples and animals across the Holy Land and Asia are almost certainly drawn mainly from other textual sources, rather than direct experience by the unknown author, and yet the work was often used as a source of reference as well as entertainment or prurient interest. Many of the writer’s observations of different political and religious practices could be taken as radical critiques of his homeland. Yet while it often urges appreciation of other cultures, the book is undoubtedly xenophobic and racist in places, foreshadowing the European quest for colonisation: indeed, Christopher Columbus had a copy with him when the Santa Cruz sighted land on 12th October 1492. Get 50% off a 12-month subscription to Close Readings with the code 'SUMMER50' here: https://lrb.me/crtravelmb [https://lrb.me/crtravelmb] Find our full Travel with Close Readings playlist here: https://lrb.me/travelwebmb [https://lrb.me/travelwebmb] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices [https://megaphone.fm/adchoices]

The long history of Black voter suppression in the US

In April this year, the US Supreme Court struck down Louisiana's voting map on the grounds that state lawmakers had violated the constitution by creating a second district with a majority of Black voters.  This was followed by a similar decision by the court in June, giving Alabama the green light to eliminate a Black majority district. At the same time, President Trump has called for more restrictive voting laws and cast doubt on the legitimacy of the upcoming midterms. To discuss what the decision in Louisiana v. Callais means for future US elections and the long erosion of voting rights protections, from the limitations of the 15th amendment to the evisceration of the 1965 Voting Rights Act, Adam Shatz is joined by Mara Gay, a staff writer at the New York Times, and Randall Kennedy, a professor of law at Harvard. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices [https://megaphone.fm/adchoices]

On Politics: Burnham’s First Week

Andy Burnham’s early promises to end rough sleeping and sort out social care won’t surprise anyone who’s followed his political career, but his apparent interest in the structures of Whitehall was less expected. To discuss what we know so far about the direction of Britain’s new government, James is joined by Stephen Bush of the Financial Times and Sienna Rodgers of the House magazine. They talk through what the exclusions from Burnham’s cabinet reveal about his political intentions, and why the tax and spending plans inherited from the last government might push him to call a general election next year. Read more on politics in the LRB: ⁠https://lrb.me/lrbpolitics⁠ [https://lrb.me/lrbpolitics] From the LRB Subscribe to the LRB: ⁠⁠ [https://lrb.me/pod]https://lrb.me/subslrbpod [https://lrb.me/subslrbpod] Close Readings podcast: ⁠https://lrb.me/crlrbpod⁠ [https://lrb.me/crlrbpod] LRB Audiobooks: ⁠https://lrb.me/audiobookslrbpod⁠ [https://lrb.me/audiobookslrbpod] Bags, binders and more at the LRB Store: ⁠https://lrb.me/storelrbpod⁠ [https://lrb.me/storelrbpod] Get in touch: podcasts@lrb.co.uk Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices [https://megaphone.fm/adchoices]

Nolan v. Homer

It could be argued that Christopher Nolan has been remaking the Odyssey for his whole career, and his latest film revisits many of the themes of his earlier movies, as once again a male protagonist embarks on a desperate quest to recover a female love object. But, as Emily Wilson argues, while Homer’s Odyssey might seem the perfect source material for Nolan, the ancient Greek poem also excels at many things the director isn't so good at, not least dialogue and characterisation. Wilson, who has translated both the Odyssey and the Iliad, joins Thomas Jones to talk through the new adaptation, discussing its echoes of Nolan’s earlier films and his use of the Trojan Horse as a parable about wars built on lies. They also look at the compositional history of Homer’s poem and consider why this archetypal journey narrative is also a story about stasis and the desire to resist time. Listen to Emily and Tom's Close Readings episode on the Odyssey here: Apple: https://lrb.me/odysseyapple [https://lrb.me/odysseyapple] Spotify: https://lrb.me/odysseyspotify [https://lrb.me/odysseyspotify] LRB website: https://lrb.me/odysseyweb [https://lrb.me/odysseyweb] GET 50% OFF a 12-month Close Readings subscription with the code 'SUMMER50' when you sign up here: https://lrb.me/atasummer50 [https://lrb.me/atasummer50] Read Emily Wilson on Nolan's ‘Odyssey’ in the LRB: https://lrb.me/wilsonodysseypod [https://lrb.me/wilsonodysseypod⁠] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices [https://megaphone.fm/adchoices]