Introducing ‘Aftershock: The War on Terror’

Introducing ‘Aftershock: The War on Terror’

Author: The London Review of Books November 15, 2025 Duration: 3:57
After 9/11, George W. Bush launched a global War on Terror. What followed was an unprecedented expansion of American power, from Guantánamo Bay to drone strikes, mass surveillance to the weaponisation of the financial system. Asked when it would end, Vice-President Dick Cheney replied: ‘Not in our lifetime.’ Two decades later, we’re still living in its shadow. Aftershock: The War on Terror is a new six-part podcast from the London Review of Books. Daniel Soar, a senior editor at the paper, revisits the magazine’s coverage and reflects on the ways 9/11 has changed the world we live in. First episode coming 20 November. Find the series in: Apple Podcasts: https://lrb.me/f16f79 Spotify: https://lrb.me/eb54a6 Or wherever you get your podcasts. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Each week, The LRB Podcast extends the long-form, inquisitive spirit of the London Review of Books into a conversational format. Hosts Thomas Jones and Malin Hay guide discussions that delve into the essays and ideas animating Europe’s leading magazine of culture and ideas, creating a space where complex thoughts on society, art, history, and literature are explored with depth and clarity. The rhythm of the podcast includes a dedicated fortnightly episode, ‘On Politics,’ hosted by James Butler, which sharpens the focus on the political forces and theories shaping our current moment. Listening feels like joining a nuanced, ongoing conversation where arguments are carefully constructed and perspectives are challenged. It’s a natural companion for anyone who believes that understanding the world requires patience, critical thinking, and engaging dialogue. The podcast doesn’t offer quick takes but rather thoughtful excavations of the week’s most compelling cultural and intellectual questions, mirroring the publication’s commitment to serious and elegant prose. This is where written criticism finds its voice, allowing listeners to immerse themselves in the debates that define our time.
Author: Language: English Episodes: 100

The LRB Podcast
Podcast Episodes
On Politics: Myths of Populism [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:12:25
The transformations of European politics over the past twenty years, including Britain’s vote to leave the EU and the rise of post-Soviet strongmen, are often explained as part of a ‘wave’ of populism. But as Jan-Werner…
Jane Austen's ‘Emma’ and the art of misreading [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:08:00
What kind of satirist was Jane Austen? Her earliest writings follow firmly in the footsteps of ‘Tristram Shandy’ in their deployment of heightened sentiment as a tool for satirising romantic novelistic conventions. But h…
Gaza after the Ceasefire [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:09:46
Since the announcement of a ceasefire in Gaza six months ago, 904 Palestinians have been killed and more than 2700 wounded by the Israeli army. Last week, Trump’s Board of Peace released a report complaining of a ‘fundin…
A Rough Guide to Money Laundering [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 46:22
More than 90 per cent of transactions in the UK are now cashless, yet there is more cash in circulation than ever before. In the UK, there’s about £1300 circulating for every individual; in the US it’s more than $7000, a…
When will AI replace us? [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 42:57
Is AI taking us into a world where computer programmers, and perhaps the rest of us too, are obsolete? And if so, how quickly is it taking us there? Paul Taylor has been looking at code since the time when computer games…
On Politics: A New Era for UK Politics [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:04:06
In the wake of last week’s devolved and local elections, Keir Starmer is once again fighting for his political future. Labour has almost completely vanished in Wales, came a distant second in Scotland (tied with Reform U…
On Politics: The Fall of Orbán, the Rise of Magyar [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:05:17
For more than a decade, Viktor Orbán has stood alongside Trump and Modi as a global figurehead for authoritarian nationalism, and an inspiration to popular strongmen everywhere with his model for the ‘illiberal’ democrat…
James Lasdun's road trip to America's courts [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 50:12
‘Courtroom encounters present you with only a fragment of a person’s story, from which you may or may not be inclined to infer the rest,’ James Lasdun wrote recently in the LRB. Last October, he set out on a road trip ac…
On Politics: The Pope and the President [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:01:57
When commenting on the power and influence of the Catholic Church, Stalin is supposed to have asked: ‘how many divisions has the pope?’ Donald Trump has yet to question how many F35s Leo XIV has, but he may as well have…
The War in Lebanon [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 48:11
Lebanese and Israeli delegations met in Washington this week for their first direct talks in 33 years. On 15 April, with talks underway, the IDF’s chief of staff, Eyal Zamir, designated all of southern Lebanon up to the…