The Read Smart Podcast is hosted by Razia Iqbal, John L. Weinberg Professor at Princeton University, produced by The Baillie Gifford Prize for Non-Fiction and is generously supported by the Blavatnik Family Foundation. The new series builds on last year’s successful podcasts released to celebrate the prize’s 21st anniversary.
Each month, Razia explores the increasingly popular world of non-fiction books. Expect to hear from prize winning authors, judges and publishing insiders. It also goes behind the scenes of the 2020 prize, which is awarded this autumn.
For more information, visit thebailliegiffordprize.co.uk and follow on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram @BGPrize
The 2026 Shortlist: Patrick Radden Keefe Read Smart Podcast
We’re back with a brand new series of the Read Smart podcast!
In this episode, Prize Executive Director Toby Mundy speaks with Author Patrick Radden Keefe, shortlisted for the 2026 Baillie Gifford Prize for Non-Fiction with his new book London Falling: A Mysterious Death in a Gilded City and a Family’s Search for Truth. In his inimitably gripping and forensic style, Keefe follows Zac’s parents on a dark journey to find out what brought him to the balcony that night – and how a teenager’s life of make-believe drew him into the city’s terrifying underworld. Listen now to hear all about it. This podcast is generously supported by the Blavatnik Family Foundation.
To keep up with all of our Prize news year-round, follow @BGPrize on Instagram, Facebook, X, TikTok and YouTube.
23 Oct 2025
The 2025 Shortlist: Adam Weymouth
It's the final episode of the Read Smart podcast hearing from our 6 shortlisted authors! In this episode, Prize Executive Director Toby Mundy speaks with Adam Weymouth about Lone Wolf: Walking the Faultlines of Europe, one of the shortlisted works for the 2025 Baillie Gifford Prize for Non-Fiction.
Weymouth follows the journey of a wolf across Europe, weaving together nature writing, identity and geopolitics, and raising profound questions about belonging and the wild. In this conversation he reflects on wilderness, migration and what it means to stray far from home.
Listen now to engage with a story where animal tracks become pathways into human experience. This podcast is generously supported by the Blavatnik Family Foundation. To keep up with all of our Prize news year-round, follow @BGPrize on Instagram, Facebook, X, TikTok and YouTube.
23 Oct 2025
The 2025 Shortlist: Richard Holmes
It's Episode 5 of the Read Smart podcast! In this episode, Prize Executive Director Toby Mundy speaks with biographer and historian Richard Holmes about The Boundless Deep: Young Tennyson, Science and the Crisis of Belief, a shortlisted title for the 2025 Baillie Gifford Prize for Non-Fiction.
Holmes charts Alfred Lord Tennyson’s early years against the backdrop of science, faith and poetic ambition, revealing how the nineteenth-century sea of ideas shaped a generation. In this conversation, he explores biography, belief, and how a poet confronted the emerging challenges of his time.
Listen now to discover this elegant and searching study of mind, myth and meaning. This podcast is generously supported by the Blavatnik Family Foundation. To keep up with all of our Prize news year-round, follow @BGPrize on Instagram, Facebook, X, TikTok and YouTube.
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Apple Podcasts (US)
3.3 / 5
4 ratings
Spotify
5.0 / 5
2 ratings
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