In this month’s Faber podcasts, I talk first to James Palmer about the momentous year 1976, which saw the death of Chairman Mao and inevitable machinations to be his successor, as well as one of the worst natural disasters in human history, the Tangshan earthquake.

To listen to the podcast, click here.

And to listen to James reading extracts from the book, click on the links below:

Reading 1: click here. “Beyond the violence, it was the sheer all-pervasiveness of the Cultural Revolution that had left people so exhausted…”

Reading 2: click here. “In Chinese folklore, omens attended the passing of an emperor. The same went for earthquakes…”

In my second interview, I speak to Guardian journalist Philip Oltermann about his book Keeping up with the Germans:A History of Anglo-German Encounters. Philip came to this country from his native Germany in his mid-teens and in the book turns his wry gaze on both countries and their history of mutual misunderstandings. To listen to the interview, click here.