Best Mafalda Podcasts (2026)

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Books Matter More Than Ever: A Conversation with Ian Patterson 51:32

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5d ago51:32

51:32

In this episode of the Shakespeare and Company Podcast, Adam Biles speaks with poet, translator and critic Ian Patterson about Books: A Manifesto, his passionate defence of reading in all its forms. What begins with the construction of a personal library in a converted coach house opens into a wide-ranging meditation on memory, loss, vulnerability …

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Latin America in the Spotlight in 2026 32:13

14d ago32:13

32:13

From the Donroe Doctrine to tariff turmoil a rightward electoral tilt, 2025 was a year of shifts for Latin America. Now, with Brazil, Colombia, Costa Rica, Haiti, and Peru gearing up for presidential votes in 2026, more change is on the way.To make sense of what's to come, this episode of Latin America in focus brings back four of our prior guests …

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John & Paul: A Love Story in Songs, with Ian Leslie 55:16

14d ago55:16

55:16

In this live conversation at Shakespeare & Company in Paris, Adam Biles speaks with writer Ian Leslie about John & Paul: A Love Story in Songs, Leslie’s acclaimed exploration of the creative and emotional bond at the heart of The Beatles. Together they trace John Lennon and Paul McCartney’s relationship from their first meeting as bereaved teenager…

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Andrés Velasco on How Latin America Can Reboot Its Economic Rules 41:18

23d ago41:18

41:18

Thirty-five years after the Washington Consensus, a group of the world’s leading economists have assembled a new book formulating an alternative road map for developing economies, The London Consensus: Economic Principles for the 21st Century. One of the books co-editors, prominent Chilean economist Andrés Velasco, recently stopped by the New York …

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When Stories Fall Apart: Miriam Robinson on Love, Loss, and Truth 49:13

28d ago49:13

49:13

In this intimate conversation recorded at Shakespeare and Company, novelist Miriam Robinson joins Adam Biles to discuss her remarkable debut, And Notre Dame Is Burning. Together, they explore the novel’s fractured structure and the emotional aftermath of betrayal, loss, and motherhood. Robinson reflects on her protagonist Esther—a woman piecing tog…

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Why We Write, Why We Live, with Miriam Toews 49:26

1M ago49:26

49:26

An edited version of this conversation is now available as part of our collaboration with The Yale Review. Read it here: https://yalereview.org/article/shakespeare-and-company-interview-miriam-toews Trigger warning: This is a tender, funny, and hopeful conversation, that inevitably touches on the subjects of suicide and depression. Please be advise…

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Can Rodrigo Paz Unearth Bolivia’s Lithium Potential? 26:55

2M ago26:55

26:55

For decades, Bolivia’s abundant reserves of lithium, thought to be the largest in the world, have been touted as the country’s ticket to economic prosperity. But time and again, the sector has run into political hurdles, social resistance, technical issues, and a lack of investment. As newly inaugurated President Rodrigo Paz enters office under a p…

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Will Chileans Pivot at the Polls? 26:47

2M ago26:47

26:47

After two failed constitutional rewrites, Chileans return to the polls to pick their new president. And like those referendums, this year’s vote will be compulsory. In this episode, international lawyer and columnist Paz Zárate covers what the mandatory vote could mean for the outcome of the first-round presidential vote. How are voters who typical…

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A Crack in U.S.-Colombia Cooperation 38:53

2M ago38:53

38:53

Colombia has long been considered Washington’s greatest ally in Latin America. But the Trump administration’s decertification of Colombia as a partner in the war on drugs and its revocation of the visa of Colombian President Gustavo Petro have brought tension to the once ironclad relationship. On this episode, Sergio Guzmán, director of Colombia Ri…

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How France Lost Its Way, with Andrew Hussey 1:08:23

2M ago1:08:23

1:08:23

In this episode recorded live at Shakespeare and Company, historian and cultural critic Andrew Hussey joins Adam Biles to discuss his powerful new book, Fractured France: A Journey Through a Divided Nation. With wit, erudition, and decades of on-the-ground insight, Hussey examines how France—once the model of revolutionary ideals and republican uni…

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Philippe Sands: Pinochet, Walter Rauff, and the Shadows of History 1:06:38

3M ago1:06:38

1:06:38

This week Adam Biles speaks with international lawyer and acclaimed author Philippe Sands about his latest book, 38 Londres Street: On Impunity, Pinochet in England and a Nazi in Patagonia. Building on East West Street and The Ratline, Sands traces the remarkable and disturbing links between Nazi officer Walter Rauff—architect of the mobile gas van…

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Energy and Security Go Hand in Hand in the Caribbean 38:47

3M ago38:47

38:47

Things are heating up in the southern Caribbean. Recent U.S. military strikes on alleged drug trafficking vessels from Venezuela have compounded escalating tensions between Venezuela and its much smaller neighbor, Guyana, an emerging energy powerhouse, over the oil-rich Essequibo region. In this episode, former U.S. Ambassador to Guyana Sarah-Ann L…

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Navigating Trump’s Tariff Tests—The Brazil Edition 30:34

4M ago30:34

30:34

On July 9, President Donald Trump threw 200 years of diplomatic relations with Brazil for a loop. Latin America’s largest economy got hit with the highest tariff in the region—a whopping 50 percent. But what truly got President Lula’s administration riled up was the U.S. government’s justification for the additional rate. “Talking with U.S. officia…

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Navigating Trump’s Tariff Tests—The Mexico Edition 30:45

4M ago30:45

30:45

On the one hand, Mexico’s President Sheinbaum has won praise for artfully handling relations with Trump administration, as well as standing out among global leaders for winning a 90-day tariff delay. On the other, more is at stake for Mexico than most countries, given that over 80 percent of its exports are U.S.-bound. And soon it will face a new c…

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Moonlight Express: Monisha Rajesh on the Magic of Night Trains 58:35

3M ago58:35

58:35

In this conversation recorded live at Shakespeare and Company, travel writer Monisha Rajesh talks about her new book Moonlight Express: Around the World by Night Train. From Paris to Istanbul, Scotland to India, the United States to Lapland, Rajesh explores the romance and realities of sleeper trains—where the carriages, the landscapes, and above a…

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Twenty Writers, One Bookshop: The Shakespeare and Company Book of Interviews, now in paperback 1:18:21

4M ago1:18:21

1:18:21

In this special episode of the Shakespeare and Company Interview Podcast, we celebrate the paperback release of The Shakespeare and Company Book of Interviews (Canongate), a compelling collection of literary conversations recorded live at our bookshop in Paris. Capturing a decade of rich, revealing discussions, the episode revisits unforgettable mo…

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Small Girl, Big Ideas: Getting to know Mafalda, with Samanta Schweblin and Frank Wynne 55:10

4M ago55:10

55:10

In this episode Adam speaks with translator Frank Wynne and Argentinian writer Samanta Schweblin about the first-ever English edition of Mafalda, the beloved Argentine comic strip by Quino (Archipelago Books). Together, they explore how this precocious, principled six-year-old girl—who challenged everything from soup to capitalism—shaped generation…

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Calls May Be Recorded: Lipstick, Loneliness, and Late Capitalism with Katharina Volckmer 41:54

5M ago41:54

41:54

Katharina Volckmer joins Adam Biles to discuss her biting, bleakly funny second novel, Calls May Be Recorded for Training and Monitoring Purposes. Set in a London call centre, the book follows Jimmie, a disillusioned former actor trapped in a soul-crushing job, a suffocating home life with his immigrant mother, and an alienating body. Volckmer disc…

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The Shape of Survival: Eimear McBride on Love, Art, and the City 1:02:49

5M ago1:02:49

1:02:49

In this textured conversation, author Eimear McBride joins Adam Biles at Shakespeare and Company to discuss her latest novel The City Changes Its Face. Set in Camden Town in the 1990s, the book revisits characters from The Lesser Bohemians as they navigate the complexities of love, art, aging, trauma, and parenthood. McBride explores the enduring i…

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Katie Kitamura on Fiction’s Shifting Realities 55:22

5M ago55:22

55:22

Katie Kitamura joins Adam Biles to discuss her remarkable novel Audition. Centred on a middle-aged actress whose settled life is upended by a young man claiming to be her son, Audition blurs the lines between performance, identity, and narrative certainty. Kitamura reflects on the novel’s dual structure—a “rabbit-duck” ambiguity—and her fascination…

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Mafalda, Argentina’s Feisty Heroine, Now Speaks English 38:21

5M ago38:21

38:21

Mafalda, Quino’s beloved comic strip from Argentina—first published in 1964—has conquered the world, appearing in at least 25 languages. Six decades on, she is finally reaching Anglophone audiences, translated into English for the first time. Award-winning translator Frank Wynne speaks on his experience translating Mafalda into English, noting the …

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Renton Returns, Sick Boy in Love: Irvine Welsh Reimagines His Antiheroes 1:04:03

5M ago1:04:03

1:04:03

In this electric conversation, Irvine Welsh joins Adam Biles at Shakespeare and Company to discuss Men in Love, the long-awaited sequel to Trainspotting. Picking up moments after Renton's betrayal, Welsh dives deep into the aftermath—friendship, love, addiction, class, and the cultural hangover of 1980s Thatcherism. The pair explore writing authent…

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Inside the Story Machine: Natasha Brown on Media, Power, and Fiction 54:48

6M ago54:48

54:48

In this episode novelist Natasha Brown joins Adam Biles to discuss her daring second book, Universality. The conversation explores the novel’s structural audacity—opening with a fictional long-read article—and its thematic interrogation of class, race, media narratives, and the modern British middle class. Brown dives into her creation of Leni, a p…

Mafalda Podcasts

1
Shrimp Therapy

Mafalda

1
Mafalda

Natalia Cardenas, Veronica Mejia & Vicky Ferrada.

1
Latin America in Focus

AS/COA Online

1
The Shakespeare and Company Interview

Shakespeare and Company

1
Super Powered: Leadership, Strategy, Decision Making & Peak Performance - Stories & Strategies from World-Class Performers for Executive Success

Rob D. Willis

1
Books Matter More Than Ever: A Conversation with Ian Patterson 51:32

1
Latin America in the Spotlight in 2026 32:13

1
John & Paul: A Love Story in Songs, with Ian Leslie 55:16

1
Andrés Velasco on How Latin America Can Reboot Its Economic Rules 41:18

1
When Stories Fall Apart: Miriam Robinson on Love, Loss, and Truth 49:13

1
Why We Write, Why We Live, with Miriam Toews 49:26

1
Can Rodrigo Paz Unearth Bolivia’s Lithium Potential? 26:55

1
Will Chileans Pivot at the Polls? 26:47

1
A Crack in U.S.-Colombia Cooperation 38:53

1
How France Lost Its Way, with Andrew Hussey 1:08:23

1
Philippe Sands: Pinochet, Walter Rauff, and the Shadows of History 1:06:38

1
Energy and Security Go Hand in Hand in the Caribbean 38:47

1
Navigating Trump’s Tariff Tests—The Brazil Edition 30:34

1
Navigating Trump’s Tariff Tests—The Mexico Edition 30:45

1
Moonlight Express: Monisha Rajesh on the Magic of Night Trains 58:35

1
Twenty Writers, One Bookshop: The Shakespeare and Company Book of Interviews, now in paperback 1:18:21

1
Small Girl, Big Ideas: Getting to know Mafalda, with Samanta Schweblin and Frank Wynne 55:10

1
Calls May Be Recorded: Lipstick, Loneliness, and Late Capitalism with Katharina Volckmer 41:54

1
The Shape of Survival: Eimear McBride on Love, Art, and the City 1:02:49

1
Katie Kitamura on Fiction’s Shifting Realities 55:22

1
Mafalda, Argentina’s Feisty Heroine, Now Speaks English 38:21

1
Renton Returns, Sick Boy in Love: Irvine Welsh Reimagines His Antiheroes 1:04:03

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Inside the Story Machine: Natasha Brown on Media, Power, and Fiction 54:48