The New Society | culture from the New Statesman

Does reading make you a better person? with Dominic Sandbrook

The New Society | culture from the New Statesman

Show Notes

For one of the most famous historians in Britain, conquering the past is not enough.

This month, alongside co-host Tabitha Syrett, Dominic Sandbrook is launching a new podcast - this time shifting his focus from history to literature.

Tanjil Rashid sat down with Sandbrook to talk about this new venture, what he’s reading (he insists it’s a balanced diet) and why reading still matters, not just to us as individuals, but to the health of society itself.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

More from The New Society | culture from the New Statesman

Oct 17, 2026

Carlo Rovelli is a physicist. But he’s also so much more than that. Perennially on lists of the world’s top thinkers, Rovelli likes to think and think hard, about the big questions, where physics meets philosophy and art and literature.

Oct 10, 2026

You know what you know, and I know what I know, but only when we know what the other knows do we have common knowledge.

Oct 3, 2026

Every story, they say, needs a beginning, a middle and an end; every story needs a setting.

Sep 26, 2026

"We live in a world that deserves unicorns," says Katherine Rundell.

Sep 19, 2026

A third of British adults who used to read for pleasure don't anymore.

See all episodes →