Libra - Episode Two

For the 100th title to be explored in Opening Lines, John Yorke picks up the 1998 novel Libra by the heavyweight American writer, Don DeLillo.

In this second episode considering the book, he focuses on the endless conspiracies that surround its central subject - the assassination of President John F Kennedy. Does the fact that DeLillo chooses to feed the conspiracy industry by inserting a second shooter taking aim at Kennedy from the mythic grassy knoll matter, given that this is a work of fiction? Or does DeLillo present a world governed as much by chance and coincidence as it is by conspiracy?

To help him answer those questions, John speaks with David Aaronovitch, author of Voodoo Histories: How Conspiracy Theory Has Shaped Modern History; Pulitzer Prize-winning author and journalist Jennifer Egan; and Professor Jesse Kavadlo, president of the Don DeLillo Society.

John Yorke has worked in television and radio for over 30 years and shares his experience as he unpacks the themes of the books, plays and stories dramatised in BBC Radio 4’s Sunday Drama series. As former Head of Channel Four Drama and Controller of BBC Drama Production he has worked on some of the most popular shows in Britain - from EastEnders to The Archers, Life on Mars to Shameless. He created the BBC Writers Academy and trained a generation of screenwriters - now with thousands of hours of television to their names. His acclaimed books Into the Woods and Trip to the Moon explore the structure and power of narrative, and he writes, teaches and consults on all forms of storytelling, including many podcasts for R4.

Libra by Don de Lillo is the 100th title covered by Opening Lines. The series began in January 2023 with Lady Chatterly’s Lover. Since then John Yorke has explored novels from Anna Karenina to Gone with the Wind, plays from Shakespeare to Eugene O’Neill and ground-breaking non-fiction like John Hersey’s Hiroshima. Each episode provides background, context and some expert discussion in advance of Radio 4’s Sunday afternoon drama, and all 100 titles can be heard on BBC Sounds.

Contributors: Pulitzer Prize-winning author Jennifer Egan, David Aaronovitch & Professor Jesse Kavadlo
Sound: Sean Kerwin
Readings: Eric Stroud
Researcher: Henry Tydeman
Production Hub Coordinator: Dawn Williams
Producer: Geoff Bird
Executive Producer: Sara Davies

A Pier production for BBC Radio 4