Book of the week: The Radical Potter by Tristram Hunt
In this exceptional biography, Hunt shows that Josiah Wedgwood was the Steve Jobs of his day
This “small book” is based on Michaela Coel’s 2018 MacTaggart Lecture to “the bigwigs of the television industry”, said Fiona Sturges in The Guardian.
In it, the actor and screenwriter – best known for her 2020 series I May Destroy You – laid out her struggles as a “black working-class woman” in an industry dominated by white middle-class men. She detailed the racism she’d encountered, and the complacency of TV executives, who so often dismissed her concerns with the words “that’s the way it is”.
Although intended as a wake-up call to “those in charge of our television networks”, the lecture will be interesting to non-specialists for its “startling glimpse into the mind and practices of a remarkable talent”.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Captivating and funny as Coel’s lecture was, I’m not sure it should have been turned into a book, said Tomiwa Owolade in the London Evening Standard. You can watch it in its entirety on YouTube; this repackaging, with a brief introduction and afterword, “adds nothing worthwhile”.
I disagree, said Rosie Kinchen in The Sunday Times. Coel’s voice – “razor-sharp” and very funny – deserves to reach the widest possible audience. She herself may be less of an outsider these days – but her lecture’s message still feels relevant.
Ebury 128pp £9.99; The Week Bookshop £7.99
The Week Bookshop
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
To order this title or any other book in print, visit theweekbookshop.co.uk, or speak to a bookseller on 020-3176 3835. Opening times: Monday to Saturday 9am-5.30pm and Sunday 10am-4pm.
-
5 seriously spooky cartoons about HalloweenCartoons Artists take on the GOP boogeyman, a white sheet, and more
-
Political cartoons for October 25Cartoons Saturday’s political cartoons include hospital bill trauma, Independence Day, and more
-
Roasted squash and apple soup recipeThe Week Recommends Autumnal soup is full of warming and hearty flavours
-
Roasted squash and apple soup recipeThe Week Recommends Autumnal soup is full of warming and hearty flavours
-
6 well-crafted log homesFeature Featuring a floor-to-ceiling rock fireplace in Montana and a Tulikivi stove in New York
-
Film reviews: A House of Dynamite, After the Hunt, and It Was Just an AccidentFeature A nuclear missile bears down on a U.S. city, a sexual misconduct allegation rocks an elite university campus, and a victim of government terror pursues vengeance
-
Book reviews: ‘Gertrude Stein: An Afterlife’ and ‘Make Me Commissioner: I Know What’s Wrong With Baseball and How to Fix It’Feature Gertrude Stein’s untold story and Jane Leavy’s playbook on how to save baseball
-
Rachel Ruysch: Nature Into ArtFeature Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, through Dec. 7
-
Music reviews: Olivia Dean, Madi Diaz, and Hannah FrancesFeature “The Art of Loving,” “Fatal Optimist,” and “Nested in Tangles”
-
Gilbert King’s 6 favorite books about the search for justiceFeature The journalist recommends works by Bryan Stevenson, David Grann, and more
-
Ready for the apocalypseFeature As anxiety rises about the state of the world, the ranks of preppers are growing—and changing.