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The Arts Intel Report

A Cultural Compass
For the World Traveler
A Cultural Compass
For the World Traveler

Page 94

In a recent biography of 20th-century British media tycoon and fraudster Robert Maxwell (the father of Ghislaine), John Preston writes that adoring obituaries and tributes from world leaders followed news of Maxwell’s sudden death in 1991; it was only later, when news of his criminality leaked out, that the public realized his true nature. But anyone who’d crossed paths with him—or been sued by him, as plenty of people were—knew much before his death that Robert Maxwell was a monster, say the Private Eye editor Ian Hislop and the writer Francis Wheen in a podcast episode titled “Catching Up and Cap’n Bob.” Joining host Andrew Hunter Murray, Hislop and Wheen recall the many times Maxwell brought Private Eye to court in a fascinating and hilarious 30-minute bit. “I think it was 1975 when Maxwell was first quoted saying, ‘I have shut Private Eye up for good,’” says Hislop. Today, Maxwell is long gone, Private Eye turns 60, and this podcast, currently on its 60th episode, channels the trademark wit that has buoyed the British magazine since 1961. —J.V.