Joan's picks: The Secret Hours and Elon Musk

The Secret Hours by Mick Herron, creator of the Slow Horses books and TV series. The UK government has ordered a inquiry into MI5’s activities in Berlin back in 1999 when they were involved in a disastrous event. MI5 is determined that the inquiry won’t succeed and engage in completely pointless bureaucracy to ensure that. But then a classified dossier is handed to the two civil servants in charge of the inquiry which is explosive. No one writes the civil service and the world of spies as well as Mick Herron does (except, perhaps, for John le Carre, though not with the same humour) - simply brilliant.  Elon Musk by Walter Isaacson (who wrote a very authoritative book on Steve Jobs a few years ago). Isaacson had unfettered access to Elon Musk for two years, going to meetings, waling alongside, and was able to talk to anyone he wanted, both friends and adversaries. It’s quite fascinating about the difficult childhood he had in South Africa and how that’s shaped him - and there’s also something of that Harvey Weinstein debate about, to what degree should a difficult/intemperate person who’s achieved the kinds of things he has be forgiven because of their brilliance.  LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.