Abstract: The Great Gatsby might lay easily claim to be “the great” American novel of the 20th century. As we approach the centenary of its publication - 2025 - this seminar explores some stranger features of the novel that are rarely touched upon. These include the implicit religion of the novel, and yet the absence of God. We will also explore some of the other more familiar themes - including repression, depression, gaudy conspicuous consumption, dishonesty, and classism. If the novel were written today, the parallels with Mar-a-Largo in Florida and the world of Donald Trump might be hard to resist. As this seminar will explore, here again we find distorted and refracted signals of faith and belief in 2025, just as in 1925.   […]

Abstract: The accountability interview in which a public figure is held to account for their statements or actions is a well-established armature in the delivery of broadcast news. In its broadcast canonical form it relies on questioning as an instrument for addressing issues of knowledge, responsibility, and the rightness of actions of those with public standing. However, shifts in questioning techniques have accelerated a movement towards argument in the context of the broadcast accountability interview and a corresponding loosening of its interview structure. Indeed, there are signs of a growing tendency for the interview framework itself to be questioned by interviewees. This article examines what is at stake in these changes and asks if the accountability interview in an era […]