Arranged vs Forced Marriages & Kevin Spacey’s Netflix Exit

After some disruption to the schedule (namely two live recordings in a row and an author special, whilst Dolly’s enjoyed monsoon season in Thailand and practiced wellness with a monk) The High Low is back in the Acast studio. And we’ve got tons (literally tons) of reading, listening and watching recs for you, from our sojourns away.

This week we discuss Kevin Spacey’s “I’m Gay” disclaimer, Netflix dropping him and whether or not you can separate the art from the artist. Will their legacy live on? Is the whole thing a hackneyed debate? And if Frank doesn’t come back…. will Claire?

Also today, we speak to a High Low listener about the difference between an arranged and a forced marriage, after the sad news story of Aasiya Bibi, the 21-year-od Pakistani girl who murdered 15 of her husband’s family with poison, in her desperation to escape her forced marriage. 

It’s our first official week with Google, our sexy new partner, and Dolly kickstarts our new ‘curiosity’ segment with the Google Pixel 2, by asking Pandora what the meaning of love is. A nice gentle ease into the series, that. If you want to see the fruits of our new Google Pixel shoot, head on over to our Instagram’s @pandorasykes @dollyalderton for a taster. More magic to come, my friends.

Don’t forget to rate, review and subscribe to The High Low on iTunes. You can e-mail The High Low thehighlowshow@gmail.com or tweet us @thehighlowshow.

READING

The Wife, by Meg Wolitzer https://www.amazon.co.uk/Wife-Meg-Wolitzer/dp/0099478196\

Valley Of The Dolls, by Jacqueline Susan https://www.amazon.co.uk/Valley-Dolls-VMC-Jacqueline-Susann/dp/1860498876 

Disclaimer, by Renee Knight https://www.amazon.co.uk/Disclaimer-Renée-Knight/dp/1784160229

Lust, by Roald Dahl https://www.amazon.co.uk/Lust-Roald-Dahl/dp/0718185617

Zoe Heller profile on Roald Dahl for New Republic, 2010 https://newrepublic.com/article/78552/the-miserabilist-roald-dahl

Owen Jones on Kevin Spacey https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2017/oct/30/kevin-spacey-vicious-lie-gay-men-accusation-attempted-sexual-assault 

Jess Phillips on A Terrible, Toxic Week at Westminster https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2017/nov/05/jess-phillips-a-terrible-toxic-week-in-westminster

Alec Baldwin interview by Janice Turner https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/alec-baldwin-for-president-0r5b8k08w

LISTENING

The Adam Buxton interviews with Zadie Smith, Kathy Burke and Louis Theroux https://soundcloud.com/adam-buxton

Here's The Thing interview with Barbra Streisand http://www.wnyc.org/story/visit-barbras-place/ 

Kay Mellor's Desert Island Discs