Rachel Cusk’s new novel, Germany’s latest culture war and the Ubud Writers and Readers Festival

This edition of Monocle on Saturday was first broadcast on 29 August 2026.

Hello, I'm Georgina Godwin, broadcasting to you live from Midori House in London, and this is Monocle on Saturday.

Coming up on today's programme, we'll have a look through the week's news and culture with the journalist and New Statesman's culture editor, Tanjil Rashid.

Then we'll hear from the founder and director of the Ubud Readers and Writers Festival, Janet Deneaf, all about this year's edition happening in Bali in late October.

That's all ahead here on Monocle on Saturday.

First, though, the news.