Can’t get enough of Louise Brooks? Want to listen to podcasts, radio programs, audio files, and even radio dramas about the actress? This page brings together mostly spoken word, mostly audio-only programs mostly about Louise Brooks and her films. This is a lightly curated list. Not listed are podcasts or other programs which only reference or touch on the actress. Entries are arranged chronologically by type, with the newest material listed first. Please note: most of the BBC programs listed below are available for listening only in the UK.
Podcasts can be found all over the web. Two podcast “search engines” used in the compilation of this page include www.listennotes.com and www.podchaser.com. Both are worth exploring. A few pages from the Louise Brooks Society bring together related audio / visual material: they are the LBS page on SoundCloud, the LBS presence on Vimeo, and an extensive LBS account on YouTube. I hope to add additional material to this page when possible — either as new material becomes available, or as I discover deeply buried links. If you are aware of additional audio which can be listened to online, please CONTACT the LBS.
Thomas Gladysz
Director, Louise Brooks Society
RADIO PROGRAMS & PROGRAM EXCERPTS:
Kupferberg, Audrey. “San Francisco Silent Film Festival presented Pandora’s Box with live orchestral accompaniment.” WAMC, May 25, 2023.
— an appreciation of Pandora’s Box
Zmith, Adam. “The Film We Can’t See.” BBC Radio 4, December 21, 2022.
— episode 3, Sexual Hate And Other Mysteries: “Film writer Pamela Hutchinson explains why Brooks was so unique, and why her power endures even though her films were censored and lost.”
WHAM @ 100 – An Oral History “BONUS_Louise Brooks_Does Scandal Destroy The Stars“, March 27, 2022.
— iHeart Radio series about Brooks’ 1962 radio programs
WHAM @ 100 – An Oral History “Ep 12_Not What I Planned“, March 23, 2022.
— iHeart Radio series about Brooks’ 1962 radio programs
Athon, Bobbie. “Remembering Louise Brooks, Hollywood Flapper Icon.” Kansas Public Radio, May 9, 2019.
— radio story
Krysiak, Eva. “Everyone Else.” BBC, November 14, 2018.
— “A man recalls the summer of 1965 when he decided to track down and write to an iconic flapper and actress of the 1920s, after reading her article in a magazine.”
Stock, Francine. “The Film Programme.” BBC Radio 4, June 7, 2018.
— includes the segment “Louise Brooks launched a thousand haircuts with her idiosyncratic take on the bob, but historian Pamela Hutchinson argues that she was more than just a style icon.”
Cone,Nathan. “After Wings, Hollywood’s Wellman Rode The Rails For Beggars Of Life.” Texas Public Radio, August 16, 2017.
— local NPR radio piece on Beggars of Life
Murray, Jenni. “Women’s Hour.” BBC Radio 4, March 4, 2016.
— includes discussion of the “legacy of iconic 1920s film star Louise Brooks” with Pamela Hutchinson and Melody Bridges
Mack, Megan. “Connections: The Rise, Fall, and Resurrection of Louise Brooks.” WXXI, December 2, 2015. (Rochester, NY NPR)
— hour long radio program with film critic Jack Garner, documentary filmmaker Charlotte Siller, and Thomas Gladysz, director of the Louise Brooks Society
BBC Radio 4. “Women’s Hour.” BBC Radio 4, December 1, 2006. (program description link)
— includes the segment “Paul McGann on silent film star Louise Brooks.”
Rosser, Neil. “The Archive Hour: The Parade’s Gone By …” BBC Radio 4, March 12, 2005. (program description link)
— Kevin Brownlow discusses his acclaimed book, The Parade’s Gone By…, includes audio excerpt of Louise Brooks
Vaughan, Paul. “Kaleidoscope.” BBC Radio 4 FM, July 15, 1982. (excerpt)
— Louise Brooks speaks about acting; program includes a review of “Lulu in Hollywood, the autobiography of Louise Brooks, one of the great actresses of the silent era,” noting ” Her most famous part, as Lulu in Pabst’s masterpiece Pandora’s Box, ruined her life.”
PODCAST SERIES:
Dantas,Pedro. “Louise Brooks, Garota Perdida.” November 2021.
— from Brazil, a six part series all about Louise Brooks: the series description reads, in translation, “Program in honor of the artistic and cinematographic legacy of Louise Brooks (1906-1985), silent film star, icon of the 1920s and woman ahead of her time (and our time). 2021 marks 115 years since her birth.” – in Portuguese
PODCAST EPISODES (English language):
Ticklish Business. “#188: Pandora’s Box (1929, International Month).” July 3, 2024.
— a look at the film
5282. “Louise Brooks Special.” 5282, March 11, 2024.
— an episode devoted to Brooks
Lives and Styles of Old Hollywood. “Louise Brooks.” October 4, 2023.
— a look at Brooks’ life and career
Paris Lesbos. “The Lulu to Dietrich’s Lola“. September 1, 2023.
— a lesbian perspective on Brooks’ career and films
Viva Film. “Louise Brooks and G.W. Pabst – Pandoras Box, Diary of a Lost Girl.” September 20, 2022.
— a look at the silent film star and her collaborations with G.W. Pabst
The Film We Can’t See. “Sexual Hate And Other Mysteries.” July 26, 2022.
— Pamela Hutchinson explains why Brooks was so unique, and why her power endures even though her films were censored and lost.
Important Cinema Club. “The Fire in the Eyes of Louise Brooks.” June 26, 2021.
— a look at the career of Louise Brooks, with a focus on Pandora’s Box and Diary of a Lost Girl and Brooks’ Lulu in Hollywood.
The Book Review. “A More Perfect Union.” June 11, 2021.
— a look at books from the New York Times; including at around the 28:00 minute mark, J. Hoberman, who discusses “his piece about 10 books that, taken together, tell the story of Hollywood. He talks, among other subjects, about why the only celebrity memoir on his list is Lulu in Hollywood, by Louise Brooks, who acted in the 1920s and ’30s and published her memoir much later in life. ‘She was a remarkably cleareyed observer of what was going on,’ Hoberman says, ‘and embarked on the whole star-making thing with a healthy degree of ambivalence. So she’s able to write about herself and about the conditions under which movies were made and the people she met in Hollywood and so on, in a way that’s both personal and detached. There aren’t too many other memoirs like this… The quality of writing is high’.”
Cinematary. “Diary of a Lost Girl (Young Critics Watch Old Movies v.7),” July 9, 2021.
— discussion of various contemporary films, at the 40:25 mark the discussion turns to Brooks and Diary of a Lost Girl, with guest Thomas Gladysz
A Century in Cinema. “1929 Pandora’s Box.” November 24, 2020.
— a look at the classic film
Historical Hookups. “Louise Brooks.” January 14, 2020.
— a sometimes ribald, sometimes humorous look at historical figures and their love lives
History Chicks. “Louise Brooks“. September 17, 2019.
— “Louise Brooks made bridge-burning her hobby; as a result, this almost-forgotten star of stage and screen has only recently begun to shine again.”
Conversations. “The Lumiere brothers, Louise Brooks, and The Humorous Rollerskater.” August 2, 2019
— Writer Dominic Smith on the glittering, perplexing history of the silent film era
PBS Newshour – Art Beat. “How female characters evolve beyond the corset in The Chaperone.” April 19, 2019.
— discussion with actress Elizabeth McGovern, writer Julian Fellowes and producer Rebecca Eaton
— a look at the career of Louise Brooks
Junot Files. “Lights, Camera, Author! with Jim Junot.” August 18, 2018.
— podcast with Thomas Gladysz about Louise Brooks and Louise Brooks, the Persistent Star
310. “Pandora’s Box.” May 20, 2018.
— Irish critic Steven Benedict talks about Louise Brooks and Lulu.
NitrateVille Radio. “Ep. 19: German Expressionism | Pamela Hutchinson on Pandora’s Box.” February 16, 2018.
— episode with UK author Pamela Hutchinson discussing German Expressionism and her book on Pandora’s Box
Flixwise. “CANADA Ep. 12 – Pandora’s Box & Diary of a Lost Girl.” December 15, 2017.
— a discussion of the two Brooks’ films
FRED. “Rob Byrne – San Francisco Silent Film Festival.” October 5, 2017.
Rob Byrne talks about Now We’re In the Air.
NitrateVille Radio. “Ep. 10: Cinecon • Beggars of Life, with Thomas Gladysz.” August 12, 2017.
— episode with LBS director Thomas Gladysz who talks about his book on Beggars of Life and the DVD / Blu-ray release of the film from KINO
Any Ladle’s Sweet That Dishes Out Some Gravy. “Louise Brooks — Naked on Her Goat.” July 11, 2017.
— discussion of Brooks and her three European films, Pandora’s Box (1929), The Diary of a Lost Girl (1929) and Prix de beauté (1930).
Showreel. “Pandora’s Box.” June 22, 2017.
— Australian composer Jen Andersen talks about her soundtrack for the film.
Sunday Arts Magazine. “Interview: Composer Jen Anderson re Pandora’s Box with quartet.” June 20, 2017.
— Australian composer Jen Anderson talks about a showing of a restored print of G.W.Pabst’s 1929 silent film Pandora’s Box.
Everyone Else. “Pandora.” March 31, 2017.
— A man recalls the summer of 1965 when he decided to track down and write to an iconic flapper and actress of the 1920s, after reading her article in a magazine
Cinephiliacs “SF Silent Fest 2016,” June 12, 2016.
— Peter Labuza reviews the 2016 San Francisco Silent Film festival; includes an approximately nine minute segment on Beggars of Life at the 16 minute mark.
PODCAST EPISODES (non-English language):
Banda Sonora. “La caja de Pandora de Georg Wilhelm Pabst.” July 5, 2023.
— discussion of G.W. Pabst and Pandora’s Box – in Spanish
Conferencias. “Los orígenes del cine musical (VIII): Premio de belleza (1930) de Augusto Genina“. April 29, 2022.
— a look at Prix de beaute — in Spanish
El Contador de Películas. “La isla y la actriz: el amor platónico de Bioy Casares.” January 20, 2022.
— “La actriz y bailarina Louise Brooks fue una de las grandes estrellas de Hollywood en los años 20. Su trabajo, así como su carisma y encanto maravillaron no solo a la industria cinematográfica. A miles de kilómetros, un joven argentino se enamoró de ella. Pese a su obsesión, Adolfo Bioy Casares nunca conoció a Louis. Para él solo fue una imagen en la pantalla, pero inspiró una de las obras más reconocidas del escritor: La invención de Morel.” // “The actress and dancer Louise Brooks was one of the great stars of Hollywood in the 1920s. Her work, as well as her charisma and charm, amazed not only the film industry. Thousands of kilometers away from her, a young Argentine fell in love with her. Despite his obsession, Adolfo Bioy Casares never met Louis. For him it was only an image on the screen, but it inspired one of the writer’s most recognized works: The Invention of Morel.” — in Spanish
Il Cinema Colpisce Ancora. “Louise Brooks e Lulu il vaso di Pandora.” November 1, 2021.
— a look at G.W. Pabst and Pandora’s Box – in Spanish
ClickCiência. “Recepção da obra de Louise Brooks no Brasil é tema de pesquisa na UFSCar.” January 21, 2021.
— Tamara Carla dos Santos, a student in the Postgraduate Program in Image and Sound at the Federal University of São Carlos, talks about her research on the reception of the films of Louise Brooks in Brazil. – in Portuguese
Cuando fui famosa. “Misterios y escándalos. Louise Brooks.” May 24, 2020.
— the only episode from this TV and Film podcast – in Spanish
Un Jour dans l’Histoire. “Louise Brooks, une scandaleuse à Hollywood.” July 9, 2019.
— in French
Civilcinema. “La caja de Pandora (1929) y Diario de una perdida (1929), de G.W. Pabst.” October 4, 2015.
— “El cineasta austriaco G.W. Pabst saltó del teatro al cine, y lo hizo en Alemania con un cine que pasó por el lado del expresionismo de los años 20, para enfocarse tanto en el realismo crítico como en el drama psicológico. Las dos películas de las que hablamos hoy encarnan esta mixtura, teniendo como punto focal a la actriz Louise Brooks, cuya interpretación desenvuelta, extrema y sumamente versátil para encarnar a dos personajes muy distintos, la convirtió en un icono que proyectó su sombra hasta bien avanzado el siglo 20”. – in Spanish
Radio Zombi. “Claudicación- Louise Brooks.” December 11, 2013.
— “Erin Sckodelario nos platica acerca de la vida y obra de Louise Brooks, la icónica actriz del cine mudo de Hollywood.” – in Spanish
RADIO DRAMA:
Hims, Katie. Opening Pandora’s Box. BBC Radio 4, February 2019.
— This BBC radio play centers on the question “How does one turn a celebrated silent film into an audio drama?” Wedekind’s controversial Lulu plays formed the basis of the 1929 German movie, Pandora’s Box. Its star, Louise Brooks, will forever be associated with her iconic performance as Lulu. Ninety years on, writer Katie Hims “wonders what on earth to do about Lulu.” Directed by Toby Swift. Original Music by Neil Brand.
OTHER AUDIO:
Gladysz, Thomas. “Behind the Black Velvet Curtain: Louise Brooks and Rudolph Valentino.” August 23, 2019.
— illustrated keynote address originally given at the 92nd Valentino Memorial Service
Arroyo, Jose. “In Conversation with Pam Hutchinson on Pandora’s Box.” date unknown, 2018.
— “A conversation with Pamela Hutchinson on her great new book, as witty as it is informative, Pandora’s Box, a BFI film classic. What you hear in the background is the bubbles in a glass of champagne and one can only hope that our chat is as fizzy. The conversation ranges from the film’s aesthetic achievements to its continued influence, the appeal of Louise Brooks, what Marlene Dietrich might have done with the part and what the film has to tell us on sexual desire, the options open to women and the prevalence of rape culture then and now. Pandora’s Box seems more pertinent than ever and just as powerful and beautiful as it always was. Pamela Hutchinson’s book is not just a beautifully written introduction to the film but one which provides new information and enhances our understanding in various ways but does so with great charm and wit.”