A few weeks ago I was interviewed by Dave O’Brien of Goldsmiths about Foucault’s Last Decade for the New Books in Critical Theory series. The recording is now available as a podcast: Download (Duration: 47:54 — 21.9MB) or to stream at the series website.

Why did Michel Foucault radically recast the project of The History of Sexuality? How did he work collaboratively? What was the influence of Antiquity on his thought? In Foucault’s Last Decade (Polity Press, 2016) Stuart Elden, Professor of Political Theory and Geography at the University of Warwick explores these, and many more, questions about the final years in a rich intellectual life. The book combines detailed studies of Foucault’s recently collected lecture series with archival material and his publications, to give an in depth engagement with the changes and continuities in his thought during the last decade. Addressing questions associated with key terms, such as governmentality, as well as confession, the self, power, truth telling, and many other core ideas and themes, the book will be essential reading for anyone interested in this most important of Western thinkers.

My thanks to Dave for the invitation and for asking the questions.