In what will be Manuela’s last podcast for a while, she discusses with Iain the big seven-week book debate prompted by his post on the subject earlier this week. The good news is that they remain friends. Other topics include the Booker longlist, which was announced last week and features four novels published by independent presses. In ‘My favourite thing’ Manuela talks about Tony Parsons’ appointment as writer-in-residence at Heathrow airport.