5 July 2017
Two of the biggest names in American crime fiction and crime TV drama join Mark Billingham for the latest episode of UKTV Original podcast, A Stab In The Dark.
David Simon is creator of The Wire - regarded as the greatest television drama series of all time - while Laura Lippman is a multi-award-winning crime writer. David and Laura tell us about their wedding (officiated by John Waters), discuss how newspaper journalism has changed over the years, and how the lines between fiction, reality and truth have been blurred in recent years. David, meanwhile, discusses The Wire, which celebrates its 15th anniversary.
Plus, our man with the spyglass, Paul Hirons, talks to award-winning crime writer, Megan Abbott.
Teaser clip
Teaser clip
Guest recommendations
In a break from the norm, Laura goes with a non-crime book for her recommendation: Grocery: The Buying And Selling Of Food In America, by Michael Ruhlman. Laura says that this book taught her so much about American history, and touches on so much of American life. David recommends Labyrinth by Taylor Branch, which tells a firsthand account of the investigation of the terrorist murder of Chilean ambassador to the US, Orlando Letelier in the mid-1970s.
When it comes to TV, Laura loves Silicon Valley and says there's a "real human core to it", while David opines about Canadian show, Slings And Arrows, based around a Shakespearean rep company.