Second chances

Laura Thompson explores how Nancy Mitford became trapped by her own joke about upper-class language that sparked national outrage, overshadowing her brilliant novels for decades. But behind the controversy lies a writer whose seductive literary voice and "creamy English charm" created some of the twentieth century's finest comic fiction, works that continue to enchant readers who should, by all rights, despise everything they represent.

Peter Lawlor explores why experts consistently fail to predict the death of their own industries, from the 200,000 blacksmiths who couldn't see the motor car coming to music giants like EMI missing the download revolution. Through the lens of "creative destruction," he reveals how entire economic worlds vanish overnight while new ones emerge – and why the distinction between "risk" and "uncertainty" means even the smartest people in the room are often the last to see their world ending.