April 30, 2026 - Patrick Radden Keefe on "London Falling," BLO's Daughter of the Regiment, and Washington at the MFA

About this episode

Patrick Radden Keefe discusses his book on a mysterious death in London, while Kirsten Greenidge talks about her work on a new opera adaptation.

Award-winning New Yorker staff writer Patrick Radden Keefe joins us to discuss his latest book, London Falling: A Mysterious Death in a Gilded City and a Family’s Search for Truth . The book investigates the death of 19-year-old Zac Brettler, who plunged from a luxury London apartment tower into the River Thames, and opens into a larger story of dirty money, criminal networks, police failure, and extreme wealth. Obie Award-winning Boston playwright Kirsten Greenidge joins us to talk about writing the new English dialogue for Boston Lyric Opera ’s Daughter of the Regiment , now onstage at the Emerson Colonial Theatre through May 3. BLO’s production moves Gaetano Donizetti’s comic opera to Revolutionary-era Massachusetts, where a young woman raised by soldiers finds love, loyalty, and a new American setting. As part of our “Countdown to 250” series, we continue our monthly conversation with the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston about artworks that offer fresh perspectives on the American Revolution. Erica Hirshler, the MFA’s Croll Senior Curator of American Paintings, and Ben Weiss, the MFA’s Leonard A. Lauder Senior Curator of Visual Culture, join us to discuss Gilbert Stuart’s…

People in this episode

Guests: Patrick Radden Keefe, Kirsten Greenidge

Topics covered

• mystery
• wealth
• theater
• American Revolution
• art
• crime

Keywords

• Patrick Radden Keefe
• London Falling
• Kirsten Greenidge
• Daughter of the Regiment
• American Revolution
• Gilbert Stuart
• George Washington
• theater
• crime
• wealth

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Boston Lyric Opera, Museum of Fine Arts, Boston

Books & works: London Falling: A Mysterious Death in a Gilded City and a Family’s Search for Truth, Daughter of the Regiment, Gilbert Stuart’s portraits of George Washington and Martha Washington

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