Interviews
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Our big summer books episode 2019. Plus Simon Schama on Wordiness
38:02 | Jun 28th
Our big summer books episode! Plus, Simon Schama
Looking for a book that will give you an existential crisis on holiday? Gris and Lilah talk with Innovation Editor John Thornhill about what this summer’s best tech books say about our cultural psych...Show More
The secret life of a Cannes film critic. Plus: Big Little Lies and the internet wife
42:23 | Jun 14th
FT film critic Raphael Abraham brings us behind the scenes at Cannes — and recommends the best movies to see this summer. Plus: to welcome season two of HBO's Big Little Lies, Gris and Lilah unpack the changing role of the housewife, and what the new...Show More
Black Mirror and a date with Rihanna
42:38 | May 31st
Gris meets Charlie Brooker and Annabel Jones, the pair behind Black Mirror, the hit Netflix show that explores the darker side of our relationship to technology; its latest season begins next week. Plus: FT fashion editor Jo Ellison tells us what it ...Show More
Jon Ronson on free porn, anxiety and empathy
34:17 | May 17th
Gris meets the author and podcaster Jon Ronson (The Butterfly Effect, The Psychopath Test, So You've Been Publicly Shamed) to ask him why he’s drawn to secretive subcultures — from sites like 4chan to the Ku Klux Klan — and to discuss his latest podc...Show More
DeRay Mckesson on Black Lives Matter
31:32 | May 3rd
Gris meets the activist, podcaster and author of On the Other Side of Freedom to discuss rising police violence against African Americans, what he learnt from meeting Obama, what Extinction Rebellion can learn from Black Lives Matter, and the role of...Show More
Ways of Seeing: Sheila Heti on Pierre Bonnard
33:57 | Apr 19th
This week, Gris meets the Canadian writer Sheila Heti at Tate Modern's Pierre Bonnard retrospective to discuss the unlikely parallels between their work, from the depiction of everyday life to the role of memory.
Comedian Nish Kumar, Brexit and the best goodbyes
35:50 | Mar 30th
Gris talks to The Mash Report host Nish Kumar about comedy, the role of the political satirist and the painfully endless Brexit goodbye. And Gris says her own goodbye to Al, who is leaving the podcast to embark on a new career in ASMR. As he does, Al...Show More
Kristen Roupenian on 'Cat Person', dating and overnight success. Plus: we discuss consent
44:16 | Mar 16th
When Kristen Roupenian's short story 'Cat Person' was published in December 2017, it became a viral sensation — and a focal point for conversations in the early days of #MeToo. How does she look back on it now? And what does her new collection You Kn...Show More
Chiwetel Ejiofor, The Boy Who Harnessed The Wind and It's Not About the Burqa
34:19 | Mar 2nd
Chiwetel Ejiofor, The Boy Who Harnessed The Wind and It's Not About the Burqa
The actor talks to Al about his debut as a film director, directing himself and Hollywood after Harvey Weinstein.
Later, Salma Haidrani joins Gris and Al to discuss he...Show More
Tracey Emin, the Oscars and Frieze in LA
44:00 | Feb 16th
History catches up with Tracey Emin: the artist on love, loss and #MeToo. And it's the Academy Awards...who should win, who should not and who cares anyway? Plus: Frieze LA — local artist Martine Syms drives around Los Angeles, exploring the relation...Show More
Richard E Grant, Oscar nominee. Plus: is Netflix good for TV?
44:10 | Feb 2nd
The star of Withnail and I discusses his new movie Can You Ever Forgive Me?, actors, acting and why sex is key to getting into character.
And we debate the startling growth of Netflix - is it remotely healthy?
Fiction special: Alexander Chee reads The Rosary
53:20 | Dec 21st, 2018
Our coda for 2018 is something rather different: the American writer reads a meditative personal essay from his acclaimed new collection, How To Write an Autobiographical Novel.
Best books of 2018. Plus: Sally Rooney on sex, class and the internet
50:48 | Dec 15th, 2018
In our penultimate episode of the series, we discuss the year's best novels and non-fiction works — as well as some old favourites — with Arifa Akbar, literary critic and a judge of the 2019 Women's Prize for Fiction, and Alice Fishburn, editor of FT...Show More
Christmas Food & Drink Special with Tim Hayward, Polly Russell and Chef Cyrus Todiwala
48:54 | Dec 1st, 2018
Is Christmas best for six-year-olds? And was it better in the olden days? We rediscover the joy of festive excess.
The Indian British chef discusses the future of food, his own unique style of cooking and why now is the best moment in history to be...Show More
How to make it as a rapper in 2018. Plus: Thomas Page McBee, the first trans man to box at Madison Square Gardens
44:25 | Nov 17th, 2018
Hip-hop is now the dominant genre in pop. But how do artists get big? We ask the London beat maker and producer Mutual Soundz and the FT's pop critic Ludovic Hunter-Tilney. Plus: a trans writer on 'toxic masculinity' and the beauty of being a man.
‘The Big Lebowski’ at 20. Plus: John Cooper Clarke, the Baudelaire of Salford, is ‘The Luckiest Guy Alive’
48:32 | Oct 27th, 2018
As the Dude hits 20, has cult movie The Big Lebowski aged well? And, after 30-odd years, John Cooper Clarke, the ‘people’s poet’, has a new book of verse – he also has two pairs of glasses but no mobile phone.
Kerry James Marshall on painting African-American life
30:58 | Oct 13th, 2018
His paintings of black Americans - families and lovers, parks and hair salons - have earned Kerry James Marshall a reputation as one of our greatest living artists. Gris talks to him about representation, the western canon and who decides the value o...Show More
Sally Rooney, David Shrigley and comedy in contemporary art
45:09 | Sep 29th, 2018
Sally Rooney, author of Conversations with Friends and now Normal People, discusses sex, class and the internet - and why she simply couldn't stand being at school. Plus - can visual art be very funny? We ask the great David Shrigley.
Comedian Phil Wang - Live
23:31 | Sep 15th, 2018
Recorded at the FT Weekend Festival, Phil Wang riffs on the science of comedy, racial stereotypes and being funny on demand.
Can you be a writer and a good parent? Plus: The Guilty Feminist
42:30 | Sep 8th, 2018
Is the pram in the hall really the enemy of good art? We ask Lara Feigel, author of Free Woman: Life, Liberation and Doris Lessing, and the FT's Isabel Berwick. And later, Gris talks to comedian Deborah Frances-White, host of the hit podcast The Guil...Show More
Matthew Macfadyen: from Mr Darcy to the 'dork' in Succession
19:56 | Sep 1st, 2018
The actor unpicks his role as a "human grease stain" in the new, hit HBO TV series. Gris and Al will interview comedian Phil Wang live at the FT Weekend Festival on September 8. Tickets are available at ftweekendfestival.com.
Stephen Mangan's Hang Ups. Plus essential summer songs
43:22 | Aug 18th, 2018
Actor Stephen Mangan reveals everything about acting, death, boarding school and his new role as an online therapist. And - what makes the perfect summer song? Fluff or poignant melancholy? From Justin Bieber to Mungo Jerry, we dig deep with music wr...Show More
Loneliness and the search for a new reality
37:24 | Aug 4th, 2018
In the age of Instagram, Twitter and ubiquitous screens, are we lonelier than ever? We chat to Olivia Laing, author of The Lonely City, and Jo Ellison, the FT’s fashion editor. Plus: Laurence Scott dissects his book, Picnic Comma Lightning, a touchin...Show More
Lehman Brothers, Lauren Greenfield and how capitalism turned sour
35:34 | Jul 21st, 2018
Ten years after the financial crisis, The Lehman Trilogy, a play by Stefano Massini, has opened in London. We chat to FT comment editor Brooke Masters and theatre critic Sarah Hemming about what happened then and what we see on stage. Plus: Gris spea...Show More
Simon Schama on satire in the age of Trump
21:10 | Jul 13th, 2018
As the US President descends on Britain — and a great big inflatable baby blimp Trump floats above Westminster — we ask Simon Schama whether this is a good time for political comedy, how satire has adapted to Donald Trump and whether it can really ch...Show More
Trendy food and faddish diets. Plus: artist Cornelia Parker
49:21 | Jul 7th, 2018
Kombucha? Purple food? Spirulina? Food trends might seem mostly fatuous, but do we need them? Tim Hayward identifies what’s hot now. And Gris meets the witty Cornelia Parker, destroyer of silver spoons, brass instruments and garden sheds.
1968 and the spirit of protest today. Plus: comedian Fern Brady
45:43 | Jun 23rd, 2018
Fifty years after the uprisings in Paris, Prague and the US, protest is back. There's Black Lives Matter, #MeToo — and the Stop Trump march in London next month. But what has changed? We talk to FT architecture critic Edwin Heathcote. Later, Al meets...Show More
Our World Cup hopes and fears. Plus: Akram Khan
33:32 | Jun 14th, 2018
As the World Cup "kicks off" in Russia, we chat to two FT football fanatics, theatre critic Sarah Hemming and magazine associate editor Neil O'Sullivan, about the beautiful game. Later, Gris meets the choreographer and dancer Akram Khan. You can read...Show More
The birth (and death) of American cool. Plus: Complicité's Simon McBurney
51:28 | Mar 31st, 2018
Detachment, poise, charisma: "cool" can mean many things. In our season finale, Gris is joined by the academic Sarah Churchwell and arts writer Peter Aspden to discuss its evolution from the 1920s to today. Later, theatre director Simon McBurney tell...Show More
Peak TV — from The Sopranos to Skam
37:06 | Mar 24th, 2018
We discuss the evolution of television's so-called "golden age", from The Sopranos and The Wire to Atlanta and Broad City. What really changed? And what's next? Will original shows from Facebook, Apple and YouTube threaten Netflix and Amazon — or eve...Show More
Peter Carey on Australia's original sin. Plus: a new short story by JM Coetzee
26:36 | Mar 17th, 2018
This week: two titans of literature with four Booker Prizes between them. First up, Peter Carey on tackling the relationship between Australia's white and Aboriginal populations in his new novel, A Long Way from Home. Later, JM Coetzee reads 'The Dog...Show More
Women After Weinstein, with Laura Bates and Reni Eddo-Lodge. Plus: Leila Slimani on motherhood
55:17 | Mar 8th, 2018
What’s the role of feminism in the #MeToo era? We talk to Laura Bates, founder of the Everyday Sexism project, and Reni Eddo-Lodge, author of the bestselling Why I’m No Longer Talking to White People About Race, about where we are — and where we’re h...Show More
Oscars 2018: the movies and the moment. Plus: Ekow Eshun on Black Panther
51:24 | Mar 2nd, 2018
Film special! We debate the Academy Awards, why they matter and who should win: Get Out, Call Me By Your Name or Lady Bird? And what does Three Billboards — its success and backlash — say about the current climate? Later, Griselda talks to Ekow Eshun...Show More
Simon Schama on Civilisations. Plus: artist Eddie Peake
44:29 | Feb 24th, 2018
Art historian Simon Schama on why he's updating Kenneth Clark's landmark TV series from 1969 and what 'civilisation' means today. Plus: we visit provocative artist Eddie Peake's new exhibition at White Cube and chat to him about nudity, desperation a...Show More
JM Coetzee on the problem with English. Plus: Ghanaian-American novelist Yaa Gyasi
48:57 | Feb 17th, 2018
This week: a special episode from the Hay Literary Festival in Cartagena, Colombia. Nobel Prize for Literature and two-time Booker Prize winner JM Coetzee reads a powerful short story from his forthcoming collection — and discusses the troubling domi...Show More
Genius versus mediocrity. Plus: The Wire's Clarke Peters
37:12 | Feb 10th, 2018
We're back! First up: we talk to Lucian Msamati, star of the National Theatre's Amadeus, and journalist Peter Aspden about the nature of genius. Is Kanye West today's Mozart? And in an age obsessed with self-improvement, is mediocrity underrated? Lat...Show More
Introducing series four
01:40 | Feb 3rd, 2018
Everything Else is back on February 10! First up, we debate the nature of genius from Mozart to Kanye West — and we meet Clarke Peters, star of The Wire and the Oscar-tipped film Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri. In the coming weeks, we've g...Show More
A new short story by Ali Smith, read by Olivia Williams
28:53 | Dec 29th, 2017
In a festive special episode, the actor Olivia Williams reads 'I Heard it on Classic FN', a new short story by Ali Smith, author of the novels How To Be Both, Autumn and Winter. The story was commissioned by FT Weekend; you can read it at ft.com/book...Show More
Best films of 2017. Plus: Hayley Atwell on Weinstein culture
51:58 | Nov 25th, 2017
In our season finale we reveal our favourite films of the year, from The Florida Project to Call Me By Your Name. And as Hollywood's sex scandals dominate headlines - can we separate the art from the artist? Later, we catch up with actor Hayley Atwel...Show More
Food special! To tip or not to tip? Plus: chef Ravinder Bhogal
46:50 | Nov 18th, 2017
Chef and TV star Ravinder Bhogal describes how women cook differently to men. We explore London’s Borough Market, asking stallholders what makes Christmas Christmas for them. And is tipping on the way out? A quarrel about the bill with food writer an...Show More
From Lenin with love
54:20 | Nov 11th, 2017
Comrades! 100 years since the October Revolution we examine the Russian soul and speak to Pussy Riot's Masha Alyokhina.
The lurid appeal of true crime. Plus: Roisin Conaty
47:06 | Nov 6th, 2017
Is the genre as compelling as ever? Or is it biting the dust? We discuss hit podcast Dirty John and Netflix spoof American Vandal. Later, Al talks to comedian Roisin Conaty about the deathtrap of the perfect heckle.
Lionel Shriver
32:38 | Nov 3rd, 2017
In this special episode, Lionel Shriver, the American writer best known for her novel We Need to Talk About Kevin, reads a new short story inspired by the news of 2017. She wrote it for the Word Factory and New Writing North for 'Citizen: The New Sto...Show More
Why we sleep. Plus: Chris Kraus on I Love Dick
55:35 | Oct 30th, 2017
Is sleep the answer to health and happiness? Or is the future sleepless? We talk to neuroscientist Matthew Walker about his new book Why We Sleep. Gris is quizzed on famous sleepers. And later, she meets Chris Kraus author of cult feminist novel I Lo...Show More
Class and comedy at the movies. Plus: women respond to Harvey Weinstein
49:05 | Oct 23rd, 2017
This week, we compare a London comedy (Sally Potter's The Party) with a New York one (Noah Baumbach's The Meyerowitz Stories). Gris is conflicted about #MeTo, the social media campaign highlighting the prevalence of sexual harassment. And Al speaks t...Show More
What's the naughtiest thing you ever did? Plus writer Amit Chaudhuri
51:17 | Oct 16th, 2017
Can you buy good taste? Kelly Hoppen and Nicky Haslam have the answers. Chaudhuri discusses his mini masterpiece Friend of My Youth. Later, Vince Cable, Ruth Rogers and Jeremy Paxman confess their darkest secrets.
Boards and barricades – political theatre. Plus: adventurer Natalia Cohen
47:59 | Oct 9th, 2017
Can plays improve the world? We ask playwright James Graham and journalist Helen Lewis. Then we meet Natalia Cohen, who rowed across the Pacific Ocean in a little boat called Doris.
Peace and love. Plus: Teju Cole
44:31 | Oct 2nd, 2017
The power of pop, Monty Python's 'Every Sperm is Sacred' - and Gris's big news. FT pop critic Ludovic Hunter-Tilney joins us to discuss how music can change the world. Then we talk to writer and photographer Teju Cole about Confederate statues and wa...Show More
Extra scoop: S-Town's Brian Reed
12:44 | Sep 29th, 2017
A short but sweet extra episode for fans of 'S-Town'. We talk to the host and co-creator of the hit podcast ahead of his UK tour. Contains spoilers!
Basquiat, Banksy and Hollie McNish
50:45 | Sep 25th, 2017
We're back! We head to the Barbican's Basquiat show 'Boom for Real' - then chat to Ekow Eshun about this 'radiant child'. Later, poet and YouTube phenomenon Hollie McNish drops by.
Introducing series three
01:24 | Sep 22nd, 2017
The FT's culture podcast is back with a bang on September 25. We've got a new co-host and interviews with Pussy Riot, Teju Cole, Hollie McNish and many more. In our first episode, we discuss Basquiat, Banksy and stripping off on stage. Don't miss out...Show More
Love summer, love lowbrow. Plus: Elizabeth Strout
40:21 | Jun 22nd, 2017
From Baywatch to Justin Bieber, we discuss the best (and worst) of this summer's trashy film and music. Plus: the Pulitzer Prize-winning novelist Elizabeth Strout on writing about class in the age of Trump.
Why 2017 is the year of queer
36:26 | Jun 15th, 2017
Finally, gay art and writing is getting the attention it deserves. We celebrate with novelist Philip Hensher and critic Jackie Wullschlager. Plus: Twitter's favourite poet Patricia Lockwood remembers growing up in the American Midwest with her gun-to...Show More
Dystopian dreams and robotic sculpture
35:22 | Jun 8th, 2017
From Orwell to The Hunger Games, dystopian fiction is back in fashion. But can it offer comfort in troubled times? We discuss the best books, films and the new TV adaptation of Margaret Atwood's 'The Handmaid's Tale'. Plus: sculptor Conrad Shawcross ...Show More
Netflix versus Cannes
32:54 | Jun 1st, 2017
It's the story that dominated the world's premier film festival: we discuss how Netflix is reshaping the future of cinema. Plus: the writer Reni Eddo-Lodge on her new book 'Why I'm No Longer Talking to White People About Race'.
Older, wiser — and happier? Plus: Will Self
32:25 | May 25th, 2017
'Happiness data' says youth is carefree, retirement is bliss, and you muddle through in between. We argue with the FT's Lucy Kellaway about which stage of life is the best. Then: novelist Will Self hotboxes the studio and holds forth on our obsession...Show More
Sorry, you're not on the list
34:58 | May 18th, 2017
Soho House is taking over the world. But can members' clubs ever be cool? We're divided – even after visiting The Ned, London's £200m new hangout. Plus: Irish novelist Eimear McBride on the magic of modernism and 'knicker-sniffing reviews'.
We talk to Jude Law. Plus: Trump's wall
37:40 | May 11th, 2017
Hello again! We're back — with a Hollywood A-lister and an architectural conundrum. Jude Law visits the FT to discuss masculinity, "method" and music (he's learning how to play the piano). But first we ask: who will build Donald Trump's wall? What wi...Show More
Introducing series two
01:53 | May 5th, 2017
The FT's culture podcast Everything Else is coming back soon — featuring interviews with Jude Law, Eimear McBride, Will Self and lots more
When fake news is funny (and when it's not)
38:49 | Mar 23rd, 2017
In our season finale, we discuss hoax stories and Facebook "filter bubbles"; Nigerian novelist Ayobami Adebayo explores love and childlessness; and the FT's editor Lionel Barber has lunch with Jean-Claude Juncker.
Elena Ferrante and the perils of adaptation
39:01 | Mar 16th, 2017
The bestselling Neapolitan Quartet is now a two-part play in London. But are adaptations always second best? Plus, 24-year-old writer Edouard Louis on growing up poor and gay in rural France - and why his family will vote Marine Le Pen next month.
It's the sharing economy, stupid! Plus comedian Nish Kumar
29:54 | Mar 9th, 2017
No doubt Uber and Airbnb are convenient, but what kind of impact does the so-called 'sharing economy' have on culture? Then, Nish Kumar on the bizarre experience of seeing his image become an internet meme called 'Confused Muslim' (he’s not a Muslim,...Show More
The art of trolling
29:32 | Mar 2nd, 2017
Following Milo Yiannopoulos' downfall, we ask the online provocateur Nimrod Kamer whether 'bad trolls' are ruining the internet. Plus: fashion's rising star Molly Goddard on why she hates being called girly
We need to talk about masculinity, and Deliciously Ella
39:27 | Feb 23rd, 2017
Men in crisis? What crisis? Plus, the food world's social media star and author of the fastest selling debut cookbook ever on why vegetables are cool - and why she hates to be called the 'queen of clean-eating'
How Girls turned TV upside down
41:29 | Feb 16th, 2017
Lena Dunham's show skewered millennial culture - but did it revolutionise TV? Plus: artist Ryan Gander on why he never does the same thing twice
Self-help special! Featuring smartphones and an Agony Uncle
32:59 | Feb 9th, 2017
We tested the apps that promise to make us more productive, mindful and all-round better versions of ourselves, and discuss the (mixed) results with Tim Harford. Plus: your Valentine's Day sorted.
Culture stands up to Trump. Plus: Elif Shafak
34:17 | Feb 2nd, 2017
From museum strikes to a micro-penis, how artists are responding to the US president; Turkey's most popular female novelist on Islam, feminism and her unconventional marriage; and lunch with the man who taught the world how to beat the casinos.
The Oscars dissected, and the man behind Brexit
38:37 | Jan 26th, 2017
Are La La Land, Moonlight and Manchester by the Sea worth the hype? Does Daniel Hannan have any regrets about Britain’s vote to leave the EU? And why did one British artist photograph every page of the Koran?
The death of new music? Plus: Wayne McGregor
37:27 | Jan 19th, 2017
Did pop itself die alongside David Bowie and Prince last year? Or is it constantly reinventing itself? We debate the state of new music and look forward to the albums of 2017. Plus, choreographer Wayne McGregor on raving in 1990s – and why he’s turni...Show More
'Pig-killing day' by David Szalay
37:12 | Dec 29th, 2016
'It is over before either of us has really understood what is happening.' David Szalay, whose novel 'All That Man Is' was shortlisted for the 2016 Man Booker Prize, reads his short story, specially written for the FT.
2016: the good, the bad and the ugly, with Simon Schama
34:40 | Dec 22nd, 2016
We try to make sense of the biggest cultural moments in a crazy year, from the brilliance of Beyoncé to the hideousness of hygge. Plus, the chefs behind the London restaurant Honey & Co talk about feasting, the secrets to Middle Eastern cooking, and ...Show More
Politics and culture in the age of anger
32:42 | Dec 15th, 2016
Pankaj Mishra and Helen Lewis join us to discuss why everyone is so full of rage right now; Nigerian-American artist Njideka Akunyili Crosby on depicting her naked husband in her work; and what to look out for in the FT's interview with South African...Show More
Literary prizes as 'posh bingo'. Plus: writer/rapper Kate Tempest
37:15 | Dec 8th, 2016
The power - and politics - of prize-giving, from Dylan's Nobel to Beatty's Booker; Kate Tempest on what William Blake and Wu-Tang have in common; and a buffet with the man who jailed Iceland's bankers.
Don't worry, you’re not a narcissist (probably)
37:41 | Dec 1st, 2016
FT critics discuss our age of self-admiration and why it troubles us so much; 'bad boy' theatre director Ivo van Hove on how his punk origins still inspire his work; and what it's like to have lunch with the radical performance artist Marina Abramovi...Show More
Introducing Everything Else
01:23 | Nov 24th, 2016
A new culture podcast from the Financial Times in which we talk about film not finance, music not markets, and style not stocks. Featuring star guests and presented by John Sunyer and Griselda Murray Brown. First episode out on Thursday December 1.
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