The Monocle Weekly
222 episodes - English - Latest episode: about 1 month ago - ★★★★ - 76 ratingsWant to hear from the authors, artists, creative thinkers and business leaders shaping your world? The Monocle Weekly presents just that on our longest-running radio programme.
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Episodes
Ghostpoet
May 17, 2020 23:00 - 13 minutes - 11.9 MBWhile the Monocle Weekly takes a temporary break, we’ve continued conversing with some of culture’s top movers and shakers around the world. In this special interview, Augustin Macellari talks to Obaro Ejimiwe, AKA Ghostpoet, to learn more about his listening habits – and what self-production brought to his new album. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Sir Christopher Frayling, Tony Nourmand, Zoé Whitley and Peter Meanwell
March 22, 2020 12:00 - 50 minutes - 45.9 MBWe flick through a book of iconic French New Wave film posters with cultural historian Sir Christopher Frayling and Reel Art Press founder Tony Nourmand. Plus, a closer look at a cornerstone of the London art scene, the Chisenhale Gallery, with its new director Zoé Whitley, and we head to Norway for the groundbreaking Borealis Festival – and a chat with its director, Peter Meanwell. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Pete Paphides, Carl Craig, Kelly Kivland and Will Harris
March 15, 2020 12:00 - 52 minutes - 47.7 MBWe meet music journalist Pete Paphides to talk about his new book, ‘Broken Greek’, and the impact that music has had on his life. Plus: techno legend Carl Craig and curator Kelly Kivland on Craig’s new installation at New York’s Dia:Beacon, and UK poet Will Harris talks us through his new book, ‘Rendang’. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Max Alexander, Stanley Donwood and Dr Tessa Roynon
March 08, 2020 12:00 - 51 minutes - 47.3 MBWe meet Secret Cinema CEO Max Alexander to learn about experiential cinema and artist Stanley Donwood to discuss creativity in the anthropocene and his new book of linocuts, ‘Bad Island’. Plus, as a new documentary on Toni Morrison hits cinemas, we talk about the author’s legacy with Oxford academic Dr Tessa Roynon. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Leïla Slimani, Jason Blum and Hannah Lew
March 01, 2020 12:00 - 57 minutes - 52.2 MBFrench-Moroccan author Leïla Slimani on her book ‘Sex and Lies’ and Jason Blum on Blumhouse Productions’ latest film, ‘The Invisible Man’. Plus: Oakland-based musician Hannah Lew. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Ian Cheng, Hans Ulrich Obrist, Alice Vincent, Alona Pardo and Hans Eijkelboom
February 23, 2020 12:00 - 52 minutes - 48.6 MBArtist Ian Cheng uses digital technology to create extraordinary, evolving worlds. We talk to him and curator Hans Ulrich Obrist about his new exhibition in Madrid. Plus: journalist turned author Alice Vincent on gardening and her memoir, ‘Rootbound’, and we talk to the curator of an exhibition exploring the way photographers explore masculinity. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Susannah Cahalan, Martin Andersen and Ryan Mosley
February 16, 2020 12:00 - 55 minutes - 50.5 MBWe meet author Susannah Cahalan whose new book, ‘The Great Pretender’, unpacks the complicated history of the treatment of the mentally ill. Plus: photographer Martin Andersen on his photos that capture his love of Tottenham Hotspur football club and painter Ryan Mosley discusses his participation in a new group show at London’s Whitechapel Gallery. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
William Gibson, Andrea Chalupa and Matthew Flowers
February 09, 2020 12:00 - 58 minutes - 53.4 MBWe meet science-fiction author William Gibson to unpick his legendary prescience and discuss his new book, ‘Agency’. Plus: journalist and author Andrea Chalupa on the family ties that inspired her to write new drama, ‘Mr Jones’, and, as London’s Flowers Gallery turns 50, we discuss the art world with its MD, Matthew Flowers. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Afua Hirsch, Darren Waterston and Rikke Villadsen
February 02, 2020 12:00 - 51 minutes - 47.1 MBBroadcaster and writer Afua Hirsch tells us about her new podcast series exploring the impact and legacy of the British empire. Plus: US-based painter Darren Waterston discusses his homage to James Whistler and graphic novelist Rikke Villadsen unpacks her subversive new take on the western, ‘Cowboy’. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Ben Brody, An-My Lê and Giles Price
January 26, 2020 12:00 - 56 minutes - 51.5 MBWe meet Ben Brody, whose debut book of images draws on his tours of duty as a US military combat photographer. Plus: An-My Lê discusses her work, which probes the impact of conflict on the landscape, and Giles Price on embracing emerging technologies to find new ways of visual storytelling. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Robert Eggers, Okay Kaya and Francesca Wade
January 19, 2020 12:00 - 53 minutes - 49.3 MBRobert Eggers’ 2015 film, ‘The Witch’, depicted terror in an early New England settlement; he joins us to discuss his latest period horror, ‘The Lighthouse’. Plus, Kaya Wilkins, aka Okay Kaya, on her forthcoming album, and we meet author Francesca Wade, whose new book explores a key address of London’s literary ladies in the interwar years. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Sam Mendes, Nicolas Godin and Radie Peat
January 12, 2020 12:00 - 54 minutes - 50 MBWe meet Oscar-winning director Sir Sam Mendes to learn more about his First World War epic, ‘1917’. Plus: Nicolas Godin – one half of French electro-rocking legends, Air -– talks us through his latest album, and Radie Peat, a lynchpin of the contemporary Irish Folk scene, on how she uses ancient instruments to explore new sonic palettes. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
The year ahead
January 05, 2020 12:00 - 48 minutes - 44.5 MBAs the new decade dawns, Monocle's Rob Bound and Augustin Macellari look ahead to 2020 with Jacques Testard, founder of London's influential publishing house, Fitzcarraldo Editions. Plus, Clare Gough, director of Pitzhanger Manor and Gallery, unpacks the upcoming programme and Mode Exchange director Chris Vaughan explains the experimental music ties between the UK and Japan that his festival will be exploring in 2020. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Best of 2019
December 29, 2019 12:00 - 51 minutes - 47.5 MBRob Bound and Augustin Macellari look back at 2019, revisiting the conversations and motifs that made the year. A conservateur and a mudlark explain how a tactile engagement with the past can facilitate time travel, while journalists, artists and documentarians reflect on surveillance capitalism. Plus: an author and a popstar on the psychic resonance of the US landscape. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Chris Maynard, Eleonora Biason and Hereward Tilton
December 22, 2019 12:00 - 57 minutes - 52.4 MBChris Maynard, author of cult Usborne children’s book, ‘All About Ghosts’, joins us to discuss his work on a publication that sent chills up the spines of a generation of kids. Plus, a Christmas cocktail-making workshop from one of Rosewood London’s Scarfes Bar’s crack bartenders, and a look at the psychedelic magic that underpins pre-Christian Christmas. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Destroyer, Philipp Humm, Martin Hancock and Marie-Elsa Bragg
December 15, 2019 12:00 - 53 minutes - 49.3 MBWe meet musician Dan Bejar, better known as Destroyer, to find out about his forthcoming album, ‘Have We Met’. Plus: CEO-turned-filmmaker Philipp Humm and actor Martin Hancock discuss their adaptation of Goethe’s ‘Faust’, and priest Marie-Elsa Bragg on her intensely personal new book. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Yann Tiersen, Humphrey Ocean and Art Basel in Miami Beach
December 08, 2019 12:00 - 55 minutes - 51.2 MBMusician and composer Yann Tiersen talks about collaboration, misinterpretation and going analogue as he releases his new album, ‘Portrait’. Plus: Humphrey Ocean, one of the UK’s great painters, discusses his 50-year career, and our culture editor, Chiara Rimella, reports from Art Basel in Miami Beach. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
André Aciman, Francesca Cartier Brickell and Jockum Nordström
December 01, 2019 12:00 - 52 minutes - 48.3 MBAndré Aciman, author of ‘Call Me By Your Name’ tells us why he wanted to revisit the characters in its recent sequel, ‘Find Me’. Plus: we speak to Francesca Cartier Brickell, a scion of the Cartier dynasty, about her family history and join Jockum Nordström’s on a tour of his latest exhibition at London’s David Zwirner gallery. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Rana Foroohar, Xylouris White and Emma Lewis
November 24, 2019 12:00 - 55 minutes - 50.9 MBWe meet Rana Foroohar, FT columnist and author of ‘Don’t be Evil,’ a new book that explores just how and when Big Tech lost its way. Plus: Greco-Australian duo Xylouris White talk turning the Myth of Sisyphus from a negative to a positive, and the curator of a major new Dora Maar exhibition at the Tate unpacks her legacy. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Simon Gillespie, Bradford Parkinson and Hugo Fruehauf, Pelin Opcin
November 17, 2019 12:00 - 56 minutes - 52.1 MBWe meet painting conservator Simon Gillespie in his studio to learn more about the fine art of his profession – and get up close and personal with some truly amazing paintings. Plus: as they receive the Queen Elizabeth prize for engineering, we sit down with Bradford Parkinson and Hugo Fruehauf. It’s hard to imagine a world without the technology they invented: GPS. And we hear about this year’s London Jazz Festival from director Pelin Opcin. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Ben Lerner, Eleanor Pinfield and Larry Achiampong
November 10, 2019 12:00 - 57 minutes - 53.1 MBNovelist and poet Ben Lerner discusses how his new book, ‘The Topeka School’ explores language, masculinity and violence in Trump’s America. Plus: Eleanor Pinfield, head of Art on the Underground, unpacks the project’s mission to bring colour to London’s transport network, and artist Larry Achiampong discusses his upcoming commission. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Scott Z Burns, DJ Shadow and Teresa Monachino
November 03, 2019 12:00 - 1 hour - 82.4 MBThe enhanced interrogation techniques employed by US security services in the wake of 9/11 remain an international scandal. Director and screenwriter Scott Z Burns joins us to discuss ‘The Report’, his new political procedural that unpicks how the shocking truth came to light. Plus: legendary hip-hop beatmaker DJ Shadow unpacks his latest album, and we hear from designer Teresa Monachino whose interventions in text cast a fresh eye on the oddities of the English language.
Scott Z Burns, DJ Shadow and Teresa Monachino
November 03, 2019 12:00 - 55 minutes - 50.5 MBThe enhanced interrogation techniques employed by US security services in the wake of 9/11 remain an international scandal. Director and screenwriter Scott Z Burns joins us to discuss ‘The Report’, his new political procedural that unpicks how the shocking truth came to light. Plus: legendary hip-hop beatmaker DJ Shadow unpacks his latest album, and we hear from designer Teresa Monachino whose interventions in text cast a fresh eye on the oddities of the English language. See omnystudio.com/l...
Alejandro Landes, Elizabeth Semmelhack and Steve Goodman
October 27, 2019 12:00 - 52 minutes - 48.5 MB‘Monos’ has been described as a cross between ‘Lord of the Flies’ and ‘Apocalypse Now’. The film’s director, Alejandro Landes, joins us to discuss how he brought his uncompromising and timely vision to the screen. We also hear from shoe historian Elizabeth Semmelhack, whose new book explores how trainers have been shaped by the spirit of collaboration. Plus: we meet Steve Goodman, an electronic musical artist and head of London’s iconic Hyperdub record label, to learn more about a new subsidi...
Ariel Pink, Doug Aitken and Hyun Jin Cho
October 20, 2019 12:00 - 53 minutes - 49.3 MBSince his album ‘The Doldrums’ was released in 2004 to critical acclaim, Ariel Pink has built up a cult following. Sitting on hundreds of unreleased tracks, he tells us that now’s the time to open his archives. Plus: Artist Doug Aitken reflects on how art can help us find our bearings in the world and the London Korean Film Festival director, Hyun Jin Cho, explains how Korean cinema has left its mark. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Valentine Warner, Marie Le Conte and Karim Fanous
October 13, 2019 12:00 - 1 hour - 82.4 MBChef, writer and raconteur Valentine Warner explains why he’s shifted his focus from traditional recipe books in his new work, ‘The Consolation of Food’. Plus: Political journalist Marie Le Conte takes us through the knotty web of he-said-she-said in Westminster as she unpacks her new study of government gossip, ‘Haven’t You Heard?’. And we meet the head of innovation at iconic recording studio Abbey Road to learn how tech will continue to shape the music industry.
Hettie Judah, William Feaver and Frieze London
October 06, 2019 12:00 - 1 hour - 82.4 MBMonocle’s Rob Bound and Augustin Macellari head to Frieze London for a special episode of the Monocle Weekly. Writer and journalist Hettie Judah comes into the studio to discuss her essential new guide to London’s arty past and present. Plus: we meet art critic and painter William Feaver to discuss his comprehensive new biography of Lucian Freud, built on a long friendship with the artist.
Trevor Paglen, Joe Mount and Clare Barlow
September 29, 2019 12:00 - 1 hour - 82.4 MBWe pull back the curtain for a look at the complicated – and concerning – biases and preconceptions being programmed into artificial intelligences, with artist Trevor Paglen. Plus: Metronomy frontman Joe Mount takes us through the band’s latest album and we find out what it takes to put on a permanent exhibition as we meet London’s Wellcome Collection curator, Clare Barlow.
Amanda Palmer, David Goldblatt and The Utopia Strong
September 22, 2019 12:00 - 1 hour - 82.4 MBMusician Amanda Palmer joins us to talk about her recent album ‘There Will Be No Intermission’ and how to make music with a message. Plus: writer David Goldblatt discusses his book ‘The Age of Football’ and we meet former professional snooker player-turned-DJ and musician Steve Davis, along with his bandmates Kavus Torabi and Michael J York, who make up trio The Utopia Strong.
Jay Rayner, Shana Moulton and Mark Radcliffe
September 15, 2019 12:00 - 1 hour - 82.4 MBJournalist, broadcaster and food critic Jay Rayner joins us to discuss the epic feast that would constitute his last meal on Earth – and forms the basis of his latest book, ’My Last Supper’. Plus: artist Shana Moulton on the New Age ideas that have informed her latest exhibition and we hear from one of the UK’s best-loved broadcasters, Mark Radcliffe.
Lara Maiklem, Freeman & Lowe, and James Meek
September 08, 2019 12:00 - 1 hour - 82.4 MBFor over 20 years Lara Maiklem has strolled the foreshore of London’s River Thames in search of treasures from the past. She joins us to discuss what she’s learned, as outlined in her new bestseller, ‘Mudlarking’. Plus: we meet immersive artists Jonah Freeman and Justin Lowe for a tour of their bold new exhibition in London, and author and journalist James Meek unpacks his latest book ‘To Calais, in Ordinary Time’.
Peter Webber, Tom Burke, Kirsteen McNish and Luke Turner
September 01, 2019 12:00 - 1 hour - 82.4 MBDirector Peter Webber joins us to talk about ‘Inna De Yard,’ a cinematic portrait of some of the 20th century’s most important musicians. Plus: we hear from Tom Burke, co-star of auteur Joanna Hogg’s new film ‘The Souvenir’, and curator Kirsteen McNish and writer Luke Turner take us through their current project – a year-long programme of events set in and around London’s mysterious and ancient Epping Forest.
Matthew Yokobosky, Ash Koosha and Liz Gilmore
August 25, 2019 12:00 - 1 hour - 82.4 MBMatthew Yokobosky, fashion and material culture curator at the Brooklyn Museum, discusses a new exhibition on retro-futurist icon Pierre Cardin. Plus: we meet Ash Koosha, an electronic composer and futurist, to learn more about his latest creation – an artificial intelligence called Yona, and we take a trip to the seaside to learn more about the recently rebranded Hastings Contemporary from its director Liz Gilmore.
Bat For Lashes, Mort Garson’s ‘Plantasia’ and Tiffany Francis-Baker
August 18, 2019 12:00 - 1 hour - 82.4 MBNatasha Khan, AKA Bat For Lashes, talks us through her dreamy, LA-inflected new album, ‘Lost Girls’. Plus: we meet Tiffany Francis-Baker, whose new book, ‘Dark Skies’, explores humanity’s complicated and mystical relationship with the night, and we get a special report on composer Mort Garson’s cult classic album for plants, ‘Plantasia’.
Shawn Levy, Jenny Hval and Zahra Hankir
August 11, 2019 12:02 - 1 hour - 82.4 MBAuthor Shawn Levy reveals the secrets of Hollywood’s most hedonistic – and iconic – hotel: the Chateau Marmont. Plus Norwegian cult singer-songwriter Jenny Hval tells us about her eagerly anticipated new album ‘The Practice of Love’. We also hear from Lebanese-British journalist Zahra Hankir, editor of ‘Our Women on the Ground’, a new book detailing the experiences of female journalists in the Arab world.
Dirk Maggs, Eliza Spindel and Sharon Eyal
August 04, 2019 12:02 - 1 hour - 82.4 MBWe meet Dirk Maggs, who has spent his career at the vanguard of audio drama. Plus: a discussion with curator Eliza Spindel about ‘Artist: Unknown’, a new exhibition at Cambridge’s Kettle’s Yard, and we hear from choreographer Sharon Eyal of the L-E-V dance company to discuss her residency in London’s Bold Tendencies space.
Nick Broomfield, Louise Doughty and Richard King
July 28, 2019 12:02 - 1 hour - 82.4 MBFilm-maker Nick Broomfield tells us about his new Leonard Cohen documentary, ‘Marianne & Leonard: Words of Love’. Plus: we discuss the nominations for this year’s Booker prize with author and critic Louise Doughty and speak to writer Richard King about music’s relationship with the UK countryside, the topic of his new book, ‘The Lark Ascending’.
Laura Beatty, Karim Amer, Jehane Noujaim and William McGregor
July 21, 2019 12:02 - 1 hour - 82.4 MBAcademy Award-nominated directors Karim Amer and Jehane Noujaim discuss their new film, ‘The Great Hack’, which explains how big tech and data privacy have become everybody’s problem. Plus: author Laura Beatty on her beautiful new odyssey, ‘Lost Property’, and William McGregor talks industrialisation and mysticism in his debut film ‘Gwen’.
Gary Hustwit, Maria Balaska and Felix White
July 14, 2019 12:02 - 1 hour - 82.4 MBFilmmaker Gary Hustwit joins us to discuss his documentary about influential German designer Dieter Rams. Plus: former Maccabees guitarist Felix White tells us about new cricket documentary ‘The Edge’, for which he wrote the soundtrack, and we meet philosopher Maria Balaska.
Lynne Truss, Clare Lilley and Sophie Green
July 07, 2019 12:02 - 1 hour - 82.4 MBAuthor Lynne Truss on her research into 1950s Brighton for her new book, ‘The Man That Got Away’, Frieze Sculpture curator Clare Lilley offers a tour and photographer Sophie Green discusses her striking new book.
Jesca Hoop, Brian Jungen, Oriel Sullivan and Jonathan Gershuny
June 30, 2019 12:02 - 1 hour - 82.4 MBUS musician Jesca Hoop talks us through her new album ‘Stonechild’. Plus: we meet Canadian artist Brian Jungen and discuss time (and how people use it) with professors Oriel Sullivan and Jonathan Gershuny, authors of new book ‘What we Really do all Day’.
Shahidha Bari, Sammy Harkham and Vladimir Antaki
June 23, 2019 12:02 - 1 hour - 82.4 MBWriter, academic and broadcaster Shahidha Bari discusses her book about clothing, ‘Dressed’. Plus: we meet the mind behind comics anthology ‘Kramers Ergot’, Sammy Harkham, and speak to artist and photographer Vladimir Antaki about his project ‘The Guardians’.
María Wills, Alexis Fabry, Laird Hamilton, Bruce McLean and Anda Winter
June 16, 2019 12:02 - 1 hour - 82.4 MBWe hear from curators María Wills and Alexis Fabry about a new Latin American showcase at The Photographers’ Gallery called ‘Urban Impulses’. Plus: surfing legend Laird Hamilton discusses his book ‘Liferider: Heart, Body, Soul, and Life Beyond the Ocean’, and we meet art pioneer Bruce McLean and Anda Winter, the artistic director of London’s Coronet Theatre, to discuss the artist’s new show.
Johny Pitts, Nathalie Herschdorfer and Andrew Mueller
June 09, 2019 12:02 - 1 hour - 82.4 MBAuthor, journalist and broadcaster Johny Pitts joins us to discuss his book ‘Afropean: Notes from Black Europe’. Plus, we meet curator and historian Nathalie Herschdorfer whose new book collects standout photography of the human body, and Monocle’s Andrew Mueller drops in for a chat about one of his home country’s most popular sports: Australian rules football.
Kate Bryan, Erland Cooper and Frank Stella
June 02, 2019 12:02 - 1 hour - 82.4 MBArt commentator and curator Kate Bryan discusses her new book ‘The Art of Love’, musician Erland Cooper talks us through his recent album ‘Sule Skerry’ and we meet pioneering artist Frank Stella to discuss his life and work.
Oh Land, Clare Strand and May Rosenthal Sloan
May 26, 2019 12:02 - 1 hour - 82.4 MBDanish musician Oh Land joins us to discuss her new album ‘Family Tree’. We also meet photographer and artist Clare Strand, and visit the V&A Museum in London’s new food exhibition with co-curator May Rosenthal Sloan.
Cate Le Bon, Ciro Guerra, Christina Gallego and the Venice Biennale
May 19, 2019 12:02 - 82.4 MBMusician Cate Le Bon talks us through her new album ‘Reward’. We also hear from filmmakers Ciro Guerra and Christina Gallego about their Colombia-set drama ‘Birds of Passage’, and Monocle’s Chiara Rimella checks out some of the best art on show at the Venice Biennale.
Holly Herndon, Claire Denis, and Caren, Claudia and Todd Strauss-Schulson
May 12, 2019 12:02 - 82.4 MBExperimental musician Holly Herndon discusses how she put cutting-edge technology to work on her groundbreaking new album ‘Proto’. Plus: legendary film-maker Claire Denis on deep space and busting taboos in her new film ‘High Life’, and the custodians of a collection of doodles by some of the world’s greatest minds explain how they compiled them into a book.
Will Storr, Káryyn, Deyan Sudjic and Adrienne Groen
May 05, 2019 12:02 - 82.4 MBWe meet journalist and author Will Storr to discuss his new book ‘The Science of Storytelling’. Plus: musician Káryyn talks us through her album ‘The Quanta Series’ and we meet Deyan Sudjic and Adrienne Groen, curators of The Design Museum in London’s new Stanley Kubrick exhibition.
Viken Berberian, Dan Richards and Fayann Smith
April 28, 2019 12:02 - 82.4 MBViken Berberian examines the pitfalls of development with his new graphic novel, *The Structure is Rotten, Comrade*. Plus: Dan Richards on his new book *Outpost* and Fayann Smith’s new project in Venice.