Life and Art from FT Weekend

This episode was modified to correct an inaccuracy in the intro. We said Britain has appointed one of the women interviewed for this story to director of GCHQ. Britain did recently appoint the first woman director of GCHQ, but it wasn’t one of the women interviewed for the story.This week, we return to one of our favourite episodes, to hear about the secret lives of women spies. Our colleague Helen Warrell got exclusive access to the women at the top ranks of Britain’s MI6 agency. For the first time, they reveal what it’s like to be a woman in espionage, and how pop culture – from James Bond to John le Carré novels – has made it harder for MI6 to recruit a diverse team of spies. Then, we’re joined by behavioural economist and friend of the podcast Tim Harford, who makes a compelling case for learning when it’s time to quit.-------We love hearing from you! You can email us at ftweekendpodcast@ft.com. We’re on Twitter @ftweekendpod, and Lilah is on Instagram and Twitter @lilahrap.-------Links: – Our coverage of Anne Keast-Butler’s appointment as head of GCHQ: https://on.ft.com/3JJiMIG– Helen’s exclusive story trailing the women at the top of MI6: https://on.ft.com/3Im2962 – Helen is on Twitter @HelenWarrell – Tim’s column on why quitting is underrated: https://on.ft.com/3vEBVnx – Tim’s podcast is called Cautionary Tales and he’s on Twitter @TimHarford-------Special offers for Weekend listeners, from 50% off a digital subscription to a $1/£1/€1 trial are here: http://ft.com/weekendpodcast.--------------Original music by Metaphor Music. Mixing and sound design by Breen Turner and Sam Giovinco.  Read a transcript of this episode on FT.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week, we highlight the winner of the International Booker Prize: the novel ‘Time Shelter.’ Lilah speaks with Bulgarian novelist Georgi Gospodinov, along with his English-language translator, Angela Rodel. The book is a beautifully written and biting critique of the world's recent populist movements. Georgi and Angela let us in on some of the secrets to writing and translating it.--------------We love hearing from you! You can email us at ftweekendpodcast@ft.com, we’re on Twitter @ftweekendpod, and Lilah is on Instagram and Twitter @lilahrap. --------------Links: – An FT piece on Bulgaria’s reaction to Time Shelter winning the International Booker: https://on.ft.com/46umoIf– Our literary editor, Fred Studeman, was one of the judges of the International Booker Prize. Read his recent interview with another Eastern European author, historian Katja Hoyer, here: https://on.ft.com/3JD5lKt– The Summer Books supplement is out now! Here are a few of our favourite lists:– FT journalists’ top picks for summer reads: https://on.ft.com/46rmeS0– A list of the best fiction in translation, compiled by Ángel Gurría-Quintana: https://www.ft.com/content/ebd55a2f-b1f2-421f-af9a-236a59f47854– A list of the best fiction so far this year, compiled by deputy books editor Laura Battle: https://www.ft.com/content/79becc39-6ded-4fa8-a5bd-ae97ce0c8824--------------Special offers for Weekend listeners, from 50% off a digital subscription to a $1/£1/€1 trial are here: http://ft.com/weekendpodcast.--------------Original music by Metaphor Music. Mixing and sound design by Breen Turner and Sam Giovinco. Clips courtesy of 20th Century Studios. Read a transcript of this episode on FT.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

You may have had this fantasy: quit your job in the big city, move to Napa or Greece, buy a straw hat and make wine. Sales of wine-estate properties have, in fact, been rising across southern Europe for years. But the reality is, owning a vineyard is stressful, volatile and financially precarious, and the FT's Marianna Giusti warns us to avoid it at all costs. Mari's family runs a vineyard in Tuscany, Italy. As the oldest child, she is first in line to inherit it. But she doesn’t want it! This week, she joins Lilah to discuss the highs and lows of vineyard life, and explain how hard it is to make really good wine.--------------We love hearing from you! You can email us at ftweekendpodcast@ft.com, we’re on Twitter @ftweekendpod, and Lilah is on Instagram and Twitter @lilahrap. --------------Links: – Mari’s piece, The many perils – and occasional pleasure – of owning a vineyard: https://on.ft.com/46vKMcL – Mari is on Instagram @mauipippi and on Twitter @mauipippa– Jancis Robinson on what the rise in wildfires means for fine wine: https://on.ft.com/3NKbczK – Another recent column by Jancis, about a vineyard in New Zealand battered by heavy rainfall, ‘the first vineyard visit that left me feeling sad’: https://on.ft.com/3NIwjCA – A more uplifting article by Jancis, on biodynamic wine: https://on.ft.com/3pfq93D – And one on how German wine has transformed itself, but buyers haven’t noticed: https://on.ft.com/3NIoHAd – We also mentioned A Good Year (2006) directed by Ridley Scott and starring Russell Crowe--------------Special offers for Weekend listeners, from 50% off a digital subscription to a $1/£1/€1 trial are here: http://ft.com/weekendpodcast.--------------Original music by Metaphor Music. Mixing and sound design by Breen Turner and Sam Giovinco. Clips courtesy of 20th Century Studios. Read a transcript of this episode on FT.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Welcome to the final bonus episode in our mini-series on food and drink. This week we are joined by two women who are at the forefront of a movement to elevate Mexican food and drink around the world: chef Pati Jinich and tequila maker Bertha González Nieves. Pati and Bertha were interviewed by the FT’s drinks columnist Alice Lascelles during a live conversation at the US FT Weekend Festival. Pati is a chef on a mission to educate people about the diversity of Mexican food, which she explores on her PBS show La Frontera. Bertha leads a luxury small-batch tequila brand called Casa Dragones, which is working to redefine tequila as a spirit to sip and savour. She’s also the first woman tequila distiller to earn the title “maestra tequilera”.--------------Want to stay in touch? We love hearing from you. We’re on Twitter @ftweekendpod and Lilah is on Instagram and Twitter @lilahrap.--------------Links:– Lilah’s interview with Pati Jinich for the podcast last year: https://link.chtbl.com/FTW-patijinich– The tequila story featuring Bertha Gonzáles Nieves in FT Weekend Magazine: https://on.ft.com/3CBVsJ1 – Lilah recommends Pati’s cookbook Treasures of the Mexican Table: https://patijinich.com/cookbook/treasures-of-the-mexican-table/ – Pati’s original nachos recipe: https://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/1021572-the-original-nachos – A recent piece in the FT by Jancis Robinson about Mexican wine: https://on.ft.com/3NCFrYv– A food tour of Mexico City from the FT: https://on.ft.com/3PnlN4Z-------------Special offers for Weekend listeners, from 50% off a digital subscription to a $1/£1/€1 trial are here: http://ft.com/weekendpodcast.--------------This episode was produced by Zach St Louis. Mixing and sound design by Breen Turner and Sam Giovinco.Read a transcript of this episode on FT.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week, we're talking about how to have the best summer ever. FT magazine editor Matt Vella joins us, and we go through suggestions from listeners, from putting everything in the freezer to getting your ice-cream truck driver's phone number. We also chat about this summer's cultural highlights, and how you might be better off skipping Beyoncé and going to see a local or second-tier band.  --------------We love hearing from you! You can email us at ftweekendpodcast@ft.com, we’re on Twitter @ftweekendpod, and Lilah is on Instagram and Twitter @lilahrap. --------------Links: – Matt’s cultural recommendations: Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny will be out 28 June. Check your local listings for tour dates for Beyoncė, Shania Twain, and Le Tigre– We also mentioned the Talking Heads documentary Stop Making Sense.  – A beautiful column by our colleague Enuma Okoro: The pleasure and possibility of summer https://on.ft.com/3P7sAzM – The best summer music festivals worldwide: https://on.ft.com/3p4pLF2 – The perfect menu for your first summer meal outdoors (Ravinder Bhogal recipes): https://on.ft.com/3NtZHMN – You can browse the entire summer food and drink special here: https://on.ft.com/3Ct9Q67--------------Special offers for Weekend listeners, from 50% off a digital subscription to a $1/£1/€1 trial are here: http://ft.com/weekendpodcast.--------------Original music by Metaphor Music. Mixing and sound design by Breen Turner and Sam Giovinco. Read a transcript of this episode on FT.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Welcome to the third bonus episode in our mini-series on food and drink. This week, we have a conversation with star chef Dan Barber, live from the recent US FT Weekend Festival. Dan is the chef and co-owner of Blue Hill in Manhattan, as well as Blue Hill at Stone Barns, a two-star Michelin restaurant in upstate New York. He has been a thought leader for almost two decades, and what he wants to talk about most right now are seeds. He says 65% of the world's seed supply is produced by four companies. "We have to start with seed,” he tells the FT’s arts editor Jan Dalley. “If you get the wrong seed, you get everything wrong."--------------Want to stay in touch? We love hearing from you. We’re on Twitter @ftweekendpod.--------------Links:– Dan Barber’s organic seed company is called Row 7 Seed Company– His book is The Third Plate: Field Notes on the Future of Food-------------Special offers for Weekend listeners, from 50% off a digital subscription to a $1/£1/€1 trial are here: http://ft.com/weekendpodcast.--------------This episode was produced by Zach St Louis. Mixing and sound design by Breen Turner and Sam Giovinco.Read a transcript of this episode on FT.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

A new podcast called Unhedged is launching soon, hosted by Financial Times journalists. They will discuss the impact of interest rates, failing banks, concerns about inflation and recession, and the opportunities it presents. Join them every Tuesday and Thursday starting from June 13th to stay updated.

Welcome to the second bonus episode in our mini-series on food and drink. This week, Lilah demystifies wine with sommelier, winemaker and restaurateur André Hueston Mack at his restaurant in central Brooklyn. The wine world has been historically inaccessible, and over the past few decades it's become younger, trendier and even countercultural. André has been at the forefront of this change. He explains how different wines come into fashion, from Georgian wine to Beaujolais. Then, he and Lilah open two bottles to learn how to smell and taste. A wine can be dry or sweet, but can also taste like an old attic or an oyster by the sea!--------------Want to stay in touch? We love hearing from you. We’re on Twitter @ftweekendpod and Lilah is on Instagram and Twitter @lilahrap.--------------Links:– Lilah and André were at André’s seafood restaurant Kingfisher in Prospect Lefferts Gardens, Brooklyn– André’s Bon Appétit YouTube show is called World of Wine. Here’s an episode Lilah loves: https://youtu.be/2lsHvoxCqAI– The Beaujolais André and Lilah tasted was a Domaine Chapel Fleurie Charbonnieres 2020– The Sancerre was a Noël et Jean-Luc Raimbault Sancerre Blanc 2022 from the Loire Valley– André is on Instagram @andrehmack. His wine label is called Maison Noir -------------Special offers for Weekend listeners, from 50% off a digital subscription to a $1/£1/€1 trial are here: http://ft.com/weekendpodcast.--------------This episode was produced by Zach St Louis. Mixing and sound design by Breen Turner and Sam Giovinco.Read a transcript of this episode on FT.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week, we meet the South African gangs stealing copper to survive. When the journalist Monica Mark moved to Johannesburg, she noticed that copper theft was causing disruptions across the country: power went out, trains were cancelled, and her neighbourhood Whatsapp group was livid. She wanted to find out who was behind it. So she tracked down a man who used to be in a copper gang. His story is a unique look at South Africa's current struggles with high unemployment, vast inequality and a global market willing to turn a blind eye for profit. Don’t forget! Send us your top summer tip: what’s one thing that you’d recommend people do to have the perfect summer? Deadline is Sunday, June 4. Record a message here: http://sayhi.chat/15xxgYou can also email us at ftweekendpodcast@ft.com, tweet us @ftweekendpod, or message Lilah on Instagram @lilahrap. --------------Links: – Monica’s magazine piece: https://on.ft.com/43gop8N – Follow Monica on Twitter @nickswicks--------------Special offers for Weekend listeners, from 50% off a digital subscription to a $1/£1/€1 trial are here: http://ft.com/weekendpodcast.--------------Original music by Metaphor Music. Mixing and sound design by Breen Turner and Sam Giovinco. Read a transcript of this episode on FT.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Welcome to the first bonus episode in our mini-series on food and drink. Every Wednesday, as we inch closer to summer, we'll host a fun conversation with a different expert. Lilah’s first guest is chef and food writer Tamar Adler. Twelve years ago, Tamar wrote the bestselling book An Everlasting Meal, which shared her philosophy that every meal you make can come from the meal before it. She recently expanded it into The Everlasting Meal Cookbook, an encyclopedia for cooking leftovers, with more than 1,500 little recipes. Tamar joins Lilah to talk through making second, third and even fourth meals out of what we have in our kitchens, from leftover pasta to wilting lettuce to an old deli sandwich.--------------Want to stay in touch? We love hearing from you. We’re on Twitter @ftweekendpod and Lilah is on Instagram and Twitter @lilahrap.--------------Links:– Tamar’s most recent cookbook is The Everlasting Meal Cookbook: Leftovers A-Z.– Lilah also recommends her original book, An Everlasting Meal: Cooking with Economy and Grace– Tamar’s recent piece for FT Weekend on her dream dinner party: https://on.ft.com/43pTres – Tamar is on Instagram @tamar.e.adler-------------We’re still collecting your top summer tips: what’s one small thing that you’d recommend people do this summer, that would make their summer 90% better? Record a message here: http://sayhi.chat/15xxg  -------------Special offers for Weekend listeners, from 50% off a digital subscription to a $1/£1/€1 trial are here: http://ft.com/weekendpodcast.--------------This episode was produced by Zach St Louis. Mixing and sound design by Breen Turner and Sam Giovinco.Read a transcript of this episode on FT.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.