Life and Art from FT Weekend

This week, bestselling author Curtis Sittenfeld joins us to talk about romantic comedies. Curtis is a long-time fan of rom-coms – her most recent novel is, in fact, called Romantic Comedy. She loves love. But she also knows that there’s a difference between how love is portrayed in TV and movies, and what it’s like in real life. Curtis speaks with Lilah about the state of romantic comedies today: how they’ve changed, and where they could go next.Don’t forget! Send us your top summer tip: what’s one thing that you’d recommend people do to have the perfect summer? Record a message here: http://sayhi.chat/15xxg  You can also email us at ftweekendpodcast@ft.com, tweet us @ftweekendpod, or message Lilah on Instagram or Twitter @lilahrap. --------------Links: – Curtis’ latest novel is called Romantic Comedy– The FT’s review of Romantic Comedy: https://on.ft.com/3OGt4wC – Curtis’ other novels include Rodham (an alternate history of the life of Hillary Clinton) Prep (set in an American boarding school), Eligible (a modern retelling of Pride and Prejudice), and American Wife (a romance based loosely on the life of Barbara Bush)– Follow Curtis on Twitter @csittenfeld Romantic comedies mentioned: – When Harry Met Sally – Say Anything– Notting Hill– Four Weddings and a Funeral– Dirty Dancing– Jerry Maguire– You’ve Got Mail– Ticket to Paradise (starring Julia Roberts and George Clooney)– Rye Lane– Fire Island– Russian Doll– Something’s Gotta Give--------------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 Columbia Pictures, Universal Pictures, and Vestron Pictures / Lionsgate Entertainment. Read a transcript of this episode on FT.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Robert Shrimsley has written a satirical column for the FT for years, and this week we talk through one where he gives advice to his older self. As it turns out, forecasting who you might become is an exercise in recognising who you are now – and coming to terms with your genuine interests and limitations. Then Lilah speaks with Alice Lascelles, the FT’s drinks contributor, about the rise of non-alcoholic beverages. Turns out, making a cocktail that’s non-alcoholic and good is the ultimate challenge for bartenders. --------------Want to say hi? We love hearing from you. Email us at ftweekendpodcast@ft.com. We’re on Twitter @ftweekendpod, and Lilah is on Instagram and Twitter @lilahrap. --------------Links:– Robert is the FT’s UK chief political commentator and UK editor-at-large. He has two columns, one on UK politics and one in the FT Weekend Magazine– Robert’s ‘Advice to my older self’ column: https://on.ft.com/41GYoy2 – Another column by Robert: ‘What’s with all the farmer’s markets?’: https://on.ft.com/3IgOIU8 – One more column by Robert: ‘Humanity has built AI in its own image, heaven help us’: https://on.ft.com/41QmfLW – Alice’s column on the World Alcohol Free awards: https://on.ft.com/3IgsGAX –Robert is on Twitter at @robertshrimsley. Alice is on Instagram and Twitter @alicelascelles.--------------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 speak with artist Sheida Soleimani. Soleimani grew up in the American Midwest hearing stories of her parents’ escape from Iran: her father spending years in hiding, her mother imprisoned in solitary confinement. Now, she is using three-dimensional collages to tell their story. And she’s doing it in collaboration with them. --------------Want to say hi? We love hearing from you. Email us at ftweekendpodcast@ft.com. We’re on Twitter @ftweekendpod, and Lilah is on Instagram and Twitter @lilahrap. --------------Links:– Lilah’s profile of Sheida Soleimani, from the FT Weekend Magazine’s recent photography special: https://on.ft.com/3MjCQTB – You can explore Ghostwriter on the Edel Assanti website. It’s on view at their gallery in London until May 13: https://edelassanti.com/exhibitions/115-sheida-soleimani-ghostwriter/ – Sheida Soleimani’s 2021 work Proof: https://dennygallery.com/artists/sheida-soleimani/ – Ghostwriter will be on view at the Denny Gallery in Manhattan in September– Sheida is on Instagram at @sheidajanam--------------Our US edition of the FTWeekend Festival is back! Join Hillary Clinton, Jamie Lee Curtis, Ta-Nehisi Coates, Alice Waters, your favourite FT writers, and more on May 20 in Washington, DC, and online. Register now and save $20 using the promo code weekendpodcast at ft.com/festival-usSpecial 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 consider what it means to have a good death. As nursing strikes escalate throughout the UK and Ireland, the writer Imogen Savage couldn't help but think of her mother Anne, who spent more than 45 years working in end of life care. Imogen spent her childhood watching Anne help people die comfortably and with dignity. Today, we speak with them both about what they've learned about death, and why we shouldn’t cut corners when it comes to caring for the dying.--------------Want to say hi? We love hearing from you. Email us at ftweekendpodcast@ft.com. We’re on Twitter @ftweekendpod, and Lilah is on Instagram and Twitter @lilahrap. --------------Links:– Imogen’s article about her mother: https://on.ft.com/426JTED --------------Our US edition of the FTWeekend Festival is back! Join Hillary Clinton, Jamie Lee Curtis, Ta-Nehisi Coates, Alice Waters, your favourite FT writers, and more on May 20 in Washington, DC, and online. Register now and save $20 using the promo code weekendpodcast at ft.com/festival-usSpecial 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 weekend, we meet actor Arian Moayed. You may know him as Stewy Hosseini from HBO’s Succession, a scheming private equity shark who loves money and fears no one. He's also currently in A Doll's House on Broadway opposite Jessica Chastain, playing Torvald Helmer, one of theatre history's most famous chauvinists. He talks to Lilah about the difference between a trope bad guy and a complicated person, and how to play unlikeable characters as fully formed people. Arian and his family fled from Iran in the 1980s. He says when he sees A Doll’s House, all he sees is Iran. We discuss how his culture informs his work as an actor.--------------Want to say hi? We love hearing from you. Email us at ftweekendpodcast@ft.com. We’re on Twitter @ftweekendpod, and Lilah is on Instagram and Twitter @lilahrap. --------------Links:– Succession airs on HBO in the US and SkyAtlantic in the UK. The finale is on Sunday, May 28. Here’s the FT’s review of season 4: https://on.ft.com/3LdbxZA – A Doll’s House, adapted by Amy Herzog and directed by Jamie Lloyd, is at the Hudson Theatre on Broadway through to June 10: https://adollshousebroadway.com/– A column by the FT’s Jo Ellison on why the Succession wardrobe is so good https://on.ft.com/3VcfulE – A profile of director Jamie Lloyd: https://on.ft.com/3Ldbyg6– Our conversation with Michael Patrick Thornton: https://link.chtbl.com/ftweekend-mpt – Arian is on Twitter and Instagram @arianmoayed. His non-profit, Waterwell, is at https://www.waterwell.org/ —-------------Our US edition of the FTWeekend Festival is back! Join Jamie Lee Curtis, Ta-Nehisi Coates, Alice Waters, your favourite FT writers, and more on May 20 in Washington, DC, and online. Register now and save $20 using the promo code weekendpodcast at ft.com/festival-usSpecial 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 in this episode courtesy of HBO.Read a transcript of this episode on FT.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week, Lilah speaks to Pulitzer prize-winning playwright Suzan-Lori Parks, whose new show Plays for the Plague Year asks us to remember, process and grieve the pandemic. Suzan-Lori is best known for her 2001 play Topdog/Underdog, which was reprised on Broadway in the autumn. But her new show is different: she wrote one short play a day through the pandemic, and collected them into a lively, music-filled theatrical event. Suzan-Lori and Lilah talk through big questions: when is the right time to look back? What does ‘back to normal’ mean? What can and should we do with our memories? And how do you create complex art about difficult things?--------------Want to say hi? We love hearing from you. Email us at ftweekendpodcast@ft.com. We’re on Twitter @ftweekendpod, and Lilah is on Instagram and Twitter @lilahrap. --------------Links:– Plays for the Plague Year by Suzan-Lori Parks is running at Joe’s Pub at the Public Theater until April 30 https://publictheater.org/productions/season/2223/plays-for-the-plague-year2/ – Suzan-Lori’s Pulitzer-Prize winning play is Topdog/Underdog: https://bookshop.org/p/books/topdog-underdog-suzan-lori-parks/10486222?ean=9781559362016   – The FT interviewed Suzan-Lori and Cynthia Erivo on the alchemy of Aretha Franklin (2021): https://on.ft.com/3V120Jt–Suzan-Lori is the playwright in residence at the Public, and does a regular virtual ‘watch me work’ session over zoom for people to get writing done together, and ask her questions: https://publictheater.org/productions/season/2122/watch-me-work/--------------Our US edition of the FTWeekend Festival is back! Join Jamie Lee Curtis, Ta-Nehisi Coates, Alice Waters, your favourite FT writers, and more on May 20 in Washington, DC, and online. Register now and save $20 using the promo code weekendpodcast at ft.com/festival-usSpecial 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 in this episode courtesy of The Public TheaterRead a transcript of this episode on FT.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

There’s been a lot of big finance and economics news in 2023. Whether it's stories about rising interest rates, tech industry layoffs or bank runs, it can almost feel like you need an MBA just to make sense of it all. That’s why the Financial Times is launching a bonus series called Behind the Money: Night School. Over the next five weeks, this show will help you understand the concepts behind the biggest economic stories of this year. U.S. managing editor Peter Spiegel chats with FT journalists as they unpack the basics around things like energy markets, inflation and the rise of artificial intelligence. This series is supported by Blinkist. If you want to find out more about conversations like this, check out the Blinkist app.Behind the Money: Night School is out now. Find it by subscribing to the Behind the Money podcast wherever you listen. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week, we go to a racetrack in Miami, Florida to drink some beers, place some bets, and discover how AI is changing the sport of horse racing. FT data journalist Oliver Roeder joins Lilah to talk about how the ancient sport is being upended by anonymous computer-assisted bets. These secretive gamblers are injecting billions of dollars into the pools, and aggressively tipping the odds, and it’s putting the whole sport at risk.--------------Want to say hi? We love hearing from you. Email us at ftweekendpodcast@ft.com. We’re on Twitter @ftweekendpod, and Lilah is on Instagram and Twitter @lilahrap. --------------Links:– Oliver’s piece on horse betting: https://on.ft.com/3UDrX1t – Oliver’s on Twitter at @ollie —-------------Our US edition of the FTWeekend Festival is back! Join Jamie Lee Curtis, Ta-Nehisi Coates, Alice Waters, your favourite FT writers, and more on May 20 in Washington, DC, and online. Register now and save $20 using promo code weekendpodcast at ft.com/festival-usSpecial 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 talk tequila. Over the last 20 years, it has become wildly popular, celebrity-endorsed, and top-shelf. Tequila and mezcal are the fastest-growing spirit category in the US; this year, they are set to overtake vodka as the country's best-selling spirit. But the impact on local Mexican farmers and distillers has been damaging, and demand is outpacing supply. Ivy Mix, author of Spirits of Latin America and owner of respected Brooklyn bar Leyenda, talks us through what's at risk – and what can be done. Then, we head to Mexico City to learn the traditional way to drink the spirit from Gina Barbachano, one of the city's top bartenders.--------------Want to say hi? We love hearing from you. Email us at ftweekendpodcast@ft.com. We’re on Twitter @ftweekendpod, and Lilah is on Instagram and Twitter @lilahrap.--------------Links:– Lilah’s magazine piece, ‘How Americans ruined tequila – and the true believers saving it’: https://on.ft.com/40QnpXW– Ivy’s book is called Spirits of Latin America. She’s on Instagram @IvyMix– Gina is bartender and co-owner of Hanky Panky, in Mexico City. She’s on Instagram @GinaBarbachano– Ivy poured Lilah Tequila Ocho, Siembra Azul, and Fortaleza, as examples of tequilas doing good work. Gina poured us Caballito Cerero--------------Special discounts for podcast listeners, from 50% off a digital subscription to a $1/£1/€1 trial are here: http://ft.com/weekendpodcast.Our US edition of the FTWeekend Festival is back! Join Jamie Lee Curtis, Ta-Nehisi Coates, Alice Waters, your favourite FT writers and more on May 20 in Washington, DC, and online. Register now and save $20 off using promo code weekendpodcast at ft.com/festival-us--------------Original music by Metaphor Music. Mixing and sound design by Breen Turner and Sam Giovinco. Additional clips this week copyright Atlantic Records and Universal Music Group. Read a transcript of this episode on FT.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This weekend, we bring you a conversation with actor Michael Patrick Thornton, who is currently in a buzzy Broadway production of A Doll's House alongside Jessica Chastain. When Michael was 24, he had a series of spinal cord strokes. Reciting Shakespeare's sonnets taught him how to breathe and speak again, and continue his career. Michael is at present the only actor on Broadway who uses a wheelchair. The interview was recorded a few months ago, while Michael was on stage in Macbeth with Daniel Craig and Ruth Negga.  Then, we learn about Melissa Dring, Britain's top forensic artist, from journalist Will Coldwell, and the techniques she uses to catch criminals — they are surprisingly cute, and include a jar of strawberry jam.--------------Want to say hi? We love hearing from you. Email us at ftweekendpodcast@ft.com. We’re on Twitter @ftweekendpod, and Lilah is on Instagram and Twitter @lilahrap. --------------Links and mentions from the episode: – Will’s profile of Melissa Dring, ‘To catch a criminal: what a forensic artist knows about the mind’: https://on.ft.com/3rw0lht – Michael Patrick Thornton’s theatre company, The Gift: https://thegifttheatre.org/ – Michael is on Twitter @ThorntonMPT, and Will is on Twitter at @Will_Coldwell– A Doll’s House is on Broadway through June 10 https://adollshousebroadway.com/ – Select coverage of the war in Ukraine is free to read at https://www.ft.com/freetoread—-------------Special offers for Weekend listeners, from 50% off a digital subscription to a $1/£1/€1 trial are here: http://ft.com/weekendpodcast. Our. US edition of the FTWeekend Festival is back! Join Jamie Lee Curtis, Ta-Nehisi Coates, Alice Waters, your favourite FT writers and more on May 20 in Washington, DC, and online. Register now and save $20 off using promo code weekendpodcast at ft.com/festival-us--------------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.