Life and Art from FT Weekend

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Welcome to our Season 3 finale! To wrap up the year, Lilah is joined by the artist Shantell Martin. Shantell draws big, bold lines. Everywhere. She makes a strong case for taking out a pen. We discuss how to teach art to the next generation, what it means to 'sell out' in the art world, British versus American racism, and an urgent question for this time: who are you? Afterwards, co-host Griselda Murray Brown stops in during maternity leave to talk about motherhood and this season's themes.Thank you for joining us on this journey. You can keep in touch with Lilah on Instagram at @lilahrap, on Twitter at @lilahrap and @ftculturecall, and by email at culturecall@ft.com.Links from the show: For free 30-day access to all FT journalism, sign up to the Coronavirus Business Update newsletter with this special link. —Shantell on Instagram—Shantell's work at the New York City Ballet—Dear Grandmother, a collaboration between Dot and Shantell Martin—New Tricks, Shantell's British detective show recommendation, is on Amazon Prime—Janelle Monáe music video for Turntables—A great recent FT interview with Mary Gaitskill, author of Lost Cat—Morning Song, a poem by Sylvia Plath—Great back catalogue episodes: start the six-episode journey of this season with episode one: Miranda July! Some standout Gris interviews include Tyler Mitchell, George the Poet and Jia Tolentino. Some standout Lilah interviews include Ira Glass, Maaza Mengiste and Esther Perel.---“Turntables” is an original song by Janelle Monáe for the Liz Garbus and Lisa Cortés' 2020 documentary film All In: The Fight for Democracy. Courtesy Bad Boy, 2021 Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Maaza Mengiste is one of the FT's Women of the Year, and author of the epic historical novel The Shadow King. Her book, which was shortlisted for the Booker Prize, is about the Italian invasion of Ethiopia at the start of WWII. It asks massive questions about how history is remembered, recorded and retold. Maaza and Lilah talk about collective memory, women warriors, decolonising the archives and who will tell the stories of 2020. It's full of wisdom. You'll laugh, you'll cry, you'll take notes. Plus: Alice Fishburn, editor of FT Weekend Magazine, drops by to discuss the novel, our Women of the Year issue, and commissioning in a pandemic. We love hearing your thoughts! Email us at culturecall@ft.com. Message Lilah on Instagram or Twitter @lilahrap, and the podcast @ftculturecall.Links:For free 30-day access to FT journalism, sign up to the Coronavirus Business Update newsletter with this special link.–Explore the FT Women of 2020 issue (paywall)–A Big Read on the crisis in Ethiopia (FT) and a Twitter thread from Maaza on the humanitarian disaster–What's going on currently in Armenia (Politico) and a history of the conflict in Nagorno-Karabakh (Jacobin)–Project 3541, Maaza's online archive of the 1935-41 Italo-Ethiopian war–An essay by Maaza on losing her father–Maaza's book recommendations: Afterlives by Abdulrazak Gurnah, Rainbow Milk by Paul Mendez and Trieste by Dasa Drndic–Alice mentioned two FT Magazine stories: The next pandemic: where is it coming from and how do we stop it? and Siri Hustvedt: ‘I think of the sirens as New York’s heartbreaking music’ –Alice's book recommendation: Hamnet by Maggie O'Farrell Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Simon is one of the world’s premier historians and art historians, and also a colleague! After a tumultuous election, we've invited him on to help connect the dots and give us much-needed historical context. Plus: Neil Munshi, our west Africa correspondent joins us from Lagos to reflect on our conversation and discuss his recent piece on how companies are facing their brutal colonial histories. Two people with global and historical lenses through which to see 2020.What do you think is possible now, that seemed impossible before? Email us at culturecall@ft.com. You can message Lilah on Instagram or Twitter @lilahrap, and find the podcast on Twitter @ftculturecall. We love voice notes – so send those, too.Links from the episode:–Simon's piece The two Americas: LBJ, MLK and what the dramas of 1965 can teach a polarised nation –Simon's piece on statues: History is better served by putting the Men in Stone in museums–Simon's BBC series the Romantics and Us is on YouTube–Wendell Wilkie's One World–September, by Gerhard Richter–Midnight Diner: Tokyo Stories is on Netflix–Neil Munshi's piece, Belgium’s reckoning with a brutal history in Congo Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

“I feel like America was an experiment that right now is yielding really hideous, ugly results". In the days after the US election, Lilah explores how divided the US is with artist and activist iO Tillett Wright. iO created the hit true-crime podcast The Ballad of Billy Balls. He just finished a ten-year project travelling to all 50 states to photograph 10,000 queer Americans and has a unique lens on America. They discuss the election, how Americans were taught to hate, the dangers of groupthink, the ebb and flow of the fight for queer rights, this generation’s fight for civil rights and what effective activism looks like.iO's projects:–The Ballad of Billy Balls–His memoir, Darling Days–Self Evident Truths: 10,000 Portraits of Queer America–iO's Ted Talk, 50 Shades of Gay–A conversation between iO and King Princess (Interview Magazine)iO's recommendations:–Rabbit Hole podcast, from the New York Times–The Social Dilemma is on Netflix (here's an FT interview with its director, Jeff Orlowski)–Swindled, a podcast about white-collar crime & corporate greed–A General Theory of Love: a book about the science of human emotions and biological psychiatryAhead of our next episode, three pieces by Simon Schama:–The two Americas: LBJ, MLK and what the dramas of 1965 can teach a polarised nation–Simon Schama: History is better served by putting the Men in Stone in museums–Plague Time: Simon Schama on what history tells us  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

After a summer defined by protest, we invite on Ai Weiwei, one of the most influential artists and activists of our time, to discuss whether we've changed. Weiwei describes how to protest creatively and powerfully ("you only see your power from your enemy's eye"), the symbolic meaning of this pandemic, and his view on the state of humanity. Plus: FT arts editor Jan Dalley joins Lilah to unpack the conversation and consider where art is going.Links from the episode:—Circa 2020 on Instagram. They're raising money for struggling UK artists with a £100 Ai Weiwei print here through October—Watch Human Flow on Amazon Prime or here—Watch Coronation, Ai Weiwei's most recent documentary, which compiled secret footage of Wuhan during the peak of the Covid crisis, on Vimeo—13 Ai Weiwei works to know (Royal Academy of Arts)—FT piece on the best new operas online (paywall)—Jan Dalley's review of the art world in the 2010sClip credit: AT SEA consists of footage filmed by Ai Weiwei during the making of “Human Flow” in 2016. Since 2015, hundreds of thousands of refugees have attempted the dangerous sea journey trying to reach Europe. Alongside these scenes are shots of physical barriers erected across Europe, the cold response to the plea for safety and shelter from the world’s most vulnerable. Video edited by: Autumn Rin Quotes: The border is not in Lesbos, it is in our minds and in our hearts. – Ai Weiwei, Chinese artist (b. 1957) Music Credit: Karsten Fundal Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this bonus episode, we bring you a conversation between Lilah and Pulitzer Prize-winning poet and former US Poet Laureate Natasha Trethewey. In her recent memoir, Memorial Drive, Natasha shares the painful story of her mother's murder at the hands of her stepfather when Natasha was 19. Natasha was born to a black mother and white father in the Deep South during the civil rights movement. When she was an infant, the KKK burned a cross in her family's front yard. In this interview she speaks to the cyclical nature of history, the disease of racism, and the power of memory. This interview was originally recorded at the FT Weekend Live Festival in early September 2020.Get tickets to the virtual October 22 FT NextGen festival here for free, using the promo code FTPodcast.—Watch this conversation between Natasha and Lilah on YouTube —Read Natasha’s piece for the FT, America the Beautiful: three generations in the struggle for civil rights—Read the FT review for Memorial Drive, written by playwright Bonnie Greer—Read Natasha’s poem, Imperatives for Carrying On in the Aftermath  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Miranda July is an artist ahead of her time: a prolific filmmaker, writer, musician, actor and more. Her work deliberately leads us into discomfort – and then hugs us from behind. Her third feature film, Kajillionaire, now on US and UK general release, is an exploration of loneliness and love that feels especially prescient now. Miranda and Lilah discuss what it’s like to release a film during a pandemic, how to make art when we don’t know what we’ll want in the future, and how a weirder world has made her film a lot less weird. Plus: FT writer Harriet Fitch-Little joins Lilah to debrief on the interview and discuss why we all stopped going to digital events.The coronavirus pandemic has broken so much open. And that gives us a very unique chance to reimagine. Welcome to the first of a six-part season. From now to the end of 2020, Lilah will be posing the question “what’s possible now?” to different creators and thinkers, to FT Life & Arts journalists, and to you.What do you think is possible now, that seemed impossible before? Email us at culturecall@ft.com. You can message Lilah on Instagram or Twitter @lilahrap, and find the podcast on Twitter @ftculturecall. We love voice notes – so send those, too.Links from the episode: Our Next Gen virtual festival, hosted by the FT’s young editors, is on October 22! Buy tickets here, and use our discount code, NextGen2020Anthem, by Leonard CohenA deep dive on the line, “There is a crack in everything – that’s how the light gets in”Lilah’s piece about living through historyHarriet Fitch-Little’s profile of Miranda JulyFT’s Kajillionaire review by Danny Leigh (paywall)Jenny Odell interviews Miranda JulyBehind the scenes of Jopie, Miranda’s crowdsourced film An excerpt of John Giorno’s memoir, Great Demon Kings @newyorknico on Instagram Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The season kicks off on Friday, October 9! With co-host Griselda Murray Brown on maternity leave, Lilah Raptopoulos presents a new series of conversations with creators and thinkers about our radically transformed cultural landscape.We are living through history. The pandemic has exposed deep cracks in our systems, giving us an unprecedented chance to reexamine and upend. This six-episode season is based around the following question: what’s possible now? Join Lilah, star guests and the team behind the Financial Times’ critically-acclaimed Life & Arts journalism to explore how culture is helping us envision what’s next.Want to say hi? Email us at culturecall@ft.com, find Lilah on Instagram or Twitter at @lilahrap, and find the show on Twitter at @ftculturecall. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The world has changed. In the midst of the Black Lives Matter movement, Gris speaks to Tyler Mitchell, a 25-year-old photographer, filmmaker and political artist who shot to fame when he photographed Beyonce for the September issue of American Vogue in 2018. In his work, Tyler explores what freedom means for black Americans, and all the ways in which it is denied. Gris first spoke to Tyler in early May - three weeks before police killed George Floyd - and they talked again just before this episode was published.This is our finale for Season Two! Thank you for an incredible run. Gris is about to go on maternity leave, but Lilah will be back for Season Three in a few months’ time. In the meantime, you can still always find us talking about culture on Twitter @FTCultureCall or on Instagram at @lilahrap and @griseldamurraybrown, and you can email us at culturecall@ft.com. Links and notes from the episode:–Here is our massive list of listener recommendations for what to watch on streaming platforms. Thanks to all who shared their thoughts! There’s no paywall on this, so you can share it freely: https://www.ft.com/content/87f1f7fe-af30-11ea-a4b6-31f1eedf762e –If you want free access to explore FT journalism for 30 days, sign up to the Coronavirus Business Update newsletter using this special link: https://www.ft.com/newsletter-signup/coronavirus?segmentId=0d92d58c-2c7d-178e-6aa8-81529dd53b1b –White Fragility by Robin DiAngelo (You can also listen to an interview with Robin here: https://www.wnycstudios.org/podcasts/come-through/articles/5-robin-diangelo)– Why I’m No Longer Talking to White People About Race by Reni Eddo-Lodge –The Vanishing Half by Brit Bennett –I May Destroy You by Michaela Coel (BBC iPlayer and HBO)–Here’s an excellent recent episode of our sister podcast, Behind the Money, on the history of police funding in America: https://www.ft.com/content/a6d56dd2-fd2c-4047-a502-c6c6d9dc3f90–Tyler Mitchell on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tylersphotos–Tyler’s new photo book I Can Make You Feel Good, published by Prestel on July 28: https://prestelpublishing.randomhouse.de/book/I-Can-Make-You-Feel-Good/Tyler-Mitchell/Prestel/e563080.rhd–Inside Tyler’s exhibition I Can Make You Feel Good: https://www.anothermag.com/art-photography/12200/tyler-mitchell-photographer-i-can-make-you-feel-good-exhibition-new-york-2020–Photographers who Tyler Mitchell cites as inspirations: Ryan McGinley, Larry Clark, and Petra Collins (who he calls ‘the first internet phenomenon photographer on some level’)–Jeremy O Harris’s tweets on... Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.