Life and Art from FT Weekend

Award-winning podcaster Kaitlin Prest (of The Heart and Mermaid Palace) is one of the most innovative people making audio today. She chats with Lilah about sex, power and the grey areas around consent—as well as how her collective of queer anarchist outsiders climbed to the top of the audio world. Plus: trend forecaster Emily Segal, known for coining the term 'normcore', stops by to share her top five alternate takeaways from fashion month (including that trends may be entirely over!).As always, we'd love to hear from you. Say hi on Twitter @FTCultureCall, or by email at culturecall@ft.com to tell us what you're reading, watching, listening to or otherwise obsessed with. And if you enjoy the show, why not leave us a review on Apple Podcasts?Recommended links: –Kaitlin Prest and Drew Denny's new audio show, Asking For it, comes out February 25. Trailer here: https://mermaidpalace.org/Asking-For-It –The Heart's three part series on consent, 'No': https://www.theheartradio.org/no-episodes –If you liked Emily Segal of Nemesis, this is a great conversation between her and star fashion designer Virgil Abloh: http://moussemagazine.it/virgil-abloh-emily-segal-2018/ –Danny Leigh's piece about Amy documentarian Asif Kapadia ('the director who reinvented the documentary'): https://www.ft.com/content/5311f8ce-871b-11e9-a028-86cea8523dc2 –Gris' Twitter thread about the best theatre on in London right now: https://twitter.com/griseldamb/status/1229743591863541761 –FT review of Tom Stoppard’s Leopoldstadt and Death of England (paywall): https://www.ft.com/content/9f91a7f6-4e4b-11ea-95a0-43d18ec715f5 –Gris' Culture Call interview with Kristen Roupenian, author of Cat Person: https://www.ft.com/content/79a36ebb-3599-4231-92e8-094220b414ef Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We're back with a brand new season! In our pre-Oscars special, Gris talks to Noah Baumbach, director of the nominated film Marriage Story, about love, divorce — and how Netflix is changing film. Plus: the FT's film critic Danny Leigh drops into the studio ahead of the Academy Awards. Who's going to win? Who really should win? And do the Oscars — for which no female directors and just one actor of colour were nominated — still matter in 2020?As always, we'd love to hear from you. Say hi on Twitter @FTCultureCall, or by email at culturecall@ft.com to tell us what you're reading, watching, listening to or otherwise obsessed with. And if you enjoy the show, why not leave us a review on Apple Podcasts?-------Recommended links: Kaitlin Prest's podcast The Heart - specifically the mini-series ‘No’ (she's our next guest): https://www.theheartradio.org/all-episodesThe FT's Academy Awards package: https://www.ft.com/Oscars2020The Spotify soundtrack of Jagged Little Pill (the Alanis Morissette musical): https://open.spotify.com/album/3JUvh3Ch6QFxguLABtTOE3FT review of Anna Wiener's book Uncanny Valley (paywall): https://www.ft.com/content/77a8d150-33a8-11ea-a329-0bcf87a328f2Danny Leigh's review of Uncut Gems (paywall): https://www.ft.com/content/b717ed0e-322b-11ea-a329-0bcf87a328f2FT review of Charlotte Salomon at the Jewish Museum, London: https://www.ft.com/content/97e00f90-0484-11ea-9afa-d9e2401fa7caFT review of Uncle Vanya, London (paywall): https://www.ft.com/content/adf70afe-4359-11ea-abea-0c7a29cd66feEkow Eshun on Masculinities at the Barbican, London (paywall): https://www.ft.com/content/eaaeeff4-422b-11ea-bdb5-169ba7be433d Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The season kicks off this Thursday, February 6! Join Gris and Lilah as they dig into the trends shaping life in the 2020s, interview the people breaking new ground and bring you behind the scenes of the Financial Times' Life & Arts journalism. In episode one, Gris speaks with director of Marriage Story Noah Baumbach, and our film critic stops by to chat about this year’s nominees. We also have an exciting line up of guests this season, including podcaster Kaitlin Prest and novelist Eimear McBride, as well as artists, chefs, trend forecasters and more.Want to say hi? Email Gris and Lilah at culturecall@ft.com or follow us on Twitter at @ftculturecall. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

From Lizzo and Fleabag to Greta Thunberg and the Impossible Burger, Lilah and Gris look back at the biggest themes, people and moments of the year. How did we go from talking about 'global warming' to the 'climate crisis'? How has technology opened up the generational divide? And how is culture reflecting the changing conversation around gender, race and representation? Plus: we asked our FT colleagues for their stand-out moments of 2019! Melissa Ingabire takes on the surprising ascendance of country music, via Lil Nas X and Kacey Musgraves. Alec Russell describes meeting the 89-year-old Irish novelist Edna O'Brien. Jo Ellison explains why Karl Lagerfeld's death marked the end of an era in fashion. And Anna Nicolaou argues that 2019 was a great year for movies - thanks, in part, to streaming platforms like Netflix. The episode rounds out with listener recommendations to help you with your holiday gift list.We're taking a short break -- we'll be back in late January 2020! Let us know who we should interview and which subjects we should tackle in our second season. You can get in touch on Twitter @FTCultureCall or by email at culturecall@ft.com. And if you like the show, the kindest gift you could give us is a review on Apple Podcasts.Links from the episode, arranged by theme: Gris's Lunch with the FT with superstar violinist Nicola Benedetti (paywall): https://www.ft.com/content/33ed2b6e-1b3e-11ea-97df-cc63de1d73f4Climate: Greta Thunberg has Lunch with the FT: https://www.ft.com/content/4df1b9e6-34fb-11e9-bd3a-8b2a211d90d5Why renting your wardrobe makes fashion sense: https://www.ft.com/content/f8b1b96c-ffb7-11e9-be59-e49b2a136b8dReview of Eco-Visionaries exhibition at the Royal Academy (paywall): https://www.ft.com/content/25e8d842-1684-11ea-9ee4-11f260415385Technology: Anna Nicolaou on TikTok and how video shaped a generation: https://www.ft.com/content/dd7234e8-fcb9-11e9-98fd-4d6c20050229John Thornhill's review of Shoshana Zuboff's book The Age of Surveillance Capitalism: https://www.ft.com/content/43980f9c-0f5b-11e9-a3aa-118c761d2745Review of Euphoria on HBO: https://www.ft.com/content/bed942be-b2aa-11e9-bec9-fdcab53d6959MeToo and female creators: Rebecca Traister on the toll of MeToo: https://www.thecut.com/2019/09/the-toll-of-me-too.htmlGillian Tett's review of She Said, Jodi Kantor and Megan Twohey's account of breaking the Weinstein story: https://www.ft.com/content/02b579fc-d480-11e9-a0bd-ab8ec6435630Review of Fleabag series two on BBC/Amazon... Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

You may have noticed the revival of astrology in recent years: meme accounts are accruing millions of followers, horoscope apps are raising millions of dollars in venture funding, and Americans are spending more and more on 'mystical services' (it's currently a $2.2b market). Lilah and Gris explore what this growing trend says about our culture, digging into the renaissance of birth charts and moon signs with help from Culture Call listeners. Plus: one of New York's most prominent astrologers, Rebecca Gordon, stops by the show to talk about her growing clientele and her predictions for Brexit and the US 2020 election. She also takes a look at how compatible Culture Call's co-hosts really are. Also: we are putting together an episode of our cultural highlights from 2019, and we’d love to include yours. Which books, films, TV shows and other trends have you been recommending to your friends? Let us know on Twitter @FTCultureCall or by emailing us at culturecall@ft.com. Here are some links from this episode: – Lilah's FT article on astrology: https://www.ft.com/content/2816a0ec-000c-11ea-be59-e49b2a136b8d–Suzi Feay's FT review of The Crown Season 3: https://www.ft.com/content/767e6b32-fefb-11e9-b7bc-f3fa4e77dd47–Meghan Markle's interview on ITV: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zo9G91QWMQs–Liz Jobey's FT piece on artist Dora Maar, whose work is on view at the Tate Modern in London until March 15 (paywall): https://www.ft.com/content/0ee21c42-05a6-11ea-9afa-d9e2401fa7ca–Picasso's 1937 painting, Weeping Woman': https://www.tate.org.uk/art/artworks/picasso-weeping-woman-t05010–Witch, a book of poetry by Rebecca Tamás: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/43842058-witch–Recap of the Broad City episode Witches: https://www.vulture.com/2017/10/broad-city-recap-season-4-episode-6.html Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Ben Lerner is one of the most acclaimed American writers working today. Gris meets him to discuss good parenting, male rage and why "autofiction" (fiction infused with autobiography) isn't narcissistic, despite what people think. One of the biggest books of 2019, Lerner's new novel The Topeka School is arguably his most ambitious to date. Set partly in Kansas in the 1990s, it tells the story of one family -- and of the US at large. Can it help us understand how we got here?Get in touch! We’re putting together an episode of our cultural highlights from 2019, and we’d love to know what yours have been. Which books, films, TV shows and other trends have you enjoyed this year? Let us know on Twitter @FTCultureCall or by emailing us at culturecall@ft.com. And if you like the show, you can help us out by leaving a review on Apple Podcasts or recommending it to your friends!Links from the episode:  - FT review of Ben Lerner's novel The Topeka School  (paywall) : https://www.ft.com/content/5147ef78-fa37-11e9-a354-36acbbb0d9b6  - Gris' podcast interview with Sheila Heti, another great writer of autofiction: https://www.ft.com/content/8dd9fc2d-9172-47ea-bbd7-0256d4ee4c4d- Lilah's piece on the rebirth of astrology for the FT (paywall): https://www.ft.com/content/2816a0ec-000c-11ea-be59-e49b2a136b8d  - India Ross's piece on the "OK boomer" meme for the FT (paywall): https://www.ft.com/content/52d858a0-06da-11ea-9afa-d9e2401fa7ca- FT's NextGen package, featuring pieces about the post-millennial generation: https://www.ft.com/nextgen   Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Psychotherapist Esther Perel shot to fame with her TED talks and podcast on sex, infidelity, and the secret to long-term relationships. Lilah meets her in New York to learn about her latest podcast – How's Work? – which puts a microphone in her therapy sessions between co-founders. They discuss how the same dynamics that exist in our romantic relationships also exist in our professional lives – and how best to navigate them. Gris and Lilah also dissect how therapy has been depicted in culture over the years.As always, we'd love to hear from you. We are still looking for your thoughts on astrology – record an audio message and email it to us at culturecall@ft.com. You can also always tell us about your favorite cultural trends on Twitter @FTCultureCall. And if you enjoy the show, please recommend us to your friends!––––Links from the episode:–Lilah's written piece on Esther Perel (paywall): https://www.ft.com/content/aaa3b29a-ffb0-11e9-be59-e49b2a136b8d–How's Work? on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/0P13JasQfVZ1RiDCMZMYNU–Tom Faber's piece for the FT on London's club scene (paywall): https://www.ft.com/content/9e45e870-f668-11e9-bbe1-4db3476c5ff0–FT NextGen, a package of stories about how the next generation lives: https://www.ft.com/nextgen–Tickets to the FT's NextGen festival, in London on November 16 (where you can hang out with Gris!): https://www.ftnextgen.com/–Lilah and James Fontanella-Khan's story on why it’s time to stop ignoring mental health at work: https://ft.com/mentalhealth–More about Flights, by Olga Tokarczuk: https://www.ft.com/content/076bb888-372b-11e8-8b98-2f31af407cc8–The rise of Succession, TV’s new must-watch show (Vox): https://www.vox.com/culture/2019/9/24/20870750/succession-hbo-review-season-2-recap Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Award-winning chef Danny Bowien has never fully fit in. Adopted from Korea, Bowien was raised by a white, Christian family in Oklahoma, in "the buckle of the Bible Belt." In 2010, as a young chef in San Francisco, he started the first pop up restaurant ever as an experiment – it became wildly popular for turning Szechuan Chinese food upside down. He now runs two successful Mission Chinese restaurants in New York.Bowien is known in the food world for subverting not just Chinese cuisine, but also what chefs should look like and the rules they should follow. He speaks with Lilah about why authenticity is no longer the benchmark for good food, what it has been like to publicly fail, and how a restaurant becomes an institution.Also: we want to hear your stories about astrology! Do you have a memorable experience to share with us? When do you turn to it? And if you're a skeptic, what doesn't sit right? Record an audio message with your thoughts, and email it to culturecall@ft.com. You can also chat with us on Twitter @FTCultureCall.––––Links from the episode:–Patricia Lockwood's hilarious essay on John Updike in the London Review of Books https://www.lrb.co.uk/v41/n19/patricia-lockwood/malfunctioning-sex-robot–Tickets to the FT's NextGen festival, in London on November 16 (where you can hang out with Gris!): https://www.ftnextgen.com/–Danny Bowien's Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dannybowienchinesefood Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

At almost seven foot tall, Mark Bradford is one of the most towering figures in the art world, in every sense. Gris asks him how it felt — as a gay, black artist — to represent the US at the Venice Biennale in the era of Trump. Mark also discusses growing up in his mother's beauty salon in Los Angeles, his new exhibition in London, and how his foundation makes art accessible to everyone — not just privileged communities. Later in the episode, Lilah speaks to the FT's US media correspondent Anna Nicolaou about Fortnite, the digital streaming wars and why Netflix keeps paying millions for 90's sitcoms.As always, we'd love to hear from you. Chat with us on Twitter @FTCultureCall, and tell us about the cultural trends you can’t get out of your head at culturecall@ft.com. Links from the episode:Mark Bradford's exhibition Cerberus is at Hauser & Wirth in London until December 21 - https://www.hauserwirth.com/hauser-wirth-exhibitions/25237-mark-bradford-cerberus Lilah's piece on visiting Armenia for the first time - https://www.ft.com/content/2e2f38b0-e7a1-11e8-8a85-04b8afea6ea3Anna Nicolaou's piece on Fortnite - https://www.ft.com/content/f2103e72-b38f-11e9-bec9-fdcab53d6959Anna Nicolaou's piece on the future of Netflix (paywall) https://ig.ft.com/netflix-future/Is Broadway ready for Slave Play? (New York Times) https://www.nytimes.com/2019/09/11/theater/slave-play-broadway-jeremy-harris.html Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

How does evolutionary biology shape our attitudes towards desire? Is it always possible to confront your own prejudice? Gris talks to Sara Pascoe about making jokes in the age of woke speak, the highs and lows of life as a comedian, and her new book Sex Power Money.We love hearing from you. Come chat with us @FTCultureCall on Twitter, and tell us about your favourite cultural trends at culturecall@ft.com.   Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.