Front Row

Sparks, the American pop duo formed in 1960s Los Angeles, are back with their 26th album, The Girl is Crying in her Latte. Samira Ahmed meets brothers Ron and Russell Mael to discuss how Cate Blanchett came to be dancing in the music video for the title track and their extraordinary longevity.E. M. Forster’s 1908 novel A Room with a View is being dramatised for Radio 4, as is the novel The Ballad of Syd and Morgan, which imagines a meeting between Forster and Syd Barrett of Pink Floyd. Samira is joined by the producers Marcy Kahan and Roger James Elsgood to explore Forster's enduring appeal and transposing prose into audio drama.Nature writer Bob Gilbert's new book The Missing Musk: A Casebook of Mysteries from the Natural World sets out to discover why, all over the world, a popular fragrant flowering plant has lost its scent. Samira talks to the former urban nature columnist about how his book has invented a new literary genre, the detective nature mystery. Presenter: Samira Ahmed Producer: Olivia Skinner

Arlo Parks and Phoebe Bridgers collaborate on new release. James Bluemel and Craig Murray discuss new documentaries on The Troubles. Tribute to Martin Amis and exploration of his novels and criticism.

Caleb Azumah Nelson’s debut novel, Open Water, won the Costa First Novel award and critical acclaim. He joins Front Row to talk about his second, Small Worlds, the story of a young musician looking for his own space in the streets of Peckham, finding his way with love, family and his Ghanaian heritage. The exhibition China’s Hidden Century at the British Museum is billed as a world first, bringing together 300 artefacts from the Qing Dynasty’s ‘long 19th Century’- the final chapter of dynastic rule in China. Joining Tom Sutcliffe to review it are Rana Mitter, Professor of the History and Politics of Modern China at the University of Oxford and the film critic Larushka Ivan-Zadeh. Larushka and Rana have also been watching one of this week’s big film releases, Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret, starring Rachel McAdams and based on the classic young adult novel by Judy Blume, first published in 1970.Presenter: Tom Sutcliffe Producer: Corinna Jones

Chuck D on his watercolour art. He is regarded as one of hip-hop's greatest MCs with his powerful lyrical dexterity a key component in Public Enemy's international success, but what is less well known is that visual art was his first passion. It's a love that he has returned to in recent years and he joins Front Row to discuss the first collection of his watercolour and pen paintings.Plus author Jacqueline Crooks on her first novel, Fire Rush, which has been nominated for the Women’s Prize For Fiction. 16 years in the making, it draws on many of the author’s own experiences of loss, belonging and discrimination to create a music and memory-filled dramatic narrative.And artist Andy Holden on his exhibition Full of Days. Intrigued after discovering unknown amateur artist Hermione Burton’s body of work in a charity shop after her death, he turned it into her fantasy exhibition – along with his own new work inspired by her, including an animation with Saint Etienne’s Sarah Cracknell. Full of Days: Hermione Burton and Andy Holden is at the Gallery of Everything in London until 21 May and then tours. Presenter: Nick Ahad Producer: Ekene Akalawu

Samira Ahmed talks to Priya Khanchandani, the curator of The Offbeat Sari, an exhibition of contemporary saris at the Design Museum in London.The art critic Louisa Buck and the journalist James Marriott consider the vexed politics of museum labels.Mat Osman, bass player with the band Suede, joins Samira to discuss his new novel, The Ghost Theatre, which dramatises the lives of boy actors in 1601. Presenter: Samira Ahmed Producer: Olivia Skinner

Brokeback Mountain on stage: musician and librettist Dan Gillespie Sells discusses writing the songs for a new stage production of Brokeback Mountain, adapted from Annie Proulx’s short story about the romance between two men working as sheep herders in 1960s Wyoming.Venice Architecture Biennale: the exhibition at the British Pavilion this year draws on traditions practised by different diaspora communities in the UK - such as Jamaicans playing dominoes and Cypriots cooking outside - and explores how they occupy space, so this can be included in planning the built environment. Two of the curators, Meneesha Kellay and Joseph Henry, discuss how architecture goes beyond buildings and economic structures. Plus art generates art in Malaysian novelist Tan Twan Eng’s new book The House of Doors, inspired in part by the life of William Somerset Maugham and the stories he wrote drawing on his travels in Malaysia.Presenter: Tom Sutcliffe Producer: Julian May

In 2021, June Givanni was presented with the British Independent Film Awards Special Jury Prize for what was described as “an extraordinary, selfless and lifelong contribution to documenting a pivotal period of film history” with her extensive archive focussed on African and African diaspora cinema. The archive is now the subject of a new exhibition - PerAnkh: The June Givanni PanAfrican Cinema Archive. June joins Front Row to discuss turning her personal passion into a public resource.Gwen John: the modern painter of interiors and solitary women, was once in the shadow of the men in her life - brother Augustus, Rodin, and Whistler. Critics Hettie Judah and Ben Luke review a new exhibition of her work at Pallant House Gallery, which considers her art and life, and her status as one of the most significant artists of the early 20th century. They also review Claire Kilroy’s novel Soldier Sailor: a searing portrait of new motherhood. Presenter: Tom Sutcliffe Producer: Eliane Glaser

Louise Kennedy's debut novel Trespasses has been shortlisted for this year's Women's Prize for Fiction. Set in Belfast in 1975 at the height of the Troubles it traces the love affair between a young Catholic schoolteacher and an older man, a married Protestant barrister. Front Row will be talking to the authors on the shortlist in the weeks before the announcement of the prize on June 14th.Musician and beatboxer SK Shlomo has collaborated with Björk, performed with Damon Albarn, Ed Sheeran and Rudimental, became World Looping champion and artist in residence at London’s Soutbank centre and played Glastonbury. They discuss their new show, which explores coming back to performance after struggling with their mental health. And how might the patronage of King Charles III impact the arts? Art critics Jonathan Jones and Ruth Guilding discuss the history of Royal patronage and what his tastes may mean for culture in the coming years. Presenter: Tom Sutcliffe Producer: Harry Parker

Samira Ahmed speaks to John Cook, Professor of Media at Glasgow Caledonian University about his discovery of a previously unknown early version of the seminal screenplay The Singing Detective by Dennis Potter. Samira is also joined in the studio by Ken Trodd, who co-produced The Singing Detective for television. Music writer Cathi Unsworth discusses her new book, Season of the Witch: The Book of Goth, which explores the enduring influence of Goth counterculture. And the artist and filmmaker Isaac Julien reflects on his major retrospective, What Freedom is to Me, at Tate Britain. Presenter: Samira Ahmed Producer: Olivia Skinner

Recorded at the Hornby Library inside Liverpool Central Library, in front of a live audience, as Liverpool gears up to host The Eurovision Song Contest on behalf of Ukraine. Two novelists from The Big Eurovision Read, a list of 12 books from The Reading Agency and BBC Arts talk to Nick Ahad about the unifying power of music: Pete Paphides on his autobiography Broken Greek, A story of chip shops and pop songs, and Matt Cain tells us about his novel The Madonna of Bolton.Yemeni British poet and activist Amina Atiq performs her poem Daifa, commissioned for the Big Eurovision Welcome concert.Former conductor of the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra Vasily Petrenko is one of the city’s Citizens of Honour. He’s returned to the city for a concert with the orchestra. He explains how music can be a unifying force and why he has suspended his work in Russia. There’s music from the Liverpudlian electro pop band Stealing Sheep, along with local singer songwriter Natalie McCool, who open the EuroFestival with Welcome to Eurotopia.And Ukrainian singer and musician Iryna Muha performs her next single Come Back.Presenter: Nick Ahad Producer: Andrea Kidd