21st Century Mythologies

The podcast delves into how the iPhone transformed self-viewing, making selfies a modern extension of self. Peter Conrad connects selfies to narcissism, highlighting their rise as a form of self-advertisement. He critiques the trend of selfies at solemn sites and discusses their use in political protest, notably by Turkish women. Themes of identity, morality, and technology clash as selfies become tools for both empowerment and exploitation. The conversation ultimately warns of the dangers of superficial self-obsession and its impact on genuine self-awareness.

In 1954, the French critic and semiotician Roland Barthes began a series of essays in which he analysed the popular culture of his day. He called his essays "Mythologies." In this series of witty talks, the acclaimed writer and critic Peter Conrad delivers a series of 21st Century Mythologies in a French accent of the mind. Conrad ranges over the defining effluvia of our era, from the Cronut to the Kardashians. Today Conrad looks at that defining landmark of the London skyline The Shard.

Peter Conrad riffs on Roland Barthes' essays, exploring modern myths through everyday objects. He critiques the screw-capped wine bottle as an emblem of demystified winemaking, contrasting it with the ritualistic cork. Gadgetry and novelty openers mask manual labor behind a façade of ceremony. Conrad links the aesthetics of corks and caps to wine's perceived value, while lampooning metaphors that frame screwcaps as oppressive. He warns about capitalism's grip on taste and how advertising shapes contemporary myths.

In 1954, the French critic and semiotician Roland Barthes began a series of essays in which he analysed the popular culture of his day. He called his essays "Mythologies." In this series of witty talks, the acclaimed writer and critic Peter Conrad delivers a series of 21st Century Mythologies in a French accent of the mind. Conrad ranges over the defining effluvia of our era, from the Cronut, to the Shard, to the Kardashians. Today he looks at the ubiquitous home of piri piri chicken, Nandos.

In 1954, the French critic and semiotician Roland Barthes began a series of essays in which he analysed the popular culture of his day. He called his essays "Mythologies." In this series of witty talks, the acclaimed writer and critic Peter Conrad delivers a series of 21st Century Mythologies in a French accent of the mind. Conrad ranges over the defining effluvia of our era, from the Cronut, to the Shard, to the Kardashians. In this second programme Conrad turns his attention to one of the most powerful images of our era: Steve Jobs' Apple Icon.