Monocle on Culture

We share highlights from this year's programme, including interviews with the likes of Hans Zimmer and Maggi Hambling, and a very special session with folk duo The Staves. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Georgie Rogers and Will Hodgkinson join Robert Bound in the studio for our annual review of the season’s best festive music releases, including albums and singles from Orville Peck, Kelly Clarkson and Jimmy Fallon. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

We visit two new London exhibitions. ‘Japanese Art History à la Takashi Murakami’ at Gagosian’s Grosvenor Hill outpost offers the contemporary artist’s interpretations of Edo-era artworks. We sit down with Murakami to discuss AI, where he finds inspiration and the atmosphere that he likes to create in his studio. Plus, we meet the curator of ‘Electric Dreams’ at London’s Tate Modern. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

We cover the release of two fascinating and revealing documentaries. Both take a sideways look at men we’re familiar with from their public – and vastly different – profiles: one as a world leader and the other as an icon of Hollywood’s golden age. ‘The Bibi Files’, directed by Alexis Bloom, uses leaked interrogation footage of Benjamin Netanyahu to explore contemporary Israeli politics. Then, ‘Bogart: Life Comes in Flashes’, directed by Kathryn Ferguson, takes a behind-the-scenes look at actor Humphrey Bogart. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Hank Willis Thomas is a US artist who works across media to explore themes including identity, popular culture and mass media. We meet him at his exhibition of collages, ‘Kinship of the Soul’, at London’s Pace Gallery. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Oscar-winning filmmaker Steve McQueen is known for his in-depth, human exploration of characters and history, which is executed with an artist’s eye. We speak to McQueen about the release of his new film, ‘Blitz’, which details the lives of 20th-century Britons during the Second World War. Then: Monocle’s Fernando Augesto Pacheco and ‘Monocle on Culture’ regular Leila Latif share their takes on the film. Plus: titles to look out for this winter. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

We celebrate 20 years of music promoter, record label and events producer Nonclassical. Over the past two decades, the organisation has been at the forefront of classical, experimental and electronic music, leading the way with innovative and genre-defying sounds. Robert Bound sits down with composer and founder Gabriel Prokofiev and composer Tonia Ko. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

We sit down with Tim Robey, author of the new book ‘Box Office Poison: Hollywood’s Story in a Century of Flops’. This alternative history of cinema recounts the industry’s biggest bombs, including how they came to be made and what they tell us about both the Hollywood machine and the public who eschewed them. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

We head to Rome to find out about a new film dedicated to the Women’s Liberation Movement in the 1970s before visiting one of the world’s largest contemporary art foundries in Walla Walla. Plus: an interview with French pop star Zaho de Sagazan. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

As this special episode pauses to consider elements of great design, it is important to not overcomplicate matters. Sometimes, all you need is four wheels and a beating heart. Monocle’s Italian odyssey concludes with a second roadtrip in another of Maserati’s powerful new all-electric sports cars: the Gran Turismo Folgore. Joining us for the ride are Maserati’s head of design, Klaus Busse, and food writer Luca Cesari. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

We find out about ‘Oscar’, a ballet based on the life and work of Oscar Wilde. Plus: artist Sophie Matisse tells us about designing chess sets, and writer and translator Bruna Dantas Lobato discusses her new book, ‘Blue Light Hours’. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

We venture from Monocle’s Marylebone HQ to London’s Dalston to learn about an organisation looking east. Asymmetry is an unusual, forward-thinking foundation dedicated to developing cultural knowledge in and about Asia. Plus: we head to Copenhagen to find out about Danish festival Heartland’s takeover of famed restaurant Noma. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

We explore the world of US artist Mike Kelley with the first UK exhibition of his work at the Tate Modern. ‘Ghost and Spirit’ shows Kelley’s influential and experimental practice ranging from drawings and collages to multimedia installations of “dark pop art”. Robert Bound speaks to Catherine Wood, the Tate Modern’s director of programme, about the show. Plus: Lisson Gallery content director Ossian Ward shares his view of Kelley’s imaginative career. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

To celebrate the release of Public Service Broadcasting’s *The Last Flight*, we explore the world of concept albums. Robert Bound speaks to the band’s J Willgoose, Esq about the making of the album, which explores aviator Amelia Earhart’s final takeoff. To continue the theme, Monocle’s contributing editor Andrew Mueller digs deep into weird and wonderful LPs, while writer Natty Kasambala and Will Hodgkinson, music critic at ‘The Times’, share their favourite concept albums. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Making a masterpiece begins with a vision. And where else to start than with the beloved Italian marque Maserati’s new powerful, all-electric sports car: the Gran Cabrio Folgore. As summer turns to autumn, we engage the roof, connect the charger and hit the road. Join us. Featuring Maserati’s head of design Klaus Busse and sculptor Valeria Greco. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

We discuss two new films in this week’s episode. ‘The Goldman Case’ dramatises the 1976 trial of revolutionary left-wing intellectual Pierre Goldman and is a thrilling retelling of a momentous event in French legal history. Plus: we speak to the directors behind the new documentary ‘Sugarcane’, which follows an investigation into the Canadian Indian residential school system. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Monocle’s Andrew Mueller finds out about Soviet-era rock’n’roll in Ukraine ahead of the release of ‘Even The Forest Hums: Ukrainian Sonic Archives 1971-1996’. Plus: we discuss a new biography about filmmaker Agnes Varda and hear from Serbian performance artist Marina Abramovic. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Robert Bound is joined in the studio by writer and ‘Monocle on Culture’ regular Will Hodgkinson to discuss his new book, ‘Street-Level Superstar, A Year With Lawrence’ . The book tells the story of Lawrence, the founder of the band Felt, and later, Denim. Is he the greatest pop star that never was? See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Robert Bound is joined in the studio by writer David Peace to discuss his new book, ‘Munichs’. The novel tells the story of the 1958 Munich air disaster, in which 23 people – including eight Manchester United players and three officials – were fatally injured when their plane crashed. Peace’s dramatisation is a tender story of stoicism, sadness and strength. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

We explore the new film ‘Sing Sing’, which follows a group of incarcerated men taking part in the Rehabilitation Through the Arts theatre programme at a notorious prison. The film stars Colman Domingo alongside a cast largely made up of the programme’s former participants. Robert Bound sits down with director Greg Kwedar to find out more about the making of the extraordinary film. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.