Life and Art from FT Weekend

Today, we discuss the author Sally Rooney. Her new novel Intermezzo was published this week – causing queues outside bookstores, launch parties everywhere and a flurry of praise from critics. Does Intermezzo live up to the hype? Why has Rooney become the voice of the millennial generation? Lilah is joined by the FT’s deputy books editor Laura Battle and Griselda Murray Brown, the FT Magazine commi...

Today, we bring you a special conversation with Jan Dalley, who has just retired as the FT’s arts editor after almost 20 years. When Jan stepped into her job, terrestrial TV ruled, podcasts didn’t exist and the art world wasn’t quite so luxe. And video games? Newspapers didn’t review video games. She joins Lilah in the studio to reflect on how the arts have changed over these two decades (“beyond...

The Apple TV+ show Slow Horses is a critical darling; it has received rave reviews since it first came out in 2022, and with season four in full swing, some critics are begging you to watch. But does this season deserve the hype? Or has the show’s premise run its course? The series, an anti-James Bond drama starring an unkempt Gary Oldman as the head of MI5’s flunky spy department, is based on the...

Asma Khan breaks a lot of fine dining’s unspoken rules. She is the chef and owner of London’s beloved Darjeeling Express, an Indian restaurant whose entire kitchen is staffed by women. Her kitchen has no hierarchy, and her chefs were trained as home cooks. Asma’s advocacy for women has won her a spot on Time magazine’s 100 most influential people list, and her kitchen has been widely profiled and...

After 15 years of feuding, the most famous rock band of 1990s Britain recently announced that it will be reuniting for a stadium tour. Fans went wild, and the first day of ticket sales nearly broke Ticketmaster. Why do we still care about Oasis? Do the Gallagher brothers deserve the fanfare? And what can we expect from the reunion? Lilah's joined by the FT's music critic Ludo Hunter-Tilney and Lon...

There’s an Arabic pop music wave that’s about to hit your world. Or maybe it already has! Last year, the Palestinian-Chilean singer Elyanna became the first artist to do an Arabic-language set at the Coachella music festival, and she’s a sign of the times. Other artists such as Wegz, Marwan Pablo, Saint Levant and Nancy Ajram are also putting out Arabic-language albums intended for global audience...

Put on your laurel wreath. Today we’re joining the gods and taking on Kaos , Netflix's new black comedy series that reimagines the Greek myths. The show follows Zeus (played by Jeff Goldblum) as he struggles to rule over Earth and The Underworld from a gaudy mansion on Mount Olympus. You’ll recognize a lot: the Minotaur and Orpheus myths, the fates, the furies, Medusa in middle management and came...

Today, we’re bringing you one of our favourite past episodes. Last year, the FT’s fashion editor Lauren Indvik made a pledge that surprised us. She vowed to buy just five new items of clothing and shoes all year long. The number comes from a study that says in order to stick to the Paris Agreement’s goals, five new items of fashion a year is the optimal goal for those who live in the world’s riche...

Today, Lilah’s back and we’re talking about Emily in Paris ! The extraordinarily popular Netflix sitcom, which millions of people across the globe love to hate-watch, just dropped half of its fourth season. It’s about an American 20-something who moves to Paris to live out our Francophile fantasies. And while it's been ridiculed since it first came out in 2020, we're all still watching! Why? And w...

A new true crime series on Sky is getting rave reviews — and that’s big news in a genre riddled with criticism. It’s called The Body Next Door , and today we’re talking with its director, Gareth Johnson. After learning about an unidentified body found in a village in Wales, Gareth followed the story to reveal a decades-long family drama that spanned from the UK to New Zealand. Guest host Jo Elliso...

This week, we discuss Alien: Romulus , the latest instalment of the space-epic franchise. The film stars Cailee Spaeny, who, along with a group of friends climbs aboard an abandoned spacecraft only to find some very familiar murderous aliens. Is this new entry an evolution of the series or does it simply play the hits? And what do we want out of sci-fi franchise films? Guest host Topher Forhecz is...

Derek Guy has become ubiquitous on X as ‘the menswear guy’. With more than a million followers, he is the go-to advice giver for men trying to find their style or figure out what to wear to a wedding. Derek also writes a blog called Die, Workwear! And today, he joins FT men’s style columnist Rob Armstrong to talk fashion history and fashion tips. ------- We love hearing from you. Lilah is on Insta...

This week, we discuss the TV show 'Love is Blind: UK'. It’s one of Netflix’s most popular reality series. The show follows singles as they flirt through a wall and fall in love without seeing each other first. They are only allowed to meet face-to-face once they are engaged. What does the show's popularity say about modern dating, and where reality TV is today? Why do we indulge in 'guilty pleasur...

As a kid, FT associate editor Stephen Bush loved seeing ghoulish things: mummies, shrunken heads, supposedly magical severed hands. He credits these items with teaching him curiosity and a love for museums. So when he hears the argument that human remains do not belong on display, his answer is, unequivocally: if they weren’t stolen, they should stay. On today’s episode, Stephen defends his positi...

If you like our food episodes, you may also like the Dinner SOS podcast from Bon Appétit.  Host Chris Morocco is joined by senior test kitchen editor Shilpa Uskokovic, and the two share their hot takes on cooking in the heat (AC required, obviously) – plus what produce is overrated and what's under-celebrated. They also answer listener questions about using CSA produce, grilling, jaggery and...

What is it about the martini that makes it so intimidating? Even the FT’s food and drink editor Harriet Fitch Little isn’t sure if she’s allowed to order one that has both an olive and a lemon twist. On today’s episode, Harriet speaks with FT contributor Alice Lascelles, whose new book Martini: The Ultimate Guide to a Cocktail Icon is coming out this autumn. What’s better: gin or vodka, shaken or...

Today, we’re catching Olympics fever. Paris bureau chief Leila Abboud and US sports business correspondent Sara Germano join us from the Games to talk about atmosphere, politics and sports. Was the opening ceremony truly that controversial? Will the Paris Games change the way the Olympics are produced? What should we watch and whom should we root for?  ------- Want to take our survey for a ch...

Author Shahnaz Habib has lived all over the world from Kerala, India to New York City, and being at home and a visitor in so many places made her wonder: what’s the difference between a traveller and a tourist? And where did we get our ideas about the right way to travel, anyway? In her new book, Airplane Mode she asks these questions and delves into the history of travel writing, ultimately looki...

Romance is fiction’s top-selling genre. And ‘romantasy’, where romance meets fantasy, has become a literary phenomenon. That’s thanks to the novel we’re discussing today, A Court of Thorns and Roses , and its writer, Sarah J Maas. Also known as ACOTAR, this is the first novel in Maas’ five-book series. It tells the story of a human girl who is taken captive in a faerie kingdom, and falls in love w...

When it comes to writing, Anne Lamott’s philosophy is to take things one step at a time, keep moving, and give yourself permission to be who you are. She expressed it most famously 30 years ago in her seminal book on writing and life, Bird by Bird . But it also appears across her many non-fiction books, from parenting, to faith. Anne recently came out with her 20th book, about love, titled Somehow...

‘Sunny’, a new robot-comedy series, came out on Apple TV+ last week. It stars Rashida Jones as an American expat in Japan, who enlists the help of a cute robot to find out what happened to her late husband. What questions does the show raise about our relationship with tech? And what do we want to see in shows that ponder AI? Lilah's joined by FT columnist and crypto sceptic Jemima Kelly and FT mo...

You have probably noticed by their clothes: this summer, men just want to have fun. Crop tops, short shorts and even kilts and skirts are in. Long sleeves, and long inseams, are out. Today, two of the FT’s men’s fashion experts, Robert Armstrong and Eric Platt, join us to discuss how and why this happened, and what the rise of skimpy menswear tells us about masculinity today.  ------- Will yo...

Today, we’re talking about the “femininomenon” that is pop girl summer. This season's music scene has been dominated by unfiltered female sensations, including Chappell Roan, Charli XCX and Sabrina Carpenter. How did these artists become so popular? How does this scene compare with that of the pop girls of the early 2000s? And what is a ‘brat’ summer? Lilah is joined by music writer Arwa Haider an...

Today, we’re bringing you an episode from our archives: Molly Roden Winter was a frustrated mom of two in Brooklyn when she and her husband decided that they should open up their marriage. What followed was a 10-year journey of self-exploration that took her not only into some seedy hotel rooms but also to therapy, back to work, and into other activities that added up to a more fulfilling life. To...

Season three of FX’s “The Bear” is here, and today we discuss it with our top food writers! The Financial Times’s food and drink editor Harriet Fitch Little and restaurant critic Tim Hayward, who also owns a cafe in Cambridge, join Lilah to share their takes. How well does the show reflect the restaurant world? What itch is it scratching? And how does this season hold up?   ------- We lo...