Life and Art from FT Weekend

Shakespeare turns 460 this year, and this week we’re talking about why he’s still as important as ever. FT Weekend Magazine editor Matt Vella and deputy editor Cordelia Jenkins join Lilah to share what they learned while putting together their recent special, which features Shakespeare mysteries, lore, and some of the UK’s best known theatre actors. We also talk about the experience of watching his plays live. It’s summer, after all, and the outdoor Shakespeare festivals are on, and as the Magazine’s tagline suggests: Shakespeare Lives!-------We love hearing from you. Lilah is on Instagram @lilahrap. We’re on X @lifeandartpod and email at lifeandart@ft.com. -------Shakespeare links (all FT links get you past the paywall): – Cordelia’s interview with the four actors who played King Lear is here. – Explore 28 great Shakespeare mysteries here: https://on.ft.com/4ccEz7p – Unravelling the secret history of the red book of Hamlet: https://on.ft.com/3x5ZFFP– Who was Shakespeare? What do we really know about his life? https://on.ft.com/4cgvfzm– Here’s Cordelia’s column on Love Island being like the Elizabethan court: https://on.ft.com/3x6CkDT– Lilah recommends the new Bat for Lashes album, The Dream of Delphi. Here’s Arwa’s profile of her: https://on.ft.com/4ely8Rc– Cordelia Jenkins is on X @CordeliaJ. Matt Vella is @mattvella-------Special FT subscription offers for Life and Art podcast listeners, from 50% off a digital subscription to a $1/£1/€1 trial, are here: http://ft.com/lifeandartRead a transcript of this episode on FT.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

What is it like to build an Oscar-winning film set on one of the most meticulously-designed action movies of all time? Jacinta Leong did just that on Mad Max: Fury Road, and she’s back again as an art director on Furiosa, which is out now in theatres. Director George Miller’s prequel to Fury Road, starring Anya Taylor-Joy and Chris Hemsworth, is set in the same desert wasteland as the previous Mad Max movies. It also repurposes many of the same machines in Fury Road. Jacinta brings us behind the scenes, and tells us how the creative team built them. -------We love hearing from you. Lilah is on Instagram @lilahrap. We’re on X @lifeandartpod and on email at lifeandart@ft.com. We are grateful for reviews on Apple and Spotify. And please share this episode with your friends!-------Links (all FT links get you past the paywall): – The FT’s review of Furiosa is here: https://on.ft.com/4bRJue4-------Special FT subscription offers for Life and Art podcast listeners, from 50% off a digital subscription to a $1/£1 trial, are here: http://ft.com/lifeandartRead a transcript of this episode on FT.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Today, in a first for our Friday chat show, we take on a video game! Two avid gamers join us to discuss What Remains of Edith Finch: novelist Naomi Alderman and FT political columnist Stephen Bush. The game follows the title character as she returns to her childhood home to discover what happened to her family. And it’s considered a model for what storytelling games can do. Naomi is the author of bestselling novels The Power and The Future, and a game designer herself. So does Edith Finch hold up? And what can games teach those of us creating in other mediums? -------We love hearing from you. Lilah is on Instagram @lilahrap. We’re on X @lifeandartpod and email at lifeandart@ft.com. -------Links (all FT links get you past the paywall): – Naomi Alderman is the author of novels including The Power (2016) and The Future (2023). You can find her games, including Zombies, Run! and Doctor Who: Borrowed Time, here.  – A recent FT magazine piece, ‘Are video games coming for the novel?’ by Imogen West-Knights: https://on.ft.com/4e8qIkk – Stephen Bush on why UK politicians should value video game designers: https://on.ft.com/4e1rGPc – Naomi is on X @NaomiAllthenews and Stephen Bush is @stephenkb. Stephen also writes the FT’s daily Inside Politics newsletter. Sign up here for witty, insightful UK election coverage– For those who are looking to get into games, Stephen and Naomi recommend Disco Elysium (2019), Flower (2009) and Citizen Sleeper (2022). – Naomi recommends Leech by Hiron Ennes-------Special FT subscription offers for Life and Art listeners are here: http://ft.com/lifeandartRead a transcript of this episode on FT.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Women’s basketball is having a big moment. Take this stat: the final game in the US women’s college NCAA playoffs in April had more viewers than the Academy Awards. And those college stars, such as Caitlin Clark, have just brought that rabid fandom to the professional league. The WNBA has seen a huge rise in viewers, ticket sales and fans. So what impact is this having on culture? The FT’s US sports business correspondent Sara Germano brings Lilah to a WNBA game to explore how women’s basketball became so popular, and what it all means.-------We love hearing from you. Lilah is on Instagram @lilahrap. We’re on X @lifeandartpod and on email at lifeandart@ft.com. We are grateful for reviews on Apple and Spotify. And please share this episode with your friends!-------Links (all FT links get you past the paywall): – Sara’s article about the WNBA and superstar Caitlin Clark: https://on.ft.com/457HTym– Here is the WNBA schedule in case you’re considering seeing a game in person: https://www.wnba.com/schedule?season=2024&month=all– Sara is on X @germanotes-------Special FT subscription offers for Life and Art podcast listeners, from 50% off a digital subscription to a $1/£1/€1 trial, are here: http://ft.com/lifeandartRead a transcript of this episode on FT.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The spicy Netflix series Bridgerton is currently the most-watched show globally on Netflix, after the first half of season three dropped this month. The period drama, produced by Shonda Rhimes, came out in 2020 with some wink-to-camera self- awareness. But this season feels more earnest. Why is the show so popular, and what are we craving from period dramas now? Lilah is joined by the FT’s US financial editor and historical romance expert Brooke Masters and work and careers writer/TV buff Emma Jacobs, to chat through it. -------We love hearing from you. Lilah is on Instagram @lilahrap. We’re on X @lifeandartpod and on email at lifeandart@ft.com. We are grateful for reviews on Apple and Spotify. And please share this episode with your friends!-------Links (all FT links get you past the paywall): – The first 4 episodes of Bridgerton season 3 are available now on Netflix. The next four will air on June 13.– The FT’s review of Bridgerton is here: https://on.ft.com/452Gs45 – Listen to our episode with Brooke Masters on Jane Austen here, or by searching ‘Jane Austen, forever’ wherever you listen.– Brooke Masters is on X @brookeamasters. Emma Jacobs is @emmavjMore or Less: – Emma wants to see fewer recipes with maple syrup on Instagram. Read more on the ‘maple-pocalypse’ here– Brooke wants fewer musicals based on classic films. Our Mean Girls episode is here– Lilah wants more cooking with eggplant 🍆. Her eggplant dip recipe: grill the eggplant whole, to an inch of its life (no tautness!). Grill some garlic, too. Peel the eggplant, chop it into cubes, add the garlic (minced), chopped fresh white onion, lots of salt, too much lemon, good olive oil, and some parsley. Let it sit for a bit, then eat!Read a transcript of this episode on FT.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Actress Gaby Hoffmann grew up in New York in the 1980s, in the famed Chelsea Hotel, among misfits and creatives. In the new Netflix series Eric (out May 30) she plays the mother of a young child who goes missing, also in 1980s New York. The show stars Benedict Cumberbatch among others, and explores what happens when adults, and city institutions, fail children. She joins Lilah to talk about similarities between this series and her own childhood and how good acting can help “invite people deeper into themselves”.-------We love hearing from you. Lilah is on Instagram @lilahrap. We’re on X @lifeandartpod and on email at lifeandart@ft.com. We are grateful for reviews on Apple and Spotify. And please share this episode with your friends!-------Links (all FT links get you past the paywall): – Eric is on Netflix May 30– The Joan Armatrading song is called ‘Love and Affection’ (1976): https://youtu.be/sBohO1zr7jw – Gaby’s sister Alexandra Auder wrote a book about growing up in the Chelsea Hotel. It’s called Don’t Call Me Home– Here’s the Fresh Air episode Lilah mentioned: https://www.npr.org/2016/10/10/496958090/i-never-set-out-to-be-an-actor-says-transparent-star-gaby-hoffmann -------Special FT subscription offers for Life and Art podcast listeners, from 50% off a digital subscription to a $1/£1/€1 trial, are here: http://ft.com/lifeandart-------Original music by Metaphor Music. Mixing and sound design by Breen Turner and Sam GiovincoAudio credits this week go to A&M Records and UMG RecordingsRead a transcript of this episode on FT.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Billie Eilish’s new album Hit Me Hard and Soft has been hailed by critics as her best album yet. She describes it as an “album-ass album”, meant to be listened to in its entirety, but it’s also provocative: it takes on fame and body-shaming ("People say I look happy just because I got skinny") and women she wants to please (“I could eat that girl for lunch, she dances on my tongue”). So what do we think? Lilah is joined by two experts, the FT’s music writer Arwa Haider and US media business correspondent Anna Nicolaou, to discuss the role Billie plays in our pop pantheon.-------We love hearing from you. Lilah is on Instagram @lilahrap. We’re on X @lifeandartpod and on email at lifeandart@ft.com. We are grateful for reviews on Apple and Spotify. And please share this episode with your friends!-------Links (all FT links get you past the paywall): – The FT’s four-star review of Hit Me Hard and Soft, by Ludo Hunter-Tilney: https://on.ft.com/4bP4rWH – Arwa’s latest review is of the album A La Sala by Khruangbin, a mash-up of “Iranian rock, Jamaican dub and Thai folk”: https://on.ft.com/4dPdFnN – For more from Anna, listen to our recent episode ‘Why Olivia Rodrigo might be our last pop star’. Search where you get your podcasts or click here– Arwa is on X @arwahaider. Anna is @annaknicolaouMore or less: – Arwa wants more Arabic diaspora voices. She recommends British-Lebanese DJ Salia (here’s Habibi Riddim), Lebanese singer songwriter Yasmine Hamdan and Palestinian-Canadian artist Nemahsis– Lilah wants to see people use more stuff in your home: read your books, eat your food, wear your clothes. The book she picked up, which she recommends, is called Subway Lives: 24 Hours in the Life of the New York City Subway, by Jim Dwyer– Anna wants less social media, especially around oat milk bashing.-------Special FT subscription offers for Life and Art podcast listeners, from 50% off a digital subscription to a $1/£1/€1 trial, are here: http://ft.com/lifeandart-------Original music by Metaphor Music. Mixing and sound design by Breen Turner and Sam Giovinco. Clips this week are courtesy of InterscopeRead a transcript of this episode on FT.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

After more than 25 years reviewing art, the Financial Times’ US art critic Ariella Budick is full of sage advice on how to approach museums and exhibitions, and how to discover our personal taste. Her biggest tip is that art is a form of communication, “a cry in the wilderness”, and “you’re just listening”. So don’t run to the wall label and forget to look at the work. Approach the art first, then see if it sparks you to learn more.-------We love hearing from you. Lilah is on Instagram @lilahrap. We’re on X @lifeandartpod and on email at lifeandart@ft.com. We are grateful for reviews on Apple and Spotify. And please share this episode with your friends!-------Links (all FT links get you past the paywall): – Ariella’s recent review of a Renaissance mysteries exhibit at the Metropolitan Museum of Art: https://on.ft.com/3WKBhUl– Her take on the Joan Jonas retrospective at the Museum of Modern Art in New York: https://on.ft.com/3K4SGzK– The review of Hannelore Baron that she mentioned: https://on.ft.com/4bI9NCW – Ariella also recently published her MoMA top 10 picks: https://on.ft.com/3UIOSZK-------Special FT subscription offers for Life and Art podcast listeners, from 50% off a digital subscription to a $1/£1/€1 trial, are here: http://ft.com/lifeandart-------Original music by Metaphor Music. Mixing and sound design by Breen Turner and Sam GiovincoRead a transcript of this episode on FT.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week, we're talking about 'La chimera', directed by Alice Rohrwacher and starring Josh O'Connor and Isabella Rossellini. The film follows a band of graverobbers on a quest for Etruscan treasures. But there's also a darker, more melancholy plot that makes you question what’s real and what’s symbolism. The FT's global head of audio Cheryl Brumley and audience engagement journalist Marianna Giusti join guest host Katya Kumkova to hash out what it all means.-------We love hearing from you. Lilah is on Instagram @lilahrap. We’re on X @lifeandartpod and on email at lifeandart@ft.com. We are grateful for reviews on Apple and Spotify. And please share this episode with your friends!-------Links (all FT links get you past the paywall): – The FT’s four-star review of La chimera, by Danny Leigh: https://on.ft.com/3UZLo6z – An interview with filmmaker Alice Rohrwacher, by Simran Hans: https://on.ft.com/3WEiUk3 – For more Italian summer content, check out Mari Giusti’s ‘Postcard from Sicily’: https://on.ft.com/3K8TZgM – Cheryl Brumley is on X @cherylbrumley. Marianna Giusti is @maupippa. More or Less:– Cheryl wants more Eurovision  – Katya wants to see more smell art. Check out this piece on The Met exhibition ‘Sleeping Beauties: Reawakening Fashion’: https://on.ft.com/3wu62lY – Mari wants more Isabella Rossellini, and recommends ‘Green Porno’. Here’s Rossellini’s Lunch with the FT from 2018: https://on.ft.com/4bERe2D -------Special FT subscription offers for Life and Art podcast listeners, from 50% off a digital subscription to a $1/£1/€1 trial, are here: http://ft.com/lifeandart-------Original music by Metaphor Music. Mixing and sound design by Breen Turner and Sam GiovincoRead a transcript of this episode on FT.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Introducing Power for Sale, a new season of Untold from the Financial Times. In Untold: Power for Sale, host Valentina Pop and a team of FT correspondents from all over Europe investigate what happened in the Qatargate scandal, where EU lawmakers were accused of accepting payments from Qatar to whitewash its image.Subscribe and listen on: Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The Sympathizer, directed by Park Chan-wook and starring Robert Downey Jr and Sandra Oh, is one of the top-watched show on HBO right now. But before it was a television series, it was a novel by Viet Thanh Nguyen. Both the book and the series tell the story of the Captain, a communist mole in South Vietnam who comes to the US as a refugee as the Vietnam war is ending. On today’s episode, Lilah talks to Viet about the themes of The Sympathizer, and what it was like to help reimagine his book for a TV series. -------We love hearing from you. Lilah is on Instagram @lilahrap. We’re on X @lifeandartpod and on email at lifeandart@ft.com. We are grateful for reviews on Apple and Spotify. And please share this episode with your friends!-------Links (all FT links get you past the paywall): – The Sympathizer, starring Robert Downey Jr and Sandra Oh is available on HBO–You can find Viet Thanh Nguyen’s book The Sympathizer and its sequel The Committed wherever books are sold– Lilah’s interview with Nguyen about his recent memoir A Man of Two Faces was published as a Lunch with the FT: https://on.ft.com/3UtjDlm-------Special FT subscription offers for Life and Art podcast listeners, from 50% off a digital subscription to a $1/£1/€1 trial, are here: http://ft.com/lifeandartRead a transcript of this episode on FT.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In a new season of Tech Tonic, longtime FT China reporter Jame Kynge travels around the world to see how China is pushing towards tech supremacy. Will China be able to get an edge in crucial technological areas? What does China’s attempt to leapfrog the west look like on the ground? A 6-part series looking at China’s tech industry.Presented by James Kynge. Edwin Lane is the senior producer. The producer is Josh Gabert-Doyon. Executive producer is Manuela Saragosa. Sound design by Breen Turner and Samantha Giovinco, with original music from Metaphor Music. The FT’s head of audio is Cheryl Brumley. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

One of the hallmarks of humanity is our ability to pass down cultural information and knowledge over thousands of years. Philosopher and author Martin Puchner says the lifeblood of culture lies in how we take pieces of information and combine them into new ideas and ways of inhabiting the world. Martin talks with Lilah about how that culture is formed, and how he sees the emergence of generative AI as a new tool for remixing cultural ideas from human history. This conversation was recorded in front of a live audience at the FT Weekend Festival in Washington, DC. -------We love hearing from you. Lilah is on Instagram @lilahrap and we’re on X @lifeandartpod. You can email the show at lifeandart@ft.com.-------Links (all FT links get you past the paywall): – Martin’s custom GPTs where you can chat with Socrates or the Buddha, and more: https://www.martinpuchner.com/custom-gpts-and-online-education.html – Martin’s book on culture: https://www.martinpuchner.com/culture-story-of-us.html – The FT’s John Thornhill on Martin’s work: https://on.ft.com/3JQEf29-------Special FT subscription offers for Life and Art podcast listeners, from 50% off a digital subscription to a $1/£1/€1 trial, are here: http://ft.com/lifeandart------Original music by Metaphor Music. Mixing and sound design by Breen Turner and Sam GiovincoRead a transcript of this episode on FT.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Chef Fadi Kattan does something that usually isn’t done in the West Bank of Palestine: he cooks seasonal, locally sourced dishes for a dining experience meant to rival the world’s best restaurants. Born and raised steps from the Church of the Nativity, Fadi has also been documenting the recipes he grew up with. His new cookbook is called Bethlehem: a Celebration of Palestinian Food, and in today’s episode he tells Lilah why talking about food and culture is especially important in a time of war.-------We love hearing from you. Lilah is on Instagram @lilahrap. We’re on X @lifeandartpod and on email at lifeandart@ft.com. We are grateful for reviews on Apple and Spotify. And please share this episode with your friends!-------Links (all FT links get you past the paywall): – Fadi’s book Bethlehem: A Celebration of Palestinian Food” is out this month in the US and the UK– HTSI recently featured Fadi, his book and his London restaurant Akub: https://on.ft.com/3JFHfhs – Fadi is on Instagram @fadifkattan and on X @FadiKattan-------Special FT subscription offers for Life and Art podcast listeners, from 50% off a digital subscription to a $1/£1/€1 trial, are here: http://ft.com/lifeandartRead a transcript of this episode on FT.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Is the buzzy new film Challengers about tennis, sex or just hitting middle age? This week, Lilah invites the FT’s resident film buff and our US sports expert to talk through it. The film stars Zendaya, is directed by Luca Guadagnino, and features a love triangle, a low-level tennis tournament and three sweaty bodies. Our guests today are the FT’s deputy arts editor Raphael Abraham and US sports business correspondent Sara Germano.-------We love hearing from you. Lilah is on Instagram @lilahrap. We’re on X @lifeandartpod and on email at lifeandart@ft.com. We are grateful for reviews on Apple and Spotify. And do share this episode with your friends!-------Links (all FT links get you past the paywall): – Challengers is in cinemas now. Here’s the FT’s review by Danny Leigh: https://on.ft.com/44pYpcs – Raph Abraham’s recent interview with 22-year-old Italian tennis sensation Jannik Sinner: https://on.ft.com/4dhKxoN – Sara Germano’s piece, ‘Taylor Swift, the NFL, and a new wave of female sports fandom’: https://on.ft.com/3wg8PPu – Sara Germano is on X @germanotesMore or Less: – Sara recommends Inside the NBA, hosted by Shaq and Charles Barkley on TNT. – Raph wants more original content. Here’s an FT Weekend piece on poptart film Unfrosted: https://on.ft.com/4aUu7kT – Lilah wants less worrying about small talk. Here’s Jo Ellison’s column which that she mentions: https://on.ft.com/3Wk5Vnv -------Special FT subscription offers for Life and Art podcast listeners, from 50% off a digital subscription to a $1/£1/€1 trial, are here: http://ft.com/lifeandartRead a transcript of this episode on FT.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The FT’s US media correspondent Anna Nicolaou keeps hearing this lament from music executives: that Olivia Rodrigo could be the last pop superstar. They worry that no one has broken through with such ferocity since. On today’s show, Anna tells us what they mean, what the trends reflect, and whether she believes the prediction. Plus, Anna and Lilah reflect on why Rodrigo has gotten so big, and the gap she’s filling in our culture.-------We love hearing from you. Lilah is on Instagram @lilahrap and we’re on X @lifeandartpod. You can email us at lifeandart@ft.com. We are grateful for reviews, on Apple, Spotify, etc.-------Links (all FT links get you past the paywall): – Anna’s column about Olivia Rodrigo is here: https://on.ft.com/3UgPFkp– You can follow Anna on X @annaknicolaou-----The FT Weekend Festival is coming back, and will be in Washington on May 4. Speakers include Nancy Pelosi. To book tickets, go to ft.com/festival-us and use our exclusive discount code: weekendpodcast. Special FT subscription offers for Life and Art podcast listeners, from 50% off a digital subscription to a $1/£1/€1 trial, are here: http://ft.com/lifeandart—Clip in this episode is from Petroblivion on YouTube.Read a transcript of this episode on FT.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week, we’re discussing Taylor Swift’s new album 'The Tortured Poets Department', which is already the most-streamed debut in Spotify history. Lilah is joined by music critic Ludovic Hunter-Tilney and life-long Swiftie Taylor Nicole Rogers to discuss their picks for best and worst songs, whether Swift’s personal life gets in the way of the music, and where she’ll go next.  -------We love hearing from you. Lilah is on Instagram @lilahrap and we’re on X @lifeandartpod. You can email us at lifeandart@ft.com. We are grateful for reviews on Apple, Spotify etc.-------Links (all FT links get you past the paywall): – ‘The Tortured Poets Department’ is available now on all streaming platforms. – Ludovic’s four-star review of the album is here: https://on.ft.com/4bf6289 – Listen to our episode on the Eras tour, ‘Can Taylor Swift get any bigger?’ here or by searching in this feed. – Jo Ellison’s column from 2023, ‘Why I believe in Taylor Swift’: https://on.ft.com/49S6Xdh More or Less:– Ludovic wants more rap beef, like the one happening between Drake, Rick Ross, Kendrick Lamar and more. You can read his article about the rap beef here. – Taylor wants to see more summer pop bangers. Keep an eye out for Ludovic’s review of Dua Lipa’s upcoming album ‘Radical Optimism’, which lands next Friday.  – Follow Lilah on Instagram for some great springtime content.-----The FT Weekend Festival is coming back, and will be in Washington on May 4. Speakers include Nancy Pelosi. To book tickets, go to ft.com/festival-us and use our exclusive discount code: weekendpodcast. Special FT subscription offers for Life and Art podcast listeners, from 50% off a digital subscription to a $1/£1/€1 trial, are here: http://ft.com/lifeandart—Clips this week are from Republic Records. Read a transcript of this episode on FT.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Spring is upon us, which means a bounty of fresh, green seasonal vegetables, from asparagus to artichokes to ramps. To help inspire us to make our own spring feasts, Lilah invites Ayesha Nurdjaja into the studio. Ayesha is the executive chef and partner at Shuka and Shukette, two beloved New York restaurants. Shukette has been called “a Middle Eastern party”, both for its open kitchen and bountiful meals, and for its energy. Visitors are encouraged to mix and match kebabs, breads, herb-covered fish and more in an approach Ayesha calls the “rip and dip”. She shares tons of tips and recipes for spring, and talks about growing up in a household of great global cooks – where her mother’s Italian-American food melded with her dad’s Indonesian cooking. -------We love hearing from you. Lilah is on Instagram @lilahrap and we’re on X @lifeandartpod. You can email us at lifeandart@ft.com. We are grateful for reviews on Apple, Spotify, etc.-------Links (all FT links get you past the paywall): – Ayesha is on Instagram @ayesharare– Her restaurants in New York are Shuka (in SoHo), and Shukette (in Chelsea)– Last year we talked to Ayesha about balancing and building flavour for our food and drinks series. You can check out that conversation here: https://on.ft.com/3Up7mQe-----The FT Weekend Festival is coming back, and will be in Washington, DC, on May 4. Speakers include Nancy Pelosi. To book tickets, go to ft.com/festival-us and use our exclusive discount code: weekendpodcast. Special FT subscription offers for Life and Art podcast listeners, from 50% off a digital subscription to a $1/£1/€1 trial, are here: http://ft.com/lifeandartRead a transcript of this episode on FT.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week, we talk about the new film ‘Civil War’, directed by Alex Garland, which depicts a future US that’s divided and decimated. It stars Kirsten Dunst as a veteran photojournalist, who is on a road trip with a ragtag group of colleagues. They’re driving through the war-torn north-east to reach the White House before it is stormed by rebel forces. The film has been highly praised as well as highly criticised. What is it trying to say about the state of America? Is it a war film, a political film, or both? The FT’s politics columnist Stephen Bush and US executive producer of audio Topher Forhecz join Lilah to discuss.-------We love hearing from you. Lilah is on Instagram @lilahrap and we’re on X @lifeandartpod. You can email us at lifeandart@ft.com. We are grateful for reviews, on Apple, Spotify, etc.-------Links (all FT links get you past the paywall): – Danny Leigh’s review of Civil War (he liked it less than we did): https://on.ft.com/4aTzD6P – FT critic Leslie Felperin’s interview with Alex Garland: https://on.ft.com/3W03lmt – You can get a free trial of Stephen’s political newsletter Inside Politics – which includes a daily cultural recommendation – by clicking here– Stephen Bush on X at @stephenkb.– Listen to our episode ‘How to process the news when it all feels bad’, with FT foreign editor Alec Russell. You can find it in our feedMore or Less:– Topher wants to see more interesting landmarks used in films, as in ‘North by Northwest’ and ‘John Wick: Chapter 4’– Stephen wants to see no more ‘Ghostbusters’ ever. Here’s the FT’s 2-star review of ‘Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire’: https://on.ft.com/4aVOEot – Lilah wants fewer menus. She recommends 15 Fox Place in Jersey City, and Osteria 16 in Copenhagen-----The FT Weekend Festival is coming back, and will be in Washington on May 4. Speakers include Nancy Pelosi. To book tickets, go to ft.com/festival-us and use our exclusive discount code: weekendpodcast. Special FT subscription offers for Life and Art podcast listeners, from 50% off a digital subscription to a $1/£1/€1 trial, are here: http://ft.com/lifeandart—Clips this week are from A24Read a transcript of this episode on FT.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Welcome to the final episode in our special four-part series on design. Brands are everywhere and sometimes feel so omnipresent that it’s hard to know what counts as one. So we’ve invited designer, educator and Design Matters podcast host Debbie Millman to help us make sense of brands. At its core, Debbie says, branding is the process of manufacturing meaning to come up with a shared symbol. And it’s something we’ve been doing for thousands of years. Today, Debbie and Lilah discuss the history of branding and its relationship with design, and the relatively recent phenomenon of ‘personal brands’. Debbie also shares insights from nearly two decades hosting Design Matters.-------We love hearing from you. Lilah is on Instagram @lilahrap and we’re on X @lifeandartpod. You can email the show at lifeandart@ft.com.-------Links (all FT links get you past the paywall): – Lilah recommends Debbie’s interview with cartoonist Lynda Barry: https://www.designmattersmedia.com/podcast/2019/lynda-barry – Here are the latest episodes of Design Matters: https://www.designmattersmedia.com/ – Debbie has written seven books. Here’s Brand Thinking: https://www.debbiemillman.com/brand-thinking -------The FT Weekend Festival is coming back, and will be in Washington, DC, on May 4! To book tickets, go to ft.com/festival-us and use our exclusive discount code: weekendpodcast. -------Special FT subscription offers for Life and Art podcast listeners, from 50% off a digital subscription to a $1/£1/€1 trial, are here: http://ft.com/lifeandart------Original music by Metaphor Music. Mixing and sound design by Breen Turner and Sam GiovincoRead a transcript of this episode on FT.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.