Live magazine programme on the worlds of arts, literature, film, media and music
Listen in the Podli app 🎧
Follow your favourite podcasts, listen offline and in the car with CarPlay and Android Auto, and always pick up where you left off. Free to try.
Sep 29, 2026 · 42:24
Tom Sutcliffe hosts the ceremony for BBC National Short Story Award and Young Writers Award 2026, in partnership with University of Cambridge, live from BBC Broadcasting House in…
Sep 28, 2026 · 42:12
The multi-award winning stage designer and artist Es Devlin talks to Samira as a retrospective of her work opens at the Design Museum in London. Devlin has created sets for…
Sep 24, 2026 · 42:05
A special edition of Front Row from the BBC's poetry and performance festival - Contains Strong Language Since self-publishing a poetry pamphlet in 2020, Donna Ashworth has gone…
Sep 23, 2026 · 42:15
In this week's Review Show, our guest critics Hannah McGill and Fergus Morgan join Kirsty Wark to discuss three dystopian thrillers: Bestselling novelist Emily St John Mandel's…
Sep 22, 2026 · 42:41
Comedian Russell Kane tells us about playing an older Romeo in a new take on Shakespeare’s famous tragedy. Author Samantha Ellis gives her verdict on the new film adaptation of…
Sep 21, 2026 · 42:23
Roger Taylor has been a driving force behind Queen, one of the most successful bands in history. The songwriter, drummer and singer talks to Tom Sutcliffe about his 7th solo…
Sep 17, 2026 · 42:27
Robbie Collin and Sarah Crompton join Samira Ahmed to review: Rose Tremain’s new book, The Housekeeper, which imagines how Daphne du Maurier’s classic novel, Rebecca, came to be…
Sep 16, 2026 · 42:11
Twin brothers Craig and Charlie Reid emerged almost 40 years ago with their debut album This Is The Story and Top 3 single ‘Letter from America’. The Proclaimers join Kirsty Wark…
Sep 15, 2026 · 42:23
Biographer Hermione Lee talks to Tom about her new book Anita Brookner: Art and Life, which explores the career of the famously private art historian and author of 24 novels…
Sep 14, 2026 · 42:13
Samira Ahmed talks to Hunter Davies about his new book Get Back: The Boys Who Became the Beatles, Juliette Binoche about her directorial debut on In-I in Motion, Jack Thorne on…
Sep 10, 2026 · 42:34
Viv Groskop and Amanda Vickery join Tom Sutcliffe to review: The Bayeux Tapestry as it goes on display to the public in Britain for the first time since its creation almost a…
Sep 9, 2026 · 42:22
Music critic Neil McCormick shares his verdict on the Oasis documentary, Don’t Look Back in Anger about Noel & Liam Gallagher's reunion tour. Writer Beth Steel talks about her…
Sep 8, 2026 · 42:22
Fanny Herrero, writer and creator of the French sitcom Call My Agent, joins Tom Sufcliffe to talk about how her show about the antics of the cut-throat Paris talent agency ASK…
Sep 7, 2026 · 42:44
Ava Pickett discusses her new play Bloodsport: After Helen of Troy at Theatre Royal Stratford East, and the huge success 1536, her Olivier Award-winning play about the Tudors.…
Sep 3, 2026 · 42:09
Tom Sutcliffe and guests explore the architecture and culture of Norman Britain as part of a special day of programmes on Radio 4 marking the return of the Bayeux Tapestry. From…
Aug 27, 2026 · 42:27
Mark Ravenhill and Leila Latif join Tom Sutcliffe to review: Spanish director Pedro Almodóvar's new film Bitter Christmas, a tragi comedy told across different time frames, and…
Aug 26, 2026 · 42:21
Ahead of her sixth performance at the BBC Proms the mezzo soprano star Joyce DiDonato talks to Kirsty about the explosive potential of her voice. VP Head of YouTube EMEA - Pedro…
Aug 25, 2026 · 42:01
Samira Ahmed spoke to Dolly Parton in 2023. As her death is announced Front Row pays tribute to the star of country music who sold more than 100 million records and wrote over…
Aug 20, 2026 · 42:14
Larushka Ivan-Zadeh and William Lee Adams join Tom Sutcliffe to review: The Life of M - the new novel from Rachel Cusk. The book centres on a writer’s attempt to chronicle the…
Aug 19, 2026 · 41:49
Ann Droid and Motherland star Paul Ready on his debut one man show Little Animals, a powerful piece of writing on climate, consumerism and the anxieties of being a Dad in today's…
Aug 18, 2026 · 42:27
As contemporary art venue, The Light, prepares to open in Durham, its artistic director Tony Guillan, and the art critic Louisa Buck, discuss the new building and its opening…
Aug 17, 2026 · 42:24
The comedian Joe Lycett has long dabbled in art, but it's a serious business now as his first ever solo exhibition ‘Everything Must Go’ has just opened at the Birmingham Museum…
Aug 13, 2026 · 42:49
Academic and critic Maria Delgado and writer and producer Jake Cunningham join Tom Sutcliffe to discuss the film Tony, a film about the early career of food writer Anthony…
Aug 12, 2026 · 42:27
Australian writer and performer Hannah Reilly talks to us about her much-anticipated one woman show about sex, power and authenticity, Roleplay, which is produced by the team…
Aug 11, 2026 · 42:18
Steph McGovern, presenter of new BBC show The Big Deal, is joined by Marie Le Conte to discuss how to buy art. Fleabag actor Sian Clifford on her lead role in "Lady", a new…
Aug 10, 2026 · 42:17
What's the Royal Shakespeare Company's much anticipated stage adaptation of Game of Thrones like? Critics Boyd Hilton and Kate Maltby give their verdict. Conductor Marin Alsop on…
Aug 6, 2026 · 42:15
Suzi Feay and John-Paul Stonard join Samira to review: Can Nothing Save Us?, the new novel from Trainspotting author Irvine Welsh, a state-of-the-nation thriller set in the US.…
Aug 5, 2026 · 42:11
In the first of our special programmes from the Edinburgh Festivals, actress Stockard Channing - star of Grease, Six Degrees of Separation and Practical Magic - joins us…
Aug 5, 2026 · 37:36
Samira is joined by two magicians live in the studio, from the stage show "Now You See Me Live". And then she takes part in a trick and is bamboozled! Jacqueline Crooks' latest…
Aug 4, 2026 · 42:18
John Hannah plays a washed-up former detective who has moved to Spain to run a pub in the new Channel 5 comedy drama Benidorm is Murder. He discusses the appeal of television…
Jul 30, 2026 · 42:13
Rhianna Dhillon and Sarfraz Manzoor join Tom Sutcliffe to review: Childhood in War, an exhibition at the Imperial War Musuem exploring how children have experienced conflict from…
Jul 29, 2026 · 42:25
Composer Missy Mazzoli discusses her opera The Galloping Cure, which fuses a live orchestra with electronic beats and features a charismatic antihero and talking dogs. An…
Jul 28, 2026 · 42:12
Professor Dame Mary Beard reveals the 2026 Booker longlist and how she has found the process of being Chair of the judges. British contemporary pop artist Philip Colbert’s latest…
Jul 27, 2026 · 42:20
Graeme Garden remembers his friend and Goodies colleague, Bill Oddie. Frank Miller reimagined Batman as a tougher, grittier sort of comic book hero: The Dark Knight. He has…
Jul 23, 2026 · 42:16
Hanna Flint and Chris Power join Tom Sutcliffe to review: The new stage musical adaptation of Irvine Welsh's novel Trainspotting, featuring famous songs from the 1996 Danny Boyle…
Jul 22, 2026 · 42:23
In 1985, Wham were the first Western pop group to perform in communist China, and the tour changed people's lives. As a new documentary about this landmark moment in pop lands in…
Jul 21, 2026 · 42:21
Actor Ruth Madeley on starring in new TV drama The Rapture - a psychological thriller where the competing interests of an oil company, a religious cult, a protest group and a…
Jul 20, 2026 · 42:14
Trent Park, the House of Secrets is a new museum in north London which explores the story of the secret listeners who eavesdropped on the conversations of German senior military…
Jul 16, 2026 · 42:20
Tom Sutcliffe is joined by film critic Tim Robey and classicist Edith Hall to discuss: Christopher Nolan's much anticipated film version of Homer's epic The Odyssey, shot with…
Jul 15, 2026 · 42:29
The coming-of-age series Heartstopper has been a phenomenon with young readers and viewers in recent years. Its creator Alice Oseman joins us as the film Heartstopper Forever…
Jul 14, 2026 · 42:23
British director Christopher Nolan discusses his biggest cinematic blockbuster yet: The Odyssey, which stars Matt Damon, Anne Hathaway, Tom Holland and more, in his retelling of…
Jul 13, 2026 · 42:23
Diane Morgan on her BBC TV comedy series Ann Droid, in which she stars as the eponymous robot helper to Sue Johnston. We pay tribute to actor Sam Neill, who has died at the age…
Jul 9, 2026 · 42:18
Critic and columnist Dr Kate Maltby and author Michael Donkor join Tom Sutcliffe to review Robota, the inaugural large-scale production at the Schwarzman Centre for the…
Jul 8, 2026 · 41:58
Lynval Golding of two-tone and ska legends The Specials , on the band’s final album, Live from the Cathedral, which was recorded in Coventry Cathedral. and which pays tribute to…
Jul 7, 2026 · 42:25
Chinese dissident artist Ai Weiwei has just created his largest site-specific exhibition - Ai Weiwei: Button Up! - which has now opened at Aviva Studios in Manchester. Xiaowen…
Jul 6, 2026 · 42:17
Confessions II is Madonna's first album in 7 years. Novelist Matt Cain and journalist and broadcaster Miranda Sawyer discuss going back to the dancefloor. Sky TV has offered £1.6…
Jul 2, 2026 · 42:28
Tom Sutcliffe is joined by critics Bidisha and David Benedict to review: The Invite, a new film directed by Olivia Wilde about two couples who join each other for dinner,…
Jul 1, 2026 · 42:06
The acclaimed novelist Kazuo Ishiguro talks about how he went about curating a season of films featuring trains for the BFI - from classics such as Shanghai Express by Josef von…
Jun 30, 2026 · 41:44
Author of A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius, and The Circle, Dave Eggers is back with a new novel about a young aspiring artist. Contrapposto follows Cricket, an insular…
Jun 29, 2026 · 42:06
We mark the passing of actress Dame Penelope Keith, speaking with John Lloyd and Mel Giedroyc about her long career. Actor Russell Tovey plays a troubled police officer dealing…
Jun 25, 2026 · 42:11
Writer Charlotte Mullins and author Viv Groskop join Tom to discuss the Frida Kahlo exhibition at Tate Modern in London. It's the highest pre-selling exhibition in Tate's…
Jun 24, 2026 · 42:21
25 years since she published her first Charlie and Lola book, former Children's Laureate Lauren Child returns with a new friendship-focused series featuring best-friends Lotta…
Jun 24, 2026 · 42:45
Bill Nighy joins to talk about his new family drama 500 Miles, where he plays a reclusive painter on the west coast of Ireland who gets an unexpected visit from his two…
Jun 22, 2026 · 42:18
Linda Perry came to fame as lead singer of the all-female band Four Non-Blondes. She went on to be a hugely successful songwriter and producer, writing hits for the likes of Pink…
Jun 18, 2026 · 43:17
Writer Stephanie Merritt and Telegraph film critic Robbie Collin join Tom to review Anish Kapoor’s immersive exhibition at the Hayward Gallery in London, which includes huge red…
Jun 17, 2026 · 41:26
Priya Parmar's novel The Original tells the story of how actor Katharine Hepburn set out to become one of the true movie icons of the 20th century and succeeded. She's joined to…
Jun 16, 2026 · 42:27
The Beatles' manager, Brian Epstein, is widely regarded as the man who helped the band break through. He's inspired plays, films, and even an artistic installation by the Turner…
Jun 15, 2026 · 42:23
Tom Sutcliffe presents a special edition of Front Row on the art of David Hockney. The artists Maggi Hambling and Tacita Dean and Andrew Marr speak to Tom about Hockney's career…
Jun 11, 2026 · 42:14
Film producer Jason Solomons and Guardian columnist Zoe Williams join Tom Sutcliffe to discuss Steven Spielberg’s Disclosure Day – a film which looks at whether aliens are really…
Jun 11, 2026 · 42:27
Scotland's Makar Peter Mackay on his poems honouring Scotland's football team as they head to the FIFA World Cup - one, his own work, the other curated from lines submitted by…
Jun 9, 2026 · 42:24
Barry Manilow on maintaining his musical curiosity as he releases his 33rd studio album, What A Time, and what it's like to have one of his biggest hits, Copacabana, sung by…
Jun 8, 2026 · 42:21
Samira Ahmed talks to Daft Punk's Thomas Bangalter about their new album Mirage Ekow Eshun, writer and broadcaster, and Polly Savage, Lecturer in the Art History of Africa at…
Jun 4, 2026 · 42:30
Tom Sutcliffe is joined by writer Alexander Larman and critic Arifa Akbar to discuss: A new production of High Society, Cole Porter's musical showcase at London's Barbican,…
Jun 3, 2026 · 42:10
As the Belfast Book Festival opens Kirsty Wark is joined by a range of guests at the Crescent Arts Centre. She'll be discussing reading and freedom of expression with Hilary…
Jun 3, 2026 · 42:15
Award winning jazz saxophonist and broadcaster Soweto Kinch and writer and director of new film Köln 75, Ido Fluk, join Tom to explore the importance of Keith Jarrett’s seminal…
Jun 1, 2026 · 42:20
On what would have been her 100th birthday, we look at the enduring popularity of Marilyn Monroe, with film journalist and fan Kim Morgan and reviewer Angie Errigo Sathnam…
May 28, 2026 · 42:40
Rachel Lloyd, Deputy Culture Editor of The Economist, and writer Lawrence Norfolk join Tom to discuss Channel 4's new queer drama Tip Toe, which is the latest series by Russell T…
May 27, 2026 · 42:11
Nashville-based novelist Ann Patchett tells us about her tenth novel, Whistler, in which a chance encounter between a woman and her stepfather after many years leads to…
May 26, 2026 · 42:34
Writer and broadcaster Kevin Le Gendre, and trumpeter and composer Yazz Ahmed on 100 years of Miles Davis - the musician regarded as the Picasso of jazz. Artist Keith Tyson has…
May 25, 2026 · 42:21
Live from Hay, celebrating reading and writing in many different forms, Samira is joined on stage by Jack Thorne - multi-award-winning screenwriter of the TV sensation…
May 21, 2026 · 42:27
Samira Ahmed is joined by writer Matt Cain and critic Suzi Feay to review: Booker Prize-winning author of Shuggie Bain, Douglas Stuart's new novel John of John, set on the Isle…
May 20, 2026 · 42:25
Canadian author Rachel Reid talks to us about the the phenomenon which has followed the publication of her books about the romantic relationship between rival ice hockey players.…
May 19, 2026 · 42:26
The paintings of Winston Churchill are being exhibited at the Wallace Collection in London. Xavier Bray, Director of the Wallace Collection, and Katharine Carter, curator at…
May 18, 2026 · 42:15
Leo Woodall stars in the film Tuner, about a young piano prodigy who turns to crime, in cinemas on the 29th May. The classical music world has been paying tribute to the soprano…
May 14, 2026 · 42:07
Observer Theatre critic Susannah Clapp and Heat's Entertainment Director Boyd Hilton join Samira to discuss The Christophers - Steven Soderbergh’s film about an ageing artist and…
May 13, 2026 · 42:09
From landmark releases to hidden treasures, director Mark Cousins on his 16-hour epic The Story of Documentary Film, which is screening at the Cannes Film Festival this week. A…
May 12, 2026 · 42:18
This year marks the tercentenary of polymath Sir John Vanbrugh, regarded as the rockstar architect of the Baroque era. Art historian Sir Charles Saumerez Smith, co-curator of the…
May 11, 2026 · 42:20
Critics Ben Luke and Aviva Dautch bring us all the news from The Venice Biennale. Following the death of the great Shakespearean actor Michael Pennington, we speak to former RSC…
May 7, 2026 · 42:16
Tom Sutcliffe is joined by journalist and podcaster Nick Hilton and writer and historian Catherine McCormack to review a selection of cultural items from this week: They'll look…
May 6, 2026 · 42:13
Acclaimed author Siri Hustvedt on Ghost Stories, her memoir of her marriage to novelist, poet and filmmaker Paul Auster and her grief following his death in 2024. Following last…
May 6, 2026 · 42:17
Antony Gormley joins Samira Ahmed. The sculptor and artist is best known for landmarks such as Angel of the North or the beach figures of Another Place, in Liverpool. But Antony…
May 5, 2026 · 41:52
As the Quentin Blake Centre for Illustration prepares to open in London, we find out how illustrators are adapting to a changing world. Starting with a rare interview from…
Apr 30, 2026 · 42:26
Tom Sutcliffe is joined by playwright Mark Ravenhill and academic and critic Maria Delgado to review: The first major UK exhibition of Spanish master Francisco de Zurbarán at the…
Apr 29, 2026 · 42:30
From the rebellious spirit of The Jam in the 1970s to the soulful sound of The Style Council and mellow ballads as a solo artist, singer-songwriter Paul Weller is about to…
Apr 28, 2026 · 42:27
Children's Laureate Frank Cottrell-Boyce launches the Children's Booker Prize and discusses some of the themes of his forthcoming Waterstones Children's Laureate Lecture - The…
Apr 27, 2026 · 42:10
The Devil Wears Prada 2 director David Frankel on why it was time to bring the old gang back together again. David Haig's new play "Magic" imagines the real life friendship…
Apr 23, 2026 · 42:16
Critics Larushka Ivan-Zadeh and Ludovic Hunter-Tilney join Tom to review Half Man, Richard Gadd’s follow up to his hit Baby Reindeer. They also discuss Anne Hathaway as a faded…
Apr 22, 2026 · 42:20
A new biopic chronicles one of the 20th century’s biggest and most controversial music icons, but appears not to paint the whole picture about his life. We discuss Antoine…
Apr 21, 2026 · 42:36
Primavera, a new film about Vivaldi tells the story of his composing for pupils of an institution for abandoned girls. We speak to the film's director Damiano Michieletto, better…
Apr 20, 2026 · 42:12
Director Charlotte Regan on her new BBC thriller, Mint Have heterosexual male novelists stopped writing sex scenes? We discuss with writer Luke Kennard, author of Black Bag, and…
Apr 16, 2026 · 42:05
Tom Sutcliffe is joined by reviewers Dreda Say Mitchell and Viv Groskop to consider Lena Dunham's controversial memoir - Famesick. A new adaptation of Ken Kesey's One Flew Over…
Apr 15, 2026 · 42:17
Scottish Ballet's Starstruck honours Gene Kelly's creative legacy and his passion for creating "dance for the common man". His wife Patricia Ward Kelly tells us about this fusion…
Apr 14, 2026 · 42:23
Jack Savoretti sings a song from his latest album We Will Always Be The Way We Were, which is leading the race to top the charts this week. David Szalay's Booker Prize-wnnning…
Apr 13, 2026 · 42:09
Mark Gatiss takes on the role he's always wanted to play, the lead in Brecht's Hitler satire The Resistible Rise of Arturo Ui. As the Government considers charging tourists to…
Apr 9, 2026 · 42:28
On the review show this week: critics Muriel Zagha and Tahmima Anam review Francois Ozon's film The Stranger., based on the Albert Camus novel which has often been described as…
Apr 8, 2026 · 42:19
Writer and director John Morton, one of the team behind 2012 and W1A, on the new comedy Twenty Twenty Six, set in the run up to this year's football World Cup. Artist Lachlan…
Apr 7, 2026 · 42:15
Writer Daisy Goodwin on Victoria: A Queen Unbound. Was the marriage between Victoria and Albert as idyllic as it has been portrayed? Her new play explores the idea that Prince…
Apr 6, 2026 · 42:06
100 years ago, inventor John Logie Baird demonstrated his new 'televisor' to the public for the first time. In this special edition of Front Row, Samira Ahmed and guests explore…
Apr 2, 2026 · 42:29
Tom Sutcliffe is joined by critics Tim Robey and Nancy Durrant to review: Robert Pattinson and Zendaya's new film The Drama about a young couple in the lead up to their wedding.…
Apr 1, 2026 · 42:30
In venues around the UK and here on BBC Radio 4 and on BBC Sounds, it’s Live Comedy Day today – a celebration of live comedy and grassroots clubs. We’re joined by two of the cast…
Listen in the Podli app 🎧
Follow your favourite podcasts, listen offline and in the car with CarPlay and Android Auto, and always pick up where you left off. Free to try.
Your podcast? Get the Podli badge for your site
