Life and Art from FT Weekend Financial Times
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- Arts
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Life and Art from FT Weekend is the twice-weekly culture podcast of the Financial Times. On Monday, we talk about life, and how to live a good one in one-on-one conversations. On Friday, we talk about ‘art’ – in a chat show. Three FT journalists come together to discuss a new cultural release across film, TV, music and books. Hosted by Lilah Raptopoulos, together with the FT’s award-winning writers and editors, and special guests.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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How to stop worrying about the ‘right’ way to travel
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travel writing, ultimately looking for a way to jumpstart our imaginations to go beyond rigid itineraries dictated by outdated guidebooks.
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Want to take our survey for a chance to win a pair of Bose QuietComfort 35 wireless headphones? Here’s the link, and here are the terms and conditions.
We love hearing from you. Lilah is on Instagram @lilahrap. We’re on X @lifeandartpod and on email at lifeandart@ft.com. And please share this episode with your friends!
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Links (all FT links get you past the paywall):
– Airplane Mode: an Irreverent History of Travel by Shahnaz Habib is available now in the US and comes out on August 7 in the UK
– Our columnist Nilanjana Roy wrote about Airplane Mode here: https://on.ft.com/4d0SsGK
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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
Read a transcript of this episode on FT.com
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. -
Culture chat: How ‘A Court of Thorns and Roses’ broke the romance lit taboo
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 with one of its aristocratic lords. Maas’s books have sold more than 38mn copies worldwide — spawning memes, tattoos and immersive fan clubs. What is its appeal, and why has ‘romantasy’ exploded in recent years?
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Want to take our survey for a chance to win a pair of Bose QuietComfort 35 wireless headphones? Here’s the link, and here are the terms and conditions.
We love hearing from you. Lilah is on Instagram @lilahrap. We’re on X @lifeandartpod and on email at lifeandart@ft.com. And please share this episode with your friends!
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Links (all FT links get you past the paywall):
– Madison Darbyshire’s piece, ‘Hot stuff: why readers fall in love with romance novels’ is here: https://on.ft.com/3YiLEQ1
– A profile of Sara J Maas, by Anna Nicolaou: https://on.ft.com/4deUD9h
– For more summer reads, check out Laura Battle’s selection of the best summer fiction books here.
– Laura is on X @battlelaura. Madison is @MADarbyshire.
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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
Read a transcript of this episode on FT.com
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. -
Writer Anne Lamott on how to tap into your creativity
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. She tells Lilah how she applies this philosophy to creativity, love, grief, ageing and more.
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Want to take our survey for a chance to win a pair of Bose QuietComfort 35 wireless headphones? Here’s the link, and here are the terms and conditions.
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We love hearing from you. Lilah is on Instagram @lilahrap. We’re on X @lifeandartpod and on email at lifeandart@ft.com. And please share this episode with your friends!
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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
Read a transcript of this episode on FT.com
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. -
Culture Chat: ‘Sunny’ has its circuits crossed
‘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 money editor Nathan Brooker to figure it out.
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Want to take our survey for a chance to win a pair of Bose QuietComfort 35 wireless headphones? Here’s the link, and here are the terms and conditions.
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We love hearing from you. Lilah is on Instagram @lilahrap. We’re on X @lifeandartpod and on email at lifeandart@ft.com. And please share this episode with your friends!
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Links (all FT links get you past the paywall):
– The FT”s review of Sunny by Dan Einav: https://on.ft.com/4d3914j
– Madhu Murgia’s piece Lilah referenced on how different cultures, including Japan, have depicted AI: https://on.ft.com/4d1nOgt
– Nathan Brooker is on X @ncbrooker. Jemima is @jemimajoanna
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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
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Original music by Metaphor Music. Mixing and sound design by Breen Turner and Sam Giovinco. Clips this week courtesy of A24.
Read a transcript of this episode on FT.com
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. -
Why men’s fashion is skimpier and more queer
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.
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Will you take our survey, for a chance to win a pair of Bose QuietComfort 35 wireless headphones? Here’s the link, and here are the terms and conditions.
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We love hearing from you. Lilah is on Instagram @lilahrap. We’re on X @lifeandartpod and email at lifeandart@ft.com.
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Links (all FT links get you past the paywall):
– Rob’s latest style column is here: https://on.ft.com/3xWm8pa
– Rob is on X @rbrtrmstrng. Eric is on X @EricGPlatt
– Here’s the GQ piece we mentioned, called “Why is everyone on steroids now?” https://www.gq.com/story/why-is-everyone-on-steroids-now
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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
Read a transcript of this episode on FT.com
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. -
Culture chat: Chappell Roan, Brat and pop girl summer
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 and US media correspondent Anna Nicolaou to chat through it.
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Want to take our survey for a chance to win a pair of Bose QuietComfort 35 wireless headphones? Here’s the link, and here are the terms and conditions.
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We love hearing from you. Lilah is on Instagram @lilahrap. We’re on X @lifeandartpod and email at lifeandart@ft.com.
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Links (all FT links get you past the paywall):
– You can listen to our curation of pop girl summer hits in this Spotify playlist, or by searching “Pop Girl Summer 2024: Life and Art”. You can thank our producer Lulu Smyth
– The FT’s 4 star review of Brat is here: https://on.ft.com/4cvSTIQ
– Arwa Haider is on X @ArwaHaider. Anna Nicolaou is @annaknicolaou
– Lilah recommends Miranda July’s novel All Fours
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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
Read a transcript of this episode on FT.com
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Customer Reviews
The quality of the show is not as good as before
I have been a big fan of the show through its many reincarnations and have loved the show and the hosts over the years. However I feel like the quality of the content has become more and more diluted. I really miss the “Culture Call” during early pandemic days when it has been such inspirational and joyous conversations between the hosts and the in-depth interviews with the cultural figures. Perhaps it’s an intentional pivot, since the name of the podcast has also changed. I welcome the experiments and do like a light-themed fun show sometimes. But I find the recent episodes very watered down and it’s become much more of a spontaneous chitchat that’s not that fun anymore because how it only scratches the surface of many topics… which leaves me wonder whether I should move on to other shows to satisfy the expectation of intellectual stimuli. I really loved the show and that’s why I wanted to share my thoughts about it!
Great work!
I’m a regular listener of this podcast, but I particularly enjoyed this episode on Palestinian cuisine. It takes a lot of courage and humanity to feature the story of Chef Fadi Kattan at a time when they’re going through unimaginable horrors and destructions. Thank you Lailah and your team for the brilliant work you do for the listeners!
Great insights
Lived this espisode. New to the show but really liked the practical advice and insights into every day issues.